The Elegant(?) Siblings

Someone’s finger snapped through the darkness, and a young lady woke up with a start. Cherry found herself in a rather intricate bedroom, where neatly arranged and hugging the walls were some drawers, a large closet, a body-sized mirror, and a vanity. For some reason, there was also a trail of black feathers by her bed to the balcony, but the wind probably blew them in.

Where am I? What am I doing here? Questions already began to pile up in her mind, but as she scanned the room, not a single recollection sparked.

She surveyed the room a few more times until her gaze landed on a chair resting beside her, a pair of clothes and a written note waiting for her. Reluctantly, she reached for the note.

‘Gooood morning, afternoon, or evening! Whatever time it is for you right now! Welcome to our mansion! Since we feel sorry about your dirty state, here are some free clothes! When you’re ready, just leave the room and wait in the hallway!’

At the end of the message was a doodle of someone with a wink on his face.

Wow, alright then.

She spread out the apparel, revealing a plain, light pink dress with an apron.

She promptly swapped out her dull, itching gray clothes and embraced the pleasantly soft fabric. Now refreshed, she turned to the body mirror.

She took a few steps closer, the scarlet eyes before her drawing closer as well.

She turned around, frowning at the sad sight of such poorly cut burgundy-red hair. She briefly combed through her long, V-shaped hair with her fingers, removing the hidden tangled clumps. Goodness, what past did she forget that led to such a crappy haircut?

She shifted her attention to her unnaturally pale face and inched closer. She blinked and squinted her eyes. She stretched, squeezed, and rubbed her cheeks. Lastly, she lifted her fringes, examining her forehead.

She stretched her frown and furrowed her eyebrows. She spent a few more seconds merely glaring, desperately hoping for a last-minute phenomenon of a forgotten memory to flash before her.

In the end, her reflection merely scowled back at her.

She loosened her grip on her dress and sighed, finally accepting that no such miracles would ever occur.

With a new resolve, she left the room, greeting the morning sunlight through the arched windows. For whatever reason, the sight of the sky instantly calmed her down. She sighed and relaxed her shoulders as she continued to stare at the clouds, the horizon of trees, and a rather colorful garden.

“Ah, there you are!”

She jumped and whipped around.

Standing across the hallway was a short lady in a petite, yellow dress, with long, brown hair, and a pair of sunflowers each pinned to the side of her head.

The new guest swallowed.

Rather than seeing a human face, the young lady gawked at a pure white, expressionless mask that covered her identity from forehead to chin. The large, black eye sockets reflected no light.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting!” she said with a bow, her straight fringes swaying. “I’m Dorothy Vamier, nice to meet you!”

“O-Oh, erm, nice to meet you. I’m Cherry…”

Dorothy nodded. “Nice to meet you too, Cherry! C’mon, I’ll lead you to everyone else. They all want to meet you too!”

“Who’s ‘they?’” She looked around. “Actually, I’ve been wondering… where exactly am I?”

Dorothy gestured to the hallway. “I know you probably have a lot of questions, but you can ask them after you meet the rest of us and hear us out first. Please follow me!” With that said, she turned around and walked at a rather speedy pace.

Goodness, how energetic was this girl? Cherry scratched her head and followed suit.

✦☆✦

The moment she stepped inside the parlor room, she paused and looked around. The first thing Cherry laid eyes on was a golden chandelier, hanging on a pale yellow ceiling. She glanced around and took more notes of the setting: a fireplace, landscape paintings, bookshelves, windows with large, red curtains, and other minute but intricate decorations.

“Ah, we’re over here,” said a new voice.

She turned to the voice, only to raise her brows.

Three more individuals also wore the same masks as Dorothy, and all three sat in the circle of couches and chairs with a table at the center.

"Good morning," the man in the middle of the three repeated. "And welcome to our home. Please take a seat."

Cherry reluctantly took the empty couch across from them, followed by Dorothy. “G-Good morning,” she stammered.

The dandy man in green nodded. "First things first, allow us to introduce ourselves."

"Theodore Vamier," said the man on the left. He wore a long blue coat with a large jabot tied loosely under his collar. His black fringes split evenly at the center and elongated on the sides of his masked face, and Cherry could make out a small bowtie tying his low ponytail just behind his neck.

If his carefree posture of spreading his legs on the table wasn't distinguishing enough, his long ponytail ended with what appeared to be a... spiral drill?

Theodore flipped and twirled his hair, shaking his head around and letting his hair strands bounce. "I know. My hair's spectacular, right?"

She smirked in amusement before shyly looking away to the right side of the couch, where a lady in a red sack-back gown had been observing her. The moment she made eye contact with her, though, she instantly looked away.

“That’s Penelope Vamier,” said Theodore, pointing at her. “Our sis is super shy.”

“Oh, that’s alright. Nice to meet you,” said Cherry, stretching a reassuring smile.

The quiet lady simply nodded back.

The brown-haired girl leaped over the couch and landed swiftly beside Cherry. Her long hair flowed around her waist as she bounced on the seat cushion. "Hello!" greeted the girl in a petite, yellow dress. "I'm Dorothy Vamier!"

"Ah, hello," Cherry replied. She faced the new siblings and nodded. “I’m Cherry.”

"Nice to meet you, Cherry,” said the brown-haired man in a green suit. His hand rested on his white cravat. "I am Clover Vamier. As you can see, the four of us are the only residents here, and we alone manage this house for our father, Horace, and have always been the only ones here. However, last night, Dorothy found you unconscious out there in the forest. Will you please explain your side of the story?”

Cherry scratched her head. “Honestly, I don’t remember anything. I just… woke up here, with no memories but my name, and I don’t know what happened to me. Sorry for the intrusion…”

Clover tilted his head. “Really? You… don’t know how you ended up there?”

She nodded.

Clover glanced at Theodore and Penelope, who tossed him nods. “Huh,” he murmured, stroking his chin. “That… certainly is quite strange. I… we’re sorry you had to go through that. Rest assured, as long as you’re here, you’ll be safe.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” said Cherry with a polite bow.

“No problem at all!” said Dorothy. “In fact, I’m so happy we finally have a guest! Father never brought anyone to our house before!”

Clover sighed. “And unfortunately, I’m afraid he won’t be happy if he finds out that a stranger is in his estate.”

“But if you keep your mouth shut, then he won’t know a single thing. It’s not like he frequently checks up on us anyway,” said Theodore.

“Please, Clover?” Dorothy asked, clasping her hands together. “Can she stay? At least until she recovers her memories?”

Cherry shyly raised a hand. “I… erm, can understand if you don’t want me to freeload. I can help out with some housework if you want.”

Clover twitched his fingers and fell silent as he observed their masked gazes. With another sigh, he rubbed his head. “Fine,” he muttered. “I suppose you may help Theodore or Dorothy with their chores.”

“Yay!” said Dorothy, fidgeting her legs.

“Oh god, good luck if you’re working with her,” said Theodore, shuddering.

"Eh? What do you mean?" asked his sister.

"Don’t act like you don't know it. The last time I helped you harvest your entire forest of fruits, my back was aching for days!"

"Well, that's because you haven't been exercising enough." She crossed her arms. "If you garden often, then you would have a healthier fit!"

"Well, yeah, but that's absolute nonsense coming from you! You're already too damn strong to begin with!"

Dorothy shrugged. "Genetics, I guess."

"Damn you and our parents' genetics! It's not fair!"

"It's not fair that you took my height either!"

Clover aggressively cleared his throat. Without another word, the siblings crossed their arms and split their glares.

"So," Clover said. "Before we get started today, do you have any questions?"

"Yes," said Cherry, wasting no time. "What's with the masks?"

"Right?" Theodore added, scratching his face... well, his mask. "What's with these masks? They're so uncomfortable."

Penelope copied him, still looking down.

"We... uh... we don't know either," said Clover. "Horace ordered us to wear them at all times. He didn't give us any explanations either, so we're just as clueless."

"Well, I for one hope we do something about it soon," Theodore grumbled as he continued to scratch. "I'm getting tired of wearing it all the time."

Dorothy tilted her head. "I don't see much of it as a problem," she said.

"Of course you don't," Theodore spat. "I bet you're going to say it helps shield your face from the sun."

"But it's true! It also keeps my face stain-free!"

"Your optimism sickens me."

"How about you try going out for once and see for yourself?" Dorothy huffed.

"Maybe I will if you'd stop stomping your damn muddy footprints around the house!" Theodore pointed straight at the gardener. "I probably cleaned up after you as much as you had been pulling weeds!"

"Both of you," Clover disrupted, lowering his voice. "Please shut the hell up."

The two broke their glares and looked away at opposite corners, falling silent. Penelope simply sighed and shook her head.

Cherry anxiously cleared her throat. "So, how long have you all been wearing those masks?" she asked.

Clover rubbed his chin. "I would say merely a few days."

"...What? 'A few days?'" Theodore faced him. "Have you lost track of time? It's been far longer than that!"

He glanced back at his brother. "What do you mean?"

"As far as I remember, it's been months! I think it's been about eight months since... since we..." His voice trailed off, and his head and fingers twitched.

Cherry widened her eyes and tensed up, fear slithering up her spine.

Everyone's eye sockets—which should've remained pitch black—flickered static red.