deathless (chapter one)

“Who owns that big house in between the two hills?” asked Caleb. It has been almost twenty years since he last visited Switzerland. Twenty years… Such a long time and so much has changed. He was still a little boy back then. At the same time, he still had a happy family. Since when had it been dysfunctional? He should have noticed. He should have known. So he could have taken some action before this major family heartbreak had happened. Besides, isn’t he the one who should have known it from the beginning? He’s the eldest and the only son of the family. He’s more than an heir. He should have been a protector, a keeper. His father was right. He was useless. He was weak. His father… The person he has always looked up from the beginning is now the person who had betrayed them. The reason why his family is now what they call dysfunctional. Broken…

“You don’t know?” answered his cousin, Leonard.

“Of course he doesn’t know, dummy. He had always lived in Portugal,” Fiona, his other cousin and Leonard’s elder sister, butt in. “The Beaufort family owns that mansion, Caleb.”

“Are there still people living in there? It looks like haunted.”

“You think so too? I always thought it is. In fact, there are really scary stories, not just about that house, but also about the family itself,” Leonard said.

“Stop those nonsense, Leonie. All of those are just rumors,” Fiona warned, being the ever-responsible, always-smart and no-nonsense girl.

“Rumors or not, they sound interesting. Go on, Leonard. Tell me about it,” Caleb said with his eyes filled with excitement.

“Duh. I should have known that another Leonard is coming over and I should have prepared myself,” Fiona was mumbling as she walked away from the two boys.

Blame my father for that. If he hadn’t left my mother for another woman, I wouldn’t be here. We would still be a happy family somehow. But for how long? He knew in his heart that the little love his mother had for his father has totally faded away since he was born.

“It was said that the Beaufort family has supernatural powers,” Leonard was already starting his story. “It was said that they are wizards and witches which is why they are immortal.”

“Immortal? As in, they don’t die and they live forever? That’s creepy,” commented Caleb.

“I don’t know how it exactly goes but, yes, they are immortal. And, yes, I also find it creepy. I can’t help imagining how they look like if they don’t die. It’s just like zombies!” and he actually gave an obvious shudder.

“Whoever made up that rumor, he sure have sold a million copies if he had put in print,” put on Caleb, obviously enjoying playing his prank games with his cousin, who happens to be four years younger than him.

“My friends and I never thought of it as a rumor. There are times that we wished we could sneak in the house and prove it ourselves.”

“Really? Tell me if you find a really charming chick. OK, buddy?” and gave his cousin a wink.

Leonard, obviously irritated, stood up and said, “They have educated you far too much that you already forgot the meaning of having fun.” Then, he walked away.

“But I am having fun!” Caleb shouted back.

In fact, this was the most fun he had since the trouble in his family started. He looked up at the mansion once again and secretly wished to have been in the place of the mysterious Beaufort family than being a member of the royal Santibañez family of Portugal.

What Caleb Luis Antonio Santibañez y Goulbourn doesn’t know that behind one of the windows of the Beaufort mansion, a very beautiful girl was looking out and wishing the opposite of Caleb’s. Laverne Gwendolyn Daniels Beaufort was wishing she had a normal life like most people do. At least, she doesn’t have to roam around the mall with bodyguards and a chaperone. She could go to every coolest parties and bars without being watched secretly. She could watch all the latest concerts in town and not having to worry about her curfew. And, what she wanted the most is that she could love anyone she wished, that her family does not need to dictate to her whom she should marry. A wish she knew is so impossible to happen. Growing up in an elite and popular family has been a thorn in Laverne’s neck since she was a little girl. She never thought of all the things she could have and could do with the money and the influence her family has. All she ever wanted was to taste the sweetness of freedom. For her, the word itself is sweet enough but it will never satisfy her. She needed more than a word. She needed the reality.

“Laverne, the designer is here with your gowns,” Deborah, her personal nanny whom she had known since she don’t know when, announced.

“Is it really necessary, Deborah?”

“You have asked that same question a couple of times already and you know what I will answer.”

“I don’t want any of this. I just want my freedom, even just a taste of it. Why can’t they allow me to spend my 23rd birthday in Thailand or in Brazil? Alone.”

“You will know the answers to your questions in the right time, Laverne. In fact, it will be soon. Now, we need to go and see the designer. She’s already waiting.”