It was dark, as usual, and Stacey felt the urge to roll her eyes. She was walking swiftly and silently through a maze of empty hallways. Stacey knew exactly what would happen if she were to be caught, but she also knew that no-one would catch her. As time went on, she became more frantic, trying to find a way out. Stacey knew when she had reached the last corridor; the one she knew she should avoid. It was the hallway that led to her grandfather’s bedroom. When Stacey was young, her grandfather had forced her and her mother to live in the basement of his mansion. But Stacey’s mother had died long ago, leaving Stacey alone. She walked more slowly now, listening to the horrible coughing that was now coming from her grandfather’s bedroom. He was deathly ill, she knew, though no-one had told her. When she reached the door, she stopped and took a few deep breaths. She grasped the brass doorknob in her slim hand and turned it to the side. Stacey put her hand on the massive wood door and pushed it open.
Stacey’s eyes flew open in surprise as she heard the sound of glass shatter across the room. “Sterling” she moaned. The gray cat flicked his tail and stared at her with his bright green eyes. She got out of bed, which was in one of her grandfather’s many guest rooms, and walked across the room to kneel next to the glass vase that was smashed on the wooden floor. Stacey glared up at Sterling as he sat calmly on the table where the vase had once been. “You don’t have to break something every time you want me to feed you” she mumbled. After cleaning up all the broken glass, she followed Sterling downstairs to the kitchen to feed him. She set his bowl on the counter for him, and then began to open the windows. It was deathly cold, and quiet since her grandfather had died so many years ago. The same night Stacey had gotten lost while secretly wandering through the house. Since then, all of his “employees” had left.
Stacey made herself some breakfast and leaned against the counter to eat it. When they were both finished, Stacey picked Sterling up off the counter and went outside to the garden. She set Sterling down in the grass and went off to water her newly planted roses. The garden was her favorite place in the whole estate. It was large enough to get lost in, but very peaceful. It was also behind the house, hidden away from anyone who would come inside the front gate to explore. After all, her grandfather’s house was supposed to be abandoned. Her garden was often filled with birds and small animals, who Sterling loved to chase, though he rarely caught any. Giving Stacey other sorts of companions.
Stacey wandered into the center of the garden, away from the fifteen foot stone walls, to a solitary wooden bench, that one of the gardeners had put up, while Stacey’s grandfather was still alive. As Stacey sat on the bench, a small sparrow flew by her, and seconds later, Sterling darted after it. After the bird had flown over the wall Sterling hopped up onto the bench beside Stacey. She glanced at him as he curled up in her lap and began to purr as she pet him.
