Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Elegant(?) Siblings

Day one.

Absolute silence. An undisturbed void. Cherry was familiar with it. This time, however, time and memory did seem to flow. With new memories mean history, and the existence of history means that time had passed.

This time, there was not one, but a group of voices that interrupted the silence. The voices were muffled, and the tones varied from loud to soft and aggressive to calm.

“So, is that the plan?” asked a feminine voice.

“Oh, absolutely!” another voice chirped. “I’m already excited!”

“Hah, of course you would be,” A masculine voice added. “Then again, it’s been incredibly boring these past few weeks.”

“I hope you won’t disturb the poor lady with your antics.”

“...What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cherry, now hearing the voices more clearly, slowly opened her eyes.

“Oh! Everyone, look! She’s waking up!”

The first thing Cherry laid eyes on was the golden chandelier, hanging on a pale yellow ceiling. Then, a sunflower pinned on each side of a head. The next was a pair of large, pure black orbits peering down at her. The brown-haired girl lifted her head forward, revealing the rest of her face. Her straight bangs slightly swayed as she did.

Rather than seeing a human face, Cherry came to observe a pure white, expressionless mask that covered her identity from forehead to chin. The large, black eye sockets reflected no light.

“Ooh,” said the girl, “What colorful eyes!”

Cherry blinked, her eyes focusing on the young lady who spoke without her lips moving.

“Ah, good morning, Cherry.” Another unfamiliar voice spoke.

She turned her head to face the voice, only to see three more individuals wearing the same expressionless masks. All three sat on the same velvet couch, just on the opposite side of her, with only a table in between.

“Good morning,” the man in the middle of the three repeated. “And welcome to our home.”

Now fully awake, Cherry briefly took note of the setting: a fireplace, landscape paintings, bookshelves, windows with large, red curtains, and other minute but intricate decorations. She was asleep, lying on a couch in a parlour, Cherry concluded to herself.

“Who…” she croaked, her voice raspy, “Who are you?” She slowly sat up from the couch.

“We will get right to that in a moment,” said the dandy man in green. “First things first, allow me to say a few things. Horace left a message describing everything that happened to you, so you don’t need to explain anything. It’s a shame that you’ve lost your memories. Plus, it must have been terrifying to encounter such people. Rest assured, you will be safe here with us, Cherry. Although, we probably can’t help you with your amnesia. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Cherry answered.

“Alright. With that said, allow us to introduce ourselves.”

“Theodore Vamier.” The man on the left spoke first. He was dressed in a long blue coat with an oversized jabot. His black hair elongated on the sides of his masked face, and Cherry could make out a small bowtie tying his hair just behind his neck. If his carefree posture of spreading his legs on the table wasn’t distinguishing enough, his long, straight ponytail ended with what appeared to be a… curly drill? Cherry couldn’t help but stare at such a bizarre hairstyle.

Theodore seemed to notice her gaze. In response, he flipped and twirled his hair, shaking his head around and letting his hair bounce. “I know. My hair’s spectacular, right?”

Cherry couldn’t help but slightly grin at his flamboyant attitude. She covered her mouth and looked away to the right side of the couch, where a lady in red had been observing her.

“Oh,” She spoke. She tipped her yellow boater hat with a purple ribbon. “The name’s Penelope Vamier.” From shifting her hat, the shoulder-length black hair that was tucked behind her ears spilled forth. She quickly pulled them back.

Cherry heard a light slap and a nudge of the couch. She turned to witness the brown-haired girl leaping over the large red couch and landing swiftly beside her. Her long hair flowed around her waist.

“Hello!” Greeted the girl in a petite, yellow dress. “I’m Dorothy Vamier!” She leaned closer to Cherry. Despite not seeing her eyes, Cherry seemed to tell they were full of curiosity. “Hello,” she nervously replied.

“Nice to meet you, Cherry,” The brown-haired man in a green suit spoke last. His hand rested on his jabot. “I am Clover Vamier. As you can see, the four of us are the only residents here, and we alone manage this house. Since Horace had sent you here for temporary shelter, you will also be working with us. Will that be alright with you?”

Cherry remained quiet. She looked down at her hands, recollecting the plan discussed last night.

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“Alright, Cherry,” Monty announced. “Listen carefully! So, pretend we’re some real super scary baddies hunting after you. You run outta here, and meet some weirdo with a bird mask. He’s probably making his way over here as we speak, so just run around here for a bit until you see him! Then, just tell him your situation, and when you get to talk about us, just, uh, make something up! I’ll help you with it…somehow! Then, he’ll probably send you to his house, which got even more masked weirdos over there. Once you’re there, they’ll probably ask you to help them with their house chores or something. Just agree and follow along. Oh, yeah! Make sure not to tell anyone what we talked about too! And then…and then uh…just go with the flow!” He gave a cheeky grin and a thumbs up to Cherry, who, midway from listening, had her mind go blank. She gave him an empty, trance-like stare.

“That’s what happens when you talk too fast, Monty.” Charlie sighed. He turned towards the disoriented young lady, who was still processing Monty’s instructions. She snapped out of it and turned her attention to Charlie. “I know you’re still utterly lost and full of questions, Cherry.” He spoke wearily and knitted his eyebrows. “We promise you, all of your answers will be found in that place. Just play along, and wait for us.”

Cherry looked up and made her decision. “Fine by me,” she answered. “It’s not like I have anywhere else to go anyways.”

“Very well,” Clover nodded. ”Then, before we get started today, do you have any questions?”

“Yes,” Cherry said, wasting no time. “What’s with the masks?”

“Right?” Theodore remarked, scratching his face…well, his mask. “What’s with these masks? They’re so uncomfortable.”

“Yeah,” Penelope murmured. “...I don’t like these masks either.”

“Actually, we, uh,” Clover spoke nervously. His black eye sockets continue to stare at Cherry. “We don’t know either. 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 continued to scratch his mask.

“Right,” Penelope continued to mutter to herself. She delicately touched the exposed skin just below her ear. “I…want to see h-...my face again.”

“Hmm,” Dorothy tilted her head. “I don’t see much of it as a problem.”

“Of course you don’t,” Theodore retorted. “I bet you’re going to say it helps shield your face from the sun.”

“But it’s true!” Dorothy added. “It also keeps my face stain-free!”

“Your optimism sickens me.” The young man in blue crossed his arms.

“How about you try going out for once and see for yourself?” Dorothy huffed, also crossing her arms.

“Maybe I would if you would stop stomping your damn muddy footprints around the house!” Theodore pointed straight at the brown-haired girl. “I probably cleaned up after you as much as you had been pulling weeds!”

“Both of you,” Clover disrupted. “Do please shut the hell up.”

As commanded, the two broke their glares and looked away, falling silent. Penelope simply sighed in shame. Cherry, who had been spectating the siblings’ bickering, saw another opportunity to ask another question. “So, what’s your relationship with Horace?”

“Hm?” Dorothy turned to face Cherry. “He’s our father, of course!”

“Oh, really?” Cherry turned to face Dorothy as well.

“Absolutely! Who else would send you to our home?”

“I…suppose that’s true,” Cherry recalled Solomon’s spiteful reaction towards Horace’s self-introduction. If Horace was truly a part of this family, then why was Solomon so upset?

“Anyways, uh,” she brushed aside her hidden questions for now. “How long have you all been wearing those masks?”

“Hmm,” Clover rested his fingers under his chin. “I would say merely a few days.”

“What? ‘A few days?’” Theodore, who had been looking away at a distant corner and scratching his mask, stopped and turned his head to face the man sitting beside him. “Have you lost track of time? It’s been far longer than that!”

“Huh?” The man with short brown hair glanced at his brother. “What do you mean?”

“As far as I remember, it’s been months!” Theodore declared. “I think it’s been about eight months….since we….we…..since….” He fell silent, and his head twitched. The man in the blue coat remained still.

Cherry observed Theodore. Her eyes widened and her mouth slightly opened in terror. Theodore’s dark eye sockets, which should’ve remained pitch black, suddenly glowed static red. 

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