XXXXX𝓦inter had always been mundane, yet, this year the season had loomed over the eldest Xiang child like a melancholy reminder of what had occurred a year prior. The snow pilled estate had served as a painful memory, despite the beauty of the wilted winter flowers, once blooming amidst the valley, rarely admired by the family. Christmas had soon passed, forcing the Knight family to host another annual dinner, this time, less intense and reserved to close family only. Of course, the invite did extend to the Vinogradova's, namely due to the union between Meiyu's uncle Alaric and Evpraksiya's aunt, Yelizaveta, who had gotten engaged exactly a year ago. Meiyu had naturally begun to loathe the season. Once her birthday passed, marking her thirteenth, winter had begun it's horrific reign over the Highlands, extending down to the south of the United Kingdom, as she recalled in a letter her father had sent — for Elizabeth, her mother, had fixated her endeavours on Jiamu, following his admission into that wretched castle.

This annum, an invite had been extended to the Xiang family noting a celebratory meal at the De Varenne Estate, located in Windsor. It had namely been due to her father's peculiar connection to the patriarch of the household, Meiyu's father stating it was a business dinner at best. Fortunately, such invite did not extend to the twevils that were the middle and youngest of the Xiang children, earning a heavy sigh omitting from Meiyu at breakfast this morning at the revelation of such news. Though they had a son who had been in the year below, Meiyu disputed the presence of Jiamu in her place would have served some fruit for the family, the family calendar on a blackboard across the kitchen affirmed his schedule for the day had consisted of an away football match, their uncle Cyrus serving as his guardian for the day; naturally, Bomi would follow in suit too.

Having decided to apparate nearby and leisurely stroll to the manor, Meiyu followed far behind her parents, absentmindedly kicking a few pebbles which were part of the route leading to the manor residing in Windsor. Minutes had passed before the family reached the gates of the manor, Meiyu's eyes manoeuvring to scan every intricate detail of the architecture. It was no comparison to her abode, nor the Knight manor she frequented. Instead, it had been as though a homage to the past, grandiose in it's size, a clear indication of the De Varenne's wealth.

Despite such alluring infrastructure, Meiyu's presence at such an event still felt calculated and unnecessary. It had never been in her father's nature to force such attendances, particularly given her deterioration over the course of a year, indicating there was something else at play here. For that alone, Meiyu had internally prepared herself to up her mannerism scale to the maximum.

Upon the Xiang's entrance to the estate, the young girl had been vigilant to ensure she had politely greeted the De Varenne's, extending such curtsies to the extensive housing staff she only wished her mother would one day re-employ instead of settling for minimal staff whom she saw very little of. Idle chatter omitting from her parents had soon been blocked out, growing bored of whatever conversation topic they had now settled on as they moved further into the elaborate home. Trailing behind them, Meiyu's gaze frequently shifted between her parents who had become engrossed in conversation, to the interior which had also vastly differed from that she had grown accustomed to. Dull conversations which she unsparingly had been in the vicinity of had bore the girl, so much so that her mind had wondered into slipping away unnoticed.

A sharp turn on her heel almost caused Meiyu to stumble upon such rapid movements. Peering over her shoulder once more as the figures soon disappeared, Meiyu affirmed they had failed to notice, and moved in another direction into the hallway, transcending further into the unfamiliar manor which had been akin to a maze. Aimlessly wandering once more, she had soon found herself at the bottom of the staircase, momentarily fixating on the railings which were vastly different from her own grandiose staircase which decorated the foyer expeditiously. Briefly pondering whether such intrusion would warrant immediate removal from the home, or worse, her mother finding out she had ran off in a strangers home, Meiyu huffed in disapproval at her overall presence in such a foreign home. For it had not been how she planned to spend her holiday internally debating whether her exploration should continue onto the upper floor, instead, she stood still at the bottom of the staircase, gazing upwards as though sensing another presence.

"Is someone up there?" She inquisitively questioned in a tone that lay between a whisper and her regular mono-tone.

Silence.

Furrowing her brows in confusion, Meiyu peered over once more, searching for any sign of staff that would pull her away and outright tell on her. Upon finding none, she hurriedly jogged up the staircase, ensuring to pull the skirt of her dress upwards to prevent the fabric from pulling and causing her to trip with such hurried movements. Albeit mighty in her intention, her steps had not entirely been quiet.

XXXXX𝓜eiyu had known better than to lurk. Her inquisitive nature had always gotten to the better of her — coming to no surprise that such prying behaviour had become second nature to the Xiang child, irregardless to where she would physically be. She had hesitated as she jogged up onto the grandiose staircase, her lips pursing against each other as she mentally counted down from five seconds, taking extra precaution to take her time whilst counting painfully slow, pausing in her movements. It had been almost out of character for her to behave in such a manner, extending her faux pleasantries for an hour at the bare minimum. The dread of social interaction had been enough to lull her away from her momentarily relapse, lurking around an unfamiliar home and eyeing any goods up for grab had enticed her far more than sitting politely and gazing upon any sweet treats offered to her, which she would only be forced to decline out of her mother's prior commands on how to behave.

Shaking her head vigorously, she ignored the chill that descended down her spine at the entire ordeal which was likely already in progress in one of the sitting rooms, fortunate to escape her mother's wrath, her pace quickened, scattering up the stairs as though she were being chased by something. Upon reaching the landing, her nose catching a whiff of an unfamiliar scent, jasmine entwined with a wood scent which had almost made her gag — a clear indication of a man previously loitering the corridors, similar to what she had been doing at present. For a moment, her gaze followed the scent, fearful she had been under a watchful eye; finding practically nobody.

"Hm, I wonder." She mumbled under her breath, mind wandering to her mother telling her about the De Varenne's son as they trekked behind her father, forgetting most of what her mother disclosed as she was too pre-occupied by her feet trudging against the pebbles.

Ignoring the thought which had creeped into her mind like an undesired piano symphony, her gaze migrated back, matching the direction in which her body had faced. Most of the rooms had been shut, one left slightly ajar, as though someone discarded themselves far too quickly for her own liking. Opting to not chase a sinister resolution, Meiyu exhaled lightly to herself, her heeled feet clinking above the wooden flooring as she manoeuvred through the corridor, walking slowly towards the room which had partially seduced her. She almost felt bad. Almost. Had it been someone else in her very shoes, doing the same thing, she would lunge at the stranger and claw at their skin, half hopeful someone would do the exact same to her, though thus far, she had made it through unscathed. Her fingers almost tracing the doorknob, caring little for any intricate detailing to further signify wealth of the family, before gently pushing the door to open wider.

Stumbling upon a child's bedroom, the decor was vastly differing to her own chambers. She had preferred more rustic and dated pieces, her own room in the Xiang Manor paid homage to Victorian bedroom's, few furniture being passed down from generation, almost discarded when her parent's had brought the land and refurbished the interior of their Oxfordshire Manor to match their taste. To Meiyu, her bedroom only solidified her ties to her maternal heritage, upholding the same design choices which would be seen throughout the Knight Manor, nested neatly and discreetly amidst the beauty of the Cotswolds. Cautiously spectating the decor choices, she slowly moved further into the room, her gaze shifting from the perfectly smooth ivory duvet, pillows perched against the headboard and the leg of a stuffed creature peering from beneath the bed; which had earned a stifled giggle from the typically stoic child.

A boy, confirmed.

Crouching down, Meiyu's head cocked with intrigue as she levelled herself with the height of the mattress. Her palm moving to grip the leg and pulling out the peculiar stuffed animal, no similar to the stuffed disfigured creatures she owned. It appeared cherished, unlike her own, who had different black buttons instead of beaded eyes, her two younger brothers always shrieked whenever they used to host tea parties with their stuffed beings. For once, a genuine smile formed on her lips, the curve nestling deeply into her skin as she admired the childlike wonder of the boy whom she had rudely infringed of his personal space. She had longed for the girl she used to be — before the incident, before her repulsive behaviour at primary school, before her admission into St. Mungo's. The creature or, in better terminology, unicorn, appeared rather out of place in the room. A clear indication that it's owner had been in the same predicament she had been with her grandmother, morphed into the poise of perfection, unable to truly embrace childhood. Such correlation and resemblance to her own upbringing had ached her heart, yet, the delicate toy and pure fact it had been discarded, has enabled the rare smile to linger across her delicate features.

"I sure hope your owner is not as ugly as you are." She cooed to the unicorn with some peculiar sense of adoration to the thing, poking at it's beaded eyes.

"Perhaps if I were to pull your eyes out you would appear more appealing for me to look at, isn't that so Mr. Unicorn?"