Chapter 2 A strange guest

For a short while, the Baron had cleaned his eyes very quickly to see if it were the gulps of wine, which he had ingested that, were playing tricks on his mind , yet his pupils only dilated to meet a clearer picture of the strange little girl that stood gazing straight at the eyes of the baron, while her reddish brown hair and loose white gown dripped continuously with water as if they had magnetized the whole rain drops to themselves.

" Holy coin.!" Said the Baron and took a few step backwards away from the little girl who seemed to be within the ages of four and five years. Far from her strange timing, it was her appearance and the manner in which she gazed at him in a continuous succession without pausing to blink for a second, that scared him away from her rotund presence. There was murmuring among the guest from those who saw her as they could not fathom if her coming was part of the birthday show or she was just a servant in the castle who was had taken a bath in the rain . Upon noticing that everyone present was looking up to him being the host of the event, he took a deep breath and walked closer to the girl who was very much still under the canopy of the heavy raindrops.

" little one. Who are you and what do you want here.?" Said The Baron in a rather kind tone.

" I am Meredith from Louisiana. My mom sent me up here." Said the little child and stretched forward a piece of nylon bag that encased a hand written letter.

" Oh I see, who is your mother. And who came with you from Louisiana.?" Said the Baron, ignoring the nylon being stretched at him by the little girl who stood gazing at him with a serious scowl. The heavy raindrops kept on splattering her thick red hair in different directions as they had now turned as wet as the raindrops theirself. Her shoes were worn out, showing proof that she had indeed been on the road for a lengthy period.

" Sulan Niboro of Louisville. I came alone." Said the child in the voice of a normal child but with the composure of a wise adult.

" Good gracious come in and leave the rain. I know Sulan. She saved me from a fire outbreak back in high school. I promised to repay her back when ever she needed help." Said the Baron as he quickly collected the Nylon from the hands of the child who walked into the building and starred blankly at the shocked faces of the guest as if though they never existed. Her gaze soon caught those of Cardin who she noticed was the only kid in the gathering and starred thoroughly at him till he looked away in utter fear. She returned her gaze to the Baron who was going through the content of the short letter which was written in the hands of Sulan, his former class mate.

" Meredith. Welcome to Cincinnati. This would be your new home. " Said the baron as he looked at the poor child in a pitiful gaze until she suddenly turned and headed outside the living room into the heavy drops of rain once again.

" Where are you going.? This is your new home. I said.." Stuttered the Baron in a mild show of shock.

" I know. I'm going to get my bag sir." Said Meredith and picked up her wet bag from the wet floor where she had dropped it before heading back inside the living room to stare blankly at the Baron again who was in shock to the strange behavior of the little child.

" Well then. Just in time for dinner. We are about to wrap up the feast. Come here and have a seat on the dining. Please leave your bag over there a maid would come and take it up for you." Said the Baron in a nice tenor and ushered the little girl whose scowl had not changed for a second. It was as if she was indifferent to emotion's of any sort. The guest were still at sea to if they were seeing a drama or not until the baron took a deep breath and began to speak.

" Ladies and gentlemen. Please do me the favor of welcoming Meredith. She is from Louisiana. Her mother is the reason why I am alive today. Many years ago she put her life on the line and saved me from the famous school fire that killed Twelve of my friends. Today she has asked me to take responsibility of her daughter as she is gravely sick and has no one to send the child to but me. Say a prayer for Sulan, I will ring her first thing tomorrow morning." Said the Baron as he pointed to the little child who sat on the chair of the executive dining which had arrays of sumptuous looking delicacies. There was yet another round of murmuring amidst the crowd and was accompanied by a silence which served as their approval to the girls coming. Cardin stood, looking at the scenes unfold as if though he was watching a movie. He could not believe the audacity of the little girl to walk down to his fathers castle and start making claims. Far from her strange appearance. It was the speed in which his father had accepted her that gave him a shock. He looked at her with resentment and felt a hate for the sense of rivalry she dished at him. Yes, he had wished for friends of his age group to come to his party , but never was he expecting the coming of a zombie looking weirdo who he saw as a rival and nothing more. Meredith sat gazing heavily at the roasted pork thigh that lay on radiant silver tray.

" You should be cold and hungry. Would you like to change into a dry clothing and then have dinner." Said the Baron with a smile at Meredith.

" I am not cold and I am hungry. I will like to eat if I can and wear dry clothes later." Said Meredith as her eyes still focused on sumptuous pork thigh.

"Oh my. Please eat then. Feel free to eat whatever you like on the table." Said the Baron with a tipsy

Smile.

" Thank you sir." Said Meredith and grabbed up the thigh in great speed before sinking her canines into it in a wild manner that gave most onlookers a chill in their spine. Undeterred by their facial disapproval of her table manners. Meredith went ahead to maul the chunk of flesh so passionately that she had began to snarl and growl like a dog before she had realized that she was no longer at Louisiana but now within strangers in a whole new city.

" I will change my clothing and sleep now. I am tired." Said Meredith and stood up, before walking towards The Baron and coming to halt before him like merciful Zombie.

" See the stairs over there. There is a room by the left. You can sleep there for the night before we get you settled.

" Okay ." said Meredith and made a U turn , heading for the stares. She was already almost on the stairs when she paused for a while as if trying to recall something . She slowly turned back and headed to side of the door and took hold of her wet deer skin bag before turning again and headed for the room upstairs.