do you remember when-

9 Years Ago
De Venin Manor


Harm peered through a gap in the covers of the bed she was hiding underneath, biting her lip anxiously, breath held. Hide and seek was a dangerous game in the De Venin manor. With so many crevices, furniture and so much space- it was the perfect place to play the game. The 7 year old tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear, listening carefully for her twin's footsteps. Lodie wasn't usually very good at hide and seek, so they only played it when Louis came round to play.

Frowning, the girl turned round to look over her shoulder, as if trying to catch some kind of signal of the boy's presence. Where was he? Now he was good at this game. Probably the best, though Harm would never admit it to him.

He was only a child, a child who knew quite well how to hide and sneak behind people. That was the case for Louis as he played hide and go seek with the twins. He's grown close to them considering he had grown up along with them and he didn't have any of his siblings of his own so he was grateful that his parents had friends with ages similar as his.

Lodie was counting and Lou had taken it upon himself to win the game... again. He hated loosing and there was only one way to win. Make sure Harm was found first.

Deciding to use a sneak attack from behind, Lou walked quietly behind Harm until he got close to her and said 'Boo' in attempt to scare her and make her yell. He could hear Lodie be near so he quickly but quietly sprinted to the closest hiding space he could find.

Lodie frowned, knowing she would have been the one who was chosen to be 'it'. She was always 'it'. "One... two... three... four... seven... ten... fourteen... nineteen... TWENTY!! READY OR NOT HERE I COME!" she screamed at the top of her voice, wondering where they could be.

She remembered hearing footsteps upstairs, so went there first, checking empty bedroom after empty bedroom, until a voice came from one close to her. Running quickly she opened the door not seeing anyone automatically. "Are you in here guys?" she asked, still not getting the gist of the game.

Harm squealed softly, just loud enough for Lodie to hear, as Lou attacked her from behind, and turned her head over her shoulder to scowl at him, but he was already gone. She had to give it to him, he was good at planning how to win. He was undeniably strategic, not that she'd ever admit it. He could be positively insufferable sometimes, particularly when people complimented him.

The young girl held her breath in anticipation as her sister entered the room. If she lost because of him, she'd-

Harm exhaled, and rolled her eyes at Lodie. How many times had she gone through this game with her? Slipping out of her hiding place, Harm pulled herself up so that she stood in front of the other girl, arms crossed over her torso.

"That's not how you play, Lodie." she pouted, ruffing up her own hair.

The boy groaned as he left his hiding spot to go find the twins. Lou wasn't happy that Lodie had forgotten how to play... Once he found them, a small grin appeared on the young child's lips. Standing next to Lodie, he placed an arm around her like a protective older brother and frowned slightly, "It's okay. I can explain the game to you again."

He didn't like to loose and an idea popped into his head which created a thousand watt smile out of his frown. One that he would never loose. "Since Harm gave herself up, does that mean I win?" Lou said excitedly. "Because... I didn't give up my hiding place first."