Ardys scanned the letter more times than was necessary. There was no return address on the envelope, and it would be much too simple to assume the letter had come straight from this Manor of Dragons.
What kind of name was that, anyway? Ardys knew that she was going to have to stifle a very large snort if there were no dragons at the Manor when she arrived. It was probably just some ridiculous name that the sender of the letter had come up with, in order to make the place seem more intimidating. It probably wasn't even manor-size.
Ardys finally decided that she would give the situation the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, this was an excellent excuse to get away from home for a while. The summer sunlight seemed to be boring into the house, and it was awfully difficult to work on college applications when you couldn't even draw the curtains to avoid being blinded. Maybe, if this place had been made-up like a house from one of those clichéd horror movies, then it would be storming constantly and the manor would be cool and dark. Ardys smiled at the thought. That would be a rather soothing change.
Packing her bags was a challenge, of sorts. Her suitcase seemed to have shrank considerably since the last time she had used it. She was sure she had been able to fit more than seven books, as well as all of her desired clothing, inside of it when packing for her last vacation. However, that had been more than a year and a half ago, and she had advanced quite a bit in her studies since then. Her schoolbooks grew larger every year, not to mention heavier. At last, with a quick jump on the the top of the suitcase to slam it shut as far as it would go, Ardys was able to zip it up properly.
Ardys' next dilemma was contacting her parents. They had left a week ago to go on an expedition to St. Martinique in the Caribbean. As photographers, they planned to spend about two weeks on the beautiful island, taking pictures of the landscape, as well as doing a photography shoot for a convention that was taking place in one of the hotels. They had left Ardys in charge of the house, trusting her not to do anything that an average, stereotypical teenager would do, such as throwing a party or doing something equally stupid. Ardys knew better.
Her first thought was to call one of them on their mobile phone. However, after attempting to contact both of them and only getting their automated voicemail messages, she gave up and settled for writing a note.
Dearest Mother and Father,
I have been invited to stay at a Manor, of sorts, for a few days. A letter arrived in the mail, asking me specifically to come. I assumed that you wouldn't mind too much, considering the fact that you trusted me enough to stay alone in the house and take care of myself. I doubt this will be much different.
I did try to contact both of you on you cell phones, but neither of you ever picked up, and I'm a bit too pressed for time to try to get ahold of you again. I ensure you that if this Manor that I am going to has a phone, I will try to contact you again sometime during my stay. If you come home, find this letter, and I still haven't contacted you yet, then you can assume that the Manor has no means of communication.
I am going to try and keep my little visit short, but I do think I deserve some sort of break, as I have been working very hard lately. In order to satisfy your curiosity, yes, I have brought as many of my books and study materials as I could fit into my suitcase, so you know that I'm not going to be completely wasting my time while I'm away.
I do not know precisely when I will be coming back, but both of you should keep your hats on, because I'm not running away forever. I'm just taking a little vacation. I look forward to seeing you again once I return.
Much love, Ardys
Ardys read the letter over a few times. It was true, she didn't know exactly how long she would be at the manor. If she got back home before her parents did, then she would simply contact them again, explain that she had left for a short while (The reason she may have missed any of their calls) and say that she was back again. At any rate, she decided that they should not mind too much. After all, she was nearly an adult, and she was most definitely intelligent and mature enough already to make her own desicions.
So that evening around 8:00, when a sleek black car with tinted windows arrived to chauffer her to the Manor of Dragons, Ardys simply pulled her luggage out into the warm summer evening, loaded it into the trunk of the car, and climbed inside.
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