The gothic arches welcoming visitors were dwarfed by the verticality of the towers. The symmetry of Hill House displayed a great deal of care that the architect had taken while designing the neoclassical mansion for Kaine.

What the interior of Hill House damaged, the exterior made up for in perfect composition without overuse of finirs, sculptures, or designs. The exterior held a placid, simple design, which made the place appear to be almost welcoming provided that the sun was permitted to shine upon it.

For now Hill House seemed at ease, content that at last it had guests within its walls to amuse and delight. One would think that such a house was incapable of retaining an incredibly horrifying past.

Vixie lay on the red couch inside Luke's room. Like she had previously told Luke, Vixie had not slept the entire time. She had only closed her eyes for a couple minutes to make Luke believe that she was actually asleep. Her trick had worked and he had fallen asleep.

For Vixie the hours seemed to drag on as they normally did, but for once in her life she felt at ease. Ever since the day she was born she had never felt so at home, closer to her ancestors than ever before. Many times Vixie had taken numerous strolls through Luke's small room and gazed at the mosaics, the hieroglyphics, and the sculptures of Ancient Egypt.

Now Vixie lay on the couch, quietly observing Luke slowly awaken. Without making any noise, Vixie stood up from the couch and quietly made her way over to Luke. Her aim, loving and gentle; she didn't want to frighten him any more. During the night she had almost forgotten the note Dr. Marrow had given her. At this moment, Vixie hardly cared about the professor's research. Her thoughts and heart was with Luke.

Luke gazed at Vixie and quietly greeted her, "Good morning."

Vixie smiled gently back at him, "It is a good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Actually yes," Luke replied with a slight smile. "I wasn't the basic 'tosser turner' like I told you I was."

Vixie shrugged, "That doesn't really matter much to me. Just as long as you got some rest."

"You look like you had a good sleep too," Luke observed, noting how awake Vixie seemed. "You must of slept well. Nothing frightened you I take it?"

"No, nothing frightened me," Vixie replied. "And yes, I did have a good sleep. I woke up before you did though and so I was working on those labyrinths Dr. Marrow handed us in the packets."

"How many have you completed?" Luke asked.

"All of them."

Luke remembered how Dr. Marrow had said that the mazes were for them to do if they couldn't sleep or were bored. Luke also remembered that there were fifteen labyrinths within the packet. He asked, "How early did you wake up?"

"Oh, a half hour ago," Vixie replied. She knew Luke was going to ask how she managed to quickly finish them so she started towards the door, saying, "I'm going to my room to change. I'll see you in a few."

"Okay," Luke called out, slightly confused. He watched Vixie exit the room. Smiling to himself, Luke reminisced when Vixie had given him a most wonderful back massage.

Luke wondered if Vixie felt anything for him. So far, Vixie had managed to scare him three times in one day but had also managed to completely relax him as well. Luke began to feel a stronger bondage with Vixie the more he thought about the amount of time that the two of them had spent together during their first day at Hill House. It was possible that Vixie felt the same way about him, Luke knew. But for now, he wanted to go downstairs and see if it was close to breakfast time.

Luke wandered into the living room and discovered Nell sitting on the couch working on the labyrinths. He curiously inquired, "How are you doing on those?"

Nell smiled up at him, replying, "Oh, pretty good. I just can't figure this one out."

Luke nodded, half paying attention to Nell. He was busy looking over the living room and the outer hallways, as if trying to piece together a great mystery. Finally Luke asked, "Why do we have to be here? Why do we have to be in this creepy old house?"

Nell glanced inquisitively at him. She wasn't sure what Luke meant by his question. She thought they were helping to discover a cure for their insomnia.

Luke continued, not waiting for an answer, "I think Dr. Marrow is up to something and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

Then Luke said, returning back to Nell, "I'm going to go have a look around and see what my ol' pal Vixie's doing."

Nell smirked, glancing back at her labyrinth, "Doing or wearing?"

Luke turned back to Nell and chuckled, "She's definitely good-looking! I mean, she's so fiery and fresh but she's also quite gentle too."

Glancing up at him, Nell raised an eyebrow. She hadn't realized how much time Luke and Vixie had spent together. For all she knew, the only time she had seen them together was right after last night's scare episode.

Continuing, Luke headed out the door, "I definitely have a soft spot for Vixie."

Shaking her head, Nell continued on her maze.

Meanwhile, Vixie had finished adorning her tight but comfortable black pants and a golden silk blouse. She let her black hair fall around her shoulders instead of putting it up in a bun like she previously thought of. Vixie felt especially Egyptian after spending the night in Luke's room, surrounded by all things familiar to her.

Vixie quietly found Dr. Marrow in the study. Dr. Marrow greeted her with a casual smile and asked, "Did you sleep well Vixie?"

Nodding, Vixie replied, "Yes I did. And you?"

"I kind of tossed and turned," Dr. Marrow admitted. He thought about what he was going to have Vixie do that day. He suddenly remembered, "Don't forget to do what the note says."

Vixie had read the note earlier and was not pleased with what Dr. Marrow was asking her to do. Vixie replied, "I know what I'm supposed to do, but I'm not sure why I have to do it? I mean, how are painting words on the wall going to scare anyone?"

"Group fear," Dr. Marrow told her. "Don't forget about last night's episode. That was all part of the experiment remember? I'm letting their imaginations run wild while trying to reason with them. Just do what the note says. It'll work, trust me."

Vixie gave a slight nod. Exiting the room, Vixie mumbled, "It'll work yes, but I'm not sure if I want to do it."

Vixie stared at the huge painting of Hugh Kraine above the grand staircase. She was afraid to paint anywhere near the painting for fear that Kraine would come out of the painting and kill her for defacing his home. Vixie truly believed that the dead could come back to haunt provided that there wasn't something left on earth worth protecting. It was possible that Hugh Kraine could be here in the house, watching over it.

As Vixie stared at the painting, she began to notice how Kraine seemed to have the same glare as Anathor. Shaking her head, Vixie thought, "Well, Dr. Marrow said that Hugh Kraine was a king and he loved the sound of children laughing. There are some striking resemblances but truly, can this be Anathor?"

For a while Vixie hesitated, trying to decide whether or not she should actually paint on the wall. Finally, Vixie decided to leave the portrait itself untouched but paint around it. Reluctantly Vixie picked up the paintbrush and let the excess red paint drip back into the paint can. She then took up the paintbrush and delicate wrote on the wall:

You are always being watched.

After completing her sentence, Vixie took a step back and looked at her artwork. No smile came to her face as she gazed upon the words. Vixie wondered if the sentence would even faze the guests at Hill House. Vixie hoped that Luke wouldn't be intimidated by the words.

While Vixie was looking at the words, the paintbrush began to swirl the paint around. It then leapt at Vixie and began covering her in a red coat. Vixie gave a soft scream as the paintbrush painted her face and hair in red. But just as suddenly as it began it stopped.

Vixie took a couple steps back, clearing her painted hair from her face. She glanced at her words on the wall and discovered that it had been painted over and new words appeared right below it:

I know who you are Hathor!

Vixie staggered backwards, horrified. She was beginning to wonder if Hugh Kraine was indeed Anathor. But how, Vixie wondered, how would Kraine and Anathor be related if none of their children survived? Hill House was not all that it seemed and what it seemed was not at all what it was like.

Looking at her red hands and hair, Vixie headed back to her room to quickly wash up. Things were getting more bizarre every day at Hill House. As Vixie scrubbed the red paint out of her hair and off her face she let herself grow angry with Dr. Marrow for making her write the message. Now the joke had been turned around on her and there was nothing she could do about it now.

Vixie met up with Luke while coming down the stairs. She was happy to see him and was glad to see that he was just as happy to see her.

Luke commented, gazing at Vixie in wonder, "Wow, you're more stunning each time I see you."

Giving a soft laugh, Vixie continued down the stairs and met Luke at the bottom. Luke held his hand out, saying, "Enchanté mademoiselle." He gently took hold of her hand and gave it a soft kiss. Gazing into Vixie's blushing face Luke continued "Let me escort you to your destination. It would be my pleasure to do so."

Then Nell burst from the living room and stumble upon the romancing couple. Immediately Luke and Vixie forgot about their ongoing romance and shifted an agitated glare at Nell. Nell exclaimed, "I saw something!"

Once inside the living room, Dr. Marrow and Luke headed to the fireplace to confirm what Nell had seen. Nell babbled to Dr. Marrow, "I saw something in the fireplace!"

Dr. Marrow and Luke went up to the fireplace and moved aside the chain covering the back of the fireplace. They looked around the fireplace and discovered nothing of what Nell had seen. Dr. Marrow opened the metal door on the floor with the help of Luke and reported what they say to Nell and Theo.

"Nothing but soot and ashes," Dr. Marrow told them.

Nell couldn't believe that the horrible face she had seen in the fireplace simply vanished without leaving a single trace behind. She cringed as the metal door slammed shut with an echoing boom.

Dr. Marrow gazed into the chimney. Luke jokingly laughed, "Hello? Santa?"

At that moment they became aware of a whooshing sound coming from the left side of the fireplace. Dr. Marrow and Luke jumped out of the way, barely avoiding a huge lion-head pendulum that had suddenly been released.

Nell gasped, "A flu! It opens the chimney!"

"Is this what you saw?" Theo demanded, trying to catch her breath from the scare.

"No," Nell replied. "I saw something else. It wasn't this!"

Dr. Marrow watched the flu swing gently on by him. He was startled by its sudden appearance but he wasn't too badly frightened. He watched Luke safely back away from the flu, without any harm coming to him.

Vixie went up to Luke, asking, "Luke, are you okay?"

He turned to her and asked, "No I am not okay! Did you see that thing? It nearly crushed me!"

"Yes, I saw," Vixie replied, her eyes full of concern. She asked, "But you're okay right?"

"Yeah," Luke breathed, still unnerved by what had happened. He wandered from the group and went out the door, muttering, "This house is just way to freaky."

Vixie watched Luke go. She couldn't help but wonder at the coincidence of the flu swinging upon the guys like that. It was as if someone had planned for the flu to come down when the guys weren't looking. But who would want to kill them? Certainly not the ghost of Kraine of whom Nell thought still dwelled in Hill House.

Just then she heard Luke calling for them, "Hey you guys! Come check this out!"

Vixie hurried to where Luke was and saw the portrait of Hugh Kraine with large red letters on it. None of the former red letters warning Vixie were present. In fact, none of the letters were even there; except one bright message. She gasped as she read it.

Welcome home Eleanor!

Nell read it and demanded, "Who wrote this?"

Theo turned to Luke and angrily demanded, "Was this one of your sick jokes Luke?"

"Hey, I didn't write that!" Luke exclaimed. "Come on you guys, you have to give me some credit! I have a better sense of humor than that!"

Nell frantically asked, "I want know right now, who wrote this!"

Luke replied, "Maybe Theo wrote it! Since she's the artist! Maybe she was trying out her artistic skills!"

Theo glared at Luke and scoffed, "I would never do such a thing like this! Maybe it was Vixie!"

Vixie stared sorrowfully at Theo.

Luke glared, "And why would she write that? I mean, come on Theo!"

"I don't know," Theo remarked, glancing at Vixie. "She was trying to scare us yesterday maybe she's continuing it today."

Nell looked frantically from each group member. She demanded, "Did you write this Theo?"

"No!" Theo exclaimed. "Maybe it was you!"

"How dare you accuse me of writing this! Why would I want to write this for?"

"I don't know! Maybe you like being in the center of attention!"

Dr. Marrow carefully watched each of their expressions. He didn't mean for Vixie to write the message over the painting. But at least it was arousing suspicion amongst the subjects. He pretended that he didn't know who wrote it and asked, "I want to know who wrote this? Was it you Theo?"

"No!" Theo exclaimed.

Dr. Marrow looked to Nell but Nell shook her head furiously. Dr. Marrow turned to Vixie and asked, "Did you write this?"

"No," Vixie whispered. She was telling the truth, but she felt as if she was betraying her new friends by writing the message before. She glanced at Luke as he was replying to Dr. Marrow.

"No, I didn't write it," Luke stated.

"Whoever did this," Nell said, choking on tears, "it's cruel."

Nell stormed away with Theo. Luke shrugged and left. Vixie stayed behind. She wanted to talk to Dr. Marrow. Vixie asked, "Was this really necessary?"

"You did a very good job," Dr. Marrow complimented, ignoring Vixie's statement. "I didn't expect you to do it over the painting though."

"I didn't," Vixie replied. Dr. Marrow turned and looked at her in surprise. Vixie continued, "I wrote 'You're always being watched' right next to the painting but as you can see, it's not there. Someone else did this."

Dr. Marrow sighed. He then thought of an explanation, "Maybe it is one of the subjects. Perhaps Mr. Sanderson is not being truthful. After all, he did mark high on the 'unreliability test'."

"How can you say that?" Vixie demanded. "He wouldn't do something like that! Sides, I've been with him all day!"

"Even during the night?" Dr. Marrow asked. "He could of written it during the night."

"I was with him all night and he never left the room except if he was with me," Vixie stated.

"Well, speaking of you and Mr. Sanderson," Dr. Marrow began, switching subjects. Dr. Marrow continued, "I need you to pretend that you're in love with Mr. Sanderson."

"What?" Vixie gasped. She did not like the sound of this.

"I need you to get close to Luke so that he will not suspect you and then you can easily frame him for the painting and the mysterious noises."

"No," Vixie stated flatly, her eyes glistening in anger. She couldn't believe that Dr. Marrow was asking her to play with people's emotions. Vixie continued, "I will not pretend that I am in love with him! I am already in love with him! And sides, framing him for things he didn't do is just wrong! Just like this experiment! If you want someone who can play with people's emotions then you should of gotten someone else!"

At that Vixie ran from Dr. Marrow. She didn't care if she would be sent home. She just didn't want to betray Luke. But she already had, Vixie remembered. She had lied to him about her true identity and kept secrets from him. Vixie had to tell Luke what was going on. If one person in the house to tell, Vixie thought, it would be best to tell Luke.

Luke sat on the couch in the living room with Vixie. He listened as Vixie told him how she was with Dr. Marrow in the experiment and how the "insomnia research" was a cover for his experiment on group fear. As he listened, Luke became angry with Vixie for not telling him from the start.

"Why do you tell this to me now?" Luke demanded, glaring at Vixie.

"Because I thought you should know," Vixie replied. She felt horrible how she had not been truthful with Luke. But it wasn't entirely her fault. After all, Dr. Marrow had specifically asked Vixie to participate in scaring the subjects and she was obligated to listen and follow Dr. Marrow's orders.

"What about us? Was that part of your job too?"

"No," Vixie replied. "My love for you is genuine! It is not part of Dr. Marrow's experiment!" Luke looked doubtfully at her. Vixie continued, "He asked me today to pretend that I was in love with you so that he could have me frame all these occurrences on you. I told him right away that I wouldn't. Don't you see Luke, I love you and I'd never want to hurt you."

"Yeah well, you have," Luke replied, turning away from her. "So those stories that you were telling me, were they really based off Egyptian history or was that just another thing for you to scare me with?"

"They were real," Vixie told him. "They were true. More truer than you can ever imagine."

"What do you mean?"

"I am Hathor," Vixie said. Luke laughed. Vixie took a deep breath and continued, "No, you have to believe me, I am the reincarnation of Hathor,"

Luke cut her off, "You're asking me to believe that you're an ancient Egyptian goddess? Oh yeah sure! I believe you!" He gave Vixie a glare. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Please," Vixie pleaded, "You've got to believe that I never meant to hurt you. That was the last thing I wanted."

Luke shook his head, "I don't know what I'm doing here anymore. At first I thought I was here to help in an insomnia research. Now I understand that I'm a lab rat being used in a fear experiment and now I've been lured into believing that I could actually love someone who lied to me and betrayed my trust."

Vixie reached out to touch Luke on the shoulder but he recoiled, continuing, "I think you better go Vixie. I don't want to see you ever again nor do I want to hear your voice!"

Hiding her tears that she knew were sliding down her cheek, Vixie stood up and bowed her head. She slowly backed away, whispering, "I'm sorry Luke. I'm so sorry."

Luke didn't answer her. He kept his eyes on the ground and tried getting her grief-stricken face out of his mind. He hated how he had been so naive to actually believe Vixie. He hated how he had loved her so much that he found it hard to hate her even now.

It was about seven o'clock in the evening when Theo, from her room, saw Vixie walking down the hall sobbing. Worried, Theo ran out the door and met up with Vixie. Theo asked, "What's wrong Vixie? Why are you crying?"

"I've betrayed you, I've betrayed Nell, and I've betrayed Luke," Vixie cried.

Theo was surprised by Vixie's statement. What did Vixie mean that she had betrayed them? Theo asked, "What has happened?"

"Dr. Marrow is conducting an experiment on fear and I was apart of it," Vixie admitted. "I was helping Dr. Marrow scare you."

"So were you the one making the doors rattle and did you cause all those awful sounds last night?" Theo asked. She promised herself that she would not get angry at Vixie. After all, it seemed as if Vixie hadn't a friend in the world at that moment and she just needed the opportunity to explain herself.

"No," Vixie replied. "I know that Dr. Marrow was causing the sounds by turning on the faucets but I don't know what made the doors shake or your room grow cold. Maybe it's Hugh Kraine."

"You don't honestly believe that story do you?"

"I believe in Egyptian myths remember?" Vixie said. "Yes, I do believe the story. I also believe that Nell did see something in the fireplace. Why would Dr. Marrow on purposely set the flu to swing down at him and Luke? It could of killed someone!"

Theo wondered about Luke. She asked, "Were you and Luke a thing?"

Vixie shrugged, "I don't know. I loved him. I guess he loved me too because when I told him about the experiment he got really angry and thought that my love for him was apart of the experiment and not real."

"And you did truly care about him," Theo stated gently.

"Yes," Vixie replied. "He brought back a part of my life I thought I'd never get to see again. I guess it was just all too good to be true."

Theo gave Vixie a comforting hug and said, "Let me have a talk with him. You can just go and relax in your room or somewhere. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Vixie replied softly. "Thanks for listening and understanding."

"Hey, that's what friends are for," Theo remarked. She gave Vixie a soft kiss on the forehead before leaving down the hall. Vixie went down the hall towards the living room.

Luke wandered aimlessly through the halls of Hill House. Still angry at Vixie's confession, Luke was trying to clear his mind from her. He couldn't believe how Vixie had betrayed his trust and had lied to him. He should of known that Vixie was apart of Dr. Marrow's experiment in fear.

He spotted Theo coming towards him but didn't bother to greet her. Theo, on the other hand, greeted him, "Luke, can I talk with you for a minute?"

"Yeah sure," Luke replied. "About what?"

"I want to talk to you about what is going on in Hill House," Theo replied.

"Well I can tell you that Dr. Marrow and Vixie are behind all of it," Luke stated. "Dr. Marrow is using us as Guinea pigs for his experiment in group fear and he used Vixie as his temptress. I can't believe I actually fell for it."

"You actually thought that Vixie was playing with your emotions?" Theo questioned, turning bitter. "How naïve you are!"

"I know!" Luke exclaimed. "I've learned my lesson! I will never fall for someone so easily again!"

"I should smack you right now," Theo growled. "You are right! You are naïve!"

Luke glared at her, "What do you mean?"

"Don't you know what Vixie went through to tell you the truth?" Luke didn't answer. Theo continued, "Instead of coming to us first she went to you. Do you know why? Because she loves you! She felt that she owed it to you to tell you what was going on."

"I would have been better off not knowing," Luke grumbled.

Theo shook her head, "And then you would be living in lies and secrecy. She wanted there to be love without lies and secrecy! So to make sure that she wasn't hiding anything from you she told you what I'm sure Dr. Marrow had told her not to! Didn't you hear her when she said that Dr. Marrow asked her to pretend that she was in love with you? She declined immediately! Do you know why? Because she loved you!"

Luke looked up at Theo. He was beginning to see Theo's point. Indeed, if Vixie had only been out to scare him and play with his emotions, why would she have even confessed her role in the experiment to him?

Theo pressed further, "You Luke! She loved you! She still does."

"What should I do?" Luke asked quietly. "I told Vixie that I never wanted to see her again nor look at her face. I don't know what I should do."

"Do what your heart tells you to," Theo said.

"I think I owe her a second chance," Luke replied. "I just hope she'll give me another one too. I shouldn't of spoken to her like that. I hope she can forgive me."

Theo smiled, "Just apologize to her. There's no need to hold back apologies for simple pride. I learned not to do that a long time ago."

"Thanks Theo," Luke thanked her. "Thank you for getting me to think straight."

"Anytime," Theo smiled and walked away. She commented, walking off down the hall, "Just do what your heart says and you'll be pleased with the outcome."

Luke walked into the living room and saw Vixie sitting on the couch, staring at the lions above on the mantel. Luke took a deep breath and went forward. He hoped with all his heart that Vixie would forgive her. He was willing to forgive her; in fact, he already had forgiven her.

"Those lions are pretty scary aren't they?" Luke casually stated, strolling around in front of the couch.

Vixie saw Luke standing in front of her and quickly looked down. She was surprised to see Luke and was even more amazed that he had spoken to her. Perhaps he was doing this as further punishment and mockery, Vixie thought. But then she thought how compassionate Luke really was and disregarded her previous thought.

Luke sat on the couch next to Vixie, peering at her. He said, "You're still pretty even though your face is all tear stricken."

Vixie felt ashamed for letting Luke look at her face. She had disgraced herself thus she couldn't let Luke look at her. Vixie turned her head and let her hair fall over her right shoulder, blocking her face from Luke's view. She sadly closed her eyes and stroked her hair as if trying to lessen her shame.

Luke watched Vixie turn from him. He knew that what she was doing was a result of telling Vixie that he never wanted to hear her voice again. He tried another approach, still speaking to her gently, "I'm sorry Vixie. I'm sorry for not believing you and I'm sorry for not understanding."

Vixie was almost tempted to look at him but suddenly remembered what he had told her before and immediately looked over her left shoulder.

Luke continued, "When you came to me and told me about what was really going on with the insomnia research I should of listened instead of turning you away. I should have been more compassionate instead of angry and for all these I'm sorry.

"I also didn't mean it when I said that I never wanted to speak to you again or hear your voice. I was angry and upset at Dr. Marrow for lying to us. I was only a little upset with you Vixie and I'm sorry for taking it all out on you. I hope you can forgive me."

"I forgive you," Vixie replied slowly, turning her head slightly to Luke and letting her eyes meet his. She said, "And I'm also sorry for even participating in this experiment."

"There's one thing I'm not sorry about though," Luke stated. He gazed into Vixie's eyes as he continued, "I'm not sorry for falling in love with you. I don't regret any minute of it."

"Neither do I," Vixie replied, giving him a weak smile.

"Will you give me a second chance?"

"I'm always up for giving people second chances Luke," Vixie replied. A couple of tears slid down her cheek.

Luke brushed Vixie's tears away with his fingers. He whispered, "I love you Vixie."

"I love you too," Vixie smiled.

Luke gave Vixie a kiss on the lips. Vixie smiled gratefully at him. She loved how they had been brought back together. Vixie pulled Luke to her and began kissing him tenderly on the lips. Luke accepted the invitation and continued caressing his compassionate lover.

Theo and Nell watched the ensuing romance from the doors of the living room. Each of the women held a small smile as they witnessed the two lovers fall deeper in love than they had before. Theo smiled to Nell, closing the door, "I guess my job here is done."

Nell returned Theo's smile. For once, Hill House didn't seem all that mysterious and dark. Hill House seemed at ease with a gentle overcast shining down on it as the last rays of sunlight disappeared beneath the horizon. Shadows began forming around the many towers of Hill House and the clock on the main tower struck eight o'clock.




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