Sylas ducked his head and took the first step on his way down from the private jet. He wore a pair of jeans and a white turtleneck, and matched both with a pair of loafers and a light brown trench coat.
The wind was a bit chilly up here in the Appalachians, so he had dressed appropriately. Oddly enough, the air wasn’t as brisk as he was expecting, and it felt more like spring.
The words of the manic hotdog merchant flashed in his mind again, but he didn’t pause his steps, looking around with his usual placid gaze.
The Brown’s family estate was located high in the mountains; it was about as secluded as you could get. Quite frankly, without a private jet, it was impossible to get here unless you were willing to take a commercial plane and then go on a week-long hike.
As expected of a family of this stature, they had their own runway and airplane hangar. There was even a small mansion not too far out of sight, where Sylas assumed they allowed the pilots to rest.
This was good news for him because he had booked their pilot for the entire weekend so as to avoid any potential mishaps.
It was hard to get a lay of the land while on this piece of it. The tarmac, the hangar, and the pilot accommodations were all that were worth seeing here. They would likely have to take one of the helicopters he saw lined up to the side to the main abode.
The rest of Sylas’ family came down with him. After his father spoke a few words to their pilot, they separated and waited for their greeting entourage.
All around them, there were similar groups, most of whom were well-off families that had long since separated from the Browns. Many of them were likely like Sylas, not having understood this sort of connection until recently.
‘The number is quite a few,’ Sylas thought to himself. He counted nearly 50, and those were just the few that had arrived at a similar time to his own family.
Sylas looked over to find a butler headed over with swift steps. He was dressed as traditionally as one could imagine, his black hair and meticulously trimmed beard holding hints of an aged grey.
He bowed gracefully when he was in range.
“Welcome. My name is Joseph. You may all address me as such. Please follow me. I will escort you to your accommodations promptly.”
‘Odd,’ Sylas thought as he followed along. ‘The other groups should have arrived before us, but they are still waiting. Why is that?’
He looked over to find that his grandfather was practically grinning ear to ear. He managed to restrain himself eventually, but Sylas took note of it.
The family entered a helicopter and were soon in the air again. Not even a dozen minutes later, they landed on the roof of just one of the many properties Sylas could see from below.
His sister couldn’t see on her own, so she had insisted on sitting on his lap. If not for the decorum everyone else was showing, she would have pressed her chubby little cheeks against the windows just to get a clearer look.
“This home beneath us now will be your living quarters. There are five bedrooms and bathrooms, an outdoor bathhouse with sauna and pool included, along with an ample living area in the backyard. Should you have any specifications on what you would like the backyard to include, please inform me and I will have the construction workers and architects get started on a plan right away.”
Butler Joseph continued to lead them through the house, explaining a great many things, but Sylas was still stuck on his first few sentences.
‘Get an architect to start up a plan immediately? Their intention is truly to accommodate us all for an extended period. Indefinitely, potentially.’
“—We’ve missed brunch, and I have yet to understand the particularities of your family. But I have taken it upon myself to schedule lunch at 1300 hours.
“As a last point of emphasis, there are many questions that I am not qualified to answer, so please understand my position. I have been told that come tomorrow evening, everything will be properly addressed.”
With that, Butler Joseph bowed once more and swiftly headed to the servant’s quarters, likely to continue preparing lunch.
The tour was so comprehensive that there truly weren’t any questions to ask other than the ones that burned at their souls. However, after Joseph’s final words, they could only look at one another with somewhat blank expressions.
It seemed that everything would have to wait for tomorrow evening.
…
The day passed by swiftly. Normally, Sylas would be a bit agitated. He had a meticulousness about him that many couldn’t understand.
He liked to dress well, he liked to keep his things tidy, and he was always punctual and direct. The fact that this meeting would take place Sunday evening, when he had lectures scheduled on Monday, didn’t leave him much room to maneuver unless he had the pilot take off in the middle of the night.
However, he had surprisingly had very few thoughts of anxiety related to this matter. His mind was entirely focused on the coming meeting, and then the hour finally came.
Holding onto his little sister’s hand, Sylas followed along the outdoor trail Joseph led them all down. Though he described it in this way, the dirt road was so well maintained that it might as well have been pavement instead. It seemed the only reason it wasn’t was in order to keep the ambience of nature intact.
There were many other groups of families walking down these paths and coming out from their own homes, similar to them. The atmosphere was both polite and slightly rigid.
Everyone knew that they were all related distantly by blood, but it was difficult to feel that sort of closeness. With the meeting so close, there were also other things on their minds as well.