Who's Afraid of the Dark?

The weather was good to them today, with blue skies and no hint of rain in the few white clouds. The Emerald Isle had unpredictable weather; one minute it could be sunny and the next, heavy showers.

Charlotte could not stop staring at the large man standing right before their group. With long silvery hair, an unkempt beard and moustache of the same colour, he looked more like a homeless person than the owner of an ancient castle.

"Hello lads and lasses! Me name's Sean Ryan and I'm 'da owner of Leap Castle. I'll be your personal guide for today." He let out a hearty laugh which rumbled through his round belly, and adjusted his tweed cap. "Oh, ya all can call me Sean, for short."

Charlotte swept her gaze around the nine of them. The boys all had sleepy expressions, and while the girls were slightly more alert, they were drooping nonetheless.

She shook her head when she saw her brother, Louis, his nostrils flared while stifling a yawn. He, however, was clever enough to hide his sleep-deprived eyes behind a pair of Ray Bans. Who had asked him to stay out late with the others and drown themselves silly at the local pub?

Charlotte had refused to tag along, opting to rest in her cosy room at the inn and do a bit of reading up on the small town that they're staying in. She was honestly not pleased to find her brother staggering into their room, smelling like a walking barrel of Guiness and informing her of the change of plans to go to Leap Castle instead, because of a stupid bet by a drunk Niall. He passed out on the bed shortly after, much to her disgust.

Charlotte wasn't exactly fond of exploring run-down castles, especially haunted ones. And now, they were at Leap Castle in broad daylight, posing as curious tourists when the main reason they were there was to find other entrances to break into that night.

Charlotte's attention had diverted to the decrepit castle which loomed behind Sean, like some kind of dark shroud. Her blue-grey eyes scanned the moss covered slab walls, memorising each glass window and how high they were situated. She had seen more majestic castles back in England; Leap Castle wasn't exactly what she would refer to as impressive.

"Charlotte."

The voice was a mere whisper, but Charlotte heard it clearly. She turned to look at her brother. "What?" she asked softly. Louis took off his sunglasses, an eyebrow arched.

"You called me, right? Charlotte."

Louis was befuddled. "Lottie, I didn't call you. No one did." His expression was particularly puzzled. "Stay close to me, we're going in."

Charlotte refused to believe what Louis had just told her, because she swore she heard someone calling her. Shaking her head to try clear her thoughts and think rationally, she tensed. This place held an ancient history of tragedy and bloodshed, and most castles have their demons.

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as she followed the rest into the castle. She wasn't going to be the wet blanket in the group. She believed the scary stories were just that: stories. Nothing more than to screw with their minds and scare the hell out of them.

But no matter how hard Charlotte tried to shake away that feeling of unease, she could still remember how the voice sounded like: high-pitched and melodious.