For the rest of the trip, they rode in silence. If Belle tried to talk to him, he met it with silence or small glance that said all she needed to know. Curiosity would be answered when they reached the manor. But she may not like the result she found. Finally, not long after the sun peeked in the sky and started its downward course, they reached a long dirt path that looked as much a part of the woods as a garden. Bright red roses grew in wild clumps while other places looked withered and dead, no proper gardener to pull out the husks. He slowed his pace to match the eerie, but beautiful environment they rode though. In places, the garden seemed broken by a large creature, claw marks even showing on the trees slightly higher up than a typical wolf mark. Beyond it all, the manor rose, looking dark, but magnificent in its place backlit by wild woods. The tallest peek of the roof outmatched the trees, a single window gleaming even from a distance.

Vadim gestured his arm to encompass it all as they reached the end of the path and entered a courtyard fit for royalty. "This," he murmured. "Is my home."