walk on the wild side [Open]

[ANNELIESE PORTIA VAISEY]

Knockturn Alley was a distasteful place in Anneliese’s opinion. There were things down there that she didn’t care for nor would she ever particularly be interested in ever. That didn’t, however, change the fact that the young woman was in fact venturing down the seedy alley. Plenty could be said about the place but they were also known for their rarities. Her eldest brother’s birthday was fast approaching and she was in dire need of finding something that he would enjoy. It wasn’t like any of the Vaisey children to ever skimp on holidays. Her brother’s tastes did veer toward a darker interest, something that had always bothered her slightly but Anneliese had always been taught that males knew what was best, so no mention of her feelings had ever been offered.

She was a dutiful young lady, she knew her place, and was well aware that Knockturn Alley was not a suitable place for her to be. It wasn’t for lack of trying though, everyone else had been too busy to accompany her. This wasn’t something that could be set aside, so Anneliese was forced to brave it. The alley did scare her, it made her heart race and her palms were nearly sweating from how terrified it made her. Like she had been trained though, Anneliese betrayed none of these feelings to the people around her. If there was one thing that could bring trouble from those lurking down here it was to show your fear. Her head was held high, she remained respectful and very much to herself with the mind set that if she didn’t see anything shady than nothing shady would pay much mind to her, and pretended to be confident. It was a method she had used in the past that had worked so there wasn’t much reason why it shouldn’t in this case as well.

Too many variables needed to be calculated and the notion of chaos theory, the unpredictability of life, was fresh in her thoughts. One wrong step at the wrong time could easily set her on a domino path to horrible results. It was two parts skill, one part perseverance, and one part luck. Turning the corner, a deep breath inhaled to perk her up, Anneliese narrowly avoided a collision with someone coming in the opposite direction. In the span of a fraction of a second she had to decide whether to apologize and be polite as always, or let them pass and potentially offend. There was risk in both choices. If she apologized she risked drawing more attention to herself and if she didn’t she risked them coming at her for having wrongs them. A quick glance over and Anneliese’s decision was made, for better or worse. ”Pardon me,” A soft, charming tone meant to pacify passed through Anneliese’s lips.