————————————- The Tolmay Residence ————————————- Along the Northern Wall of the Dragon's Gate District Dragon's Gate Map: http://duelingzone.com/map/index.cfm?map=14

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In the summer of 2014, Lydia had grown restless. She had been working as the Headmistress at the Academy of Bristle Crios for two years. It was only supposed to be temporary. She was a teacher, not an administrator. Finally, she requested for all of the formalities to begin to find a suitable replacement. The Board told her it would take a year. Unable to feel she could wait that long, she knew she had to do something to venture out. With a heavy heart, Lydia decided to move from her lodgings on the Bristle Crios compound. Lydia searched for quite awhile before stumbling onto a home along the Northern Wall of the Dragon's Gate District, at the recommendation of her realtor.

When Lydia first saw the home, she was enamored by the stone exterior. It was a modest home, with two stories. She didn't need much. It was just her, though she appreciated having the second bedroom if her sister might come to visit. She went through each room of the house. The first floor was made up of a cozy reading room, large kitchen, intimate brick and stone dining room, quaint wine cellar, ideal office, and stunning full bathroom. The second story had two bedrooms and another full bathroom. It could not have been more perfect for her needs if she had designed it herself. She made all the arrangements with her realtor and soon purchased the home.

Lydia's twin sister, Leta also enjoyed the home. It had a few secret elements to which only she had access. Leta hoped her twin would enjoy the house when she convinced the realtor to show it to her. In addition to including her own desired hidden aspects into the home, Leta designed it to appeal specifically to her sister's tastes. She had to ensure Lydia would purchase the home. Leta liked to keep her sister close. It was the only way she could protect her. With Leta's involvement in a secret society known as The Company, she knew her sister's life would be at risk by those who worked against The Company. This would serve as her own safe house, much like it would be Lydia's sanctuary.

Lydia would continue to spend most of her time at the Academy, while Leta would continue to devote her life to the efforts of The Company, but for both sisters, this would be their....home away from home.

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Kitchen Lydia didn't really know what she wanted in a kitchen. She never cooked; she never needed to. So when the realtor showed her the large kitchen, Lydia was overwhelmed. She debated whether she should even purchase the home since it was clearly fit for someone with cooking talents way beyond her own. In her hands, it would be a waste. When she saw the rest of the house, though, she knew it was too perfect to pass up. After she settled in, she realized she could do a lot more than just cooking and baking in the kitchen. She could use the stovetop to melt and pour soaps and mix lotions to give as gifts. She could use the sinks and large island as a station to create her floral arrangements. She could do many things in the space. She even loved the nighttime view from out the rear facing kitchen's window looking out at the stone wall separating the Dragon's Gate District from the northern New Haven District. She loved stone, which was why she loved the rough stone fa?ade framing the stove and oven.

To keep up appearances of a fully functional kitchen, Lydia decorated with infused oils in clear glass bottles, hanging bundles of dried herbs, displays of serving dishes, and other kitchen supplies. If one opened the cabinets and drawers, they would find storage space for anything but edible supplies. Cabinets held files and paperwork, labeled in meticulous order. Drawers held spare pens, paper clips, and other office supplies, each having their own devoted space. The only time the kitchen was in disarray was when Leta would temporarily take control of the kitchen to make some new potion or concoction she believed to hold some special power.

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When Lydia heard from the realtor that the home had a small wine cellar, she was beyond enthused. Lydia and Leta, both, could get plenty of use out of the room, though they were far from alcoholics. They wouldn't exactly be using the storage space for proper wine. Through her connections at Bristle Crios, Lydia would accept a few bottles of their special Blood Wine on the rare occasion she would require it. Leta, through her own connections at The Company, would procure various similar products, as well as a few extra rarities with "exclusive" properties.

The cellar was located off of the kitchen. Lydia figured it could hold about six hundred bottles. It was more than enough storage for her, but she knew it would be modest to real wine connoisseurs. Lydia assumed it must have been a walk in pantry when the house was built. This would suit her just fine instead. Its rich woods might have overpowered the small space, but the stone accents balanced it nicely for her tastes. She adored the stone tile flooring and the painted ceiling gave the appearance of almost a sandy texture. When she got the chance to look closer, she saw the paint actually had sand in it, making the appearance authentic. She loved the little details like that.

Her favorite part of the room was the back, which featured a large piece of granite or marble on the wall with beautiful striations. She wondered how the weight would be supported with it upright like that, but she saw how the stone sheet was inlaid somehow in the woodwork surrounding it. It looked sturdy enough to her. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that it was simply paint, which cleared away any of her initial concerns. Although she usually preferred stone, she loved the simplicity of using paint to achieve such an intricate look.

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Office

The most important room of the entire house, in Lydia's opinion, was the office. She had very high expectations. It had to be a somewhat large room on the first floor so if she needed to hold appointments there, it would be large enough to hold a few guests and be easily accessible to them. She also needed the space for a large desk to sit in the middle of the room with two chairs across from it and even an extra table for laying out her documents if she could mange it. She wanted plenty of wall space to store some reference books and other tomes. She was thrilled to see the house's office was everything she could have dreamed.

The light walnut wood floors and paneling was broken up by little pops of sage green along the walls. Lydia felt lucky enough to find a large desk that seemed to match the wood of the room. She found what she called a dusty rose leather chair for the desk and two simple wooden chairs with soft seat cushions to sit across from her. After adding her books to the built in bookcases, she accessorized with a few things from the store. They were sold in a set, so she hoped they went together. If anyone should come to her office for a meeting, she wanted to make sure it looked perfect.

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Bathroom

Lydia was just as excited when she saw the lovely white master bathroom off her bedroom. It had double sinks, perfect for when her twin stayed over. The separate tub and shower with sleek glass doors was ideal for the same reason. Lydia preferred to bathe in a nice relaxing tub, while Leta preferred a quick hot shower. The elements of the bathroom weren't the only thing Lydia loved. She adored the monochromatic white theme that echoed from her bedroom. White tile with small neutral accent tiles, white cabinets with white sinks, white flooring, white tub white, white, white. It was clean and elegant with the cool brushed chrome fixtures. She would add a simple white chair to the vanity area and white accessories throughout the room.

Leta would make fun of her sister's lack of decorative style, but she would still demand to have a door built connecting her own bedroom with the only bathroom on the second floor. Lydia obliged. Leta secretly loved the all-white bathroom. White was easiest to clean, after all. The shower stall was ideal to string up a body to bleed it out. The separate tub could be used to throw in some acid to dissolve away flesh from dismembered body parts. The options were limitless in this bathroom and what Lydia didn't know happened in her own home wouldn't hurt her.

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Leta's Office

One of the hidden areas in Leta's room was her high tech closet office. She considered it one of her many command centers. She could keep track of most of her extracurricular activities that she worked on without The Company's authorization. Once locked away in the small soundproof safe room, no one would even know she was there. More paranoid than to just simply hide the closet in the maze of architecture in her room, there were multiple security systems in place that would only allow her access. Fingerprints, retina scans, keypads for number codes, and the like were just the beginning. It wasn't the only secret area in the home. Leta's secrets had no depths.