The red convertible's stereo blared as it wound its way down the coast, its headlights the only two beams of light on the otherwise dark and deserted road. Despite the impending storm, the roof was down. Despite the darkness,<a class="link link--external" href="https://gelbooru.com/index.php?page=post&amp;s=view&amp;id=5004048" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"> the driver</a>was wearing a pair of sunglasses. Her hair was tucked up in a blonde bun behind her head, which was putting up a valiant struggle against the wind. She was Anna Marie Angleton, and she was going to arrive fashionably late.<br/><br/>Or, at least, that was the plan. As she rounded the latest bend, the lights of the castle rose up out of the darkness. The young woman pursed her lips, turned her attention to the handbag sitting on the seat beside her, and fished out her phone. No signal, and she'd given up on the GPS a while back, but there was no mistaking the photo; this was the right place. It seemed that Google had, once again, underestimated how fast she could go when there were no cops or other drivers around.<br/><br/>Well, no matter. Anna Marie pulled in her car next to the others parked outside, took a moment to adjust her hair in the mirror, and finally cut off her stereo. This place looked like a horror story waiting to happen, but she wasn't concerned; whoever the mysterious contest organisers were, they wouldn't dare to harm her. She stepped out of her car - she was wearing an off-the-shoulder shirt, a pleated skirt, black stockings, and a designer leather jacket, which she pulled tighter against the night air - then turned her back on the castle, and winked into her camera over her sunglasses as she took a quick selfie. She still had no signal, of course, so she'd have to post that later. That out of the way, she grabbed her handbag, pulled up the roof of her car, and headed inside.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>The heels of her shoes clicked against the castle's stonework as she found her way into the dining hall. She let her jacket fall a little from her shoulders as she enjoyed the heat of the fire, then took a moment to look around at the other arrivals. Finding them generally unimpressive - the one in the bunnysuit she even would have taken for a servant, were she not sitting down instead of greeting guests - she opted to take a seat by herself. As the grandfather clock ticked down, Anna Marie lazily examined her nails.<br/><br/>"Is this it, then?" She asked the room at large, not bothering to look up. She'd expected... something more. Someone to greet them, at the very least.