It was a loud night, one where the whispers of crickets could not be heard and the clouds smothered the moon and stars. The usual darkness was darker than the previous night as the clouds rumbled and shook the land of Bonelake.
A cloaked figure walked through the streets of the town, a hood covering his face and his body that was getting drenched in the rain. The hooded figure turned his head over his shoulders to see if there was anyone following him. Pulling out a pocket watch, he flipped it open to see the needle that was moving all over the place without settling on a single number that was marked on it. Snapping it close, he continued to walk until he reached a mansion that read outside 'Adams'.
Merging with the shadows, he continued to move until he heard whispering that came from one of the corridors. Tilting his head closer in the direction where the whispers were coming from, he noticed two young men who stood in the corridor in the middle of the night. Both the men wore the clothes of a servant.
"Ouch!" whispered one man who had freckles on his face.
The other man pushed the one who just spoke, his voice slightly scratchy to listen to, "What were you thinking trying to eat all her soul! You fucking dimwit," he knocked the first one's head, "They are finally going to get the butler to work here and the person who is going to work is our own man. It would be easier to feast on the people then."
"But I have been starving-" complained the first man to receive another smack on his head. At the same time, they heard someone knock on the front door.
"Get back to your room before someone finds you walking here. If not I will kill you myself," he threatened, and both of them went back to their rooms.
The person who was standing behind the wall listening to them speak didn't have to hear all the conversation to understand that they weren't humans. Having one side of his lips pull up, he slipped back into the shadows.
After a few hours passed, the main bell of the mansion rung. One of the male servants quickly made his way towards the door, opening it to see a tall drenched man who stood at the foot of the entrance. The man had dark hair that stuck to his face and his eyes that looked darker than the abyss, his wet shirt stuck to his body. Even though he was a male, the servant gawked for a few seconds before asking,
"Who are you?" the man continued to stare.
The man replied, "I am here to fill the spot of butler," the servant looked at him quizzically but then raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment and he quickly moved back to make way for the man.
"Welcome to Adams' mansion. Please come in, we were uh, expecting you. You came quite suddenly?"
"I was asked to join as soon as I could. I was also told to let Mr. Adams know that Mr. Rufus had a change of plans as he decided to keep the first butler assigned in his mansion," he placed a very polite smile on his face and when the servant turned around his back to him, the smile slipped away from his lips.
He walked through the long hallways of the mansion, following the servant who had opened the door for him. On either side of the walls, there were lanterns fixed to hold the light in them during the time of darkness which now appeared to have been exhausted after the long night.
"Stay here, I will be back," the servant looked down at the new butler whose shoes were dirty and wet.
If he wasn't wrong, the servant boy had gone to meet another servant to let him know that there was a sudden change in the butler but that was alright. Unless this so called Mr. Rufus himself decided to see that the butler had been assigned was there, which, of course, was unlikely to happen, and the creatures who had disguised themself as servant boys would have to follow the story he would spin.
When the servant left the man in the hall, the man instead of staying put in his place, walked towards the window to see if the creature that had been there outside a while ago was still there or if it had disappeared. Seeing no one outside, he looked at the sky to hear the clouds garble with sparks of lightning coming out of them. Though it was the time of the morning, the dark clouds made it appear as if the night was yet to pass.
The supposed butler turned around to look at the mansion he had stepped into.
Taking in a deep breath, his mind whispered 'night creatures'. His dark, black eyes drank in his surroundings, noticing every detail when it came from the vases with the number of flowers that were put into it, to the way the hallways left to different sides of the mansion, and the portraits that hung on the other side of the wall.
His feet made their way to walk towards the portraits that were hung at the center of the wall where a man, woman, and a little girl were painted into it. Both the man and woman were seated on the magnificent doubled winged chair made of red cushions. The little girl wasn't seated with them and with the way the moment was captured in the paint, it appeared that the little girl was having fun by standing next to her father with her feet twisted for fun with a sweet smile on her face.
Vampires. How strange, he thought. Out of all the houses, he had ended up in a vampire's household. With the years that had come by and passed, he had noticed how humans and vampires who belonged to the high society often made sure to raise their children in a certain 'normal' way they believed was right.
The servant who had gone to get the lantern which was lit as the mansion was dark, he came back to see that the man was not where he had left him. Where did he go? Walking forward, he came to stand with the lantern raised in his hand and called,
"Mister?" when he heard a voice behind him.
"What?"
He jumped, almost having a heart attack! He had just passed through the passage looking for the man and this man had out of nowhere appeared to stand behind him.
Now that the luminous light of orange glow fell on the person's face, the servant noticed how handsome the supposed butler was but at the same time, there was something very unnerving about him. His eyes looked like a hollowness pit of darkness that could suck anything in it and the servant quickly shook his head and lowered the lantern.
"The servant's quarters are on the lower but other side of the mansion. Let me settle you in your room and you can meet the Adams once they come down for breakfast," said the servant, leading the man away from the hallway as they walked straight and took a left at the far end before making some more turns.
Once they reached a series of doors that were closed and looked dull in appearance, they walked towards a comparatively better-looking door and the servant pulled out a bunch of keys and started to try unlocking them one after another as they jingled every time he tried to pick another one.
The mansion's servant gave a queasy smile as he turned around to look at the man who had arrived to have his smile drop when he caught sight of the serious expression and he coughed, "It has been four months since we had a butler and the room hasn't been opened during that span of time," he said, picking the lock with another key.
The person picking the lock was a young man who looked as if he were in his late teenage. Brown hair, freckles covering near the bridge of his nose and below his eyes. He wore an old woolen sweater to keep himself warm from the weather of Bonelake.
Five minutes passed and the servant was still trying to pick the lock open through the help of the keys. As if it wasn't enough, the servant continued to ramble to fill in the quiet space, "Mr. Rufus had mentioned about you coming a week later. We weren't expecting you, I mean me," he turned around hoping the new butler would respond back but he didn't know why the man didn't bother to speak but he did stare at him that had him talking again, "My name is Milo, some call me Miles. What is your name?"
"Lucas," the man prompted the name and at the end of the man's voice, Milo heard something similar to a whisper that strangely reminded him of smoke when the candle was blown out.
Milo heard the man named Lucas exhale softly before Lucas said, "Give me the keys."
Turning around the servant boy handed the keys. Not because he knew he wouldn't be able to open it, after all, the man didn't live here but because of the shadow that fell on the butler's face that made him appear to look as if he had come from hell. Not to forget the way he looked right now. Annoyed. The expression wasn't evident but Milo could feel it. The boy stepped away, letting the man take over the lock, and in less than a second, the lock clicked open.
"I can tell you will be an excellent butler," the boy praised the man to have the keys dropped in his hands. The boy had a look of suspicion on his face as he was expecting someone else and not this man in the mansion. Before the young boy could continue his rambling, Lucas asked,
"Is that all?" his words came out dull and uninterested.
"How did you come here, I mea-" the servant found himself unable to finish his words looking at the door as it was shut close.
Now alone in the room, Lucas looked at the room which was small. A bed, chair, desk, and a table with a mirror that was affixed on the wall. Walking towards it, he looked at his reflection and then looked down at his hands.
There were a few unsettled matters that needed to be looked at and until then he would pretend to be the butler who was supposed to work for this family. He would have to keep a watchful eye when the original butler would appear here. He would stay here for a few more weeks and then leave this mansion like the phantom he was.
Not bothering to stay in the room, he stepped out of the room, walking through the passage of the servant quarters as he passed the doors one after another where the servants were fast asleep. He walked up the curved stairs that were wide and long and he stepped on the floor, lightning flashing on the walls that came through the transparent glass windows. Walking close to the windows where water dripped down the windowpane, his black soulless looking eyes searched for any possible creatures who had caught on to him when he heard light footsteps on the floor.
Turning his eyes to the corner and then moving his head, he caught sight of the little girl who was painted in the family portrait.
She wore a white dress that reached below her knees. On one hand, she held a pillow that was being dragged across the floor, while on the other hand, she held a stuffed toy. A white rabbit to be specific that had long ears and had lost an eye.
The girl stopped walking when she caught sight of the man looking at her and she stared back at him, clutching her rabbit close to her chest.
They shared a good distance between each other, the man standing tall with his face turned towards the little girl who stared at him with a curious look on her face. He then turned his body and just then the lightning struck again from the clouds, the light falling on his face to showcase the skeleton bones on his face that had the girl widen her eyes. The man continued to look at her with an unmoving, inexpressive face whilst he saw her eyes and the stance of the little girl change immediately. Did she notice his appearance? It couldn't be possible though, no one was able to see the mask that he had placed.
Her liquid like red eyes stared for a second more before she turned around and ran towards her supposed bedroom like the rabbit she appeared to be. When she went inside the room she had dropped the stuffed animal behind her without realization and shut the door. Walking towards it, he picked it up, looking at the little toy and when he went towards her room, the door suddenly opened with the little girl standing in front of him, her eyes still wide.
He raised his hand to bring the toy in front and when her eyes fell on it, she quickly grabbed the toy from his hand and closed the door shut.
When the time of the morning arrived, with the clouds moving away from each other and clearing the sky, the man who had arrived at the doorstep of Adams was called to the parlor room to meet Mr. Adams. Mr. Adams, who had been reading the daily local news, raised his head when the servant brought in the man, "Mr. Adams," said the servant, Milo who bowed his head and Lucas who stood next to him did the same.
The owner of the mansion spoke, "I heard that you came earlier than we expected which is good. We have been looking for a decent butler and Mr. Rufus finally recommended you. What's your name again?"
"Lucas, Sir," Lucas bowed his head, placing his hand cross on his chest.
Mr. Adams gave the man a nod.
Milo, who had been serving the Adams' family for two years stared at the man who introduced himself. There was a polite smile on his face and the servant had doubts if he had met another man. He appeared saint-like. When he invited this man inside the mansion, he looked as if he were waiting for an opportunity to kill him in his sleep but right now, why did it seem that the man wouldn't hurt a fly without any reason?
But that wasn't the problem. Where was his friend? Did Mr. Rufus decide to change butlers at the end moment?
"Mr. Rufus has already filled in about you so I will spare you from the questions. Welcome to the Adams' family. Milo will tell you about the work and show you around the mansion. You can take it from there," Mr. Adams gave Milo a look who looked as if he were daydreaming, "Milo?"
"Yes, Sir!" the young man snapped back and he bowed. The butler gave another bow and they left the room.
The servant boy toured him around the mansion which he had already done before the servants had woken up. As the servant boy was telling what work they did and what time everything was done here, Lucas received looks from the maids in the mansion. Every time his eyes met one of theirs, they would look away as if they were doing something else.
How annoying, thought Lucas to himself. He didn't like the attention one bit and it was getting on his nerves the way the humans were ogling at him. Given the opportunity, he would have them nailed inside the coffin and it wasn't like he hadn't done it before. Maybe later, he thought to himself.
The next second when his eyes met the maid who had been giving him eyes who was standing in the corridor watering the flowers in the vase, he asked,
"What's your name?"
The maid was young, sharing the same age as Milo who looked slightly flustered at the sudden attention she received from the handsome butler and she blushed. Seeing this, Lucas felt the urge to dig a grave for her. He wondered how much she would scream in agony before and after her death. The bloody ones were always the most satisfying ones.
Clearing her throat, the maid replied, "Lydia," there was a blush covering her cheeks as she uttered her name.
"Lydia, what work are you in charge of in the mansion?" he asked her.
"I am in charge of changing the water in the vases, cleaning the windows, grills, and the stairs and-" before she could on and on, Lucas said,
"The fourth vase from here has not been filled with water, the glass right here has a fingerprint to tell it hasn't been cleaned and the stairs, there's dust in the corners of the curves. Just because there hasn't been a butler to supervise the work going on in here doesn't mean you do your work carelessly," Lucas spoke in a very clear calm voice, while there was something underneath his tone that the maid felt daunting.
She wanted to open her mouth and deny it. She wasn't sure which side of the glass she had missed yesterday out of laziness.
"I don't know who placed their hand on the glass. I cleaned it along with the stairs yesterday," she replied to see him give her a smile.
"Follow me," the butler had the servant named Milo followed behind him along with the maid, while the others peeked to see what was going on and slowly tipped-toed following them to see the butler stop at the stairs. He bent down to swipe his hands around the curve to raise it in front of her, "We must be living in a desert, isn't it?"
The new butler was here for only a few hours, there was no way he would have found time to look at every nook and corner of the mansion! The maid gulped, her eyes lowering down without meeting his eyes.
"Unless you want to keep working here, it would be better to start working efficiently if not you shall be replaced with someone who knows how to do their job," he turned around to see the maids who had followed them to quickly scatter and disperse to start working.
Once the servant was done touring and letting him know all about the work, Lucas walked down the corridors, roaming around to make sure the servants and the maids were doing their job. Though he had never worked as a butler before, he had lived long enough to know and understand what a butler did. He didn't want any suspicion falling on him nor did he want the creatures of his kind hunting him down therefore he took the job as any human would.
Lucas continued his new job, getting accustomed to the way the living people lived their lives. All these years he had been watching them from a distance but now he had got the opportunity to look at them closely.
Just as he was walking, he could feel a pair of eyes that had been following him for the past three hours. It wasn't any of the maids or the servants who was tailing his footsteps at the moment.
It was the little girl.
Her diligence in following him was commendable.
When he turned to look at her, she hid behind the wall. Having never been followed by anyone, the butler started to walk to hear the soft footsteps that came not too far behind him. Every time he stopped to look back, the little thing would have disappeared.
The little girl was none other than Mr. Adams' only child, Belle Adams who was six years old. Her reddish-brown hair was tied into a high pony that moved with every step she took.
After seeing the ghost in the corridor of the house when she had come out of her room to fetch a glass of water, she had gone straight into her room. Locking the door and jumping into the bed with the blanket around her. When she woke up and had gone down, she saw her father sitting and reading the newspaper.
"Papa!" little Belle went to her father's side, "There's a ghost in the mansion!"
Her father looked at the girl, "Ghosts, don't exist, Belle. Did you have a bad dream? You must have seen it in your dreams," he saw his little daughter who gave it three seconds before shaking her head.
"I saw the ghost in the mansion. It wasn't a dream!" she looked up at her father.
Mr. Adams looked at his young daughter who looked worried at the fact that there was a ghost in the mansion. She was holding the stuffed rabbit in her hand, her clothes unchanged from what she had gone to sleep in.
"Did you see it again?" he asked and to this, she shook her head, "That is because a ghost doesn't exist, dear. It must be just a figment of your dream. Or maybe you must have seen the curtains flying. Go get washed and get changed," he kissed the top of her head.
With the help of one of the maids in the mansion, Belle got changed and dressed. Her small feet were taking a walk when she caught the ghost she had met last night talking to a servant of the house.
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