CRACK! Thunder tore through the sky above Wayne Manor as a late summer storm blew on outside. The house was lit be candlelight from the inside, making the windows look like beacons in the night from afar. One window, the den in particular, sheltered a seventeen-year-old boy from the harsh weather that beat upon his home.
He was perched upon the window seat, a knit blanket lain neatly over his lap, eyes closed peacefully as his head lay against the glass. "I take it that you won't be practicing for your Gymnastics tournament Master Richard?"
He looked up. "Ha..Not tonight Alfred. These storms make me sore.." The teen said with a wide grin.
BOOM! A bright whiteness lit up the room for a split second, causing both child and butler to jump.
Alfred let slip a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Then please do move away from the window. Perhaps you would be more comfortable closer to the fire." The old man pried.
"Heh..I'm already roasting in my skin as it is! I prefer the cold glass." Richard turned back to the window, resting his forehead against it once more. "Still a tad feverish it seems.." The butler's brow furrowed in concern. "..Perhaps we should get you to bed, Master Richard."
The boy sighed, stepping with bare feet onto the cold tile of the mansion, his blanket now draped over his shoulders like a cape. "Y'know I would Al, but someone's gotta be here to let dad in. I think I'll go sit in the front room till he gets in.."
"Master Richard, as the responsible adult in this situation, I must insist that you go to bed straightaway." Said the butler with a stern tone. "You have been ill and on the borderline of delirious for the past week and I will not be letting you have a relapse on my watch."
Richard opened his mouth to protest but found nothing coming out. "I will be there to let your father in when he returns tonight, so that should be a weight off of your conscience. Now please, go upstairs and rest." After a moment of silence, the dark-haired youth admitted defeat and shuffled towards the door.
A few moments later, once he heard the tell-tale squeak of the wooden stairs, Alfred was confident in the fact that he could continue his 'other' job without suspicion. He pulled a book from the bookcase that activated a secret door, which silently slid open and then closed with the butler safely inside.
Little did he know, at this very moment, the house now only housed two occupants, when it should have held three. Or, the fact that there was a rope ladder hanging from a bedroom window.
