"So this is it... the Triton Household..."
I stand by the huge shining gate, guarding the mansion which the 'Doll of the Triton Manor' reside...
"I can't believe I he gave a job oppurtunity in this place..."
Well, I don't actually really know what job I'm taking... I'm not even sure I'll get the job! I know it's stupid not knowing what you're going to work as, but... It's a long story...
"I just hope I get the job... If not, I'll be starving for life..."
I rang the bell, and waited for that top hat butler to come out... He's the one who offered the job a few days ago if you're wondering.
Oh! Have I introduced myself yet? No? Alright then...
My name is Clive. Clive Dove... an ex-journalist in search for a job.
Chapter 1: The Doll of the Triton Manor
"Breath in... breath out..."
I'm trying to calm myself from the nervous wreck I'm experiencing right now...
I heard rumors see. They said the Triton Family is heavily guarded, because of robbers seeking the family fortune. It's even said dangerous to go inside the mansion, with or without permission. It's kind of scary... even if I get the job I'll risk my life while doing my job! That is, even if I get it.
The gate of the mansion suddenly opened. "W-What the..."
It seems they know I was coming here... "I should welcome myself inside then..."
I walked through a very beautifull pathway, there was a fountain in the middle too.
But while I was in admiring the whole place, I bumped into someone. "Ow!"
I looked to the man I bumped to. And it was him! The same man that offered the job!
"Ah, you came..."
He looked the same last time I saw him. He wore a monocle at his right eye... in his hands wore white, silky gloves... A cane in his hands... his attire covered by a black tailcoat... And the most notable thing of all was the black top hat with a red brim.
"H-Hello! Sorry for bumping into you... I was, uh... admiring the scenery!" Nice excuse, Clive...
"How nice... the master was waiting for your arrival... Mr. Dove."
He lead me inside the mansion... there is one word that describes the size inside, enormous. But I'm kinda surprised, with the rumors of being the most deadly household... the place doesn't look bloody or creepy as I imagined.
He started to lead me to his 'master' for the interview I will have with him.
"I was expecting to see you in a few weeks. I didn't expect you to come early..."
"Really? I make decisions quick I guess." Yeah, if your money is below poor and your food supply is completely gone you would try to get a more high paying job as fast as you can.
"But may I ask you something? What job am I applying?"
He chuckled. I have a bad feeling about that chuckle... "You must meet the master first. Then I'll tell you."
"Oh..." That doesn't make sense at all!
"May I ask, Mr. Dove? What your previous occupation...?"
"I was a journalist. I quit because the company had a strike..."
"Ah... How old are you now?"
"Me? Sixteen..."
"Quite a young age to be journalist... you must be talented then..."
We went silent. While looking at all the nice paintings and furniture, I wonder about what the head of the Triton Family looked like. I know his name is Luke Triton and it's a boy and a kid. What I don't know about him is his appearance. He must somewhat be adorable... since he was titled a 'Doll.'
"By the way, sir... I never knew your name." The thought of it just came into my mind... He knows my name but I don't know his... how ironic for an ex-journalist to not now the person's name whom their interviewing... Well I'm not actually asking interviewing but you know what I mean...
"Ah yes... I didn't introduced myself the first time we met. My name is Hershel Layton, but you could call me professor instead, Mr. Dove."
"Alright... professor then."
He led me to a door, a wooden door. "We're here, Mr. Dove."
"What is this room?"
"A play room as we say it."
"Play room...?" I forgot, I'm talking about a rich eight year old kid...
He opened the door, and I was awed again...
"Woah..."
There's a lot of toys here! Most of them are plushies and dolls of animals. The teddy bears was the most in this room. The wall was painted in blue... and there was a toy train chugging on the ground. Toy planes were hanging at the ceiling too.
"You have one heck of a master here... there could be more than a hundred of these dolls... and all of them are ascociated with animals..."
"The master has a liking to animals..."
But I don't see a kid happily playing with his toys... maybe he went to a different room?
"I don't see him professor..."
"He's around here somewhere... I can be sure of that, Mr. Dove."
I walk through the room... I noticed something peculiar in this room full toys. "Hey... there's actually a doll that's not an animal..."
I squat down and took a closer look at it. It was sitting down, a big brown bear was placed in his hands. Huh... it's acting like a real human actually, though not moving. The doll has light brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a black hat with a white shirt and a black cloak. It doesn't have a smiling face though, instead it's face was emotionless.
"This doll is actually cute..."
I poked the cheek, and this might be odd... but it felt real... it's even blinking his eyes...
...
Wait... it's... blinking...?
The eyes are...! "GAAAH! WHAT THE-!"
I fell back to the soft carpet, due to the fact that the doll IS ACTUALLY HUMAN!
"Oh... there you are, Master Luke." said the professor.
I just stared at that 'doll' with my shocked expression. He stared at me too, with those pure blue eyes of his. I thought they meant metaphoricaly when they said he was a 'doll,' now I know they meant almost literally!
The professor walked beside me, and spoke to that... boy.
"This is the person I told you about, Master Luke. I hope you will find him... satisfying."
"S-Satisfying? What are you talking about...?" I stood up, straightening myself. And sensed a very uncomfortable aura from the professor...
"I shall leave you two alone..." said the professor. Wait, what!
"W-Wait a minute!"
But he already reached the door, and before he went out... He told me a warning in a creeping voice... "This is your interview with the master, no? Let's see if he accepts you by night... by then, take care of the master... if not..." His gentle smile turned to something more devious... "...You'll be soon gone from this world. Have fun..."
And he exited out...
"He's... not serious... is he...?" But by the way he looked at me... I think he means it!
I better not dissapoint him then, or the professor will... gulp..!
Just calm down, Clive... to sum it up, I spend the day with the kid till night. If I make him happy, I'll get to have the job! Whatever it is... But just look at the posotive side! It's at the afternoon! Meaning It's only a few hours till evening.
Alright, first things first. Introduction!
"H-Hello! My name is Clive... I'll be taking care of you the whole day! While the professor is doing... err, his business."
"..."
He's not responding...
"Can I call you... Luke? Or Master Luke? ...anything that suits you...?"
"..."
"So Luke... do you want to play...?"
"..." This is going nowhere...
*Grumble*
Looks like someones's getting hungry...
"Is that your stomach, Luke? Heh... You could just tell me and I'll bring you to the kitchen for a snack..." Although, I don't even know where the kitchen is...
I squated again and stroke his head along with his hat. He looks adorable alright, just... dark.
"Let's go to the kitchen then!"
I walked to the door... and the good thing is, he's following me... I hope the day will end soon...
"I'm completley lost..."
What the heck am I doing...! I've been walking through the hallways and I haven't found the kitchen yet... Luke was stiil behind me, fortunatley.
I turned my back to him. "So Luke... any idea where the kitchen is...?" But he wasn't there... "Luke...? L-LUKE!"
"Oh this is bad... If I lose him..."
I saw a door opened, I went inside. Hoping to find Luke there. And in my relief he's inside! ...trying to reach a bag of snack at the top of a bookshelf.
Don't ask me why it's there, I have a bad feeling if I asked...
"Unngg..."
"Let me get it for you..." I took the snack. It was just normal potato chips, in barbeque flavor...
"Here."
He took the snack and started munching... I bet woman can't help but pinch on his cheek... "Hm? What's this?"
There was a large painting of a family in the wall... it consisted a family three... that young boy must be Luke and those two... must be his parents... "Is this your family Luke?"
He stop munching his snack and glanced at the picture... You might not believe this but I thought there were tears in his eyes... yes, tears! I thought he was just a ghost in a shell... but something dawned on me...
I remember reading an article about the head of the Triton Family, including his wife, died out of an accident a year ago... Leaving their only child an orphan... If I remember... his name was Clark Triton and the wife was Brenda Triton...
I could hear him murmur some words... "Mother... father..."
"Luke..."
This is the first time I hear him spoke... his tone sounds... lonely.
I know how he feels... Losing your parents is a hard thing to do... But it even hurts more if your parents are murdered instead of dying in a fatal accident...
Tears are starting to trickle down from his eyes... he started to wipe away the tears...
I did the same thing when my parents died... but that was years ago... I don't want to remember those dark days following my paret's death...
"Don't cry Luke... Do you want me to carry you? We could take a walk outside if you want..." I don't know why... but the feeling of being carried is rather nice... if you're at least less than twelve years old.
He stopped wiping his tears. He looked at me with his teary eyes and nodded a yes.
"Then let's go to the outside together..."
I decided to walk outside to the garden with Luke... I was carrying him in my arms while he sit up straight with that seemingly endless amount of potato chips in his hands...
It's a good thing I remember where the outside is... "So Luke, what does the garden look like?"
He didn't answer to my question, he kept munching on his beloved snack... Sigh...
I could see the sunset from the window... as the light dissapears from the mansion, the place started to feel... ominous... like blood have been shed here before...
Countless times...
I feel Luke nudgging my shirt... "What is it, Luke?"
He motioned me his snack... my stomach started to growl... "You're... sharing your snack with me? Why thank you..."
But I can't eat because both of my hands are occupied with Luke... "Could you... shove it into my mouth?"
And he did, I thought he was going to ignore me like he always did... "Thanks..." It's been awhile I ate something like this, even though it's only a snack... it's even more tastier than my lousy lunch today consisting only a lettuce with bread...
After awhile the snack finished and I threw the empty bag into a nearby trash can. Too bad... I was hoping for more...
Beside that, Luke isn't feeling much better...
I thought about his parents again. Maybe he was more cheerfull before his parents died...
"You know Luke... It feels really painfull having to leave your loved ones..."
"...?"
"I know how you feel, my parents died when I was a little boy. Just like you."
"...!"
"It was hard living alone... I was raised at an orphanage after my parents death. Nobody adopted me, so I wanted to make a living by myself with all the money I got..."
"Living... alone...?"
"...! Y-Yes..." He answered me! "...Luckily, I became a journalist in a young age. So I was able to work for money."
"...Journalist...?"
"Yes, a journalist is like a reporter, a person who writes about information and gives it to the public media. It's a hard job but I like working as one..."
I could see by Luke's curious eyes that he wanted to ask more questions... But instead, he struggled to get down. "You want to get down, Luke?"
I put him down at the floor. He quickly grabbed my hand and started to run! "W-Woah! Slow down Luke!" He must be very eager to show me the garden for some reason...
I saw a very ornamanted door, the kind of door that keeps a secret behind it... Luke grabbed a key in his pocket, the design of the key looked like the door I'm standing in... "Behind this door is the garden, Luke?"
He nodded a yes.
He opened the door, and it revealed a very heavenly garden...
"This is the garden...? I don't even recognize these plants..."
We walked through the garden. There was a large pond in the middle... and in the centre of the pond was a gazebo, with a small bridge leading to it...
Luke hold my hand and lead me to the gazebo.
"This is a nice place you got there, Luke. And the flowers here look bright too."
"Plants... from Golden Garden..." Luke answered. "Golden Garden...?" I've heard that place before... I think it's the legendary garden from Misthallery, right?
We crossed the small bridge and sat on the gazebo, looking at the crimson sky where the sun is setting...
"The sunset is nice isn't it?"
"..."
Luke was also seeing the sunset, and this could be my imagination but... I think he's resting his head against me... "Luke? Are you alright?"
"...Sleepy."
I can't help but chuckle. I wonder if this is how it feels to have a younger brother...? It feels nice... it felt just like when my parents were still alive...
I heard a very light breathing from Luke. I took a look at his sleeping face... when I think about it, he looks like me when I was his age, short and cute... that's what people say to me when I was a kid anyway.
As the sun went down I started to get sleepy... "Just a few minutes of sleep won't hurt..."
I position myself to let Luke sleep on my lap...
And I drifted off to sleep...
"Huaaaw... What time is this...?"
That was me yawning... I just had the most pleasant sleep just now... Oh, it's night already, the moon is bright too.
I realized my lap was lighter. Which is bad.
"Luke? LUKE! W-Where are you!"
The only thing at my lap was his black cloak.
Oh no... I am DEAD MEAT! What happens if he wanders off outside of the mansion and got kidnapped by thugs and ransom him for money! T-Then the professor will...!
ARGH! I can't be thinking the negatives! I should be looking for Luke!
I ran to the hallways in search for Luke, while bringing his cloak so I could give it back to him later. I thought he might be at the play room so I went there, but he isn't there. I checked the room thoroughly you know, and I don't see any doll-like-boy in the room.
I kept checking random room after another... but he wasn't anywhere there!
I smelled something, something disturbing...
I stopped for a moment... it just came into my mind that the whole mansion almost smells like blood...
But I shift it out of my mind. "Just keep focussing, Clive!"
I wasn't in a hurry this time. I just walked, and I happened to find a door I haven't checked.
"I hope he's inside..."
I slowly opened the door. The smell of tea swept outside the room... and he was there, sitting down at a grand chair with the same brown teddy bear in his arms...
"L-Luke! I'm so glad you're here! I was sear-"
"Ah, Mr. Dove. Care for some tea?"
I flinched, that voice was the professor! He was standing beside Luke pouring tea into the fine china teacup... "Tea is very good for your body, you will feel very relaxed with just one sip..."
"P-Professor! I-I'm very sorry for losing Luke I..."
I stopped talking when the professor chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you... In fact, you made my master quite happy today."
"I did...?"
"Yes, he was talking non-stop about you."
"..." I'm sorry professor if I don't believe you. I can't imagine Luke talking non-stop, he barely talked to me in sentences...
"Master Luke said he left you when he woke up. Not wanting to disturb, he left you to sleep and put his cloak on you to keep you warm from the night..."
"He... did...?"
"Of course he did. Master Luke is such a caring boy, he wouldn't even let a stray cat go hungry." Different from your master, you let yourself make people plead in mercy so you won't cut off their heads...
"Oh! It's night... so do I...?"
"...Get the job? In my master's request, he decided to hire you. Congratulations..."
"I... I got the job? I got the job!"
Finally! I won't have to worry my financial need anymore... I could finally live a happy life... Wait, what's my job again?
"Uh, you never told what job I'm taking..."
"Ah yes... You'll be serving as, how you say, a... playmate to the master..."
I froze.
"A... playmate...? You have got to be kidding!"
"Is 'slave' more of a better impression?"
"It's not!
"Ha ha... Your job is more like a butler like me. Except you're younger and you will act more of a brother to the master... But fear not, your salary will be quite high."
I don't know how long I can deal with this... "In a sense, I'm a butler."
"That's right..." The professor slowly walked towards me, and stood in front of me... "You're now a servant of the Triton Household, but! If you betray the master or even make the master cry... be fully prepare for your punishment... I can say to you in full confidence it won't be pleasant. Understood...?"
"Y-YES! UNDERSTOOD!"
"How nice..."
That was one conversation I DON'T want to remember! Do you know how scary he spoke? It was like talking to the devil himself! With a very evil smile on his face...
I was trying to stop shivering when the professor called me again. "You shall start tomorrow, I will lead you to your room where you will be sleeping."
"O-Okay..."
He led me to my room. It was more than enough space for me to put my stuff... actually, I can't believe every worker is been given a room as fancy as this!
"Your belongings is still at your place isn't, Mr. Dove? You can get them tomorrow if you like."
"Huh? Oh sure, sure... you don't have to call me Mr. Dove, professor. Just Clive will be fine."
"Oh? I shall leave you to rest for tomorrow... Clive..."
He went out. I looked at the large bed and dropped myself into it.
"This bed is so soft... I guess I should sleep early, tomorrow is where it all begin..."
"...Tomorrow, I'll start serving the 'Doll of the Triton Manor.'..."
Wow... I wrote this chapter about 3,700 words... and I usually did about 2,500... Anyway! This story is kinda like a different version of 'The Dove Manor.' I was thinking one day if "What would happen if Luke and Clive switched roles?" I thought it was great so that's how I got with this story, but still in Clive's pov :D Yeah... the professor is still a 'butler' P But I was also thinking if the professor was the 'boss'... I was thinking of putting Claire as the main character, but still in process... I'm like making some cheesy series all of a sudden O_O
Please Review! The next chapter will have cats, maid costumes, and even more cats!