There he was, Julian Montgomery. Julian. Montgomery. The man the Cress had heard about non-stop for the past five weeks. Cress couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed. Sure… at least he was alive, some men her Aunt Sybil had tried to match her with had seemed as though their foot was already in the grave. But Cress had always dreamed of an epic romance never being stuck in an arranged marriage.
Cress bit down hard on her cheek to keep herself from crying. She wouldn't do that. No, she couldn't do that. Think of all the good things about him she told herself trying to calm down her breathing. Unfortunately there wasn't much to list he had small green eyes that were so close together it gave Cress a minor headache. His hair was thin and bald at the top even though he was only 32. His teeth were yellowed, cracked, and crooked. He was around 5'3" and was extremely pudgy. Probably wasn't going to become a Calvin Klein underwear model any time soon.
On the inside Cress was screaming for a way out of this mess. Instead, she put on her brightest smile and greeted Julian with as much grace she could muster.
"Hello Mr. Montgomery it is a pleasure to finally meet you." Cress said in feigned enthusiasm. The most she let herself hope for was that this man had decent manners. Apparently that was asking too much out of fate.
"Woah, woah, woah hold up muffin. What is up with this politeness? C'mon babe I am your hubby hubby, the man you will spend your life with. And share a bed with!" Cress' stomach clenched when his eyebrows shot up at this part. "I don't want a girl wearing boring clothes and talking in boring ways. No! You have to be my pizzazz women! I don't want to show off something lame to the boys in the club! From now on call me Sugar Poppy."
Cress had to call upon all her years of acting classes not to throw up then and there on the Montgomery's sweeping spiral staircase. No, she corrected herself—her future sweeping spiral staircase. The thought made her feel even more sick.
Forcing herself to act delighted at Julian's personality she gave a little flirtatious giggle and batted her eyes. Apparently her act was good enough for Julian he gave a smile that he probably thought was charming and laced his arm around her waist.
"C'mon Kitten I will give you a tour of the house. And then I will introduce you to our staff." Julian purred.
"You have staff in the house?" Cress asked genuinely surprised at just how rich the Montgomery family was. Aunt Sybil had always made sure to stay in the higher circles of the social class but often that relied on Cress' programming jobs and even then they barely kept up the facade that they were in the same rank as billionaires. It amazed her that someone could have so much money to be able to afford a full fledged staff.
"Do we have staff? Girlie, off course we have staff. We are rich! I even got some new girl for you, you know to do your hair and what not. What was her name—Kokko? What ever it doesn't matter if we know their names. We are different better. We don't have to treat them like equals!" Julian laughed as he spoke as though the thought of someone not knowing these simple facts of life was the most outlandish thing she had heard.
Right then and there Cress decided she hated Julian. The things he said were so narrow-minded and awful it reminded her of her Aunt Sybil. The fact that he had a staff or wasn't particularly handsome didn't make him repulsive. It was because he thought that since he had more money than the people working for him that he was better than them.
"Will I get to meet them?" Cress hoped that Julian would say yes. Then at least she would get to meet someone in this household that was decent sane.
"Sure whatever. I don't know why you would want to meet them there are certified weirdo's. One of them keeps telling me that the walls are bleeding in the house." Julian paused as he shook his head chuckling. Cress felt a weight of disappointment, so maybe asking for someone sane was a bit more than she would get. "Here they're probably in the kitchen eating up all of my food those miserable mice."
Julian led Cress past grand archways, priceless art, and a huge marble fountain. Cress couldn't stop gaping, it was all so artificial and alien that she felt like the universe would blast her out of the sky for ruining the perfect picture. Cress had always dreamed of living someone where it was small and cozy. Really just anything as far as possible from Aunt Sybil's world. Instead, she was hear with a house so big it probably needed five different heating systems in the winter.
Just as she was thinking this the granite walls and tiled floors began to look a little more run down. Instead of high reaching archways she was faced with a series of pipes and tubes as a rooftop. Instantly Cress felt more calm, this place felt more alive and welcoming than any other section in the house this was somewhere Cress could actually be herself. Julian must have taken Cress' reaction as a sign of disgust instead of comfort.
"I know this place is a total pig sty. The servants' area could get overrun with mold and I wouldn't even notice the difference, luckily we don't have to come down here only the lesser ones do." Julian said in a sickly voice. Cress supposed he sounded sympathetic but really he just sounded spoiled.
He turned into a simple doorway into an even more simple kitchen. Inside there were eight people all lounging around a wood table that had so many knife dents it resembled more of a cutting board then a table to sit around. Upon seeing Julian they scrambled into a perfect line that oddly enough reminded Cress of the Vontrap family. Sadly this wasn't a musical and no one broke into song and lifted Cress' spirits. Instead, the staff all turned their gaze toward her making her feel extremely uncomfortable. Cress despised direct attention from so many people, but she put on a brave face and looked to the person at the head of the line.
First there was a girl around 21 Cress' age with her hair pulled back in a messy brown ponytail. Her eyes were in a perfect almond shape and were a warm chocolate brown. Her lips were a perfect pale pink. She had different smudges of grease all over herself and her clothes were so dirty Cress had to wonder what their original color might have been.
"Ah this is our handyman or I guess handy-woman, uhhhh her name is Ash." Julian trailed off obviously forgetting her name. The girl did an extremely impressive eye roll and started fiddling with a piece of wire.
Next there was a slightly goofy looking man with amber eyes and a black side swept hair. He gave Cress a seemingly embarrassed smile that Cress was sure melted many girls hearts. He was tall and lanky and seemed as though he was a bit clumsy.
"This is um, this is…. Kai! Yes Kai he is the butler. Well he really is more of the maid around the house." Julian's lip curled up at this as though this was a sore spot between the two of them.
Then there was a gorgeous girl with perfect brown skin and copper colored eyes. Her hair was the color of cinnamon and most interestingly she had three perfect scars on the side of her face. She gave off a presence of being off in her own world.
"This is… Autumn our other maid she will be picking up after your room." Julian spoke in a light tone, but he didn't try hard to mask his boredom as though spending time with people whose paycheck didn't at least have three zeros behind it was torture.
Next to Autumn (which Cress doubted was her real name) was a man who hovered so protectively around her it made Cress wonder if they were more than just co-workers. He had his hair tied back in a short pony tail that was the color of straw. His eyes were so piercingly cold they reminded Cress of glacier ice.
"This is our bodyguard... Jack. He doesn't really talk ever." Cress felt a knot form in her stomach to learn that she would need a bodyguard. "We only will use him on special occasions."
A girl with electric blue braids bounced on the balls of her feet when introduced. Cress got the feeling she hadn't been a part of the staff for very long and was still excited to be in the presence of her boss. Her skin was like cocoa powder and her eyes never seemed to stay one color.
"This is your assistant—the one I was telling you about. Her name is Kokko or Kikki." Julian seemed less and less interested in getting their names right and Cress had the impression that she would have to ask again later in private.
"And these are the house chefs Red and um, Coyote." Julian said with an air of annoyance as though the name offended him in some way.
Red was obviously the girl with vivid red hair that looked as though it were on fire. Her eyes were large and her mouth pouted. She had an old hoodie on that matched her namesake. The man next to her had the most startling pair of green eyes that she had ever seen. They looked like the color of apples and olives mixed. He was so tall it hurt Cress' neck to look him in the eye, and he resembled one of those comic book action heroes but the muscles had been amplified by one billion.
Then at the end of the staffs neat and orderly line was the most handsome man Cress had ever seen. He had dark sandy colored hair that was neatly combed into a popular style. His eyes were sky blue and sparkled with an air of confidence. He was about a foot taller than Cress and had perfect muscles. Cress could already feel a blush creep up her neck. He smirked and gave her a small wink that seemed to say yes I do know how hot I am.
"This is the chauffeur. His name is Stem or Leaf, whatever." Julian huffed in annoyance. But Cress was hardly listening as she took in Stem or Leaf. Cress internally fainted but on the outside she just gave a weak smile.
"Staff, this is Crescent Moon Darnel. My soon to be wife. You show her hospitality or better yet hold in the same light of respect as you do me." Julian paused when the girl with flaming red hair snorted. Cress' cheeks felt warm again and in a moment of panic she considered sprinting out the door. "Now… go back to your meaningless days. Dismissed!"
And with that Cress' life as a Montgomery began.
