Chapter One
Do Come In
"Is everything on schedule?" Jakob asked as he stepped inside the kitchen.
The cook, Flora, turned around sharply, her shoes squeaking against the white tile as she did so. Jakob leaned back to avoid the messy, menacing knife in the woman's hand.
"Dinner will be ready at seven-thirty," Flora said, spinning back around to the food.
Jakob sighed and retreated from the chef's abode. He walked down the halls of the mansion with his next destination in mind: the lounge.
The butler passed through the hall, casting a wary glance above his head at the chandelier that hung stalwartly over him. He adjusted the ascot wrapped around his neck before entering the lounge. As any butler would do, he made sure his uniform was free of stains and perfectly ironed. Once he was sure his appearance met his high standards, he wrapped a gloved hand around the engraved metal door knob.
The lounge was illuminated by several state-of-the-art lamps that were controlled by metal switches on the walls. Jakob had observed that the entire mansion had been outfitted with such electrical devices.
An expensive choice, the butler mused. Not something he would have done, had the butler owned the mansion.
But no matter.
"Felicia?" Jakob said, announcing his arrival.
Felicia turned around in a matter similar to her sister Flora's. In doing so, the young maid knocked over one of the crystal glasses that were on the table behind her; fortunately it remained intact.
The butler frowned, biting back the savage comment that had bubbled to his lips. Instead, he merely chided,
"Thankfully you hadn't filled that yet."
"I-indeed, sir!" Felicia agreed. She hurriedly picked up the lonely glass off the plush carpet and returned it to the family of crystals on the table.
"Do recall what we are here for," Jakob said, giving the maid a meaningful gaze, "Make sure this room is ready for when the guests arrive. Then, see to it that the study is ready. The envelope we spoke of earlier is in there; I trust you will not touch it?"
"Of course, sir," Felicia bowed slightly. Inwardly, the butler scoffed. The maid bowed at him, as if he were her master?
Silly girl, he thought.
"Excellent. It is…" Jakob pulled his timepiece out of his pocket. The chain pulled taught as he brought the sterling silver pocket watch into the light, "seven o'clock. The guests were instructed to arrive at seven-thirty, but we must account for the possibility that they may arrive early."
"I'll get right on it, sir," the maid sped out of the room, nearly knocking an expensive lamp over on the way.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Already?" Jakob murmured, surprised. He glanced back at his watch to be sure he had read it accurately. Trudging through the hall, his footsteps vocalizing through his shoes as they clacked against the hardwood floor, he reached the door at the end of the hall.
Inhaling deeply, Jakob swung the door open. A woman with long, black hair stood patiently on the doorstep. Her locks hid half of the small smile she offered him, along with a good portion of her face.
"Hello, is this the Valla mansion?" she asked, her voice wary, "I received an invitation in the mail to come here at this date and time."
"Indeed," the butler greeted warmly, inviting her in, "Please allow me to take your coat."
As the woman stepped in, Jakob meandered around her to take the black raincoat off of her. It was lightly damp, as rain had begun to sprinkle outside.
"I just wanted to make sure that this was the correct location," she said, "the letter referred to me as 'Kagero Crimson', but that's not—"
"Ah," Jakob interrupted, "you and the other guests have been addressed by pseudonyms to protect your identities. All will be explained in time, worry not."
Raincoat now gone, the butler could see Kagero was wearing a stunning red dress, making it very difficult for him to focus on her face. She nodded, accepting his response for now,
"What is your name, then?"
"I am Jakob, the butler of the estate," he bowed his head, as was proper, "If you'll allow me to take you to the lounge? It is where refreshments will be served until dinner is ready."
"Lead the way," Kagero replied, her feet clacking similarly to his. As the lounge was only a few paces away from the front door, the resonant sound did not hang in the hall for long.
"Felicia, see to it that Mrs. Crimson is attended to," Jakob instructed the maid, "and Mrs. Crimson, dinner shall be ready in—"
Thump!
"—hold that thought," the butler departed, returning to the door.
Upon opening the heavy wooden structure, Jakob saw a woman obscured by an umbrella. Lifting it out of the way, a woman with dual red ponytails exposed herself.
"Let me in already! It's freezing out here!" yelped the woman, pushing past the butler.
Ignoring her remarks, Jakob merely greeted, "Good evening, Ms. Silver, we have been expecting you."
"Can you explain why I got this letter a few weeks ago?" Selena Silver asked, brandishing a damp piece of paper in the butler's face.
"All your questions will be answered in time, Ms. Silver," Jakob easily replied, "It's the job of the host for such niceties; I am but a humble butler."
"Hmph," grunted Selena. She tossed the umbrella into the corner of the closet where Kagero's raincoat hung.
The butler led her to the lounge, just as he had with Kagero. When he opened the door, Felicia stood waiting with a drink for the next guest.
But when her eyes met Selena's, they widened with fear and looked away.
Selena, on the other hand, simply ignored her, forgoing the drink.
Interesting… Jakob mused before directing his attention to Kagero, "Mrs. Crimson, this is Ms. Silver."
Thump! Thump!
"Oh my," the butler muttered, retreating once again from the Lounge.
At the door, there was not one, but two guests.
"Mr. Night, Mr. Green, do come in," Jakob greeted, sidestepping out of their way.
Xander Night stepped in first, removing his black hat and overcoat. Underneath was a fashionable black suit that had been spared the now violent rain. His tan hair, of course, had stayed majestic.
Kaze Green entered second, not making a sound. Having not worn any outerwear, his dark green suit was completely drenched. And his green hair, for that matter.
"We have a roaring fire in the lounge," Jakob said. "It ought to help you dry off, Mr. Green."
"Thank you," Kaze replied in a soft voice.
"Allow me to take your hat and coat, Mr. Night," the butler said to Xander.
"I appreciate it," he replied, handing over the two garments. With swiftness befitting a butler like himself, Jakob hung the two items up to dry.
"Follow me, if you will," the butler directed.
"May I inquire about why we need to use these pseudonyms?" Xander asked, his tone turning firm.
"All questions will be answered after dinner," Jakob replied, growing weary of saying it. He expected he'd be repeating himself again shortly.
"My car is stuck a mile down the road," Kaze said. "Will there be some way to retrieve it?"
"Worry not, our caretaker Mr. Gunter will get it once the rain lets up," the butler assured him as he opened the door to the lounge.
The two new guests joined Kagero and Selena. Felicia served them their drinks and idle chatter began, though none of the four strayed into the territory of personal lives.
Good, Jakob sighed inwardly, noticing the guests' choices of conversation.
Thump!
The butler was nearly at the door by time he heard the knock. Opening it a second later, the butler startled the man on the doorstep.
"Apologies," he said.
"No harm done," replied the white haired man. He stepped in without waiting for Jakob to invite him in. The butler swore the man had ulterior motives when he slid up against Jakob more than necessary. The fifth guest smirked and introduced himself. "I'm Niles—"
"—Blue?" Jakob recalled, easily bringing up an image of his instructions in his mind.
"Correct," the man smirked with pleasure, "I must say, I love that outfit on you. It's as if you're straight out of a fantasy."
Irritated, though keeping his composure, Jakob took the man's coat,
"Dr. Blue, the other guests are currently in the lounge indulging on refreshments until our last guests arrive. If you would be so kind as to follow me?"
"You're no fun," Niles shrugged, and followed the butler through the mansion.
Jakob led the guest into the lounge and introduced him to the others,
"Dr. Blue, these are Mrs. Crimson, Mr. Night, Mr. Green, Ms. Silver and our maid, Felicia."
"A pleasure," Niles said, accepting a drink from the maid.
Thump!
Jakob had a feeling that sound would soon drive him insane.
He was at the door within moments. Opening the right half of the dual doors, Jakob was greeted by a woman whose attire put those of all the other guests to shame.
"Duchess Camilla Snow," Jakob bowed and kissed the guest's hand, as was proper when greeting royalty.
"Oh, you are so cute," she said with a husky voice. Much like with Kagero, the butler strained to keep his eyes on the Duchess' face.
"If I may?" he offered, accepting her raincoat. It exposed the rest of her elegant dress, most likely worth as much as all the other guests' attires combined.
"Thank you, darling. Sorry I'm a little late," Camilla apologized.
Jakob waved a hand, dismissing her concern,
"It is of no consequence, Lady Snow. If I may, I will take you to the lounge where the other guests are gathered."
"Lead the way," Camilla smiled.
The butler inwardly sighed as he did the introduction for the last time, "Duchess Snow, these are the other guests, Mr. Green, Mr. Night, Mrs. Crimson, Ms. Silver and Dr. Blue," turning to the pink-haired woman holding several drinks, he finished "And this is our maid, Felicia."
"M'lady," the maid responded and gave a far deeper curtsy than was necessary, causing Jakob to cringe. Did the woman know anything of etiquette?
He wished he had control over the selection of servants for the night.
"Oh, you are just too cute," the Duchess laughed. Felicia blushed and handed her a drink. Camilla turned to the rest of the guests to greet them.
The butler saw a flash of recognition between Xander and Camilla. He filed it away for future use.
DING!
"That would be dinner," Jakob explained, using the startled silence of the guests to gain control of the room. "You'll all have a chance to get to know one another better over the course of the meal, I assure you."
With that, the butler led the guests to the Dining Room.
Author's Notes: Hello! Since this is an FE14 story, chances are a fair few of you don't know me or this project that I've talked to my followers about.
This story is based on CLUE, specifically the 1985 movie based off of the game. Like the movie, this story takes place in the 1950s (i.e. Keep in mind how that will impact gender roles and ways some characters are perceived). It will share several familiar themes with CLUE, and if you've played the game/seen the movie, you'll pick up on them.
If not, then just enjoy the mystery as face value. You will have no problem doing that.
This chapter was Beta Read by Hammershlag! Go check his stuff out, particularly his brand new story! It's a crime story, which no doubt will lead into some mystery! So if you enjoy either of those genres, then Up The Ladder of Darkness is for you!