True Misery Part Two: White Hot Poison

AlexisxRiff
AlexisxCain
RiffxCain
RiffxO.C.
AlexisxO.C.
CainxJizabel
(possible AlexisxJizabel)

A forbidden love causes a fathers hate, continuing to cause the separation of a not-so-close family.

(Chapter 8 of True Misery)

"Are you ready to start work, Riffael?"Alexis asked as he escorted the newly instated butler to his room. He gave a smirk as Riff opened his mouth to answer, but closed it with a small smile.

"Something bothering you?" the Earl stuck his pipe in his mouth after lighting it with a burning match. He sucked in the black twirling smoke and blew some of it out of his mouth and nostrils. A content look spread across his face as he lifted the pipe away from his lips.

"Oh, no, Sir, not at all. I was just thinking..." Riff replied nervously, gripping the handle on his suitcase hard. He laughed to himself, not noticing that Alexis had turned to him.

"What's funny? Is there something on my back?" the older turned around to face him, the pipe between his fingers.

Riff felt his face turn hot with embarrassment. "N-no, Sir, i-it's nothing. I apologize," he said as he followed the Earl down the hallway. The mansion was just as large and beautiful as it had been the first time he'd been there, just days before. "I was just thinking about my girlfr- my family, Sir."

Alexis stopped walking, so he stopped following. "Family? I didn't know you were married."

"Ah, recently, my Lord. It was, ah, the other day," he laughed nervously. Riff set his suitcase on the floor and fiddled with the hem of his suit jacket.

"Really? You're working that soon? Shouldn't you be with her now?" Alexis asked, simply curious.

"Uhm, well, we really don't have much money, I really had to start as soon as possible, seeing as we still have to pay rent and care for our son..."

"Son?" Alexis took another drag from his pipe, and exhaled again, blowing the smoke from his nose. "So you and her...?"

Riff felt his face burn with embarrassment, once more, on account of the Earl's questions. Alexis smirked at Riff's expression and began walking again, shaking his head. Riff quickly picked up his suitcase and followed.

"Heh, odd question, eh? Sorry about that," he said, chuckling as he stopped in front of a door with a golden plaque, marked 'Head Butler.'

"Y-you don't have to apologize, Sir," Riff replied, his voice small and slightly uncomfortable. Alexis laughed inwardly and tapped the end of his pipe, sending ashes out and onto the floor.

"Oops...Oh well, I'll have to maid clean that later." he sighed and pushed open the door, revealing a spacious room with pink and blue floral wallpaper.

Riff stared with his mouth open. If he and Alice and Nathan could live in a place like that, he wouldn't mind paying a lot to keep it. He nearly dropped his suitcase as he looked around the room. Much too much to behold in one simple glance.

"If I'm correct, you are liking the room?" Alexis lifted the pipe to his lips once more, but did not take a long breath from it, so he brought it away from his face. He leaned against the door frame, the pipe held away from him.

Riff did not trust is voice, so he nodded, a simple, single nod.

Alexis chuckled and took a deep breath before saying, "You'll be starting first thing tomorrow. Seven A.M. Sharp. There is a schedule on the table beside the bed, I suggest you study it and learn it quickly."

Then he left the room to Riff, heading back down the hallway the way they'd come.

Riff stepped into the room, his legs a bit weak. He attempted to stand up straight, but was still stunned by the room he was given. Surely this was made for someone like his boss, and new Master. But it was marked 'Head Butler,' which he had earned the title of.

In the middle of the room was a queen-sized bed, much like the one he and Alice shared back at their apartment. Only this one was heavily decorated with heavy fabrics. He walked over it and set his suitcase on it.

Leaning in front of it, he flicked the silver switches that held the top down. The top flew up in one swift motion, causing a long, white nightshirt to spill over the edge, the sleeve caught on one of the switches.

Riff scooped it back into the suitcase and searched in the case until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small black and white picture of him, Alice, and Nathan. He smiled and laid the photo beside the suitcase and began to sort through his belongings.

First to come out was the first white nightshirt, and it was laid behind the suitcase. Second was a grayish, blue suit jacket which held in its folded arms, the trousers to the suit. Continually he pulled out underclothes and white shirts and a suit or two, until the case was empty.

Just as Alexis had said, there was a plain white piece of paper with very neat, cursive writing scrawled over it in black ink, on a table beside the bed. He moved the paper to where his photo sat, temporarily, and began to open the drawers of the dresser table, and place his clothes in each drawer.

Top drawer: underclothes; second drawer: folded suits; third drawer: nightshirts; fourth drawer: photo.

From the bed, he took one of the two pillows on it and neatly stuffed it into the fourth, bottom, drawer. It fit almost perfectly, it was a bit too big, but Riff fixed it so that the fluffy white bag would fit with a slight curve. From there, he took the black and white photo and set it, gently, atop the pillow, and closed the drawer.

He'd look at it again before he went to bed that night. Already, he was missing his family.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Alexis' pipe sat on the tray a maid had brought to him with a cup of tea with sugar. The ashes had been thrown into the fish pond in back of the house.

-Heh, at least they're Cain's fish dying and not mine.- he thought, chuckling and turning the book in in his hand to an angle so he could see the small letters. Juli crept up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his temple softly.

"Well, hello," he smiled and set his book down, folding the corner of the page so that he would be able to find what page he left off on when he wanted to start reading it again. He waved his hand and the maid left the room, bending at her knees to give him a polite curtsy, and closing the door behind her.

Alexis stood up, pushing Juli to the large king-sized bed, and kissed her. She shivered at the cool air as he pushed the shoulder of her long sleeves down, pulling her dress from her upper body. He smirked as he revealed her large breasts to himself.

He kissed and sucked at her neck, leaving it with a red circle just under her jaw. Juli shivered again as her hands knotted in his neck-length black hair. She leaned up to kiss him, licking his bottom lip. The Earl didn't seem to mind her taking a little bit of control, and moaned at the feeling of her tongue against his mouth.

Gently, she unbuttoned the front of the gray, ruffled shirt he had on and pushed it off his arms. He flung it off and threw it to the floor. Alexis grabbed her hand and led it to the belt of his pants, but Juli had her own ideas, and rubbed her hand over his groin, making him moan in pleasure and thrust into her hand.

She giggled, and cupped him completely. Alexis thrust into her hand again, crying out in pleasure. Finally, she decided that he'd had enough and pushed his pants down, underwear going down with them. His erection was freed.

Juli smiled. Once more for a good night.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"Cain, I'm really regretting doing this..." Jizabel frowned as he stood to leave. He had showered and dressed just hours before.

Cain glared at him for a few seconds, "I don't. And I also don't understand why you keep saying that. Don't second guess yourself," he said, slightly agitated. "It's irritating the way you just keep doing that."

"I know, but I can't help it. I know I wanted to, but still, if Father finds out, what will he do?" Jizabel wondered, voicing the thought that was supposed to stay in his head.

"What do you mean? What's he supposed to do? What can he do?" Cain said, "There's nothing he can do to stop us."

"You're wrong about that Cain. There are things he can do, many things, and he can think of hundreds more ways than we can, believe me, I know."

Cain gave him a skeptical look, "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

Jizabel stood in silence for a moment, rubbing his hands, not wanting to tell Cain what his thoughts were. He took a deep breath, but still said nothing.

"Well?" the younger looked up at him, wanting an answer. There was nothing Alexis could do to stop them, surely not. However, Jizabel was completely right. Alexis was much smarter than Cain thought, and nothing, especially not persistent denials on his part, could change that.

"I would not tell you, even if I had the courage to. I don't think you're ready to hear it, not just yet..."

"And why not?" Cain pressed, crossing his arms and glaring at him.

"..." Jizabel turned to leave, "Because you're not, and I'm not saying anything more about it right now."

"Wait!" Cain's hard glare turned back to a soft, golden eyed stare. "I'll settle with that, but don't leave. Will you go outside with me?"

Jizabel smiled to himself and stuck his hand sin his pockets, hiding the almost peachy color from the other. He turned and his grin widened.

"Yeah, o'course. Just make sure you actually get dressed first," he chuckled, making Cain blush and scramble out of bed to his wardrobe to open the mahogany doors. He pulled out a black and white suit before Jizabel could cock an eyebrow to his quick search.

"You're gonna wear that outside, Cain? Don't you like climbing trees? What if it gets dirty?" Jizabel fired off questions as soon as Cain had began to slip a clean pair of underwear over his legs and middle.

"Relax. If it gets messed up, I'll have it dealt with."

"You make it sound as if you're going to kill it. Or have it killed," the older man laughed and swept a hand through his somewhat messy hair. Cain blinked, then suddenly understanding what he meant, laughed as well, and pulled his pants up around his waist, fastening them with a black leather belt he'd found in the back of the old wardrobe.

"Hey, can you help me with the suspenders?" Cain asked as he struggle to attach the metal clip to the belt loops on the back of his trousers.

Jizabel, who had been laughing at the sight of the fourteen year old spinning in half-circles, then swirling back, started and moved forward. He chuckled when Cain gasped. His hand had brushed a patch of skin on Cain's side that always made him make some kind of noise.

"Where do you keep your hands half the time? In frozen water?"

"Are you more interested in my hands or where I put them?" Jizabel asked, a slight smile spread across his thin, light pink lips. He touched the spot again, earning a half-concealed groan from the other. Jizabel kissed him, trapping the sound in his mouth and let go of Cain's waist to fasten the metal clasps of his suspenders to his slacks.

Cain sighed and relaxed when Jizabel took a step back to allow him to pull a white shirt over the black and white checkered straps. "Both."

The blond chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed, chin in the palm of his hand and elbow resting on his knee. He was hunched over so that his shoulder blades almost seemed to plunge out of his back.

"Isn't the shirt supposed to go under the stretchy straps?" he asked, leaning back slightly as he realized it.

"Yeah, but see, my pants are constantly falling down," Cain laughed, "and since these are the smallest size made, well, people may think I don't eat at all, and I don't need that."

Jizabel nodded, it made sense to him at least. He watched as Cain slipped his arms into the sleeveless pockets of the suit's vest piece and buttoned it up the middle. The black vest clung to the white shirt beneath it, but it wasn't tight enough to reveal the thin frame under it all.

Cain turned to him and crawled on top of him, pushing him back into the mattress. He kissed him, locking their mouths together. His hands were entwined in Jizabel's hair and the tips of his fingers gently played in the warmth of it.

When he broke away he glanced at the door, just for the sake of looking away as his face burned red.

Jizabel smiled and sat up, sitting so that Cain was straddling him. He leaned forward, forcing Cain to arch his back and wait for wet lips to touch the pale skin on his slender, feminine neck. Cain moaned softly and closed his eyes against the butterfly kisses.

When Jizabel stopped, Cain brought himself to sit up straight. He looked into the shimmering blue eyes as Jizabel began to speak.

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe from Father."

"Safe...?"

"I can't explain," Jizabel smiled and closed his eyes, "But you'll know. I promise you'll understand soon."

-I just hope not too soon...I don't want to tell him just yet...I don't really want to tell him at all...-

"I keep my promises, remember?" Jizabel kissed his cheek, but Cain was only confused more. He nodded anyway, and stood up, allowing the older man to stand up. He went over to the large window that had been covered by his long thick curtains.

He pushed them back to stare outside into the rose garden, where he had the best view of the yellow and white roses in the back corners. Jizabel stepped up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and lying his head in the nape of his neck, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Let's go outside now..."

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Riff sat cross-legged on the bed, his shoes off and placed neatly against the wall. He searched through his suitcase for the bag of medicines and syringes he'd brought. When he found it, he took it out and set it beside him, and closed the suitcase.

After making sure the medicinal bag was steady and not going to fall over, he got off the bed with the suitcase and pushed the large case under the bed, where it would remain for as long as he wanted it there. When he stood up straight, he lifted his arms up and stretched.

He yawned, but was not ready to rest just yet. Instead he sat down and went through his medical bag to see exactly what he'd brought.

-Ah...let's see...bandages? Check. Ah...tongue depressors? Yep. Uhm, let's see...-

As he went through the list of cures and tablets, he had to stop and remind himself to review the schedule the master had left on the table. When he finished he picked up the schedule and looked over it twenty times and then decided to test himself on it to make sure he'd gotten at least some of the times memorized.

-Uhm...seven A.M. Wake up. Seven thirty. Attend to the young Master's room and wake him. Eight A.M. Breakfast (organize cooks and maids to make and clean while I serve.) After that, until noon is to attend to Lord Cain and Master's demands. Then at noon is tea-time. Wow, they really have time on their hands! Anyway...at one thirty P.M.., I am to report to the Master's study and give him an oral report for the day. -

There was nothing else after one thirty, so Riff thought something to be on the back, but nothing was. That must have meant that from then on he was to keep to himself while still performing the same duties as in the morning. Watch over the maids and footmen to inspect their work, make sure it was exceptional.

He picked up the bell clock that he'd taken from his suitcase and wound it so that it would go off at five A.M., and put the schedule under it when he set it back down.

Riff lay down and buried his face into the pillow on the bed and quickly drifted into an easy sleep. Hopefully he wouldn't wake up as early as he'd fallen asleep. After all, the schedule never said that he couldn't sleep at noon the day before his work began.

He had much to do the next day and wanted to be well rested.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"Oh, Cain! I told you that you'd be getting that suit all dirty!" Jizabel yelled with his hands around his mouth, staring up into the high branches of a fern in back of the house. He laughed as Cain stared at him with a wide grin and jumped down to the next branch, being careful to hold on to the first.

Cain swung his legs as he sat on a high branch of the fern. Suddenly, a frightened bird flew out from behind him, sending him off balance and causing him to fall. He screamed and reached out for the rough bark of the tree, but his hands couldn't hold onto the branches at the speed he was falling at.

"Cain!!" Jizabel ran over with his arms outstretched, ready to catch him. He grunted as an unconscious Cain dropped into his arms. Jizabel panted as he lay Cain on the ground and attempted to wake him. It only took a few minutes of gentle tapping on the side of his face before his eyes opened.

"God, never go that high! You nearly killed yourself!" Jizabel said, throwing his arms around the boy, who had become ghost white.

"J-Jizabel..."

The blond squeezed him gently and sighed, "Hm."

"J-Jizabel...l-let go..."

"Why?"

"Father's behind you..." Cain said, his eyes wide.