The tour of the manor proved to be completely uneventful. They ran into two maids - both young and fairly pretty - who hurried by with no more than a brief nod at Butler and the brothers. One, tall and slim, was called Xiu; the other, short and curvy, was Ai. Ari, Butler said would work with them from now on, as well as with another two maids and the housekeeper.

As they wandered through the building, Ari grew more and more impressed with the grandeur. Looking at the manor from the outside, it looked as though there ought to be more than three stories. Indeed, there was room for another one or two. On the first floor the ceiling was higher than on the second by several feet; Ari fancied that his old home could fit inside comfortably without disturbing a single chandelier.

The first story had all of the public rooms: The dining room, two parlors, a library, a ballroom, the study, a water closet and the kitchen at the back. One parlor was at the front of the manor; it was there that guests were received. Opposite from that - and across that magnificent hallway - was the dining room, which was connected to the ballroom. Most of the time, however, the doors were kept shut. On the other side of the ballroom was the other parlor, which was used primarily by the family when not entertaining. Out of all the rooms, that one was the most intimate: There were portraits of the manor's elite residents, little sculptures crafted by a child's hand, books strewn over tables. Ari would have liked to study it more closely, but Butler merely opened the doors, gestured around, said a few words and closed the room up.

Beside the formal parlor was the library, a large room stuffed with books and scrolls. They all stood in awe of it, eyes greedily absorbing the glorious sight. Too soon, though, Butler shut those doors and led them away. The study, one of the rooms they could not enter without permission, was next to it, and the water closet was on the other side. There was another door, in between the arches of the hidden hallway that led to the unoccupied kitchen, which Christoffer inquired about as they paused to take a modest lunch. "That is where I sleep," Butler said. "I need to be close at hand here."

They ascended to the second floor. The manor's residents slept on this floor, Butler said. Nearest to the stairs was the Master's room, which he explained the maids were not allowed to enter. It was strange, he said, but Master refused to allow them in there. Then he rattled off a long list of whose room was whose, but Ari couldn't absorb any of that. The only name that got his attention was Michael. The boy's room was at the back, away from the others, and Ari absurdly thought that it fit him. He quickly banished that thought. He had only happened to glimpse Michael; that did not mean that he knew him.

At the end of the stair was a discreet set of stairs; Ari didn't even notice them until Butler pointed them out. They climbed up them, finding themselves in a dim corridor. "The servants sleep here," Butler said, "except for the cook, who has his own room off of the kitchens, and the gardener, who lives in his own small cottage near the stables and sheds. And me, of course." He showed them the rooms, which were sparsely furnished: There was a bed, a small table, a thick taper and, Butler pointed out, nails on which to hang clothes. There were many such rooms, and the brothers were offered their pick.

Berwald selected one and asked Tino to share; Tino accepted, though he seemed a little embarrassed. Christoffer tried the same on Lukas and Ari, but the former gaze him a frosty look and latter said firmly, "No." Christoffer sighed in disappointment and picked a room at random. Lukas looked at Ari and asked if he would like to share. Ari nodded. He wouldn't care alone, not in this place.

With that settled, Butler gave them a warm smile. "Acclimate yourselves today," he said. "Rest for now; tomorrow you will begin your duties." And then he disappeared back down the stairs.


The brothers, alone for the first time in a few hours, didn't know what to do. They looked at one another in silence until Tino said with obviously false cheer, "Let's unpack." They dispersed to their respective rooms.

Ari looked at his new quarters and took a deep breath. Unlike his old room, there was no window. What light there was filtered in from the hallway, which did have a large window at one end. Suddenly, there was a burning pressure at the back of his eyes, and Ari closed them tightly against the emotion. He composed himself after a moment and turned to his brother.

Lukas had his back to Ari. He was putting up his clothing, the remaining garments draped over his arm. Ari slipped off of his sack and pulled out his shirts and pants. It didn't take long for them to finish with that chore and place their prized objects on the table, which under the weight of their possessions looked even smaller. Ari tacked the drawing Lukas had made onto one wall and put the stuffed puffin on his side of the bed. Then they sat down on the bed, back to back, not speaking, lost in their own worlds.

After a while, their other brothers appeared in the doorway. They all had something in their arms. It was food, Ari realized. "Tomorrow we begin our new lives," Christoffer announced as he plopped on the bed, "but tonight - we feast!"

Lukas stared at him blankly and said, "That sounded very stupid," but Ari smiled. Berwald and Tino came in, and for a small bit of time everything seemed normal.


Ari awoke abruptly the next morning. He rolled onto his back, groaning a little, and stretched. Lukas was already up and getting dressed. He hadn't any pants on - fortunately he wore undergarments - while he laid out that day's outfit. As he drowsily watched Lukas shrug on a shirt, contemplating on how much longer he can sleep, Christoffer burst into the room. "Morning-" He froze when saw Lukas. Lukas turned the faintest shade of pink, which immediately caused Ari to burst out laughing, and growled to his adopted brother to get out. The spiky-haired boy obeyed, wearing a weird expression, and shut the door quietly behind him.

Lukas turned to glare at his little brother who was still chuckling. His mouth was thin, and he put his hands on his hips. Ignoring his semi-nudity, he said sternly, "Stop laughing. It's not funny."

"Yes, it was," Ari replied with a grin as he got out of bed. "You blushed."

Lukas scowled darkly. "I did not," he denied. "And never mention it again." He gave his little brother the most frightening look he could conjure, which intimidated Ari a little.

"Fine." Ari quickly dressed and left with his brother. They ran into their brothers, who had graciously deigned to wait for them. Together, they descended three flights of stairs and arrived in the kitchen. Chef was there, chopping something up, as well as one of the maids from yesterday. Xiu, Ari believed. She smiled kindly at them from her place at a table in the center of the room. Bread was on the table, as well as fruit, some ham and a pitcher of milk. They sat down and quietly ate their breakfast.

While munching on a very delicious pear, Ari studied the man called Chef. He was fairly tall, not as tall as Berwald, but then again few were. His hair was blond and shoulder-length; his eyes were a deep blue. Short hair covered his jaw, not enough to be a beard but too deliberate to be simply a five o'clock shadow. He was clad all in white and wore a ridiculous hat on his head. He looked like the disreputable sort, Ari decided.

The man turned to them, flashing a charming smile. "Hello," he said in a strange accent that stressed all the wrong syllables. "I am the chef here." He waved the knife in his hand. "I am told I will have a new assistant this day. Which one is, ah...Lukas?"

Lukas, looking a little reluctant to Ari, answered, "It is me."

Chef smiled. "Lucky is me to have such a cutie to work with! Ohonhon..." That laugh mildly perturbed Ari. Definitely disreputable, Ari thought.

Lukas looked at him with an even expression, though waves of discontent emanated from him. "I am not cute," he stated baldly.

Chef looked taken aback but quickly recovered. He looked at the other four boys. "Now, who are you? Butler only told me about one."

They introduced themselves, and Tino asked politely, "What do you call yourself?"

"Ah, most simply call me Chef, but my name is Francis," he said with a smile. "Call me whichever."

After that, Francis and Tino chatted for a while, mostly about nothing, and Xiu left without a word. Too soon, though, the former checked his pocket watch and exclaimed, "It is late! Better get to work."

The brothers sighed and stood. Berwald and Christoffer went out the back door while Tino and Ari went to find Butler. Ari glanced over his shoulder and gave his brother an encouraging smile. Lukas inclined his head slightly before moving to aid Francis.

Finding Butler proved easy: The man was standing in the front hall conversing with a buxom woman. He noticed the pair immediately and waved them over. "Good morning," Butler said pleasantly.

"Good morning," Tino and Ari replied.

"This is Mrs. Chen," he said, gesturing to his companion. She smiled at the brothers. "She is the housekeeper. Ari, go with her; she'll show you want to do."

"It'd be a shame if I could not," she remarked dryly.

Butler chuckled. "That is true, isn't it? Tino, come with me, please." Within seconds, Ari was alone with Mrs. Chen.

"A boy maid," she exclaiming, examining Ari with a critical eye. Her close scrutiny made Ari a little uncomfortable, but he kept his face carefully blank. "Master Wang can be so eccentric," she mused to herself softly. "Well, now," she said in a louder voice, "follow me."

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. Ari met the other two maids, Tímea and Torfa. Tímea, like Francis, had a strange accent. Hers was thicker and less melodious than Francis', though. Both were average in height, built and looks, but were extremely likable. He worked with Torfa, who had a penchant for riddles, most of morning, scrubbing the dining room floor.

"What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?" she had asked once.

Ari thought about it for a moment but couldn't think of anything. So he conceded defeat. "A towel," she'd told him with a laugh.

About noon, they went to the kitchen for lunch. Francis and Lukas were there, busy chopping, stirring and mixing. Torfa dug out some ham and bread and made simple sandwiches for her and Ari. After watching the cooks work for while, Ari asked what they were making. "Lunch," Francis said, "for the Master and his siblings."

"Siblings?" Ari asked. He bit off a large piece of his sandwich. The bread was still warm, and the ham was sweet and delicious.

"Yes, yes, Master Wang has many siblings," Francis said as he took a bowl from Lukas. He dumped its contents into the large pot on the stove. "But none of them are actually related. Well, except for Yong Soo and Sang Hee," he amended. "They're twins."

That piqued his interest. "Adopted?"

"Yes. Master Wang is very kind," Torfa answered around bites of meat and bread. Her admiration was obvious.

Ari looked at his hands. "Very kind," he murmured. It was true, he thought. Master Wang really could have done all sorts of terrible things to them since they owed him so much money; instead he gives them a home and food and a place in his own house.

Torfa finished her sandwich and stood. "Let's go, Ari," she said. "We've got to wash the upstairs' floor." Ari crammed the rest of his simple meal into his mouth and followed her out. He paused by his brother and gave him a hug. Lukas didn't talk too much, but his utter silence concerned Ari. Lukas started a bit at the sudden intimacy but relaxed. He looked at his little brother and gave him a rare smile.

"Go," he said, squeezing Ari's arm. Ari released Lukas and hurried after Torfa.

"What a nice brother," Francis said.


As Ari scrubbed away, four feet appeared in his line of sight. Glancing up, he saw a man and a woman. The man looked friendly, but the woman looked a little stern. "Hm, Hello there," the man said with a smile. "You are one of the new ones, ana?"

"My name is Ari, not Ana," the male maid replied with a small frown. Ari belatedly realized that these are two of Master Wang's siblings and scrambles to his feet. He bows, embarrassed, and wished Torfa was with him. But she was at the other end of the hall, near Master Michael's room, blissfully unaware of his predicament.

"No," the woman said, "that is a verbal tic of his." She gazed at Ari for a moment. "I am Lien, and this is Chang."

"Mongkut," Chang says cheerfully. "Hm, that's my actual name, but everyone calls me Chang, ana."

"Pleasure to meet you," Ari says, dropping his eyes to the ground.

"Hm, don't mean to bother you," Chang continued. "We were just heading down for lunch, ana. Carry on!" Chang took his companion's arm and together they went downstairs.

Ari sank back to his knees and began to scrub again. He thought about the two he had just met. He recalled their names from yesterday when Butler had mentioned it. He had spoke well of them both, Ari thought, and it was deserved. Well, he wasn't sure about the girl, but Chang was very nice.

Fortunately, there were no more interruptions as he and Torfa cleaned the floor. Following Torfa's lead, Ari brought his bucket to one of the water closets and carefully dumped it in the toilet, flushing it afterwards. Torfa took his bucket, saying, "I'll take these down. Go ahead and clean up or something."

"I can't do that," he protested. "I should do this." He reached to take back his bucket.

"Oh, no." She backed up. "It's your first day, and I don't want to overtax you. Besides, I'm just going to put them away. It's nothing," she insisted.

"Well...fine." It would be churlish to pretest anymore. He watched her leave before turning to go to upstairs. A tall clock, which was nestled between two bedroom doors, began to peal. Ari counted the tolls. One...two...three...four...five. He was surprised at how long it had taken them to clean the entire hall, though - glancing at the length of it - it wasn't too hard to believe.

Ari began to walk again. Of their own accord, his feet slowed down near Michael's room. He didn't know what he had started to think of him as just Michael - probably while he was cleaning and kept thinking about his eyes. It was embarrassing: He wasn't some romantic creature who swooned over every good looking boy. Michael is exceptionally good looking, he thought. Then he scowled. He hadn't even properly met him, for goodness' sakes!

But you want to, his treacherous mind whispered deviously. "Like hell I do," Ari muttered.

"Do what?" a voice asked from behind him.

Ari jumped and whirled around to come face to face with Michael. He looked much the same as yesterday, though today's outfit was blue. He stared in Ari's eyes, and Ari suddenly felt naked. It was like the boy was seeing right into his soul. Then Ari scoffed inwardly and berated himself for such foolish thinking.

"Nothing, Mi- Master Michael." Ari quickly corrected himself as he bowed.

"None of that," Michael said. "I don't like being bowed to." He put his hands in his sleeves. Gazing at Ari in a forthright way, he asked, "Who are you?"

"A-ari," the fair-haired boy replied and cursed himself for stammering.

"Ari." Michael said it as though tasting it. That aroused all sorts of strange and questionable emotions in Ari; he decided to simply ignore them. "I like it. Do you play chess?"

Ari blinked. "Ah, yes, I do. I'm not very good at it, though."

"Good, neither am I. Come with me." Michael brushed past him and opened his door. He stepped inside, waited a moment and looked at a frozen Ari. "Are you coming?" He asked it in his usual neutral tone, but Ari suspected he was feeling a little impatient. Unsure of what to do, Ari nevertheless stepped inside of Michael's room.


A/N: Cliff hanger! Dun dun! Well, not really. I just felt like ending it there (it was getting too long). Anyways...

First, sorry for the long wait. That *bleep* called my muse abandoned me, plus I start school next week and have to get everything done and ready. My stupid schedule was all messed up, I have AP work, there have been parties I needed to attend... *sighs*

Francis is the chef! :D I couldn't not make him the chef. I tried not to, man, but he's too perfect. The maids are no country/countries, nor is Mrs. Chen.

Lien = Vietnam
Chang = Thailand

I picked Lien because it means Lotus, and that's Vietnam's national flower. Mongkut is the king of Siam from The King and I, and Siam was Thailand's former name. Chang means "elephant," so I thought it would be an appropriate nickname for him. I just love the way these two look together. Dunno why. I just think they'd make good friends.

Read and review!