-cast-
Garren- Giroro
Nora- Natsumi
Kedrick- Keroro
Tobias- Tamama
Mirielle- Mois
Sinley- Saburo
Greyson- Garuru
Donatello- Dororo
Kaylin- Koyuki
Felix- Fuyuki
Kurt- Kururu
Garren awoke the next day almost forgetting his new found servitude. He ran his fingers through his yellow hair and sighed. He then washed and dressed in his second new suit. His second time blushing and fumbling his fingers as he tied the red ribbon around his neck.
He served oatmeal with fresh strawberries and milk. Nora ate quickly and stood from her seat before Garren could excuse himself for his own breakfast.
"I have a guest coming today. I want you to stand by the door until he arrives." Nora gave a stern glare before closing her eyes and turning her head up confidently. "I'll wait for him in the study."
Garren watched in surprise as she calmly walked out to the hall. This woman was different from the lonely and crying girl from the past two days. This was the woman he met on the first night; the one who dared to slap him after he admitted that he had no problem taking someone's life. After the shock wore away, Garren gave a small grin; baring his fangs. Good to know she's feeling better. Part of him suddenly remembered the hug and wondered if that did the trick, in which case he was now thoroughly embarrassed.
When he gathered his composure again, he quickly cleaned and positioned himself professionally by the front door. Waiting for any sound of carriage or horses. After an hour Garren straightened his coat and cleared his throat. When three additional hours had passed Garren was impatient and ready to throw his knife at the guy that kept him waiting by the door whether he knew Garren was there or not. Finally there arose the sound of slow hooves upon the path.
Garren opened the doors to find an odd wooden carriage covered in even more peculiar items and metal rods. The butler was reluctant to get near but knowing that Nora had returned to the mood that will punish anything that doesn't obey, convinced him to get on with it. He opened the door and bowed to the passenger.
"So I see you're the replacement?" The voice was… different to say the least. It was as if the man hadn't quite finished developing his vocal cords leaving his voice cracking and scratchy. When Garren heard the man step out of the carriage, he straightened up and carefully closed the door behind the guest. The man before him was slightly shorter than him. He had long brown hair tied back loosely by a satin yellow ribbon. His clothes were expensive and hurt Garren's coin pouch just by looking at them. He looked up at the man's face and realized he had been giving him a glance over as well. "Huh, you're not much to look at are you? Tch, too rugged and scarred."
Garren was baffled by his statement. The guest pushed up his glasses, causing the sun to glare and preventing anyone from seeing his eyes. He quickly walked to the back of the cart and pulled off a small case.
"Bring the rest of these boxes inside." The guest pointed lazily to the cart and then walked inside the mansion. Garren silently followed his order and piled ten boxes in his arms. He had to be swift but careful as he followed the strange man down the hall. Soon they arrived to the study room Nora had been waiting in.
"Finally I- oh my." She gasped at the sight of Garren overwhelmed by the packages. "I see you were as considerate as ever to let my new butler carry every last little thing for you."
"You didn't expect me to change did you?" The guest laughed in a way Garren had never heard and it put him in the most uncomfortable feeling he could imagine. "Just set everything in the corner there."
The man pointed to the farthest corner from the door. Garren huffed as he followed the direction and carefully set the boxes in the designated space. Nora looked at him with empathy.
"Thank you Garren. Now I should introduce you to our guest." Nora gestured to the man who took the liberty to collapse onto a couch. He sat with a pompous feel but his posture was profoundly lethargic. "His name is Kurt Schade. He's, well loosely put as a friend of the family. He worked with my father and owns half of the business. He also tutors my brother and myself. He may seem off but he's highly intelligent."
Garren nodded his head to Kurt.
"Kurt, this is Garren he's replacing Sinley. Please excuse him if he doesn't act proper. He wasn't traditionally a butler." Nora explained Garren's position lightly.
"Your last one wasn't so proper either, but you didn't mention how this one looked so basic in your message." Kurt chuckled once more as Garren tensed at the insult. "What is your last name?"
"It's Kenward, sir." Garren replied. His reluctance to answer was profoundly overt.
"How fitting." Kurt looked away seemingly uninterested.
"Garren you are excused for now but I need you to go and help Mirielle finish lunch. Then you may start your chores for today." Nora relayed her instructions.
"Yes my lady." Garren gave her a polite bow and made his escape from Kurt.
"Come out with it already, what's your real opinion about him." Nora sat down on the opposite couch.
"He's different." Kurt was silent for a moment in thought before giving a slight chuckle. "His name means bold royal guard. Keep him close if you can, no matter what he did or will do to you."
"You make him sound so important. That's unlike you to give someone who murdered your apprentice such a glittering review." Nora bantered hoping to see more of his truest opinions.
"Tch, don't mix what I say for anything cordial. I'm only advising you with such things to keep your father from returning and haunting me with any of his ridiculous colloquialisms." Kurt was quick to remove any doubts that he was course and rude. "If we finish your lessons briskly, I can get along with something better for my time."
Garren entered the kitchen to find Mirielle stirring in a giant pot. The aroma was the second thing he noticed as soon as it slammed his senses. It was a strong essence of something spicy and yet sweet.
"Good morning Garren." Mirielle smiled a bright greeting. She continued to stir even as she moved her attention to the butler.
"What are you cooking that smells so strange? Also it's nearly noon." Garren walked closer and soon saw the slop of meat chunks and vegetables in a what looked like an eerie brown soup.
"It's curry." Mirielle replied happily. "It's Mr. Schade's favorite dish so I make it for him every time he visits."
"What's curry?" Garren looked quizzically to the girl.
"Here, taste it." Mirielle grabbed a spoon and ladled a bite out for him. He cautiously welcomed the sample and was surprised to find it rather savory, until the moment he swallowed as his mouth flared with a burning flavor. He frantically guzzled the nearest pitcher of water.
"I don't mean to insult you but that food is too spicy for safe consumption. Let alone an enjoyable meal." Garren gagged at the remaining spice in his throat.
"That's how Mr. Schade likes it." Mirielle giggled.
"How does Miss Litwin stand it?" Garren couldn't fathom how anyone handled the monstrous taste.
"I change the dish before I serve hers of course." Mirielle made it sound so obvious.
"Of course." Garren sighed.
"I'm almost done if you could set up the dishes and tableware for me?" Mirielle pleaded with an innocent look.
"I was sent to help so I will perform that simple task." Garren mumbled as he went long with the chore. It wasn't long before lunch was served, consumed, and the lesson continued. Garren followed Mirielle as she showed him how to clean certain things and what precisely to leave alone. "Are you always this, cheerful?"
"Just about." Mirielle opened the door to a pink bedroom. "I want to keep everyone happy and that usually starts with a smile and showing that I'm happy."
"Logically sound." Garren admitted as he looked around the room. "Whose room is this?"
"It's Nora's. I need to change the sheets which will be faster if we work together." Mirielle made quick work of removing the covers and sheets. Garren assumed his post on the other side of the bed. Mirielle tossed the fresh and fluffy fabrics up over the bed allowing it to unfold. Garren grabbed his side and began to tuck the ends under the mattress. The linens and quilts were easily set; but as Mirielle sent a pillow flying at Garren, he fumbled and fell to the floor. His hands reached out for stability and he brought down the bedside table with him and a blue box, which had been sitting nicely atop, clattered to the floor. Mirielle gasped and quickly ran to his aid. "Are you alright?!"
"I am not harmed." Garren brushed his coat and straightened his hair, at least as much as he could. He glanced at the opened box and anxiously picked it up before Nora could know. In his haste a single item fell from the box, it was a small pendant hanging from a satin cord. The pendant displayed the sun and moon as if one being. "What's this?"
"Oh, that's her special necklace." Mirielle answered. "She keeps it boxed away since he brother went missing."
"Why?" Garren carefully tucked it back into the box and then onto the table.
"He had a pin designed exactly the same. It was something that linked them together as siblings." Mirielle explained. Garren thought back to what he and his brother shared and understood a bit more how Nora could feel. To miss her brother so much she couldn't look at the charm that resembled their connection. "Come on we have other things to do than look at her things."
"Of course." Garren cleared his throat and followed that maid.
Garren lugged all of Kurt's boxes and parcels back to his carriage. The odd man waited by the door for Garren to finish strapping all of items down.
"If you're the idiot you appear to be I'll just let you know she needs help. You will need to be able to do more than attack a man in a dark alley to protect her." Kurt gave a strange smile.
"If you can explain what's happening around here please go on." Garren eagerly listened for more information.
"I can't tell you everything. What adventure would there be for you to have?" Kurt chuckled behind his hand. "I'll give you more when you deserve it. Show some initiative. I left her in the library."
Garren tried to withhold his retorts and anger. All he could do was stand still as Kurt was driven away. Kedrick walked behind Garren.
"Yes, that man is weird and very rude. You will adjust after some time." He spoke once without stopping and left Garren alone. Garren shook his head and made his way back inside and towards the library. He looked around the shelves and noticed this library was different from others he had seen. Of course he hadn't seen too many but enough to get the idea.
The room seemed to be split in two. One side was filled with mostly romance novels and organized the way a normal library would. The other seemed to have no organization and the titles suggested fictional stories of monsters and uncommon theories. Nora was standing on the half of the disorganized books holding an open book of mythical lake creatures.
"You have an... interesting library, my lady." Garren commented as he approached his Mistress.
"My brother and I shared it. He loved to read about strange things. I know it doesn't appear categorized but it is, by subjects and theories instead of title or author." Nora closed the book she held and sniffled. "I kind of hope that reading such strange things has made him less afraid of the world, but the rest of me is worried that his head is so full of false ideas that he won't know how to take care of himself or defend against the horrible people in the world. I'm sorry I keep crying but my life is far from stable as of late."
"Don't apologize." Garren spoke up. "I have a brother as well and I still can't imagine how real and distressing it feels to find them missing for any amount of time. In addition it seems that I have come and made things much worse for you."
"You had said it was your job." Nora thought back to the night he carried Sinley's corpse home. "Why exactly was it your job?"
"I'm not allowed to explain that." Garren answered as his voice became quiet. He didn't want to have her prying in where she shouldn't. "Only that it was my responsibility to do so."
"Why not?" Nora turned her brows down at him. She was determined. "You work for me now correct? I should know everything about my servants especially why they murder."
"It's... something I just... I can't tell you." Garren stiffened up. He looked into her eyes and knew that she wouldn't let up until she knew everything.
"Tell me Garren." Nora continued on. "What keeps you from telling me."
"My brother." Garren spit out a fake answer hoping it would quickly lead her off.
"Garren," Nora's voice softened. She now looked at him with worry. "Are you forced, to do things you know are wrong?"
"Please don't keep asking about it." Garren severely wanted to explain that he wasn't being forced but it looked like that was what could stray her away from the topic for now. Nora placed the book she had been holding onto the shelf and walked closer to Garren.
"Whenever you're ready to tell me everything, I'll listen." She started her way out of the room before pausing at the door. "And thank you, for listening to me and understanding."
Once Garren knew she was gone he picked up a book and pounded it against his forehead multiple times. Well I wasn't really lying. Greyson would have killed me if I told her. I have to see him as soon as I get the chance. If I can get away from the funeral tomorrow ... Garren looked down at the book in his hands and noticed a small dent his head had formed. He hurriedly stuffed the book back on its shelf and finished his chores for the night.