Kenny let out a deep breath of victory, happily throwing the brush into the bucket with a splash. After hours of work—fewer hours than he expected—he'd managed to actually clean the entire house. Though, part of the reason for that was because he didn't take a nap earlier, leaving the dirty servant boy with coon-eyes.
"Aw fuck yeah!" He smiled, pleased that his hard work actually paid off. Maybe he should actually work harder to get these results more often... Oh, but the hard work cute into his nap time way too much.
"Merow..." The family cat, Mr. Kitty, meandered into the room, walking up to brush against the blond's leg. Perhaps there was one member of the Cartmans who didn't treat him like total donkey-shit; even if that one member was just the grey ball of fluffy laziness.
"Hey there," Kenny said, glancing down at the feline who'd come to slightly ease his work pains by brushing up against his leg. It was a good thing Mr. Kitty wasn't one of those super finicky cats, otherwise the creature would more than likely steer clear of the boy twenty-four seven.
"Merrrrrow," The cat purred, the sound coming out a bit garglely. He nuzzled his face against Kenny's foot, the fact that dirt was starting to smear on his face and get in his whiskers not fazing him. The cat's tail twisted around Kenny's leg, wrapping around like a vine.
"At least you don't treat me like shit hanging off your ass," The blond smiled, scooping Mr. Kitty up. He did have a bit of a fondness—and soft spot—for cats. And it wasn't just because one could get high off their piss.
Mr. Kitty purred louder, the little motor going to make the cat vibrate thanks to Kenny stroking him. One way to earn a kitty's initial favour was to pet them. His grey tail swished from side to side, showing the only sign of approval Kenny had had all day, maybe all week.
"Doncha like how I cleaned the whole damn house?" Kenny asked the cat, not expecting an exact answer but wanting to feel like at least someone was appreciating him, "Now I can laze around like you do all day while Lord Asswipe and the Bitches are out at a snobby rich folk party!" A quick bit of disappointment crossed him when he said that, although he wasn't sure why he even cared. He was never ever going to meet the standards to go to one of those boring things; so what was the reason to be sad? He shook his head to try and get the ball out of his mind, thinking it was just a random thought caused by overworking himself, "Ain't it gonna be fun?"
Mr. Kitty gazed up at Kenny, his glassy eyes staring into Kenny's before letting out a large yawn. After walking all the way there from the dining room on the other side of the hall, all his energy was gone. It was time for another cat nap!
Yawning was contagious, the blond yawning after the cat. Kenny had to admit that tired barely covered the extent of his exhaustion, having worked nonstop with no breaks or naps. He just wanted to get it done so he could have a free night to himself for once in his life, but it cost him a lot of his energy.
"Yeah, it'll be fun after a nap..." Kenny said, eyes flickering over to the couch. He knew he really shouldn't sleep on it—the Cartman family heirloom couch that cost a fortune—but it was so tempting. The cushions seemed so alluringly comfortable, the pillows so soft and fluffy, and the fact that it was close to the smouldering fireplace made the setting all the more perfect.
"Merow!" Mr. Kitty hopped out of Kenny's arms, landing on his feet before wandering over to curl up on his true master's chair, curling up in the sinkhole Eric's ass imprint created in the cushion.
"Night, fuzzball..." Kenny mumbled, smiling a bit as the cat quickly dozed off. He glanced at the couch again, so tired he could've sworn that the sunshine hitting it was actually coming from the furniture itself, looking like some angelic resting place made especially for Kenny.
Even though he was still grimy (although he just about always was) from the grunt-work that had eaten just about all his day already, the servant boy walked over and flopped on the couch, the cushions feeling like clouds. All his muscle pain was soothed by the softness of the cushions, the warm heat emitted from the fireplace gently radiating on him to engulf him in an aura of cosiness. This was one of the extremely rare moments in which Kenny actually felt relaxed, as though nothing would bother him or ruin the moment.
As his head sunk into the pillow, he shut his eyes, almost immediately falling asleep.
"ARE YOU TWO READY YET?" Cartman bellowed, standing impatiently outside Wendy and Bebe's room.
Honestly, the only reason Eric wanted to go to the ball was for the sake of appearance, not to mention the free food and opportunity to make fun of the royals. What was a better place to rip on Jews than at their own party? Though it would help if we could actually get to the parteh... Eric thought before pounding on the door.
"Jesus Christ, we're coming, asshole!" Bebe shrieked from the other side of the door.
"Well if you two bitches wanna get there on time you better hurry up!" Cartman barked, "You do realise how generous I'm being letting you two come!"
The lock clinked, the door to the girls' room being torn open by a rather irked looking Wendy and an equally annoyed Bebe. Wendy wore a long, slim and sparkling mulberry dress, a fuzzy lavender shawl and long matching gloves. A yellow beret adored her head, all her hair twisted into a long twirling strand that ran down over her right shoulder. Of course, not even the make-up could conceal the frustration gleaming in her eyes. Bebe, meanwhile, had on a brilliant red evening gown, a golden necklace around her neck. Long velvet gloves that went halfway up her forearm were on her hands, accompanied by a few showy rings. Although the girl brushed her hair to give herself a side-bang that covered one eye, all her fury burned in the other one, letting Eric know that she was far from amused.
The girls glowered at their brother, happy that they were simply adopted siblings, and despising how their brother really was generous offering for them to accompany him to the ball.
Even though it was more than likely an issue of vanity, Bebe and Wendy were thankful that Eric said that they could go to the lavish party and let them out of the house for once. Why, they couldn't deny that they had fun looking through all the clothes and getting dressed up to mingle with the upper circles they were virtually cut off from due to being the women of the house under rule of a tyrannical brother of a lord.
"We know that," Wendy snapped, "But you don't have to yell at us because we want to look our best. It is important that your sisters look good; otherwise we'd make a fool of the family name. You know, the one that you're in charge of." A snarky smirk came to her face, knowing that that would push the fatass's buttons for sure.
Cartman narrowed his eyes at the ebony haired girl. Technically, she had a point, though he'd never tell her that she was right. The only one in the house who was ever right was Eric; the only way anyone else could be right would be to agree. But Wendy just loved using her intellect (which far surpassed Eric's) as a snarky tool to piss Cartman off.
"Let's just get to the goddamn ball," The brown-haired lord grumbled, turning to lead the girls down the hall, down the stairs, and out to the carriage waiting to escort them to the palace.
Wendy and Bebe looked at one another, exchanging smirks as a silent way of saying 'And another point for the girls' before following Eric down the corridor.
From the parlour, the loud clacking sound of two sets of high-heels hitting the marble coupled with the booming sound of Cartman's heavy footsteps served as a slight alert for Kenny, warning him that his stepsiblings were nearing. However, Kenny was far too deep in exhausted slumber to hear the signal of impending doom, the only set of ears that perked being those of Mr. Kitty.
"Hey, isn't that Kenny?" Bebe said as the trio passed by the parlour, catching sight of the filthy servant boy snoozing and getting dirt and grunge on the couch.
Cartman stopped, taking a few steps back to peer into the room, eyes widening with rage when he saw just what Kenny was doing.
"KEEEENNY!" Cartman roared, storming into the room, kicking the door open further so it hit the wall with a loud bang. The entire room shook, a few more fragile decorations trembling as they jumped near the edges of their perches, some even falling off in an act of figurine suicide.
"WHA?" Kenny jumped up, the holler jogging the blond right out of his blissful siesta. The moment he saw the angered bull that was Lord Eric Cartman, he knew that he was in for it. SHIT!
Cartman reached for Kenny's neck, taking advantage of the boy's dazed post-nap state to rip him from where he'd been lying and pull him up, shaking him violently.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING LAZING AROUND WHEN YOU SHOULD BE WORKING? AND WERE YOU LYING ON MY MOTHER'S COUCH? DON'T YOU KNOW THAT THAT THING IS WORTH LIKE EIGHT TIMES YOUR WEIGHT IN GOLD YOU SCRAWNY ASS FUCKTARD?" Cartman shouted, trying to scramble Kenny's brains in his fit of fury.
Wendy and Bebe peeped in, standing in the doorway but a distance from their brother. They knew that he was going to throw one hell of a tantrum; and they did not want to get in his way when he could potentially beat them like eggs.
"I-I-I was just-!" Kenny tried to come up with something to say, some sort of excuse, but his brain kept bouncing in his skull so much that he couldn't come up with anything. His head rocked back and forth, Kenny thinking that his head was going to snap off if Eric kept at it. If his muscles weren't still lagging from being fatigued and just waking up, he would've tried to claw at the fat boy or at least make some effort of defence.
"JUST TRYING TO RUIN ONE OF MY DEAD MOTHER'S MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS?" Cartman snarled, although he knew that this was more about punishing Kenny than giving a rat's ass about his mother's furniture, "JUST BECAUSE SHE WASN'T YOUR REAL MOTHER DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO FUCK UP WHAT NOW BELONGS TO ME!" With that, he threw Kenny to the ground, slamming him against the small coffee table before letting him hit the ground.
"Fuck..." Kenny muttered, biting his lip to try and hold back the urge to cry out in too much pain. He felt blood start to dribble from his forehead, that bang to the table making yet another cut.
The blond heard two gasps, the girls covering their mouths in horror. They were used to Cartman's violent beatings, usually seeing Kenny getting physically abused once or twice a day, but this time it completely shattered their actually happy moods. To think they thought a few moments ago that Eric was being slightly kind to them... However, they knew that they were always treated better than their stepbrother to the point that they weren't allowed to talk to him nicely without threat of abuse. And helping him when he was in the middle of punishment was out of the question.
"I BET YOU THINK THIS IS ALL A JOKE, HUH KENNY?" The lord raved, kicking the blond in the stomach, "YOU THINK THAT IT'S JUST FINE FOR YOU TO NOT WORK AND JUST DEFILE MY PROPERTAH?"
Kenny curled up, clutching his stomach. "I CLEANED THE WHOLE FUCKING HOUSE!" He groaned, "THE WHOLE MOTHERFUCKING THING JUST LIKE YOU SAID! I—"
A foot to the cheek was a sure way to stop Kenny from squeezing in another word.
"YOU CALL THIS CLEAN?" Cartman shouted, pushing over the couch his mother apparently adored, a few bits of wood breaking off, "THIS ISN'T CLEAN! THIS IS SHIT!" He flipped over the coffee table, the thing tumbling before it slammed against the side of the fireplace, losing a leg and a half in the process.
"Shit..." Kenny mumbled, taking a hand off his stomach to rub his cheek. He fought to sit up, only for his eyes to widen in near horror at what Eric was doing to the room.
As though the boy really was a wild raging bull, Cartman went through the room, flipping over and destroying everything in his wake. Paintings were thrown from the walls, ornaments and books knocked from the shelves, furniture pushed over, and even parts of the wall scratched off. Mr. Kitty fled the scene, rushing past the appalled sisters who could only watch as all Kenny's work was undone and then octupled.
The blond dared not speak, already in enough pain from only a couple of good strong blows, nearly compelled to tears as hours of hard work became wasted time and days of additional fixing up added. That goddamn son of a bitch...
Cartman wasn't nearly done though. Even with the parlour in near shambles, his rage still wasn't satisfied. The fat boy charged past the girls, headed into the hall, a symphony of bangs and shatters filling the entire manor.
Wendy and Bebe stared out at what Eric was doing, all the damage he was causing, then looked to their fallen stepbrother, mouths gaping open, the gleam in their eyes telling Kenny that Cartman was going to bring the entire house to the ground before he was done.
Without saying a word, Kenny's expression asked 'Can't you two do anything?', desperately needing just a little compassion to get him on his feet and motivated again.
The sisters' eyes flickered to each other Kenny, back to one another, and finally back to Kenny. Both of them wanted to, well aware that Kenny, despite his sometimes perverted nature, was actually a good person deep down. But, they knew that trying to stop Eric when he was in such a state of throwing a hissy fit would only lead to either serious injury or worse.
So, even though they did want to help, the two valued their own one night of freedom and their current state of no broken bones more than they did attempting to aid Kenny. The risks were too great, and it was more than likely they'd fail anyway. However, that didn't stop Wendy and Bebe from feeling a well of guilt inside them, knowing that what they were doing was completely selfish. They looked away from Kenny, tearing their eyes from his pleading face. Bebe made sure her side bang covered her eye while Wendy fixed her shawl so she couldn't see her stepbrother as the sisters left the room, headed to the carriage, wanting to wait away from the madness.
Kenny vacantly stared at where the two stood, listening to the sonata of chaos composed by Eric Cartman, a hollow worthless feeling filling him. After so many years of putting up with all of Eric's crap, tonight was supposed to be his night to actually take a break and not have to worry about getting physically or verbally abused. He wasn't going to have to do any cleaning and just be able to loaf around and relax like what Cartman did all day.
But no, evidently he didn't deserve that luxury.
So, when the sounds of things being demolished and breaking finally ceased, Kenny felt like, somewhere along the way, part of him was broken in the destructive razing. He scarcely even noticed when Eric returned, brushing off some sawdust from his black suit.
"I expect the entire house to be perfect when we get back," Cartman said slowly, demanding the impossible, "Get it?"
Kenny, after gazing at the boy he so loathed for a long moment, nodded, having no choice but to accept the undoable challenge and have to suffer whatever torture he was setting himself up for after he failed.
"Good boy," Cartman said, giving Kenny one last wicked smile before walking off down the hall, going to accompany his sisters to the royal ball and leave his stepbrother to sit in the ashes of his destruction.
Eventually, the footsteps faded, the sound of galloping horses pulling a carriage coming and going in almost no time. The blond glanced at the clock on that had been thrown to the floor but miraculously still worked.
Half past eight. That meant he'd have roughly four or five hours to entirely restore the manor to its most presiding state.
"Basically... I either need to hang myself now or hope for a motherfucking miracle..." Kenny muttered, ignoring the urges inside him that told him to ball his eyes out. Even though the situation was bleak, he refused to be a sobbing little pussy about it.
"You don't need a miracle!" A random British voice chimed from nowhere, "You just need a little magic!"
One thing and one thing alone crossed Kenny's mind.
"WHAT THE FUCK?"
A/N: Pff after trying for the entire week to work on this, I finally got another chapter knocked down. Phew! Well, I had schoolwork and all that bull. I know this chapter was more sad (I assume so since Kenny just got beaten) than funny...But hey it's necessary. And now I have all of spring break to write as much of this as I can. Hell, the fun part's about to get started! Teehee~ Random pointless author's note is random and pointless so I will shut up now. R&R! ~CQO
