Yo, it certainly has been a while since I last wrote anything for Afterlife. However, I had two AP exams, band stuff, and writer's block to thank for that. I must mention that I have started brass camp this week. What that means is that I am in a camp where brass players like trumpets (my peeps) and trombones join together at a college to develop their skills. I admit that I am not the best trumpet player. I keep screwing everyone up in my group because for some reason, I find keeping up with the same tempo to be hard. My crush is there because he's also a trumpet player, and I am making a complete idiot of myself in front of him because I have no confidence in my abilities. TT^TT
Anyways, here's the next chapter for your enjoyment.
(Ark's POV)
"Sebastian explain the reason why there is a giant hole in the ceiling."
"Young Master, I was hoping to have it patched up before you noticed, but I must apologize. It was my fault. I sent Ark up there to clean the attic, but the ceiling wasn't as stable as I had hoped."
"Fix it."
"Right away, sir."
Sebastian bowed to the little bratty rich kid then turned to see me lingering inside the room. He glared at me for a single second before leaving. I was now left alone with the kid, who was staring at me.
"It's only been two days," he said. "And you already caused trouble."
I flinched. Anger boiled inside me. Did he seriously think that I meant for the stupid attic to collapse underneath me? He must be out of his little stuck up mind if he thinks that I actually wanted to go through that crappy situation.
"I...am...sorry...sir."
I know that it sucked, but I still am out to prove that I am better than Sebastian. I will not let him win this war.
"It...was...not...my...intention."
"It might not have been your intentions, but I will not allow a servant destroy my household. Keep in mind that I am allowing you to living in my home. Do not take advantage of it, Ark."
"I...will...keep...that...in...mind...sir."
Bowing in the same manner as Sebastian, it took every single last part of my will to fake a smile. He's not even trying to be pleasant. However, if Sebastian can deal with it, I can too. I just have to keep that in mind.
"Good." The little rich brat replied.
He turned his back to me.
"Is...there...anything...that...I...can...do?"
"No."
"Okay...thank...you."
Once again forcing myself to bow, I watched as he walked away. So, I tried to be a good servant. That was a good move. If he didn't want my help then that was okay. I'm not going to reduce myself to cussing him out like I did when I woke up with my head cut off. That would not be a good move for a servant that wants to be better than the so-called "perfect butler."
{Time Skip}
My god, it's boring as hell when you have nothing to do. It's starting to remind me of the weeks after my death. Normally, I would be hanging out with Zach and the gang down at the field close to the school where we would be doing all the stupid things that seemed to drive me day after day. The weeks following my death, I found that my whole world had changed. I couldn't go out in public because in a small town like Nutter Fort, everyone can see everything. Everyone hears everything. You couldn't take a breath without someone literally spreading rumors about you. I don't know how many times I caught people talking about my dad and how he could never control me. Pssh, like they knew anything. It wasn't like he couldn't control me. It was more along the lines that my dad never tried to control me. He never noticed anything about my life. All he ever seemed to care about is work and my stupid cousin. The funny thing, I can remember when we used to do things like camping, bowling, and riding four wheelers. However, it all changed without any warning. I never understood why.
"Ark, hey Ark!"
Glancing over, I saw a blurring cloud of dust coming towards me. As it came closer, I noticed that it appears to be a person. Having only one eye makes it hard to actually see sometimes, but I tried to focus. As the person came closer, I realized who it was. My eye widened.
"Ark!"
Someone slammed directly into me before I could react in time. I couldn't actually feel any pain, but I could feel myself falling backwards from impact. Grunting, I glanced towards the blonde haired kid that seemed to be the source of all my problems.
"Finny...what...the...hell?!"
"Ark, I messed up again!"
Tears gushed out of his eyes as he gripped the front of my shirt with both his fists. I felt my eye twitch.
"What...did...you...do...this...time?"
He didn't even bother to explain himself. He just dragged me away. The hallways sped by as he went at an unbelievable pace.
"Finny...please...slow...down." I begged.
Finny jerked to a halt causing me to fall flat on my face. Shoving my rage down, I pushed myself up.
"Sorry!" Finny yelled.
I didn't bother saying anything since I didn't want him to start crying. I've learned the hard way that he's even more annoying when he cries. Nothing is worse than a kid around my age sobbing uncontrollably like a baby that just shit its diaper.
"It's...alright." I muttered.
Getting to my feet, I dusted off the front of my shirt. It's already wrinkled where he grabbed hold of it, and now, it's also dirty from my fall. I honestly didn't normally care about dirty clothes, but this wasn't really a good moment to be dirty. If he freaked out over his ceiling have a giant hole, the little rich brat would absolutely hate having a servant that looks like trash. I can just tell because that's how he was coming off to me.
"Why...did...you...bring...me...out...here?"
Finny's eyes filled with tears as he lifted his hand up. I only had to follow it to find the answer to my question.
"Finny...what...the...hell...did...you...do?"
The whole garden was destroyed. Every tree was turned upwards with the roots hanging up towards the sky like it was raising clawed hands for something that wasn't there. The flowers laid upon the ground in sickly shades of dark green that one would find when a plant is either burned alive or needs water so badly that it uses up all its strength trying to find some. The concrete that surrounded the Phantomhive household is now an ugly shade of light blue with cracks. In certain spots, there were pointy rocks larger than me sitting around. The whole place looked trashed.
"I tried to fix the garden." he stated.
I wanted to point out that this garden is in the worst state that I ever seen in my life, but I didn't because he knew. There was no time to waste telling him. We needed to repair the whole garden before...
"What happened here?"
Flinching, I spun around to see an angry looking Sebastian. His eyes narrowed so badly that if looks could kill, Finny would be lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
"Mr. Sebastian!"
Finny practically threw himself at the man, who didn't even wince. It's like he knew it was coming.
"I'm sorry! I was only trying to help!"
He didn't help very well, but that was obvious.
"How many times have I told you not to touch the garden?" Sebastian asked, "You always ruin it."
Always ruin the garden? Isn't Finny the gardener? Yeah, he is. So, why does the rich little brat keep him around if he kills everything plant-like? Is he in the same exact situation that I'm in? If so, we need to get the hell out of here because they really shouldn't be kidnapping then forcing people to become their servants. It's sick.
"I'm sorry!"
"It's alright. I will have to fix it. However, I don't want you touching it again. We have very important guests coming tonight. The garden must be perfect."
There's that word again. Perfect...it seems like the whole place thrives on it. I have been sensing it since the very beginning when I first started to work here.
"Do you got that?"
"Yes, Mr. Sebastian!"
An excited Finny rushed passed me into the household clearly full of purpose on some task that I'm sure that Sebastian made up just to keep him out of the way.
"Ark."
Meeting the butler's eyes, I found myself tensing up as a darkened expression emerged on his face.
"Y-Yeah?" I croaked.
"I'm sure that you have heard the young master mention a guest."
"Yeah?"
"We can't have them figuring out what you are."
I eyed him curiously.
"What...do...you...want...me...to...do?"
The corners of his mouth tilted upwards filling me with dread. This isn't going to be good.
{Yet Another Time Skip}
Sighing, I continued to stare up at the ceiling right where the walls met in order to form a perfect point. It wasn't the best way to be spending my time, but on the bright side, I still have all my body parts attached unlike the time I first woke up in this place. Sebastian's orders were clear. Stay in this room. Don't leave. Don't make any noise. Just lay in here. Stay out of the way. Don't cause trouble. If I behaved, I could have some roast beef instead of that terrible fancy fish shit that we had last night. I know that as a ghoul that I need some sort of meat, but I HATE fish. It's so bland and watery that my stomach churns every single time I take a chunk out of it. I don't know how I managed to eat it. What if I was losing my sense of taste? What if it's a ghoul thing to be indifferent to whatever they eat? The possible reasons swirl in my head as I pushed them aside.
I wonder how my family is right now. Is my mom still crying? Does my dad care yet? I don't think so, but it was nice to actually pretend that he does even if it was a little. However, if he didn't care at my funeral, why would he care now? The answer, he wouldn't. He's just a cold hearted asshole that I happened to know. I shouldn't care. I shouldn't even be thinking of him since I can never go back to that part of my life ever again. I am no longer Patrick Blade because he died that night in the midst of an accident. I am now, Ark Blade, the ghoul servant of the Phantomhive family. Shutting my eye, I smiled. This new life might be boring as hell, but I am going to make it more interesting. The sound of the door opening made me sit up to see Sebastian with a tray in his hands.
"You're doing a good job, Ark." he said.
The usual playful smirk was on his face as he placed the tray on the small table in the room.
"Here's the reward for your good behavior."
I was tempted to tell him that I am not a dog, but I really wanted meat. It wasn't worth it to fight him when I'm so close. I could even smell it. Steam is coming off from on top of the lid.
"I'll leave you to enjoy."
Turning, he left the room. The minute that the door shut, I impatiently ripped the lid off to gaze at the giant piece of delicious beef. It was so beautifully cooked that there was a puddle of blood underneath to reveal just how juicy it was. I practically drooled. If being good meant that I get more meals like this, then screw being the rebel.
There wasn't a single knife or fork. It seems that he's learning that I don't bother with silverware. I know that it's not a well mannered like the rich little brat wants, but I don't give a shit. I just want to eat. Meat is meat no matter how you eat it. Picking it up, I began to munch it. I could feel the bloody juices running down my face, and it made me feel excited. If my heart was still beating, it would be pounding as I ripped off a chunk then swallowed. My hands squeezed the beef making a sound squishing sound come from it. I had been looking forward to this moment all last night when Sebastian mentioned that we would be stocking up on beef. Each bite made the beef become more appealing. I couldn't stop my inner ghoul from coming out causing me to want to devour every last bite until there was nothing left. I wanted this beef to be non-existing by the time I finished it off.
The door opening caused me to freeze as I looked over. A strange man that I never seen before leaned against the doors. He panted not noticing me at first. When he did, his eyes bulged. My teeth were still buried deep in the meat in my hands. The blood from it now covered my shirt, face, and neck. Sebastian mentioned something about a guest coming. This must be one of them now. Stepping towards him, I released the beef from my mouth, but still held it. The man began to tremble as I took another step. Lifting my meat towards him, I opened my mouth ready to ask if he wanted any when he suddenly let out an awful scream. His body turned as he thrusted the doors open then disappeared. Slightly confused, I decided that it was best not to ask any questions. If he didn't want to have some meat then that meant more for me.
{Time Skip}
Well, the guest is gone. No one knows where the hell he went, but Sebastian and the rich little brat won't tell us what happened. I wonder if it was my fault since he did walk in on me eating, but when I told Sebastian, he assured me that it wasn't. He only smirked when I asked him if he was sure. He obviously knew something that I didn't. However, I didn't care. If the guest mysteriously disappeared, it was better not to snoop around. I learned the hard way why you shouldn't be sneaking around the Phantomhive household.
"Ark, you're a mess." Mey-Rin said.
I grimaced at the large stains of crimson trailing down the once white dress shirt that I had worn earlier.
"Yeah." I muttered.
XD I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. It took a long time of plotting to put together. If anyone was wondering, the "guest" that was in the chapter was the one that tried to screw Cecil over with the loans for the toy factory that went out of business, but he was trying to get more money out of him because he was greedy. However, Cecil knew then decided to teach the guy a lesson by playing a board game that Sebastian seemed to make come to life. The guy broke his ankle, and he locked himself inside an oven only to scream while running away onto the road away from the Phantomhive household never to be seen again in the series. Does anyone remember that episode? I forget which episode that was, but I was sure that it was near the beginning (first episode?).
:P Please review, follow, etc. because it really does help.
