They talked as The Creature walked on. The Creature asked almost every 5 minutes what it was like to have a home & a family that cared & what it was like to possess things. Emily spoke very fondly of her music box. She described it as, 'made of rich oak wood, polished, shiny, framed with gold, holding a picture of her expired father, holding some very valuble jewlery' & that it played a 'very enchanting song' that she often fell asleep to. She promised to let him see it when they got there.
It was night fall by the time they got back & nobody was home, not even Emily's two little sisters.
She sighed. "Probably out searching for me... again." She motioned for The Creature to follow her upstairs to her room & she made sure the door was securely shut. It was a large house, nearly a mansion. Emily's mother had been married to a very rich man.
Emily got on her knees in front of the bed & got her music box out, setting it on her dresser & sitting on the chair in front of it. She wound it up a few times & opened it, revealing to The Creature many necklaces & rings encrested with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires & rubies of all sorts, shapes & sizes. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. And Emily hadn't lied about the music - it was very enchanting.
The creature knelt down, seeing himself in the mirror. The first time he had seen himself with all of the detail in tact & it was actually worse, because of the candle that Emily had lit; it played grotesque games on his face. His eyes widened a little. He knew he was ugly, but not this badly. Emily saw what he was doing & she flipped the mirror around swiftly so it faced the wall. This broke his trance, but he felt a new wave of stress grip him.
Emily rooted through the music box, retreiving a dark ruby necklace. She held it before him & he stared deep within the jewel until she clipped it around his neck. "You can keep it."
He was speechless for a moment. He'd never possessed something so lovely. "Th... thank you."
Emily wondered why no one tried to see passed his body. He didn't look all that bad once befriended. He actually looked... well, almost normal. Emily peaked at a clock on the wall, closed her music box & sighed. "Well, they're going to be looking for me for a long time if they're not back yet. Probably going to be searching for the better half of the night... so, what do you say to a little tour of the house?"
The Creature stood up & followed Emily as she lead the way, sheilding the candle from the breeze she made as she was walking, giving the gorgeous old mansion a comforting glow. His eyes had never beheld a house such as this. Portraits of noblemen & what must have been family members lined the wall as they moved on.
"This is all pretty new to me, too." Emily said, her footsteps light & delicate as where his were careless & heavy. "We just moved here a few days ago and I only know this place to a certain extent."
"It's lovely," The Creature said, looking up at the high ceiling, admiring the craftsmanship.
She showed him as much as she could: The kitchen (which they snuck some food from), some of the bedrooms, some of the large hallways & she showed him around the backyard, where there was the most attractive pond anyone could ever hope to see. It sparkled like a diamond in the moonlight. The Creature & Emily took a seat on a wooden bench for a while, just staring at the pond, the moon & the stars. This was the most peace the monster had known.
Emily grew tired & stretched a little, standing up. "We best settle in for the night." They both started back for her room & when they entered, Emily slipped behind a curtain. "Stay there & don't peak," Her silhouette revealed to him that she was undressing & redressing with a gown of sorts, causing him to blush. She came out, wearing a light pink, long silky nightgown & was in the process of braiding her dark black hair.
She gave another stretch & looked at him, walking over to her bed & taking a seat on the side, almost as if she were waiting for something. "Well... aren't you going to lay down?"
He didn't know what to do exactly, so he stood there, looking confused & quite out of place. She laughed a little, stood up & pulled him towards the bed. He took a seat after she practically forced him to & she finally situated him enough so he could lay down. Just before Emily hopped into bed beside him, he spoke.
"Emily, c-... could you play your music box? So we could fall asleep to it?"
She nodded, walking over to her dresser, winding the box up slowly. "You know, I still need to come up with a name for you. I mean... I can't just refer to you as 'him' for the rest of my life. Would you like a name?"
"Yes," He couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought of having a name.
"Hm... let's see." She kept her hand on the music box, thinking. "No offense, but you don't exactly look like any kind of name..." She looked at her box, thinking of her father. "Well, you're kind like my father was. And strong like he was. How about I name you Murdoc, after him?"
The Creature liked the sound of the name. It seemed to almost suit him in a way. He nodded his approval & Emily opened the music box, letting the quiet, sweet meoldy fill the room. She crawled into bed with the newly-named Murdoc & covered him up along with herself. She couldn't help but sling one arm over his broad chest; it was a force of habit from the many years of sleeping with stuffed animals. Murdoc was a little startled at first, but didn't pull away. He liked it too much. Instead of jerking away from her touch, he turned on his side & put an arm over her fragile form.
Emily smiled & put her face lightly into his chest, both of them falling asleep almost instantly.
