Hello this is Chapter 4. Hope you enjoy. I should give a preface for this chapter and chapters to come. There is some more adult content and touchy content. Depression, anxiety, self harm, suicide, and sexual harassment. I will put warnings at the beginning of each chapter.
"What are you doing? Let me go." I jerk my hand away from him and glare at him. I shove my way past him. He is a creep. I need to get away from him.
"Aw come on. Do you not have fun here? Or do you save it for the masters? Pretty girl like you I am sure they are crawling all over you." He has a fake hurt sound in his voice. I keep walking down the hallway. "Not answering is a huge sign."
Do not answer him. Just keep walking. The sound of footsteps get closer behind me.
"Come now. You are no fun." John complains and I can hear him get closer. I keep walking a little bit faster. I glance around the hall to get my bearings.
This does not seem right… I was upstairs but now I am downstairs. How did I get down here… I cannot think about that right now. If I can just make it to the living room maybe Mark can tell him to leave me alone. I make it to the kitchen instead and see the chef standing there with his knife preparing dinner. He looks up and immediately stands up straighter. He looks behind me and sees John stop in the doorway. I keep walking.
"Hey new guy. Stay out of my kitchen! And leave Alex alone. Or else." The chef glares at him.
"Or else what?" John says with a big smirk on his face as he takes a step into the kitchen. Chef raises his knife and points the tip at him
"Or else you are going to be well acquainted with my knife and our groundskeeper. Now leave Alex alone and get out of my kitchen." A flash of light followed by a think crosses the room. Inches beside John's face is a large knife sticking out of the wall. He takes the hint finally and leaves.
"Th-thank you. He….." I start to say and watch as he walks around and takes the knife out of the wall.
"It is no problem. I do not like him either. If he bothers you more, just let me know." He walks back over and continues preparing the meal.
"Why would you do that for me? We do not know each other. I do not even know your name." I ask and pull down some plates for him. I set them down beside his work station.
"You can just call me Chef. Even though I do not agree with your….. choices. You should not have to put up with people like that. No one should." He steps over to the stove and places the pieces of meat on a pan. The sizzle fills the air.
"My choices?" I ask and watch him move the meat around in the pan.
"Walking around wearing a butler uniform and no liking to be called a girl and your full name. Your name is so pretty." I stay quiet and finish getting the things out to set the table. I leave the room with the utensils. I shake my head to clear it.
The next morning.
After I finish my morning chores I go to find Mark. I knock on his study door and wait for an answer.
"Come in." I can hear the shuffle of papers as I step inside. He is wearing a white button up and is sitting in his office chair. He is holding a piece of paper. He has an almost angry look on his face.
"I could come back later if you would like sir." I turn to leave but before I get very far he stops me.
"Oh no it is alright. I was just reading over something in my father's will…" Something seems to be on his mind.
"Is there something wrong with it sir?" I ask and watch as he puts the paper away.
"Just a technicality that I need to figure out. Do not worry about it. Now." He smiles and gets up from his chair. He grabs the red jacket on the back of his chair and puts it on. "Let us get going." He walks with me to the front. "I called us a taxi. I figured it would be faster and easier." There is a little black and yellow car outside on the other side of the gate. We walk out together and I get in with him.
"What exactly are we doing today?" I question as the car drives off.
"I need to stop by my work for a few hours. After that we will be going and getting you some clothes." Mark states as he pulls out some papers. Mark is a small actor who stars in plays and a few movies.
"Will it be okay for me to be there? Wearing this…." I glance down at my clothes.
"They know who you are. Do not worry." He starts talking to himself as I watch outside. I think it is scripts for his newest role. Not long later the car stops outside of some large building. We both get out together. I tentatively follow him inside. It is a large building with seemingly random things.
"Good morning Markiplier! Good to see you. Who is this?" A voice calls from around the corner of a out of place room.
Markiplier… what name is that? I look at Mark and he is smiling. He waves as the man who called out comes out.
"Good morning. This is Alex. They are my maid. Just taking them out on the town and ehre for a while." Mark says and turns to me. "Markiplier is my stage name. Almost everyone calls me that here. And this is Shane. He is my manager." The man named Shane walks up to us and holds out his hand to me.
"Hello Alex. Markiplier has talked a lot about you. All good things." I can feel my face heating up as I shake his hand. He presses his lips against the back of my hand,
"A-ah thank you." I gently pull my hand away from his grasp. Mark gives him a warning glance.
"So what are we doing today exactly?" Mark questions and walks with Shane. I follow behind him and keep my head down. I glance around occasionally and see some people smiling at me. I wave at one girl and she smiles at me. I watch as Mark and Shane walk off by themselves to a room. The girl I waved at walks up.
"Hello you must be Alex. I am Kathryn, Markiplier's assistant here. He has talked a lot about you." She is a short blackhaired girl with a bright smile and round glasses.
"Yes I am Alex. What does he say about me?" I ask with a smile and a slight blush.
"He says that you are very helpful. He said you are cute and he is right. You are cute. Do you like working for him?" She asks and looks at a piece of paper.
"Yeah he is kind to me. The house is very large and most of the staff are nice. What about you? Do you like working for him?"
"Not really. He is a little arrogant and self centered. He treats me more like a servant than as another human." I frown a little.
"I am sorry to hear that. He is very kind to me…" Is he really that different here.
"It is okay. It is my job. While he is working I will show you around the studio. Follow me." I follow her around as she gives me a tour.
A while later Mark walks back up to us. It had been a few hours.
"I will be taking Alex back now." Mark looks a little tired.
"Sure sir. Have a nice afternoon." Kathryn puts her head down as she leaves. Mark smiles at me.
"Are you hungry?" We walk together to the door we came in from. I can hear the sound of rain falling on the roof.
"No. Kathryne gave me some food while we were waiting." We step outside and Mark pulls out a red umbrella.
"Then we shall go to the shop now. Hopefully the rain will let up here soon." He opens the umbrella and steps out into the rain. "We are not that far away from the store. Get under here you will get wet." I walk under the umbrella and stand close to him as we walk down the sidewalk. I try not to touch him as we walk.
"Why did you choose the name Markiplier? It is a unique name." I ask as we round the corner.
"It just kind of came to me when I first started acting. It just kind of stuck." Mark smiles and puts his arm around my shoulder. "It is more comfortable this way if it is okay with you." I nod and we keep walking a little bit easier this time.
"Thank you for doing this sir." The rain starts to hit harder just as we make it into the shop. The soft sound of a bell goes off as we enter. There are so many shelves of colorful clothing.
"You two came in just in time. The storm is really picking up." The lady behind the counter says with a bright smile.
"Do you think the taxis will still be running up the mountain?" Mark questions and motions for me to walk around the room. I make my way around to one of the walls and pick up a blue shirt.
"Up the mountain? Most likely not. Just a few blocks from here there is a small motel that you can stay at." I can hear the lady say as I grab a few other clothes.
"Okay thank you." Mark finishes talking and walks up to me. "We seem to be stuck here for the night. Grab you some sleep clothes as well." I nod and keep looking around at a few things. A blue long dress catches my eye. I take it off of the rack and look at myself in the mirror.
"I do not know when I will ever wear this…" I wonder out loud. The dress is beautiful and looks like it will fit me perfectly.
"Well if you ever have a day off and want to do something special then you should wear it. This would look amazing on you. Go try it on." Mark gently pushes me towards a small room with a curtain as a door. I close the curtain and try on the dress.
"I do not know… I just do not know when I will wear this." I slowly step out and look myself over. I look over at Mark. His face turns a slight tint of red. Is he blushing?
"Ah… you look great. Like I said you will use it I am sure of it." I blush slightly and go back into the changing room. I walk back out with the dress in my hand. "Here. I found a few more things for you." He hands me a small pile of clothes.
"Thank you again for all of this." I smile at him and relax.
About an hour or so later we finish up in the store. We walk outside together and the rain seems to be pouring down even harder and the wind is picking up.
"I believe the hotel is right up the road." We walk quickly up the sidewalk. I can feel my clothes getting soaked. "This weather is insane." He opens the door for me.
"Good evening you two. This weather is crazy. What can I help you with?" The man behind the front desks asks. Mark walks up to the counter.
"A room with two beds will be fine just for tonight. I live up on the mountain we are just stuck here for the night." The man nods and hands him a key. Mark walks up to me and leads the way down a hallway. I fidget a little as we walk.
This is going to be… interesting. We stop at the door and we step inside. There are two small beds next to each other. I set the brown bag of my new clothes down next to one of them.
"Go ahead and get changed in the bathroom." Something seems to be on his mind, but I dismiss the thought and walk in. I grab a white towel off of the rack and start to dry off. I take off my dress and hang it up to dry as I get changed into my new sleeping outfit. I step out and Mark is now in a white robe.
"Sir may I speak openly?" I ask and sit down on the bed. Mark looks over at me and nods. "What does your father's will say? If there is a problem where I could lose my job I should know." I look down at my hands.
"The problem is easily fixable and I have a plan for it." I can hear him shift a little. "But I suppose I should tell you what the technicality is… I… I have to get married by the end of the year to keep the manor." I look over at him.
"Oh… who did you have in mind?"
"Well… Honestly Celine. We have known each other since we were kids… but she does not like you."
"My opinion does not matter in this situation… If she will make you happy then you should." I look down at my hands. "My job is to serve the manor regardless of who lives in it…"
"You are upset. Tell me what is on your mind." I shake my head and lie down in the bed.
"It does not matter…" What is this feeling… Is this anger or… No.
This is the end of Chapter 4. I cut it a little short but I hope you liked it.
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