"This is a big house" That was all I was capable of saying as I stood in the driveway of Wayne Manor, having just gotten out of the car. "It is just... really big"
"Wait until you see the inside" Bruce forewarned me as he ushered me up the steps leading to the front doors, which Alfred was holding open. Once inside, I was again shocked silent by the size and the decadence of the house. Although it still wasn't completely furnished, most of the decorative pieces had yet to be purchased, just the functional pieces were enough to give the manor a rich air. It was easy to see that this was a new home. Just the way it gleamed was enough of a tip off, it had a sheen that no amount of cleaning could restore. But this newness couldn't hold my attention for long, and I soon became interested in a painting hanging at the top of the stairs in the foyer. Slightly burnt, it was still easy to see the three subjects, a man, woman, and boy. I could only assume that it was Bruce and his parents.
"Who is that in the painting?" I inquired. Bruce glanced up to the painting I was studying and looked at it for a moment.
"That would be myself and my parents. It was painted when I was about eight, right before they were murdered." He glanced down at his feet for brief moment before looking back up at me. "I'm just glad that Alfred put it into a flame resistant frame just a few days before the fire, although it did get damaged a bit"
"They make flame resistant frames?" I decided that the topic of his parents might not be the best to talk about at the moment, so I steered the conversation away from it.
"Not really"
"So it wasn't a flame resistant frame"
"Oh no, it was." Now I was just really confused, and it must have shown on my face. "The frame was a prototype made by the scientists at Wayne Industries some years back. It wasn't put into mass production because it was to costly to make and the price for the consumer would be to high." Bruce explained to me patiently.
"How did you get it?" A sly grin spread across his handsome face at my question and for a moment all thoughts in my brain just stopped. This guy was too good-looking, something I never thought I would say about a man.
"I borrowed it" He said with amusement before he started to walk up the staircase with my suitcase in hand.
"I hope they didn't want it back." I muttered as I followed behind Bruce up the stairs. Looking around, I continued to be amazed by the house. So wrapped up in looking, I almost missed turning down a hallway to our left. It was a rather long hallway, painted a golden hue instead of covered in marble like the foyer. At the end of it were two maple double doors with golden handles.
"Here we are," Bruce said, stopping in front of a door, "this is going to be your room." Pushing the door open, he allowed me to enter first. Immediately, I was in awe. The walls were this greenish color with what appeared to be some brown in it. There was a white trim around the top that went onto the white ceiling, so the room seemed to mesh together. Two big white windows were along the back wall with light brown drapes pulled back next to them. The bed was done up in golden bedding, and had a drapery headboard. Two chairs and a table provided a sitting area that highlighted two doors.
"This one leads to your bathroom, the other to a walk-in closet." Bruce pointed to each one as he gave the brief summery to where they led. I walked over to the door he said went to the bathroom and opened it to take a quick look at the facility. The bathroom was just as beautiful as the bedroom. It was down up in crème paint and marble, with a full tub as well as a glass shower. There was a toilet, of coarse, as well as a vanity with a sink. Shaking my head, I closed the door and turned to Bruce.
"Are you sure you want me to stay in here?" I asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" Bruce responded.
"It's just so…grand. Too grand for me" Bruce just gave me a smile as he put down my suitcase and went to the door leading back to the hallway.
"Why don't I leave you to unpacking your things," He opened the door as he continued, "I'll be down in my study, which is just off the foyer on the right." He walked out of the room and started to close the door, but before it closed completely, he made one last remark. "By the way, nothing is too grand for you."
Sorry this chapter is so short, but I hope I have something that might make up for it. If you go to my profile and click over to my homepage, you'll find a livejournal I made for the story. I plan things things like pictures and other things to help you feel like you are inside the story. Right now, you'll find at the journal pictures of Serena's bedroom and bathroom at Wayne Manor, as well as a character guide. It gives the characters that I plan on using in the story, as well as how I am picturing them. So go over and take a look.