A Secret Hidden From You
Ch. 3 Getting to Know You
I don't know if I have to put a disclaimer on every chapter so unless someone tells me that I have to I'm just gonna say look at the beginning of chapter 2 for it. :)
After exiting his room, Matthew met up with Lovino. Together, they left for the gardens while the others went to their respective jobs.
The gardens were located around the large castle. They consisted of large grassy areas, with flower beds, trees and bushes scattered here and there. There was also a small gazebo, located next to a pond, which offered shade to needy garden goers and space for afternoon tea and lunch.
Matthew had never seen such a greener place. He spied the gazebo but reasoned that it was too far from the nearest shady place if he tried to run for it. As he continued his search, a large willow caught his eye. It was located closer to the castle than the other trees he saw, which was a good thing since most of the shrubs and flowerbeds were closer to the house.
"Well, we better get started," Lovino grumbled, successfully snapping Matthew out of his thoughts of salvation. The two then grabbed their tools and made their way to a group of flowerbeds that were desperately in need of attention. As Lovino plainly walked across the yard, Matthew more or less tried to stay within the boundaries of shade. He would either run from shady place to shady place or he would walk within the shady patches. Though he tried to stay out of reach of the sun at all times, it was alright if he was exposed to if for a few minutes. This style of movement continued on for about two hours. The boys would reach a place in need of extreme care, all of them were located close to the castle (and to Matthew's delight, in the shade), take care of it, and then move to a new place. As the two moved from place to place, Lovino would throw Matthew a few odd looks once in a while, amused at how the other boy moved from shady spot to shady spot.
By noon Matthew couldn't take it any more, he had to get out of the sun. Lucky for him, the two had made it to a group of shrubs that were so overgrown, that Matthew could hide within the branches and never be seen, which was what he did. He went into the brush and watched Lovino do work on a shrub further away. The second he thought that Lovino was too absorbed in his work, he made a mad dash for the door, which coincidently was about ten feet in front of him.
Once inside, the cool floor beneath his bare feet and the cool air around him was a pleasant change from the harsh, hot air and ground that was outside. Matthew then realized that he should get as far away form the door as he could possibly be so that Lovino or anybody else wouldn't see him skipping his duties. He started a brisk walk towards the main hallway but got distracted by a hallway he hadn't noticed before. The hallway was less fancier than the others he had seen and he quickly picked a random door on the left side. He opened the door and walked inside. What he saw amazed him for he had seen nothing like it before.
A large painting, ragged and fading was on the wall facing him. It depicted a young boy of about ten maybe eleven years of age standing next to a large old fashioned globe. The boy had the same blond hair and blue eyes as his master, but it couldn't have been him. Mr. Bonnefoy looked twenty four at the most while the painting looked almost a hundred years old…
Matthew turned away from the painting and saw another. This one looked more recent than the other. The man in the middle of the portrait had his head upon the back of his hand, looking out into some unknown distant thing. However, even though it looked newer, the man's clothes indicated a distant time. The fancy articles had ruffles and lace and looked like they were made from velvet or some other expensive material. The man in this portrait Matthew could identify him as the master.
Francis had decided early on that he was going to see for himself how the new workers were doing. Sure he had sent Charles to do it but he still wanted to do something. After all he wanted to see how that one boy…Matthew, if he remembered correctly, was doing. The boy had been a sickly pale color, something that even Francis could see that was unhealthy looking. Francis, believing that he was doing something good for the boy, had assigned him the garden duty just so that the boy could get some sun. Hopefully, it would add some color to the boy's skin.
As he walked to the main hallway from his study, Francis noticed an open door down a hallway. Confused and somewhat suspicious, he walked closer to the ajar door as quietly as he could. "What's this?" There gazing at one of the portraits was Matthew. His focus was solely on the painting in front of him. As curious as he was, Francis was somewhat peeved that one of his servants had disobeyed him. Matthew was supposed to be outside tending the gardens. Silently, he snuck into the room, right behind Matthew and grabbed his shoulder.
Matthew let out a screech. When he had felt the sudden pressure on his shoulder he had jumped and turned at the same time. This had ended badly though for he had fallen on his butt. Wincing in pain, he looked up only to see Mr. Bonnefoy trying to, but ultimately failing, in keeping his laughter hidden. Matthew could feel his face redden in embarrassment as Francis, still chuckling, held out his hand to help him up. When he was up on his feet, Matthew saw his master make notions for him to come closer. "Matthew, I want to know why you weren't working. Here, we'll go to my office on the upper level and you can tell me all about it." With that said, the two left the room, Matthew following a little behind his master, up to the upper story of the house.
Meanwhile, Charles was checking on the other boys. Feliciano and Kiku were doing well in the kitchen, and Antonio and Yao were completing all their tasks as well. All that was left was to check on the boys working in the gardens. When Charles reached the gardens, he was surprised to see Lovino stabbing a shovel into the grass, creating little crescent shaped marks. "What are you doing?!" Charles shrieked, running up to Lovino and snatching the shovel away. "Hey! Give that back!" "No! Why are you doing that?" "I'm exerting my anger! Why do I have to work if he doesn't?" "Who?" "Who what?" "Who isn't working?" "That other boy. I can't remember his name. I think it started with an M…Hey! Where are you going?!" While Lovino went on his spiel, Charles had looked around realizing that Matthew wasn't there. "Oh dear, this is so bad. I must tell my Lord."
Francis had dragged Matthew to his private little office on the second floor. As Francis went to sit in his chair, Matthew gazed around the room. Bookshelves, maps, and paintings covered the walls. The windows, like most of the other windows in the house, were covered in heavy, red drapes that went well with the brown walls. "So, Matthew," Francis began, startling Matthew out of his thoughts. "Why did you stop working?" "Ummm…W-Well I…" "Yes?" "I h-have this th-thing…" "A thing…?" "A sp-special c-condi-" Matthew was cut off by the slamming of the door to the office. "My Lord! One of the boys is missing!" "Oh! Hello Charles. Well, I found the missing boy, he's right here." Francis pointed to Matthew. "We were just discussing why he wasn't working like I had wanted him to." "I'm deeply sorry my Lord. Please excuse my interruption." "It's quite alright Charles, but I do think that you should stay to here why he wasn't working. So, Matthew, go with your explanation." "O-okay. My c-condition…I-it's called x-xeroderma p-pigmentosum. It effects m-my skin so th-that if I'm exp-posed to the sun for even a few minutes I get b-blisters and r-rashes." "I see…That's why you're so pale. It's not that you don't get enough sun; it's that you can't get sun." At this, Matthew nodded. "Alright, I'll give you a new job then. I really like you Matthew, so, starting tomorrow you're going to be my personal servant. Don't worry, all you're going to do is run my personal errands and help me with things I need done." "O-ok" "I'll tell one of the other servants to bring your new clothes up to your room. For now you can go, relax and sleep. You look very tired. You can find your room from here yes?" Matthew nodded. "Oh, before I forget, you'll get a new room closer to mine. Since you and I will get to be working close together, it would be better if our rooms were closer. Don't worry though, we'll move you tomorrow. You are now excused to go."
Matthew left the small study, going to his room. His mind was filled with all the new things that had happened. He doubted that he'd get any sleep but, as he passed an unusually uncovered window, he noticed that night was still young, giving him time to clear his mind.
Hooray! Another chapter! :P I don't know when I'll be able to update again, I really want to write up to at least chapter five before the next one. I'll probably write chapter four tomorrow and maybe a part of chapter five. I'm not really sure. I'm glad that so many people are reading the story even though you don't leave reviews. (I know you guys are there. I was a shadow reader once too :P) Any way, thank you so much for the faves and hits ;) As always if there are any mistakes please send me a message. Oh and please review! It could be anything positive, constructive criticism, anything, just no flames please :) P.S. Even though I'm Japanese-American I want to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year, even if you don't celebrate it!