Chapter Six
I follow Axel out into the hallway. I know I'm pushing my luck with my mouth. I know he's getting frustrated with me. I resign to hold my tongue as best I can through the rest of the evening at least.
He leads me through a set of double door and into a very large, very luxurious bedroom. The walls are white but are covered with abstract painting. Each one has a similar color scheme: black and white with the random odd splash of a single color. Each painting's random color is different and I find myself wanting to observe each painting at great length.
Directly across the room from the main set of door is a set of windowed doors with heavy drapes on them. These ones, I can tell, lead out onto a balcony.
The carpet beneath my feet is incredibly plush and of a gentle cream color. In the corner by the balcony doors is an overstuffed armchair with a small table next to it. The table has a number of books piled on it. There is a door a few feet from this miniature sitting area that, I assume, leads to a master bathroom.
Halfway between these doors and those is a huge four-poster bed. Even from here, I can tell the dark wooded bed frame has ornate carvings in it. I feel slightly annoyed by the lack of hangings on this bed. Something so pretty should have drapes… The mattress is decorated with a red comforter; it has gold and burnt orange swirls gracing it, giving it the illusion of having fire dancing on it. The fluffy pillows have covers of the same red color and look to be made of silk. Although I can't see the sheets, I assume they're also silken. The bright colors against the dark wood create an absolutely stunning visual. There's an end table of the same wood flanking each side of the bed.
Directly across from the bed, next to the bathroom door, is a beautiful fireplace. The brick surrounding the grate is dark red and brown, which provides a lovely, yet not overpowering, contrast to the wooden mantle build around the brick. The sides of the mantle are spiraled and appear to be carved. The top piece of the mantle continues the swirled design but adds in what looks like flame designs. I'm sensing a pattern here. There are more books along the top of the mantle between two heavy bookends.
To the other side of the fireplace is another door. This one, Axel disappears into. Cautiously, I approach it and peer inside. I'm shocked to discover it's a huge, walk-in closet. The rails are lined with clothes. Geez…how many clothes does a man need? On the back wall of the closet is a dresser. Axel heads for this and opens up two drawers.
"Unfortunately, I don't have any women's clothing right now. My last servant ran off and took everything she could with her, including clothing," he explains. One chick offs herself and another runs away. Is this guy really that bad? My gut clenches and my skin gets slightly clammy. Axel still has his back to me, so he doesn't notice my suddenly tense posture. After rustling around for a few more seconds, he pulls something out of one drawer and something else out of the other. "Alright, these'll probably work for the night." He walks over to me and hands me a pair of black sweatpants and a white tee-shirt. I shift on my feet.
"Um…do you have anything long-sleeved instead?" I ask. His brow furrows, so I quickly continue. "It's just that I…uh… I get pretty cold at night…so I just…like longer sleeves," I finish lamely. After a beat, Axel shrugs, takes the shirt back and swaps it for a long sleeved gray one.
"Better?" he asks.
"Yes," I say, nodding. "Thanks." He nods and we exit the closet.
"I'm gonna grab a blow dryer from my bathroom while you dress," he announces, heading towards the door I originally guessed to be a bathroom.
"A blow dryer?" I immediately ask.
"Yeah," he says, not stopping. "For your hair. Don't want you walking around with wet hair and getting a cold."
"Oh, right. Okay," I say quietly as he disappears through the bathroom door. As soon as it shuts, I pull on the sweatpants and shirt as quickly as I can. I adjust the sweatpants drawstring to make sure they stay up and ball the excess length of each sleeve in my hands. I find myself extremely grateful for the cover the clothes provide. Axel walks back in soon after and looks at me.
"Do you want socks?" he asks, glancing down at my bare feet. I curl my toes slightly before shaking my head. "Alright. Go ahead and have a seat on my bed and take the towel off your head." I furrow my eyebrows.
"Why don't you just let me dry it in your bathroom?" I ask, but still head over to sit on the bed, my pulse quickening just slightly.
"Two reasons," he starts as he follows me, "One, I don't like other people in my bathroom. Two, servant number three tried attacking me with this blow dryer while my back was turned."
"Got quite a track record, don't you?" I mumble before catching myself. I immediately tense, just knowing that would finally push him over the edge. Surprisingly, though, he laughs.
"Yeah, 'spose I do," He says. I perch myself on the very edge of the bed and he takes a seat, cross-legged, behind me after plugging in the device. He sets it down and gently unravels the towel from my hair since I hadn't. I feel my wet hair tumble down my back. There's a sudden soft tugging as he runs a hairbrush through it, working the tangles out carefully. I find it almost soothing.
"Your hair is really long," Axel notes. I stiffen up almost immediately.
"I'm not cutting it," I retort, thinking this is what he's hinting at. He chuckles softly.
"Not asking you to, kid. Just making an observation. I actually like it; it's pretty," he replies patiently.
"Oh," I mumble as he continues. When my hair is finally all brushed out, he picks up the blow dryer. A second of silence ensues before he clicks it on. Having forgotten how loud they are, I jump as its sound fills the air. Axel ignores my sudden jump and simply aims the jet of warm air at a section of my hair he's lifted into his hand. He continues this process with the rest of my hair, occasionally curling pieces around his fingers to produce waves. He's done this a few times, I note. A short while later, he cuts the device off.
"Huh. Your hair is a lot lighter than I thought it was," he says.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well…what color would you say your hair is?" I roll my eyes.
"It's blonde."
"What shade of blonde would you call it?"
"A very light blonde," I reply, my impatience growing. "Why?"
"Let's just say when I saw you in the market today, I thought you were a light brunette," he says quietly. I grimace. I knew I was filthy, but damn. After a bit of an awkward pause, he hands me a mirror and asks, "Well, what do you think? How'd I do?"
I take the mirror from him and hold it up. I gasp. It's the first time I've seen my reflection in a long time. My hair has grown several inches, now reaching the small of my back in soft waves. He did really well, I have to admit. I stare into my violet eyes and notice the dark circles under them. My cheeks seem hollow and my bone structure looks too severe. My nose is slightly crooked from an old break that didn't heal right, and the smattering of freckles across it and my cheekbones makes me look sickly in my opinion. Overall, a face I had once thought was pretty no longer held its appeal. I handed the mirror back to Axel as I felt tears start to gather along the bottom rims of my eyes.
"My hair looks lovely, thank you," I whisper, incredibly happy he can't see my face. He can hear something in my voice, though, and crawls off the bed to kneel in front of me. I avert my eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asks, seeing my forming tears. One falls when he asks and I furiously wipe it away.
"Nothing," I say harshly.
"Tell me," he orders gently.
"It's just…my face…I look terrible," I say. I feel stupid and ashamed for letting something as trivial as my appearance bother me when I have more significant problems, like the fact I'm now a servant in the household of a man I've known for a whole three or so hours. To my shock and slight anger, Axel laughs. "What? What are you laughing at?" I demand.
"You, honestly. I find you kind of amusing. You're a very pretty girl, kid. All you need is some plumping up and some good rest and you'll look good as new," he says. I can't help but smile a little, his laughter contagious. I wipe my eyes again. "There we go," he says. "That's better. Let's go get you something to eat, alright?" I nod.
He stands up and offers me his hands like he did in the bathroom earlier. Seeing as how I'm sitting on a very squishy surface and my feet don't touch the ground, I decide to take them and let him pull me to my feet. As soon as I'm steady, he lets go and heads toward the main door, beckoning me to follow.
He leads me back into the hallway and to a large staircase. When we reach the ground story, I gasp. To the left, my view slightly obscured by a wide archway, is an expansive living area. My eyes are a bit blurry, but I can make out a sofa and another fireplace. Directly across from the bottom of the stairway is the main entrance to the house. Axel leads me to the right and through another archway into a dining area. The table seats a modest six people, giving me the impression he doesn't have many guests often. Axel pulls out a seat and gestures for me to sit. I do and he takes a seat across from me. Almost immediately, Renton walks in.
"Evening, sir. Evening, miss. What can I have prepared for you?" he asks formally.
"Nothing for me, Renton, but please have a bowl of chicken broth and a couple of dinner rolls made for the lady," Axel directs to Renton. He turns to me, "We wouldn't want to upset your stomach first night here." I just look down at the table.
"Very good, sir. Anything to drink for the miss or yourself?"
"A tall glass of cold water for her and a whiskey sour for me, but just one tonight."
"Coming right up, sir," Renton says before walking through a swinging door. He returns quite soon with the drinks and places them in front of us before bowing back out. Axel swirls his drink before taking a small sip. He nods approvingly before turning his eyes to me.
"Go ahead, drink. I figure they don't give you much to drink in that shop if they don't bother feeding you," he says. Not wanting to annoy him, I reach out and grip the glass. I take a sip, but the sip quickly turns into a gulp followed by another and another. Before I realize what's happened, I've emptied the glass. I take a deep breath before sighing. I glance up and see that Axel has a satisfied smirk on his face. "Good?" he asks. I just nod slightly.
Thankfully, Axel says nothing more until Renton brings out a bowl of steaming brother and two fresh looking rolls and sits it in front of me. "Thank you very much, Renton."
"My pleasure, sir, miss," he says before leaving again. He looks at me and raises his eyebrows, obviously waiting for me to start eating. I pick up the spoon and dip it into the broth. Slowly, I bring it up to my lips and let it trickle into my mouth and down my throat. It's warm and feels wonderful. I take one of the rolls, rip off a bit, dip it into the broth and pop it into my mouth. It practically melts in my mouth before I swallow. I close my eyes, tilt my head back, and moan slightly.
"I didn't realize broth and bread was so good," Axel says lightly, effectively breaking me from my thoughts. I clear my throat awkwardly and continue eating. A few bites later, I decide to say something.
"Even the simplest things become luxuries when you're denied them for long enough," I reply quietly. I finish off a second roll and down the rest of the broth quickly. "I'm really tired. Would it be alright if I go to sleep early?" I ask, not giving him time to say anything about my first comment.
"Yeah, of course. You've had a bit of a long day," Axel replies as he stands. "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." I follow him out of the dining room and back up the staircase. He leads me back towards the bathroom I was in earlier and opens a door just past it. He ushers me inside. "This is your room. The bathroom is right next door if you need it through the night. Is there anything you need before I go?"
"No, I'm alright. Thanks," I say. I shuffle my feet for a moment. "Well, good night then."
"Yeah, good night," he replies slowly before stepping back and closing the door. I let a few minutes pass before turning the knob in my hand. It's unlocked, just as he insinuated it would be.
Perfect, I think with a huge smile.