Pacifica folded her hands and placed them in her lap. The leather chair she was sitting in was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. She adored having only the finest things in life but leather was something she could live without. Her bright blue eyes glanced at the clock that hung on the library wall. It read 2:30.
Every day in the Northwest Manor was just a day that dragged slower than the last. Her days were either spent playing the piano or reading books. She wasn't allowed into town without her family and her father was too busy running the cherry orchard. She was barely allowed outside except to sit in the garden or walk out to the stables.
She was the richest person in the North West, yet she had nothing to do. She wasn't even sure why she was in the library, she was sure her initial intention was to read a book but while walking to the library her mind started to wander. Now she was sitting in the most uncomfortable leather chair with no desire to read.
She suddenly remember what distracted and thought back to yesterday evening when she was instructing her maid of her daily routine. Every previous maid she'd had had shown some sort of anger when she listed the things she expected to be done. Whether it be a twitch of the eyebrow or the pursing of lips, they were never happy with her. Though it wasn't a maid's job to be happy with her, it was their job to do what she told them. But the new one was different.
There was no twitch of her eyebrow or no pursing of her lips. Not even a sarcastic tone when she spoke. Pacifica was impressed. These were the most impressive maids she'd had yet, perhaps she wouldn't need to fire them. Her tea did arrive hot yesterday after all. And the other one, the boy. There was something about him she didn't like. It was the way she knew that he was glaring at her despite her back being turned to him. She didn't really have a right to dislike her butler, she'd barely had him for two days. She could fire him at the drop of a hat if she wanted.
She suddenly shivered, thinking of her father's warning. She was only doing what she thought was best for the Northwest reputation and didn't care what the process was for getting new help. Her father scolded her at the dinner table that night. She usually wouldn't have reacted to one of his lectures. But her father was livid. He didn't stop talking about how mad he was over the interruption of his schedule because he had to go into town and fix yet another one of the problems that she caused. He was callous and curt with his words, reprimanding her like she was nothing more than a servant herself.
Pacifica's lip had begun to quiver when she heard the wooden door of the library swing open. "Miss Pacifica," The boy had entered the room, his head low and his bangs hanging forward. She could've sworn she'd seen a peppering of freckles under his bangs.
"Yes?" she returned to her train of thought.
"Your father request's that you see him at once in his study." His brown eyes were making eye contact with the floor.
Pacifca acknowledged his news with the nod of her head, stood up and exited the library. Just as she was leaving the room, she could feel his stare burning a hole in her back. It was so tempting to catch him in the act but her father was not a patient man.
She strode down the hall toward the west wing of the building. She passed under the massive portrait of the "happy" Northwest family. She snuck a peak of the painting, a small smile creeping on her lips. Life was much simpler when she was a child. She shook of the memories. Reminiscing the past was not on her agenda, it was to speak with her father.
She pondered what he wanted to speak with her about, she recalled the activities she'd done in the past two days. She hadn't fired anymore maids, gone out of the house without an escort, or disobeyed any other of her father's rules. She gulped as she arrived at the doors of the study. She rapped on the door and waited. She'd heard a muffled "Come in," and entered the room.
The study was one of the unfamiliar parts of the Manor. Towering bookshelves lined the walls and two ornate chairs stood in front of the equally ornate desk in which her father sat behind. Pacifica hadn't noticed that there was another person in the room when she walked in.
A large man stood next to her father's desk. The word Pacifica would use to describe him was round. A round face with a neck that spilled out of his collared shirt. The rest of him was just as round, his stomach jutting out, causing the jacket of his suit to stretch. She maintained a small smile as she sat down.
"Good afternoon, Pacifica." Her father greeted, the smile on his face looked unusually strained.
"Good afternoon, father." She returned the greeting, hoping that he would get on with what he needed to talk about.
He cleared his throat and began to talk. "This is Bud Gleeful, he owns the apple orchards that are just to the east of Gravity Falls." He gestured to the round man and he smiled widely revealing a row of large crooked teeth.
"Nice to meet you," she said then let her father carry on.
"His son Gideon is the same age as you and-"
"And my dear Gideon would just love to get to know you better. He's heard so much of the wonderful Pacifica Northwest of Gravity Falls." Bud cut her father off. Pacifica stared at the man with a lost expression.
Her father cleared his throat again, gaining his daughter's attention. "What Bud Gleeful is trying to say is that Gideon is going to court you which will lead to an eventual marriage by the end of next month."
So there's chapter three. I'm hoping to convey the abuse toward Pacifica better, I hope I did a good job. As for the cherry and the apple orchards the Northwest's aren't just the richest people because they're descendants of the guy who founded the town but it's because they have the biggest cherry orchard in the west.
Thank you for reading!