Reaver's Servants
Poker Night and Poetry
"Oooh, Mr. Hatch! You're so sweet and tender with your hands!" said Miss Sarah, as Barry twirled her around.
"Only for you, Miss Sarah." cooed Barry, holding Miss Sarah close.
"You are so strong, Mr. Hatch! You make me blush so red! No one has ever treated me so well! You're words are so beautiful!" Miss Sarah squealed in delight as Barry brought her closer to him.
"Not as beautiful as you, my sweet little hobbe!" Both blushed.
"Oh, Mr. Hatch!" Barry puckered up his lips and went in for a kiss…
"Miss Sarah doesn't sound like that!" laughed a voice from outside Barry's daydream.
Barry, lips still puckered, abruptly left his little daydream with a yelp and dropped the coat stand he was romancing. Willa stood in his doorway, giggling softly. "How…how long have you been standing there?!" shouted Barry, picking up the coat stand and placing it up properly.
"Well…how long have you and that coat stand been a happy couple, Mr. Hatch?" she smirked.
Barry tried to find the words to reason his actions. He tried being angry, and when he saw that didn't falter her, he tried reasoning, and that failed as well. With a defeated sigh, Barry crossed his arms and gritted his teeth. "Alright, you little witch, what is it going to take so that NOBODY, especially Miss Sarah, ever finds out about this?"
Willa smiled her own little Reaver smile. "Well, it is Wednesday…"
Wednesday was semi-special to everyone at Lakeview Manor. For the servants, it was payday and an evening off. To Reaver, it meant an evening of peace and quiet with a lady of his choosing from the town. Each servant stood in line and waited patiently as Barry handed them their pay. Reaver never personally handled the finances, which was one of the reasons he kept Barry around.
Each servant smiled happily as they received their payment. Barry reached Willa, who was happily talking to Beryl. "So, it wasn't at all what you thought it was?" Beryl asked softly.
Willa shook her head and awaited payment. "Nope. I tell you, Mr. Reaver sure can be convincing, though. I actually thought he was trying to…" Willa looked up and happily accepted her pay, plus a special bonus.
"Remember our deal…" Barry growled.
Willa nodded and smiled. "I'm a lady of my word, Mr. Hatch!" she said, as she saluted. Willa ran off to join Beryl and Rosie, who were heading off to Bowerstone. All the servants were off to enjoy the Bowerstone nightlife and spend their hard-earned (and in Willa's case, ill-gotten) coin.
Barry sighed softly to himself as he went to sit down on a nearby couch. "Half of my pay, gone to silence that sneaky little extortionist." He groaned. "Well, poker night will be a little light, I guess…"
"Poker night?" chirped Miss Sarah, as she came down the stairs. Like the other servants, Miss Sarah was dressed in everyday clothes this evening. She held a book under her right arm. "I didn't know you played poker, Mr. Hatch." Miss Sarah made her way to Barry, who rubbed the back of his head and blushed as he stood up.
"Oh, it's nothing, Miss Sarah. Just me and a few buddies get together every Wednesday evening and play a few rounds of poker. It's very therapeutic. We talk, and drink, of course. We do play at a pub." Barry blushed as Miss Sarah came closer.
"That sounds like fun. We used to play poker all the time back when the Circus was still in business. We didn't get paid enough to bet money, so we usually just played for unclaimed items at the lost and found or unsold souvenirs from the gift stand. May I join you?" Miss Sarah asked, with a smile. "I hate to brag, but I could win a few asbestos stuffed plushies on a good night." She added, with a giggle.
Barry blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, normally I'd be happy to have you along, Miss Sarah, but it is a guy's only type of night." He said, still blushing.
Miss Sarah didn't look offended, she just smiled. "Perfectly understandable, Mr. Hatch. I think my previous plans will suit me fine, anyway."
Miss Sarah held up a book. "'Poetry for Summer'?" Barry read from the title.
Holding her book close, Miss Sarah nodded happily. "Oh yes, I adore poetry. There is a café in Bowerstone that just opened and I hear it's the perfect place to sit and read." Miss Sarah bowed softly and walked to the door. "I'm going to be meeting Gordon and the others there when they are done shopping. If you wish, you can join us after your game if it isn't too late."
Barry blushed and waved as Miss Sarah left the manor. He turned to head upstairs to get ready and almost bumped right into Reaver, who was standing right behind him. "Poker, Hatch? Really? I would have assumed you did more productive things on your night off." He teased as Barry stepped around him. "You know, you've never invited me on a poker night. Of course, you've never tried to bed me. Well, except that one time…"
Blushing deeply, Barry stopped where he was and shushed Reaver. "You promised not to bring that up anymore! And I'm not trying to bed Miss Sarah!" he panicked.
Reaver laughed jovially. "Of course, you and your coat stand are in a committed relationship." He laughed, as he walked away. Barry leaned against the banister and sighed softly to himself. He glanced down and saw Reavie, the newest addition to the manor, purring softly and rubbing against his leg.
"I assume you're going to blackmail me too, ehh, Reavie?" Barry picked up the cat and walked to his room slowly. Placing the cat on his bed, Barry took off his uniform jacket and threw it over a nearby chair. He reached into his wardrobe and picked out another jacket. It looked like his uniform jacket, except without the Reaver Industries logo on it. "Don't complain about my fashion sense, Kitty-kitty. You wear a pink bow." He muttered to the cat staring at him from the reflection in his mirror.
He made sure his door was closed and no one was around. "If you must know, Reavie, I do fancy Miss Sarah somewhat, but I know I'm not good enough for her. Besides, she's a respectable lady. A girl like her needs to be romanced." He pointed out, fixing his cuffs. Reavie meowed softly as Barry did this. "The other women I've been involved with? Ehh, not the romancing types. Most were the 'I just need a reason to leave the house tonight' types." Barry rubbed the cat's head and straightened out the rest of his clothes.
With the cat following behind, Barry left his room and walked to the foyer. "You have food in the kitchen. If Reaver sees you eating off the plate Miss Sarah left for him on the table, he'll come after you. Let's not have a repeat of that, I can't keep vouching for you." He warned the cat, as he left.
Barry walked up the path and toward Bowerstone. Entering Bowerstone Market, Barry passed all the people of the early evening going about their business. Crossing the bridge, he looked below at the river, the lights of the city reflecting off the still water. With a soft smile, Barry made his way across the bridge, avoided the venders trying to shove free samples at him, and made his way to the pub. "The Cock in the Crown; I wonder why they changed the name?" he wondered to himself. "I thought The Cow and Corset was a jaunty name."
Walking in, Barry looked around for a free table. The crowd was sparse, as it was only early evening. "Barry! Over here!" shouted a voice from a corner table.
Barry looked over and smiled. "Elliot! Good to see you! And you saved us a table!" he shouted as he went to sit down. "Just the two of us, again?" Barry asked as a barmaid brought a pitcher of ale that Elliot had ordered.
"Yeah, our third is in…something of a bind, so it's just us." Elliot was obviously younger than Barry. Probably not even over twenty-one, Elliot still had a rose-tinted view of the world that Barry hated to admit he was jealous of. They met when Elliot was still working for the shelter in Industrial and became fast friends.
"So, how's married life treating you, Elliot?" asked Barry, as Elliot shuffled the cards.
"It's wonderful. You'd think with all her new responsibilities, she'd have no time for me…but lately…wow…" Elliot blushed, letting Barry cut the cards. Barry handed the deck back to Elliot, and he dealt out the cards.
Barry was probably the only person at the pub that knew Elliot was married to the Queen (making him the King consort, technically). He preferred to keep a low profile, but since no one in the market ever came up to the castle, Elliot didn't really need to disguise himself. He never left the castle much, unless accompanied by his wife or to play poker. "So, you ever think about getting married, Barry?" Elliot asked, while looking over his hand.
Blushing softly, Barry placed a gold piece on the table as his bet. "Me? Get married? You know my luck with women, Elliot. I have none." He said, barely looking up from his cards.
"Oh, come on, what ever happened to that Amelia lady?" asked Elliot, replacing a card.
"Her husband chased me off with a rake after she "forgot" to mention she was married. Probably for the best, anyway." answered Barry.
"We've been friends for a while, Barry, but I've never known you to hold on to one woman for very long." said Elliot, pouring some ale from the pitcher into his mug.
"Well, usually, once they see I work for Reaver, they either scream and run away, or scream and run into his arms. It can be tough working for Reaver. People think the factory jobs are tough, try managing Reaver's life. Being his personal assistant and attendant is exhausting. But I guess it's not so bad." Barry chuckled, waiting for Elliot to finish pouring. Elliot shook his head and passed the pitcher to Barry.
Shrugging while pouring, Barry sighed and placed the pitcher down. He looked up from his hand every so often to see Elliot grinning like a madman. He didn't have much of a poker face. Barry took a sip, but couldn't shake Elliot's devilish grin from his mind. "I know why it's not so bad…" he laughed. "…Miss Sarah, the cook!" Trying not to choke, Barry panicked and shushed Elliot, who was laughing up a riot. "You know I'm only teasing you, Barry. Why don't you ask her out sometime?" he asked, as his laughing stopped.
"Oh, I'm not good enough for someone like Miss Sarah." said Barry, studying his hand.
"It might help you gain a bit of confidence if you stopped telling yourself that." mentioned Elliot. Rolling his eyes, Barry watched Elliot place his bet. "Three fours, with ace, king kickers." said Elliot, laying down his hand.
With a chuckle, Barry shook his head. "Nice try, Junior." said Barry, laying his down. "Full house, kings full of fours."
The evening went by fast, the tavern becoming more crowded. "So, do you even want to get married someday, Barry?" Elliot asked, trying not to show how panicked his was at his losing streak tonight.
"Ahh, don't get me wrong, Elliot; one day, I do think I want to settle down with a wife and have a few little Barry Hatch's running around, but it's probably not the best time for me at the moment." Barry sipped his drink and sighed. "Have you and the misses thought about having kids?" asked Barry, placing his bet.
Elliot swallowed hard and looked at his cards deeply. "We've discussed it, but she said the political climate isn't the best at the moment." said Elliot, not looking up from his cards. "I don't know what the Hell it means, but condoms aren't expensive, so…ehh…" Elliot shrugged and placed down his cards. "8-high straight!" he announced, jovially.
Barry laid his cards down. "Ace-high flush." Elliot slammed his head onto the table as Barry gathered up his winnings. "You're a great friend, Elliot, but a mediocre poker player." said Barry, snidely.
"The sad part is; I know." whined Elliot, refilling his mug with the rest of the ale in the pitcher. Elliot glanced up briefly. "You're enjoying this too much, Barry." He muttered.
Later on, Barry and Elliot walked out of the tavern as the night crowd rushed in. "Good thing we left when we did. The night crowd gets a bit ugly." Barry mentioned.
Elliot nodded in agreement as but his hands behind his head. "You should really ask out Miss Sarah." Elliot said, out of nowhere.
"Can we drop that, please?" pleaded Barry, as they reached the center of the marketplace. Walking aimlessly about town, Barry and Elliot looked about for something to do. Barry happened to look over and see a small café. "Hey, isn't that the new café everyone is talking about?" asked Barry, pointing to a small storefront with a few chairs and tables in front. Getting closer, they saw that the inside was almost packed, save for a few tables here and there. Squinting, Barry looked inside and saw Miss Sarah, sitting alone reading her book. "Miss Sarah!" said Barry, excitedly.
"Where?" asked Elliot. Barry pointed to a table. Elliot cocked an eyebrow. "That's Miss Sarah?" he asked. Miss Sarah wasn't wearing anything fancy. She wore a very casual dress (green long sleeved dress with black boots) and her dull brown shoulder length hair just lying around her shoulders. To Elliot, she didn't look like anything impressive. She wasn't a stunning beauty by any means, but she was pretty.
"Yes, that's Miss Sarah." Barry swooned with a blush.
They both just stared at her through the window. Elliot pushed Barry inside and up to her table. Miss Sarah looked up and smiled. "Oh hello Mr. Hatch! You're the first one here!" she said, happily as she closed her book.
"Hello, Miss Sarah." said Barry, nervously. Miss Sarah invited the two to sit with her. "This is Elliot, my poker buddy." Barry said, motioning to Elliot as he sat.
Miss Sarah put down her book and nodded with a smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Elliot. I'm Sarah. I work with Mr. Hatch at Lakeview Manor."
Elliot smiled and waved. "I'd like to stay, but I got a hot date with the misses tonight. I'll see you next Wednesday, Barry!"
Elliot made his grand escape before Barry could protest. Miss Sarah giggled softly. "My, my, he sure was in a hurry." She giggled softly. "Mr. Hatch, I'm glad you showed up." She said, tapping her book.
"You are?" Barry asked, a bit surprised. Barry had never spent time alone with Miss Sarah out in public, so the thought of a million eyes on him at once made him uneasy.
"Yes, the others haven't come back yet, and I'm just itching to talk about this book!" she said, happily. "The poetry in this book is so deep and full of life." Barry didn't care for poetry much, but he listened anyway, watching the topic bring out such vibrant emotions in Miss Sarah. "Would you like to hear one?" she asked. Barry nodded as she opened the book to a marked page.
"Summer sky, tea and clouds
Harmony and flowers, soul is proud
Golden sun, hear my plea
Sing a summer song for me"
Barry didn't understand poetry. In fact, he didn't care for it. But hearing it come from Miss Sarah's lips made it sound musical and for once, interesting. "Oh! I forgot to ask about your poker game, Mr. Hatch! How did it go?" she asked softly.
"Well, Elliot is a good friend, but a mediocre poker player." He laughed softly.
Miss Sarah nodded, holding her book close to her. "How about we play a round or two while we wait for the others?" asked Miss Sarah.
Barry picked the deck of cards out of his pocket. "I won the deck off of him too." He snickered.
"May I deal?" Miss Sarah asked. Miss Sarah took the cards and shuffled fast, fanned them in her hands, made them disappear, and reappear again and dealt the cards.
"I keep forgetting you used to be a magician's assistant." said Barry, amazed.
Their game started out calm and fun, but as time passed, it got fierce. Miss Sarah smiled and didn't lose face as the game got intense. People were starting to watch, amazed at Miss Sarah, though she was modest.
"All bets in, no time to lose
Take a pick, a card to choose"
Barry seemed a bit uneasy at Miss Sarah for making up poetry as she was winning. Barry was losing confidence in his own poker abilities. An hour passed by as the two played. Eventually the others showed up, but immediately knew something bad was happening. "Oh no! Did that idiot actually accept a poker challenge from Miss Sarah?" panicked Willa, holding her purchases close. "This isn't good. No one has ever beaten Miss Sarah at poker!"
"We probably should have told him that at some point, then." said Rosie as they ran into the café. Miss Sarah's poker face was amazing. She just smiled.
A smile on his face, Barry felt confident he finally got her. "Miss Sarah, I must admit you are quite talented. You always amaze me; but this game and the pot is mine…" he laid down his hand. "Four of a kind queens and a ten." He said, as he reached for the gold on the table. Miss Sarah softly placed her hand over his, making them both blush.
"This game was fun, we'll do it again
But tonight, I'm sorry, you didn't win
I hate to brag, or even gush
But Mr. Hatch…Royal Flush!"
Miss Sarah laid her cards out and everyone cheered as she gathered her winnings. Barry slammed his head on the table. "Well, I guess I know how Elliot feels now…" he murmured to himself.
"Come on! Tell me how you did it!" pleaded Barry, as the group made their way back to Millfields later on.
"Sorry, Mr. Hatch! It's a secret and magicians never tell their secrets!" Miss Sarah teased.
"But you're a magician's assistant, I'm sure you can bend the rules just this one!" Miss Sarah giggled softly and paid him no mind. "Was it magic? Did you use magic?" he asked, desperately. "At least give me a chance to win my gold back!"
The rest of the group trailed behind Barry and Miss Sarah, laughing amongst each other. "Poor Mr. Hatch. He lost half his pay earlier and now he lost his poker winnings." said Willa, softly.
"How did he lose half his pay earlier?" asked Beryl.
"I blackmailed him. I'm sure Miss Sarah will scold me into giving it back, now." Willa answered, simply.
"Was he making out with the coat stand, again?" asked Gordon.
"You've seen him do it too?" asked Willa, somewhat unsurprised.
"Yeah, we all have. I thought about blackmailing him, but I figured just me knowing was punishment enough. He should really just learn to lock his door." stated Rosie, stoically. Everyone nodded as they walked.
Reaver, still semi-awake, sat up in his bed and wrote in his journal by candlelight. He didn't want to disturb his sleeping companion, so we wrote as quietly as he could.
"From the sounds I keep hearing in the room next to mine, I can assume Hatch had a bad poker night. Well, he should have learned his lesson from playing against me all those times. You'd think after the time he bet a season's worth of unpaid service would have made him at least try to become a better poker player. I warned him about gambling, and the previous passages from a while ago can vouch for me, dear journal."
"Mmm…Reaver, dear…ready for round two?" asked the lady he had just become acquainted with not more than three hours ago.
"Alright, Mon chéri…give me a moment…" he teased, as the lady reached for his chest.
"I am happy to report my night went swimmingly. With the servants out of the house, I wasn't hard to give my 'A-Game' to…now what the devil was her name again? Oh well, no matter. I'll have Hatch see her out in the morning if she's still here. I told my servants of the trip to Bloodstone before the summer's end, and they seem thrilled at the aspect of me taking them along. They may be full-fledged, but I would not trust them alone in my lovely home for more than a day. Hell, I probably shouldn't trust them alone with the cat."
"Reaver!" the lady pleaded, pulling herself closer to him.
Reaver placed his journal on his nightstand and placed his arm around his temporary bed companion. "Oh, now tut-tut, my dear…patience is a virtue…" he laughed as he pulled the lady on top of him.
"Though, I'm probably not the right person to go to about virtues…"
N'cha! I know, I've been spinning out stories crazy fast lately! It is certainly nuts, I tell you! Well, I had a whole weekend to myself, so I decided to do some overtime on writing and here we are now haha. It's a little shorter than my usual stuff, but I think it gets to point across.
Truth be told, I think my stuff might start getting dirty as the series goes on, so I might have to change the rating to M, but that might not be for a while, okie Lovelies?
Yes, those poems are mine. I know, my poetry is awesome (lol just kidding, they are kind of uninspired).
Sometimes, when I write, I listen to music. I was listening to "All Apologies" by Nirvana (one of the best bands ever, I might add) while writing the first few paragraphs and the lyrics fit Barry pretty well. Their song "Lithium" kind of reminds me of Reaver, but that's for another story, methinks lol.
In a few of my stories, recently, you kept hearing the characters talk about a trip to Bloodstone. Don't worry, it's coming, but not until after my next story. I tend to start writing the next story while I'm still writing one haha weird habit, I know.
Next installment: Muffins! Lots of muffins! What will Reaver do? Or rather, what will he make his servants do?
Tatty-bye, my doves!
And don't forget to review! I appreciate all criticism, but prefer positive haha.
Reaver, Barry Hatch, and Elliot belong to Lionhead.