Reaver's Servants

A Picture's Worth

Lakeview Manor illuminated Millfields with a rainbow of lights. Reaver's big party was in full swing, with people still showing up. Music could be heard almost to the Bowerstone path and had anyone who wasn't invited tapping their feet. But tonight, Reaver has no idea that the night celebrating him…really wouldn't be about him at all…

The swishing sound of wine being poured followed by loud laughter filled the recently renovated ballroom. Reaver's big party was more relaxed than Reaver would have liked. Reaver and Logan (Lakeview Manor's house guest) jovially traded anecdotes with the guests. Logan had told his share, but it seems Reaver had better ones. "…and then I said 'Why not put your money where your mouth is and let the gold do the talking.' And that is how I got Hatch to stuff ten sea urchins down his pants." laughed Reaver, slapping his knee a few times.

Logan let out a small chuckle as Barry continued to pour wine for the guests who laughed at his expense. Barry hated it when Reaver told this story. Barry finished pouring the wine and left for the dining area as the men laughed. Barry, with an exhausted sigh, made his way out of the dining room and toward the kitchen, where Miss Sarah was putting the finishing touches on dinner. He remembered that Reaver told the servants they could join the party once dinner was over. Barry knew that only meant one thing: that Reaver had made his decision of who will share his bed tonight and Barry would only get sleep if he slept in the study.

Miss Sarah handed each servants a tray with plates on it, and the servants found themselves serving dinner already. Reaver stood up as the dishes were uncovered and went to a nearby end table, which contained an item with a white blanket over it. "Now, I am sure you are all wondering what is under this sheet. I saw a few of you wander over here and try and peek under, only to be stopped by a shot from my gun. Well, I want you all to know that under this sheet, is the newest innovation from Reaver Industries. The Queen has seen it and was very impressed, so if she finds it impressing, I can only imagine what you all will think." Reaver chuckled deviously as he unveiled the object. "I present to you, the new and improved Photo-box!" he shouted.

His guests stared blankly at the photo-box. Not one to lose a crowd, Reaver smiled and waved his hand about it. "And what is so special about a photo-box, you might be asking. Well, this one not only takes better quality photographs, but it also develops them instantly!" he shouted, happily. "I know you are all a bit skeptical, but I assure you, it works." Reaver picked up the photo-box and took a quick picture of Barry, who was pouring wine into a lady's glass. The flash blinded him temporarily and he staggered about. Reaver counted down on his hand and then a picture emerged. He passed it around and everyone nodded in agreement.

Dinner went swimmingly and as everyone piled into the ballroom, the servants cleared the table. Barry followed Reaver to the doorway of the ballroom. "Good work tonight, everyone. Miss Sarah, I give an extra thanks to you; your ravioli specialty was a hit and I'm sure is the reason why some of these investments are so generous." said Reaver, waving some pieces of paper. "Hatch, go file these away in my office. I'll be at the factory office tomorrow, and I will need to take a trip to the bank as well." Barry took the papers and nodded.

"Right away, Master Reaver." Barry bowed and left the dining room.

"Alright, my doves, credit were it is due. Good work, nice hustle, yada yada and so forth." Reaver waved his hand in the air as Barry walked back into the dining room. Reaver handed the photo-box to Barry as he walked up to him. "Take this to my office. If you want play with it, that's fine, but don't waste all the pictures on Miss Sarah. I expect to see it on my desk, in one piece, when the party is over, is that understood, Hatch?" warned Reaver. Barry nodded and carefully took the photo-box from Reaver.

The servants waved as Reaver and Logan walked into the ballroom. The servants turned around and smiled devilishly at Barry. He had a nervous look on his face. "Alright everyone, let's finish cleaning so we can have more free-time." he said, backing up slowly.

"What's the rush, Mr. Hatch?" said Beryl, as she happily took the photo-box from him.

"Yeah, Mr. Reaver said it was okay, so let's have a little fun with the photo-box!" shouted Willa, running up to Beryl.

"Be careful with it! It's not a toy!" shouted Barry. "This won't end well…" Barry muttered to himself, as he chased the two girls.

Barry's feeling of calm dread came back. Beryl took a picture of Willa next to Barry. "My turn!" shouted Willa, as she grabbed the photo-box from Beryl. Willa took a picture of Beryl doing a one-handed handstand on a nearby chair. The two girls laughed happily and ran about with the photo-box.

Beryl took a picture of Miss Sarah putting dishes away. The flash nearly blinded her and almost made her drop a plate. Willa grabbed the photo-box and ran toward the study, where Gordon was straightening up. He turned around and was greeted by a flash of light, which made him back into a bookshelf, causing a few books to fall on him. Beryl took the box back and they ran to find Rosie, who was in Reaver's room, straightening the linens.

POOF!

Rosie was sent aback by the blinding flash and she fell over Reaver's bed post. She growled softly as she regained her composure. Rosie chased the two out of Reaver's room and down the hallway, and grabbed the photo-box. "This isn't a toy!" she shouted, as she took the box away.

Willa and Beryl grabbed it and all three of them started tugging on it. "Mr. Reaver said we could use it!" shouted Willa.

"I'm sure he didn't mean annoy everyone with it!" shouted Rosie, tugging it her way.

"We're not done, give it back!" shouted Beryl.

Barry caught up with Willa and Beryl and saw the tug-o-war. "Be careful!" he shouted. It was too late. Willa lost her grip and suddenly let go of the photo-box. The other two were sent aback and they each watched the photo-box fly into the air. "Catch it!" Barry shouted. The three girls dove for it, but it landed with a crash on the floor, breaking into a few pieces.

SMASH!

A feeling of doom loomed over the three girls as they slowly stood up and faced Barry, who was fuming. "I told you it was not a toy!" he yelled, towering over the three girls. Barry ran to the broken device and picked up the pieces. "Alright, I can fix this. The blueprints for it are in Master Reaver's office. Rosie, go to my room and look in the cabinet. There should be some tools there. You're going to help me repair it." Rosie nodded and ran towards Barry's room.

Barry looked at the other two. "Since this is your fault, you two are going to have to stall Master Reaver should he come back out looking for his device before I'm done fixing it!" he shouted, as Rosie ran back up to him with a small box. "Good. Rosie and I will be in the office. Knock three times if he is coming." said Barry, as he and Rosie disappeared into the office. Watching the office door close, Willa and Beryl looked at each other in fear.

"Great…we get the hardest job of all. What are we going to do if he comes back for it?" asked Willa.

"We stall him, like Mr. Hatch said to." answered Beryl.

"Well, duh, genius. I meant, how?" remarked Willa.

"We'll just tell him one of the other servants has the device." said Beryl.

"…and what happens when he goes off the find said servant?" asked Willa, her arms folded.

"We'll figure that out when it comes down to it." Beryl said, with a confident smile.

Willa and Beryl put their ears to the office door, trying to hear what was going on. All they heard were various clanks and taps, along with some hammering sounds and a few of Barry shouting after pricking his finger on something sharp. "Do you think he's actually fixing it?" asked Willa.

"Well, what else would Mr. Hatch and Rosie be doing in there?" retorted Beryl.

Willa shrugged. "Making out?" she said with a laugh.

Beryl giggled at the thought. "Please, Rosie hates Mr. Hatch. Besides, we both know Mr. Hatch only has eyes for Miss Sarah." She laughed.

"Mr. Hatch and Rosie; that actually sounds horrifying." laughed Willa. "Well, Rosie has dated her own list of losers. Remember her short affair with the Ringleader's son, Lance the Sword Swallower? He wasn't much of a looker either. But compared to Mr. Hatch, he was Prince Charming!" laughed Willa.

"She should have stayed with that Mr. Finn guy in my opinion." said Beryl. Willa agreed with a nod.

Willa and Beryl stood straight up when they thought they heard the ballroom doors open. They were only semi-relieved to see it was Logan. He immediately started walking towards them. "Hello girls. Have you two seen Rosie tonight?" he asked, calmly.

"Umm…no, not since we cleared the table." lied Willa.

"But I know where she isn't: inside this office with Mr. Hatch." said Beryl, in a panic. Willa glared at Beryl, who only shrugged.

"Uh-huh…well, if you do see her, tell her I want to talk to her and I'll be in the study." Logan walked off, and as soon as he was gone from their sight, the girls sighed relieved.

"Just let me do the talking next time." said Willa.

The office door opened and Barry peeked his head out. "Was that Master Reaver?" he asked.

"No, it was only Lord Logan looking for Rosie." said Beryl, as she readjusted her glasses.

Rosie then poked her head out. "Lord Logan was looking for me?" she asked. Barry shoved her head back into the room and shortly joined her.

Beryl put her ear to the door and only heard faint clinking sounds. "Well?" asked Willa. "Well, it sounds like it's going good in there. Mr. Hatch is more talented than he gives himself credit for." replied Beryl. Willa looked up and saw a shadow come down the hallway.

Luckily, it was Miss Sarah. They both smiled wide as she approached. "What are you two doing in front of Mr. Reaver's office?" she asked.

"Nothing of any real importance, Miss Sarah. We're just…standing here." said Willa. "Yep, just standing here, not at all hiding anything."

Miss Sarah stared curiously at them. "Well, in any case, if you see Mr. Hatch, tell him to come by the kitchen before bedtime. I have some leftovers for him if he wants them. Otherwise, I'll have to give it to the cat." said Miss Sarah, as she left the two. Barry poked his head out the door again.

"Was that Miss Sarah?" he asked.

Rosie grabbed Barry by his hair and pulled him back into the office. "Focus!" she snapped, as she closed the door.

A few minutes had gone by, and then Barry poked his head out again. "Is it finished?" asked Beryl, hastily.

"Not quite. I'm going to need a new lens, this one is cracked." He said, holding the cracked glass. Beryl took it and examined it. "This looks like the same glass my glasses lenses are made from. I can give you one from my spare pair." said Beryl.

"Well, hurry! It sounds like the party is starting to die down." said Barry, as Beryl ran off to her room.

Willa became nervous standing there by herself. Every sound became something big to her. The shadows crept around the hallway and made Willa shiver. All she could think about was the horrible things Reaver would do to them if he found out she and Beryl broke his photo-box. "Maybe he'll string us up by our toes in the basement…" she whined, trying not to be scared. "…or feed us to rabid chickens…" Willa's eyes became watery as her thoughts got wilder. "Or…or maybe he'll make us clean the crawl space underneath the house…"

"Meow?"

Willa jumped and yelped at the surprise visit from the cat. Reavie stood in front of Willa and moved her tail about. "Oh, Reavie…you scared me…" laughed Willa. She bent down and patted the little kitty cat on her head. "For a second there, I thought you were Mr. Reaver…" she laughed, picking up the cat. "I bet you feel left out of all the fun, huh? Well, trust me, its best you stay dumb to this." Willa set Reavie down and watched her scamper away. "I hope Beryl gets back soon…"

Reaching into her cabinet, Beryl happily grabbed her spare glasses and ran back toward the other hallway. She was passing by the ballroom when she heard the doors fly open. Reaver, with his cane leading the way, walked up to Beryl, who hid her spare glasses behind her back. "Oh, good, Beryl, I need you to do something for me." He said, a little drunk. Beryl became nervous. "I need you to help me settle a bet." He said, pulling her into the ballroom. Reaver shoved her into the middle of the dance floor. "Show them your amazing abilities." He commanded, with a clap of his hands.

Beryl shook nervously at all the people staring at her, but nodded softly and stood straight, tucking her spare glasses into her apron pocket. "Show them the backwards thing." Reaver shouted, as he downed some more wine. Beryl bent all the way backwards and poked her head in between her knees. Everyone clapped. "Now, walk on your hands." shouted Reaver, again. Beryl bent down, her legs tucked behind her head, and walked on her palms. She did every trick Reaver commanded of her and ended with a split. Everyone clapped (except the man handing Reaver a small bag of gold). Beryl got up and bowed and started running out of the ballroom. "I wonder where she's going off to in such a hurry." Reaver asked himself.

Beryl quickly came back to the office and handed her spare glasses to Barry. He nodded his thank you and popped his head back into the office. Willa looked panicked and glared at Beryl. "I was stopped by Mr. Reaver. He made me do tricks for his guests." said Beryl, simply.

Almost an hour passed by, and the sounds of the party started to die down. Beryl still had her ear to the doorway, trying to hear everything. "From the sounds of it, it sounds like he's about done." She whispered, as she tried to listen more close to the tinkering.

"Almost done with what?" asked a voice that sent a chill down their spines. Turning around slowly, Will and Beryl saw Reaver, with two masked women on each arm. "Why are you two standing in front of my office? I figured you'd be doing something a little more productive." He said, leaning down toward Willa. "You two are hiding something from me." He cooed, with a devious smile.

"Oh, no, nothing at all, Mr. Reaver." said Beryl, nervously.

Reaver, who looked like he had a bit to drink that night, smiled and got closer to Beryl. "You know someone as flexible as you, Beryl, should be able to bend the truth better." He laughed. "Ahh, but I do like surprises. So, the longer it takes me to find out, the more enjoyable your punishment will be…for me, anyway." He laughed again, escorting the two ladies to his bedroom.

Not long afterward, Barry emerged from the office with Rosie in tow. "It's done. It will be on the desk in the morning when Master Reaver comes for it. Hopefully, he'll never find out." Berry sighed, somewhat relieved as the four left the hallway. "Now, let this be a lesson to you all. Whenever Reaver gives you permission to do something, it's probably a set-up." Barry warned as he left the three alone in the dining room.

"Don't surprise me like that again." growled Rosie, as she left the dining room as well.

Willa and Beryl looked at each other, and decided to just go to bed.

Reaver, having escaped the clutches of his two bed companions, made his way to his office and sat down. He was wearing his sleeping trousers and under shirt, both stained with lipstick marks. He chuckled to himself and looked at the corner of his desk, as the photo-box. He picked it up and looked it over. "Hatch did a good job repairing it." He laughed, setting it down again. "I wonder how stupid my servants think I am." He asked himself, as he took out his journal.

"I wish I had more to say tonight, but actions speak louder than words! Oh my, the presentation was a complete success and so was the dinner. The servants were on their toes all night, and I think they earned a good night's sleep, free of my waking them up and making them run around Millfields until sunrise for breaking my expensive prototype and not telling me. I must say, though, I am a bit sad tonight, as my house guest, Lord Logan, has informed me that he received an assignment from his sister and will be leaving in a few short weeks. Too bad, I was getting used to having him around."

Reaver's arm accidently hit the photo-box as he went to put his pen away.

SMASH!

It landed on the office floor with a loud smash. Reaver sighed at the many pieces that used to be the photo-box. He shrugged, and walked over to his cabinet. He opened it, revealing four more prototypes. He took one out and placed it on his desk. If there was anything being around the servants had taught Reaver…

"Always have a spare…"

N'cha, my dears!

It's been a while, and I apologize profusely for my absence. A lot of odd things happened in the course of the last…two or so weeks, I think that kept me from finishing this when I hoped to. It's a bit short, and not as illustrious as I had wanted it, but I realized my idea for the party setting didn't materialize the way I hoped. I went through many ideas, but just kept stopping mid-paragraph with each one, but in the end, I settled on this one. All in all, I'm somewhat satisfied with how this came out.

The next story will be the last one with Logan in it (at least for a little while, I don't know if I'll include him again in another installment).

The next installment, well...two troublemakers will be making an appearance, but I'm not going to say who! Hehehe, ooooooohhhh!

As always, review and be merry, I appreciate all criticism but prefer positive haha!

Reaver, Barry Hatch, and Logan belong to Lionhead.