Mister Arlington

04

I had quickly come to realise that the cane Mister Arlington carried along with him was merely an ornament, seeing as when he walked he never let the cane touch the ground.

I followed the two to an underground parking where we stopped in front of a black BMW with tinted windows. Surrounding us were a variety of other expensive cars, which I stared at while Mister Arlington spoke to Mary.

"I've business to attend to, you know what to do when you arrive at the house."

Mary nodded and opened the passengers door for me, I gave her an nod of my thanks before getting in looking down at my hands as I fiddled with them.

She rounded the car and entered the Drivers side as I watched Mister Arlington enter the passengers side of the car beside us, the tinted windows prevented me from seeing anything else.

"Right then, we'll head to your new home," Mary said from beside me. I bobbed my head as I turned to look down at my hands in my lap.

It wasn't long after Mary had exited the underground parking onto the London streets before I found myself falling asleep.

Mary had noticed me trying to fight it off but had kindly told me that it was alright to sleep. Regardless, I still fought against my tiredness but through sometime I succumbed to the darkness.

~~~

I was woken by a series of gentle shakes and a soft voice whispering my name. My eyes fluttered open, finding Mary bending down through the door of the passenger's side. I blinked a few times to wake me up as she pulled away, I sat up and noticed Mary smiling at me.

"Come now, we're home."

I looked through the tinted windows, finding a field of grass as far as the eye could see. In the distance was a dead tree in the open field. I exited the car so I was able to have a better view of my surroundings.

Ultimately, I was surprised. I thought a man of such would live in a penthouse over looking the city, instead, he lived in the countryside in a cosy cottage surrounded by tall grass with all sorts of coloured flowers that went on for what seemed like forever.

"I hope you like the place."

I turned to Mary. She waited by the white gate that was connected to a stone fence that wrapped around the house, protecting the flowerbeds and variety of trees inside. Smalls birds flew around, stopping at the white birdbath inside the fence to play in the water.

From the gate, there were stones embedded into the ground as a path to the door. The house was big, as if it were meant for a family. It was built of stone and had vines growing up the side of it, giving it a cottagecore aesthetic. It was as if I were looking at a real-life fairytale.

I turned to the car, looking at it in confusion.

"It goes around the back in a garage," Mary said, answering my unsaid question.

"I'll put it away, you can make yourself at home."

I nodded, walking past her and following the stone path to the mahogany door. The door opened swiftly, allowing me inside. With a deep unable and exhale, I entered the long hallway.

The walls were a light grey, with lamps that lined the them. A few plant pots and a single wooden table were all that furnished the hallway. I noticed that up ahead there were stairs that lead above, which hung over two rooms.

I stopped at the first doorway on my left which lead into the lounge room, which consisted of a black rectangle rug that laid underneath a glass coffee table, positioned around it were three black couches and before the set up was a fireplace that had a ledge above it for the large tv to sit on. On either side of the fireplace were large windows covered by thin white curtains and in the corners of the room were more plant pots and a lone furnished chair. I walked over to the nearest couch, running my hand over the material as I admired the room.

"Nice isn't it."

I jumped slightly as my head snapped around finding Mary entering the room. Quickly brushing of my small fright I nodded.

"Sit, make yourself comfortable," she urged.

I rounded the couch and sat. She did the same, sitting on the couch to my left.

"As you know, my name is Mary. I'm Mister Arlington's maid as well as the caretaker of any house he resides in. You are now my apprentice, I will show you how to do things the way, Mister Arlington likes it. Now I must warn you, he does have quite a temper and he can be cold but he is a good man."

My mother used to say the same thing about father and look where she ended up, I suppose it would be up to me to decide if that was really true. I nodded in reply to Mary's words.

"You look tired, you can use this time to adjust and we'll begin early tomorrow. I'll show you to your room."

She stood, leaving me to follow behind her as she took me to the far end of the hallway. "This is your room," she said, opening the door, allowing me to enter, "mine is just next door. I'll wake you before dawn so we can get started."

I nodded as I surveyed my room. Inside was a king bed that was pushed into the corner of the room, a nightstand next to it and a door that I suppose lead to a walk in closet. Nothing more.

"We have two rule in this house that applies to you. One; you're not able to go upstairs unless you have permission. Two; do not exit your room after sundown, no matter what you hear. It'll just be Mister Arlington."

I nodded.

"The bathroom is by the front door on the right if you need it. I'll leave you now, I'll call when lunch is ready."

I nodded again, watching as she left before I fell onto my bed, letting out a long sigh.