Argute Manor

04 'brat'

"You wanna be realistic? We're paying you to be a maid, so act like it."

── 〔  🗝️ 〕──

"Oi, maid." My heart stopped. Out of all the residents in this house and I just had to deal with the supposed worst one of all. I held my breath and turned around, praying that neither my body nor voice would betray my true feelings.

"M-may I help you?" I replied back cautiously.

I couldn't see much of his face, but he leaned against the opened door with folded arms. His head was lowered, as if he was trying to stare me down. "Yeah. You can. Come here." Silently, he raised a hand up and began beckoning me over with one finger.
It felt so humiliating, but seeing as I was just an employee, I couldn't help but obey.

My shoulders sank as I slowly closed the distance between us, until I was only a couple paces away. I had to crane my neck up to face him, but I could see him very clearly now. His emerald eyes were narrowed but his mouth was curved into a smirk. He was wearing a white shirt today, but this time he also wore the embroidered jacket on top.

"Clean my room," he said, not breaking eye contact with me.

I swallowed but dared to raise a brow. "O-oh, I'm sorry but...I've been given other duties."

"Does it look like I care?" Caspian retorted. "Start on my room. Now."

I gulped. "I-is it possible if I can do it after the library? I'm almost done..."

He muttered darkly under his breath before reaching forward to grab my hand. Well, he was clutching onto my wrist, so hopefully he had just missed his initial target. His touch on my skin was foreign and prickly. I tried to jerk my hand back but it was like his fist was made of steel.

"Don't even think about running off," he threatened in a low tone before marching us down the hall to his room.
I hadn't yet explored the second floor - the upper entrance to the library was locked anyway - so I tried to dart my eyes around as best as I could. It was identical to the first floor, though the wallpaper and floorboards were a lot more darker. There seemed to be an endless amount of light pouring from another wing, but that was blocked by a wall.

Caspian dragged us to the middle of the hall before opening a door and pushing me inside. Just what was his problem?

He finally released his hold on me and I snatched my hand back, sighing. "What is it you'd like me to do?"

Caspian sauntered to his bed before plopping down and making himself comfy. "Dust the shelves."

"Um...and that's it?" he nodded, furrowing his brows as if I had suddenly started speaking another language.
What was up with this man? Must he have dragged me away from my very labouring duties only to do one very small task? "Uh, alright then." Daring to glance at him one last time, I found his green eyes to be trained on me, and a shudder travelled through my body.

Caspian's room was larger than mine, but I suspect it was because he didn't have bulky furniture taking up most of the floor space. His room had large windows which let in ample sunlight, thank goodness, and made the space more inviting. His walls were boring beige but the floor was a baby blue carpet.
In fact, he had quite a lot of blue furniture and accents, including his wooden, queen-sized bed.