Guard of heart

The game

It was a quiet Sunday evening, and for once, I had nothing to do. Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Adrian had gone out for a personal outing, leaving me alone in the mansion with the guards—and Aby, of course. I’d been doing my best to ignore Aby, mostly because our encounters always felt strange. There was something about him that unsettled me, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. So, avoiding him seemed like the safest option.

That’s when Allen’s face popped into my mind. Over the past few months, we’d grown pretty close. He was nothing like his older brother—lighthearted, fun, and always up for a laugh. Maybe it was because he was just seventeen, or maybe it was because, growing up without a brother, I liked the idea of having him around. Either way, he was one of the few bright spots in this mansion.

I swung my legs off the bed and decided to find him.

I checked the living room first, expecting to find him sprawled on the couch, but it was empty, eerily quiet. The kitchen, too, was deserted. I headed into the library next, hoping he might be strumming his guitar or buried in a book, but there was no sign of him there either. The silence of the mansion felt almost oppressive, broken only by the soft shuffling of footsteps behind me.

Turning around, I saw Cecily, the maid, pushing a mop across the hallway floor. She smiled as I approached.

“Cecily, have you seen Allen anywhere?” I asked.

She paused, resting her weight on the mop handle and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “Oh, Miss Elara! Yes, I think I saw him in the game room earlier. He’s probably still there, glued to that console of his.”

“Thanks,” I said, returning her smile as I headed toward the game room. As I walked, I could faintly hear the high-pitched sounds of a game’s background music, the electronic melody blending with the distant hum of the air conditioning. The closer I got, the louder it became—a fast-paced rhythm of beeps and explosions.

Reaching the door, I peeked inside. The room had the same soft glow it always did, the neon lights along the ceiling casting everything in shades of blue and purple. Game posters and action figures lined the walls, while several shelves were crammed with consoles, controllers, and trophies. A few beanbags were scattered around the room, but in the middle of it all, Allen was sprawled on one, completely immersed in the game unfolding on the giant flat-screen TV. His character on screen was dodging bullets, leaping through obstacles, and battling enemies in an onslaught of lights and motion.

He didn’t notice me at first, too focused on the chaos in front of him. His fingers danced over the controller with rapid precision, his face scrunched in concentration, eyes wide as he leaned forward with every movement his character made. For a moment, I just watched him, marveling at how intensely he played, oblivious to everything else.

I stepped further into the room and cleared my throat.

Allen jerked, startled. His head whipped toward me, and in his shock, the controller slipped out of his hands, clattering to the floor.

“Oh, shit!” His eyes widened, then relaxed when he realized it was me. He let out a breathy laugh. “It’s you! I thought it was Adrian.”

I raised an eyebrow, smirking as I picked up the fallen controller. “Why would Mr. Adrian stop you from playing games?”

Allen let out an exaggerated groan, falling back into the beanbag with dramatic flair. “Because Adrian’s always on my case! ‘Grow up, be more serious, focus on your future, find your passion’—all that boring stuff. He’s like a human checklist of ‘how to ruin all the fun in life.’”

I chuckled, settling into the beanbag beside him. The leather squeaked under my weight as I leaned back, watching the explosion on the screen as Allen’s character was thrown off a ledge.