T.7.D.S

Ch. 2

Charleston wakes up in a room he has never scene before. He opens his eyes slowly to see he was in a bed with silk sheets and feather pillows. There was a dresser to his left with clothes, and the drapes were open to reveal light shining through the window. He sat up and looked out the window to see a small field, and trees surrounding it like a wall. There was a mirror and a chair at the far end of the room. The chair had a jacket hanging off the back of it; his jacket. He looked down to see he was still in day clothes. His head hurt and he couldn't remember anything from the night before. His clothes reeked! He undressed and took out clothes from the dresser.

"I'm sure the people won't mind if I just borrow a shirt and some pants." He said as he dressed himself. He looked in the mirror, and chuckled to himself a little. "I look like a butler!"

He looked at the door to his right. There were nine bells to the side of it, with a string attached to each one that ran up into the ceiling. Each bell was a different color. There was a fiery red one, a heavy gold one, one with an ivy green color, a light blue, a flowery pink, a lavender purple, and a beautiful sunset, peach bell. There were still two other bells beside these ones. One was a dark black, and slightly bigger than the others. The other was smaller than all the others. It was a simple silver bell. On the floor bellow the bells were black, polished shoes. He put the shoes on, and sat on the chair. He tried to remember what had happened last night. All he could remember was he was driving somewhere. Was he trying to get here? If so, where exactly is here? He couldn't remember anything else.

He looked out the window once more to the open field and wall of thick trees. He scanned the field, and a blue dress caught his eye. In the field a small young woman laid in the grass. She had on a light, flowing blue dress, and the lightest blonde hair. Her hair was short and curly. She wasn't doing anything. She just sat there eyes half open looking into the sky. Charleston couldn't help but feel calm as he stared at her, memorized by her relax position.

He was broke free from his trance when there was a knock at the door. A voice came from outside the door.

"May I enter? There is work to be done!" The voice said in a strict but calm manner.

Charleston answered and the door opened. In the door way stood a tall, slender man with cloudy, pale blue eyes. He looked like he was half dead. He bowed slightly as he said,

"Morning, Mr. Smith. Nice to see the clothes fit well."

Just then Charleston felt a sharp pain in his head, but it faded quickly. He looked at the older man. How did he know my name? He thought. The man looked familiar to Charleston, but he didn't know why. He then remembered a name.

"Ivan Rugbert? ...Sir?"

Ivan's eyes widened slightly, as if he was surprised, but then he relaxed again and replied, "Yes, Mr. Smith?"

Charleston, wide awake now, turned towards Ivan, and with a concerned tone spoke.

"Where am I? What is this place? What work? I don't remember anything! Please help me! Tell me what happened!"

Ivan was silent for a minute before speaking.

"Please calm down, Mr. Smith. Don't you remember? You came to my office looking for a job. You were interested in our butler position. You need not worry of course. The housing is free and so is the uniform. You will be paid with money along with three meals a day and other necessities. You were supposed to start next week, but you insisted on starting immediately!"

"I did? What happened to my car?"

"Your car was towed here and is being fixed."

"FIXED?! What happened to it?"

"Oh, nothing really. It was having problems starting up when it was time to leave. Surely you remember!"

"No! I can't remember anything."

"Well, we drove here in my car, so that you could get a tour of the house before the master arrived, but you were so tired from your day, that you fell asleep on the way here. I had other staff escort you to your room, and give you clean uniforms."

Charleston listen to everything Ivan had said in half a daze. He couldn't believe all this happened. He didn't remember any of it. Why couldn't he remember? He wanted to trust Ivan, but Ivan made him feel uneasy, and he felt there was another story to be told. Regardless of his feeling, he thanked Ivan for his help.

Ivan spoke once more. "If that will be all, I will take my leave now. I have work to do, and I can't be behind schedule." He stood up straight and bowed.

"Wait!" Charleston called out after him. "Sorry, but what exactly is my job... as a butler?"

Ivan continued to walk out of the room as he spoke. "Your job is to serve the master. You will meet him soon. So, for now, relax." And, with that, Ivan left the room, closing the door behind him.