Fallen Souls

Chapter 1

Third P.O.V.

* THREE MONTHS LATER *

Crystal was helping Hannah early in the morning with the three others - Canterbury, Thompson, & Timber - alongside with them. Whilst the triplets were cleaning the table clothes, chairs, and carpet, Crystal and Hannah worked on the floors. 

Polishing every corner of the manor took time, especially since Claude was always pestering them about a spot that wasn't polished. 

"You go on ahead, I'll take care of the rest," Hannah tells Crystal. Her eyes never left the floor since they started working and her hands were diligently working and polishing the porcelain floors. The two of them were on the top floor with 3 hours that has gone by. 

"Are you sure Hannah? I really don't mind working the rest-"

Hannah cuts her off and says, "I'm sure of it. You're too kind and young. Please, I insist that you take a little break and leave the rest of the work to me." 

Crystal smiled at her. "Alright then. I'll be downstairs with Claude if you need any assistance." She quickly disposed the soapy water down the drain in the servant's bathroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen where Claude was already preparing the food. 

"Master will be woken up soon," he says. "I know, you always wake him up everyday at the same time. I'm not foolish."

Claude stopped working and turned to her. His body was stiff and his eyes were still unwelcoming like the day she first met him and Alois. "Someone tried to jump over the hedges last night." 

"You caught the person, correct?" shed asked him. He nodded and said, "But it's not my duty to do such activities late in the evening."

Crystal sighed. "Sorry. I understand that it isn’t your duties Claude, but even I need my rest. You can go a full day without sleeping. Even an hour rest would be fine for you, but not for me. We all can't be as perfect as you, Claude," she hissed at him. "I'll be going down to the basement then. I'll be back when Master is at the table."

Closing the kitchen door behind her and walking past the triplets, she made her way towards the basement stairs. Crystal walked down the couple of steps and took out a lantern that she always hid behind a portrait. Walking a few aisles down, another door was hidden behind the dark shadows. 

Whilst opening the door, a loud creak echoed through the room. Slowly, she crept inside where the room was full of torches. She slammed the door shut and walked past a lever. 

"Why were you here last night?" she asked the man who was chained up. When he refused to answer her and snapped. "Speak!" 

"I have nothing to say to you," he hisses. She cocked a brow at him and looked up where chains were fastened onto a wooden bar above his head. Above the bar were dimly lit spikes full of spiders. Poisonous spiders, actually. 

"You have a choice," she says whilst walking towards the lever. "You either speak and tell me what you were doing here late in the evening, or you can swing yourself up there." She points to the ceiling where the guy was staring at. 

"I just needed a few quids. That's all," he answers. Crystal rolled her eyes at him and said, "So you come over here and decide to try your best to break into this manor? Whilst the Master was sleeping? You sir, are terrible." 

She walked over to him. His eyes showed hope, but she rolled her eyes at him again. Clutching onto the chains, she slowly swung the suspended wood where he was chained onto. "Got a name?" she asks. 

"Russle Erol. Please let me go, I promise I won't cause any more trouble here." 

"Oh, now how would I know if you were talking the truth, Russle? For one, I know that people who do crimes would eventually come back and retry with a better strategy. Besides, I'm so sure that you won't cause any more trouble here, and you know why?"