by Dakota Lake
My stomach rumbled reminding me I was hungry. I didn't always want breakfast but I hadn't eaten much last night and today my usual cookies and juice breakfast wasn't enough.
I washed and dressed and towel dried my hair. I stood in front of the long mirror in my closet looking at myself. My long brunette hair had an ombre blonde effect at the ends and hung like wet spaghetti noodles down my back.
I smoothed my dress down. The top half of my dress was so tight I sometimes felt like I couldn't breathe and this was one of the looser dressers. I felt like I was living in an old fashioned novel all I needed was my hair braided up on top of my head, which Narmi my handmaid would probably do if I asked her to. I tied the pink ribbon into a knot at the back of my dress and spun around once looking back in the mirror.
I hated wearing these clothes. Most of the others walked around in jeans and T-shirts and I was stuck with dresses. The servants dresses looked more comfortably than this, I still couldn't believe I'd grown up wearing these sort of clothes. It didn't feel right. It didn't feel normal. I left my room and walked along the corridor. The walls were made of wood and every ten steps a different painting hung on the wall. The floors were wooden with a red carpet runner that never seemed to end.
There were so many doors in this place, most of which I had never seen behind.
There were servants posted at different positions along the corridors. I wondered how much Cam was paying them to stand there and look straight forward? Boring and pointless! It seemed silly I felt so lonely with all these people everywhere. But the servants never spoke to me unless I asked them a question or for directions. When I walked passed them they usually kept their eyes to the floor and nodded in my direction.
The manor house was a square shape and had six levels. The basement was at the bottom and was a massive contrast to the manor. It was painted in light colours and not how you'd expect a basement to look. It was like a mini hospital down there with lots of rooms and the Doctor who I knew as Vivienne who also lived down there. She had been giving me regular check ups since I woke up to make sure I was doing okay. The basement level had its own set of steps hidden behind a door that matched the wooden wall interior. A servant always stood nearby watching the door. Above the basement was the ground level which is where my favourite room was. A large room with an indoor swimming pool. The swimming pool room had a couch seating area one side with a glass panel roof and a bar at the end of the pool with more seats. I loved wasting time in there floating around on the floatable loungers. The end wall was all glass windows and over looked part of the garden. It was one of my favourite places.
The kitchens were located on one side of the manor along with some of the servants bedrooms. The rest lived outside in the cottages.
Around the back of the manor after a very long walk down the many corridors you would eventually come to a set of large double doors that led into the ballroom. It was by far the largest room in the manor with its high ceilings and tall windows. It would quiet easily fit a few hundred people inside. The walls were white and gold and chandeliers hung from the ceilings, at one end there was a large stage with gold curtains at the back. Along one wall there was side seating in boxes high up in the wall over looking the stage for when there was a performance or entertainment on stage. There were seven arch shape glass doors that each led out onto their own balcony. This side of the manor had a grassy hill verge so the balconies sat at the top over looking the gardens. One of the archway doors had steps leading down into the gardens. Long gold curtains hung at the sides of the doors. I always wondered how many people it took to clean them? A large white grand piano sat near one of the balcony doors and a wide liquor bar was at one end stocked full of drinks. The room was something out of a princess fairytale. You really had to see it to believe it. There were many bars situated around the manor and I was allowed to help myself to whatever I wanted. There were no rules for me here, except the one where I wasn't allowed off the property. I had never seen beyond the gates. I didn't even know where in the world I was? That was just one of my many unanswered questions.
On the first level was the dining rooms, the library, the study rooms and other rooms full of antiques and paintings. Grayson who lived in the manor and worked closely with Cam had a bedroom along there somewhere as well. Cam's bedroom and personal study were at the end but I usually stayed clear of them.
The second level had an art room and a large room full of fabrics and sewing machines. A few unfinished dresses were still on the mannequins, it was like a tailors dream the amount of gorgeous fabrics and materials that sat on the tables and shelves. The second level also had many bedrooms that were unused, my bedroom was behind one of the many doors on that level.
The third level was where many of the guys that worked for Cam lived. They weren't exactly classed as servants they didn't cook or clean but they did work for Cam. I didn't know what they did but they would be gone for hours on end and sometimes even days, just like Cam. Their level had bedrooms, a kitchen and games rooms. The largest games room had a really high ceiling with random paintings on the walls. It was painted green with a wooden oak floor that was covered with large antique rugs. Long black drapes hung from the tall windows running the length of the room.
In the middle there were four large pool tables with low hanging lights above them. Arcade machines and other games tables were at the back along with two poker tables. A bar with stools and a couch area was near the entrance. In the middle of the room was an open fireplace that was very old and rarely used anymore as it was mainly for decorative purposes. There were couches spaced out along the edge next to the windows.
It was a teenagers dream. Games and as much alcohol as you could consume and a fully equipped gym. It was an all male level no girls lived up there and no girls went up there except me and a few of the servant girls to clean. I got the distinct feeling Cam didn't want me up there though. There were two sets of stairs leading to the higher levels, the stairs the servants used that were hidden inside an end turret and the main stairs that I normally used. The main staircase was located at the front of the manor house near the front doors, they spiralled round from each level with a wide red carpet running up them. The banisters had fairy lights wrapped around them which were always lit up at night. Just walking from level to level was a workout on its own. I wouldn't even be able to count the number of rooms there were too many, I would lose count trying. The stairs only led up to the third level though.
The fourth level was only reachable via the elevator. The elevator was kept guarded at all times and I was not allowed to use it. Only certain ones were allowed to use the elevator. Even the servants weren't allowed in it. One of the guards from the front gates was always stood next to it. I was told the fourth level was a training level where the guys worked out and trained. Which made sense, I had seen a few of them going up there dressed in training clothes with their hands wrapped ready for fighting and they usually came back down looking worse for wear. Emmett's bedroom was also up there somewhere.
I walked along the corridor passing doors, servants and tables with vases on them that were overflowing with flowers from the gardens, mainly roses.
When I reached the staircase I held my dress off the floor. I had learnt my lesson, long dresses and stairs don't go well together. I skipped down to the ground level and walked to the kitchens. The kitchens ran along the side of the manor house, they were long and divided by archways. The floor was grey cobblestone and the cabinets were also grey. The servants mainly used the kitchen furthest away which had a small back door leading outside. I assumed the other kitchens were used when there were special events or functions going on and they needed to cook for many guests. I walked in and sat myself down on a stool at the middle counter, there was only one other person in the kitchen a servant girl.
I think her name was Katie, she had a long blonde plait that hung down her back. She was one of the younger servants maybe around sixteen. She stood at the sink peelin
g carrots. She looked over at me but quickly diverted her eyes back to her carrot peeling.
The servants didn't speak to me and most of them tried to avoid eye contact with me. My handmaid Narmi spoke to me but she usually said as little as possible. The kitchen chef Shelley though would always talk to me so I would often come down here in between meals for company even though Cam had once told me only the servants should be in the kitchen. There was a plate of scones on the counter in front of me.
“Hey, am I allowed one of these?” I asked.
The servant girl stopped peeling and put down the peeler. She walked to the fridge and took out a butter dish, then she opened a drawer and picked out a knife. She took a plate off the side and placed it in front of me, placing the knife on it and the butter dish next to it.
“Cheese scones, freshly baked this morning Miss Ruby.” she said before hurrying back to the sink. I think that was the most conversation I was going to get out of her. I would have happily got the butter dish myself if she'd told me where to find it.
I picked up the scone, it was still warm. I cut it in half and spread some butter on each side. I ate my scone savouring the taste, Shelley made the best scones. As I picked up the last piece of scone my tattoo caught the light and twinkled. I rubbed my finger over it, examining it. The Mark of Under.....
I heard someone whisper. I snapped my head up and caught Katie looking at me. She quickly turned around. She had been watching me.
“Did you say something?” I asked.
But she didn't reply. I didn't think she'd said it out loud.
The back door opened. I couldn't see who it was as the door was around the corner. “Katie, a little help please.” Shelley called.
Katie rushed around the corner and walked back in carrying a crate of fresh veg hand picked from the vegetable allotments.
Shelley walked in holding two dead chickens upside down by their legs.
“Oh sorry Ruby, I didn't know you were in here.” she said hurrying through to the other kitchen. “It's okay. I guess we're having chicken for dinner then?”
Shelley reappeared without the dead chickens.
“Chicken casserole. I know you don't really like to eat any other meat so I'm trying some new ideas with the chicken.”
Shelley was bony thin, not too tall with short black straight cut hair. Tiny blue eyes and a pointy little nose with rosy cheeks. She looked to be in her mid thirties and I'd never seen her without her pinafore on.
“Sounds good, as long as it is chicken. Not baby deer, squirrel or pigeon meat. I'll never forget the time shortly after I woke up when Emmett offered me his sandwich.” I said cringing, doing a gag reflex at the same time.
It made me wonder which part of the country I was in that thought eating baby squirrel was a delicacy.
“Yes the people down here like different kinds of meat.” she said washing her hands off in the sink. Recently I'd noticed more and more people were using the words 'down here'. I wasn't quite sure what they meant by 'down here'? Even Emmett had said it once or twice but afterwards he always looked like he'd said something he shouldn't have.
Onion, potatoes... Shelley was thinking about vegetables, probably for the casserole dinner. During my time here I have learnt I have a very unique talent. I can hear what people are thinking but only the servants, gardeners and the guards. It doesn't work on Cam, Emmett or any of the guys that work for Cam. I didn't know why I could do this? And I hadn't told anyone about it. I never really heard anything exciting from the servants though, seeing as they did their best to stay away from me.
“You having lunch today sweetie?” Shelley asked.
I shrugged. I didn't eat lunch everyday it usually depended on how hungry I felt. “Well if you're hungry just let Wilson know what you'd like,” she said spinning around looking for something.
Wilson was the butler and head of staff at the manor.
“Egg mayo sandwich, melted cheese, jam sandwich. I can do you pancakes, pasta salad you just think about what you'd like and I can make it.” she said sticking her head inside a cupboard. “Okay thanks Shelley.” I said hopping off the stool and picking up my dirty cutlery. But before I could make it to the sink Katie had whisked it away from me without a word.
“Err thanks,” I said looking at the back of Katie already at the sink scrubbing the plate. “I'll see you at dinner Shelley.”
I walked out the back door closing the bottom half of the stable door to keep the dogs out. Otherwise the dogs would let themselves in and raid the kitchen cupboards. Cam's dogs, he had five Doberman Pinschers. They all had their own personalities, were playful and ate food like there was no tomorrow. They were also the guard dogs and spent most of the day outside. Cyan, Cinder, Jetta, Thunder and Storm. It had taken me nearly all of four months to remember their names. I still couldn't tell them apart though. They all looked the same.
I walked along the small path at the side of the manor looking up at the walls and the way the ivy had spread over time and how the rose bushes had grown up and entangled themselves with the ivy. The manor house exterior looked similar to a medieval manor house with a timber frame and brick cladding on the ground level wall. There were a few turrets with what I described as a tooth shape wall at the top that showed it was really a castle.
The manor was surrounded by all sorts of different gardens and meadows, vegetable allotments and a forest area over the fields with a small stream running through it. There were many animals, pigs, sheep and cows that lived on the fields. Horses in the meadows and chickens running loose everywhere. There were even a few goats but it didn't smell like a farm. The beautiful scented roses masked the scent of any animal odours.
The gardens were filled with trees including fruit trees, we mainly ate from produce grown here on the grounds. There were many benches spread out to sit down on, but I loved the gazebo which had a bed of large oversized cushions underneath it. There were twenty four cottages situated at the back of the manor where the servants lived and some of Cam's other workers.
This place seemed too good to be true sometimes and I wasn't talking about the beautiful scenery. The animals in the gardens were somewhat different. It had taken me a few weeks to get my head around the fact that this was apparently normal. I still questioned whether I was seeing things. A mouse scurried across the path in front of me and ran into a bush. It was still clearly visible though amongst the greenery, its pastel pink fur gave it away. Another mouse ran across the path a pastel blue one this time.
I kept walking and a singing bird in a tree caught my attention, it looked like a black bird but I was told it was a pink bird on account of its bright pink feathers. I still wanted to call it a black bird. I was positive I'd seen a red owl the other night, it was dark though so I wasn't entirely sure. The flowers were another huge thing for me to take in. They were everywhere I looked and the amount of rose bushes was crazy. But the roses weren't what I would consider standard colours. Here there were multi coloured roses and neon coloured rose petals even black roses and don't even get me started on the black and white oranges that hung from the orange trees but no one called them oranges here. They were simply called the black and white fruit.
I thought Emmett was joking when he first tried to get me to eat one, even the segments inside are black and white. Some things are the same from what I think I remember and what I would class as normal but other things I would look at and wonder if Shelley had been adding magic mushrooms to my food. It all looked so surreal sometimes.
I carried on along the path heading nowhere in particular when something hit me on the head and bounced off, landing on the floor. I looked down and saw a piece of bread crust next to my foot. I looked around wondering where it had come from, until I spotted smoke coming from behind a nearby tree. I veered off and walked across the grass towards the tree.
“Not funny, I thought a bird had crapped on my head!” I said playfully kicking him. Kenzie snickered, flicking his cigarette into a bush.
/> “You know Cam hates you smoking in the garden.”
“What Cam doesn't know wont hurt him.” Kenzie said taking a bite out of his sandwich. “Where else does he expect me to smoke? In one of the pigsties? Anyway I'm not the only one. That could have been Em's for all he knows.”
By Em he meant Emmett, who also smoked like a chimney they were as bad as each other. I sat down next to him and crossed my legs leaning back against the tree.
Kenzie was one of the few people I had grown close to over the last four months. He looked a few years older than me like most of the people here that worked closely with Cam. Except for the servants they ranged from young to old but I don't think I'd seen anyone that looked over the age of forty.
Kenzie had shoulder length very dark brown hair which was borderline black and constantly covered with a cap on backwards and he always smelled of bubblegum. He had lightly coloured skin and black ink tattoos up both his arms. He always wore loads of cord and bright beaded bracelets that I was always borrowing from him. Today he was wearing a bright turquoise vest, skinny black jeans with black and white hi-tops. I often looked at his clothes and felt envious they definitely looked more comfortable than the dresses I had to wear.
Kenzie always knew how to make me smile and we had spent a lot of time together so I was used to his quirky behaviour. The only thing I found a little off about him was his eyes. They were as black as night the same as Cam's. There was something strange and disturbing about his eyes but his smiley attitude towards everything soon made me forget about his freakish eyes that I found a little unsettling.
“You want some?” he asked holding the sandwich out to me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Peanut butter and jelly.”
“What, no way!” I said taking the sandwich and biting into it.
“Where'd you get this? I've searched the pantry in the kitchen from top to bottom and never found any.”
