Ah yes, Lord Foxrice.
Your savior.
Your original master.
Your most beloved friend.
Even after all this time, you can still see his smiling face. His common robes that were always just a bit too big for him. The eyes that shined with a genuine kindness that you only ever saw in him. His hands were always calloused from work, sometimes to the point where they bled whenever he attempted to pick something up. But he never let himself show any pain. Not in front of you or anyone else.
"I don't want others to worry about me. Most of them have their own problems. They don't need me adding to them," he once said to you with a smile.
You look down at your hands and stop them from moving. Oh, the drinks are ready. You let yourself get distracted by nostalgia again. No matter, you'll make sure to apologize to the Mistress if you were a bit late.
You place the multicolor drink onto a silver platter alongside a glass of wine for Lady White. Holding the platter in one hand, you make your way to the garden area. It is a short walk, particularly since you've memorized every shortcut, secret passageway, and side passage in the entire household. You merely take a few steps down the corridor you came from, except this time you walk straight ahead instead of turning. It doesn't take much longer for you to come across a wall lamp sticking out of the alabaster walls.
Without missing a beat, you turn and pull down on the handle of the lamp. You hear a small click, and sure enough the wall in front of you pushes itself deeper into the foundation. With a small rumble and falling dust, a pitch black walk way reveals itself. There are no lights down the path, only blackness that any normal person wouldn't be able to see through without lighting equipment.
You are no normal human.
Your shoes clack against the tiled stone floor as you make your way down the hall. You should just have to keep straight on and you'll emerge outside of the garden within one minute. Granted you could've just turned into mist and faded through the walls to your destination, but you're feeling rather nostalgic today. The Lord Foxrice had these chambers built near the end of his life. You watched the workers as they put the mortar and structure in, helping where you could and supervising where you couldn't. He had these put in just in case something should happen after he was gone. He had become a bit more worldly in his later years. Though his immense compassion never wavered, he stopped being as much of a fool as he had been when you first met him.
You reach the end of the corridor and press a hand against the wall. You feel the brick fall inside and step back once the wall begins to sink into the floor. The light from outside temporarily blinds you as the sunlight comes in. You feel weaker as you step out into the light, stopping to make sure the wall automatically moves back into place before you head for the garden. You're not as weak to ultraviolet rays as you once were. At one time, they would completely stop you in your tracks, making you unable to move at all. Now though, they are at most an annoyance, which suits you fine.
It would not do well for a servant such as yourself to be so inconvenienced by the sun after all.
You very quickly find the garden where your Mistress sits with her guest. The glass roof sparkles in the sun, amplifying the light so that the vegetation may gain the appropriate amount of sunlight. It is easy to pick your Mistress out of all of the greenery. Her dress is exceedingly "loud" as they say, and can catch anyone's eye from far enough away.
She's currently standing over one of your latest acquisitions, a rare Ghost Orchid if you remember correctly. It's white petals droop low, making them look like a child hanging from a thin rope.
You hear Lady Catherine's voice, "Isn't it beautiful. There are only about two thousand in the world you know. I'm actually working on trying to get it to germinate with—oh Claude, thank you!" You smile as your Mistress turns and skips over to you.
You bow slightly, holding both of the beverages out for the two of them. Catherine takes both of them and quickly moves back over to her guest. The Lady White, hesitantly, takes her glass of wine before saying, "Thank you, my Lady."
Catherine waves her hand dismissively, "I told you, call me Catherine! There's no need to be "formal and proper" proper here. Now tell me, how do you feel about," she starts to lapse into rambling soon. Lady White, to her credit, stands and nods along as she speaks, as any good guest should.
You stand there for about three minutes, before tapping your Mistress on her shoulder, "My Lady? Is there anything else you need?" You catch Lady White looking at you with surprise out of the corner of your eye. You know it is strange for a servant to address their Master with such familiarity, but that is just how your Mistress is. She herself ordered you to treat her as you would a close friend, even in front of others of her stature.
And who are you to deny her that order?
Catherine looks behind her, still smiling happily while she thinks for a moment, "Hmm, oh! Could you go and get the car ready? I think there's going to be a stargazing event nearby, and I've planned to go there since last week!"
You bow with an, "As you wish," before heading outside. You hold your tie in place as you go, making sure it is as straight as can be. It should take you too long to get….there.
You stop moving, eyes being drawn to the household. From here, nothing seems too out of the ordinary. It's the same building it's always been, but you feel something.
A presence perhaps.
Hmm…
[] Go check it out. Even if it is nothing, you won't regret not checking later.
[] Ignore it. You must complete your Mistress' orders first and foremost. Everything else is secondary.
Sorry it took abit. Finals can be a bitch.
But now Finals are over, and I'm out for Break!
Also here's an Optional Choice:
[] Write in Claude's Appearance
You can put in a picture or describe it with words. Whichever works best for you.
