Chương 221: Chapter 204. Dirty Sheets

Victor Harvey's Point Of View" Fetch the sheets, Vic. I'll get to hanging these. Be careful not to upset the Master or the Young Lord."" I get it, Pops. You don't need to tell me every time. Yes, Sir, no, Sir, and keep my head down. Anything else?"" Keep quiet!"" Alright!" I start to walk away from my Pops. Today I turned 11. I'm much more mature than any of those other apprentices! I mean, they're all newbies, since the others ran because the workload was too much!

Now I can just focus on getting my work done and relaxing at the river here in Zana." Careful, Vic!"" Ah! sorry, Luis!" I bumped into Luis, the Sous Chef of the Kitchen. He was carrying a crate full of fermentation equipment. In order to prepare for Lord Fracks's birthday celebration, the whole castle has shifted into a frenzy of work. Pops and I are in charge of washing the sheets around the castle, this includes the towels of the castle.

Currently, I was heading around to collect the used sheets of any bedding since it's been a week since their last cleaning." Sure is eerie in here." I mumble those words as I walk through the halls of the gray castle and notice how empty it is. Not even 5 years ago I remember the way it used to be. The halls were buzzing with warmth and small talk between the Staff. The apprentices were excited to learn their Trades and prepare for actual employment, then the Madam passed.

The halls were filled with sadness, grief... The soul of this castle was sucked out of it after the funeral. The Master withdrew from everyone. Only Pete, the Head Butler could drag a word or 2 out of the Master. Once Lady Cindy left for the Royal Academy 2 years ago, things have changed. People have left the castle. Lady Cindy tried her best to be the sun for this place. But the gray walls and drab day-to-day affairs overwhelmed the Staff. And in time, only silence remained.

Having said that, there has been an attempt to return to those days. Mostly from the Young Master, Byron. With his Father, continuing to lament the loss of his wife, Young Master Byron began to take charge and act as the Lord of Zana. Some things worked, others didn't. Some new faces joined, others left. And now, a new normal has crept into our lives. I made my way into Pete's room. When I entered the room, a voice startled me." Who is it?"" Ah! It's me, Pete! Victor!"" Oh! Sorry, Vic." Pete apologized to me.

But the way he shouted seemed so out of character for the nice man I've always known. I couldn't help but worry about him." Pete, are you okay? You just don't seem like yourself right now." To my question, Pete looked puzzled, like he knew what I was talking about, but he didn't know how to explain it to me. But considering I was the oldest apprentice, I should be able to at least lend an ear to Pete. So, I tried explaining that to him."

Pete, I don't know the trials and tribulations of a Head Butler, but I can at least lend an ear. Is everything okay? I know Denise left to work on that farm about 6 months back, is that what's bothering you? Have you tried sending a letter? She's your daughter, I'm sure she would write you back."" No, no, Denise and her Mother, Chris, are safe and enjoying the work at the farm from what I hear. It's a rabbit farm, did you know that? I somewhat envy them."" What's a rabbit farm, Pete?

I thought people only hunt rabbits?"" Well, usually they do. But sometimes there's a reason to keep them, like collecting their hides or using their blood and bones for certain Spell Crafts. I wondered about how they could so easily do that job. You know? Feeding and helping those little bunnies only to eventually bring them to the end of their lives in a slaughterhouse. But now... I shouldn't be talking about this with you, Vic. As for what I've had to do that's caused me stress...

I guess you could say that I'm torn between 2 sides of a certain coin."" A coin? What kind? Silver? Did you find a gold coin?" Pete laughed at my question." No, my boy. Not an actual coin. I just mean that there's been 2 ways of doing something that I've been stuck on."" What are they?"" To be loyal or to be moral." I sat there and cocked my head to the side. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere."

Well, sorry, Pete, I don't really know what to answer for that. But if I personally had the choice... I think I would choose to be moral. Honor is nice and all, but I don't know if I could really look at myself the same way if I did something that made me hate myself." Pete listened to my words and smiled at me." Yes... Yes, it would all be so simple if that was all I had to think about, Vic."" Well, I guess you can just treat my words as that of a child, Pete. I have to continue on with my work though.

I'll see you around."" I'm sure I will, Vic." With our conversation finished, I returned to collecting the sheets from around the castle. I noticed the Cooks' living quarters smelled of herbs and grease as I picked up their sheets. The Maids' quarters smelled of soap and citrus as I picked up their sheets. While I was picking them up, I couldn't help but notice the number of Maids had dwindled drastically. The only ones left were the older ones who were close to retiring.

I know a fair number went with Lady Cindy when she took off for the Academy, but I remember quite a few more young Maids were around even with the dour mood of the past few years. Maybe they figured that the atmosphere was too much?" Wow, Vic, that's a lot of laundry you have!"" Yeah! I figured I could grab the Staff's wash before moving onto the Master and Young Master's wash." Ethel, the Head Maid, commented on the size of the sack of sheets I had whipped around my back as I walked out of the Maids' quarters.

By the time I had returned with the sheets, my Pops had begun his work. Washing work has always been hard on a person's hands and back, but Pops keeps washing away, day after day, not really caring if the weather is warmer or colder. Ma always says Pops has worked here because the pay was fair for his service. Ma on the other hand, stayed at home and raised my younger sister." Good, put the sack there. Is that all of it?""

No, that's only the Staff's sheets, I need to go back for the Master and the Young Master's sheets."" Damn it, boy!"" What!? Look at the size of the sack! Nothing more would fit!"" I wanted you to grab the Master's first!"" Well, you really should've said something! Look, it's not that big of a deal! I'll go fetch it now!"" Be quick! And don't forget your manners!"" Alright, alright! It's not like anyone's seen him in a year anyways!" I run off with an empty sack and began to make my way to the Master's room.

I can really never understand why my Pops gets so angry about this. I mean, it's just some dirty clothes! My head was full of the complaints that I don't voice towards my Pops as I entered the main hall and headed for the Master's room. I open the door and hear my mouth make a sound. chill!" Brr..." I was cold? Why? I was sweating before from the running to this place. It's probably just from the cold air of the autumn wind. The chill must be coming. Winter is approaching after all.

Now that I'm in the room, I head to the Master's bed to strip it. Why didn't Pete already do this? The room was dark... Almost too dark considering that it was the afternoon. The room at least looked spotless. I guess the Maids had done a good cleaning recently. There were paintings of the Master and his family, including the Madam, Lady Cindra. They looked happy... A far cry from how they look nowadays. Though maybe the Master looks the same? I wouldn't know since I haven't seen him in months.

The furniture in the room also looks unused. None of the bureaus looked used either. Looking at the basket for the used clothes, it also seems to be the case, I can only see one shirt and a few pairs of socks in it." Why, hello there."

"!" SHIVER! I hear a high-pitched voice from behind me that I failed to recognize, why did a shiver just go up my back? Who is it? I turn my head to see a cracked door in the wall. Out of the door, a person was staring at me... Hard. Some of his face was covered by the shadows in the room. His long, disheveled black and gray hair hung so far down that it touched the floor. His beady red eyes, which were visible... Almost glowing in the darkness in fact, they stared at me with a strange emotion emanating from them.

He waited for an answer, but the fright of his appearance took the words from my throat. I thought back to my Pops words again." M-Master... Fracks?" The face with red eyes staring at me did not break eye contact with me. He began to smile. It grew larger and larger. I wasn't sure it was him, but I saw Master Fracks once before. This... Thing reminded me of him somewhat. I took my best guess with the answer I gave. Thankfully it seemed I was right." Yes. Victor, right?

You work with your Father, Patrick Harvey, as our washermen, right?"" Yes, Master Fracks!" His head shifted to the side but still his eyes never stopped looking at me. It was like he was scanning my body... I need to go." I'm just here to collect your sheets it's time to do the wash, Master Fracks." The smile he had didn't shift as he spoke again." I see... Tell me, Victor. How old are you?"" Today is my 11th Birthday, Master Fracks." The smile deepened on his face." I see... That's perfect actually.""

For what, Master Fracks?"" Oh nothing. By all means, grab the sheets." Without breaking focus, Master Fracks watched me collect his sheets. I felt strange being here... Something was off. I rushed to complete my job and leave." Well then, I'll be going now, Master Fracks! Have a good day, Sir!" He didn't speak back to me, frankly I didn't care at this point. I hurriedly went for the door that I came in from. Grip! As I reached for the door, I felt something on my left leg.

I looked down to find a pale white hand with black nails gripping my leg. I look at the hand and followed the arm back to the person holding me. Only to find Master Fracks still staring at me, only now he wasn't smiling. He was just staring at me. He was still behind the door. His hand had reached me across the room!" Master Fracks! Let me go! Please!" Pull... Fall! Pull! He didn't listen to me, he just started to pull on my leg which made me fall to the floor. I was still being dragged away from the door...

And now the dirty sheets that I was trying to take with me. They got smaller and smaller as I got further and further away from being dragged by him and his face began to grow closer and closer as I tried to claw away from him on the floor." LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" I screamed, but Master Fracks never changed his expression. I was just dragged on the floor until he threw me into the room that he was in. * LIFT!! / BANG! THUD! / Everything went black as my head hit the wall he threw me into.

The last thought I had; I was able to mumble out." Daddy.... Help me...."