Smile, Adrasteia, Memini, & Sabrina: Veritas Home

[Wolfy]

It was dark and warm when Sabrina awoke. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was, and how much of what she remembered of the past day was a dream. She could still be at the hospital, or locked in her room, or even back far enough before the first day of school even started! She had no idea, though it didn’t seem like she was frantic to find out.

Surely Smile becoming her caregiver was just a nightmare. Even her step-mother wasn’t that cruel. Right? She looked around for a moment, yawned, then rolled over in the cozy bed. Wherever she was, she was comfortable, and didn’t seem to be in very much pain.

Then, after a moment or two, she decided it had come time to figure out where she was. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting with the light in the room. Her eyes fell across the bottles of medicine first. That meant that at least up to the hospital was real.

So was she at the hospital again? No, this was much too nice to be a hospital. Memini’s mansion? It had to be. The windows were the same. That’s when she saw someone sitting in a chair by the window, watching her.

“Smile!” she hollered, drawing the blankets up so they only left her eyes uncovered. “What are you doing? Just staring at me like that?” She had completely forgotten about her step-mother’s deal with the ex-mobster which gave him a right to be there.

“Don’t you think staring at a girl when she wakes up is a bad thing to do?” she continued. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Folding her arms with an angry expression, she looked toward the door. “Does anyone else know you’re here? If someone finds you like this, you know what they might think of you!”

[Rad]

Drifting off. That was one way of describing Smile’s mindset as he lounged (unconventionally) upon that plain wood chair. Having been observing his charge all night any intention he had originally entertained of maintaining the ‘all important’ proper posture had long since abandoned him. As such, in acquiesce with simple habit the ex-mobster was seated with the back of his chair facing Sabrina, his arms folded atop the supporting back structure and his head resting comfortably in the cradle hereupon made by his arms.

His eyes (one obscured beneath a pirate’s patch) which had, at the start of this unnecessary (and uncalled for) voluntary shift, been attentive, were now tired and glazed over with drowsiness. Seemingly unseeingly, these dark orbs, now half-hidden behind drooping eyelids, gazed beyond the bed and into the garden behind those wide French windows (the curtains unceremoniously open and marking his first critical oversight as a butler. After all, we all know that for the purpose of privacy essential to any respectable young lady the curtains must always be drawn as soon as the arrival of dusk).

Just now was the sun finally peeking out from beneath the blanket of the horizon? Gently casting a soft pink glow upon the rose garden the arrival of dawn incited the early birds to offer up their voices to this fine new day. Soon the welcoming trilling, chirping and twittering of birdsong drifted into the felon’s ear and with a sigh the man seemed to reignite the sparkle of life in his own tired eyes.

Perhaps, if he had been allowed to continue undisturbed the steady march of day as it advanced over the land would have been enough to awaken him complete but as it was…well, a certain hollering jolted him to his senses rather quickly.

“Smile!” Sabrina hollered, drawing “What are you doing? Just staring at me like that?”

“Shit!” There now came some profanity on Smile’s part as in his surprise he fell unceremoniously backgrounds, unbalancing his chair and helpless from shock as it also descended upon him, trapping him like some sort of cage. His ordeal wasn’t over yet though! He was getting quite a talking to from his young lady!

“Don’t you think staring at a girl when she wakes up is a bad thing to do? You nearly gave me a heart attack! Does anyone else know you’re here? If someone finds you like this, you know what they might think of you!”

Abandoning the idea of getting to his feet (at least for now), Smile opted to remain in this embarrassing and subservient position as he calmly answered her numerous questions. “I don’t know. I thought I was supposed to guard you. No, nobody knows I’m here…except for Memini who came in at one point to offer me this…” Pausing, Smile pointed to his rather ornate eye-patch, “from his Halloween costume of a few years back. Also, won’t they just think that I’m a devoted butler doing his job?”

It was evident from this discourse that Adrasteia had yet to teach the novice anything at all!

[Wolfy]

Grabbing up her blanket over herself, Sabrina looked down at her new protector with a look of bewilderment and anxiety. "Smile, when did you get the crazy notion that you were my..." Her voice trailed off as she thought back to that strange dream she'd been having. Could it not have been a dream at all? What if it had been reality, and she was really stuck with Smile as her butler.

"Oh, no," she murmured under her breath. Sighing, she flopped back down on the bed and gazed up at the ceiling. "Alright, so if you're my butler, you're going to have to learn that you can not be in my room with me while I'm asleep, unless I am extremely... almost DEATHLY ill. Also, a lady needs privacy, so be sure to keep those windows drawn until I am dressed for the day."

Thinking for a moment, Sabrina tried to come up with other things Smile should not do as her butler, but she was sure that she would forget something and he would never allow her to add any more rules. "You know what, why don't you go ask Adrasteia about these things. I need to dress, and I can't very well do so with you in the room."

Silently praying that Adrasteia would forgive her for shoving the ex-mobster on him, Sabrina grabbed a robe from a chair next to her bed. She put it on and opened the door into the hallway for Smile. "At this time of day, he's probably either getting Memini up, running errands, or overseeing the cook's preparation of breakfast. Go look there."

Glad for an excuse to get Smile out of the room, she could have a moment alone to collect her jumbled thoughts.

[Rad]

“Alright, alright! I’ll go bother Adrasteia for some tips.” Smile acquiesced, yawning obnoxiously as he crawled out from beneath the capsized chair. Striding over to the windows opposite, the butler-in-training pulled them closed with a flamboyant flourish; paying absolutely no heed to the delicate embroidery he may have ruined in the process.

Of course, despite his obvious incompetence, the ex-mobster was still rather obedient to his charge and soon he had trespassed into the silent sanctuary that was Memini’s room. Here, having perceived no butler in sight the man had proceeded to whisper strange things in Memini’s ear only to have been punched in the face by the half-conscious young heir.

There then followed the flooding of light into the room as the curtains flew open and the sudden disappearance of comfort and warm as first the quilt was pulled from the lad’s grasp then he was quite literally ‘kicked out of bed’. Confused and miraculously still drowsy the poor little Memini was then perfectly willing to toss Smile a pair of keys with a plethora of profanity that could only be interpreted as a command to leave him alone and go bother Adrasteia instead.

So it was that the unwitting Adrasteia (who was sleeping for once after the misadventures of the previous day) became the victim of a rather objectionable wake-up call…

It was early morning as the lock clicked open, the soft sound harmonizing brilliantly with the birdsong of dawn and giving no hint of the misfortune about to befall the unsuspecting victim within the room. Creating as little of a disturbance as possible, Smile slunk towards the bed, sliding beneath the blanket right next to Adrasteia with an expression that gave the impression of him being some sort of predator.

Sadly, for the most part, Adrasteia was completely incognizant to his looming demise. He had sensed something warm crawling under the sheets next to him but naturally he had presumed it was only Memini. The young child had a tendency to become quite needy when experiencing nightmares (which really weren’t that uncommon) and as such Adrasteia had given a kid the spare set of keys to his room so Memini wouldn’t have to whimper, sob and cry all by himself in own dark and (at times) too spacious room.

Now, compared with this, imagine the poor man’s horror and surprise when a pair of arms wrap around and a familiar annoying voice crooned, “Last night was just wonderful, darling!”

Of course, in this situation there COULD only be one reaction; a loud yelp of fright and a swift leap out of bed! It was just unfortunate that Adrasteia’s injury caused him to misjudge his step and sprain his foot in the process. Crashing to the floor, Adrasteia turned positively livid (something further endorsed by Smile’s raucous laughter).

“SABRINA!!!” And thus it happened; an explosion of rage (mixed in with pain) released as the utterance of a single name.

[Wolfy]

Once Smile left the room, Sabrina sat down on the bed and placed her head in her hands. Smile, her butler? She was sure she wouldn’t have a second of privacy ever again. Scowling, she thought about how he would never leave her side again. And he would have an excuse! This was truly a sick game that her step-mother was playing.

After a moment or two, she was broken out of her thoughts by a furious sounding, “SABRINA!” The voice was unmistakable; obviously Adrasteia was angry about something. Having still not gotten out of her pajamas, she put on her robe and walked down the hallway to Adrasteia’s room. “What?” she asked, sounding annoyed, as she came to stand in the doorway. Her arms were folded and she leaned against the doorframe.

Taking in the scene, she wondered what had just happened. Adrasteia was on the floor, and Smile was on the butler’s bed. “What on Earth is going on here, Smile?” she asked, looking at the man with the eye patch. “I told you to just go find Adrasteia, not try to kill the poor guy!”

“And Adrasteia, why are you yelling at me? I have enough to deal with!” she scoffed and turned her head, still looking furious. “Why didn’t you stop him from sitting in my room and staring at me all night?”

[Rad]

Room? All night? Naturally there was some ulterior implication here, wasn’t there? Doubtless there had to be! Goddamit, why had he been sleeping when such entertainment had been transpiring mere rooms away?

Sneaking up behind the innocent Sabrina, Memini placed his hands over her eyes and drawled, “Ah, ah, well isn’t our dear Sabrina becoming a fine young woman rather fast! Tell me, tell me, what was it like?”

However, for this rather ill-worded (and rudely presumptuous) inquiry the only answer the lad received was a fluffy pillow tossed at his face and an expression of outrage on the part of Smile. That next velvety cushion wasn’t the end of his ordeal either and soon the formidable ex-mobster was looming over him.

“Ya be talking dirty ‘bout milady?” Came the slow, low growl.

(OoC:// Apologies for the horrifyingly low quality post.)

[Wolfy]

Sabrina's eyes narrowed when Memini covered them up, and implied something very terrible indeed. "How could you say such a thing?" she asked furiously, and was about to whip around to slap him. However, it seemed that someone else had done that already. She felt Memini being hit with something, and she pulled away.

It seemed that Smile was just as furious at the young boy, and was taking matters into his own hands. That could be his first job as her butler. "I can't believe that you think I would do that," she said, glancing at Adrasteia to show that she might mean both of them, and not just Memini.

With that said, she rushed out of the room, looking humiliated and rather wounded by their thoughts of her. It was then that she latched the door to her room from the inside and proceeded to sulk on the luxurious bed.

[Rad]

“I can’t believe that you think I would do that.”

What was Sabrina insinuating here? Was she supposing that he, Adrasteia, had scripted those words and instructed his charge to voice such distasteful things? Well, if that was the allegation then of this crime he was innocent!

However, his adversary wasn’t so quick to give him the benefit of the doubt. For Smile, the simple direction of Sabrina’s gaze had been suffice in cementing Adrasteia’s guilt and within seconds the former criminal was upon him like a ravenous wolf.

As butler-in-training the ex-mobster had let many things slide yet direct (or implied) insults were not something that easily fell beneath his radar. Sabrina was a person who deserved respect (in his opinion at least) and he was damn well determined that worthless denizens like Adrasteia never said a single word against her. Thus, Adrasteia’s transgression, he felt, was unforgiveable.

Meanwhile, having now been left to his own devices, Memini had lost interest in the unfolding situation as soon as Sabrina had fled the room. Never mind the apparent impending doom of his butler! There was simply a far more fascinating matter at hand! Indeed, the youngster still held great conviction in that misconstruction he upheld as the truth. Oh yes, he was fully prepared to employ any means necessary to wheedle the entire story out of Sabrina.

So it was that the lad made his way over to Sabrina’s room; fiddling sheepishly with the door handle until he finally gave up in a fit of frustration and called out to her, “Oi, Sabrina! It’s me, Memini. Could you please open the door I need to-“

Before he could even concoct some pathetic lie the sound of a resonating scream interrupted him mid-sentence. It stopped him in his tracks as he slowly turned his head in the direction he had come; fully expecting some monstrosity to leap out at him from the shadows. So stunned by this unfamiliar sound was he that it took well over a moment before he recognized the voice.

“Adrasteia…? COME ON SABRINA! OPEN UP! I THINK SMILE’S GONE AND DONE SOMETHING TO ADRASTEIA!”

For once he was panicking, really horribly panicking (banging on the door with his fists even)! Yet, despite this uncharacteristic dread he was still too afraid to rush to his friend’s rescue by himself.

[Wolfy]

Sabrina heard Memini and rolled her eyes. Would he stop at nothing to reduce her to a simple stock of gossip? She simply lay on her bed and prayed that he would go away on his own. “I’m not playing this game,” she shouted after a moment or two. “Just go and fantasize about it with Adrasteia like a couple of sick old women!”

“COME ON SABRINA! OPEN UP! I THINK SMILE’S GONE AND DONE SOMETHING TO ADRASTEIA!” This boy really was persistent, wasn’t he? She was going to ignore him, but then he began pounding on the door. Furious, she got up and flung open her door. “Memini, you are a liar, and you are going to break down your own door!”

Then she saw how panicked he looked, and frowned as she thought. Perhaps he wasn’t lying after all… “Okay, okay,” she said, turning to go back into her room. She looked around for some kind of weapon, just in case. She was able to get a fire-poker from near the heater, then hurried down the hall.

“What happened?” she asked, standing by the doorway. “Do you know what Smile did to him?” Then, a thought occurred to her. She was still injured, and she shouldn’t be swinging a fire-poker around at an ex-mobster. “You know what, you can do this.” She turned and shoved the weapon into Memini’s hands.

After that, she stepped behind him and nudged him forward. “Peek inside, see if it’s dangerous,” she urged, still hiding behind him like a human shield.

[Rad]

“What? Hey! Wait! I’m not manly enough to…AH! Don’t kill me!”

Complaining as he was shoved through the gap, Memini shielded his face as with a misstep he clumsily tripped into the room. Expecting to have landed in a pool of blood, the youngster reluctantly gazed down at his shoes only to see…absolutely nothing. The floor was clean!

That was when he heard the sound of bemused laughter coming from the general direction of the left corner and Smile’s words of, “Relax. I did nothing.”

“Nothing? If that’s so then why did I hear…oh.” Embarrassed at being laughed at, Memini had sheepishly uncovered his eyes. The sight that greeted him was the scene of Adrasteia cowering in a corner as Smile stood over him holding…

…Memini’s favorite scented cherry cushion! Okay, so perhaps under Adrasteia’s bed hadn’t been the most…logical hiding place for that thing. In the wrong hands such an adorable and harmless object could easily transform into a lethal weapon…against Adrasteia anyway.

Yet, this was seriously getting ridiculous! Due to his butler’s insane phobia Memini wasn’t even allowed to enjoy his favorite things in his own home! No, baking cherry pie was out of the question because the fragrant treat would send Adrasteia fleeing from the room. Drinking cherry tea was also impossible because if Adrasteia accidentally mistook it for something else and had a sip he might have a heart attack. Cherry tarts? No! Cherry sweets? No! Cherry whatever? No! No! No!

Just thinking about all the delightful things he was missing out on was pissing Memini off and so it was that he boldly walked up to the ex-mobster, snatched the cushion, and promptly threw the harmful item at Adrasteia’s face.

Of course, his calculations proved correct (for once) and the result was…well it was rather like watching some refined lady faint at the sight of a mouse.

Sigh! How exasperating it all was!

[Wolfy]

After hearing Smile say that he had done nothing, Sabrina edged cautiously into the room. To her surprise, it was true! Smile was simply wielding the cherry-scented pillow against Adrasteia, who was reduced to a hysterical pile on the floor.

“Smile, what did you do that for?” she asked as she folded her arms. “What a horrible thing to do!” She went to take the cushion from him, but Memini got to it first. With a sigh, she watched Adrasteia faint as it hit him.

“We really have to do something about that,” she said as she walked over to him. “This is getting ridiculous!” She picked up the pillow and threw it back at Memini. “Put that outside.” She then began waving her hand in front of Adrasteia’s face to revive him.

Glancing back at Smile, she added, “You know, I was hoping he would teach you what you shouldn’t do as a butler,” she said. “I suppose that won’t work so well now that you’ve made him unconscious.” She couldn’t help but sound a little bemused, even though it meant she wouldn’t have to put up with both Smile and Memini until he awoke.