No Midnight Mercy ☾ (gxg)

5-proposition

Behind the door was not a tall woman with dark eyes but instead a shorter woman with greying hair and beady blue eyes.

"Hello," said the woman with light brown hair kept up in a French twist, hands folded at the waist of her maroon dress. Her eyes were clear and kind, wrinkles of age lining the corners of them.

"O-Oh," Eden stuttered as she looked up at the tall house before her. "I must have the wrong house. I'm so sorr—"

"You're looking for Ms. Belfiore?" the lady interrupted her, a knowing smile crossing the thin skin of her face.

Eden's eyes returned to hers, confusion settling inside her brain. "Yes, I am," she spoke much softer.

The woman smiled wider and nodded her head, stepping aside and opening the door wider. "Come right in, Miss Eden."

The blonde's eyebrows sewed together as she gave a small smile, unsure of how this strange woman knew her name. Nonetheless, she stepped past the threshold and into a magnificent entrance hall. The floors were dark espresso wood, smooth against her shoes. The walls were a creamy color and very tall, and as Eden craned her neck to follow their height, she noticed a black chandelier dangling from the black ceilings. Its glass bulbs glowed a soft yellow.

Directly across from the door was a spiral staircase with black railings and grey stone steps, and near the chandelier was a black mezzanine where a few chairs could be seen through its railing. Eden's curiosity peaked at this seating area nestled so high up, but the lady who had let her in interrupted her thoughts when she closed the large front door behind her.

"I'm Mrs. Larkson, Ms. Belfiore's housekeeper," the lady spoke as she neared up next to the girl who suddenly felt too small for her shoes. Eden noticed the woman's red painted nails and a pearl bracelet that matched a pearl necklace on her neck. "Did you find your way alright?"

"Yes, ma'am," the girl spoke in a tremulous voice, feeling overwhelmed but not surprised at the fact that Cecilia had a housekeeper.

"Good," Mrs. Larkson grinned a genuinely kind smile, then stepping forward and gesturing to the large stairway. "Ms. Belfiore is currently in her office upstairs, if you would like to follow me."

"Of course," Eden breathed, following the housekeeper as they began up the spiral stairs. The steps were made of stone that consisted of grey and tan larger stones packed into lighter grey stone. The surface was smooth, which was to Eden's trembling knees' fortune.

The girl got a small peek of the luxurious living room to the left of the stairs, although she couldn't quite make out very much of it and was too nervous to look to the right and see what other luxurious room was settled there. She focused on keeping her eyes on the stairs as they ascended them.

"Right this way, dear," Mrs. Larkson told her as they reached the top of the stairs where two black recliners and a small circular table sat against the mezzanine to the left, while a long hallway stretched to the right. Directly across the top of the stairs were two large, black doors, and Eden watched as the housekeeper pushed them open, revealing a library combined with an office. Eden hesitantly stepped forward and followed Mrs. Larkson into the room, lips falling open at the sight. On each four walls were rows and rows of books sitting on tall black shelves, lights built into the shelves themselves and lighting up the rows of books. On the left side of the room was a glass desk with a closed laptop sitting atop it and a very comfortable looking black leather chair pushed into it. On the other side of the room was a small black couch, square in its geometry, with two glass end tables sitting at either side of it.