Master, my Master | boyxboy | (Book One: The Master Collection)

Misfortune - IV

The past connection that lived between Eli and the Master was a sort of relief to him. While it was something he was still trying to fully understand, it soothed his nerves a bit to know his role in this manor wouldn't be too difficult of a challenge to get a hold of. Still, he recalled the days when he had worked as a chimney sweep, and while he'd been such, Eli had also tried his hardest to find Jasper again. That boy with the blonde hair and blue eyes had brought out a side of him he hadn't known existed at the time.

Eli had developed such a protective heart that day, and the longer time went by when he hadn't been able to find Jasper – the further his worries for him got. It wasn't as though he'd ultimately forgotten about the day he'd risked his life for Jasper, but the friendship he'd wanted, the care he'd wanted to further display went to waste.

If anything, what had Jasper truly been doing in the village if he was in fact the son of Lord Ronald Lancechester? Could Mr. and Mrs. Lindborg have been some sort of family, or perhaps Jasper had been adopted into the Lancechester's home? Whatever the answer, he was sure it wouldn't be answered any time soon.

Currently, lords were born and bred; an ordinary commoner couldn't just become a member of high society. It had to be in their blood, right? And to people of aristocratic status, commoner villages were places of mortification. Nothing quite so simple could explain what Jasper Lancechester was doing in Brimonhive as a child.

On his way back to the bedroom he'd been given, Eli touched his cheek, the spot where Master Jasper's lips pressed so tender and mild. They were delicate and the feel of his hair, as it sashayed across his face, left a pleasant aroma in the air. What had that been? A kiss, obviously, but, coming from Master Jasper, it seemed so out of character. Everyone Eli had run into since starting, made the Young Master out to be an iron fisted hothead, and although Eli could see the hotheadedness, so far, nothing seemed too bad. After all, upon discovering his Master's true identity, the previous recollections of how the blonde boy had been back then shifted him onto a bias route.

In his mind, Eli could still hear the flowery utterance of the boy's voice, feel how mild and cautious his touch had been, and those teary, enchanted blue eyes, they were much different from the ones that now peered from Master Jasper's sockets. He'd been such a delicate and beautiful boy when they were children, and while the beauty had matured, and his delicacy remained only in his slight build, the innocence that'd dwelled in him was long gone.

While he hoped to soon understand Master Jasper for who he had been, and who exactly he was now, Eli guessed he'd sleep on his thoughts until morning.

"Excuse me, new guy?"

Eli turned around then. He was just about to step into his own bedroom and get some sleep when someone called out to him.

It was Anna from the kitchen. She had a tablecloth, a broom, and a dustpan in her grasp. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To sleep," Eli said.

Anna laughed, clearly humored by the thought of Eli turning in for the night. He didn't think it was very humorous. "I don't think so," she giggled, tossing him a rag from the pocket of her apron. "When your daily duties to your Master are done, you begin cleaning the house along with the rest of us until this place is spotless, all the way from the foyer to the furthest corner of the third floor. Then we can all have our late supper and go off to bed."

Eli's mouth would've fallen open if he didn't think better of it. He looked down at the rag. "I was told to serve no one else."

"Who is there to serve?" Anna said in a cheeky tone, "The manor is not alive." She waved for him to follow her downstairs to the first floor. "Think of it as a time to associate with the rest of us lowly workers. If you're with someone it's not all too bad, and if we work fast, we get to eat and get to bed faster."