Iris.

The Joker's Manor

A loud crash woke Iris from her deep slumber, her body still ached from the night before. The sound of something crashing in the main part of the building woke her from her deep slumber. Climbing out of the bed she tip toed over to the door, pressing her ear against it she listened straining her ears.

    Reaching down she tried the knob. It was unlocked. As soon as she opened the door another crash came from the other side, accompanied by a scream cut short. She rushed out of the room; looking left to right the hall was clear. Iris walked over to the railing and peered over the edge. Lying in the middle of the marble floor was a man, blood pooling around his body, dying his white suit crimson. His eyes were wide open in shock, staring at ceiling; mouth opening and closing as he gasped for breath.

    Above her the sound of a door crashing open startled her. She looked up and saw a pistol appear over the edge pointing straight at the man. To avoid being seen or shot, Iris jumped back against the wall.

    A single shot rang out.

    Iris waited for another shot but it never came. She crept back to the railing and looked up; the pistol was gone. Looking down she saw that the pool of the man's blood had grown, he wasn't moving.

    'Holy shit!'

    Terrified she turned to run and hide in her room when she saw Frost making his way toward her. Unsure of what to do, she stood still and waited for him to say something. He stopped in front of her folding his hands in front of him.

    "Boss says you're free to walk around. Just don't try to run, we'll catch you." Iris nodded once in understanding. He was down the hall before she looked up again.Iris heard the doors above her slam again and there was only the sound of busy work downstairs.

    Curious, Iris peered over the railing again and saw some of The Joker's goons already cleaning up the mess. They dragged him out of the front door a trail of blood in the body's wake. Others began to mop up what was left of the man's blood on the floor.

    Apart from the shock of a man dying in front of her, her stomach grumbled deeply. Iris realized that she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. During the masquerade her main focus was on the champagne, then she was kidnapped by The Joker. In addition she had no clue what time it was

    'How long was I out?'

    She caught a whiff of something delicious in the air. She glanced around sniffing the air, she followed the scent down the hall like a bloodhound. Iris hugged the wall closely, trying not to be seen by any of the men running around downstairs. She pranced down the stairs and around the corner, hot on the trail. Soon she found herself standing in the doorway to an extravagant and top of the line kitchen. Looking around every appliance was expensive and shined to perfection.

    In the middle of the kitchen was a young man flipping pancakes in a skillet and working on scrambled eggs on a different burner. He moved quickly, placing the finished pancakes on a plate next to the stove top. He moved the plate to the island behind him and turned his attention back to the eggs.

    'I half expected The Joker to be in here.'

    Finished with the eggs, he picked up the pan and slid them onto the plate with the perfectly brown pancakes. He glanced up from the plate and saw Iris standing there watching him.

    "This is for you." He said simply, picking up the plate and silverware. Setting it down at the breakfast nook, he turned expectantly towards her, raising his eyebrows. Iris scurried over and sat down in front of the plate of hot food. He walked away, seconds later he set a glass of juice and maple syrup in front of her.