Sworn to the truth

Prologue: Part 2

    By midnight, Zeb was finally finished with most of the home. He had made sure it was in satisfactory order for the servants the next day so that they wouldn't have to do double the work in the morning.

  "Jeez..How's this place such a mess with only two people living here? I know the servants wouldn't do this..They'd just be making extra work for themselves," Zeb grumbled to himself, washing the dishes. He cleaned the dishes, then stuck them on a drying rack so that he could put them away in the morning. His family didn't use dishwashers because his mother had heard that they made people less protected against certain allergens. Zeb could easily assure that a dishwasher wouldn't harm their family's health, but it would be useless to try. His mother wouldn't want to change her habits after so many years.

  "Nico! Mao! Come here please," Zeb called to his two favorite servants. He did not want to make them clean, just speak with them for a bit. When the two young twins walked into the kitchen, he could tell that they were exhausted.

  "Hello! Nico, I was wondering if you could go check on Jule. I want you to see if he's still awake. If he is, sit and talk with him for a bit. I have a feeling you can cheer him up, right?" He smiled gently at the boy, and Nico's eyes brightened a bit.

   "Of course I can, sir! I'll do anything if it will make you happy," He giggled, running off without a second thought.

  "Alright--Now for you Mao. I know you're tired, but I was hoping you could help me a bit. I don't want you cleaning anything tonight, just put away the flour and stuff that's on the island, okay? It would be very helpful of you," Zeb instructed politely, not wishing to sour her mood. Mao and Nico were both very friendly as long as you were nice to them, and he was always especially nice when they were tired. They could easily deny his tasks because they were given the night off, but they were still willing to help due to their strong friendship with Zebulon. They weren't nearly as close to him as Jule, but he still cared deeply for the two servants. They were only 14 years old, so he tried not to work them too hard. Luckily school was out now and his father was away, so they wouldn't have to stress over waking up early. Zeb would usually let the servants rest until they went to the lounge where they were supposed to stay until they received their chores for the day.

  "O-okay Zeb. I'll get it," Mao mumbled, sounding a bit annoyed with the task.

   "Mao,if you don't want to do It you don't have to," Zeb sighed, frowning. Why wouldn't she just be compliant like her brother?

  "N-no I've got it. Sorry sir, I don't mean to be a nuisance," Mao looked away feeling guilty that she'd upset him. She had never been told what to do before she came to his parent's house. She had been very spoiled and didn't really have to do any work.

 "Alright. Don't worry, you haven't upset me. I'll be over here, finishing up," Zeb reassured Mao, grabbing a rag to clean off the counters. He knew that Jule had been in the kitchen, but he was unsure what he had been doing. With the ingredients that were laid out, he assumed that he had been cooking--or he was going to, at least. Oh! fuck, we didn't even eat! Zeb cursed to himself, realizing that he'd made Jule starve due to his emotions.

   "Mao, do you know how to cook anything?" Zeb asked, glancing over at the small girl as he wiped the countertop.

   "Yeah, but only a little bit. I can make macaroni and cheese...and grilled cheese..I don't really know how to cook anything with meat," She spoke, trying her best to think of things that she could make. "Why? Do you want me to cook something? I can try, but I wouldn't really trust myself around the stove right now. I'm kinda tired...I might lose focus and burn something."

  "It's alright, I'll think of something. Are you almost finished?" He asked, noticing that she was standing idle by the counter, watching him work.