Timeless Masters | boyxboy | (Book Two: The Master Collection)

Chapter VII - Two Blues

Although three long hours were spent in the fabric room, Oliver hadn't gotten much done with the portrait. Not that he was doing absolutely nothing while alone with his work, but there were things that personally had to be done before getting started. On separate and much smaller canvases, Oliver had to paint the individual parts of a person's face before putting everything together. He'd started with the eyes, requiring Jasper's assistance from time to time when it came to picking the perfect colors to choose from his wide variety of greens, reds, browns, and so on and so forth.

For the eyes, the decision came down to both a shade that resembled the leaves of spring trees, and the skin of sour apples. Oliver figured he'd simply mix the two from time to time. Jasper had been adamant about two dark shades of red being the colors to use alongside each other for the hair. The skin was always the hardest for Oliver to decide upon, but he'd finally come to the idea of using mixtures of a dull, almost whitish pink, copper and wheat tones. With the type of lighting he planned to use as the sketch artist who'd drawn Elijah Goode demonstrated, the different tones he'd have to use when painting the skin would vary drastically anyway.

Wiping his forehead, unknowingly leaving a streak of green behind, Oliver pinned each of the sections he'd done. The mouth, eyes, nose and brows. He stepped back, envisioning the outcome. "I have to do the nose again," he said to himself, glancing back and forth from his colored portrayal and the sketch.

There was a knock on the room's door then and Oliver called them in. It was Quinn. With his hands in the pockets of his trousers, he gave Oliver a smirk, "I think green is your color," he said.

Oliver raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

Quinn tapped a finger on his own forehead.

When Oliver touched at it and his fingers came back with wet paint, he laughed, and said, "Dear me, I had not noticed," and then blotted the blemish away with the edge of a nearby handkerchief. "Did you miss me while I was locked away in here?"

Leaning his shoulder against the frame of the door, Quinn shrugged, "Perhaps, I did. Now, come with me to the city, Olive. I have many places I would love to show you."

"If you would give me a moment," Oliver tucked the sketch into its folder, and aligned his brushes after they were cleaned. "Where shall we go?"

"Are you quite done for the day?" Quinn asked, "I wanted to show you through the city. Other places around these parts. Given I know my way around, I assumed it'd be nice to introduce you to Banemount." When Oliver stood before him, Quinn reached out and drew him nearer by the hem of his white cuff. The blonde boy was a bit bashful as Quinn looked down on him with a smile. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Oliver glanced up at the other boy, "Nothing, I'm just still getting used to you again."

Raising a brow at that, Quinn said, "You were just kissing all over me this morning, you were not acting very bashful then, were you?"

Not denying it one bit, Oliver stepped by Quinn and into the hall. "I should speak to Master Jasper before we take it upon ourselves to depart from here. I know he mentioned that I could take a break whenever I please, but his manor is not our own. We should respect it."

Following beside Oliver, Quinn gave an understanding nod, "Of course, of course. Jasper Lancechester is the last person we need coming down on our heads. Even though I find this manor quite...strange, I'll abide by any rules necessary to make it back home without being chastised."

Moving down the main walkway toward the office quarters, Oliver said, "What do you mean by that? You find the manor strange?"

Coming to a stop for a moment, Quinn peered around. When he was certain the area was clear, he went on. "Tell me you do not find it odd that this house is almost completely empty? Not only that, but I was speaking to Juliette a couple hours ago and she gave me the most peculiar feeling. Darcy, she appears ordinary, yet I have never experienced someone who is always in such good spirits. Jasper, I honestly can't say much for the man, but I am almost certain this manor isn't like any other Lord's estate."