Gold And Coal (Ryden AU)

1.21 ◇ Silence Is Easy

"So, uh, what exactly will I be doing?"

"Whatever I say, you're gonna be my, uh, let's say, butler? Yeah, something like that. At least you'll tell everyone you are. Don't worry, I won't actually make you bring me tea. Mostly. But you could sometimes..."

I snorted in amusement. Anything would be better than the factory work. And hell, I would gladly bring the boy tea if it made him happy.

Brendon unlocked the front door of his house and we walked inside, him holding a finger up against his lips, signaling me to be quite before grabbing my elbow and pulling me up the stairs after him.

I tensed up a little but followed him nevertheless, wincing as a floorboard creaked beneath my feet.

He pulled me into a room I hadn't been in before and my mouth flew open.

It was beautiful. A huge bed stood in the middle, several pillows and a blanket out of silk neatly folded on top.

The walls were painted in a dark shade of red, giving the whole room a sinister feel, however bright paintings decorated it. They were happy paintings, of landscapes and castles, wild animals and farms.

My eyes flew over the closets against the wall. Mirrors, paper and other small things were neatly organized upon them.

I reminded myself to examine the bookshelf standing next to them closer when I had the chance.

What caught my eye was an object standing in the far corner.

It was a guitar. My mother had owned one, and it had been her most priced possession, but after her death, my father sold it.

I walked over to it, running my fingers over the wood and closed my eyes in order to prevent a tear spilling.

Clearing my throat, I turned my back to it and walked over to Brendon, who was rummaging through one of the closets, pulling out pieces of clothing.

"Ok, this'll do for now. We'll go buy you something better tommorow."

He handed me black pants, a white blouse and some other weird things I didn't know what to do with.

"Take a shower and change," Brendon ordered, gesturing to a small door on my left.

And so I did, pulling on the clothes afterwards and raising an eyebrow as I looked at myself in the mirror.

"This looks... formal," I murmered, fidgeting uncomfortably in the clothes which looked way too good for me.

"You'll get used to it," he laughed, fastening a tie around my neck and handing me a vest to put on.

"There's still something missing, but we'll have to buy that tommorow."

He glanced up and down my frame and nodded in approvement, smirking at me.

"Hang on, even though it looks very charming..."

I watched him pick up a comb and stand up on his tiptoes in order to rake it through my wet hair.

"This... fits the occasion more."

Skeptically, I looked at myself in the mirror and snorted as I caught sight of my neatly styled hair.

Before, it had messily fallen into my face, but now it was separated a bit to the left side and slicked down, looking very... clean.

"It looks horrible," I laughed shoving Brendon to the side.

I could tell by the amused glint in his eyes that he felt the same and shook my head.

"C'mon, lets introduce you as my butler!"

"Wait, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do!"

Brendon rolled his eyes at me.

"We don't have many servants, it's just Diana, so all you have to do is pretend to tell her what to do. You're my butler, so you'll be by my side at all times and, well, the most important thing is you have to be polite. Very polite."

I shrugged. Didn't sound too hard.

"Whatever you wish for, sir," I said in the most formal way I could, mimicking the way in which people from the upper class spoke and bowing slightly, folding my right hand infront of my chest.

"Perfect," Brendon grinned, turning around and walking downstairs.

I followed reluctantly, freezing when I heard voices downstairs, one of then being Mr. Urie's.

Brendon noticed my sudden panic and took my arm, gently pulling me further.

"You'll be fine," he whispered, smiling reassuringly.

I took a deep breath and swallowed down all my fear, and joined Brendon in the dining room.

"Good morning, father!" Brendon said cheerfully, taking a seat at one of the empty chairs.

Upon a small hand signal under the table, I didn't follow him, but remained standing a respectful distance away from the table.

"Good, you're here. We have a lot of work to do today," Mr. Urie said briskly, not giving his son a glance.

My heart rate picked up in rage and my hands curled into fists behind my back.

Oh, how I'd like to punch that little asshole straight in the face.

"I took initiative, dad, like you asked me to. I hired my own butler so I don't always have to take your servants."

I tried to keep my expression as stoic as possible as the man's head turned and he examined me from head to toe with an unimpressed expression.

"Huh," he said and then focused his attention back to his plate of food.

For the rest of the meal, I was ignored and left plotting my former employees death, which became gradually more violent with every word he spoke.

Finally, Brendon pushed his plate away and Diana came in to clean the table, looking genuinely surprised as she caught sight of me.

"Get your coat, you're coming with me," his father ordered and briskly stood up from the table, barely leaving me time to open the door for him.

When Brendon passed me, he smirked at me and mouthed 'you're a natural', leading the way over to the closet from which he subtly gestured to a coat, which I took out for him and helped him into, handing him his hat with a mocking bow, causing him to giggle slightly.

I too, was handed a hat and a coat, this time by Diana, who smiled at me warmly, seemingly having recovered from the shock of seeing me earlier.

She also held the door open for us as we exited the small mansion, soon joined by Mr. Urie and another gentleman dressed in a similar style as me, but a lot older.

He nodded at me and I copied him, watching him climb into the front of the carriage, followed by Mr. Urie.

Brendon pulled me into the back, and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.

"You might not like, hell, you won't like what you see soon at all, but please, Ryan, don't break character. Say whatever you have to say when we're back home. Just not in front of my father, okay?"

He sounded tired, his voice hollow and lifeless.

I nervously gave my agreement, wondering what terrible things he was warning me about, and hoping it wouldn't change the way I saw him right now.

~ Silence is easy, it just becomes me,
You don't even know me, why lie about me? ~