Crackerbox Palace - George Harrison

My Eyes Could Not Yet See

I heard footsteps on the marble floor below me and heard them begin to ascend the stairs. I bolted to one of the rooms, yanked open a door on a wardrobe, and shrunk down as small as I could. My breathing was muffled by dozens of button up shirts and sweaters surrounding me. Just my luck, I heard the door to the room I was in open. One of the doors to the wardrobe opened, luckily it wasn't the one I was hiding behind. The man grabbed a sweater from a hanger, then began to unbutton his shirt. My eyes widened, then I pinched them shut, not wanting to intrude on his privacy. He opened the other door and we both gasped in surprise as our eyes met.

He looked confused. "Why... why are you in my closet?"

I was lost for words. I had expected some rich old man with a balding head who would yell at me for intruding on his property.

But no.

Certainly not.

He was handsome, to say the least. Sharp cheekbones that were complimented by his thick eyebrows. His hair was grown out barely past his ears. I had to admit, he was gorgeous. But, there was no time to get lost in those dreamy, brown eyes. I was in trouble, a lot of trouble.

"I... uh..."

"You could've just knocked on the door." He stated calmly as he slipped on the sweater and hung the button up shirt above me.

"I'm sorry, I thought it was abandoned, but-"

He laughed and shook his head. I couldn't help but notice his sharp canines looked quite threatening and frightening. The word 'vampire' flashed in front of my mind's eye, but I waved it off as a ridiculous fair tale.

A vampire alone in a castle.

I internally rolled my eyes.

Oh, please.

"Don't worry. You've just moved here, right?"

I nodded and pointed towards where I assumed my house was. "Right over there. I was just exploring, I didn't mean to intrude..."

He held out his hand and I shakily took it. He helped me out of the wardrobe and led me out of the room, down the stairs. I thought for sure he would march straight to the front door and kick me out, but he walked straight past it, pulling me along behind him.

"Where are we going?"

"You're my guest." He stated without looking at me.

"What does that mean?"

He stopped and turned around to look at me. "It's dinner time, aren't you hungry?"

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled.

He smiled a bit. "You must dine with me."

Surely a place like this was bound to have great food.

I was right.

There was a large table in the middle of a large room. The man pulled out a chair for me then sat down, himself, at the end of the table, to the right of me.

"Help yourself to whatever you like." He said, motioning to the food in front of us.

I gladly obliged and got some pasta, Brussels sprouts, and sausage.

"Would you like anything to drink?"

"Sure, water."

"Anything else?"

I gave him a confused looks. "I'm not really old enough to drink..."

He laughed a bit. "I meant milk or soda, dear."

I blushed and shook my head, quite embarrassed.

Of course he didn't mean alcohol...

He got up and swiftly left the room. While he was gone, I gazed around the room. The ceiling above my head was painted beautifully, unlike I had ever seen before. I was reminded by my rumbling stomach that I was, in fact, starving. I took a bite of the warm food, and turned to see the man enter the room again.

He set a glass in front of me and I stared at it for a moment.

What if he's drugging you?

What if this is all a trap?

I looked up at him.

He looked close to my age, maybe a few years older.

How could such a young guy live in a place like this?

He lifted an eyebrow. "I didn't poison it, you know." He lifted the glass and drank from it himself. "See?"

He set it back down in front of me and I blushed even deeper.

"I didn't think you did..."

He sat down and started to eat his food, glancing at me every so often. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and took a sip of the water.

"So... why aren't you kicking me out?"

He set down his fork and stared at me. "Kicking you out?"

I gestured to the room around me a furrowed my brow a bit. "I kinda broke into your house."

He shrugged. "It's been a long time since I've had company."

I felt sorry for him. "So, you live all alone?"

He nodded.

"Why?"

His face darkened. "It's a long story that I don't feel like sharing right now."

"I respect that."

He looked at me, surprised. "Really?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, who am I to pressure you if you're not comfortable?"

The look he gave me was something straight out of a romance movie. "Thanks for dining with me."

I laughed and shrugged. "Thanks for not kicking me out."

I flinched as I heard a loud crack of thunder from outside. He calmly walked over to the window, pulled the curtain back, and peered outside.

"Oh my..."

I got up and walked over to him. "What is it?"

I looked out the window and my heart sank. It was pouring rain outside.

"Oh crap... I have to walk home!"

He turned to me. "Don't worry, you can stay here."

"Really? I don't want to intrude..."

Truthfully, I wondered what it was like to stay in a palace.

"No, I insist. You'll catch a cold if you go out there. Plus, you might get stuck in the mud."

I sighed, he was right.

"Here, I can show you to a room you can stay in."