Unnamed (VIXX Fanfiction) [Rare Updates]

Chapter 6 - Get To Work

I found myself breathing shallowly, my eyes closing. I felt warm. No, not warm, safe. A different kind of warmth. I drifted off to a familiar tune fading beyond the door.

Chapter 6

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulders.

"Hey, hey wake up, you can't die yet! I don't even know your name!" a voice said in realization. I identified the worried voice as Amber's and attempted to open my eyes. It seemed that I was still under the effect of whatever Hongbin had used to drug me last night. At least, that's what the sarcastic side of my brain told me had happened. I had never been able to sleep deeply before. Now I couldn't open my eyes without all my focus on the task. Slowly, my right lid lifted, and I watched relief fill Amber's face.
"Oh my gosh, I thought you were dying! You were barely breathing and your heart beat was, like, really slow," she helped me sit up as she rambled. My eyes open, I looked around the room. The window between the two beds let a relatively large amount of light through, and it took a second to adjust to it.
"I'm fine; I'm just a deep sleeper," I lied to Amber. My voice was scratchy and tired. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to shake the fog off my mind.

"Okay," she replied warily, but it seemed as if she was trying her best to trust me. I admired her and felt a bit of guilt at the same time.

Suddenly I realized something. "What time is it?" I asked her, worried that I had seriously overslept. The light from the window was too bright for six or six thirty, or whenever Amber had said we needed to be up by. The night before seemed so long ago; I couldn't remember.

"Oh, it's, like, ten, but don't worry. N said you could have the day off since it's your first day or something. I was just on break so I thought I'd see if you were awake yet," she reassured me.

Had Hongbin told the others about last night? Was that why I had gotten to sleep in, or would they have let me anyway? My mind constantly tried to get me to over analyze things. Regardless of why I was let to sleep in, I didn't feel like lazing around all day, and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Amber stood from sitting on it and asked me one more time, "Are you sure you're alright?"
I nodded and looked up at her from the edge of the bed. "Can I work today?"

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Amber's wardrobe was as organized as her desk. That is to say, not very much so. She did, however, take care to separate the more girly outfits from her wearable ones, and so the pile of skirts and frills in the corner of her wardrobe was mine, temporarily. She apologized in case I didn't like the style, but I had never really had a chance to appreciate fashion. I soon found that the "girly" style fit me best, anyway, and though Amber's clothes were a tiny bit short on me, they fit well enough.

In the end, I stood in front of the mirror with brushed hair, a white, long-sleeved blouse, a black skirt, and flat black shoes. I gently pulled at the silky black ribbon that hung from the top of the circle neckline of the shirt in a long bow. The skirt was simple and pleated, with a thin hem of white at the bottom, about the width of the ribbon on the shirt. Amber stood back admiring the outfit, and then clapped her hands once.

"I dun' good," she nodded in pride. A silly smile pulled up the corners of her lips cutely. I smiled and thanked her for letting me borrow her clothes.

"So if you're sure you want to work today," she hesitated, I nodded, then she continued, "you can clean N's room. I already did his laundry and was going to do the rest after my break, but since you're willing to work, I'll just do my usual job." She led me to the supply cabinet next to the door, handing me a cloth bag with a long strap. Into the bag she piled various supplies including dust cloths, water in a spray bottle, and a small broom with a dust pan.

The items were familiar, as was the job I had been assigned. I had been cleaning rooms since I was born, it seemed. But I wasn't bitter; where I came from, it was easy work. The only thing was that the ones who didn't work in the field would be hit more often, as the Carers were right there. I wondered if the same thing would happen here. I guessed I would be prepared for it.

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Up the stairs... turn left on the balcony... down the first hallway on the right... First door on the left...
I repeated Amber's instructions until I got to the stairs. I stopped walking, hesitant to go up. It seemed to me that the second floor was off-limits, and I had to remind myself that it was my job to go up there and clean. I sighed and trudged up the steps, shaking off the eerie feeling. Left on balcony, right hallway, left door. Or was it right door?

It was colder upstairs than it was on the first floor, and I was thankful for the long sleeves I wore. The white bag of supplies was strapped across my shoulder and bounced against my hip as I turned left from the stairs. I could see down to the entrance of the house. It seemed strange; I had never seen the ground from so far away. After the first glance over the edge, I made sure to stay away from the balcony railing. Apparently heights and I didn't mix too well.

A dark hallway appeared on my right and I followed it down, wondering whether to take the first right or left door. That problem soon dissolved, however, as the only door in the entire hallway up until the shaded window at the end was on the left.

I took a second to wonder what N would be doing. Would he even be in there? Would we greet each other, or would he ignore me and let me clean in silence? I'm just a servant; I shouldn't worry about that, I thought, but that didn't make me any less nervous.

I let out a shaking breath and raised my hand to knock.