(f/c) = Favourite colour.
(Y/N) = Your name.
(Y/L/N) = Your last name.
(f/s) = Favourite shoes.
(e/c) = Eye colour.
---
The fateful morning you received a phone call from Mrs Heelshire was the moment your life changed. After scrounging for money and switching jobs for a solid 2 months, you finally put out an ad for a nanny job, saying any pay at all would be greatly appreciated, and you weren't fussy about the child you had to watch and take care of.
The drive up to the Heelshire's house has been a quick one, but you had been asleep for half of it, so you couldn't really say anything. For the moments you had been briefly awake, you had caught the driver staring at you, but you had also caught a good look at the misty English countryside. It was truly enchanting, all the way out in the woods, in the middle of nowhere.
Only a few minutes later and you had begun to feel your body slipping into a deep sleep. You jumped at the sound of tapping directly next to your ear, instantly waking you up. The driver had woken you up, you discovered.
"Apologies, I didn't know how else to wake you." The driver apologized to you.
You nodded slightly at the driver as if to acknowledge his and the Heelshires sincere apologies.
You frowned slightly at the boarded-up window at the top of the magnificent castle, also spotting the dark shadows that seemed to have climbed out of it. Had there been a fire here?
Nonetheless, you shook your head and looked onward, your gaze glued onto the wooden double doors of the place. You couldn't believe you were actually here. At least you were away from..
No. You refused to think of him at such a wonderful time in your life.
Before you knew it, you were slipping off your (f/s) and gently placing them in front of your baggage. Padding to the grand staircase only a few steps away from you, you turned sideways and marvelled at the staircase. It looked like the main thing to look at as soon as you stepped in the doorway from the harsh outside. The interior looked even better than the exterior.
"Whoa," You breathed.
Thump
The clock a few meters away had begun to get on your nerves, but that annoyance was soon cast away far from your mind as a soft thump had caught your attention. You decided to ascend up the stairs, turning your head to take in every piece of the nice view from the inside of the marvellous house.
"Is anyone up there?" You called out cautiously. You didn't want to scare anyone who may have been up there, including the child, if they were, in fact, up in their room. But would the Heelshires really have left their 8-year-old upstairs on their own? That's a bit irresponsible, but they seem like responsible people, as far as one person could tell on the phone.
Thump
More thumps had been produced from the second floor, making your curiosity growing bigger and bigger by the minute. However, you couldn't help but feel you had eyes fixated on you, making you cower slightly.
The smooth touch of the oak bannister sliding underneath your fingertips made a cold shiver run through your body at a million miles an hour and made you jump. The floorboards creaked, with age and wear presumably, but that added to the creepy factor the house already proudly held.
Halfway up the stairs, you noticed an eerie-looking painting, of Mr and Mrs Heelshire and their young son, Brahms. A small lighting fixture donned it's light above the painting, giving it an overlooking shadow. You squinted at the painting, trying to find the emotion in the family's eyes, but you could find none, even in Brahms' eyes, who was presumably a happy child. However, in the past, his father had been known to describe his son as rather odd for his age.
You heard these things from your mother's friend, Alice, who had been around for tea one night and had started talking with you. Somehow, the conversation had moved onto work, which you had none of. She suggested the Heelshires to you, stating they needed a nanny for their 8-year-old son, but needed the nanny to follow a set of rules. They had also mentioned they were going on holiday for a few weeks, so this was why they needed someone to look over their child.
Alice had also met with them a couple of days ago, as they wanted her to babysit, as she was their first choice. When she regretfully declined, they were quite mad, but then she spoke about you. Since you had taken care of many children in the past, she mentioned this. The Heelshires were wary at first, but they soon opened up to the idea of you looking after their dear Brahms.
Thus, you being here now.
Thump
Another small thump brought you out of your daze and your head swiftly snapped to the direction of the repetitive sound. Slowly, you moved your body along with your head, which made you take in more of the amazing house. Confused, you wondered if the house was haunted, but Alice would've mentioned something like that, right? You could trust her since your mother did, but could you really?
Your body seemed to move on its own up the stairs, your interest in the thumping noise at its peak now. Your head checked behind you, just so you could be sure you didn't have anyone following you. Once you were sure that was false, you turned your head back to where it was.
The house was really quiet, except for the occasional creak it made. After you made yourself known once more, you peaked your head around the corner of the elegantly painted soft red wall, half expecting a small child to be standing there, eyes wide, like a deer caught in the headlights.
No one. Only the creepy portraits hanging on the wall seemed to be staring at you. Another shiver made it's way up your spine, making goosebumps appear on your arm, too. Soon enough, you found a child's room, with its door wide open, as if someone had come out, or went in.
Wooden toys lined the many shelves in the room, as well as many other trinkets a child would have. You drifted your way to a violin, or something of the sort, that had caught your eye. Laughably, you reached out your finger to touch one of the strings on the small instrument. It made a soft, but satisfying, twanging sound.
"Hi," A sharp voice said.
The sudden voice made you jump what seemed like 10 feet, but what was actually only a few centimetres in the air.
The man stood quite uselessly at the doorway as if he didn't know what to do.
"Sorry," He mumbled.
The mysterious man had by now moved from his position from the doorway and had made his way closer to you.
"No, I jumped," You frantically apologized to the obviously flustered man in front of you.
You covered your face with your hands to cover the obvious blush creeping up onto your face from an embarrassing first impression.
The charming man spoke, with an even more charming smile. "You alright?" He spoke softly, looking sincerely worried, but still with a broad smile on his face.
"Yes, sorry," You spoke, barely audible, but still smiling and nodding.
"Malcolm," He introduced himself, sticking out his small hand.
You took his hand, it not quite fitting in your own.
"Y/N," You said with a smile. Malcolm began to vigorously shake your hand in his own, yanking your arm in its socket, making it ache slightly.
"You must be here for the nanny job," He guessed correctly.
"I've got groceries to unpack, if you want to join?" Malcolm said with a broad grin on his face.
Malcolm seemed friendly enough and it was something other to do that didn't consist of moping around an old, dusty, but elegant home. You decided to take him up on his exciting offer.
You chuckled while saying, "Sure."
---
You were holding leeks, but you didn't know where they were put in this unfamiliar kitchen.
"In there," Malcolm directed you, pointing to the fridge. "Y'know, I usually have a good read on people."
You raised your eyebrows. "Really?"
Malcolm nodded, walking quickly towards you. He placed his hand on top of your head and closed his eyes.
"It's clear," He began. "I see a dark past."
You froze.
"On the run from someone?" Malcolm looked at your face, wondering what weird powers the weird man in front of you possessed. Malcolm instantly knew he had got something right and stopped. Judging from the dark expression on your face, he knew he had struck a nerve.
Malcolm instantly tried to apologize. "I'm sorry, I-"
"It's okay," You reassured him with a wave of your hand.
Both of you went back to unpacking the groceries. To break the awkward silence, you decided to acquire information that would prove useful to you.
"What are they like?" You asked him, hoping for an informative response.
"The Heelshires? Well, they're nice." He said.
That wasn't what you wanted to know. You already heard they were nice on the phone, so that piece of information was well and truly useless.
"And Brahms?"
Malcolm looked up at you immediately with a cautious glare in his eyes.
"Brahms is.." Malcolm muttered, trying to distract himself with groceries.
Why was he having so much trouble coming up with a good answer?
As you were wondering this, you heard the front door click open. Was it the parents?
You turned your head.
That was your first look at the mother, Mrs Heelshire. She had grey hair, a frightening, piercing gaze, was wearing a pearl necklace and had a dress on that looked like more than you would earn in a month. This wasn't good, as you were kind of poor and had cheap clothing on, as you had been trying to live off of the money you had been scrambling to get for the past 2 months. She looked at you disapprovingly, which wasn't good, as a first facial expression towards you. You prayed she didn't think of you as a bad person, already.
"Mrs Heelshire. It's a pleasure to meet you," You said politely to Mrs Heelshire, with a kind smile on your face.
Mrs Heelshire stared at you with a neutral expression on her face and cleared her throat.