Burial of hearts the black widow's malice by N Parnham Page B

flanked upon either side. The
floor of the lower half of the home, was a simple but elegant white and grey
stone. Even the storage room had a certain grandeur about it; following suit
from the rest of the house.
    I
gathered a few cleaning items; a mop, made from the absorbent fruit of the
pelkan flower, some flannels to wipe with and a small pot which was readily
filled from the city spring. Let the onslaught begin.
    Passing
through each room I gave them a thorough clean; initially with the flannels,
washing down any surfaces and removing all grease and muck that had gathered
into small colonies. I then collected any rubbish that had been thrown upon the
floor; ensuring I cleansed every nook I could.
    The living room was the most
striking of all the rooms in the house. Enormous framed paintings were aback of
this room, with three chandeliers suspended above; the light of the candles
sparkling upon the crystal pieces. There was a large marble fireplace, at least
my height in width; with a golden urn placed atop. A table was in the centre of
the room, it had glass upon the top of it; rarely did I have the privilege to
see something of this class; the first time I had seen a table such as this, I
had thought it was a work of magick, by a great wizard.
    “Will there be anything else you
require from me today Tenro? ”.
    “No… that will be perfectly fine
thank you. I will have more work for you tomorrow though”. He said as he gorged
down a still warm apple pie.
    I left the house in good spirits.
A few hours had passed and my arms were somewhat sore from the repetitive
cleansing of priceless ornaments. Creeping up the hill, like a nosey neighbour,
the houses got slowly larger, until reaching the topmost; I was presented with
a home with proportions that would put a castle to shame. Several guards were
stood affront of the gates to this home, their eyes following my every
movement.
    “And whom may you be and what business do you have here? ”. One of them said
approaching me. His eyes closed a little, revealing the starting point of a
sinister glare.
    “ Sorry , I was merely
having a look at the homes in this area; I have just finished working for Mr
Bullwort; I am his new maid”.
    “Well, unless you have business
with Hecate, stay away from this area; it is off limits, reserved only
for official business; if we catch you here again we will not be so light
hearted, understand ?”.
    “Yes, sorry ”. I said, my
voice croaking.
    I turned around quickly and
headed back down to the centre of the city. After being in such a tasteful area
I was now even more repelled by the shambles that was presented before
me.
    Camerine was passing by, holding
onto a crate of wine when he spotted me.
    “Avis, so how did your first day
go? You are not deceased, so I am assuming it went… at least ok ? ”.
    “Well... we are now on first name
terms, so I suppose my face has some rewards. He has asked me to return
tomorrow for some more work he wants me to do for him”.
    “ Brilliant ,
it now looks like we have him as a permanent client of ours; thank you for the hard work. Here is a wild idea; would you care to join me and my family
today? We have arranged a get-together later; we need to get prepared though,
there are quite a number of people coming”.
    “That would be delightful, thank
you; have you got everything you need? ”.
    “We have all we need back home, I
am quite organised as you will learn. Could you help me carry this crate at
all? It is a little heavy for just one person”.
    Camerine lowered the crate of wine
to the floor. We each cupped our hands around the smooth-edged metal handles,
lifting it with a small pant in our breaths. Dodging between the crowds in the
centre of the city, we walked towards his home, which was placed snuggly behind
the university.
    The house was small, at least for
a business owner; snug I suppose would be more suiting. There was a family
room, with several large wicker chairs covered in