Ensorcellors: The Tales of Encrest

[ETOEB1//05//] The Getaway Housekeeper

Chapter 05

The Getaway Housekeeper

Carter's POV:

"I just found this key in the woods," Ricky asserted when Auselle undressed him.

"But it appears odd, as a partial half of it is missing." He added, but his voice was mutilated by the turned dress he was bred to remove. As soon as she got Ricky's clothes, she went to the laundry and put the stained clothes on the basket.

It might be better for me to keep this key temporarily! You never know what this key might open." His way of speaking was tainted with intention.

He then placed the key in his side pocket and left Ricky, Sandra and Carter uncertain.

Lincoln, without a flaw, graciously turned his back around, but before he even dared to walk out and flee, I pulled his arm to rotate his body back to face us.

"Hey!" I halted Lincoln.

"You cannot take what my brother had-" I pulled my hand out of his pocket and tried to take the key from him. Lincoln slapped my hand, so I couldn't get the key out of his pocket.

"because that is his! He should be the one to keep it!"

"Hold it right there!" He grabbed my hand that was about to retrieve what he swiped from Ricky with a little bit of force and then pushed my hand out away from his pocket.

"Uh, Uh, Uh! No can do, mister!" Lincoln moved his left forefinger like a metronome.

"I like your fiery sense of spirit, young man! However," said Lincoln, then patted me on the head.

"I was searching for this key for a while. Did you not know?" He then shared and expressed his thoughts.

"No?" I responded with curiosity.

"Unfortunately it took me a lot of time to find this. But then you came, and your little boy found my long lost key!" He pointed out and acknowledge Ricky.

"And I am eternally grateful for that! That is why-" Lincoln approached Ricky, and he lowered his body and sat down as a frog just to fit his size.

At the same time, he laid his hand on his head and shook Ricky's hair. But despite everything, you can't deny that Lincoln is still taller even though he leans over Ricky.

"Thank you." He politely expressed his gratitude with a little smile over his face.

"For that, I shall give you a reward! How does that sound to you, Ricky?" He genuinely offered Ricky a bribe to gain his trust in the matter.

"Tell me whatever you wish I'll certainly give it to you, Anything." The polite and formal tone of his voice seemed to be adhered to by sweet honey.

"Yay! I want some ice cream! And a couple of flowers too!" Ricky shrilled with excitement.

"Hey, That's not fair! I saved my brother so I should have a reward too!" Sandra arrogantly demanded, whilst considering that she is supposed to be the oldest among us siblings, but deliberately revealing her immature and childish behavior.

In spite of everything, I always get a bad feeling about Lincoln. Something doesn't feel right about him. A strange and unworldly sense of feeling that I could not explain as I secretively observed him.

Aside from his jovial demeanor, his courteous speech, and his formal attire, a blithesome man who never seems to be sad or angry, there is something behind his underlying mask of wearing a smile on his face.

He even appeared in the garden just now as a phantom without feeling his presence.

I don't know if I was the only one who noticed Lincoln's impeccable gestures, but he was creeping me out the way he was trying to. Mom, Ricky or Sandra would have noticed right away.

Maybe it was just me thinking too much about his natural character?

Or perhaps that was just his way of being?

Well, I am not so sure.

And because of that, my doubtful concern for Lincoln led me to keep an eye on him.

***

The moon was in its full phase, round and shining amidst the dark sky. The light from the moon passed by the window of my room.

Not only did the moon shine, but so did the stars in the night sky. As I watched outside the window, I was fascinated by how beautiful they were in the sky.

I eventually finished decorating the new room I would spend the rest of my life in. My personal belongings have been stored in their respective locations.

My clothes were stored in the closet. Some were hooked with clips in hangers, while others were folded and laid out according to style and color.

My family photos were also hung on the wall, neatly placed whenever you wanted to look at them.

I had a spare photo of my family framed and placed on the small desk table next to the moon lamp that I had just bought before we moved into our house, where it was placed near my comfy bed.

My eyes were still wide open as I sat on the balcony, perched on a seat like a swing constructed from twigs of trees and vines suspended near the window.

I looked at the time for a second on an analog clock that was hanging on the wall, and it was three minutes before midnight.

I wasn't able to sleep. Apart from the fact that I had just finished the renovation of my new room, I was also thinking of Lincoln on purpose. I still couldn't move on from what he did to steal the key from Ricky. Until-

I suddenly heard a loud sound of the bell, and it appeared to come from the wellhouse that I had been before. I looked outside my window to see where the noise was coming from.

From the exact point where the hands of the clock were pointing, the bell rang, and up here in my room, on the third floor of the mansion, I happened to see Lincoln heading towards the garden which I had just visited this morning.

Even though the view was conceivably narrow from here, I could see in both of my eyes the key he was wearing around his neck like a pendant - the key he stole from Ricky. I rushed out of my room to go after Lincoln.

What was that guy even doing? And why did the bell spontaneously ringing out of the blue?