A Proper Upbringing {for Garry}

[CleverFox]

Asher knew that his parents didn't have the time or really the desire to give him attention other than scolding him when he did something that they deemed inappropriate or unbecoming of a young gentleman and because of that the little boy had taken to pulling pranks on the household servants or really anyone that was around. It wasn't an act of malice on the part of the child but rather just a cry for attention from the brown haired boy who just wanted his parents to notice that he was around for more than a few seconds. That had worked for a little while but then it had suddenly just sort of backfired on him, Asher finding himself not getting the attention that he craved from his parents but rather getting shipped off to live with some relative that he barely even knew.

Standing in front of the house where he was going to be saying Asher didn't pay attention to the servant that had brought him here and was even now standing behind him but rather just focused on the house itself. He was trying to figure out if it was larger than the one where he had lived before but that didn't seem to matter much to the child, he was nervous about being left with virtual strangers even if that was something that he didn't want to admit even to himself. Looking shy and almost timid he gazed around through vivid green eyes, wondering if anyone was going to come to meet him or if he was just supposed to go inside an make himself at home.

After standing there in the drive for a few minutes Asher started to get a bit impatient so the little boy made his way toward the front door, leaving his bags sitting on the gravel drive as though he hadn't a care in the world for him. That was mainly because he was used to having servants to carry around such things so it just didn't occur to him to grab them, the boy walking toward the house and reaching out for the front door with every intention of just walking inside. It wasn't the most polite thing in the world to do and probably something that would be frowned upon in polite society even though he was related however Asher was curious to see the inside and despite his reservations when meeting new people he had met the man of the house a few times in the past, if only in passing, so that was helping him to move past that initial shyness that he tended to display when first meeting someone. Pulling the door open he called out, "Is anyone here?" His searching gaze shifted around the foyer as he waited to see if he was going to get a reply to his question, the servant rushing over and finally taking some initiative. "You probably shouldn't do that young master," he said quietly, only in his teens himself and definitely not in a position to order the boy that he had delivered around in any manner. He had been tasked with making sure that Asher arrived safely and he had managed to do that, what happened next was sort of out of his control.

[DewAfterDark]

Earlier that day the owner of the household had received one more phone call from the family about the boy's arrival,a mere reminder. The twenty-eight year old wasn't too fond of the idea of having some kiddo living in his home with him. It's not like it would have been a bother considering that he wouldn't have to do anything for him since he had servants,nor that there was no place for the lad here,which would have been completely false considering that a few people live here. Mainly him and his fiancee,aside from the several servants. Or perhaps the young lord was just not fond of any changes. Either way,the male wasn't interested in analyzing his own reasons and just lowered his gaze at the papers in front of him,reading,signing. The same monotony almost every day.

By the time that the boy arrived,Vincent had already forgotten about it,his focus drifting back into his work,however,he did overhear something outside. "Tch" the male let out a small sound, an expression of his small frustration for having his work disturbed,but,perhaps he should allow his fiancee greet the boy.Yes,she'll probably make him feel more comfortable than he would and he was busy so,he did not put any effort into his well manners of greeting someone.Unaware,right now the young lord was acting just like Asher's parents,just being too busy for him.Unreasonable.

Unfortunately for the boy,the young female who was engaged to the lord wasn't home.She had left again,leaving her absence unannounced. It was common for her to leave the household,sometimes seeing her family or friends,sometimes just getting some fresh air or going to town,she had her ideas of passing time outside the manor and it was unclear when she'd return.

Unaware that Julia isn't here,the young lord attended his paperwork,having the boy wait until he thought he heard someone call out. He set his pen down and thought for a moment,did Julia not greet him? Sighing with some frustration once more,Vincent got up from his desk and went downstairs.There,he saw a somewhat familiar boy wandering around the hall with his gaze,with a fairly young servant by his side. So none of his servants let him in. The black haired male furrowed his eyebrows,his facial expression didn't show any signs that he was glad to see the boy,in fact,he frowned for a brief moment as he approached the young boy.

"What poor manners." was the first thing that the young lord muttered,having his hands crossed,surely,he was partly to blame for making the boy wait. Without adding anything to that,he looked over at the servant. "You...you can be excused now."

[CleverFox]

It seemed more than a little bit strange to Asher that no one seemed to have either noticed or acknowledged his arrival but the boy didn't much want to stand out in the drive forever so after some time had passed he took the initiative and went up to the front door. Knocking probably would have been the best course of action to take in that instance but instead Asher opted to just reach out and open the door, poking his head inside and gazing around. He called out to see if anyone was around, looking over his shoulder at the servant that had accompanied him when the teen came up to him and said that he shouldn't do that.

"It'll be alright," Asher said, offering the teen servant a roguish grin before shifting his green eyes in the direction of a voice that was accompanied by the sound of footsteps. He looked at the man that was approaching and gave him a scrutinizing gaze, thinking that he appeared way too serious for his own good though the child wisely kept his mouth closed and didn't actually come right out and say that. How long he would be able to maintain that filter between his mouth and his brain was anyone's guess but for the moment he was watching what he said.

The servant looked over at the master of the house and offered him a polite bow when he was more or less curly dismissed. "As you wish m'lord," he said politely before looking at Asher and then turning to take his leave. He did return to get the child's bags, carrying those up to the door and leaving them before he returned to the small carriage that he had driven, which was really just a cart pulled by a pony but it was basically all that he could manage.

Asher watched as the teen departed and then he looked back at the man and offered him something of a smile, the boy still coming across as shy. "Hello, I'm Asher," he introduced, thinking that maybe this guy would be less uptight if he introduced himself. Briefly the boy thought about offering up his hand but at the last moment he changed his mind about that one and instead just stood there with his hands behind his back, his green eyes focused on his host as he waited for the man to tell him what happened next.

[DewAfterDark]

The black haired male remained quiet,still having that uptight look on his face as he watched the teen excuse himself and bring in the boy's bags. For some reason,he didn't speak and took some time to examine this boy that will be staying at his home. Vincent looked at the boy from top to bottom,his expression not changing. It was true that the man was too uptight for his own good,it was a sheer result of his grumpy moods,he could not always express his displeasure with something so he'd just end up being grumpy and uptight. It seemed that the young lord would always find a reason to be displeased with something,either it was his work or his own failure to build a bond with his fiancee.

Now,all that displeasure that had build up inside of him again,was directed at the boy.Surely,Vincent could have dismissed the small rudeness of entering his home without permission but would that not send a wrong impression? That the boy could do whatever he wanted without being scolded? He reached the conclusion that it would be no good to simply let it slide,despite it being something so small.

Though the young lord did not directly scold him,he choose his words and didn't make his lecture direct. "Asher,hm?" he repeated the name in a low tone,raising his eyebrow a bit.He has seen the boy once or twice during some relative gatherings,he never even spoke to the child and even if the lad was from his side of the family,it was Julia who made him believe this was a good idea.A helpful act.

"Quite eager to be here,I see. Forgetting your manners even." the man continued to speak then sighed inconspicuously.At the same time,Vincent himself did not want to sound like a picky old man.He at first dismissed the boy introducing himself. "....I'm lord Vincent Nightray." his words came out from his mouth in a formal manner,unnecessary.

As a maid was passing the hallway,Vincent turned his head to head and beckoned for her. "Margaret,please show the boy to his room.I asked for it to be prepared." he spoke calmly and the young woman only nodded.

[CleverFox]

It was pretty easy for Asher to see that the man was sizing him up, the child accustomed to such scrutinizing looks since he got them several times a day on a regular basis at home. Still that didn't really make it less off putting for the boy since Vincent was basically a stranger to him despite that he had seen the man in passing a few times, so he sort of fidgeted under that intense gaze. Toying with the hem of the shirt that he was wearing Asher looked at the grumpy looking man through bright and expressive green eyes, wondering what it was that had served to put him into such a foul mood and also having the passing thought of whether or not this was going to be a permanent feature for the man.

The child nodded his head slightly when Vincent repeated his name just to show that it was correct and then he took a step back when the man mentioned that he was eager and had forgotten his manners. That wasn't truthfully the case since Asher had known that it wasn't good manners to open the door and look in before anyone came to allow him entry however he had overlooked that in the interest of not standing outside all day. "I didn't forget anything...I just didn't want to stand outside all day and no one seemed to be coming out," Asher replied, his voice quiet but his words quite clear. He was an honest little fellow, sometimes honest to a fault, so he wasn't going to allow this man to assume that he didn't have manners and instead decided to just point out that he'd had them and simply opted not to use them.

The formal introduction that he was given came as a surprise to Asher but he once again just nodded his head and replied, "It's very nice to meet you." Those words were formal and forced, the child clearly only forcing himself to say them because he knew it was what was expected of him. Asher was getting the impression that he wasn't going to enjoy staying here with this man and that in all likelihood he'd be ignored here even more than he was at home. Not a pleasant thought any way that you chose to slice it and that was enough to get a sigh from the child, Asher's green eyes going to the maid that appeared at that point and that VIncent ordered to show him to his room.

"Dismissed already huh?" Asher asked as he walked over to his bags, grasping the suitcases with each little hand and tugging on them since he wasn't exactly a large or athletic child so picking them up was going to be difficult for him since they were fairly heavy. He hadn't thought to get them before but in this instance he decided that he was just going to fend for himself, something that he'd had cause to do at home on occasion and Asher was figuring that he may as well get used to that now.

[DewAfterDark]

The older male wasn't concerned for how he came across or what first impression he left for the boy,it shouldn't make a difference to him. In truth, Vincent probably held a small dislike for the boy just for being a bit rude. He did not know the boy and assumed he'd be troublesome so by not hiding his stern side,he can in advance show that he should not misbehave in the future.It did hit a small nerve then Ashed talked back,but could Vincent really be angry for that? As stubborn as the black haired male could be,somewhere deep he did admit that he was at fault as well,so as not to frustrate himself any further,he'd let it slip this once.

For now,he would leave it to the maid whom nodded to him politely and turned to the young boy with a gentle smile,without saying anything,the approached the young one and willingly offered to assist Asher with his bags,especially after seeing that he was going to carry them on his own. She hoped the boy would not take this the wrong way,he could certainly carry it on his own,it was only expected of her to help. "Allow me." the blond haired woman said softly and gently took the bags from the other's smaller hands. After a short pause she added. "Please fallow me."

Before Margaret could lead the boy to his room,the young lord turned to them and spoke calmly. "Allow the boy to stay in his room for a bit.Consider it a time out for the rudeness....it should give you time to unpack,afterwords,Margaret can show you around." the man spoke simply and calmly before turning his back to the two and heading back to his office.He had completely ignored Asher when he asked him about him being dismissed. Vincent was still frustrated over the fast that Julia wasn't here,otherwise,he might not had to deal with this yet.

The maid could only nod before gesturing the boy to fallow and leading him to one of the rooms.A cozy little room prepared just for him. The young maid who was in her early twenties,placed the bags beside the bed and turned to the boy,smiling a bit in order to seem polite and make the boy feel more comfortable being here. "This will be your room,young master."

[CleverFox]

Asher wasn't quite sure what to make of the man honestly, he wasn't the greatest in the world at reading people but even so it seemed to him that the man was grumpy. Which lead him to wonder what it was that he had done to cause the man to feel that way, Asher not thinking that simply opening a door would be enough to cause it. He ended up explaining why he had came in when his manners were called into question and was a little surprised that the man just ignored that in favor of ordering the maid to show him to the room that would be his. The boy's green eyes shifted to her when she moved to pick up the bags and then told him to follow her however before they went anywhere the man of the house spoke again and mentioned him staying in his room, as a sort of time out because he had been rude.

"I didn't do anything that was wrong," Asher felt the need to point out before sighing when the man said that it should give him time to unpack and then the maid could show him around. Once again he opened his mouth to say something but before he could get any words out the man abruptly turned his back and walked away, leaving him with the maid. Sighing softly to himself Asher murmured, "Well he's a friendly fellow." He looked to the maid again as she gestured for him to follow and then lead the way upstairs to what was definitely a cozy room if smaller than what he'd had back at home.

"Thank you," Asher said quietly when she said that it was going to be his room, his gaze going to the bags that she had placed down for him and then shifting around to survey the room. It really was nice and he knew that he should be happy about that but Asher just felt sort of lost and alone, once again lacking the attention that he had been seeking when he'd caused his parents so much strife.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway caused Asher to poke his head out the door and he noticed a man in a black suit and tailcoat making his way down the hall. Edward was a very efficient butler and more or less in charge of running the household so he wanted to see to it that the new arrival was being properly looked after. He hadn't greeted the child because he had been busy with dealing with a minor disaster elsewhere but now he wanted to make sure that things were running smoothly, as they should be.

"Ah, Margaret, I see that you are attending to the young master," Edward said as he came to a stop near them, his brown eyes shifting to her and then to the child.

[DewAfterDark]

The young lord did overhear the small boy argue but just didn't invest any of his time with argue with the lad,he already told that he'd stay in his room for his behavior.

The blue eyed male smiled sweetly when she heard the boy thank him, what a cute child,she thought,hoping he would not be a handful for the young lord,seeing that he was already in a fairly foul mood. "If you'll need anything,please let me know....I will show you around soon.I hope you'll feel comfortable in your new room." Margaret had bowed her head slightly as she spoke,it was a habit.

Once she lifted her head to look at the brown haired boy,she saw him peeking out the door,before she could focus on the sound of footsteps,Edward showed up,which made her tense up a bit in his presence since she looked up to the other. "Ah,yes...the young master should be allowed to unpack and make himself comfortable now." she said a bit nervously,lightly gripping to the fabric of her black and white outfit,there was no other way to hint to the fact that she was ordered to leave the boy alone for a bit.After speaking,the young woman walked to the door and and looked at Edward in hopes that he will fallow.

[CleverFox]

Asher could tell that the maid was somewhat nervous but he wasn't quite sure why that was the case, whether it was because of him or because of Vincent. The little guy was inclined to believe that it was the latter since he was already of the opinion that the master of the house couldn't be a very nice fellow to work for, not that he had much on which to base that assumption. It was just the impression that he had gotten from the brief interaction that he had with the man. His green eyes focused on her once again when the maid said that he should let her know if he needed anything and he nodded his head, knowing that he was supposed to stay in his room and still a bit annoyed by that fact. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you," he told her in his soft edged voice, looking over as she bowed and then the sound of footsteps could be heard.

He was curious about the butler but it seemed as though he wasn't going to get the chance to come to know this man as of yet since the maid said that he was to be left alone to settle in his room. Which Asher supposed was the nice way of saying that he was restricted to his room and not allowed to leave it but he didn't say anything about that and instead just moved to unpack the clothes that he had brought along with him. Currently he was dressed in what amounted to a white sailor suit that was trimmed in blue, his white socks and black shoes completing the outfit and making him look cute even if Asher didn't like the look.

Edward looked at Margaret when she said that the boy was to be allowed to unpack and make himself comfortable, the butler thinking about that for a moment before he nodded his head. "Very well," he said in his crisp and no nonsense manner, bowing slightly to the child and then turning to follow Margaret out of the room and back down the hallway, the butler content to go about his own duties since it appeared that everything with their master's young house guest was in order for the time being.

[DewAfterDark]

Margaret avoided eye contact with Edward after they left the boy's room.She only shyly had her gaze focused on the floor as she informed him that master Vincent wanted the boy to be left alone for a while,she did not tell him any more information or the reason behind that since it seemed that the butler wasn't interested in the details and was in a rush to return to his own work so she parted ways with him and went to ask Vincent how long should she leave the boy in his room.

After the time was up,Margaret returned to the boy's room and lightly knocked at the door before entering it. "Young master,would you like me to show you around now?" the woman asked politely and with a small smile.