The Bennett Manor was absolutely stunning: with crisp water surrounding the front door and gentle lighting on the tanned brick walls. The structure was tall, standing with four floors, and strong, being one of the only buildings without decay or destruction. There were few structures left that were whole, and the Bennett manor was undoubtedly the most beautiful and recent. Perhaps the aristocrats kept it that way on purpose, to remind the commoners that they were truly in control.
With their over extended funds the aristocrats could afford to hire architects, tailors and fashion designers. The first lady herself had slew of women who trimmed and adjusted her clothes, she and the rest of the powerful one were very fashionable.These few artistic commoners were some of the lucky ones, being paid handsomely for their work.
The home was spacious, with mostly black and white decor in the public areas. There was a ballroom, an office for the mens’ work, a library, and an uncountable amount of spare rooms. They had even cared enough to get a decent kitchen for the help. In fact, all their servants had their own rooms and working quarters and they were much better off than those down below. The aristocrats thought themselves most generous in giving their servants such fine living, and expected nothing less than gratitude.
It was a wasteful bit of a house, but the Bennets and friends felt they needed only the biggest and best. Mrs. Bennett herself did most of the decorating, seeing as that was her past job; setting up luxurious apartments to sell.
The house was secured with an iron gate and wall that trailed around the property. They needed to be separated from the rest of the world, especially now with an uproar of rebellious commoners. These walls were not all that they seemed though, angry and rebellious commoners were still getting in. A swell of revolution was rising, putting both those inside and out of the manor on edge. With drastic times come drastic measures.
Tonight there was a ball; an event to honor all the good that the aristocrats had done. To the wealthy it was a well loved awards ceremony, to the poor it was a joke. What good had the aristocrats done? They were swimming in money and unable to distribute any to the poor. Sure, they had build a couple of low grade buildings, but nothing more. With honored guests from across the country and world coming, the Bennets could only hope that the rebels would not act out. Otherwise there might be public displays of punishment.
It was late morning, reaching into noontime. Vivian had not cared to change out of her nightgown, and moseyed around the house in her diamond clad negligee. Her fingers trailed over the furniture as she passed by, touching nearly every surface to her left. Scaling from her bed sheets to the broad, cold marble of the grand staircase in the foyer. She had already eaten, and wasted hours of the day just lounged in her bedroom. It was days like these that she loathed. With daylight it was dreadfully dull; the servants were busy preparing for the extravagant dinner while the masters took hours to dress and prepare themselves.
The party was to begin at five o’clock, promptly. Vi didn’t have much time to decide what gown to wear, let alone how she wanted her hair done. She frowned thinking of this, her bare feet bounced from stair to stair, the movement reminding her of the situation that happened last night. On these very steps Vivian had to deal with a violent and piteous creature.
It was a rebel who are broken in. A young man, dressed wholly in black with a torch. Ready to blaze the place. The boy had been here before, a part of some silly group that obviously had poor planning and execution. Security had caught him before any real damage was done; only a valuable vase was shattered. He was thrown to the ground in front of the First Lady as she traveled toward him, taking her time to gracefully sweep down the stairway. He rambled on in tears and asked for mercy as she met him. Unimpressed, Vi clasped her hand around his chin, making the kneeling man look up into her cold blue eyes. A small audience had formed; some aristocrats on the stairwell, some servants in doorways. “You think this is funny?” She snarled, her voice rising, her grip tightening. The man shook his head, no where near laughter.
“I’m tired of your little games..” Vi cooed, her voice sweetly dark and disgusting. In finishing she turned away from him and softly said “Dispose of him.” to the guards. They struggled to grasp the wriggling man around the shoulders to haul him away. “Please! Dear God! You can’t do this!!” He continued to scream and fight as they pulled him away through the main entrance. Vivian closed her eyes, a feeling of regret sweeping through her. Only God would know what they did with him next.
Most of her words were for show. Vivian, although raised in riches, had been enlighten by her dear Philip about the poor and the common. Not all who falter in poverty deserve what they’ve been given. But Vi needed to be feared by both rich and poor and there were only two ways of keeping her name in such high remarks, charm and fear. Fortunately for Vivian she possessed both.
Vi reached the end of the stairs right as the memory was ending. It served him right, these rebels were stupid to think that they could destroy those who had given them life.
The floor was remarkably smooth and the cool. Her feet glided across the surface with ease and soon she was looking out of the front window. A small group of angry and petitioning commoners stood at the gate. This worried her; the amount of commoners who still believed in the civil liberties of the Old America. The petitioners would be removed before tonight, it wasn’t very posh to have a spitting mob outside during such an important event. A pale hand ran through her fiery hair as she turned away.
The house was full of white noise. Voices here and there and foot step, but mostly silence. It was always relatively quiet in the main part of the house, consisting most of hallways and formal sitting rooms. The back of the house was where all the gossip and work happened. In the back was not only the kitchen, dining area and other recreational rooms, but also the bedrooms. After feathering her hair for a moment she went to find Philip. Not knowing exactly where he would be, she walked promptly to his room.
Philip, who she once knew as Danny, was a man that she dearly adored. Although too consumed with her own name and title to acknowledge his feelings, Vi is very committed to the young man. They had an interesting relationship. People were often confused as to if they were related, were sleeping together, or just best friends. Knowing that she must stay loyal to her husband, Vivian has set her previous feelings for him in the back of her mind. In the meantime, she would a play and tease with the boy.
Vi had made him swear to help her pick out a dress for tonight. It didn’t take much convincing, really. Vivian could get Philip do just about anything, after all she was one of the few, if not the only one, who knew of his true past.
The slender figure stood at the closed door of Philip’s room, it was strange that she hadn’t seen anyone else in the hallways yet. Perhaps everyone had decided to get some extra sleep before the exciting night.
Vivian smoothed her hair one side before knocking lightly on the door.