Sebastian woke up by the knocking of a tree branch against the window glass. The ticking sound enveloped the silence as an eerie vibe settled in. Perhaps, the wind of early-autumn has picked up its pace by morning to push the branch that far. The sky outside was still dark and there is no sign of sun will be coming out soon. The room felt cold, leaving no trace of summer heat at all, as autumn has just started to unfold its seasonal weather. Sebastian pushed the blanket down to his knees and slid himself out of the bed into sitting position while he ruffled his messy strands of hair. His bangs have started to grow long now. It is better for him to cut it short before meeting Lady Ezra today. After all, neat appearance is essential to butler as the front face of the quality of a household. Untidiness showed lack of proper training in part of the servant and poor judgment in part of the mistress. After going through years of strict training, he should know that well enough.

                Sebastian slowly rose to his feet, put on a pair of white house slippers and made his way around the bed to light up three new candles that he replaced last night on the three-branch plain brass candelabra on his table. The room soon was illuminated by a dimmed light of the candle. But for Sebastian, the amount of light was sufficient. Although the room was installed with electronic light, he wasn’t a fan of modern technology, so he only uses it on rare occasion, including finding a missing pen. The room wasn’t exactly big, but not small either. It is adequate, as Sebastian always put it. The room occupied a single bed, a wooden closet enough to fit all of his clothes in, a bookshelves, a mirror stand, a table with a small study lamp where he could use for study and paperwork, a small bathroom equipped with a sink, a mirror, a shower and a toilet, and plenty space for him to move about. There is not a single television or radio in his room, only a MP3 that Lady Ezra had kind enough to give him as a present at the night of his birthday.

                Sebastian finished his study in the academy a long time ago, and the only reason he stayed, is because of Lady Ezra. The director put him in charge of some butler’s classes and other duties that would not stand in his way of work, as she put it. After all, Lady Ezra wouldn’t like to be followed around all the time, so he has plenty of time to spend. His mistress thought the teaching was a good idea and he finally caught a hang of it. But he always careful not to take too much task, so he could have more time perfecting his skills as a butler to the lady he served, rather than perfecting other butlers. Sebastian tidied up his bed before he took out a set of black overcoat from the closet and placed it across. His uniform changes according to season and occasion, but his favorite is the one bought by Lady Ezra the first month they met. The overcoat is black in color and fell above his knees, not too ideal to wear in summer, but comfortable enough even when he was sweating. He grew attached to it due to its broad sense of aptness. Nowadays, you can walk into any type of occasion with an overcoat, so he found it very pleasing.

Finally, he entered the bathroom, lighted up a half-used candle and cleaned himself. He didn’t forget to cut his bangs short before he exit the bathroom. After all, after years of managing Lady Ezra’s stubborn hair, he got used in cutting his own hair. In fact, his skill around scissors is exceptional and Ezra finds his work result better than any hairstylist she has ever visited. Sebastian slid into his double-breast overcoat, a pair of matching pants and folded the lapel on his chest, before he fastened a pin of double phoenix facing away from each other with their wings held a shield in front of them. The shield is divided into four halves, with a symbol of rose, two swords crossing each other, a crown and a paper engraved, each into the four sections. The rose is a common insignia of de Ross family, the swords depicted a spirit of knighthood, the crown as the symbol of power, greatness and control, while the paper reminded them of the oath that de Ross family has taken for many generations. At the phoenixes’ feet, words dubbed in latin ‘key ad magnitudinem’ means ‘the key to greatness’ were engraved in Latin font.

Sebastian combed his straight, silky black hair to the back before he brushed his shoulder for any dust. Although Lady Ezra allowed him to keep a bang as long as it didn’t look messy, Sebastian felt comfortable having it pushed back and only let it fall if he was either alone or with Lady Ezra only. After he was satisfied with his appearance, he made sure he has everything he needed with him, including a small comb, a compact mirror, a handkerchief, a pair of white gloves, a long black silk shawl that hid easily under his long overcoat and a silver pocket watch, with the same insignia as his pin carved onto its cover and attached to an albert that hooked itself to a watchpocket on his waistcoat. The late head of household, Duke of Ross gave the pocket watch to Sebastian as a symbol for being part of de Ross household. It is the only item given by the late master, so he clung to it dearly and never to leave without it. In fact, he would rather carry it around with him in his pocket than to buy a new wristwatch.

Sebastian checked himself again in the mirror one last time before he took the candelabra by its body and exited his room. His room is located at the end of the hallway, in the basement. There are lights installed to light up his way, but as usual he ignored the switch and went straight to the torch. He continued to pass through the empty room and stop along the hallway to lighten up each of the torch before he reached the door, above the stairs. By the time he exited the basement, the hallway had already bathed in the light illuminated by the flame. Sebastian carefully closed the door and locked it, before he slid the key into his pocket.

Now, he thought, time to make breakfast.

---

           “Lady Ezra.” A deep, calm voice circled the air as rush of wind hurried into the room as soon as the gloved hands opened the window. The morning sunlight illuminated the once dark room like a splendid vigor, putting life into it. “The sun has already high. Please wake up now.” The sound of tea poured into a cup stir the sleeping figure as she brushed her eyes drowsily. The moment she pushed herself into a sitting position, the smell of robust tea caught her nostril and instantly, she was wide awake. Sebastian patted the pillow and set it upright against the headboard to act as a cushion for her to lean on. As soon as she made herself comfortable, Sebastian placed a bed tray filled with a small plate of cut watermelon and apples, a robust tea and a vase of white rose on its far left, in front of her. The bed tray was equipped with a small compartment where a newspaper was neatly tucked inside, for her to read. Sebastian left his mistress to enjoy her breakfast and continued to her bathroom to fill up the bathtub.

                Ezra likes to be woken up by fruits and tea before she proceeds to her morning bath. The real breakfast will only be served later, during elevenses. That is why her lunch will be much later than others and heavier indeed. Lady Ezra prefers to eat five to six times a day, including supper, but she was careful to follow the dietetics’ advice on healthy diet every day and only consume a light portion on each meal except lunch where she expects to have four courses. Not many shares her strange eating habit, but Sebastian glad that Ezra was maintaining a good, unvarying shape. Perhaps, her active involvements in sport and extra-curriculum played a role in there, but she definitely does not neglect the importance of balance meal. Sebastian closed the bathroom door and went into her walk-in closet to prepare her school uniform.

                As a member of the Magisterium, Ezra is allowed to wear whatever apparel she thinks fit, but it must not be too revealing or could cause a serious arousal among the students. That is why rank 6 Raya Izumi always wore a jersey to school, whether or not she has a practice, rank 4 Louis J. Bergston wears overcoat and rank 3 Aishani Khan prefers a full set Armani suit to ease her movements. The other members also has their own favorite attire, but the most irregular ones are the rank 5 Jin and Jun Takemoto who follows the fashion trend on daily basis.

Ezra, in the other hand, prefers the school uniform. A white, button up vase with black shirt collar and a round, low collared white dress on top of it. The one-piece dress came with puff shoulders and long sleeves that hug her arms beautifully. The two-buttons cuff brought it into the next level as she uses her own family’s insignia as the cufflinks to hold it in place, and the dress’s flair ends fell right above her knees, allowing enough space for her to move about. She went along to tie a large, black bow under her shirt color and went above the low collar of her dress so to appear elegantly on top of all the layers and modestly covers her chest. To cover her legs, she wears black knees length stockings and a pair of leather court shoes with 2-inch heels. After Sebastian hung all of the pieces on the hanger, he closed the room and walked towards Lady Ezra who was reading the newspaper.

The small plate was empty and a small fork left facing downward across it. Sebastian took the pot by the bed-side table and refilled the empty cup before he placed it back to its original place. “What will we have today, Sebastian?” Ezra folded the paper and placed it on her side. The robust tea, although has gone a bit colder than before, was still passable. As usual, Ezra took its scent first before she drank it, a habit she developed since she was a child and still couldn’t get rid of.

“Since you have finished your classes by mid-term, you are free from classes for the whole day. But, you will have a meeting with the committee for the post-carnival report in the afternoon. I reckon it will not take much time. At night, we will have a game with Tulip Penacook.”

“Ah. That’s right.” Ezra placed the empty cup back on its saucer and glanced over to Sebastian. “I heard he’s going to use a real sword.”

“Yes, it seems like it.”

“Have you decided on yours?”

“I’m comfortable with my fist, may your ladyship please with my choice.”

Ezra nodded her head in approval and stared down at the mahogany. She could see her reflection on the well-polished table and her butler’s face reflected beside her’s. 

"Don't disappoint me." Although her face looked calm, Sebastian noticed a tint of seriousness edge on her tone and her raven eyes turned darker than usual. Something tells him that a storm is coming. Slowly, he bowed his head and uttered a small ‘yes, my lady’.

TO BE CONTINUED!