A Window To A Soul

Chapter 1: Cal

The rules have been fried into my brain. I've been used to the testing every year and learning about everything I must do. I could not fail a test 3 times or I would be executed for not knowing my part. I started when I was 8, and now I'm 18, already having taken my last test, and being brought to mansion number 2. Each mansion holds one Great One and their bodyguards and slaves. This one was new. I don't know much about them. Yan was killed by one of her bodyguards. The rest were executed along with the murderer for not saving her. That was 18 years ago, now a new one is ready.

This one most likely already has many bodyguards after the previous thing that happened in this mansion.

I was brought by the Scorekeeper, a man with pale, white eyes, and very wrinkly skin. He brought me up to the door, and I felt nervous. He rang the bell and hung his head low with his hands in a salute, being respectful, even though it is not needed for someone with such a high position as him.

I got on one knee, resting my arm on the higher one, and hung my head low, closing my eyes. As I waited for the door to open, revealing my new master, I thought about my trainer telling us how the Great Ones won't treat us nicely. Especially after Yan. I understood and already knew about the Great Ones treating us as slaves before Yan even died. She died at 7,244 years old and the Great Ones have treated us badly forever.

I felt my heart pounding as the door opened. I felt the want to lift my head, but I fought the urge. Instead, I opened my eyes and saw feet. They were small, wearing blue socks. It was a girl. I heard a voice. "Oh, hi! You're the new bodyguard?"

I realized she was talking to me, and I internally freaked out before I remembered my training and realized what I was supposed to say. "Yes, my Great One."

She stayed silent for a second, and I was afraid I was in trouble. But then she spoke again. "Please stand up."

I followed her command and stood up, going into an "at ease" position. I was finally able to get a good look at her. She was a bit shorter than me. She had long, orange hair. Her eyes changed from color to color. She had light freckles on her face. On her right arm, she had a marking. Black flames engulfed her skin. Her god was Epimora.

She looked at me with a smile. "Hi. I'm Della. What's your name?"

I remember how to introduce myself to a Great One. "I am Cal Madden, My Great One."

She chuckled a little. "I would like it if you at least treated me like a friend instead of your drill sergeant. You don't ever even have to speak to them again. I mean- except for balls."

I nodded. "Yes." It felt odd not adding "My Great One" after it.

Della dismissed the Scorekeeper and she led me inside. She gave me a room right next to hers. It was a nice room, a lot better than the rooms that most bodyguards get. They usually get the attic or the basements, all sharing it, and then they would say, "Deal with it." But it's clear that won't be the case in this house.

I looked around the spacious room. There was a bed with black curtains to slide around the bed and close it. The sheets were dark gray, along with the pillowcases. There was a big, black rug in the middle of the room. There were bookshelves everywhere, covered in books from really thick ones about people who tried to rebel, to thin ones about the gods. There was a desk with dark, mahogany wood, with a soft, cushioned chair in front of it. There were mahogany dressers and a wardrobe as well. There was a balcony too.

I looked at her confused as to why she was giving me such a generous room. She smiled and chuckled a bit. "Make yourself at home. You will be staying here for a while." With that, she left the room. This is not how they told me it would be.

The door closed behind me and I walked around the room. It was really big. I opened the wardrobe and saw that it was full of clothes. I smiled a bit. I looked at the bed. I walked up to it and pushed down on the mattress with my palm. It was soft. I grabbed some clothes and put them on, putting my dirty ones in a hamper next to the door. I'll do the laundry at some point.

I sat on the bed and looked around. I didn't know what to do. I heard a knock on the door, and then it opened. I saw Della look at me. I immediately jumped up and got on one knee. "My Great One!"

She walked in and stood in front of me. "Hey... I'm not very good at this whole ordering-you-around thing. But I was wondering if you were good at cooking. I'm kind of hungry and before you were transferred here, I would have a butler to cook for me."

I responded quickly. "Yes, my Great One, I can cook for you."

I heard her laugh a little. "Thank you."

She left the room and I got up. I left the room and made my way to the kitchen. The one thing I wasn't worried about was getting around. All of the mansions are identical and all the bodyguards are trained to know the mansion grounds by memory.

I got to the kitchen and looked around. There was a counter that ran across the walls, stopping next to a big fridge. There were cabinets parallel to them. I walked to the cabinets and looked in each one.