Status: Hiatus

The Time Ring

Good Cause

Mousy was in the kitchen when she heard the door open and close. She didn’t care who entered and she definitely didn’t care what they wanted. Her nose scrunched and her eyebrows furrowed.
“Something stinks” She eyed the food warily but nothing looked remotely bad.

“Is there something wrong, miss?” Her head snapped towards the door. It was her aunt’s young servant. She was a good cook and never questioned her madam. It was sickening to watch her get thrown around and never intervene.

“The food is fresh, right?” The servant nodded.

“Of course” Mousy crossed her arms in front of her chest and sighed. “Do you need help with anything, miss?” Mousy had to cook the dessert. That was her duty whenever she visited her aunt; unwillingly, of course. Her brother had the difficult task. He had to get the house ready and prepare it for the party.

Truthfully, her aunt wasn’t as bad as she used to be. Mousy and Jeremy became adults and each had their own lives. They weren’t interfering with the rest of the family anymore. However, her aunt would always speak badly about them in front of her guests. Usually, there were only things about her mother who never rose to the family’s reputation. Then about Mousy, who was too busy living in her own world to become someone with prestige. Jeremy seemed to be the only one whom her aunt could compliment. He was going to a prestigious College and worked already in a company. He was the salvation.

It took Mousy half of the day to finish the desserts. She was walking upstairs to take a shower when her nose scrunched in disgust.

“That smell again” She glanced to the right and left but she wasn’t sure where was the smell coming from.

She walked down the hall and looked at the family pictures. She wasn’t in any of them, naturally. She rolled her eyes and mumbled a few swears under her breath. From the corner of her eye, she realized that something was missing. There was always a landscape painting near her aunt’s room but it suddenly changed into a snow painting.

She leaned closer to it and smelled it. It was nothing wrong with it. It smelled new.

“Something is definitely weird” She sighed. There was nothing she could do for the moment. In the end, she walked towards her room. It was on the other side of the hall, in the very back. The door was wide open and the Doctor was nowhere in sight. She walked closer to the bed and fell on it, tired. She closed her eyes and fell asleep right away.

On the other side, the Doctor couldn’t just leave the problem to the servant. He was curious where that mold was coming from. He was sure it was connected to some alien. He couldn’t remember their name or purpose but he remembered it happened before.

Therefore, the Doctor started to inspect and analyze every painting in the house. He finished rather quickly the ones from the first floor. He decided to challenge the living room. It was spacious and had a lot of antique furniture.

“Can I help you with something?” The Doctor’s head quirked up quickly and turned to the woman. She was staring questioningly at him. The position he was in was quite intriguing. He was on his knees and had one hand stuck under the painting. The other was petting it. The Doctor got up quickly and hid the screwdriver behind.

“Actually, I was wondering if you had any house problems. Like maybe mold?” He walked towards her and tried to act normal. That was quite an overstatement for him. Mousy’s aunt raised an eyebrow and watched him warily.

“There was a mold problem a few years ago. But it’s over. I pay a lot of money to keep this house clean and safe, Doctor” He hummed and nodded. “Would you like a cup of tea?” He nodded and followed her to the couch. She took a seat on the loveseat while he took a seat on the armchair. The woman told her servant to bring two cups of black tea.

“Are these artifacts from Victor Cavington?” The woman was surprised that he knew about her brother. “I met him before. A long time ago” She nodded and sighed.

“Yes. My brother loved adventure. He used to say that he would do anything for his job. When people were asking me what his job was, I was ashamed to say he was an archeologist” She sighed. She looked disappointed. “I guess I should thank him for this house. He left it to me”

“I saw the family pictures upstairs but Mousy is not there” The woman’s facial expression changed instantly. She became very fancy.

“That’s true. Victor married Patricia on a whim. They weren’t good for each other. She wasn’t suitable for the Cavington name. She didn’t have a job and her family disowned her. She was nothing but a French nuisance” The Doctor was ready to speak when the servant came in with the tea. “But how do you know Amanda? Are you her teacher or something?”

“At first I thought she was a student but she already finished. She doesn’t look her age” The woman rolled her eyes.

“I know. She looks very young but she is 25 already. That girl won’t find a man anytime soon” She checked the Doctor out and smirked. “You are not her real boyfriend, are you? You don’t act like a couple” That woman was very smart and perceptive. The Doctor was getting more intrigued by Mousy’s family.

“I know. We met recently and we just clicked. She doesn’t want the sparkle to fade so she likes to play hard” His words were a little messed up and she got taken aback by them. He spoke with a bright smile and his eyes were looking straight at her. It was really hard not to believe him.

“Did she tell you about her mother?” The Doctor nodded. “But aren’t you too old for her?” He chuckled and leaned back.

“We still have a long way to get to know each other. Believe me, she is a feisty woman” She raised an eyebrow and tried to find a good response. She couldn’t find one, though. He was lying through his teeth but it was for a good cause. It was for Mousy.

The girl woke up when she heard the door open with a crack. She opened one eye and inspected the room. It was still sunny outside therefore she must have slept for a short period of time.

Her vision was still blurry and she wasn’t sure who entered. She rolled on the other side and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, she started to feel cold air around her toes. She thought the Doctor opened the window but then she remembered that the windows from the first floor weren’t opening.

She moved her head slowly and glanced over her shoulder. The door was widely opened but no one was there. She looked around the room but no one entered. The cold air disappeared as well. That was strange. She got up and leaned against the mattress. Something wasn’t right in the house and she could feel it. If she felt it then the Doctor did too. It was just a matter of time until he would enter and point his screwdriver around for clues.

While thinking about that, her nose picked up a familiar smell. She decided to follow it to the source. Somehow she ended up in front of the same winter painting. She bit the inside of her cheek and moved it to the side. She saw nothing but the smell was there. She leaned closer until her nose touched the wall. Her ring started to glow and she started to feel dizzy.

“Are you alright, Miss?” Unlike the Doctor, Mousy took a while to retreat to a normal position. She moved the paining to its original state and rubbed the back of her neck.

“I’m alright. This painting is new. When did my aunt buy it?”

“That painting is very old. She never used it before because there was no reason to” She raised an eyebrow and looked at the servant. He was a tall man with an unique face shape. Truthfully, he looked like a crow. His black eyes didn’t help his pale skin at all. He looked half dead.

“Is there a reason now?” He didn’t even blink He only stared blankly at her with his hands behind his back.

“There might be” She walked closer to him and intensified her stare. He wasn’t doing anything but stand there and watch her. His voice was cold and strict. He acted like a high class servant.

“I hadn’t seen you before” His eyes moved down on her. She was smaller than him. Actually, he was two heads and a half taller than she was. He was taller than the Doctor too. He had 2 meters at least.

“I am the butler of this house, miss” He responded and left. She watched him go upstairs, to the second floor. She was dumbfounded.

“But my aunt doesn’t have a butler” That was suspicious. When she came unwillingly to her aunt’s birthday, to cook and prepare the event a few months ago, she could swear there was no butler. “And what’s with the smell?” She sighed and found herself staring at the painting again.