The Castle had four bathrooms, five bedrooms, two kitchens, and an observatory that doubled as a study. As Nicholas gave Victor a tour of the manor, skeletons pushed past them, carrying supper trays and stacks of folded laundry. The manor looked so different than it had when Victor had first arrived. What had once been filthy and abandoned was now polished and bustling with life. 

“Isn’t jewelry supposed to make one look livelier?” Nicholas commented, pointing to Victor’s earrings. “Rosemary only makes me think of death. Poe knew as much. ‘The rosemary nods upon the grave,’ that’s what he wrote.”

“You’ve read Poe?” Victor asked, a hint of excitement rising in his tone. 

“My tutors insisted that I was well acquainted with all the literary greats,” Nicholas said. “I assume you were the same–?”

“No, I am self-taught. But I read as much as my wallet will allow. And Poe happens to be one of my favorites.” Victor explained. Though his face remained content, his eyes were glistening with amazement. He peered about the whimsical manor, drawn to every small, fantastic detail. “How do you do all of this?” he asked curiously. “Your magic, I mean. The townsfolk call it witchcraft.”

“And that’s all it is. I taught it to myself many years ago.” Nicholas said proudly, walking with his hands behind his back. 

“What for?” Victor asked. 

“It’s magic. Who wouldn’t want to have some of it?” 

“Rumor has it that you were the wealthiest man in town. You had everything: a big house, a crowd of adoring followers, riches, luxury–why would a man like that need magic?” Victor explained. Suddenly, Nicholas grew very quiet, and the smirk disappeared from his face. 

“The bath is ready.” one of the skeletal maids said, stopping in front of them. When she talked, her jawbone opened and closed without any tongue to articulate her words. Though she had no eyes, Victor could feel her gaze on him. 

“Very good,” Nicholas said, regaining his usual demeanor. “Do you prefer lavender or hibiscus?” he added, turning to Victor. 

“But I thought there was work to be done?” Victor said. 

“Tomorrow, you will be an employee, but tonight, you are a guest. I asked one of the maids to run you a hot bath, and as soon as you are done soaking, there will be a banquet waiting for you downstairs.” Nicholas explained. 

“Thank you. I have been traveling for quite a while now and haven’t had the time to enjoy such luxuries.” Victor said, rubbing his cold hands together. “Oh, and I prefer lavender.”

Nicholas walked Victor down the hall to a spacious bathroom with dark green tiles and a porcelain bathtub. The faucet and clawed feet of the tub were made of shimmering gold, as were the towel racks on the far wall. A thin rectangular window was raised above the tub, framing the night sky. 

“I left you some fresh towels on the rung,” Nicholas said. “Feel free to bathe as long as you like.”

Victor nodded, gently closing the door behind himself. He neatly folded and stacked his clothes on the sink, with his earrings sitting atop his vest. One step at a time, he slipped into the tub and lowered his body beneath the warm water. Small shreds of purple lavender floated on top of the water's foamy surface. 

Usually, when Victor encountered something possible, which by all common sense should be impossible, he would feel unnerved. But something about the cozy manor and its gracious host put his mind at ease, at least for the moment. 

. . .

Later, as he dressed, Victor found that his clothes had been magically cleaned and pressed while he had been bathing. As instructed, he went downstairs to the dining room, where Nicholas was waiting for him, sitting at the head of a long, wavy table decorated with a bountiful feast. Elegant candelabras were placed around the platters of food, casting the room in blotches of orange candlelight. Victor took a seat at the table, sitting across from Nicholas. 

“Is this real?” he asked, poking his fork into a tray of honeyed ham. 

“Yes, it is,” Nicholas answered. “Food is one of the few things magic can’t replicate. Take this apple, for example,” he said, making an apple appear in his palm. “Sure, I can make it look, feel, and taste like a real apple, but my stomach would never get full.”

“Where do you get all this food then?” Victor asked. “I assume you can’t simply stroll down to the market and buy some.”

“The Castle is completely self-sufficient. There’s a farm just a little ways down the hill and a garden on the roof.” Nicholas explained. 

Victor finally gave in and began to fill his plate with candied carrots, boiled peas, and a mutton chop topped with plum sauce. At the first bite, Victor was pleasantly surprised to find the meat spiced with rosemary. He ate very quietly and politely while Nicholas watched from afar. 

“Don’t you eat?” Victor asked. 

“Excuse me. I got caught up in my thoughts.” Nicholas said, carving off a thick strip of venison and slapping it onto his plate. Victor noted how uncooked the venison seemed to be but reasoned that perhaps what he thought was blood had only been cooking wine. 

“No vegetables?” Victor teased without a smile or playful glimmer in his eyes. 

“I may sound like a schoolboy when I say this, but…I simply cannot stand the taste of them.”

For having a distaste for vegetables, Victor thought Nicholas looked rather healthy. He was slightly taller than Victor was, but his muscles were much more refined. His hair rolled off his shoulders in long brown locks that smelled of almond and citrus. His face held no blemishes or scars, and Victor could assume that the rest of him was just as perfectly preserved.

“I’m sure I could change your mind about that,” Victor said. 

“Oh, are you a food connoisseur?” Nicholas asked. Whenever he spoke, he did so with such vigor and innocent curiosity that it made Victor feel more shy than he already was. 

“I just know how to make food taste good, that’s all,” Victor said, taking a small bite of peas. 

“A refined pallet then,” Nicholas hummed, wringing his hands together. 

“Although I don’t mind discussing food as much as I enjoy eating it, I have a few more questions about my new occupation that are far more pressing,” Victor said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. 

“Ask away.” Nicholas encouraged. 

“First off, what exactly is my title?” 

“You will be my assistant, my right-hand man,” Nicholas explained. “You will help me with whatever our clients need done. I’ve been doing this job for a while now, but it was only until recently that I realized just how tough it is to do alone.”

“But surely, with your magic, such tasks are easy?” 

“My magic can only do so much,” Nicholas explained. “I need a second pair of eyes to see the things I can’t, a second pair of ears to hear the things I may miss. You understand?”

Victor nodded and then began to ask, “As for a place to stay–” 

“You may stay in the guest bedroom. We have several, so choose whichever you like.” Nicholas said. 

“Then my last question is: why did you choose me?” Victor asked. “Surely you didn’t just hire the first person that asked, did you?”

At this, a grim flicker lit in Nicholas’s eyes. His toothy grin widened even further up his face. “I can’t have someone skittish who’ll run when they get wind of danger. But you…you seem as if you fear very little–perhaps nothing. Now, that’s the kind of person I want by my side.”

The way in which he spoke made Victor’s pale cheeks flush ever so slightly.

“I should tell you that this job is not easy. It will demand a lot from you, both physically and mentally. But I promise that if you stay by my side, I shall teach you all I know of the seemingly impossible. You will have complete access to my library, which holds the history of cryptid kind. And you shall come across all sorts of strange creatures who can testify to their own existence.” Nicholas said. 

“There is no need to sweeten the pot,” Victor said, holding up his hand. “I was already committed to this job after our first conversation.”

“Well, then we should toast to a happy partnership,” Nicholas said, snapping his fingers. He plucked a bottle of chilled wine from an ice bucket that had suddenly appeared by his side.  He popped the cork, pouring himself a glass, and as he did so, Victor’s glass simultaneously filled. Victor stared curiously at the stream of wine filling his glass, spilling out of the thin air. He smiled a little, chuckling to himself. He was beginning to get fond of this place and its strange ways. 

“Cheers,” Nicholas said, raising his glass. 

“Cheers,” Victor returned, doing the same.