blueberry yoghurt and fudge ripple
Story: Timeless { backstory | index }
Title: Mistaken
Rating: G
Challenge: Blueberry Yoghurt #19: unfamiliar customs, Fudge Ripple #15: confidence
Toppings/Extras: none
Wordcount: 265
Summary: Lord Ashdown and Mr Prowse discuss their new surroundings.
Notes: During Ashdown’s first few days in the future. Also: hey, Nina, nice pocky...
Ashdown was led to his room and he stalked inside, folding his arms. Automatic, the door closed behind him obligingly. He found the whole thing very peculiar; one simply had to touch this little pad where the doorknob should be, and then it opened. Ashdown had been thrilled at first, but now he was simply perplexed by it all.
His aide Prowse had the room opposite. Their rooms were standard guest-rooms-and not tailored especially for them; they were filled with all of the usual little trinkets, and more besides. Ashdown thought that the large telescreen on one wall was nothing more than a rather foggy mirror.
He stalked up to the door and touched the small panel; the door swung forwards and he pushed it open all the way. He looked up and down the deserted corridor. No guards: so they weren’t utterly stripping him of all of his dignity, then. He wandered across the hall and opened the door there, walking into Prowse’s room.
“Strange, isn’t it?” he asked, making Prowse spin around. He had been closely examining the inside of the wardrobe-which contained a couple of white bathrobes and some slippers.
“I don’t like it, sir,” Prowse said in his ill-disguised cockney lilt, closing the wardrobe door with multiple clicks.
“I don’t either,” Ashdown said softly, “But you needn’t worry, Mr Prowse. I am formulating our counter-strike against Newson as we speak.” He inspected his fingernails. “If he thinks it’s going to be this easy to manipulate me, he is very much mistaken.”