The next day the servants of the Bartleby estate awoke to a rather strange situation. Their Master no longer had the quiet, subdued air that he usually wore, but rather had quite the spring in his step. If that wasn’t strange enough, they also woke the sound of a hideous screaming coming from the nearby dog kennel. However, injuries at the kennel were quite common, due to the ferocity of the hounds that lived there, so they just took it in stride. They were also greeted to the new employee, the young man simply called ‘Jergens’. He was a somber fellow, walking through the halls with a vacant look in his eyes, as if he were in a stupefied trance.

As Bartleby dined on some pastries and tea for breakfast, one of his servants came into the room and whispered into his ear. “Master Bartleby, the missus is awake now. She wishes to see you.” Bartleby nodded and followed the man down the spacious halls, leading him to a grand doorway. The man knocked on the door promptly and called, “Lady Bartleby, the Master is here.”

The door opened a little and a young woman stood peeking through at them, a childish light in her eyes. She looked to be in her twenties, with long creamy brown hair. Her shining eyes widened in glee as she threw open the door and flung herself on Bartleby. “Big brother!” she cried, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek. “Ah, hello Nip.” Bartleby returned her hug, petting her hair affectionately.

Nippers Bartleby was her full name, actually. She was the first born between the two and resented for the fact that she was female, and therefore unable to carry the family name. Bartleby was born soon after though and Nippers was just quietly swept under the rug, guilt prevented her from being completely wiped out, but shame kept her hidden. Unlike his parents, Bartleby loved his sister immensely. She was the only person that called him by his first name, not even his own parents did that.

Nippers slowly loosened her grip and brought herself back up, for she was taller than her brother. She bent down and grabbed his hand, dragging her back into her own room. “Faith, what are ya gonna teach me today?” she pulled him over and sat him down at a large table. Bartleby (or shall we call him Faith now?) smiled a little and brought out a pen and some paper that he had been carrying. “Well, how about we go over your letters again? Or would you like to practice counting?” Nippers sat beside him and stared at him, mouth a-gape. “Woooow… You mean I have a choice?!” she breathed, her hands wringing at the dress she wore. Bartleby nodded and slid the paper over to her. She picked up the pen rather awkwardly and began to write the first letter of the alphabet. “Yes, that’s right, now doing the upper-case one is a little harder… you need two long, straight lines, remember?” he gently coaxed her on, occasionally correcting her grip on the pen. Nippers’s brow furrowed in frustration as she tried to make two shaky, but passable lines. “Did I do it right, Faith?!” she asked after writing down a scribbling down a few letters. “Excellent, you really are improving Nip.” Bartleby smiled at pat her on the back.

After a few more lessons they decided to take a bit of a break. The two chatted on about news and whatnot, well, as much as Nippers COULD chat about. The two talked for while until they heard what sounded like someone yelling from downstairs.
“What do you MEAN one of them is missing?! Does that mean I have to go look for it?!”

“Who’s that?” Nippers asked Bartleby. The young man sighed and said, “That’s our newest servant, Jergens.” He was hoping not to have to think about him today… His thoughts were broken when his sister then asked, “Faith, are you in love?”

The question caught Bartleby completely off guard. “What on Earth do you mean, Nip?” he stammered, not quite sure why the question made him uncomfortable. Nippers leaned close to him, studying his face intently. “Well… you seem really happy… and that’s really weird.” She laughed.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing Jergens in the doorway, looking rather miserable. Nippers gasped in surprise and dropped her pen, the sharp point meeting Bartleby’s skin and grazing it slightly. Blood seeped through it unnaturally, flowing freely. Bartleby cursed through his teeth and stood, holding his still bleeding hand. “Nippers, stay here.” He ordered her. Her eyes were fixated on the blood; she was too paralyzed to scream. “Jergens, take me to the infirmary.” Bartleby clutched his still-bleeding hand, the blood dripped to the carpeted floor, no doubt leaving a horrid stain.

----
Well? Bartleby IS a last name, after all. Did you think he didn't have one?
Today is a sad day for me, since I have now used up all the names in my favorite short story, "Bartleby the Scrivener". Turkey, Nippers, Bartleby, and Ginger Nut.
By now I would really like some feedback from people, just because I really want to improve more. Questions? Comments? Feedback? Insults? Flames? Don't be shy!
Also, would people mind if I posted up a chapter list for this story? It seems that it's going to be longer than I expected...