Fahrenheit 451 Chapter 1 Dialectical Journal

“Lord Zaroff,” announced Wilfred in a husky and dead tone, “the guests will be arriving later today.” Wilfred proceeded to open the curtains allowing light to pour in like a trembling river, making darkness crawl into the corners of the room, reaching for the ceiling so it wouldn’t drown.
Wilfred’s eyes gave away nothing. No emotions at all. Not even how exhausted he should have been. He stepped out of the room before returning with a food cart. “Lord Zaroff, do forgive me for hindering your sleep, but if we don’t stick to the schedule you had intended for today, we won’t have everything ready.”
Zaroff arose from his dormancy that the sandman had provoked as Wilfred began splashing steaming water on crushed tea leaves over a pint-sized cup. Zaroff took the cup and sipped on the tea.

“Wilfred, we must make acquaintance with Doctor Frein.

Have the carriage ready to leave in twenty minutes,” grunted Zaroff.

As Zaroff and Wilfred ascended out of the carriage, they exchanged greetings with a slim man sporting a bleached ivory coat, stethoscope draped around his neck, with a phosphorescent twinkling grin on his face. The man coerced Zaroff into the office and assisted him into a chair while Wilfred stood in the corner not making a sound at all before the man took his own seat.
“Doctor Frein, you’ve kept me waiting imperturbably. When are you going to clue me in on the mortals I get to entertain my boredom with?” Doctor Frein smirked.
“I’m going to tell you about them. You’ll be rendered speechless by what I was able to find this time around. I can assure you that your ‘game’ won’t end like it did last year with the death of your beloved butler, Ivan”
“Do tell me more then.”
“Well for one thing, I got royalty to play this

time.”
“Royalty?!” Zaroff vociferated
“Yep. The granddaughter of Your Majesty, The Queen. Daughter of Princess Alice and Louis IV.” Zaroff leaned forward in his chair and urged the doctor to continue. “Lady Elizabeth has become infatuated with a peasant; they’ve recently succeeded in conceiving a child. Elizabeth has her heart set on keeping her child while her relatives, however, want her to get an abortion. They eventually kicked her out and now she wants the money to support herself, the peasant, and the child.” Zaroff convulsed with laughter like a volcano.
“If it’s money she wants, then it’s money she’ll get...If she wins, that is. At least I won’t be betting my life this time. I won’t be as reckless like that again.”
“Actually, now that you mention it, I meant to notify you of a certain player in your game. He happens to be the son of the man who caused your death before Wilfred awakened you as a demon,” Frein susurrated. Zaroff seized Frein by his collar and knocked him onto the ground before climbing on top of him.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!!”
“I-I-,” Frein tried to pull Zaroff off of himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think that it would be of any value to you.”
“Well it is.” Zaroff continued to press Frein against the ground like a police officer would do to a criminal. “So tell me. Is he?”
“Is he what?” Frein strained to speak.
“Is he like his father?” Zaroff grinned widely; Frein shook his head, wiping the smile off of Zaroff’s face as a window washer would do to a window.
“He’s surprisingly quite the opposite. He’s a slim, albino Human-Snake Hybrid creature.” Zaroff stood up and composed himself back into his chair. Frein slowly sat up and continued speaking. “Rainsford and his wife-Raven-have gone missing since their trip to Germany to see his brother. Nobody has seen them for the past six months and their child, Snake, wants money to go to Germany and find his parents...Should I tell you about the others?” Zaroff shook his hand murmuring to himself.

The chateau was thoroughly decorated. Even the places that Zaroff knew were unlikely for the players to go were jazzed up with banners, streamers, and a melange of vodka. As night began to creep up on the estate, several carriages approached.
Snake jumped out of a carriage and was escorted to a drawing room