I followed the footboy to the fourth floor.
He hadn’t used the servant’s stairs; Instead, the boy had beckoned me to follow him through a new section of the estate I had never seen before and ushered me into a small-looking broom closet.
An oil lamp was lit, and I noticed a bare tiled floor and wooden walls instead of brooms and cleaning supplies.
He effortlessly slid close the door and pulled down a lever.
I had a weird sensation that gravity was pulling me toward the ground. However, I soon realized that it was because we were going up. I didn’t know this estate had elevators—they were relatively new.
I waited patiently behind my guide. The boy had soft brown baby hair curling around his ears. He must not have been over ten years old. He was wearing a black vest with a white dress shirt tucked into navy-blue pants with one white line following the outside seam of the leg.
I had so many questions I wanted answers to, but when I opened my mouth to ask them, the boy let go of the lever, slid open the door, and gestured me forward.
I had lost my chance.
We were on the fourth floor because we passed the enormous carved wooden door. I had seen no other entries like it while working on different wings, which piqued my curiosity even more.
“This is the master’s bed chambers,” said the boy softly, pointing at another door to his right.
I was confused. I thought that the big carved door was Alexander’s room. He came out of it early in the morning the last time I was here. I simply assumed that was his chambers. Faiths, now I was even more curious about that intriguing room.
We moved to the door next to Alexander’s room, and the footboy opened it. I lost sight of him for a couple of seconds before his small head popped outside of the door frame, gazing at me as if I was supposed to follow.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, and I quickened my pace to meet him.
I took several steps inside the room and stopped.
It was dark.
I heard shuffling on the floor to my right, and slowly, the soft glow of an oil lamp lighted the chamber.
I gasped.
This was nothing compared to my old room. It was huge!
“There must be a mistake,” I scoffed. “I’m the maid!”
The young boy seemed puzzled by my statement. I looked around, saw the bed, and pointed at it.
“My room should be the size of that bed,” I said seriously.
“I’m sorry, miss, but this is the room they instructed me to bring you to. This will be your chamber while you work for Lord Alexander,” he pointed his small nose toward a door in the back of the room. “That’s the closet... for your clothes. You can sleep in there if it makes you feel better?”
He placed the sack containing my meagre possessions on the side table next to the bed and went to open the door to the left of the closet.
“You can take your baths here,” he explained. “There’s everything you need in that area to wash up, including hot water, towels, soaps—everything.”
The boy pressed his lips together into a tight smile and walked past me to leave the room.
“Wait!” I held out my arm to stop him.
I had just noticed one more door on the right of the entrance, and I looked at the boy questioningly.
“That’s the door to the lord’s chambers,” he answered, casually lifting his shoulders. “The lord has also asked that you make yourself comfortable. He should stop by after he has finished work to give you a rundown of your chores while you will stay here—”
I lifted my hand to his face to stop him from finishing his sentence.
None of this was protocol. Nothing of what that boy said made sense.
“Doesn’t the lord have a housekeeper or a butler to let me know my chores?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I mean, who do I report to?”
“You report to Lord Alexander directly. Other than me, no one else works on this floor. Of course, the maids came occasionally, but now that you’re here, it’ll be just us.”
I nodded, but still confused. I had to let the information sink in a bit.
I heard the footboy close the door behind me, and I paced around my new surroundings.
The last time I had a room this big was when my family was still alive when I was younger. Of course, it was much bigger than this one, but still…
I eyed the bed, and I wondered if it was as fluffy and soft as how it looked. I counted to three and ran up to the bed, and jumped, spreading myself like a bird and hitting the bed, bouncing.
It was so comfortable. Heck, I was never leaving this bed.
I piled the covers over myself and stayed in my makeshift cocoon for quite some time, absolutely loving the warm feeling I was having. I could not remember the last time I slept, and I wasn’t a freezing block of ice. This would do nicely tonight. I almost wanted to go to bed right away.
I peeked my head out of the duvet and threw it off once I remembered the boy saying something about hot water.
I opened the bathroom door and almost fell to my knees.
The space was ample, all pale marbled tiles and dark wooden furniture. A clawfoot bathtub sat in the middle of the room, looking at me invitingly.
I didn’t see any boiler. Usually, I had to boil my water to take a hot bath. We didn’t have plumbing in the servant’s corner.
I tentatively opened the only faucet beside the tub and put my fingers through the running water. It was neither cold nor boiling; it was just perfect!
I blocked the bottom drain and started filling up the tub.
While removing my clothes, I noticed a couple of shelves with glass bottles displayed neatly on the back wall. Some had a honey-like substance inside, while others had dried herbs or flowers. I moved over there and took a glass bottle in my hand.
I opened one that had liquid and smelled what its content was. My eyes rolled toward the back of my head. The smell was exquisite! I couldn’t quite place my finger on the exact scent, but it reminded me of blooming lilacs after a warm rain, with a hint of… eucalyptus, maybe?
I poured some liquid into the water and continued peeling the rest of my clothes off my body.
I made sure my hair stayed out of the water while I positioned myself in the giant tub. I needed to keep it dry, or the dye would start fading.
I stopped the water when it reached above my breasts and stayed still while my skin absorbed all the water and oils it was desperately craving.
I ducked a little lower, so only my head was out of the water, and I hummed in delight.
I didn’t know if this was a mistake, but for now, I was enjoying it.
My hands travelled the length of my body, rubbing my arms, legs, and torso, trying to remove years’ worth of grime I could never eliminate while bathing in the little bucket I used to clean myself.
A soft sigh passed between my lips when one of my hands landed on my breast. I circled my nipple while inhaling the intoxicating smell that now soaked my skin and pinched the bud hard while exhaling deeply.
Thoughts of Alexander passed through my mind, and I unconsciously set my other hand between my legs, pressing between my lips until my fingers found what they were looking for.
A puzzling feeling was overcoming my senses. I needed some sort of release, and for a strange reason, Alexander was the only one I could picture giving me what I needed. I imagined him close to me, whispering something sweet in my ear. His hot breath stuck on my skin while his fingers trailed over my body, raising goosebumps everywhere.
My nipples hardened at that thought, even though the water was hot, and I kept pumping my fingers inside my channel, thinking of all the things I wanted to do to him—what he could do to me.
The pressure was building rapidly in my lower belly, and I felt my mouth quiver as blue sparks exploded behind my closed eyes. I knew the sparks wanted to come out of my body, but I held them inside. It wasn’t safe to let them out yet.
I felt relieved when I came. Years of sexual tension I had kept bottled up were now free. I sank further into the tub, basking in my sweet release and purred softly. It all came crashing down when I heard Alexander’s gruff voice.
“Well, that was a sight to see.”
My eyes flew open, and my arms grabbed each side of the tub to sit upright. I brought my thighs toward my stomach, hoping to hide my nakedness. Water splashed everywhere, and nothing in my movements was graceful. I glared up at my uninvited guest. How dare he come in without announcing himself? Alexander had his left shoulder pressed on the bathroom door frame, a sly smirk on his godlike face that I momentarily hated. Both his hands were in his front pockets. He looked amused as my cheeks flushed with shame… and maybe want. Faiths, I really wanted him, but I also wanted to punch him! “Oh, don’t stop on my account; I was really enjoying this! Do make it a habit.” He winked. His eyes were still black. I thought I had imagined them ever being gray. Whenever I saw Alexander, I thought I saw their pale gray colour, but they seemed to darken unexplainably when he suddenly noticed me. I hugged my knees to my chest, looking at him, trying to pull the most infuriating, scolding, death st
I woke up early to a soft knock on my door. The sun was not up yet, but I could see the faint tell-tall sign that it would rise soon through the window. I pulled myself out of the blankets and padded toward the door. I was surprised to see Leo. The small boy smiled shyly and held out a tray with breakfast food and hot drinks. “May I come in?” “Of course!” I gestured him in, and he wobbled to the small table in the room. The tray was clearly heavy and way too oversized for his small arms. “I thought you might be hungry, so I went in the kitchen and fixed this up for you,” he scrunched his nose a bit. “I didn’t know if you liked tea or coffee, so I brought both.” That was thoughtful of the little man. He was already dressed and ready for the day. I eyed him silently, taking him in. It occurred to me I didn’t even know what kind of work he did for Alexander. “What exactly do you do here?” I asked while taking the teapot from the tray and pouring some into a cup. I would pour some
It had been days since I last saw Xander. To be honest, I had desperately been avoiding him. Sometimes at night, I would wake up completely drenched in sweat, and I would have this inexplicable desire to open the adjourning door to Xander’s chamber and ravage him. These sudden urges were frightening enough to force me into staying inside my room with both doors bolted, and a chair was always wedged under the handle. I didn’t feel like myself at all. I almost didn’t dare open the door to get the food Leo brought me every morning. I only did it when I was highly famished. “Xander should be the one locking himself up when I go crazy. This is stupid; I could just unlock everything and hunt him down...” I told myself frustratingly. I did feel slightly better whenever Xander left for work in the morning, and I found myself alone on the floor. I felt like I could breathe again and found some remnants of my previous self. Calling Xander by his preferred name still felt foreign in my min
Cressida POV—The day of the uprising It was dreary outside, and the musty old library where my magic professor showed me spells did nothing for my boredom. I had been at it for hours, creating the same round sphere of light between my hands. The reasoning behind the spell was that I could make this ball into anything I wanted: a source of light, warmth, or protection. I had perfected it years back, and I didn’t understand why Otis was so pent up on me working on it today. “Princess, you need to master basic energy spells before trying more advanced techniques. You know this! So, stop pouting and throw that damn ball at me!” Otis taunted. Fine! I’d give him precisely what he wanted if he wanted to practice attack and defence. I extended my hand and brought the other under, swirling the ball faster. I opted for offence, so I created a sizzle of electricity around the sphere. Should it hit Otis, his white hair and beard would puff from the static and shock, hopefully even incapacita
I was woken up by a heat flash, so I threw the sheets away from my body. I felt hot even though I could see goosebumps all over my arms and legs through my copper-coloured lashes.I tried to focus on my breathing and slowing down my heartbeat. At the rate it was pumping, I’d probably go into shock again.I was still too hot, so I clawed at my nightshirt. I needed to take it off quickly before I combusted.I sensed someone swatting away my fumbling hands and placing an arm behind my back and under my knees to lift me up. Then I was weightless, floating toward another dimly lit room.I felt faint from the insane heat pulsing through me, and after a moment, something wrapped me in a cold envelope. I didn’t think I had a fever anymore. It was simply me swimming in the cool darkness. My lungs had slowly returned to a normal breathing rhythm, and my limbs felt slightly numb from the cold. But I didn’t mind the sudden temperature change. I welcomed it.Soft fingers brushed my cheek, pushing
I was done fighting back my desires and welcomed their possession over my body.I dragged my nails over Xander’s chest, scratching his skin and leaving red trails everywhere. I suddenly wanted to leave whatever mark I could to finally show that he was mine.Xander’s arm snaked up the length of my back, and he fisted a bunch of my hair, crashing my lips to his once again.His kisses commanded attention, and I moaned when he bit my lower lip.He returned his arms to the front of my wet nightshirt and ripped it open. Buttons flew on the bed and rolled onto the floor.The sudden breeze against my breasts made them peak, and I felt Xander’s hands explore my mounds hungrily.He had moved his mouth down my jaw, following my neck, and kept kissing and nipping until his tongue latched onto my breast. His other hand made circular motions on the other, taunting me and making me wet.My juices started wetting the inside of my thighs; the heat was building up between my legs. I arched my back, all
I lay in Xander’s bed, basking in the pool of sun that shone directly over me. The higher part of the windows contained stained glass, and as the sun streamed from the half-closed curtains, it cast a rainbow of colours on my skin. It felt magical to see those dancing tints vanishing and reappearing from the movements of clouds in the sky. Xander had left early, not wanting to wake me. I groaned at the thought. I hoped that was the reason and not out of regret. Faiths, I hoped it wasn’t out of regret…. I hid my warm, red face in the pillow beside me to stifle my groan of embarrassment. I bit my bottom lip, thinking back to the steamy night I had shared with him and flushed a deeper crimson at the memories of his touch on my skin. The bedroom door opened, and it startled me to see Xander walk in, his gaze finding me immediately. I flashed him a stunned smile and bunched the covers to hide my nakedness. He removed the vest of his black two-piece suit and sauntered to my side. H
With Xander knowing I was a magic wielder, he had encouraged me to practice magic again. He assured me it would be safe in his quarters, and I believed him, but I was still wary of Leo. The boy had always known this world—this hatred against Unnaturals. I didn’t know what he would do if he saw me performing a spell. Still, I engagingly accepted Xander’s encouragement and trained regularly by doing spells. I always did so when I knew I was alone. I was a little rusty, so I asked Xander if he had any books on spells or casting techniques in the estate. He had looked everywhere after I made the request, but the answer to my question had been “no,” and I received an unfortunate look from Xander, who knew this was important to me. It didn’t surprise me that there weren’t any books on that subject anymore. After Osprey came to power, anything regarding magic was destroyed. Priceless knowledge simply vanished at the beginning of his reign. It broke my heart. I almost regretted my lazines