The knock at the door echoed throughout most of the main wing, enough so that it could be heard by the servants all the way in the kitchen. They had prepared fresh bread that was still warm with hand churned butter, there was fresh fruit, assorted breakfast meats, and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. A meal of this nature was only rarely ever prepared, typically when Elizabeth was entertaining one of her rare human friends. It was a joy for the head cook, Lottie, as she hadn't had the pleasure of using her skills in quite sometime. As an added bonus, she was instructed to prepare three meals a day from this day on for the new addition to the household.
It was apparent to the household that Elizabeth had every intention of feeding from the slave regularly, which required them to be well nourished.
"And what, exactly, are you looking for," Madame Coco asked a seemingly bored Elizabeth. Her candy apple, brown-red eyes were glazed over and staring at the Persian rug in her nicely decorated and furnished living room. A fire blazed behind her, something she only did for human guests, giving the room a decent amount of lighting as the two spoke. The question had snapped her back to reality, however.
"Something exotic. Something bursting with flavor. Something," she paused, struggling to find the right word, "Something different," she sighed after giving up on finding the perfect word. Even so, Coco nodded knowingly. Coco and Elizabeth had known each other a great many years, but Elizabeth had no idea how old the woman was as she never aged one bit. Coco hadn't been obliged to give Elizabeth a sample of her blood to gather information and Elizabeth had chosen to let it be as she'd grown quite fond of her friendship. Especially now as Coco had more of her words of wisdom to offer, "You want something to give you a spring in your step," she exclaimed with a smile, "Something to bring back your zeal for living," she sitting on the edge of her sit now. Elizabeth sighed, "Exactly, my darling Coco." While it seemed as if they were referring to a rare, magical truffle the two women knew exactly what they were talking about. This had to do with more than just taste, although that was good part of it.
Coco hurriedly left the mansion and a few weeks later sent Elizabeth a package. Inside was a photo, a detailed biography, and several forms that would need to be filled out. Elizabeth hadn't bothered with the biography, as soon as she saw the picture she began filling out the forms. It was a bit of gamble, which made it that much more exciting, and she trusted her old friend. As soon as Elizabeth had sent back the forms, Coco called and gave her the date which the slave would arrive. Today was that day.
The sweet smell of fresh baked bread wafted throughout the house along with the echo of a knock. Elizabeth's eyes flew open mechanically, but they stayed fixed on the ivory, lace canopy of her bed that would take up a normal sized bedroom. She continued lying in the center of it even though she could smell the guards at her front door, their scent was awful. In the middle of them, she smelled something sweet and salty with a hint of earth. It was crisp with soft notes of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was wonderful. But she still wasn't very excited.
Servants from the kitchen and other parts of the house filed into the hallway just outside the foyer. Partially because this was how new guests were always greeted and because they were incredibly curious. Since the Lady of the house had lost some of her lust for life, the mansion had become incredibly cold and lonely. So the servants were a bit excited about this day, in hopes that Elizabeth would return to her usual vigour. Once they were lined up, the master butler opened the large, oak wood door with a rose vine made of gold curling all the way and the same 'C' crest from the gate in the very center. Despite how old the property was, the must have been polished regularly with that sheen. Before the guards and their parcel stood an older looking fellow dressed in a black and white tuxedo with a head full of hair as silver as a bullet. He was quite tall, lean, with white-blue eyes that somehow warm and inviting despite their color. Or perhaps it was his entire face that was warm. Either way, he seemed like a gentle soul.
"Do come in," he said looking directly at the slave and nearly ignoring the guards. As he spoke, he reached out for the rope they'd been leading the slave with, "I'll take that."
However, the female guard stopped him, "We'll need," she paused and looked down at her tablet, "an Elizabeth Cowell," she said slowly before looking back up, "to sign this form stating that her parcel arrived safely." The butler cocked his head to one side, still looking at the slave that wasn't in the best condition. Instead of pointing these things out, he simply began explaining that the Lady wasn't awake and he would have to sign for her. The guard was about to give him trouble, but as if she'd appeared out of a cloud of smoke, Elizabeth was there.
Black, red flecked orbs gazed at each of the guards before landing on the extremely blond, pale young man with the most androgynous of features. Her long, shiny, black lashes fluttered twice as she blinked slowly for hardly any reason. She reached out for the tablet wordlessly before scribbling for less than a second, her hand moving an incredible speed. She turned as if she was going back inside before she stopped to look over her shoulder, "Should you ever come back to my estate again, do not bring weapons of any sort on my property. I don't care how dangerous they are, find a way." Her voice was smooth like honey, but hardened like someone who commanded wars. She whispered something to the butler in a voice that was so slow, no human would ever understand it. She also spoke quickly.
With that, her raven black ringlets were tossed over her shoulder as she disappeared into the shadows of the home. Again, the butler stuck out his hand for the rope which was handed over to him. He guided the slave into the foyer, from the hallway the servants peeped at him. Some of the younger girls giggled and whispered to each other about how handsome he was while others shyly averted their eyes. The head cook snapped at them, hushing them because she thought improper to gaggle so openly at something that belonged to Elizabeth. From the foyer, the slave was guided into the very same living room Elizabeth had spoken to Madame Coco.
Again, the fire was blazing as Elizabeth stood in front of it, still wearing her wine red, silk nightgown that stopped mid-thigh with a matching robe. When the two entered the living room, she turned to face them before nodding to the butler, "Thank you, Simon," she said quietly. With that, he took a few steps back to wait in the hallway. Several long moments went by as she just stared at the creature before her, thinking of what she would possibly do with this life that now belonged to her. It truly amazed her, the things wealth could get you in this day and age, but at the same time it didn't seem any different, she decided before finally taking some action.
She reached out, her finger nails weren't terribly long but they were pointed and seemed sharp. Her skin pale and as smooth as ivory, perhaps even more so. With her nails, she cut away the rope before taking off the shock collar and letting them both fall to the floor, "We won't be needing that," were her first words to him. Elizabeth wasn't an idiot, it wasn't that she didn't feel the degenerate would try to escape. Surely they had taken these precautions for a reason, it was simply they she had her own methods of keeping control of her assets. She continued removing his bindings, examining the resulting wounds. She'd place a hand over certain places and close her eyes. When she finished, she looked at him, "Are you in pain," she asked plainly. There was not a hint of concern for his life in her voice. It was very matter-of-factly and with a hint of curiosity.
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