"The Vampire's Mistress" (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Ivan gave no explanation to my comment as he told Agatha that everything would be alright. I stood silently there next to the cooling cookies as he told me that I could stay and help Agatha or...well, there really wasn't another option. He would be bathing, which meant that I wanted to stay far away from his chambers lest I find myself warming his bed again.

I helped Agatha to clean the kitchen before I excused myself to go back to my bedroom. Everything in this palace was confusing. Nothing about Ivan made sense. Nothing about his servants made sense. It was as if the entire world had been turned upside down while I had been sleeping. Vampires weren't suppose to be real. Creatures that went bump in the night were only fairy tales designed to make children behave their parents. It was all so confusing.

Once in my bedroom, I looked out over the wide, white landscape beyond. Wisps of smoke from a fire could be seen just beyond the trees in the dying light. The smoke was grey and curled lazily as if someone had just put something out. Perhaps Peter was clearing the trees. I desperately wanted another glance at the city beyond the valley. Tomorrow, I would go out and look from the vantage point on my own. Maybe if I stared long enough at it, an idea would come to me.

Stepping away from the window, I stripped out of my clothing and entered into the bathroom to draw a bath. I had made up my mind that I was going to dress for dinner. Something...pretty? Something that definitely made me feel beautiful. I didn't care what Ivan thought. Even if he was turning over a new leaf, he still had a lot to prove. Men could change, that was true, but it took time and effort to do so.

 

[Tony2015]

Ivan:

I look up at the sound of what can only be Fiona coming down the hard wood hall. She enters and ... and she simply takes my breath away. I am at the hearth with a brandy as I ask, "What can I get you, m'lady?"

She responds, and I react accordingly, ending up near the head of the table that was built so very long ago to serve dinner to 30 guests. It looks rather odd to have only 5 place settings at the one end, but then ... it hasn't has dish ware placed at it in centuries, so ... little steps, I guess.

I hear more steps at the same time that I hear the squeaking wheels of food carts. I look up to see Peter enter from the hall at the same time that Agatha and Kurn wheel in dinner from the kitchen. As we all converge on the end of the table nearest the big windows, I stand at the head of the table and point to the nearest seats. "Fiona ... Aggie."

Agatha's eyes widen. She hasn't sat with me for dinner since the time of my turning. I give her a look that says It's alright, then gesture to the seats next to those for the women and say, "Peter ... Kurn."

If I think Agatha is surprised, the two men are shocked. I'd told Peter to wear his nicest clothes, which in the past has meant I am giving him a day off to go to the village with a handful of coins to relieve some stress with some ample breasted bar maid. And Kurn, of course, is always dressed in decent house wear, so he has no reason to believe that tonight's dinner is any different than any other ... until, of course, I ask him to sit with me and the others.

When no one moves toward their seats, I demand, "Sit!" I chuckle nervously, then say politely, "Please. Everyone sit. I will serve, so there is no need for--"

"Oh, no, m'lord," Agatha says quickly, now feeling that I am going to far. She moves to me, grasps me firmly -- which is out of her nature entirely, but supported I know by our recent embrace and touching moment -- and urges me forcefully to my chair. "I cooked--" She looks quickly to Fiona. "We cooked, we will serve. You men folk sit and get out of our way."

 

[heartofcourage]

I hadn't meant to wear a dress that was as revealing as the one that I had pulled out. It was a beautiful midnight blue material and had caught my eye. The dress was cut low at the chest, long to the floor and made me feel like a true princess. I could almost forget for a moment as I walked down the long staircase to the dining room that I was a prisoner within the walls. For the briefest of moments, I was the mistress of the keep.

Hearing Ivan's voice snapped me out of that thought though. He was standing there beside the fire with a brandy in his hand. I had sworn off drink when I had found out about my kidnapping, but looking at the liquid in his glass suddenly made me incredibly thursty for a nice stiff drink.

"I guess whatever you're having." I said as I followed him to the head of the table, glancing at the five place settings with a tilt of my head.

He was inviting the others to dine? Why? Did this have anything to do with the fact that she had chastised him about being nicer to those around him? It seemed that he had that very thought on his mind as he pointed all of us to a seat once Agatha and Peter arrived. I was seated on his left and I didn't say anything as I sat down at my spot. It seemed to have stunned everyone but myself. The moment was awkward as the others didn't know what to do until Ivan jokingly told them to sit.

I still wasn't sure what was happening until Agatha insisted that since we cooked, we would serve. I didn't hesitate to stand again and help Agatha serve the food as all the men took their seats. This was probably one of the strangest moments of my entire life.