Part 1: Servitude- Chapter 2

Present day

"Penelope! Where are you?"

 

"I’m down here, my lord," I said quietly, looking up to the walkway above me.

 

"Oh. I told you before, call me Lucard. I don’t need to be called ‘lord’ by my friends," He looked down at me from the railing, giving a small smile.

 

"Lord Bloodrayne, you shouldn’t talk nonsense. I’m your servant, as I’ve always been," I pulled on the red glove that I wore on my left hand. I stared up at him as he jumped over the railing and began to walk across the beams that soared up to the roof.

 

"And in 18 years, you’re the closest thing I have to a friend. We’ve been together since we were both children and still, not once have I seen that beautiful face of yours."

 

"What gives you the impression it’s beautiful, my lord?" I gave a small laugh.

 

"You’re voice is lovely, Penelope. Why would your face be less than the voice that comes out of it? You’re laughter is like the tinkling of tiny musical bells."

 

"Only upon your deaf ears, my lord. Now, what is it you wanted?"

 

"What I always want. To see your face," Lucard looked down from the very top of the beams, where they connected, many feet above me.

 

"It is forbidden, as you know," I saw him about to argue, so I continued. "By your father and mother, who overrule even you, my lord. Now, I must go. There is much work that needs to be done, as you keep distracting me from my duties." I took a few steps toward the door before I heard him jump down beside me. I let out a sigh. "You know you shouldn’t do that," I said, turning around.

 

"Do what?" Lucard’s black wings were spread out on either side, spanning a total of twenty feet. The soft black feathers were as beautiful as they ever were. "Breathe?"

 

"You know exactly what, Lord Lucard. You were told not to use your wings. And those clawed fingers of yours are supposed to be hidden from view. Even from me. We are supposed to make ourselves appear as human as possible." I stared steadily into Lucard’s crimson eyes. I could hear his heartbeat at a fast pace. The blood flowing through his veins made a soft sound to my ears, and I knew exactly why his pace was so fast.

 

"Come on, Penelope. We’re both adult monsters. Why shouldn’t we show our true colors, at least to each other? You must remember how good it felt." He stepped closer to me, and brought his hand up to my scarf, the red scarf that completely covered my head, in exclusion to the narrow gap that let me see.

 

"As I recalled, only you revealed your monstrous form to those humans. And, it got me in trouble! Now, goodbye, my lord. I’ll be back in a few hours." I turned and walked through the big wooden doors that led from his chambers to the main hallway.

 

I looked both ways, to the right and directly in front of me, and chose the path with fewer people. The right path always had few people, mostly lowly servants. I passed a couple young girls in maid clothing, and they scowled at me. I returned their gaze and they flinched at my color of my eyes. They must’ve been new, as all knew that the servant with a red scarf was to be feared.

 

There was once a time when red was this family’s royal color. But, with the adoption of a monster heir by the head of the family, red had come to be feared in this estate. It was just a few gossips at night, about the monster heir and his evil servant. But, then the head of the family started to get more and more monsters, which got more and more deadly over time.

 

A few months ago, the head of the family had taken a liking to serpent-hybrids, particularly the Domkun, a dragon-snake hybrid. He got small ones at first, but he gained a false sense of security around them. When he demanded to have a fully grown Shadow Domkun, he was rewarded with two missing limbs and thick scars across his chest and back. I quickly dealt with the monster after that.

 

I stopped outside a thick set of doors. On the right side, a creature with a snake body and arms and wings of a dragon stood careful watch. I saw it retreat into the hollow guard space next to the door. "Good afternoon, Mauk," I addressed the Shadow Domkun.

 

"Ssservant Penelope," Mauk replied with a bow.

 

"How is the head?"

 

"It ssstill hasss ssscarsss."

 

"Not your head, you fool. The head of the family."

 

"He isss awake," his clawed hand pulled on a lever in the hollow space and the door opened. "Go in."

Author's Note

Comments would be greatly welcomed. It has been a while since I wrote...