Part 1: Servitude- Chapter 3

"Would you like some more tea?"

 

"No, thank you, Penelope. You know I can't stand drinking that crap. Can't you bring me something from the wine cellar?" Lucard's father, Donovan, asked.

 

"You know I cannot, Lord Donovan. The doctor said you should drink tea, not your expensive wines."

 

"Are we all out of the cheap wine, then?" I laughed and he gave me a grin. "I liked it when you were younger, Penelope. You'd bring me my wine whenever I asked."

 

"Ah, I'm sure you loved it. But, now that I'm older, you can't bribe me with sweets, Lord Donovan." I lifted the tea pot and poured two cups full. I looked at Lord Donovan, seeing him mess with his pillow. "Does your left arm still bother you?"

 

"No, my dear. Perhaps it might, if I had a left arm."

 

"You know what I meant. Here's your tea," I handed him a golden cup, filled with the thick black tea.

 

"Are you sure you can't get me something from the wine cellar?" I looked at him, and he sighed. "I was just asking. Come over here, Penelope." He patted the mat with his hand and I sat next to the aged man. "You've been like a daughter to me, my dear. I remember the night you came into my service. You were lying in a big, grey cloth in front of my gates-"

 

"Where I had been abandoned." I finished.

 

"Your father merely left you in my care, Penelope. He didn't abandon you. This is the only place in the world that you wouldn't be judged. He knew that."

 

"Lord Donovan, even here, I am judged. Your own wife refuses to acknowledge me, unless you're present. The servants fear me, for I'm the only one who is unable to show her face. Even Mauk fears me."

 

"As I recall, you nearly decapitated the poor man. And you know that it is because you obey my wife that she is biased against you. Rebel a little, Penelope. You're not Luna's servant. You're in my care."

 

"No matter how you phrase it, Lord Donovan, I am still a servant to the Bloodrayne family. And that is how it will always be." I gave a shrug.

 

"Penelope... What if I offered you a chance to be free from our service?" My gaze focused on the cripple. I felt my heart skip a beat. What would it be like to be free from servitude? How pleasurable that would be!

 

"Aren't you too old to be teasing your servants?"

 

Donovan grinned and pushed himself into a sitting position. "Who said I was teasing you?" He reached under his pillow and pulled out a large scroll. He handed me it, and I was surprised by its weight. "Open it."

 

I looked at him, and then slowly opened the scroll. I quickly read the words, thankful that Donovan had demanded that I be taught how to read and write. As I read, my eyes widened in disbelief. I looked hopefully at Donovan.

 

"It's real, Penelope. Those are your release forms. But, keep reading." I opened the scroll more, and looked at the bottom passage. I stared at the words, unable to believe what the said. My jaw fell open in surprise at what this said.

 

"Adoption? Are you serious, Lord Donovan!"

 

"It's a two-part contract. The first part releases you from your services. The second part adopts you into my family. Look at the bottom. The first two signatures are mine and a priest's, Father Mullica. The third is the King's seal. All it needs is yours. Then you'll become my daughter... And Lucard's older sister."

 

There was a loud bang as the door slammed shut. Me and Donovan both looked, and saw Lucard looking at us in horror.

Author's Note

comments welcomed. be mean, be kind.