Chapter One: Daffodils
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Gentle breaths gliding gently over skin were the only sounds in the murky room. The brunette lay prone against the headboard, her nakedness only barely covered by a thin white sheet thrown haphazardly over her lap and the body of her lover draped over her front. Pressing her face into her partner's hair, the brunette laid a gentle kiss against raven curls before tilting her lover's chin from her breast to press her lips tenderly against the corner of her companion's mouth. Barely moving away from her lover's mouth, the brunette muttered so quiet even the keen ears of the raven haired woman strained to hear her.
"Alice, tell me what you see." She had whispered. Alice blinked up at her lover before shutting her eyes. After perhaps a minute her eyes slid open once more as she slumped wearily against the brunette's body.
"I see her…" she murmured dreamily in a sigh of content. The brunette's mouth curved upwards slightly, her hand wandering against the skin of her lover's back.
"And?"
"She's beautiful."
"Of course she is."
"Hmm."
The brunette flipped them over so that the short hair of her lover fanned out against the pillows in straight tufts. Chuckling lightly she leant down to rub her nose gently over Alice's, delighted to hear the breathy sigh of content that resulted from the contact.
"You…" the brunette murmured, their lips fluttering together just as the tips of mildly peaked nipples brushed lightly in partnership. "Are just as beautiful." The brunette whispered, placing another doting kiss on the delicate curve of her partner's jaw. Before straightening and sitting on her haunches, reaching a hand up to run through her hair.
Even recently sated, the sight of her lover in that position ignited a low fire in her stomach as her hand crept past the brunette's navel stealthily towards her breast. The smaller woman did not fail to notice the smirk and the subtle arch of the taller woman's back that happened to make her breasts ride even higher on her chest. The shorter girl pinched a nipple tightly in punishment.
"Don't distract me." She muttered, rolling over onto her stomach as the taller woman pawed at her back like some housecat before flopping down on top of her.
"Distract you from what?" the brunette mumbled, her voice nearly unrecognizable buried in the swath of pillows she had landed her head in. "We just moved in. I'd much rather we christened the place before we got into any heavy thinking." The brunette said, lifting her head to wink lazily at Alice.
"Hmm. I've always had a feeling if I let you christen half as many things as you wanted we'd never get anything done." The shorter girl replied in a thick southern drawl. The brunette chuckled, and without saying in so many words agreed.
"Perhaps tomorrow we'll go purchase some furniture…some staff perhaps? I know a man who deals specifically in our special circumstance." The taller woman soothed, rubbing her palm along her lover's flank. Alice nodded shyly, sliding out of her partner's grip and out of the bed, stretching under her companion's hungry gaze. She had things to do, namely clearing the dust from the floor and fireplace and removing the now cream coloured sheets that were covering the small amount of furniture they had found inside the house when they moved in.
"Where is your brother? I can't hear him at all downstairs." The shorter girl asked, slipping on a button down. The brunette flipped her wrist noncommittally.
"He's been outside looking into a garden design for a while now. Come on, come back to bed." The brunette replied, curving her back enticingly. The shorter woman raised an eyebrow before she pulled on a pair of pants and flicked the remainder of the blanket off the brunette.
"How about you go and see to the staff while I go and make arrangement for the furniture?" the brunette groaned loudly at this. Clambering- to her embarrassment, the bed was taller than her hips due to her small stature- the shorter girl settled against the taller woman's thighs.
"If you do it, I'll give you a reward." the brunette raised an eyebrow hopefully.
"Even the thing I like?"
"Yes"
"You'll have your staff by tomorrow."
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Closing the door behind her, the brunette let out a satisfied sigh. Jeffery Jenks was an easy man to play and he knew it. All it had taken was her presence and- between her and the trembling lawyer- within the span of forty-five minutes the lean woman had a fleet of loyal staff at her disposable.
Her brother was sitting leisurely at the foot of the stairs, mud sullying his skin through his torn dress pants and leaves streaking his hair. He stood when she entered the foyer. Her brother stood just shorter than her, being younger, and had her family's inherently lean though powerful body and brunette curls.
"Where have you been for the day? Rolling in pig pens?" she asked, setting her hat to the side. He snorted.
"Actually, I've been scouting the area and I've found that a pair of vampires has made a somewhat permanent residence not far from here." He replied. His sister cocked her head. Vampires? The brunette was mildly interested- though if they proved a problem she would dispatch them quickly.
"They must be animal drinkers or hunting very far from here. I had no word of feeds originating from this area. How does that explain the mud?"
Grinning, her brother flicked a chunk of dirt in her direction. "Even we must run in our true form, sister, or we will go insane." The brunette shot him a dark look.
Her brother had taken strongly from his father's side, turning into his true form of a wolf easily during the moon cycle. He had also inherited his father's love for nature, though he had failed to grow to the large proportions of their father. Though, when the time was right and the brown wolf was revealed it only showed the boy was his father's son.
She was not so lucky.
"Be careful where you go during your moon cycles, Michael. All we need is you eating someone or being seen." The older woman warned as Michael shrugged.
"I remember when we didn't have to worry about how many people quenched our thirst, Isabella." The younger sibling murmured as the brunette flinched. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I will go and bathe. I trust the staff has been arranged." He disappeared up the stairs.
Isabella Swan watched her brother leave with worried eyes.
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Morning light filtered through the window onto the naked form of her lover. Padding quietly across the room she gently washed her face in the washbowl near the mirror. She sighed warily at the mild shadow around her eyes. Maybe her brother was right and she did need to run in her true form. She shook her head. No, I will be stronger than this. At her thoughts, a small part of her hissed in displeasure.
A soft hand against her back distracted her and she turned to find her lover looking up at her with knowing eyes. Smiling sadly and dismissing any questions, the brunette swept low to lay a sweet kiss to the corner of her lover's mouth. Her inky black hair stuck out in each direction and the taller woman tucked a stray piece behind her lover's ear.
"Good morning, my love." She murmured, and her heart warmed at the smile she got in return.
"Mornin'." The smaller girl drawled, pulling at her hip and bring the girl in for another kiss. "What have you planned for today?"
The brunette smirked, it was about time they made themselves known to the community. The staff would be arriving today and she planned on talking to them personally about their jobs and what she expected of them. But in this society, no one in her position would garner much respect.
Turning to the mirror she examined the curve of her heart shaped face and delicate eyebrows, bow lips and defined cheeks. Definitely not, no woman would get very far here. The brunette unlatched the pendant from around her neck and undid the pants hugging her hips, dropping them to the floor. Closing her eyes, she began to change.
xXx
"Mr. Jenks was kind enough to inform me that you had knowledge of the… peculiarities… of our species." The tall brunette man began to the group in front of him.
"I am sure that you understand that ultimately, privacy is necessary here, so I will not speak of it or any consequences that come from any interruption of that privacy." His eyes tracked against the faces of the staff, looking for weakness.
"Excluding that, we are not vampires. Staff will be paid a wage. It is imperative that no one enters these grounds, so all strangers must be reported to head of staff and then to Michael. He does not bite, so do not be frightened." The brunette man gestured to his brother.
"You may all refer to me as Master Swan. You all know what jobs must be done." There was a moment of pause at the blunt dismissal before the staff dispersed.
"Always a charmer. How will that work trying to woo your second mate?" Michael joked, slapping his sibling on the back. The latter smirked.
"Who knows, brother? Though I will bet they have this house in working order by this time tomorrow."
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