In a four poster, king size bed, a young lady in her late twenties lie sleeping, her mid-length auburn hair sprawled across the pillow like a bright shadow skimming across the horizon. She slept in peace, her eyes relaxed in their closed state while her mind created blissful, enchanting dreams of a man, unsettling in appearance with messy brown hair and eyes that were as blue and as piercing as arctic ice. Yet he seemed to possess a heart that was truly of gold. She lied in this everlasting dream savoring ever single moment, for Sophia LaFontaine knew even while she was awake that this man was the only one for her. The dream engulfing her conscience, she could almost feel the heavenly pressure on her lips and the warmth of his reassuring embrace. That is until she was awoken by a ray of light being shed on her face.
"Mistress, it's time to wake up."
Opening her eyes, Sophia was just barely able to catch a glimpse of the silhouette of a tall, lean man in a tuxedo walking across the room, away from the drapes he had drawn which adorned her large, wall length, double door windows. Understanding the importance of her attendance to her very busy schedule, Sophia sat up in her bed, prepared to address the day's itinerary. Once she had sat up completely, Sophia stretched her arms out, rapidly blinking her eyes so as to adjust them to the new light of the room. Turning to the direction of the man, now standing at the foot of her bed with a rolling cart at his side, she gave him a small nod, indicating to him that she was awake and ready for the daily routine. The man immediately indicated retrieval of this message by turning and preparing a small cup of tea on the cart he had stationed next to himself.
"For today's morning tea I have prepared for you a cup of Yorkshire Gold. I have prepared it for you using a Chinese porcelain tea set as you seem to have taken a liking to it over the past few years," he said, smiling all the while.
Sophia yawned as she placed her legs over the side of the bed. "Don't tease me Victor. You know that's been my favorite set even before I met you."
Victor placed the teapot down and walked over towards Sophia, bringing the cup of tea with him and chuckling as he did so. "Yes, I know. But nevertheless, you should know that consistencies can be dangerous. They reflect patterns upon you, and the last thing we want a predator to do is to see a pattern in his prey."
It was Sophia's turn to chuckle. "Calling other people predators now, eh? Last I checked there's one predator that protects me in the meantime," she said, her eyes half open, grinning at Victor.
He did not hesitate to grin with her. "Indeed there is, and you only need one to keep all of the other ones away. Right, my Lady?"
Now fully awake, Sophia glanced at Victor head on. Indeed with his long, shoulder length hair outlining his pale face and chocolate brown eyes, he did seem somewhat of a predator. Sophia's smile wavered.
"Mistress, is everything alright?" he asked, concern spreading across his face like a fire in a forest.
Giving herself a small shake so as to give herself the necessary mental rebound, she glanced back at Victor politely taking the cup of tea fro his outstretched arm and said, "I'm fine Victor. Why don't we get ready for the day and we can address my schedule for the day."
Victor smiled. "Very well my young mistress." He then proceeded to inform her of the breakfast options. "For this morning, I will have our chef prepare you -,"
Sophia raised her arm, cutting Victor off mid-sentence. When he appeared confused, Sophia smiled and said, "Victor, I understand you like to keep your composure professional however Selena and the others have been with us for a while. You can address them by name when around me. I know you do when you're talking directly to them."
Victor smiled and began again. "My apologies Miss. For this morning, I will have Selena prepare for you a tray of belgian waffles with chocolate syrup and our homemade whipped cream on the top. I shall ask her to accompany that with a glass of lemonade. As for a side dish, I can ask her to arrange a small fruit salad or a few breakfast sausages. Which would you prefer?"
"I'll take the fruit salad."
"Understood. I assume you can address your clothes yourself then?"
Sophia sighed and said, "Victor we have discussed before that I am an adult who can handle herself. I don't need you to baby me."
"Very well my Lady," Victor said, smiling as he turned to leave the room.
As he went into the hallway, Victor began walking back towards the manor's main kitchen. In order to do so, he needed to go to the end of the main hallway, down the main staircase, and into the service hall. As he walked down the main hallway and descended the main staircase, Victor glanced at each of the portraits lined on the walls of the manor. He smiled as he saw several portraits of Sophia, either in elaborate garments or in her more simple, yet still quite beautiful work dresses. However, he lost his smile when he saw the portrait at the head of the main staircase. It held Sophia like many of the other ones, but this one also included two children, a young boy and a teenage girl. Both of them were quite beautiful, and they really took after their mother however Victor nor anyone else would ever have the chance to meet them.
I don't know the peace of heaven, but I do hope it's treating them well at least.
Victor continued walking, focusing instead on the task at hand, Sophia's day plan. Once he got to the door of the kitchen, he opened it and stepped inside. As he did, he was greeted by the flawless white tiles on the walls, ceiling, and floor contrasted by the silver shine of the metal stove, oven, and tabletops and the black and metallic surfaces of the hundreds of pots, pans, and other various cooking utensils, lined up on the walls and in the cabinets. Victor also found a delightful aroma drifting through the air which appeared to be emanating from the waffle presses which were turned on and lying on top of the counter. And of course he could not miss the lady tending to these presses in her all white chef's uniform as she hummed a tune which he recognized as an excerpt from Mozart's Requiem. Selena was twenty eight years old, only one year older than Sophia, with short black hair and dark blue eyes. She was also only two inches over five feet and quite petite in her overall appearance. As for her work, she was quite the cook, able to whip up fabulous meals and courses with hardly any effort to which she even impressed Victor a bit.
As he approached her, she looked up at him and flashed him a big white smile. "Victor, the waffles are almost ready!"
"Very nice work Selena," he said, returning her smile. "Now I don't suppose you could fix a fruit salad to go along with the waffles?"
"No problem at all!" she exclaimed, running to the fruit cellar. "I'll have the salad done in ten minutes."
"Very good," Victor replied, satisfied with her progress, "I'll be back in that amount of time exactly. I must attend to check on the others in the meantime."
"Understood, sir!"
Victor then turned and walked towards the back end of the kitchen, intending to go outside using the kitchen door. However before he could reach the door, another lady, wearing a black maid's uniform with white laced ends and edges, burst out of the pantry shouting, "Selena! I found the chocolate you asked f-,"
She was stopped mid-sentence by running straight into Victor's chest, Victor was unmoved from her actions however the impact made her let go of the chocolate bar she was holding. As a result, it flew across the room, appearing to be heading towards the waffle presses. Fortunately, another lady, also wearing a maid's uniform, had come into the kitchen, and she was able to catch the bar with her one free hand. This girl was twenty four years old and five feet and eight inches tall. She had medium length dark brown hair along with dark green eyes and pale skin.
"Thank goodness," she muttered, "That could have been a disaster."
"Rebecca," Victor said staring down at the girl who had run into him, "How many times must I remind you not to run in the kitchen? It's dangerous."
"S-s-s-sorry!" Rebecca exclaimed, backing away from Victor. Rebecca was thin and very well muscularly toned, and she was also approximately five feet and eight inches. She was twenty four years old, and her long hair was a light brown while she had light green eyes and pale skin.
And she also was slightly attracted to Victor.
"i really was just trying to help Selena!" she exclaimed, trying to explain herself.
Victor sighed and said, "It's fine however I think she has this under control. You, on the other hand, should focus more on your own work. I believe you need to clean the windows and furniture in the main dining room."
"Yes sir!"
Victor turned and faced the other maid who had caught the chocolate bar. "Angelina, if you could help keep an eye on your sister, I would greatly appreciate that."
Angelina nodded, and beckoned for Rebecca to come with her.
As Rebecca rushed to the door to the service hall, Victor opened the door leading to the outside. He took in the bright sun and the beautiful flowers that were trimmed to ultimate precision in the bushed that were lined along the sides of the manor. He glanced around among all of the gorgeous gardening and architecture and saw another lady trimming one of the trees. Without hesitating, he walked over to her across the gravel path to talk with her.
"Good morning, Venetia," he said, smiling.
"Good morning, Victor," she replied, smiling at him while she climbed down from the ladder. Venetia was a blond with bright blue eyes, standing at five feet and six inches. She was thirty years old, and she loved gardening more than anything. As the manor's gardener, she wore dark brown pants and a light green shirt along with beige gardening gloves and occasional gray knee pads.
After she wiped her pants down, Victor reminded her of the situation he had discusses with the servants earlier. "Remember, the trees lined along the driveway must have white roses laced throughout them, and you must be prepared to greet these people."
"Very well, Victor. Is that all?"
"Yes, you may continue."
Venetia turned around to continue her work with the tree trimming, and Victor headed back into the manor. Once he got back inside, Victor walked past the pantry and went up to Selena who had stacked the waffles, covered them with freshly melted chocolate and whipped cream, and was finishing the fruit salad.
"Nicely done, Selena," Victor said.
"Why thank you very much, Victor!"
"Now if you'll excuse me," he said, placing the plates and the food onto a silver platter, "I must go to retrieve the Mistress. If you would, set the table in the dining hall and prepare this food in accordance with it."
"Yes sir!"
Within a few minutes Victor had left the kitchen and had made his way back up through the manor to Sophia's bedroom door. As he knocked on her door he heard a reply.
"Come in," Sophia called out.
As Victor entered the room he saw Sophia wearing a plain black, floor length dress with a single sash around her waist. It was so simple, yet it seemed to suit her quite well. She little makeup and plain high heels which also both seemed to suit her. Her auburn hair was in wavy curls behind her ears, accenting the beauty and thoughtfulness emanating from her gray eyes.
"You look quite beautiful this morning, my Lady," Victor said, bowing before her.
Sophia smiled. "Why thank you Victor! It's never unpleasant to receive a sincere compliment from you," she said with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Am I to assume you are prepared to proceed to the dining room for this morning's breakfast?" Victor asked, motioning towards the door.
"Indeed I am," Sophia replied, walking up to him.
As they walked down the hall to the dining room, Victor took Sophia's hand, guiding her along. Though one might usually infer this as a sign of possible intimacy between the servant and his mistress, Victor's unwavering professional composure would have been enough to convince anyone otherwise, and that this was nothing more than a polite gesture of courtesy from a man to a woman.
Their shadows lined perfectly on the pristine Spanish style walls and decoration. The architecture had been hand carved by an expert in his field, Antoni Gaudi. He had engraved angels and beautiful animals in the walls, as a sign of the protection and serenity that the manor he hoped would symbolize. The manor thought had seen many acts of cruelty and violence, some of which would haunt Sophia for the rest of her life. It was Victor who had helped her regain herself and move on after all of this. It was his influence that made these engravings seem truly angelic for the first time. His influence on Sophia had helped her bring light into the once darkened manor, and their shadows meant nothing in a place such as this.
Along their walk to the dining hall, Victor proceeded to inform Sophia of the day plan.
"As you requested, my Lady, we have a tutor who will be arriving today and every Thursday henceforth at one thirty in the afternoon for one hour in an attempt to help you improve your musical skills."
"I still feel a bit of irritation from the memory of when that Countess Morgana called me uneducated and uncivilized when she found out I couldn't play a single instrument..." Sophia grumbled in annoyance.
"Pardon my questioning mistress," Victor said, "But I don't believe the Countess Morgana can play an instrument either."
"No, but I do believe a proper Lady should have at least a basic knowledge of the fine arts," Sophia said, her pride becoming clear.
"Mistress," Victor said with concern, "First of all, your knowledge of art itself is astronomical."
"I understand," she replied sighing.
"And second of all, your lack of musical knowledge is not entirely your fault. Your original family background prevented you from learning in your youth, and I suppose my incompetence is to blame for your not learning in your current stature."
Sophia smiled at him. "Thank you Victor. That makes me feel better, but I seriously doubt that you can possess even a shred of incompetence."
"You flatter me, my Lady," Victor stated, regaining his original direction of conversation. "But anyways, back to business."
"Yes Victor," Sophia said, "Please inform me of the rest of my daily plan."
"The only other event which will affect you today, my Lady, is the small party we are having tonight. The guests will be arriving at approximately five thirty in the evening."
"Ah yes. If I recall, we are holding a dinner meeting for the board of directors tonight."
"It is more of a celebration with their official recognition of you as a member of the board with them."
"It is quite exciting to be considered among some of the most powerful people in all of England."
"My Lady, that means you have quite a reputation to uphold."
"Then we should show the board every single hospitality we can provide to them." She looked up at Victor and smiled. "Isn't that right Victor?"
He returned the smile with his own.
"Of course."
There was a slight pause in their conversation as they approached the dining hall. As Victor opened the door to the dining hall for Sophia, she began to wonder if the situation that night would invite an 'unwelcome guest' who might attempt to ruin her reputation or worse. So through her stress and worry, Sophia stopped, for she felt the need to ask Victor one last question before she decided to enter the room.
"Victor...," she began, concern weighing down on her.
"Sophia," he said, assurance laced throughout his voice.
As Sophia looked up into his eyes, she felt a feeling of comfort. Of compassion. Of trust. Even without his response, she could tell what he was going to say. As she turned her head away, she knew he was right.
He always was.
We show all of our guests the reputation for what we have claimed. That includes every hospitality for those who align with us and every punishment for those who dare to oppose us. That is our duty to ourselves and to her majesty.
As Sophia looked back at Victor one last time before she entered the room, she said, "I understand our situation." She paused before asking, "You will of course show all of our guests the reason we are considered one of the most powerful people in all of England, right? That is our responsibility after all."
Even if she had turned and walked away, his response would have still echoed in her head. It always did.
"Yes, my Lady."