Chapter 6
Slave.
From the Old French word esclave is defined via reliable internet sources as the condition of being legally owned or is a property of another person and has to work for said person. Origins of slaves are traced back since the ancient of times and has since then evolved through the years. Yes, through the years. If people think that slavery doesn't exist in the modern times then they're most probably ignorant because slavery still exists until today. The only difference now is that it's called differently, housemaid, house help, servant, interns, you, etc.
In the vampire world, slavery also exists. Especially among the elite bloodlines. Ever since the early history, these elite families have been buying slaves to work for them or provide blood whenever needed. Basically, these slaves are either indebted to the family or were slaves by birth. They also serve as live blood banks to the wealthy. Obviously, this means slaves back then are usually non-vampires who have made certain deals for a number of reasons and are holding their end of the bargain through an eternity of forced labour. And if anyone is wondering why the vampires aren't worried of the human slaves letting their secret out to the world well, any smart and sensible human certainly would never cross a being that could actually end your life before you can even say the word 'vampire'.
However, being a slave to a vampire sometimes isn't as bad as people think. Elites take importance to loyalty and if ever these slaves prove themselves worthy enough to earn the family's trust then they are ultimately rewarded. An example of which is owning property, earning their salary, salary which makes the ordinary human salary look like a school child's lunch money, becoming vampires themselves and even several lifetimes of support for them and their families.
So, that's basically everything there is to know about it.
Now if you want to ask more questions regarding the world of slavery then I guess it's better to forward your burning questions to Chloe Sofia Beale, a modern day slave to the heir of the Du Pont's high seat, Rebecca Olivia Mitchell Du Pont.
"So, it is true," Stacie mumbles with her mouth full as she chews on her snack, looking highly amused as she opens the door to an exasperated Chloe.
Sighing, the Vanderbilt doesn't say a word because she knows it's useless to even argue and just makes her way inside the manor. She heads directly up the grand staircase, passing by Jesse who looks up from his phone, eyeing her in surprise as he yells a "The world ended already? I still have lots to do! Parties to plan! A soulmate to find!" towards Stacie who yells back from below, "By soulmate, you mean you haven't looked at the mirror today yet?"
Their conversation ends with Jesse yelling back obscenities followed by threats then ending with something about giraffes and afterwards running down like his life depended on it when Stacie goes to throw away his, presumably, favourite pair of shoes out the door.
Shaking her head, Chloe continues towards the Du Pont she's indebted to. She passes by the lounge area in the upper floor where Stella and the twins are hanging out. The younger Conrad had her glasses on, a fact Chloe only knew now, as she read a book while the twins sat on both her sides throwing in comments—which are more distracting than helpful—about Confucius and his teachings.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it," Stella reads out loud, an eyebrow arching up as she looks at her cousins, most likely waiting for their unbelievable explanations.
"Oh, oh I know this!" Nate instantly dives in, eyes wide and body shifting into a position that reminds Chloe of a child explaining his favourite cartoon characters.
"It means if you wake up with someone you fucked last night and they feel like cooking you breakfast, doing all those vanilla stuff with you without a care about your morning breath or your swollen morning tomato face then fucking marry them," he describes passionately, arms flailing around to drive his point.
"Yeah, marry the fuck out of them and make babies 'cause you know that shit's for real, man," Nick adds before hi-fiving with his brother while Stella looks from one twin to the other as if they are aliens and shaking her head in disbelief.
When Chloe's presence is finally felt the three suddenly go quiet. Eyes, filled with incredulity and surprise, focusing on her. And Chloe should've known that this is her cue to hurry up her pace and find Beca fast because—
"You see that specie, Stella?" Nate asks while putting an arm around the younger Du Pont and pointing at Chloe who narrows her eyes at him. "That's a Vanderbilt. Their scientific name is Arrogantus Selfishisus Uptightus Braticus," he continues as if hosting some documentary show about animals.
"Their habitat is the one place in earth that you don't want to go," Nick joins in, dramatically motioning in the air as if they were overlooking some jungle. "It's filled with the stench of shart and bloodline racism,"
"They get pissed and all red faced when poked and prodded so do poke and prod whenever you encounter one. Also, bear in mind, they will bite you from the back when you least expect it so don't ever turn your back in front of one. Lastly, it's best to do the poking and prodding right in front of their faces with a stick," Nate adds in as he reaches for a ruler and points it towards Chloe like he is in a fencing match along with some 'shooing' noises like she were a stray cat that had accidentally wandered in the house.
"That's funny, do you get awards for that? Clown of the year, I bet," she retorts, tone venomous and eyes looking at him with disgust. It irritates her more when he smiles with amusement instead.
"Ooh, heard that? Clown of the year," he smirks, lowering the ruler to look over at his twin brother, Nick, who lets out slow claps mockingly.
"Sarcasm suits you well, Chlo Bear. Some of our awesomeness must've rubbed off on you last time. You almost sound like a Du Pont. I'm so proud. This is an accomplishment. It's our goal to spread the Du Pont virus in the whole world," Nick adds, looking at her in fascination, his eyebrows arching.
Chloe would love nothing more at the moment than hang them upside down like those things in children's birthday parties to grab at with as they go up and down.
Thankfully, before she could do anything she'd regret, the door to her right opens and out comes Emily, looking wide-eyed at Chloe then at her sniggering twin cousins.
"Beca's in her room," she suddenly blurts out, motioning over to the door at the far end and that snaps Chloe from jumping into a war of words with the monkeys.
Clearing her throat and glancing at the young doe-eyed Du Pont, Chloe lets out a small smile. "Thanks, Emily," she says softly before walking off with purpose. She doesn't forget to throw an icy side glare towards the twins as she passes by, her annoyance clearly seeping through that one brief motion.
Finally, she reaches the door, ready to be the most obnoxious slave in the history of slaves for her great master. The thought almost washes away the anger of being mocked by the Swanson brothers earlier. Oh she will surely get her revenge and she is going to do it by ruining all of Beca's peaceful nights. Two can play this game and Chloe has all the motivation to win. The goal is to have the Du Pont heir kicking her out of the house before the end of the week just because she won't be able to handle all her crazy and finally, Chloe will get to win over that smirking little witch who thinks she is so irresistible to every—
Oh.
The moment she barges in her eyes connect with smooth bare legs that anyone would love to run their hands through, well-toned abs—which is certainly not the reason for Chloe's jaw relaxing and dropping, soft curves in all the right places, places which one should take time to be acquainted with and those really perfect swell of breas—
Holy mother of—!
"God! I-I'm so sorry! I just—I didn't know—I'm so sorry. I should've knocked," Chloe stammers, her hands coming up to cover the sight in front of her as she quickly averts her eyes upwards and turns around in a flash. Her cheeks are quick to turn a deep shade of pink while the room suddenly feels like a sauna, one without the mist and smoke.
It doesn't even help that the only thing that keeps popping in her mind was the image of Beca standing beside the bed, hair in a slightly dishevelled mess, wearing a black lacy underwear underneath her open—barely even there—red silk bathrobe, the soft clothing hung around her shoulders with one side already slipping down her elbows.
Those awkward seconds start to pass and Chloe feels like running away, far away from this embarrassment, "I-I'll just go wait outside," she coughs out and moves back to the open door only to be beaten to it with Beca already reaching out to close it.
"No need for that," the brunette drowsily dismisses and Chloe catches the huskiness of her voice that sends lots of weird feelings inside of her. Beca clearly didn't look like she had left her room and Chloe wonders if she too has intentionally skipped classes. Her thoughts cut short however when she feels Beca standing next to her which is again making her feel all these sorts of foreign things.
What is wrong with me?
Her mind short-circuits and she might as well pass out from the close proximity right then and there if Beca hadn't moved away after a couple of moments. Chloe doesn't even realize that she had been holding her breath nor that the Du Pont had actually reached out to get the bottle of red wine behind her, one which Chloe recognizes. It's French—of course—and very expensive.
"Want some?" Beca asks and Chloe looks at her dumbfounded for a couple of seconds. When the brunette lifts up the bottle of wine only then does Chloe understand the question.
"No thanks. I uhm don't drink this early," she says distractedly as she tries to find interest in the interior and not at the unabashedly display of skin while owner of said skin just hums, looking like she'd already figured that she'd decline before pouring wine for herself to drink.
The Du Pont saunters back towards the side of her bed which was huge for one person, although the thick dark sheets looked comfortable to snuggle up in. With her back towards Chloe, Beca places down her drink on her bed side table and ties up her bathrobe—so Chloe's breathing can go back to normal.
At this point, Chloe finds it surprising that the usually sarcastic brunette wasn't being, well, sarcastic or acting like her cousins were to her earlier. It was also noticeable that Beca's face was bare and honestly, she looks prettier without all those thick eye make-up and dark red lip stick. She might as well be an adorable puppy with the way she yawns and rubs her eyes.
"You're early. Too eager to serve, I see," Beca comments before taking a sip from her wine, ocean blues looking at her teasingly.
And there it is.
Of course, the witch finally awakes and she lives to ruin Chloe's life. Thankfully, this snaps Chloe out from her absurd thoughts earlier. Who was she kidding? With make-up or without, night or day, dressed or undressed, Beca would never fail to make her blood boil.
Rummaging through her bag, Chloe takes out her phone, lifting it up and eyeing the Du Pont darkly. "Exactly how many people have you given my number to?" she asks, eyes following every move Beca makes as the Du Pont walks over to the opposite side of the bed and comfortably sits down on the sofa, grabbing her phone to idly check on her notifications.
"A few people," Beca breathes out without even looking back up at her.
Chloe takes a deep breath, trying to gather her patience while she cautiously walks closer to the Du Pont until she is standing in front of her.
"It's not like I'm complaining but," she pauses, exhaling loudly as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. "Look, I can answer every call you'd throw my way but it seems like you've forgotten that we had a deal to keep this, this arrangement, you know, a secret?" Chloe says, trying to quell down the irritation in her voice as she stares down at Beca who didn't even appear to be listening to her.
"Uh, huh," Beca mumbles, her fingers sliding up her phone as she scrolls through what seems like Instagram photos of different women. Specifically, women looking at the camera seductively, women clad in bikinis at the pool or the beach, women posing in for cute selfies, throwing winks and pouty, kissy faces that makes Chloe want to flip a table or break a phone.
If there is one thing in the world she hates the most it's being ignored, especially when she's trying to point out a very important issue. And maybe admittedly it has also to do with the fact that she's been the center of attention from the time she was born, doted upon as a child by everyone, the bright eyed princess of the Vanderbilt household. Moreover, she's part of the prestigious organization, namely the Victor Barden's Nox Theatre Troupe and co-founder of the Pure Heart foundation which helps underprivileged children through music. She's also an affiliate of È più forte l'amore, another non-profit organization that stands against bullying and harassment amongst teens. In short, Chloe's voice has rung through large opera houses and auditoriums, using singing and speaking as an instrument to spread kindness. Every time she belts out a note or speaks on a podium in front of the public, people always listened. She never babbled nonsense and besides, it was just the polite thing to do whenever someone is talking.
She can't stress this enough.
Sometimes, she just wishes people would learn to listen then maybe… they can hear that subtle cry for help of those who are falling and drowning.
"What the… fuck?" Beca's deep tone of disbelief as her eyes look up to meet Chloe's, the Du Pont's phone right in the palm of her hand after it had been harshly snatched.
Beca's really scary when she's about to get angry, Chloe had almost gotten acquainted with that dark side of the brunette's. Almost. She knows pissing Beca off is something she doesn't want to do. But this is honestly the only way to catch the Du Pont's attention.
"You need to stop giving people my number. We had a deal," she slowly emphasizes each word clearly. "It won't take long until your happy hour buddies recognize my voice and start gossiping, yes gossiping, the reason why I entered this deal in the first place, a deal which by the way, includes keeping this whole arrangement a secret!" Chloe says, chest heaving as she gestures at the space between them.
Silence hangs over them both as bright blue and deep blue connect in the midst of it all.
Chloe doesn't immediately think of the consequences until a red warning light flashes in her head so she simmers down, visibly uncomfortable at the current situation.
"We had a deal. It's not just any deal, it's a blood contract. Maybe for you it doesn't but this means everything to me. So, please… please, at least, pretend to be serious about this," she says softly, her voice almost pleadingly.
Beca stands up to level her gaze and Chloe tries not to flinch but when the Du Pont takes one step closer, she instinctively takes one small step back, the back of her knee hitting the coffee table behind her. Beca takes another step, crossing the line between personal space and comfortable distance. Chloe's trapped.
"Those three… happy hour buddies of mine will never guess that it's you," Beca begins, her voice deep, slow and condescending. "It's the last thing anyone would even think of," she steps even closer and Chloe's body freezes, unable to even think clearly.
"Your doubts are quite… offending. A little patience wouldn't hurt now, would it?" Beca tauntingly says as she reaches towards her, gently taking a few strands of Chloe's hair by her fingers, running it smoothly against her thumb and forefinger.
In that moment, time slows down, the noise fades in a distance to be replaced by that soothing voice and only a deep sea of calming blue is all she can see. She feels like drowning in it. It's so, so… mesmerizing. She doesn't even make sense of the words being said anymore, not when it's this deep and alluring. "I must say, this behaviour is very unacceptable, slave. It deserves punishment," Chloe's red locks slip in between her fingers and in a smooth motion, she takes the phone from Chloe's hand. Only then does she step away.
Only then does Chloe exhale shakily in relief.
"But that's understandable. For someone who has never been in such position. I'm going to let this one pass for now. After all, the first time always sucks," Beca continues, her tone settling back to normal before sipping on her wine. "I did call you here for a reason. However, you're here early than expected and none of that is my fault so you'll have to learn how to wait and shut up. That's what slaves do, in case you didn't know," there's sarcasm in it and it breaks the daze she was in.
What just… happened?
Chloe turns around to face the Du Pont who settles her glass down one of the wooden display cabinets as she types down something on her phone and hits send. "But," Beca finally looks back at her this time. "If this insolence happens again, there will surely be consequences and this time I won't be kind," she says with an air of menace in her words. She then turns away, heading off to what seems to be her bathroom, untying her bathrobe and sliding it off her down the floor as she does.
Chloe's heart continues to beat loudly in her chest as she places a hand to hopefully calm it down. She sits down on the sofa where Beca sat earlier and sighs.
She's so screwed.
Chloe does find herself as the center of attention but the thing is, she'd rather be hidden in the dark if said attention belongs to all the Du Ponts. After half an hour waiting for Beca to shower and dress up, she follows the brunette—quietly—down the kitchen where the rest of the Du Ponts were. At first it seemed weird that they all decided to hang out in the kitchen until it became clear that they were all actually waiting for Beca. As soon as the Du Pont heir sat on one of the stools in the kitchen's center aisle at the very end, they all had their full attention towards her. Meanwhile, Chloe stands awkwardly behind her, unsure where to even place herself.
"Nick," Beca calls out as she inspects her nails. It sounds more like he'd been ordered to do something and she's expecting results.
Chloe hears a heavy sigh coming from the Swanson as she looks at him trudging from one of the kitchen counters to the center aisle to sit on the side. In his hands, a laptop which he opens. His twin brother joins him a second later, plopping down wearily next to him and bearing the same defeated look. Nate then turns to Beca, showing her what seems to be like his pouty puppy face.
"Do we really have to?" he asks in a softer voice, almost like a strangled whisper while he fidgets uncomfortably in his seat like he was being coerced into something he absolutely hates. Stacie who was cooking from behind rolls her eyes before shaking her head towards the twins while Jesse who was leaning next to the fridge looks like he's holding back a laugh with how wide his smile was. It certainly is telling that this hasn't been the first time the two mischievous Casanovas had been put on the hot seat for something like this.
Beca's answer comes in the form of a dead cold look his way, making him quickly avert his eyes down to his feet with a sigh. It's only then does Chloe notice how strong Beca's power of authority is in the Du Pont house. It was actually such a weird thing to witness. Beca's never one to display her authority in public. From what Chloe observed, the brunette always hangs out in the back to dose off, letting her cousins do whatever they like and not caring about all the crazies they were attempting to do. When asked all she'd do is just shrug and put up her headphones, entering a world of her own. Sometimes, Chloe would even spot the Du Pont heir being dragged reluctantly by her cousins to some party where she'd make a beeline for the beer bottles and make out with the first person she'd find interesting.
Or maybe she just didn't realize that Beca's style of leadership was far from Tom's. There's freedom in it and despite her lack of strict rules it is clear that all of them had such deep respect for her. She didn't have to pull out the leader card or address herself as the heir. Beca just has that effect, that strong force to be respected and followed.
"Done," Nick sluggishly says before turning the laptop around towards them. Chloe instantly perks up at what she sees. The video that is currently ruining Tom's reputation has just been deleted.
Finally. It's a small step and there are lots more to fix but it's a good start.
The twins both sigh for the hundredth time as Chloe's gaze fixes on Beca's back. The Du Pont heir waves off both Nick and Nate with a quick gesture from her fingers and soon enough it's as if nothing happened. The cousins were back to their playful selves again, cracking dirty jokes earning groans of complaint from both young ones. Stacie goes back to cooking while Jesse helplessly endures some teasing from his brothers about his choice of women. Eventually, all of the Du Ponts make their way to the center aisle, automatically grabbing a chair to sit down and eat.
"I want pancakes,"
Chloe snaps out from her thoughts as she realizes that Beca was talking to her or more like, ordering something from her.
So, she ends up making pancakes, mixing the batter aggressively, throwing in all her anger in it.
"Can she make me pancakes too?" Nate abruptly asks, mouth full of omelettes and bacon, the one Stacie is proud of making, his question directed towards Beca who without looking up from her phone answers back a flat, "No,"
"Can she clean my room?" Nick asks this time but also gets slammed by another flat, "No,"
Now Chloe is doubting whether or not it was even a good idea to have the whole Du Pont household knowing about this little deal between her and the evil queen of Mount Gloom and Doom.
"Can we at least use her to clean the pool?" this one coming from Stacie and Chloe almost drops the pancake she is making when after a worrying pause Beca finally answers an, "I'll think about it,"
Breathe, Chloe, breathe, inhale then exhale. 1, 2, 3…
"I want a slave too," Jesse whines out loud. "Can't I borrow her for like a couple of hours? I'd like to have my shoes shined," he says afterwards and Chloe thankfully had enough control not to throw a spatula their way. It's already annoying how they are talking about her like she's not even standing only a couple of steps away from them.
Why couldn't these Du Ponts just sit in their grand dining area and leave her to herself instead of crowding the kitchen aisle like a bunch of eight year olds again?
"No," Beca thankfully replies and Chloe lets out silent sighs of relief before walking towards the Du Pont with a plate full of pancakes. She lays it in front of Beca who pauses for a moment from browsing on her phone to look at the blueberry topped, icing sugar dusted and maple syrup drizzled dish like a skeptical MasterChef judge. Only then does it also occur to her that Beca never really told her what kind of pancake she wanted and now Chloe is worried that the Du Pont would have her throw it away—her precious efforts—and make a new batch. It was purely instinct for her to make them that way. It was honestly how Chloe… remembered it.
"Becs!"
"Chlo? But aren't you supposed to be—"
"Shh! Keep it down! I got you something,"
"You did? I—Oh! Pancake!"
"They're not just pancakes, they're blueberry pancakes. Your favourite!"
"You… made these for me?"
"Yup! Well, when you said that you missed those pancakes your mother used to make I raided our kitchen and made them. I did have help though. Told them I was craving for it so—woah! And here I thought you hated hugging. Uhh… Becs, a-are you crying?"
"You remembered… It's just… I was having the worst day. Thank you, Chloe. Thank you for being here, for being... you. You're… all I have and I guess… that's all I really need—
"Sit down," Beca's voice snaps her back to reality and Chloe feels like she fell down the ground from a 50 storey building. When she comes to, she finds an empty seat next to the Du Pont heir and an extra plate of pancakes. When she sits down in a rather, uncertain manner, Emily who sat across Chloe, on Beca's right, passes her the omelettes while Jesse keeps everyone's attention with his party ideas for Emily's upcoming birthday. Everyone quickly offers suggestions, ranging from wild to insane, whilst the young Du Pont starts to decline each one of said suggestions. It's also noticeable—shockingly noticeable actually—how, for a brief, almost a subtle, moment, Beca lovingly pats Emily on the head, her arm sliding lazily to drape around the younger brunette, and tells her to just do whatever she desires before eating a forkful of pancakes like nothing happened.
Chloe's blueberry pancakes.
The action sends Chloe slowly threading through nostalgic feelings she tried hard to ignore. When she takes a bite from her own plate, she can't help but glance back at the Du Pont heir, eyes already cast down to her phone like she deemed the conversation boring and childish. It's easy to label Beca as uncaring when she looks like she chooses to ignore the rest of the world but it must be a common mistake. What one does not easily notice is the way the brunette's lips twitch ever so lightly, eyebrows arching at some moments and eyes momentarily glancing around at her family with every joke they crack and laugh about.
It almost makes her believe that Beca doesn't really ignore the world. She actually listens. That maybe, she actually… cares and Chloe can't help but wonder more about the aloof and cold heir. Beca obviously still likes blueberry pancakes and music. It just makes her want to know more. About whether Beca has… really changed deep down or not. If that little girl is still alive inside, hidden under layers and layers of walls, protected from any more of the pain.
Was that hope she feels? Did she really just—
Shaking off those thoughts completely, Chloe looks at the noisy table filled with laughter and never-ending banter between the Du Ponts. It was so different. So strange. So… warm.
"Has somebody told you yet?" Scott's voice greets Chloe as she arrives home and when she only stares back at him clueless, he points at his iPad. "The video's gone, the one with Tom," he explains as Chloe moves to pass by trying to pull out her best impression of surprise.
"Really? That's great!" she nods, barely even glancing back at him as she makes her way to her room.
"Have you told Tom about it? He's not back yet," Scott replies as Chloe's steps slow down, turning to glance back at her cousin briefly before focusing her eyes somewhere else.
"I," she pauses suddenly realizing something. "Actually haven't talked to him yet," she slowly says. "I guess I'll just wait for him in his room after I change," Scott nods in understanding. After all, it's Chloe that should tell Tom first.
She moves to continue her way to her room but her cousin's words make her stop.
"You smell like pancakes. Blueberry,"
Chloe's heart almost drops but she catches it just in time. Nodding, she answers easily, "Yeah, I was craving some earlier so I stopped by the café for some,"
He stares intensely and curiously at her for a while that Chloe almost thinks he has it all figured out. After a few tense moments however, he does a quick nod and answers back.
"I see, actually Aubrey bought some sliders a while ago, guess I'll take your share then," he says with a small smile on his face.
"Oh no-uh, no way I'm passing up on that," she quips. "Don't you dare touch my share, Scotty!" she warns, half-joking as he shakes his head with a smile and walks back to his room, finally leaving Chloe.
When silence resumes across the whole manor, Chloe swiftly changes into more comfortable clothes, ones that don't smell like pancake or omelettes before entering Tom's study. When he arrives an hour later, she hugs him, tightly, almost clinging. He stumbles back in surprise but nevertheless, places his arms around her waist. She looks up at his face for a long moment and when he lets out a confused, "What?" she simply shakes her head and forces a wide smile on her lips. Pushing down the unexplained heaviness she feels bothering inside of her, she gives him a quick kiss, once, twice, thrice.
It's guilt, right?
It's probably because she had to lie.
It's not because there's this feeling like something was missing, something she had felt earlier that dismembered all her thoughts, engulfed her lungs, and twisted her insides, something she is currently trying to feel once more.
No. It's definitely not that.
I've warned you about this, Chloe.
A/N:
Hello. Well, uhm, I guess I have to start by explaining why I didn't update last week. And it's because I... was learning how to play the guitar and my... precious fingers weren't in the best condition, thus, I couldn't really type anything for days so yeah... BUT I can play a song now though! ;)
But anyways, finally, here's an update!
Comiiksde: Aww. Thank you, you adorable muffin.
RJRMovieFan: Oh, but Chloe doesn't exactly have memory loss. She just chooses not to dwell or even allow herself to remember that particular memory 7, 8 years ago. Reason? We will find out soon~
Kasia143: Nice guess. Is it the right guess though? Only time will tell~
Sa0621: U-Uh I... uhm... won't break... your heart... uhhh... trust me... ? *wink wink*
Parziwolf: What? B-But I thought I made it clear! The blood and the night classes! Ohh boy. I forgive you though, wolf. Also, I'm feeling fine, no more sickness! :) :) :)
Thanks for reading! Will update next week, I promise!
