Early that bright and sunny morning Cecee was going down the stairs to the kitchen to make breakfast for her Mistress when she heard The Mistress yell. Cecee was always a very dedicated and hard working elf that truly cared about her family, so she popped herself over to the master's room where she had heard the noise coming from. Ceecee stood outside the door, her hands twisting the hem of her little dress as she listened to her new Mistress yelling and sounding quite distressed. Cecee knew that to go barging into the room of the Master and Mistress was grounds for big trouble but she just couldn't stand there and listen while her Mistress was being hurt! Mistress was being hurt! who knows what was hurting her ? After standing in front of the door for a few more minutes, Cecee made up her mind. Mistress's cries were more frantic now and sounding desperate! Cecee took a deep breath, gathered up her courage and popped into the bedroom, prepared to do battle to save her new Mistress from whatever danger she was facing! "Mistress! Cecee has comes tos saves you!" She yelled as she popped into the middle of the room, simultaneously throwing an intricate web of magic to wrap around a man that was holding Mistress pinned to the bed! The magic wrapped tightly around the man, immobilizing him and yanking him away from Mistress, bodily throwing him up against the far wall and holding him there. New Mistress looked up with a confused expression for a moment. The confusion that quickly went to surprise, then comprehension and lastly to anger. Her head swung to look at Cecee and she glared. Her voice was like ice when she said "release him this instant!" Cecee withdrew the magic holding the man and he collapsed onto the floor in a rather undignified heap. He slowly stood up, his lean naked body moving like a stalking lion as he took the few steps across the room to where Cecee was standing, the color draining from her face as she realized the mistake she had made. No one has been attacking her Mistress! Mistress obviously wanted that man to be there with her! But it wasn't Master! Ceecee's teeth began chattering from shaking so hard as she began to comprehend the situation. She risked a glance at Mistress and instantly wished she wouldn't have. She looked up at the man -the stranger!- who was towering over her like a thunderstorm about to break loose. His dark eyes held a question as he looked over to Mistress. "Well?" Was all he said. Mistress looked worried and even a bit frightened as she held the man's gaze. After a moment a cunning expression crossed her face. "It was you the elf attacked Reese" she said to him. 'The elf?' Cecee could not believe what she was hearing! Her beloved Mistress calling her 'the elf' and accusing Cecee of attacking the man? ''Mistress, Cecee was protecting youse thinking youse was being hurts from all the screamings you was makings! Cecee nots means to do wrong!
Was only protecting youse if youse was in dangers! Very sorry Mistress! Youse knows Cecee loves youse! Please forgive Cecee and let hers goes to the kitchen and puts hers hands on the stove fires for displeasing youse and youse friends." Cecee pleaded with her Mistress. The man looked at Cecee and then back to the naked woman standing there "Do you trust it to keep its mouth shut?" He asked indicating Cecee with a wave of his hand. "This could cause a lot of trouble, you know". "Yes Reese, I am well aware of that!" She snapped at him. She stood still for a moment and then she spun towards the closet and stormed over to it, throwing the door open with a crash. Reaching inside she grabbed a shirt o the rack and then took it with her over to the bed. She grabbed her wand o the nightstand and at that moment Cecee's blood ran cold. "Mistress NO! PLEASE NO! NOT DOES THIS TO YOUSE POOR CECEE! PLEASE MISTRESS, DO NOT GIVE CECEE CLOTHES! CECEE LOVES YOUSE AN WONT KNOWWHATS TO DOS IF NOTS TAKES CARES OF THE FAMILY! PLEASE MISTRESS, CECEE DID NOT MEANS TO HURTS YOUSE FRIEND! PROTECTING YOUSE WAS ALL CECEE DID! THOUGHTS YOUSE WAS IN DANGERS! FORGIVES CECEE PLEASE!" She cried and dropped to her knees, crawling towards her Mistress, begging her to stop and let Cecee stay with her family and continue to serve them as she always had done. Cecee laid on the floor at her Mistress' feet, groveling for forgiveness, barely able to see through the tears pouring down her face. She felt something soft land on her back and she jumped away as if she was burned by the soft cloth. The shirt had been transfigured into a pretty little dress with lace on the collar and the hem. To Cecee it was the most horrible thing she had ever seen, the embodiment of her disgrace and shame. The dress that made Ceecee a free elf! Dimly through her tears she heard Mistress telling her to pick up the dress and put it on. Heard the soul crushing words coming from her Mistress, telling her to remove her tea towel toga with the family sigil embroidered on it. Embroidery that Ceecee herself had done. Telling her to change into her clothes and leave at once! Telling her to never return to her home. Breaking her heart into a million tiny pieces. As though it was the hardest thing she had ever done Cecee slowly reached her trembling hand out to pick up the dress. As soon as she touched it she felt a dizzy sensation sweep through her. Her head spun in a sickening manner reminding Cecee of the vortex created when the water drained out of the tub. It was the magic of The Bond and it was breaking. It was swirling around inside her as it drained away, just like the water out of a tub. Cecee felt sick and could feel herself growing weaker. She thought that maybe her life was draining away and after a moments' thought decided she didn't care. What is a House Elf that belonged to no
house? What was she without her family to care for? She laid on the floor at her Mistress' feet, too weak to move since touching the dress. She felt magic moving around her and her tea towel disappeared and the soul sucking dress was on her instead. Ceecee wanted to vomit at the feel of the heinous thing wrapping around her body. After another minute when Ceecee was sure the very last of her life was draining out of her, she felt an odd tension in her stomach and then it felt as though every bone in her body snapped all at once. She screamed in agony. And then she felt nothing. The pain was gone, the weakness was gone, the vertigo and nausea had disappeared. She sat up slowly, looking around like she had never seen this place before. Everything looked di erent to her. She was confused and out of habit, she looked up at her Mistress for guidance, for instructions and for reassurance. She barely recognized this cruel looking woman standing there naked in front of her. Surely this is not what her beloved Mistress had always looked like, was it? Cecee was seeing a cold looking woman with even colder eyes, thin lips curled in disgust as she stood staring down at Cecee. "Well The Bond is severed now. Leave." She said in an icy tone. "What are you waiting for? Go! Get out of here!" The woman made swishing motions with her hands. Cecee stared in disbelief. Was this horrible woman the true version of whom Cecee had spent the last year serving since she had married Master? Did The Bond cloud the minds of the elfs bonded to a witch or wizard and keep the elf from seeing the ugliness of their owners? Cecee didn't know what to think. "But where is Cecee to goes to?" She asked in a faint voice. "Cecee is nots having any places to goes to" her voice almost a whisper. "That is not my problem. It's your problem, you figure it out, but get out of here now! Go sell yourself down Knockturn Alley for all I care! I hear the Hags are usually looking for elves for potions ingredients or maybe one of the breeders will take you in." Cecee's disbelief grew as she listened to Mistress say such unkind words to her. Cecee had adored her Mistress and was devoted to her! The only reason all this was happening was because Cecee had been scared her Mistress was being hurt and she had gone to protect her! And now Mistress was going to throw her out into the street without a second thought! With no care of where she would go or what would happen to her, even telling her to go to The Hags and let herself be sold for potion ingredients or to a breeder? One of those wicked individuals that prayed on elves that were homeless or hurt, damaged or abandoned or lost. The breeders prayed upon them, caught them and kept them in terrible conditions, abusing them with no thought for their health or well-being and not a shred of kindness. Typically using them up until they were worthless and then throwing their bodies into the trash. That was all
the care and concern that her mistress had for her? Cecee could not even believe what she was hearing! She had loved her Mistress so dearly and was so devoted to her. She did her very, very, best every day to please her and make her happy. It broke her heart to see how very little she had meant to her Mistress. She slowly got to her feet, moving like she was 200 years old and not only just turned twenty. She used the hem of the despicable dress to dry the tears from her face although she could not remove the haunted look of loss and betrayal in her eyes. She stood up straight and looked at Mistress. "Youse is knowings that it is the most serious of the businesses of the House Elf to keeps theys Master's and Mistress' secrets and theys silence. Cecee would nevers haves told anyone evers that youse was beings here with a mans that was nots the Master. Never. Because Cecee has always been a good elf and good elfs keeps theys' silences with the secrets of theys' family. And theys' family is supposed to bes lovings and caring for theys' elfs that is parts of theys' family. That is hows the wizards an witches an elfs is supposed to lives. Buts youse is not beings right the way youse is treating Cecee, nots at all. An because youse is nots beings rights with Cecee, Cecee will nots bes rights with youse. I is nots youse elf anymoreses an now Cecee is nots bound by the ways things is supposed to bes." She paused for a moment, watching as the tables turned and it was Mistress standing there with the color draining from her face, realizing what Cecee's words were implying. "Wait! You can come back home Cecee! You can be our elf again! Come back to your family. You know we love you Cecee! I was angry, forget this happened and come back to us. We need you. You're our elf for our family. Don't go Cecee." Mistress spoke quickly trying to turn the situation back around to being in her favor. She held out the tea towel toga dress with the embroidered sigil, imploring Cecee to take it. "Here, your dress. It has the sigil on it . The sigil of the House. Of our house." Cecee almost gave in when she saw Mistress holding that dress out to her, inviting her to come back home. Cecee shook her head, as much to clear it as to refuse the o er. Just a minute ago this woman was telling Cecee to go sacrifice herself to The Hags or the breeders, to get out and solve her own problems. Whatever the magic of The Bond had done to obscure the truth from Cecee, it was not there now and Cecee was not going to believe anyone that said such horrible things to her. Her heart may have been broken but she was not a stupid elf, no she was not! "Cecee will bes goings now." Cecee said, "goings right nows and sees the Master, yes Cecee will and best tellings Master what's his wife bes doings durings the daystimes when he is doing the workings and why Cecee won't bes makings the dinners tonight for hims when he comes homes…. because Cecee is a free
elf now!" Her ex-mistress looked horrified before her face twisted into a look of hatred. At the same moment her wand came up and shot a blast of magic at Cecee. Cecee popped out of the room a split second before the blast would have struck her. The woman screamed in frustration and fell to the floor. Cecee popped into Master's o ce. The pain in her heart to be leaving her beloved Master was made worse by having to tell him of the treachery of his wife and her own status as a free elf. She hated to see the look on his face as he listened to the events of the morning. As soon as she had finished telling him the story, she sent a brief bit of her magic to wrap her Master in a hug, sharing and expressing to him the love she had always held for her dear Master that she had served for so many years. After sharing that bit of her magic with him, eyes glistening with barely contained tears, she gave him a sad smile. "Cecee loves youse" she said quietly as she turned away from the grief stricken man. She took a deep breath, forced a brave smile onto her face and then she was ready to pop away into her new life. Wherever that might be.