I do not own RWBY or anything featured in this fanfic. Writing tips appreciated.
Gentle rays of the August sun were falling through one of the kitchen windows, illuminating the room.
Chris was sitting in a chair in the corner of the kitchen reading once again the cookbook he had been given by Madame.
He was tasked with keeping it in the best possible condition because every day, several times a day, she would choose from it the dishes he was to prepare for her and if he learned its contents by heart it would be easier for him.
The dish she chooses must of course be done perfectly because imperfection is worth a beating.
Thanks to his "helper" in his head who is not very keen on answering questions he thinks about but is fortunately very keen on giving the exact proportions of the ingredients and suggesting what to add to further improve the taste of the dish, he prepares it perfectly.
Or so he thought because time and again, despite eating every last crumb, Madame wrote off the dish he prepared as not reaching the required level she had set.
When Chris prepared a dish chosen by her again, which this time Madame wrote down in her notebook as almost perfect but still not what she expected, Chris understood that whether something is perfect or not depends solely on her whims and he can do nothing about it except to receive the punishment for his imperfections at the end of the day in silence.
The imperfections that Chris gets punished for are the uneven gait that she observed, the bow that he made was insufficient, the dish that he prepared was almost perfect but still lacked something, the way he addressed her was imperfect, etc.
But this only happened from time to time when Madame was bored or had a whim to whip her servant just a little bit.
It was much worse at the very beginning when Madame took it upon herself to train him how to walk, talk, behave and bow. She of course expected perfection on the first try and punished him for every single mistake.
At first she had planned to use the shock collar once or twice for each poorly executed bow or uneven step, but he had made so many mistakes by the end of the first day that if she wanted to go ahead with the idea it would use up a month's supply of lightning dust crystals, so she decided a whip would be a better option.
She took out a notebook and wrote down each mistake he made, informing her servant that each mistake would be worth two lashes at the end of the day.
The first week of training was awful, he made one mistake after another and Madame meticulously wrote down every single one of them so that she could flog him in the evening.
Madame claimed that the scars on his back would remind him of the price of his imperfections and that hurting her most precious possession which was him came to her with great regret.
But one time when Madame gave him his "deserved" punishment Chris turned his head to look at her only to noticed a sadistic smile on her face that said something completely different.
He almost lost his left eye because when she noticed he was looking at her she swung the whip at the left side of his head cutting his cheek and roaring that he had no right to look at her while she was punishing him.
After two months of this, his back looked more like a smoked ham from a cookbook picture than his back but at least he had a better pain tolerance.
In theory, Chris could have used his regenerative ability and healed his wounds before they turned into scars, but he was afraid that if Madame noticed the lack of scars, she would start hurting him more.
That and the fact that being locked in a cage and wearing a shock collar around his neck which, if Madame's words are to be believed, would fry him alive if he left the precincts of the manor made his sanity dwindle more and more day by day so he had to focus on sustaining it.
What good is smooth skin and an unwounded body when his mind would be broken?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell signaling that Madame needed him or, judging by the time, that she had finished lunch.
Chris closed his book and stood up to collect the plates from the dining room table. Entering the room he bowed and began to collect the plates and cups from her meal.
"I must admit that you are getting better at cooking. Today's lunch was exceptionally good, I knew that my teaching methods were the best." she said wiping her mouth with a tissue.
"Bullshit, I prepared today's dish exactly like the first time, you just like hurting me." He thought to himself.
"Your break is over so when you finish washing the dishes you have to do the rest of the tasks on the list and in the evening around 6pm we will resume violin lessons so you have to do everything by then. If you finish earlier find me in my rooms." She said getting up from the chair and heading upstairs.
"Yes Madame" he said with a bow.
After washing the dishes and putting them in the drying rack, Chris looked again at his to-do list for today.
He had to water all the plants, do the laundry, and when the clothes were dry, put them in the appropriate cupboards, dust the furniture, clean the cobwebs from the corners if there are any, unclog the toilet, and replace the lightning dust crystals in special devices that supposedly partially mask negative emotions.
The emotion-masking properties of these devices are important because the tarry monsters that Chris saw in the forest are drawn to negative emotions.
From the information he got from Madame, the name of these creatures is Grimm and they come in many types, some larger, some smaller, but all are dangerous.
There were three of these devices in the whole manor, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom which also served as a laundry room, and one in the storage room which served as his room, and since the task was relatively simple, he started with it.
Chris folded the list in half twice and after putting it in the pocket of the trousers that Madame had given him to wear for everyday work, he went to the storeroom for the appropriate dust crystals.
From the kitchen he went into the pantry passing shelves filled with all kinds of jarred foods, spices, packets of flour, cooking oils, bottles of olive oil and the freezer full of sliced meat ready to be used in dishes, meat that Madame had cut up herself.
When he asked if it would be better for him to do it for her, she replied that her deceased close family member was a butcher and this was her way of remembering him.
How much of that statement was true he didn't know, and to be honest he didn't really care, not that he had anything to say.
Opening the door at the other end of the pantry, Chris entered the storage room and quickly marched towards the cabinet that held the dust crystals, passing the cage where Madame locks him at night as if the shock collar wasn't enough.
On the opposite wall from the entrance door to the storeroom there was another door leading to the cellars to which Madame goes down once a week and after some time a small elevator brings freshly cut cold meat to the storage room, which he is tasked with putting out in the freezer. Madame always locked the door downstairs behind her so he didn't know what was down there.
Chris gathered three crystals from the cabinet into his pocket, took the watering can in one hand and the plunger in the other,he took a feather duster under his arm and set out to complete the tasks on the list.
After watering all the plants on the ground floor and replacing two of the three dust crystals, sweeping the dust off the cupboards and shelves and picking up the cobwebs from the corners, he headed to the bathroom to do the laundry, replace the last crystal and perform the most disgusting of tasks, unclogging and cleaning the toilet.
The laundry slowly turned in the washing machine as the emotion-masking machine hummed quietly in the corner of the bathroom.
Knowing what was next on the list, Chris rolled up the sleeves of his light gray work shirt, grabbed the plunger from the corner, and headed for the toilet.
Opening the lid, his nose was assaulted by a cruelly reeking metallic stench.
He put the plunger into the toilet and started unclogging it, being careful not to let the plunger slip out of his hands because if that happened, the combined weight of his prosthetics and the "shackles" that Madame had provided him with in the first weeks of his stay would have shattered the porcelain throne.
The shackles themselves, if they could be called shackles, looked more like brass knuckles locked with a key, covering the places where his metal claws would stick out, preventing him from using them at the same time not blocking his ability to maneuver his hands too much, only adding weight and slightly blocking his fingers.
When he finally unclogged the toilet he flushed the bathroom, sprayed the inside with spruce scented air freshener and opened the small window, finally breathing in the fresh air that came in through it.
Chris only smelled this type of stench when he was gutting hunted rabbits, but the only time the stench came out was when he accidentally punctured some meaty tube connected to the bottom of a rabbit's stomach.
"If Madame who is something called a faunus can create something that was inside animal guts does that mean that faunus are kind of like animals ?" He thought to himself.
Thinking about guts reminded him of that one time when he checked out of boredom what he had inside.
When he couldn't sleep one night he asked his advisor? the voice in his head? about his stats to read to fall asleep faster. He got the answer that to check his stats, skills, condition of organs, sanity etc. he just has to think about it and the main menu from which he can go to the appropriate tab will appear before his eyes.
As instructed he did so and began reading through his skills once more. Moving from tab to tab he came across one dedicated to the condition of his organs learning that his organs were in good condition and his sanity and morale were at a fairly high percentage.
Looking at the diagram of the inside of his body he read out of boredom the names of his organs such as liver, kidneys, stomach, bladder, seminal vesicle, nutrient processor v1, bioreactor v1, main power unit v1, heart performance enhancer v1... wait what? he hadn't seen those types of internal organs in the animals he hunted. hmm maybe it was something reserved only for humans?
He's never seen the inside of another human body so he doesn't know.
Whatever, all that reading finally made him sleepy, so Chris burrowed into the pile of old clothes that served as his mattress and let a blissful sleep engulf his mind.
His thoughts of nonsense were interrupted by the chiming of the clock in the living room, letting him know it was four thirty and that he should get moving on completing the rest of the tasks on his to-do list.
The washing machine would be running for another forty minutes, so Chris washed the plunger and left the bathroom, heading toward the storage room, passing the empty watering can and duster that he had left by the upstairs door.
After putting the plunger away, he returned to the door to the first floor.
The door itself and its frame were reinforced with metal strips and rivets, providing another barrier in case the grimm somehow got through the fence.
Madame instructed him that if such an event happened, he should run to the storeroom and enter the cage, closing the door because it was made of the metal the fence was made of, so it should hold.
Chris slowly went upstairs and seeing through the open door that Madame was reading, he tried to quietly go to the bathroom and fill the watering can.
The key word was tried because the clatter of his metal feet on the floorboards gave away his presence almost immediately, eliciting an irritated sigh from Madame.
"I need to get him some flip-flops or something because this clattering is driving me crazy." She said to herself as she went back to reading.
Chris filled the watering can in the bathroom and went to water the flowers and dust the furniture.
He had almost finished when Madame came out of her room. Chris, noticing her, bowed and stood up straight, waiting for what she had to say to him.
Madame was dressed in grey jogging pants and a dark blue hoodie.
Compared to the people depicted in the paintings hanging on the walls wearing ornate dresses, she didn't look much like Madame. Not that he had any say in the matter .
"Is everything done?" She asked.
"Almost Madame, I still have to finish watering, clean up the cobwebs if I find any, dust off the rest of the furniture and paintings, and put away the washed clothes once the dryer has finished." He said in an even tone.
"Fufufu it's a pleasure to watch the servant you're becoming, to think that at first you couldn't even speak properly not to mention your crooked gait and now look at yourself, a dozen or so lashes on the back and you're a servant to behold. I knew my methods were superior." She said proudly.
"Madam, can I go back to work?"
"Yes, yes, get back to work my little servant." She said waving her hand at him turning around and going back to her room.
After watering all the flowers, removing the cobwebs and dusting the furniture, Chris put everything in the storage room and went to take the laundry out of washing machine after which he put it in the dryer and once it were dry, he took it out and put it in the appropriate cabinets, then once again he knocked on Madame's room to say he was finished.
The violin "lessons" themselves consisted of Madame choosing one of the pieces and then ordering him to play it.
To say he wasn't doing so well would be an understatement, despite his never-tiring metal hands and the support of his inner advisor projecting advice before his eyes, he still made a mistake or two.
Madame began training him play the violin almost immediately, so to this day Chris has had some practice, and as the violin, the cookbook, and the book of violin songs were given to him as "his own," he was able to practice playing them in the storage room in his spare time.
Lesson that day were more of a test of his skills. After Madame chose a short melody that was supposedly played by traveling merchants long ago, she ordered him to play it over and over until he felt it was enough, while catching any mistakes he made.
After an hour of uninterrupted playing, Madame raised her hand and told him to stop, noting it in her journal. Chris knew she had found at least a few mistakes and that the melody he was playing would be buzzing in his head for at least a few days.
"I see that you are getting better at playing the violin. If you continue like this and play during the holidays, my friends will be so jealous. Not only do I have a silver-eyed servant but also one who learns quickly. The fact that you learn so quickly is due to the best teacher with reliable methods of course, but it's just a detail." She said with a proud smile.
"Madame is the best teacher." Chris said in a monotone voice knowing what awaited him if he didn't add some praise of his own.
"Yes, that's true, but that's enough for today, you can practice until six p.m., then go to sleep." she said, getting up from the chair.
"Madam, can I ask you two questions?" He asked uncertainly.
"You just di... oh you smartass I'm stealing it. ok ask away." She replied sitting back in her chair.
"What holiday are you talking about, Madame?" He asked carefully.
"Winter holidays of course. It's simply a holiday that is held in the winter to celebrate the fact that we have survived the whole year by getting together and exchanging gifts and remembering those who are no longer with us by symbolically leaving one place at the table empty. this holiday probably had a name but like many other things such as what year it is its name was lost during the great war."
"When it comes to the names of various holidays one can understand that they have been lost and everyone calls them whatever they want, then with the general refusal to count the number of years just because no data has been preserved is pure stupidity. Why can't we simply establish that year zero is the start of the war and count the years from that moment, but for this to happen, at least the Council of Vale would have to agree to it being introduced in at least one kingdom, and for the entire Remnant to use this type of date measurement the rest of the Kingdoms would have to agree to it as well, so sooner hell will freeze over than this will happen."
"Okay, I got a little carried away, what's the second question?"
"Uh, at night I heard noises coming from the basement, do you know what it is, Madam?" He asked uncertainly.
"That's easy, my future fiancé and his group of faunus rights activists store things they need for their cause at my place, and in exchange for letting me use the basement as a storage room, they deliver dust and its crystals to me from time to time." After answering she stood up and headed for the door.
Chris was left to his own devices so with nothing else to do today he went to "his room" and started practicing again.
Days of doing practically the same thing over and over turned into weeks and weeks into months and before he knew it, it was already December and he was sitting in the kitchen peeling potatoes for a traditional salad, the recipe for which, according to her, Madame got from her grandmother when she was still little.
The salad consisted of boiled eggs and potatoes, canned peas and corn, a few chopped pickles, mustard, mayonnaise and spices to taste.
Chris then pulled a large bowl out of one of the cupboards and after draining the water from the cans, poured the peas and corn inside, then began to chop the potatoes and peeled eggs into cubes, then chopped the pickles and threw everything into the bowl.
"Okay, now put three spoons of mustard, six spoons of mayonnaise in a bowl and mix everything, then I'll check the taste and tell you what to do next." Madame said standing over him reading from the recipe.
"Madame, with all due respect, don't you think it's a bit too early to be making this type of salad? It's only December 18th. It'll all go bad by the 24th and I don't think a bowl this size will fit in the freezer," Chris said as he stirred the contents of the bowl.
"Don't worry my little servant, there is another bigger freezer in the basement that will easily hold everything. Okay, just let me try it." She scooped some salad onto a spoon, tasting it.
"Hmm, add two more tablespoons of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of salt, and some pepper," She ordered, delicately inserting the ancient-looking list between the pages of her notebook.
Once the salad was thoroughly mixed, Madame tasted it once more, then picked up the bowl by its handles and carried it toward the basement.
"Before I forget, there's a package of clothes in the bathroom for you to wear whenever guests come over, you can consider it a gift." She said, disappearing behind the pantry door.
Chris wasted no time getting up and going to the bathroom to find a cardboard package standing on the washing machine. He took the package and carried it to "his room."
The contents of the package were black shoes, a can of black shoe polish and a brush, black trousers, a white long-sleeved shirt, a black vest, white gloves and a bow tie.
At the bottom of the box were also foam slippers that were probably part of his informal dress kit. The very thought of him going out to Madame's guests in all those formal clothes while wearing slippers on his feet made him chuckle.
The days preceding the holidays were devoted to further preparations for the arrival of guests and creating the most pleasant atmosphere possible and preparing further dishes and drinks such as cherry and raspberry juices or dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms, etc.
It was December 22, Chris was in the kitchen when an armored off-road vehicle drove through the entrance gate and stopped in front of the manor.
One person witch two fox ears on top of his head wearing a white mask over his face got out of the car and pulled a fir tree out of the trunk.
When the person took the tree on his shoulder and went towards the entrance door, the car moved to the back of the manor where there was an entrance which probably connected to the cellars.
Chris wasted no time and went to the storage room to change into the outfit he was supposed to be in if guests arrived.
Dressed in his uniform, he emerged from the kitchen to find Madame with her arms around her guest, his mask lying on the floor and she for some reason pressing her lips to his.
He didn't quite understand what was happening but knew he had to stand at attention, not disturbing Madame in whatever she was doing, waiting until he could greet the guest.
When they finally finished Chris bowed deeply and said, "Welcome honored guest, is there anything I can do for you sir?"
Instead of orders he turned to Madame.
"You changed the servant again? What happened to the previous one?" He asked her.
"The previous one didn't have a shock collar yet and ran away, besides he was a poor servant, unlike this unique one" She replied, pointing at him.
"Unique? What do you mean by... aaa I see, he has silver eyes, but what about those brass knuckles on his hands?" The guest asked.
"You see, my new servant came with unique eyes and prosthetic arms and legs, but in his hands he has retractable blades that I had to somehow neutralize." She replied, only to continue.
"But that's enough, Chris, this is my fiancé, you are to treat him like me and you are to address him as... "Commander"" She replied after a few second of thought.
The now named Commander raised an eyebrow at his nickname.
"And you still use those nicknames? If I'm the commander, what's yours?" He asked playfully.
"Madame" She replied proudly.
"Pfff hahahaha that's good. you Madame?" The Commander burst out laughing.
"Oh hush you, are you hungry ?" She asked blushing slightly.
"Yeah, I'd like to eat something" He replied as he calmed down.
"Chris cookbook, in a jiffy." She ordered.
After bringing the cookbook, Madame's fiance chose his dish.
Madame didn't want anything, claiming she wasn't hungry, but the "Commander" knew how it would end, that is, Madame eating half of his dish, so he ordered to make him two identical portions.
"One more thing. The outfit you are wearing now is your daily uniform from now on," She ordered.
"Yes Madame." He replied with a bow and went to the kitchen.
Chris prepared the chosen dishes then brought them to the table and began to perform his duties. When Madame called him by ringing the bell he gathered the dirty dishes and went to wash them while the couple headed upstairs.
The rest of the day went by for him as usual he completed all the tasks on the list and before going to bed he practiced playing the violin then tried to fall asleep to do the same the next day.
The key word was tried, because from the first floor the sounds of the rhythmically creaking bed and moans spread through the empty manor like an echo in a cave.
Chris barely slept that night. The couple upstairs didn't calm down until around 2 in the morning.
After washing his face in the sink and putting on his new daily uniform, and as six thirty struck, Chris grabbed a cookbook and went into the dining room to let Madame and her fiancé choose their breakfast.
After entering the room he found no one so he stood at attention by the table and waited for them to arrive.
The couple arrived only around seven twenty, yawning all the way to the table. Madame, unlike her fiancé, moved in a strange way as if something hurt her, maybe she had fallen out of bed or something.
"Madame, are you okay? Are you in pain?" Chris asked, tilting his head.
"I'm fine, don't ask about it." She replied quickly while her cheeks blushed slightly as her fiancé chuckled.
"As you wish, Madame" He replied with a bow.
Once the couple had chosen their breakfasts Chris got to work. After the meals were served he set about his daily tasks while the couple ate.
When they were done he gathered up the plates placed them in the sink and went back to work. Another day at work looking like any other and another night sounding like the last.
Chris gathered up all the old clothes that made up his bed and covered his head with them in hopes of getting some sleep which fortunately came quickly despite the noises from upstairs. He needed to get some sleep because tomorrow was a big day.
December twenty-fourth was a day like no other. Madame went down to the basement right after breakfast to send the frozen salad up in the elevator, then she and her fiancé went to the dining room to put the fir tree on a stand in the corner and then for some reason they both started hanging fluffy strings and colorful glass balls on it.
when he finished with the watering he began to prepare the food for the evening's celebration.
On one pan he fried fish meat cut into strips and coated in breadcrumbs and on the other he fried dumplings taken from the fridge earlier that day.
When everything was prepared and put in plates in the cart in which he would transport the food to the table to spread it out he began to make two jugs of cherry and plum juice. Having made the drinks he put everything on the cart and led it to the table.
After bringing the cart to the table, he began to spread the plates. Five sets of plates, bowls, cups and cutlery were laid out on the table with one set on the edge in memory of those who are no longer with us, all according to Madame's orders and then he returned to the kitchen.
About twenty minutes later, a car drove through the entrance gate of the manor and three women dressed in formal clothes came out of it. One of the women had a cat ears, another had a wolf tail and the third had fox ears.
Madame had ordered him earlier that day to come out to greet the guests only when she summoned him, and when he did, he emerged from the kitchen and bowed deeply to the arrived guests.
"Welcome honored guests, is there anything I can do for you?" He said straightening up from his bow.
"It can't fucking be, you have a silver eyed one?! How? Where did you get him from?" The fox faunus screamed.
"I thought they were extinct or just a fairy tale." The wolf faunus said in disbelief.
"I'll call first dibs on him when he grows up" said the cat faunus.
The two other guests looked at her in disbelief.
"What? I want one for myself too. Finding a young slave girl is a hundred times easier than what she did." Cat faunus answered their unspoken question.
"Why didn't you say anything that you struck literal gold, I thought we were friends." Fox faunus said folding her arms.
"Oh come on, I wanted it to be a surprise for the winter holidays." Madame replied, changing the subject.
"But enough of this talk, the food is getting cold. Chris, go get your violin and come back." Madame ordered as she led her guests to the table.
Chris quickly returned to retrieve his violin, when he returned to the dining room he stood at his designated spot and at Madame's signal he began to play a song chosen earlier by her.
After playing the piece Chris bowed and after receiving a hand signal from Madame, he returned to the kitchen where he was to wait until she came to let him know to collect the dishes and in the meantime he was supposed to practice playing the violin.
She had given up on the bell method because she and her guests wanted to talk in private and she did not want him to eavesdrop.
Once her servant left the dining room, the friends were finally able to talk.
"So... what nicknames do you have for us this time, oh 'Madame.'" The fox faunus teased.
"Same as last time, that is, Madame but with the addition of the animal traits of each of you." The rabbit faunus explained to her guests.
"I still don't understand why you do it but well your house your rules. But when we are alone we can call each other by our names yes?" The wolf faunus asked.
"Yes Mauve, I told him to stay in the kitchen and practice playing the violin until I come for him, so we can talk freely." The rabbit faunus said as she heard her servant playing in the kitchen.
"Phew, thanks Selene, I thought I'd get tangled up and call you by your name in front of him, I remember how pissed you were when it happened with the last servant." Mauve said with relief, remembering how after doing so they had to run away from their angry friend and the rain of plates flying towards them.
"Hey Selene, where did Marcus disappear to, I thought that as your fiancé he would be here with us?" The cat faunys asked.
"Don't worry Magnolia, he has something to do with his group, he said it wouldn't be long." Selene replied, preparing herself for a barrage of questions that judging by the expression on her guest's face would start any moment now.
"Ok Selene talk, where did you get the silver-eyed one from? Did you buy it back from someone? Although I don't want to believe that anyone would voluntarily get rid of such a rare specimen. Anyway talk because my curiosity is eating me up." The fox faunus demanded an answer.
"To answer your question Nell, I bought him from a certain group, but it is unlikely that you will ask them how they found him because I lost contact with them when they went to Vacuo so either they joined some bandit group or they are dead." Selene replied taking a sip of juice.
"It's a pity, although I understand that encountering a silver-eyed one these days and in addition one who can play the violin is practically impossible. Heh probably his previous owner taught him to play as soon as he learned to walk. " Magnolia said while costing food from her plate.
"He couldn't do anything when I bought him. He was dressed in a patch of dry grass and was all muddy. I taught him everything myself, how to be a servant and how to play the violin." Selene said proudly.
"Yeah, bullshit I was with you in March and there was still the previous one, there's no way anyone can learn to play any instrument in such a short period of time." Nell replied in disbelief.
"Believe what you want but the truth is that I bought him around June and trained him personally every day how to play the violin and how to be a servant. It's just that my teaching methods are superior and that's it." Selene replied proudly.
"Yeah I know those "superior methods" of yours. You'll flog him until he learns to do everything perfectly by himself the first time. His back probably looks awful." Nell replied angrily.
"And these again. Can you guys not jump down each other's throats if only at the holidays?" Mauve asked irritated.
"Why do you care so much? He's my servant, it's none of your business what I do with him or how I treat him." Selene replied, slightly annoyed.
"I don't care about him, I care about you and the methods you use. Yes they are effective, but the thing is, everyone has a breaking point. I'm not saying you should start treating him like a family member, but maybe try to ease up a bit with the flogging for every mistake? I'm worried that one day you'll overdo it and accidentally activate his aura and he'll hurt you." Nell said lowering her head.
"ehh Nell... okay you're right I'll be more careful from now on. Changing the subject maybe we should finish our last conversation in the living room when are we done eating?" Selene said trying to cheer her guests up after a little misunderstanding.
"Yes, that's a good idea,besides, I'm not hungry anymore and I see that Nell and Mauve aren't eating anymore either so why don't we go now? " Magnolia replied.
"Okay then, you go ahead and I'll go tell the servant to collect the plates." Selene said as she got up from the table and headed to the kitchen.
The rest of the evening, despite the previous misunderstanding, passed in a fairly pleasant atmosphere.
Selene's fiancé did not show up that day to celebrate with them, so the friends, without waiting for him, began to talk about the topics they had stopped at last time.
The day after Holidays, Madame told him that she and her friends had agreed that along with the number of the day and month, from now on they would also use the number of years that have passed since the outbreak of the Great War, which means today's date is 25.12.74, and that he, as her servant, was obliged to use this form.
Chris bowed in agreement with Madame knowing he had no say in the matter as she left the kitchen he returned to his daily duties.
Over the next few days, Chris dealt with his daily duties, which also included preparations for the New Year's celebrations.
On December 28th, he was to go to the attic and bring a box of something called fireworks to the front door and then he was to set out several more bottles of a dark red liquid called wine on the table. Having done this, he went to carry out Madame's next orders.
On December 31st at around 6pm guests started arriving at the manor, her three friends and her fiancé who this time showed up on time went inside.
He greeted everyone with a bow and was then sent to the kitchen to await a summons from Madame in case they had run out of fatty snacks.
A few minutes before midnight he saw through the kitchen window that everyone had gone out in front of the building. Madame were carrying a bottle of champagne and her fiancé a box of fireworks.
He didn't think about it for long, preferring to return to playing the violin. In shock he almost threw his violin against the ceiling, when a minute before midnight there was a loud bang outside, and then another and another. He looked out the window and saw multi-colored flashes in the sky above the manor and a few places beyond the forest.
The fireworks died down and the partygoers went back inside to celebrate the new seventy-fifth year with dancing and drinks which Chris had to periodically bring to the table.
Around 4am the partygoers finished partying and dispersed to the guest rooms upstairs while he went to clear the plates off the table to the sink and take the full and empty bottles to the storage room.
When he finished with everything it was already almost five in the morning and knowing that he had to get up at seven he wasted no time and went to sleep.
January 5th apart from the fact that he was now ten years old was no different from the previous days. He got up and went to do his daily duties like any other day. The only strange thing was that Madame didn't punish him for his mistakes by flogging him but only pointed out what he missed telling him to do it better next time.
It was quite a strange change, but he didn't complain about it in the slightest.
The days of the daily routine turned into weeks and weeks into months and before he knew it it was already December and preparations for the next winter holidays had begun. Again time to prepare a salad that would spoil before half of it was eaten again time to make trays of dumplings.
The next holidays passed in a similar group as last time, the only thing that changed was that Madame's fiancé showed up this time, both on winter holidays and on new year's eve.
Another fifth of January passed as quickly as it had begun and the following year promised to be identical to the previous one filled with duties and playing the violin to pass the time, but the first month began differently.
A few days after his eleventh birthday, Madame's fiancé showed up at the manor and their interaction passed like the last time he had seen her.
Chris knew what to expect so instead of trying to sleep he started looking through the menu of his skills.
He was reading everything over again for the umpteenth time when suddenly, instead of the sounds he expected the two to make from above, he began to hear louder and louder arguing which ended after a long moment with a slam of the door and loud footsteps leading away from Madame's bedroom.
Madame's fiancé, instead of staying as usual for at least a few days, left the manor the next morning without saying goodbye to her.
When she got up some time after he had left and learned from Chris what had happened, she returned upstairs and after a while her friends came to talk to her about topics he had no time to worry about because in addition to his daily duties he had to check every hour if they did not need more of that wine liquid.
Over the next few months, Madame's friends came so often that she ordered a delivery of things needed for their meetings, such as wine, scented candles, wine and more wine, which Chris had to arrange on the shelves in the storage room.
Her fiancé also showed up around August, but the conversation between him and Madame quickly turned into an argument, which then escalated to her throwing plates at his fleeing figure.
A few hours later, Madame's friends arrived at the manor and after preliminary bows, he was sent by Madame to bring them wine.
Their conversation, if it could be called a conversation, was a marathon of crying and screaming, lasted until late in the evening, only growing louder and louder over time, ending with slamming doors, shouting in the corridor between them, and the uneven, unsteady steps of Madame's friends outside where the driver who had brought them was waiting for them.
As the car started towards the gate Chris got up from his chair and went to collect the empty bottles from Madame's room.
He didn't even have time to bow as an empty bottle flew towards him, smashing against the wall. He flinched but before he could say anything a barely understandable jumble of curses and orders to get out flowed from Madame's mouth. Chris bowed and then left the room.
The next day began almost like any other. Waking up at six in the morning, Chris left the cage that Madame had stopped locking after the first quarrel with her fiancé.
He washed his face in the small sink in the corner of the room, took a pair of scissors to cut his hair in the style Madame had chosen for him before the first winter holidays, got dressed, and went out, cooking book in hand, to wait for Madame to arrive in the dining room.
When Madame entered the dining room, as soon as she looked at him, a grimace appeared on her face, and before he had time to open his mouth to greet her and ask what she wanted for breakfast, she silenced him with a gesture of her hand, saying:
"Shut up, I don't want to hear your damn voice. From today we'll go back to the flogging and since your back is so scarred that you probably don't feel anything there, we'll move on to the front of your body." She said angrily, then took the cookbook, marked with a pencil the dish she wanted and tossed the book to him.
He bowed without a word and returned to the kitchen, knowing that a lot of pain and new scars await him in the evening.
Months of being treated like a punching bag every time Madame had a mental breakdown had made him quite tolerant to pain. However, that didn't mean he was looking forward to it.
He would have preferred to read cookbook once again or play the violin, but unfortunately, as a servant he had no say, he had to do whatever Madame wanted if he didn't want even more punishment.
As time went on, the beatings only became more frequent, and if Chris still had any amount of self-confidence and self-esteem Madame made sure to beat it out of him by letting him know that to her he was just a valuable thing that, although very difficult in his case, could be replaced.
He quickly learned how to behave in the presence of the more irritable Madame so as not to get a beating for anything.
Doing a full bow every time he saw her or dropping his gaze to the floor if she looked at him worked most of the time.
This method worked for some time, five days to be exact, because she started to get irritated with him, regardless of whether he was looking at the floor or at her or bowing. Madame simply wanted him to suffer for reasons he had no idea about.
A few days before December, Madame was in an exceptionally sour mood, Chris could literally hear her grinding her teeth every time he passed her and whenever he left the room she was in he could hear her panting loudly mumbling something to herself.
The breaking point for Madame came in the evening when Chris appeared in her room with another bottle of wine that she had ordered.
Walking to the table where she was sitting, he tripped over an empty bottle lying on the floor, falling and shooting a full bottle from the tray at the window.
The moment the window cracked, Madame howled with rage like a wild animal and, grabbing one of the empty bottles, began to beat him, shouting insults at him, and promising to beat him to death.
Wine bottles were made of thick enough glass to withstand the transport through forest roads, but glass is glass and in contact with metal it must eventually break, which is exactly what happened then, creating a tool with a handle from the neck of the bottle and sharp ends where it broke.
Madame kicked his hand that he was covering himself with and using the weight of her entire body she fell with a partially broken bottle aiming for the center of his body.
Everything happened so fast that he didn't even have time to react he could only watch what was happening waiting for the pain that would come soon.
The bottle collided with his body but instead of blood and pain he felt a strange warmth while a golden light flashed around his body only to disappear a moment later.
Chris at stared Madame dumbfounded, whose eyes were filled with terror the likes of which he had never seen before while the remains of the bottle slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.
Before he could say anything she quickly stood up from her knees and ran to her bedroom locking the door.
"That was terrifying, I felt like I was about to die." he said quietly to himself as he took a deep breath and checked the spot where the broken bottle had made contact with his body.
At the point of contact there was no trace that anything had happened and the only evidence that he had almost died were the remains of a broken bottle on the floor.
"I have to pick it up and collect all these bottles before Madame gets up and gets mad at me again." He thought to himself.
As bringing the wine to Madame was his last task for the day, Chris, after putting the bottles back in the storeroom and pouring the glass remains into the trash, lay down in the cage, and called up the skills window.
Finding nothing new he directed the question to his advisor.
"What was that strange feeling and that flash? was it some new skill?" He asked in his mind receiving the answer after a moment's wait.
"What you felt is linked to the unlocking of a ability called aura which increases traits such as strength, dexterity, endurance, etc. and also serves as a barrier against physical damage at the same time as it is used as 'fuel' for a related ability called semblance which is most often unlocked during training or emotional events often involving a threat to the user's life. There's probably more but unfortunately that's all I know." The rather extensive answer appeared before Chris' eyes without disappearing until he read the last sentence.
"Hmm... this whole aura in addition to increasing attributes also gives a barrier from damage. Do you think it can withstand the electric shock from the collar?" he asked hopefully.
"That... I don't know. And as long as you have it on your neck you better not check it. Before you do anything you need get rid of it." Text appeared before his eyes.
"Get rid of it... it will be difficult. The shackles as well as the collar are locked with keys which from what I remember Madame had clipped to her belt for some time.I assume I stared at it too much because one day she went down to the basement and when she came back she no longer had it on her. But what do you mean that you don't know? I thought you knew everything. Whatever I asked you had the answer right away." He asked, slightly surprised.
"Believe it or not I'm not omniscient. Yes, I have a high knowledge about your body, the way your prosthetics work as well as you abilities. I also have quite a bit of additional information thanks to the fact that you use the scanner ability quite often, but when it comes to and anything else like social interactions or how to act among others, I have no idea about that. But now about the aura, you should pretend you have no idea what happened and that you don't know anything about the aura or how to use it." Another wall of text appeared before his eyes.
"you have a plan."
"Yes, I plan for you to watch Madame for a while checking how she will behave knowing that she has unintentionally activated your aura. She will probably test you to see if you know how to raise your aura to protect yourself so you must not under any circumstances do so, because when you do she will consider you a threat and will monitor you even more or just get rid of you."
"Okay, what's next?"
"For now you watch her and pretend you don't know what happened to you, when we know more I'll come with further actions."
The next day started normally, Chris got up, got dressed and with a cookbook in complete silence which was disturbed by the ticking of the clock he waited for Madame. It was almost half an hour after the time she usually was at the table when he heard the barely audible ringing of the bell that Madame used to call him.
He went to the door of Madame's room and according to plan he behaved like an obedient, clueless, terrified of his lady's anger servant.
As much as he had to pretend not to know about the aura, the fear was real, he was afraid of her, her cruelty, her random fits of anger, but the fact that he now had power that if she found out that he knew how to use she would probably simply kill or poison him terrified him even more.
He knocked on her bedroom door saying "Madame, you called for me."
"Yes, do you have the cookbook with you?" Madame said through the closed door.
"Yes, Madame"
"Leave it at the door and go out into the hallway, when I choose what I want I will call you back. When you have prepared the meal you are to leave it at the door, knock four times and leave."
"Yes Madame" Having received his orders Chris left the cookbook on the floor and returned to the hallway closing the door behind him.
After being called, he gathered up the cookbook with the dish marked on it and went to prepare it. Once he had prepared it, he left the dish by the door as instructed and then went about his other duties.
For two weeks Madame did not leave her room and using the toilet and showering only at night when she thought her servant was asleep. On December fifteenth, in the year seventy-six, Madame showed up in the dining room a few minutes before breakfast.
When Chris came out of the kitchen and started heading for the stairs to the floor he saw Madame sitting at the table and when she noticed him too their eyes met.
Chris noticed that Madame flinched slightly when she looked at him. His advisor made a note of this and Chris followed the plan. When Madame wordlessly browsed through the cookbook he, taking advantage of her brief occupation, used the scanner skill on her.
The scan took several seconds after which a window appeared in front of his eyes informing him about the Madame. She was under the influence of a light poison called alcohol which from what he remembered was in the wine, the condition of her internal organs was mostly good except for her liver and kidneys which had begun to weaken.
What interested him most was the percentage at which her sanity was. When he used the scanner skill on her before her loud talk with her friends, madame's sanity stood at sixty-seven percent, while now it was at forty-eight.
His further analysis of the scan was interrupted by a grunt from Madame, who has chosen what she wants for breakfast. A grunt, not a roar of fury, not a curses, not a crack of the whip. The grunt...
Chris bowed apologizing for his mistake and then, with the cookbook in hand, he returned to the kitchen to prepare Madame's breakfast, which of course had to include at least a few pieces of pork.
He could never understand why Madame loved this type of meat so much when hare or fish meat was just as tasty, but as long as he didn't have to starve because, according to Madame's order he ate what she ate, Chris didn't complain.
The days leading up to the winter holidays were going more smoothly than ever for Chris.
Madame behaved strangely for the first few days, as if she had forgotten how to behave in her own home by avoiding her servant and interacting with him only when necessary. After a few nights when Chris heard her saying something to herself in the bathroom she began to behave again almost like before.
The key word is almost because if Madame stopped behaving like a guest in her own home and her former self-confidence partially returned, she also stopped giving him punishments and started treating him almost not like an object. She would walk around smiling and occasionally ask how his day was going and how he was feeling.
To say that Chris had no idea how to behave rather than stiffen and answer her questions in fear that she would change her mind after all and start beating him again is like saying nothing at all. This strange behavior intensified even more when Madame drank this wine liquid.
Her strange behavior, in addition to making Chris uncomfortable, also served as the foundation for the next phase of the plan which was to gain her trust and make her lower her guard even further allowing him to move freely around.
Chris was a little anxious. The winter holidays were tomorrow and nothing had been done in terms of preparations. True, all the ingredients were within reach, but it would take him at least two whole days just to prepare everything in the same quantity as last Holidays, and it's already midday and there's no sign of Madame. She only came down half-conscious for breakfast, and after eating, she went back upstairs.
That she was under the influence of that alcohol poison again was no surprise. He didn't even need to use the scanner to know that.
"What if Madame planned it so that because of her semi-conscious state I won't be able to start preparing for the winter holidays and I won't make it in time and I'll embarrass her in front of her guests and she'll then give me the beating of all times?" He think to himself spiraling into more scenarios of what Madame would do to him panicking more and more.
He almost started to hyperventilate with fear when a barely awake Madame, still dressed in her nightgown, entered the kitchen, walked to the kitchen table and collapsed into a chair laying her head on the table and shielding it from the sunlight with her arms.
"M-Madame, are you all right ? " He asked cautiously after several minutes of waiting.
"Hmm? ah yes yes, everything is fine, I was meant to come earlier but I laid down for a while and fell asleep, sorry." She said scratching the back of her head.
Another strange thing, she said sorry, this has not happened before.
"But that's enough of this sitting, make me a cup of coffee and in the meantime I'll go to the basement to get things for the winter holiday dishes," She said getting up from her chair and heading for the door.
Chris prepared the coffee and set it on the kitchen table then went to complete the tasks on the list.
He had barely started watering the flowers on the ground floor when Madame called out to him to move things to the kitchen. When he entered the storeroom he was surprised by how few things were lying on the elevator panel.
Using the number of ingredients used to prepare the dishes on the previous winter holidays as an example, he surmised that with what is brought in from the basement he would barely be able to prepare dishes for three people.
Confused he began unloading the items after which he went with them to the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, he found Madame sitting at the table looking through a cookbook. He spread the items out on the countertop and into the refrigerator then asked.
"Madame, did the elevator break down?"
"No, the elevator works fine, why do you ask?"
"With the current amount of ingredients, I will be able to prepare dishes for at most two or three people. Will further preparations be carried out tomorrow Madame?"
"The amount of ingredients is what it is supposed to be because you will only be making dishes for two people and if you start now it will probably be done all over again today."
"And what should I prepare for the other guests?" He asked tilting his head slightly.
"For which other guests? I'm not going to invite these betraying leeches or this cheater ever again. Instead of them, I want you to spend this winter holiday at my table as a guest." She said with a teasing smile.
"It's an honor to be your guest Madame." He said with a bow.
When Madame selected all the dishes to be on this year's table Chris got down to business. For almost a whole day he was sticking dumplings, frying fish, making salad and preparing other things such as a tablecloth, cutlery set, plates and bowls, cups and glasses, etc.
Despite the fact that this year there will only be two people, Madame required that this winter holiday be the best possible.
The day of the holidays began normally. Chris got up, prepared Madame's chosen breakfast then set about doing the tasks on the list. When he finished everything upstairs he didn't linger too long because he knew he still had to set the table.
When he came down to the ground floor he found Madame sitting at an unset table with a half-full bottle of wine in her hand staring at something through the window.
"Oh hey Chris how are you doing with chores?" Madame suddenly spun around in the chair almost falling off it.
"All the duties on the list done Madame, I'm going to go set the table now." he said after taking a bow.
"Good, good. In the meantime, go to the storeroom and bring a case of wine bottles ok?" She ordered? Chris still couldn't get used to her bizarre behavior. Not wanting to anger her, he bowed and said, "Of course, Madame" after which he went to finish remaining tasks.
The preparations took some time but when the table was set, the dishes brought and the wine was waiting in a case at arm's length Chris found himself in a slightly awkward situation.
As soon as he brought in the wine Madame ordered him to sit to her right and relax in her company. Easier said than done, he was stiff as a board and she must have noticed because she stopped eating and poured him and herself each a full glass of wine and ordered him to drink along with her until she said enough.
Chris had never before tried this liquid with which Madame drank every day, and after trying it he did not regret it.
This wine something tasted bittersweet and had strange side effects. After drinking just two glasses he began to feel warmth in a similar way to what he felt when his aura was activated but different. When Madame asked him how he tasted his answer came out strange and in disarray.
He immediately apologized, but Madame only waved her hand at this and went back to drinking.
When he looked at the card showing the condition of his body after consuming the wine, he noticed that the poison contained in the liquid was attacking his internal organs, but thanks to the fact that he has regenerative abilities as well as partial immunity to poisons, the damage was not too severe and those that appeared were quickly healed.
Glass by glass, the bottle was getting emptier and emptier and Madame was getting more and more chatty about what had happened and why she no longer had guests.
She went on to say how her would-be fiancé cheated on her with one of her friends, how they knew about it all this time and instead of telling her they helped hide it, and how one of them spilled it all drunkenly at their last meeting.
With the recounting of events, Madame moved closer and closer to his chair and when she had recounted everything she was already sitting practically in his seat pushing him slightly to the edge.
"Ehh... My would-be fiancé turned out to be a cheater and the people I called friends preferred to lie to my face rather than tell me the truth. Everyone abandoned me, only you are left my little servant." She said after which she put her head on his shoulder.
Chris wanted to push her away, to escape, to do anything to get out of the position he was in, but he knew that what was happening now was a sign that their plan was working and that if he pulled it a little longer he could find a way to escape.
"You wouldn't abandon me even if I took off your collar, would you?" She asked barely conscious.
"Of course I wouldn't leave you Madame, I am your servant after all aren't I?" Chris replied cringing inside.
"Fufufu... Good that's what I wanted to hear. If only this fool had a similar approach to our relationship..." She giggled then drank the rest of the glass and ordered him to help her get to the bedroom.
After escorting Madame to the bedroom, Chris bowed out and went back downstairs to clean up from the table. After collecting the dishes in the sink, he returned to fold the tablecloth but because of the alcohol in his blood and fatigue he sat down at the table to rest for a while.
"I'll just rest for a while and then fold the tablecloth." Chris said to himself after which he fell asleep.
Chris woke up with his head resting against something hard, not as hard as the bottom of his cage but still hard.
He wanted to sleep for a while longer but something started tickling his ear, like a bug or something. His head hurt slightly so he planned to ignore it and continue sleeping when he heard a voice right next to his ear.
"Waky waky, my little servant, it's time for breakfast." Madame said teasingly.
Chris immediately got to his feet then fell to his knees begging for forgiveness, but Madame again waved her hand at his mistake and hurried him to return with the cookbook because she is hungry.
After that, Madame's behavior only became weirder. Chris used the scanner on her a couple of times but to his surprise her sanity dropped only by two percent.
The days leading up to the day he would be twelve passed quietly filled with his new normalcy where Madame acted completely like not herself.
The peak of everything was his birthday where Madame, after eating breakfast instead of going upstairs, announced that today she would be helping him with his tasks.
Chris was puzzled by the fact that she wanted to help him but soon found out that her " help" was limited to her walking behind him, praising him for any thing he did and more of her strange behavior.
She would "accidentally" rub against him or touch his neck or cheeks claiming he had something on them. Every time she did this, the hairs on his body would stand up and she, seeing this, would just giggle as if nothing ever happened after which she would do it again.
Chris would do anything to make her stop, but in the back of his mind he believed that her strange behavior was a sign that the plan was working and that if he waited a little longer everything would be fine and he would be able to escape.
With that thought Chris made it through the day only to have the same thing happen the next day and the next and the next. It took a week for the Madame to finally get bored and let him work in peace.
The next three months passed fairly normally with only a few instances when Madame "accidentally" rubbed against him or touched his neck.
One day when Chris was washing dishes Madame entered the kitchen, without a word she approached him from behind and, as she was taller than him, easily put her arms around his shoulders. Chris froze in motionlessness.
"M-Madame, is there anything I can help you with?" He said hesitantly.
"Hmm... how nice of you to ask, you see I think you are mature enough to help me with something important my little servant." Madame said teasingly.
"O-Of course Madame, I will do whatever you want me to do." Chris said quickly.
"It's good to hear your enthusiasm. When you're done with your tasks, find me upstairs. You'll be tasked with helping me relax." She said with a strange tone of voice.
"A-As you wish, Madame." He said, trying with all his might not to break away from her embrace and hide somewhere.
"Good, good. I won't bother you anymore, see you tonight my little servant." She said after which she released him from her embrace and left the kitchen.
Chris stood motionless for a while longer, then took a few deep breaths and went back to work, with the thought that the plan was working and sooner or later he would be free one way or another.
At this point he was no longer sure if the Madame's behavior was due to their plan or to her dwindling sanity, but as long as their plan worked well he was satisfied.
Chris did not yet know that he was about to find out that their plan had worked perhaps even a little too well.