by Auriane Bell
“We’re not quite done yet, Miss,” Hilda mumbled shyly. What on earth could there be left to do? She already felt like a whole different person. Again the maids traded places and it was the turn for the probably oldest of them. Mairin obediently followed her orders, demanding of her to close or open her eyes, to look this or that way or to tilt her head in various angles while the girl applied different powders and liquid substances to her mistress’ face. When she was done, the maid stepped back to reveal her new look. The result was – like the hairstyle – astonishing and even more surprising. From what she had perceived with her skin, Mairin had expected to discover something horrifying, yet her complexion seemed clearer, her eyes bigger and more mysterious, her eyelashes dark and long and her lips glistened irresistibly smooth and silky. A very subtle tone of red on her cheeks made her look even more vivid. Mairin was tempted to raise her hand just to make sure if it was really her own image she was facing.
“Is that really me?” she asked unbelievingly.
“Indeed Miss is looking at her own splendid image,” one of the girls answered politely.
“Thank you for all the hard work,” Mairin said cheerfully and finally got up from the chair. Her words were answered by an irritated chorus. “Not at all, Miss.” “That’s our duty, Miss.” “Whatever you need, Miss.”
This was certainly something that would take some time getting used to.
It was already late in the afternoon and soon, when the sun had vanished beyond the horizon, even the vast amount of windows in the room wouldn’t be enough to provide sufficient light. Mairin’s mood was obfuscated when she remembered, that with the evening approaching, she was getting closer to her next encounter with the immortal. She wasn’t certain whether she would be able to endure being alone with him and was fervently hoping Adrijan would join them for dinner.
“This is what the immortal wants you to wear for supper, Miss,” Hilda said as if she had read her mind and presented a black gown to her. The way she held it, Mairin couldn’t make out much of it, except that there was only little fabric. Mairin sighed and took off her dressing gown. Before she could spend a thought on where to put it there were already helping hands taking it from her and another pair of hands giving her clothes to wear. At least that’s what Mairin thought it was. Sceptically she held the items up in the air, one in each hand.
“What… is this?” she inquired confused.
“This is a strapless bra, Miss,” Hilda said and pointed to the item in her left, consisting out of a soft, black band that was shaped like a cup in two places. “It’s for your bosom, Miss. And that-” Her personal maid gestured towards the other item with a slight movement of her head. “- is a slip. It’s part of your undergarments. You put it on like a pair of trousers, Miss.”
Mairin frowned. What she held in her hands certainly had more in common with a modern torture device than underwear. Helplessly she stared at Hilda, not moving in the least. Without being asked, her maids started assisting her, while patiently explaining the obvious. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, Mairin came to realise that her new underwear covered less than she had hoped. Especially the lacy parts revealed more than she preferred and turning to her side, she noticed that the slip as Hilda had called it wasn’t more than a small strap holding together the semi-transparent front- and back piece. The top part at least seemed to fulfil a purpose by supporting her bosom.
The black dress was next. Hilda didn’t even wait for Mairin to try to put it on herself and together the maids helped her slip into it. The task proved more difficult than imagined and Mairin heaved a sigh of relief when Hilda finally closed the gown in the back.
It was a perfect fit. Mairin was too curious to resist looking into the mirror. She had already noticed that the silken fabric was of high quality while putting it on but she was wondering what it looked like on her. The tight, décolleté dress was revealing in most places. In the back it merely started where her underclothes tied her bosom and on her sides the gown was held together by a thin crossed-over ribbon that left parts of her skin uncovered. Only a few centimetres beneath her bottom the net of ribbons ended so that the front and back of her dress freely fell over her legs – in some places even almost down to her ankles. The top was held up by a narrow strap behind her neck. Had Hilda told her to wear this dress for dinner? Surely it was only part of her undergarments.
“Where is my real gown?”
At first Hilda didn’t answer. “But Miss, this is your gown. Aren’t you satisfied with it?”
Mairin was only a step away from laughing hysterically. Of course she wasn’t satisfied with this. It was hardly even a dress. Eating dinner with the immortal in this… was almost the same as bathing with him and that was an experience she certainly didn’t care to repeat. She banned the thought that she would eventually have to do exactly that – or more – immediately and did her best to focus on the matter beforehand.
“Is there something else I could wear? Something… less revealing maybe?” Mairin asked cautiously.
“I’m sorry, Miss. The immortal has chosen this gown and instructed us to help you prepare for dinner.”
So it had always been his intention to have dinner with her. Mairin felt tricked. Of course he had never wanted to apologise. After what he had done, the memory of his smile on the day she had spent in bed suffering from a high fever had turned into something entirely different. Was she to get married to a monster?
“I understand, Hilda,” she mumbled wearily and tried to smile. After all, it wasn’t Hilda’s fault.
“Rest now, Miss. I’ll notify you when it’s time for dinner.”
Hilda curtsied, shooed the other girls out of the room and left her on her own.
Mairin kept staring at the closed door even after the maids were long gone. In her mind she was already somewhere else.
“Alfred, do you have a moment?”
“Of course, Sir. Please come in, Sir.”
Adrijan entered his manservant’s room and shut the door behind him. It was uncommon to visit the staff in their quarters but he chose not to care. He was offered a seat but declined it by shaking his head.
“You are here because of this, Sir?” Alfred presented a small jewellery box to him. Adrijan took it.
“Is that what you found in the bundle?” He curiously looked at the tiny case. Why had Mairin tried to hide it? Was it even hers?
“No, Sir. There was only its content, Sir. I’ve taken the liberty to get it repaired. I think it was done quite skilfully, if I may say so, Sir.”
“Thank you, Alfred. It belongs to Miss Muriel. Do you reckon it’s valuable at all?” He carefully opened the box and looked at the small sparkling trinket.
“Very much so, Sir. Madam will be delighted to hear that it has been retrieved.”
Adrijan closed the box, wondering if that was really the case. How had something this valuable come into Mairin’s possession? All the presents that had been sent had undoubtedly never reached her. In his mind he conjured the image of Mairin sitting in the bath tub, reaching for the towel he had brought to her. She – a thief? Never! Surely it belonged to her and he would return it to its rightful owner when the next opportunity arose.
“Thanks again, Alfred. You really are indispensable. Please notify me when dinner is ready. I’ll be in my room.”
“Very well, Sir.”
Adrijan let the little box slip into his pocket and headed out onto the corridor. Even the servants’ quarters had been renovated and were looking nice and comfortable – if one refrained from comparing them to Vivian’s rooms of course. The hallways down here were narrow and darker, a detail that couldn’t be fixed without changing the whole architecture of the castle from top to bottom.
Adrijan went for the stairs. His own room was a lot closer to Vivian’s and he disliked being down here.
“Oh, Father Démon! What a rare pleasure to see you here.” The smooth voice of the woman came from a now open door right behind him and c
learly meant danger. Adrijan halted without turning around. He was hoping that he was just being paranoid and that it wasn’t another one of those attempts.
“Did you come here to relax? You know… I could help you with that.” Her voice was almost hypnotising like the purring of a cat. Adrijan suppressed a sigh. One of the reasons to keep his profession had been that he had wanted to avoid offers like these. Over time he had found out that it was only discouraging some, while it was inviting others. Today there was no chance he would falter. He was thinking of Mairin when he left the servants’ quarters with bounding strides. His escape was accompanied by the young woman’s light giggling that slowly died away in the distance.
Mairin felt worn out from the complete transformation she had undergone but was afraid of ruining all the work by lying down. Instead she slowly paced up and down in the bathroom, agonizing over what she should do if Adrijan didn’t show up for dinner. After sunset the whole room had lit up in a different light, a light that reminded her very much of the small device Adrijan had been carrying during their escape. Knowing that, the ‘metal mule’, the magnificent room upstairs and her new clothes, this little wonder wasn’t enough to let her throw away her nerves. She was far more worried about the upcoming dinner – and her future. Apparently there was no limit as to how bad life could become and even if there were, she surely hadn’t reached it. At least for the moment she had a roof over her head and so far a very comfortable bed she hadn’t had to share with anyone yet.
Mairin’s feet were slowly getting cold and she considered going upstairs to hide them under a blanket. It was peculiar that Hilda hadn’t offered her any shoes to wear.
Just as she was about to head upstairs, the door opened and her personal maid entered.
“Miss Muriel! I’m sorry it took so long, Miss! I wanted to bring you a pair of shoes a lot earlier, Miss, but Miss, the master, he told me to bring you something else. And here I am, Miss, carrying the items he handed to me personally!” Hilda kept babbling on, much like she had when Mairin had found her in the chair in front of the fireplace.
“It’s alright Hilda, speak calmly to me.”
“The master, he chose a different pair of shoes, Miss. At first it was the kind of shoes that make you a lot taller and are hard to walk in, Miss, the elegant ones with the thin heels. And now he gave me these. Look at these, Miss!”
The girl was still agitated. Undoubtedly the immortal had once again shown his impressive qualities. Mairin followed Hilda’s request and gazed at the strange pair of sandals she had carefully put down on the floor. She honestly couldn’t fathom why the girl was so excited, yet Hilda looked at her with high expectations.
“They look… marvellous.”
Hilda’s face bore a hint of disappointment. “Just try them on, Miss, and you shall see! They’re handmade by one of the best!”
Mairin didn’t prevent Hilda from helping her. She wasn’t quite sure how to put on the sandals in the first place. Once she had slipped under the fine black leather straps and Hilda had tied the long ribbon of the same colour crossed-over around each leg she still wasn’t any more excited about them, but she was certain that they were a lot more comfortable than the pair of shoes Hilda had described before.
“They look pretty,” Mairin finally said, “and they’re very comfortable. Thank you, Hilda.”
“Just wait until you see this, Miss!” Hilda went over to the chair to pick up the item she had cautiously put there before showing her the sandals. Upon turning around full of verve, the piece of cloth unfolded and lay bare the sheer beauty of the piece. The cape was shining and glittering in black and violet like the wings of a butterfly. Mairin stared at it in awe. What kind of craftsmanship could produce something like this?
“The master ordered me to give this to you, Miss!” Hilda scurried to her side, put the cape around her shoulders and fixated it in the front. It was a lot warmer and heavier than expected. Wearing such a precious item Mairin hardly dared to move. Hilda had to raise herself on tiptoes to slip the oversize hood over Mairin’s head. When she was satisfied she stepped back and looked at her with glowing eyes.
“You look like a fairy-tale princess already, Miss!”
Mairin smiled. “Thank you, Hilda. Shall we go then?”
Maybe the immortal wasn’t such a bad person after all.
Adrijan was enraged. Vivian had asked him through Alfred to discuss recent matters concerning Traumstadt with the security staff. That alone wasn’t the reason for the bad mood he was in. There had still been plenty of time until dinner and he had decided to do some exercise before Alfred had come to him to tell him about Vivian’s wishes, as well as to notify him that the meal had been accelerated. Adrijan was unable to believe that it was coincidental and was painfully aware that after making himself presentable and talking to the staff he would certainly be late for dinner.
After a seemingly endless odyssey through countless cold corridors Hilda stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’ll be waiting here, Miss.”
Mairin felt uncomfortable dining without the girl yet nodded faintly, before she began to carefully climb the narrow circular stairs. There was no door in sight and afraid of damaging her valuable garment, Mairin paid attention to every step she made. The tension she felt due to the encounter with the immortal had let her hands turn cold and silly thoughts had begun to slip into her mind. What if she had ruined her outfit by the time she reached the dining room? Surely it was better to take a break before she started to sweat. Did she even intend to appeal to Vivian? The bottom of her cape softly brushed the stairs as she ascended to the dining room. Was Adrijan going to be there as well? He would certainly dislike her frivolous outfit. But perhaps all those worries were negligible compared to the possibility that they had lied to her and she was in truth on her way to the immortal’s bedchamber. Mairin put an end to her thoughts before she could drive herself insane. Absentmindedly she had passed several candles that lit the staircase and when she finally raised her head, she spotted a magnificent door at the top of the stairs. It was of a deep blue except in some places where pale yellow glass symbols of sun, moon and stars replaced the wood and were illuminated by the faint light coming from the room beyond. Mairin felt a lump in her throat but there was no turning back now. Repeatedly telling herself that everything would be alright, she climbed the last few steps to the entrance of the room. Soon the seemingly magical door towered in front of her like a tall, mute warden, impressive enough to make her falter. For several moments she just stood there, staring at the shimmering celestial bodies, trying to summon her remaining courage until she impulsively reached for the door to push it open.
To her surprise her hand grasped thin air as someone pre-empted her. Losing her balance Mairin clumsily stumbled forward and was only saved from falling over by two strong hands that gently grabbed her arms.
“Good evening, Miss Muriel. I’m delighted to see that you have decided to join me for dinner.”
It took Mairin a moment to recover and yet another until she realised that the immortal was still holding her. Embarrassed she hastily drew back her arms.
Vivian Anfarwol was standing in front of her, smiling. There was no sign that he had found joy in her misfortune. Instead he showed consideration of her feelings by stepping back.
“Thank you,” Mairin mumbled shyly and drew her gaze away from his dimly lit figure to look past him at the sea of lights that filled the circular room. Some candles were placed in richly crested candelabra while others were floating in bowls of water which in turn sat enthroned on fanciful structures.
“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Vivian’s voice was warm and calm like the many flames in the room. “Mh,” Mairin agreed, marvelling at the magic her view had to offer.
The immortal closed the door causing nearby candles to faintly flicker and returned to her side.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he whispered softly. “Welcome to Mondstein castle.”
Ma
irin followed the immortal’s movement with her eyes as he very carefully reached for her hand and gently raised it to his lips without letting them touch her skin. His whole being seemed to be entirely different to when he had caused the scene and unlike then she was now unable to perceive him as a threat. Mairin shivered. What was going on? Was this the same self-centred person who had invaded her privacy?
“I wish you hadn’t done it,” Mairin admitted belated, cursing her own wavering voice.
Vivian Anfarwol smiled mysteriously.
“Let me help you with this.” The immortal lifted his hand and carefully drew back the oversize hood. Mairin was flustered and didn’t dare to move but kept looking up into his eyes as he did down into hers. Her future husband truly was exceedingly handsome. Vivian’s gaze wandered and realising his intention, Mairin held her breath yet, without struggling, let Vivian open the small clasp that was holding together the butterfly cape in the front. With a final, elegant move he took the beautiful garment off her shoulders, handed it to one of the servants and offered Mairin his arm.
“Shall we?”
A faint, self-conscious smile on her lips she accepted it and allowed Vivian to lead her to the oval table in the centre. It offered enough room for several guests but to her relief Mairin counted only three place settings. Vivian seated her at the head of the table and made sure that she was comfortable before he sat down to her left. As soon as they had settled, a servant stepped out of the shadows. Mairin hadn’t even realised that he had been there and was astonished by his ability to hide his presence. After silently exchanging a few words, the servant nodded and went away.
