by Eric Vall
“Yes?” Delphine’s thickly accented voice snapped.
“Mistress Vallantine,” the servant squeaked. “Mr. Rayburn is here to see you… ”
“Ahhhh, yesss,” the gray-haired woman sneered. “Send him in.”
So, the manservant swung open the door, stepped aside, and gestured me in. The room beyond was massive, shaped into an oval, and lined with towering shelves filled with books. The ceiling was made entirely out of glass and shaped into an intricate dome spliced together with different sized panes.
Delphine Vallantine sat in a high-back leather chair behind a large, dark wooden desk, and papers were spread out in front of her. The stout woman wore a violet colored, high-collared dress with white lace at the throat. Her gray hair was curled and styled into the same way as each time I’d seen her before. The chubby woman wore a pair of half-rimmed glasses and stared down at one of the sheets of paper with her tongue in the corner of her mouth.
The gray-haired woman lifted her head, settled her muddy-water eyes on my face, scoffed, and then let a simpering smile spread over her pale lips.
“The Alchemist,” Delphine smirked, placed her folded hands onto the top of her desk, and leaned forward. “How lovely of you to stop by, I heard the reasoning behind your visit, and though I am surprised, I’m delighted you came to a decision that would benefit the both of us.”
“Yes,” I stated and glanced over my shoulder as the door behind me swung shut. “I decided that it would be better to be at your mercy than against you in this situation.”
“Good, good,” Delphine nodded, snatched up a piece of paper, glanced at it, and then dropped it. “I’ve already drawn up a contract if you’d like to sit down and look through it. It’s nothing too fancy, you will willingly submit to me, give up all of your connections to the outside world, make your entire life about me and my pleasures and finally, be at my beck and call. There are a few other rules thrown in there, but they’re all minor.”
“No,” I stated, crossed the room, and sat down in one of the low chairs across from her desk. “I’ll sign it without reading, I don’t care.”
“Ah, very well,” Delphine chuckled. “Though I would suggest reading it, I wouldn’t want you to break a rule and not even know it.”
“I won’t, Mistress,” I forced out. “Even if I make a mistake, I’m sure you will punish me accordingly, and that is a risk I'm willing to take.”
“I’m surprised at you, Charles.” The gray-haired woman leaned back in her chair, tented her fingers, and stared at me over their tips. “The last time we spoke, you seemed… disgusted in my presence, revolted even. What made you change your mind so suddenly?”
“If you want the truth, Delphine,” I cleared my throat and then spoke honestly. “My time with the Duchess is running out, I haven’t produced what she’s asked for, and when the deadline comes, I will be executed. If I sign a consort contract with you, I’ll be under your protection and…”
“Therefore, protected from the Duchess,” Delphine grinned. “I understand perfectly, Charles. If you were any other man… I might have half a mind to send for Edony and tell her what you just told me, but since I’ve been eyeing you for a while… I won’t. You see, the Duchess and I may be on the same social standing, but we are not, by any means, friends. She has the prestige, wealth, and power that my family has always deserved and been deprived of. So yes, this little secret stays between the two of us until the time comes, and your deadline is not met. Shall we?”
“Yes, Mistress.” I breathed and gazed over the desktop. “Edony will know nothing of this until it’s absolutely necessary.”
“I’m glad we’re in agreement, Charles,” the gray-haired woman tittered, tapped the side of her nose, and then sniffed loudly. “I’m still quite flabbergasted to see you sitting here in front of me. I thought I'd have to drag you out of that laboratory of yours by your hair, but you’ve decided to come along willingly, what a treat.”
“The papers?” I whispered, gestured toward the spread-out pile, and then grabbed a pen. “I’d like to sign them as soon as possible.”
“Of course, of course,” Delphine snickered, collected them, and pushed them across the desk. “You’ll need to sign at the bottom of each page, not too taxing, I don’t think.”
“I do have a request of you.” I grabbed the first sheet, barely glanced at the paragraphs of words, and scratched a signature at the bottom.
“And what is it?” Delphine’s satisfied smile fell from her chapped lips. “You haven’t been one of my consorts for five minutes, and you’re already asking for something from me? Not very good, Charles, this may go on your permanent record.”
“It’s nothing like that,” I breathed. “I only wish that once my documents are signed, the two of us retire to your bedroom to consummate the agreement.”
Delphine’s thin, plucked eyebrows shot up, a sly smile spread over her grayish lips, and the stout woman shifted excitedly in her plush seat.
“Do you?” the gray-haired woman tutted. “I didn’t know you were such an excitable man, Charles.”
“Wouldn’t you like to try out the… product?” I forced out through a broad, fake smile. “I can assure you, those who’ve lain with me were pleasantly surprised with my range of anatomical knowledge and… equipment given to me from birth.”
“Chaaaarles,” Delphine purred. “Hurry up and sign the papers, then I’ll show you to my personal chambers.”
“But, I have another request,” I stated.
“What is it, my darling?” the gray-haired woman simpered, leaned forward, and tucked her chin into her palm. “If your request is as sweet as the first, I might just give it to you.”
“Send your servants away,” I uttered.
“What?” Delphine drew back, narrowed her eyes, and held her hands tightly in her lap. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Just for the night.” I pushed on. “You can keep your guards on, just the manservants and such.”
“Why?” Delphine squinted. “Why would you request such a thing?”
“Mistress, if I could be quite cavalier.” I held the fountain pen above the dotted line. “I haven’t laid with a woman in quite some time, I may be a bit rusty at first, but I would like to pleasure you until I physically can’t anymore. I would like to spare your servants my embarrassment from hearing my struggles…”
“Ahhhh, a bit of performance anxiety, I see,” the gray-haired woman snickered. “That’s only natural. But if I do this for you, Charles, it’s the only time. After this, I cannot relinquish them from their duties.”
The gray-haired woman stood from her chair, ran her chubby, wrinkled hands over the fabric of her dress, cleared her throat, and then came around the desk. Delphine crossed the room, glanced at the papers spread out before me meaningfully, and then moved toward the closed door. The tiny woman ripped it open, tested her voice, and then shrieked down the long hall of paintings.
“Augustus!” her voice echoed. “Augustus! Come here right now!”
The sound of pounding feet against the slick marble floors reached my ears, and I craned my neck over my shoulder as another man in a yellow uniform came into view. The man pumped his arms, raced forward down the hall, came to stand in front of Delphine, and then threw himself forward into a low bow.
“Mistress Delphine!” Augustus shouted at the floor. “All the consorts are in their rooms, present and accounted for!”
“That’s not what I wanted from you,” the gray-haired woman snapped. “Though I am glad they are all resting well, especially after the outburst a few nights ago.”
“What is it that I can get for you then, Mistress?” Augustus panted.
“Dismiss all of the servants for the night,” Delphine instructed. “Tell them not to come back until tomorrow morning. I have pressing business to attend to, and I don’t want any of them around.”
“Yes, Mistress!” Augustus shouted, slammed up into an upright position, and then spun on his h
eels.
“Also, Augustus,” the gray-haired woman called.
“Y-Yes, Mistress?” the man in yellow paused with wide eyes as he turned halfway around.
“Charles Rayburn wasn’t here, do you understand me?” Delphine growled. “If any of the servants breathes a word of his presence here, you or them will be executed in the street by midafternoon tomorrow, do you understand? No one must know that he was here, in my office, not other aristocrats and especially not the Duchess. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
“Crystal, Mistress,” Augustus nodded. “I’ll let the other servants know. No words will pass our lips.”
“Very good, now get out of my sight,” the chubby woman barked, turned on her heel, and then glanced over her shoulder in my direction. “Now, Charles, have you finished signing your paperwork?”
“Yes, Mistress.” I nodded, lifted the papers, and offered them up.
“I’ll look over them in the morning.” Delphine took them, came around the desk, didn’t glance at them, and slipped the packet into one of the drawers. “Now, if you will follow me, I’ll show you to my personal quarters. Over the next few weeks, I’m sure you’ll become well acquainted with them, and the rest of the manor, but my room is the most important, of course.”
“Yes, Mistress.” I nodded, slipped into the role of dutiful consort, stood from my chair, and followed her from the room.
“These are all of my ancestors,” Delphine stated and gestured toward the paintings. “I’m sure you could tell from our strong resemblances.”
“Yes,” I uttered. “I noticed them on the way in.”
“The Vallantine’s have been breeding with a specific family for hundreds of years,” the gray-haired woman huffed. “Though my luck with the mongrel they’ve given me from their lineage has proved less than fruitful. Each child that emerges from my womb is nothing more than a vile brute and has to be cast away to some sort of training school out west.”
All of her children were boys, why couldn’t she just say that? What made my sex so vile to the women of this society? What had we done in years past that had been so terrible that we'd become nothing more than servants, pets and… sexual objects?
“Don’t you ever want to see them?” I asked without thinking. “You’re their mother, after all.”
Delphine paused for a moment in the hall, one of her hands held in the air, and I felt the temperature drop as her eyes met mine.
“Tell me, Charles,” the gray-haired woman muttered. “Do you remember your birth-giver? Do you have any memory of her at all?”
Birth-giver, what a strange word to describe the person who gave you life. It was cold and unfeeling, almost sterile as it slid off her tongue, and I had to wonder, how many times had she referred to herself as that as she handed off her newly born sons?
“No, my mother?” I replied. “No, I can’t recall her face or touch, anything like that. Most of my memories are filled with the schoolmarms that taught me, though they were no semblance of a mother.”
“Then that should answer your question,” Delphine sniffed. “Your birth-giver probably did exactly what the rest of us do when a beast is born from our wombs. We women are not equipped to take care of such monsters, it’s not in our nature. The schoolmarms and other caretakers are trained how to do so, you shouldn’t question how society works, Charles. It’s been this way for centuries, why change it now? Or do you secretly envy the life that women live? I can understand why you do… we live in luxury while all men are forced to be our servants, but there’s no other way, Charles. Men need handlers, you’re not strong enough to survive on your own. If we, women, wanted, we could wipe your mere existence off the face of the earth.”
“I’ve come to accept my place in society,” I sighed. “There is nothing I can do but try to better my situation.”
“Yessss, yes.” Delphine nodded, stepped forward, and strutted down the hall. “And that’s why you made the brilliant decision to come to me. I commend you for it. Women may live in luxury, but few men, when they sign contracts as consorts become lap dogs and are taken care of by highly powerful women. They live without want, or need, with food in their bellies, a roof over their heads, and a warm place to sleep at night, and all they have to do is please their mistress a few times a week. What more could a mongrel want? It’s the same with you, Charles, you saw the life you were living underneath the Duchess’ power and sought out another mistress to take care of you. You knew that I could provide and treat you better than she could.”
“Yes, Mistress.” I breathed. “I believe that I can better myself under your guiding hands and instruction.”
“But speaking of birth-givers, sometimes, I like to look at my servants, even my consorts, and wonder who their birth-giver might be.” Delphine stepped forward, glanced over her shoulder, and then turned a corner. “Could one of them be another aristocrat on the same level as me? Could one of them be the Duchess’ beast? I did have one a few years ago that had her fair hair, pale complexion, and striking violet eyes. He was one of my favorites, though sadly, he was taken away from me when I was outbid to be his keeper.”
“Outbid?” I asked. “What does that mean? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Ahhh, yesss,” the gray-haired woman sneered. “I’m sorry, that’s something I’m not supposed to talk about with… civilians and vermin, but since you’re my consort now, I’m sure I could let you in on our little secret.”
“I would love that, Mistress,” I spoke through a broad, fake smile.
“There’s a trading and bidding system in place for all male consorts,” Delphine went on. “It’s been around for thousands of years, though few know about it. It’s mainly for the higher-powered aristocrats, those with expendable wealth and lots of time on their hands. Consorts are bought mainly through contracts, as you know from the paperwork you’ve signed, but many don’t know is that contract is indefinite, there is no end date for your servitude.”
“So, once you become a consort, you will always be a consort?” I asked in a calm voice as I attempted to stop my racing heart.
“Correct,” the gray-haired woman leered. “As I said, the contract is indefinite, and once a mistress tires of a consort, she can sell her contract off to another aristocrat. Or the aristocrat can go directly to the consort and pay out their contract or offer them a better one with larger incentives. That method is frowned upon in our little group, it’s not exactly fair to the person they’re taking from, especially if it’s a favored consort. As before, one of my companions was bought out from underneath me, and that aristocrat has been blacklisted from bidding forever.”
“So, it’s the buying and selling of men?” I uttered.
“Yes, if you want to put it as plainly as that,” Delphine nodded. “But this is different from trading a head of cattle or selling off a load of product. This is a living, breathing beast, it needs more than a barn to lay down in, a fresh layer of hay and clean water. They have needs and wants, and as their keepers, we must provide for them.”
“And what does the Duchess think of all this?” I followed closely behind her and gazed ahead of us. “She has to know about it, she’s the one in power, correct?”
“The Duchess?” Delphine scoffed. “She doesn’t care, why should she? Like my family, Edony has a firm breeding contract with a high-standing family in the east. She has no need for consorts, though she has yet to produce an heir, it’s quite sad for her. She’s only given birth twice in her lifetime, and both of them have been abominations, I can only assume she’s having the same problems as I, but I can’t say for certain.”
“If you have this rigorous breeding program with another family.” I started, took a breath, and then went on. “Then why do you feel the need to have consorts, Delphine?”
The gray-haired woman paused, thought for a moment as her dark brown eyes studied the floor, and then she turned to face me.
“Let me ask you a question,” the stout woman chuckled. “I
sn’t it more interesting to have multiple dogs with different personalities, temperaments, and qualities than to have a single dog that won’t obey its purpose?”
To hear it put so plainly made my stomach roil, I already knew we were thought as beasts, vermin, even trash, but to lower my entire sex down to the level of dogs? It shouldn’t have surprised me, any of it, but it still made me sick to my stomach to hear it pass someone’s lips so easily.
“Have I upset you, Charles?” Delphine probed. “I know it’s a touchy subject, but you should know by now, as a man, that this is just how things are.”
“No, I’m not upset,” I replied as I rolled my shoulders and stood a little straighter. “It’s hard to hear things put so bluntly.”
“Yes, yes.” the stout woman inclined her head to me. “It must be challenging to hear the truth, but, you will learn to accept it over time if you haven’t already. Just be a good lap dog for me, and I will treat you well, better than the Duchess ever could.”
“Yes, Mistress,” I breathed. “I believe you will be a wonderful keeper for me. I can already tell.”
“As long as you obey my commands, we will have no trouble,” the gray-haired woman giggled. “Now, this way, Charles, up the stairs. My rooms take up the entire top floor, except for the west wing where all of the consorts reside. You will live there too. Eventually, you’ll have your own room and a small bathroom, and you’ll be given a key into the playroom for whenever I call you. I do believe that you are going to be my new favorite.”
I trailed after Delphine and had to stop myself from wrapping my hands around her thick, veiny neck. I felt disgusted, used, and dirty, and I hadn’t even done anything yet. I hated that I had to agree to all of this and pretend to be her toy, even if it was fake. For the slightest of moments, I’d had second thoughts about choosing Delphine as the next patient in the experiment, but now, all of those were gone. The stout, gray-haired croon deserved to die, more than anyone I’d ever met, and it gave me pleasure to know I’d be the one to take her life away.
