4. Dreamer

I was never a dreamer. As I child I was happy with just my mother. She made my world with her silly little jokes and love for baking, even if we didn’t have the money for supplies. She would make something up. It didn’t always work and we would spit out whatever concoction she had made. But still, my mother was everything to me.

With her at my side, it didn’t matter where I would end up as long as I would go back into her arms. I would enjoy the tickling of her long, red hair falling around me, how her fruity perfume hit my nose, and her soft humming of songs I didn’t know.

When adults would ask me ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I would shrug and give them no answer.

This changed when my mother told me the stone-cold truth about who I really was, a daughter of a wealthy and noble businessman. Five minutes after my father’s staff came and picked me up. Literally picked me up. I didn’t want to leave my mother. I was happy with her.

I saw how my own mother turned her back to me as I held out my hands to her, to save me. Two hours later I arrived in the big city of Ardenton, standing on the pavement connecting to a large townhouse. I was ten.

From that moment on, I became a dreamer. First I dreamt for my mom to save me from my two evil half-sisters. When I became close to legal age I dreamt of finding my mom, and when it became clear she was gone I dreamt of becoming wealthy so I would never be dependent on anyone.

The irony of my dreams hit me when I accepted to be someone’s ‘pet’. How degrading. How naïve I was. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t stop thinking about my mom who abandoned me. As I was dragged through hallways with paintings and gold wall decorations. Her red locks, her green, warm eyes, and the smell of her fruity perfume, it was all I could think of as my heart thumbed loudly in my chest.

“We have not a lot of time. We have to be quick about it,” The maid said in a hushed tone when she pushed me into a room that looked like a bathroom.

“Well, get undressed,” She hissed.

My eyes widened. “I can shower just fine by myself.”

An annoyed sigh left the maid’s mouth. “It’s not about what you can do, it’s about how it must be done. I am assigned as your maid now. I carry the responsibility that you are presentable at all times. Now, please,” This time her tone was much softer and more pleading.

Reluctantly I took off my cleaning uniform. Only now I noticed how embarrassing it was to stand in that grand room, in front of a lord in my cleaning uniform. It was an obnoxious thing with a hideous name embroidered on my chest, Opulent Clean Co. Wearing that wasn’t as degrading as being owned by someone. Still having to wear that in grand houses with even grander furniture felt as an insult. Look at me, I have money and you don’t.

“I am glad we are allowed to wear something more stylish,” The maid said in sympathy when I handed over my clothes.

It was true what she said. She was clothed in a more stylish way, in something that matched the house. Her shoes were shiny black, with one strap, a round tip, and a small heel, even designer as well, Prada, if I saw it right. Her tights looked luxurious, something that wouldn’t rip quickly during chores. They were black as well as the rest of her uniform. Her dress was short, a few inches above the knee, but not in a way you would flash someone quickly, and under it a black blouse with puffy arms. The outfit was topped off with a small bow on her bun.

The maid neatly folded my clothes and turned the water on in the big bathtub. Once all the soaps were inside she gestured for me to come. “I am sorry, this must feel stupid, but these are the rules. I promise you, as long as you do what I say everything will be alright.”

When I lowered myself and submerged into the water I asked, “What’s your name?”

“Oh, no, I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s safer that way.”

“What do you mean?” I shook my head confused.

“As long as we don’t know each other’s name we can’t say anything wrong we hear or say to each other because you don’t know who exactly told you something,” She winked at me. “It’s better this way, trust me. I have been here a long time.”

“What else should I know?” I asked concerned.

She looked away from me as she focused again on cleaning me thoroughly. “Your master will tell you what you need to know,” She then told me curtly.

“What about his eyes? They have a weird color…” An image of Dimitri settled in my mind. I couldn’t help but be intrigued by him. His looks definitely lured me in like helpless prey, but there was something else that made his mysterious outlook appealing to me.

The maid gave me one stern look and I understood.

“Oh, well, thanks,” I didn’t know why I thanked her, it just felt like the right thing to do.

Once she was done washing my body and hair I had to step out, standing with my arms outstretched. She rubbed lotions and oils all over my body, brushed my hair, put products in there as well, blow-dried it, and styled it, giving me a beautiful blowout. One I always saw with the rich wives, who went to a salon every day, just so their hair would be good.

When done she gave me sheer-looking underwear and a dark red short dress. It went straight down, but it was even shorter than the maid’s one. One wrong move and my underwear was seen by everyone near me – that was probably the point. Then she gave me the same shoes she wore, but in a dark red color as well and with a slightly higher heel.

The last thing she gave me was a choker, in the same color as my dress. “The pendent will be made and once it is done it will be connected here,” She pointed at a small loop in the front.

When she stepped away I saw my own reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. I didn’t recognize myself anymore. My hair looked lush, my face radiant, and my body was on full display. I had never seen myself like this, this, this sexy?

I didn’t have time to look any longer as the maid pulled at my arm and dragged me once again through the hallways. She came at a sudden halt and knocked three times on one of the double doors.

When permission was granted to enter, the maid dragged me further into the room. We were both standing in the middle of what it looked like some kind of sitting room with two large armchairs near the fireplace, two couches facing each other, and a vintage coffee table dividing them. A large space in the middle and a mirroring set of two armchairs, two couches, and a coffee table on the other side of the room. On my left were big bookcases, on my right big narrow windows displaying the bright moon.

“You are dismissed,” Dimitri said lowly to the maid from his armchair.

When the door closed, Dimitri spoke again. “What I am about to tell you, I will tell you only once. And once you are told you are not to tell anyone outside of this house. Do you understand, my pet?”

I gulped.

I was never a dreamer, but right then I dreamt of freedom.