Theo Bold had experienced peoples anger, that was practically his whole existence with the master he has. It was the only emotion he'd see people express towards him, but there was one person's anger that he couldn't handle and that one person's Icy eyes were staring right at him.
Kneeling in front of her was the toad; when she'd entered the cabin the toad was already kneeling in front of the couch she had been sitting in previously, and like always, Theo had understood the source of her anger through some sort of bond that they had; Lee figured, since it would be impossible for him to figure out what she wanted to say through facial expression alone.
"Tell me everything Theo," she demanded, and not withholding anything this time he started from a few days before the abduction...
"As you already know, the real Leeona, second Princess of Xodale was abducted the day of her fifth birthday party by an unknown assailant, but in truth one person knew that this was all going to happen, and that was you, Master." before he could continue, Lee interrupted, "I've been meaning to bring this up with you actually, can you not call me your master?, I'm not whoever was in this body before," she thought, making Theo shake his head
"You may not understand it now, but you are still my Master even though you are no longer her" he replied, in turn, making her even more frustrated so she waved for him to continue, "You had seen what the assailant was planning, and integrated this wicked plan to fit your own"
"Seen?" Lee asked, not minding the interruptions he answered
"Just like when you were in prison, those visions you had are part of the power that you hold, seeing into the minds of humans and creatures alike was one of the powers that made you unique, as well as a threat. This power allows you to see into the minds of the corrupt-"
"Why?"
"Because you attract darkness Master, darkness was your home for many years, it's attracted to you like an addict is to his drug."
After getting the answers she wanted she waved her hand to indicate that he continue the explanation.
"Knowing that infiltrating the royal family wasn't going to be something we could pull of in that time, and knowing that the child was soon to be killed, you planned for when you came. Lee could pretty much fill in the rest; remembering what Anne had told her the King only had one daughter and three sons, this child was the perfect target being of noble birth. It was the perfect case of keeping your enemies closer, all she had to do was watch it all play out and seven years later instructed Theo to bring me here in the guise of the long lost second princess.
"What about the assailant? Who was it that killed the child?" she asked
"That I do not know Master, you never shared that information with me, saying that it was not vital to the plan."
That didn't make sense, if she knew that Lee was coming back here as the Princess, obviously she needed to know who had killed the previous one in the first place. "I apologize, master, for my less than forthcoming explanation about the current identity you hold" Theo started not daring to look at Lee, instead, staring at her flowery low heeled shoes. "I had thought that if I told you that ending up on that boat, and the authorities finding us; as well as your current appearance were all planned from the very beginning you wouldn't agree to stay."
Agreeing with him Lee nodded stating that she no longer wanted to continue this facade making the kneeling butler sigh "While I was lying about the way you ended up here Master, the fact about enemies being high on our tail was, in fact, true. Our escape from the prison drained most of my power as well as yours, we are nowhere near ready to face such enemies so taking shelter with the Royal family of the Human Kingdom is our best choice"
She stared at the face of the butler in front of her which heald nothing but the truth this time, his eyes were pulled with concern. Deep down inside he wished to fulfil the orders that were given to him, but any decision she made he would follow without protest because she was now his Master. Even though she is not the Master who picked him up from the depths of hell, the moment she woke up in this body; Lee owned him, body and soul for as long as she needed him, and after that, he would be nothing but flesh and bones.
Inside her mind, the one thing that was stopping her from seeing reason was the image of the life she would lead if she agreed. She thought back to the room her body was currently sleeping in but after a long battle, the side of common sense won, making a very exited toad jump from its position. But before Theo could celebrate, Lee stopped him with a stare, "Is there anything else your hiding from me?" Lee asked inside her head
He re-filled the empty teacup she had in her hand and went back to his kneeling position "Yes, though I never meant to keep this a secret. Our connection isn't as simple as I had led it to be, I'm sure you've already discovered that you do not need to speak verbally for me to understand" to this she nodded
Theo then proceeded to...take off his clothes?
Starting with his blazer, then his tie he continued to strip the top half of his body. Seeing as Lee's was trapped inside four thick hospital walls in her previous life, she never had any interactions with many males besides one male nurse who took care of her for a while. But unlike the novels, she had read where a handsome nurse and the patient fall in love, this man was hitting fifty-six, married and had three children and several grandchildren.
So the only source of entertainment she had was the very explicit books she read... and a laptop that the very nurse got her as a Christmas present, the only present she's ever gotten to be honest. Lee thought back to the very first time she ever saw a naked male, then looked at the now bare and muscular chest of the man she'd been calling a toad.
His body wasn't overly muscular, not like the one on the screen she'd seen. Theo's was a delicate kind of muscular, his arms were thin yet by no means weak-looking, a stomach covered in abs that put even the porn star to shame and not to mention his skin; the creamy smooth bare skin that merged with the darker shade of his nipples.
Lucky for her, the expression oh her face was what it had always been since that night in the cave, cold and detached so what she was feeing as she compared this male body to the ones she'd seen on her laptop screen wasn't shown in her expression. She may be a child on the outside, but she is still a woman on the inside and the sudden attack of skin made her quite...uncomfortable
Theo not noticing his master's inner turmoil threw his white shirt beside him and turned, exposing his bareback to her, seeing what was on there broke her out of the stupor she had been in; On his back was a giant red glowing tree, when Lee looked it was like it was pulsing, like it was alive. The strange thing was she felt a sense of familiarity with it. Just like the box, Theo had shown her before this tree called to her like it was a part of her.
And by the way, she was feeling towards it, she had a sneaky suspicion it was. Her suspicions were confirmed when Theo said "This is your mark, I as well as the others have this mark given to us by you. It is to mark that we are yours, a soul claim" he explained
"Only people who've surpassed the ten realms as you have can claim another's soul as theirs, this claim attaches my soul to yours, linking us together, in a way you could describe it as marriage, two people come together and swear their lives to each other"
It took a while for her to digest the information she'd just received, so he was saying that she was married to him? But she hasn't even had her first kiss yet, how can she be married already!
Then something registered and she looked back at the waiting Theo "So what exactly does that mean, can you read my thoughts all the time?"
Theo shook his head " Not unless you want me to Master, our connection is controlled entirely by you, I can only access your thoughts when they are aimed directly at me. This bond allows you access to more than my mind, you have my body and powers as well, In every sense of the word I am yours, Master." The overwhelming emotion in his eyes surprised her, up until now this man had been just an annoying presence in her new life, the only reason she tolerated him was that he was useful information wise.
But as she looked, really looked into his eyes even though she couldn't see the red tree, she could still feel it pulse as if talking to her. As she continued to stare into his eyes something started to form in the back of her mind, the familiar tingle of a memory overtook her body, the image started to make itself clear, but before she could completely see it, she felt her body being shaken violently, until she finally woke up to a very concerned Anne practically inches from her face.
"Miss, finally I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes! Do you feel unwell?, should I tell the Prince that you won't be able to attend supper?" to this question Lee shook her head and sat up, the fussy woman took one hour after that to freshen her up from the 'nap' Lee took, changing her previous dress to a comfier gown, but the style didn't change from its frilly ends and dozens of flowers printed all over.
This gown reached just above her ankles, it's satin texture designed with an imaginable amount of flowers from the hips down, above, the dress went off her delicate pale shoulders and to complement the dress she was given similar coloured gloves. Looking at herself in the mirror, Lee had to admit that Anne's choice in clothing for her made her look even more like a royal, the colours complimented her complexion perfectly and her hair taken down from its styled up-do was combed back into its natural curls presenting an image of innocence.
Like a proud mother the maid stood and admired her handy work, then a second later that admiration changed into sadness puzzling her; noticing the puzzlement on Lee's face Anne crouched down and grabbed her hand, placing them in between both her large one's.
"You remind me so much of your mother young miss" said Anne, a memory playing in her eyes " She also looked marvellous in blue, your father especially liked her in blue because he said it made her look like the moon goddess, a being with hair as white as snow and majestic features to match the majestic name"
"Your mother never gave up you know," she continued with teary eyes. "I just wish that she could be here right now, to see you, to see that she was right not to give up till her last moment." Lee took out the notepad inside the side pocket of the dress and proceeded to write something in neat elegant letters and when Anne saw what was written on it, she seemed to have realized she had misspoken during her little speech. On the notepad was written "Is my mother dead?"
Though she had guessed that her "mother" had died, she still didn't know the circumstances of her death; it could be the same person who killed her daughter, and if she was going to pose as this households long lost Princess, Lee wanted to know everything there was to know about them. Not knowing how to respond to the child, Anne stood from her crouched position and changed the subject entirely "I nearly forgot that everyone is waiting down in the dining room, My Lady, best not to keep them waiting" she then proceeded to grabs Lee's arm and drag her, again, down the lengthy staircase