The brilliant rays from the sun blistered into the room, the curtains had been drawn back with an elegant gold rope, and the scuffling of feet echoed in the area around her. Alex squinted open her eyes, for a moment forgetting where she was, the soreness in her neck brought back the memories of the night before, and a pink stain graced her cheeks. Jerking up with a start she seen an older woman bustling about her room, "Good morning Mistress Darling, the Lord said to tell you he would be waiting in the library after you have had a bite to eat." She smiled with genuine warmth.
Alexis held the blanket up to her chest, painfully aware of her nudity, "please call me Alex," she smiled at the woman.
There was a blink of surprise cross her face but then she was smiling again, "I am Miss Fanny to you child," she responded and then pointed to the wooden chest at the foot of the bed, "I brought you a fresh pair of clothes to wear today, until we can have some made for you. There is a certain style the Lord likes everyone to dress in here, would you like to bathe?"
Biting her lip, she nodded, "Yes please, that sounds divine right now." She gave a little laugh. Hopping of the bed, she brought the blanket with her to the master bathroom that Miss Fanny escorted her to. It was so pristine, everything was white marble, except the exquisite clawfoot tub that rested in the center of the room.
"Go ahead and hand me that blanket and I'll have it washed," Miss Fanny stated reaching out for the blanket. Alex held tight to it, not wanting to give it up.
"Can you not wash it?" she asked, "Not yet, it has kind of become something special to me." Alex mumbled feeling silly for having grown attached to a piece of fabric but there was just something about the blanket that made her feel secure and safe. If it was washed, she was afraid that the feeling might somehow be washed way with it, so unwrapping it from around herself she folded it up and went to set it back on the bed.
"Alright my dear, lets get you cleaned and fed so the Lord is not waiting overly long, he is an impatient man."
Alex raised a brow at the woman as she stepped into the awaiting warmth of the water. It felt like heaven against her heightened skin, she sunk down low enough to where her nose was just above the water, the steam floated around her. Alex let it all sink in, the fact that this was to be her home for however long Ace wished it and that her village would prosper once again. It was like a dream come true, to good to be true, was more like it. There had to be a bigger catch, something that she was missing, but she just could not see the big picture yet. Not enough clues to piece together, she would have to wait a little longer, it would come out in the end. "Really? He seems like nothing but calm and patient when I had seen him at the party."
Miss Fanny did nothing but give a little hum as she helped Alexis bathe washing and rinsing her hair in perfumed oils, Alex did not think she had ever smelt so good in her life. After she was done being scrubbed down, she sat in front of a huge vanity, Fanny was trying to fashion her hair, "My goodness child, you have the most beautiful hair I have ever seen and it refuses to be tamed." She ended up piling it in a loose fashion on top her head, ringlets of curls escaped around her face and down her neck. "Ah, he got you good, he did." She stated.
"What?" Alex asked and Fanny gave her a handheld mirror so she could look at the back of her neck. An angry ugly red bite mark protruded from the skin on her neck, making Alex flush in rage. "Why has it not healed yet?" she demanded.
Fanny stared at her a little, making Alex feel as if she had something on her face, "Mating marks do not fade. That is why I put your hair up, to show off your mark today, many will want to see if it is true that the Lord has taken a mate. It stands to make a statement, his claim on you is linked with that mark."
"Are you serious? Does a woman just have countless of scars on her body of other males claim marks then, every time she takes another mate around here?" Alex asked in shock, this culture was barbaric and should never understand it.
"I think you should talk to the Lord about all this when you see him. I am sure he will explain everything to you at that point in time, it is not really my place to say." She bowed her head. Alex was silently fuming when they returned to the bedroom, picking up the clothes that were laid out for her, she slipped the white silk slip on, and turned herself in a circle admiring the lightness of the material. It felt as if she was wearing almost nothing. The dress she put on over it was little more than the slip itself, the white satin hugged every curve she had, her nipples were hardened under the gentle sliding of the fabric caressing them. Alex felt sexy yet the white symbolized innocence, which did not look like her in this dress. The slipperettes were a soft cream color, a little padding to her bare feet. "You look lovely, quite a vision. Shall I show you to the kitchens?"
"Yes, I'm starving," Alex laughed when her stomach chose that exact moment to rumble, "Then to the library, Ace has some fuckin explaining to do."
Miss Fanny held her hand up to her mouth, holding back an amused, yet slightly horrified look. "I like you." She nodded, "You will definitely make things more interesting around here."