"My Lady! I am so happy to see you!" a youth of about eighteen stood at the door, staring at Elizabella with passionate eyes.
He had short black hair and silver eyes. From a glance, the youth looks like a normal teenager. Only when one looks closely can they see that his black pupils are actually crescent shape. The rest of his face looked normal, including his beautiful smile that would stun his receivers.
"Walliams, I heard that you received news from your parents," said Elizabella mirroring his smile.
As soon as he heard her words and saw her smile, he couldn't help but smile harder as his long black tail finally came into view.
"Haha! So you have heard already? Well, let me tell you. You know how my mother gave birth to my baby brother two months ago? She wants me to get to know him!" said Walliams a bit smugly as Elizabella listened and nodded her head.
"I see. Do you need some time off to visit your family?" asked Elizabella while Walliams smiled beautifully at her.
"Well, that will not be necessary, My Lady. She has sent him to me to take care of for a few weeks! He is right here!" said Walliams as he bent down to lift up a basket from the side of the door and came inside the study. " He is too young to form a master-servant contract so a name has not been given to him yet."
Walliams came up to the desk where a surprised Elizabella sat. She saw Williams place the basket gently in front of her as she curiously peeked. Inside the basket, she saw a small black cub looking up at her with his silver and black crescent pupil eyes.
"He is so tiny!" exclaimed Elizabella as she gently stroked the black cub. "He is still too young to turn into his human form, am I right?"
"Shadow Panthers normally can turn human on their third month. That is also when we can form a master-servant contract and when our natural abilities are manifested," explained Walliams as she saw Elizabella playing with his younger brother, who seemed delighted to be petted by her soft hands.
"Ah. So he cannot blend with the shadows like his big brother, huh?" said Elizabella as she took out the black cub into her arms and continued playing with him.
"That is correct. He can still camouflage with the shadows, just not melt completely like I or our parents can. Typically, we can not be called Shadow Panthers until we completely blend with any shadow. Although we say that our species is not abundant, that is only because the number of our kind who can truly be called Shadow Panthers is small, compared to our species as a whole."
"But with both your parents and yourself being able to fully blend with the shadows, it stands to reason that this little guy will one day soon blend with the shadows," said the Steward as he watched Elizabella playing with the cub while a smile crept on his face. "We must be careful with your baby brother, Walliams. If other greedy people find out about him, they will do anything in their power to steal him, since he has yet to form a master-servant contract."
"Ah! If course, Steward Josaf," said Walliams with a beaming smile. "Mother has left him in my care for the next few weeks. I must make sure to bring him back to my parents safe and sound."
After a short while of playing with the little cub, Elizabella reluctantly gave him back to Walliams to take away. The little cub gave a dejected look at Elizabella as he was taken away from her sight.
She started to work on her homework and finished within half an hour. Soon, she started to work on her skit until dinner was called. She would normally eat with her aunt's family every meal time they had. Elizabella chatted with her younger male cousins who went to a different school as her.
They were learning about government and management so that they could someday manage their family's estate in the future. During their free time, Steward Josaf would help the young boys on their studies, while Elizabella would continue with her projects.
Elizabella would typically work on her projects until it was time for bed as she did on this particular night. She got ready for bed as she placed her large, black rim glasses on her nightstand and brushed her long silver-lilac hair into a braid crown. She plopped herself to bed and slept peacefully until the following morning.
The next day was a Tuesday, and she got up to go to school. She undid her braid crown, revealing her curls that had set from the night before. The uniform had been cleaned and pressed the night before and the last thing she had to put on would be her glasses.
Elizabella had perfect vision; she just did not want many people to know her true face. Growing up, her face had opened many opportunities since it was widely known. She feared that someone from her past would recognize her and her quiet life would end. Her glasses were thick so they obscured her eyes, but not her vision. They were so large that they covered half her face.
Her friend, Olivia, did not even know her eye colors. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she made her way to the study, where she had left her school bag the day before. She took it downstairs where she ate her breakfast with her family while placing her bag down at her feet. After she finished, she stood up with her bag and made her way to the front gate.
Olivia was waiting with her driver for her. They headed off to school and went to their first class. Their first class were separate so they said their goodbyes before parting ways. Elizabella placed her bag on her desk when she felt it move on its own. She had sat down in shock as she slowly opened her bag and noticed a pair of silver eyes with black crescent pupils staring back at her.