Elenor was pulled out of her thoughts and back to the present when the phone in the kitchen started to ring.
She hurried to the phone and answered it on the fourth ring. "Hello?" She asked.
"Hello Elenor," came the icy voice of her mistress.
"Hello mistress," she replied solemnly.
"How is my daughter?" She asked.
"The child is at school, mistress." She replied.
"I didn't ask where she was, I asked, how is she." She snapped.
"T..the young miss is fine mistress." She replied timidly.
"Is she showing signs yet?" She asked.
"No, my mistress." She replied.
"It's only a few months away, the process should begin soon." She stated. "Be sure to call me as soon as she shows the first sign."
"I will mistress, right away."
"Would you like me to have her call you, when she returns home?" She asked.
"No. I'll call her myself."
"Elenor?" She held her breath, careful that she didn't think of anything that could give her away.
"Yes?"
"I will be there a week before her birthday." She said.
The call disconnected. She placed the receiver back on the wall and noticed that her hand, that just graced signs of youth, had begun to return to the old wrinkled skin it once was.
She ran to the mirror, hanging on the wall by the front door. The lines and wrinkles became more defined. The once faded sun spots reappeared, and the brown color drained from her hair like water. Her skin lost its fullness and sagged. "NO NO NO NO…..Why is this happening?" She said slamming her palms on the half table in front of her. "It should've worked." The tonics were her mistress's very own recipe, but Elenor had added an extra ingredient this time to siphon off a little something for herself.
'She knows what I've done!' She thought.
The memory of what her mistress did when she planned to drained them, caused a shiver to run down her spine.
Elenor thought back to that day thirteen years ago, during their walk in the garden.
Elenor had awoken, but still darkness surrounded her. She could feel the cold metal shackles binding her hands and feet, as well as the metal bit in her mouth. Her body shivered against the hard, freezing surface her bare back was pressed against. 'What did she do to me,' she thought in anger. She struggled, in an attempt to free herself, but she was still so weak. The bit in her mouth turned her intended words to muffled sounds.
'Where am I? When I get free I'm going to teach that woman a lesson!' She thought furiously.
"What lesson do you intent to teach me?" A voice echoed humorously in her ears.
Elenor saw a single small flame ignite in front of her, in the pitch blackness. The flame rose up, illuminating her captors face and the cigarette she held between her lips. Once lit she sent the flame to the four corners of the room and the small chandelier in the center near the ceiling. The fire ignited candles in each place, giving off a warm glow and illuminating the stone room around her.
An array of muffled curses came from her prisoner.
"It's easier to think your words, than to speak them. It will make this process so much easier." Mrs. Smith said, taking a drag off her cigarette and blowing it back out.
Elenor screamed more muffled curses in an attempt to show her fury.
"You've become a slow learner, no matter, let's see if we can speed things up a bit," a sinister smile stretched across her face.
She kept the cigarette between her lips and pulled a small silver dagger from her pocket. "Do you know what this is?" She asked her, her voice sweet like honey.
Elenor's eyes took in the the small knife. 'Do you plan to kill me?' She thought.
Mrs. Smith let out a humorous laugh. "I could, if I wanted to, but that would make me no better than you. Taking away life is not my forte'," she stated matter of factly.
'If you plan to kill me, I'd rather you get it over with quickly. Otherwise, what do you want from me?'
"Death is not the worst thing one could ever experience. It is in existence itself, that suffering reigns supreme." Mrs. Smith stated.
'Why all these ridiculous riddles, Can't you just be straight forward?' She thought.
"Do you know what the worst sin is, Elenor?" She asked, ignoring her comment.
'Murder?' She thought with annoyance.
A slight chuckle escaped her captor. "It is a horrible one, but no."
'I give up.' She thought.
"To deny ones true self."
"It's a lesson that most do not realize until they are on their deathbed." She paused and took another drag from her cigarette, "but you Elenor, have taken your truest self and turned her into a vile and disgusting. I can help you save yourself."
Elenor didn't know where this was going and the more she listened the more confused she became. 'What do you want from me?' She thought.
"I want you to take care of my daughter. Raise her, care for her, protect her, until she's eighteen and awakens. Then I will set you free."
Elenor laughed, 'what's to stop me from draining her dry the second I get a chance' she thought.
"Because Elenor, I am going to cut that part of you away, so that you can never do it again." She said, spinning the knife in her hand.
'That's impossible!' She thought, outraged.
"If you knew my true identity, you wouldn't say that." She replied.
'Who are you?'
Mrs. Smith came close to Elenor and whispered in her ear.
Elenor gasped in disbelief.
'Why didn't you reveal this to me before?' She thought.
"You Elenor have done deeds so horrible, I am ashamed to have called you my servant." She looked at her with disgust.
'But mistress, I only did what I thought was right. The humans, they killed you. Why shouldn't they suffer for their acts against you,' she thought.
"You didn't do anything for me. You only did what you thought you could get away with!" She seethed.
'That's not true! I wanted them to suffer for taking you away from me!' She cried.
"It has never been you're place to hand down any punishments!" She said, raising her voice.
'Yes mistress.' She thought solemnly.
"For your punishment, I will take back what you have stolen." She stated.
She brought the knifes edge a few inches from her skin, as if cutting into the air. A small light appeared, and Elenor screamed in agony from the first cut. Her body felt as if it was being electrocuted, as a piece of black glowing light came through the cut pulled by the knifes blade. The black smoke filled light swirled into a ball and solidified in the mistress's hand.
Elenor, out of breath looked down at her shaking body. It was old and wrinkled, all her stolen youth and powers now rested in the hand of her mistress. "I will keep this with me, until the time comes."
'Thank you for your mercy my mistress.' She thought before she fell unconscious.