Once again, Lady Mae Dandridge had brought a female into the household in an attempt to find a caretaker for her menagerie.
Just why was she doing this?! For years Mae had tended to her menagerie herself—perfectly content with the current number of people working in her house—so why was she all of a sudden trying to buy an extra person to help? Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if it was a man that the lady was trying to buy, but the candidates that the lady kept bringing in were all women! It would be so much better if the person who did the menagerie help was a man: that way Vivian wouldn't have to worry as much about Renard's eyes straying away from her.
Though... looking at the slip of a girl sitting next to her, Vivian felt a little bit comforted. This girl, Kyrie she'd introduced herself as, just wasn't much to look at; she wasn't ugly, sure, but her hair was just a little too faded, her expression just a little too downcast, and her figure just a little too board-like. That's not to say that Kyrie wasn't clearly identifiable as a woman, but she didn't hold a candle to Vivian's hourglass shape. Vivian may be petite, and consequently shorter than Kyrie, but she had curves in all the right places. Her appearance was the happy medium, not like that ridiculously proportioned old hag who worked in the kitchens. Kyrie was young though, perhaps only a year or so younger than Vivian's 16 years of age, so it was possible that she would fill out a bit more soon. That thought just put Vivian on edge though: she didn't like the idea that Kyrie might eventually draw the attention of Renard.
Vivian had to swallow her distaste as Kyrie once again struggled to read the word Terra. Instead of the scowl she wanted to make, Vivian put on the practiced smile that she'd learned to greet Kyrie with and gently corrected the girl's failure. Kyrie flushed in embarrassment, and promptly apologized before continuing on.
Ugh.
Why had she been the one tasked with teaching Kyrie to read? Dessi, the twice her age cook, had taught it to Vivian when she'd first arrived and that had worked out just fine. Why wouldn't the lady just choose to have Dessi teach it again? That would've been way more preferable since then Vivian wouldn't have to be faced with either of her potential rivals in love. Yet here she was, biting back a snarl as she helped Kyrie stumble through words. Even if Kyrie was picking it all up fairly quickly, it was still more time than Vivian wanted to spend in this new girl's presence.
As much as she hated her task, the lady of the house had commanded this of her, and far be it from Vivian to try and deny a request of the lady's: people who denied requests of hers usually ended up dead. Or at least, that had happened with her late husband. No one really knew for sure how he'd died on a trip out of the house, but everyone in the court certainly blamed Mae. Vivian wasn't really aware of her master being accused of killing anyone else, but it didn't change the fact that anyone who didn't know the lady found her intimidating and dangerous. Despite Mae's reputation, life under her was actually quite good, and that wasn't something that many slaves could say, especially not in the Terra Kingdom.
In an effort to keep her life good, Vivian was doing her best to follow the lady's wishes; Vivian was walking on rather thin ice at the moment since the lady had recently called Vivian in to her study for her treatment of the last few menagerie candidates. Needless to say, Vivian did not want to ever be on the other side of that desk again. The lady had made it clear that if she continued to try and sabotage the efforts of the menagerie candidates then she was risking being sold off to another family.
While there was little more than hate and contempt in Vivian's mind as she stewed on the injustices dealt to her, Kyrie's mind was the complete opposite: Vivian's company was not only welcome, but also greatly appreciated.
In the week that Kyrie had been in the house, she'd pretty quickly gravitated towards Dessi and Vivian. Perhaps if Dessi wasn't always in the kitchen Kyrie might've bonded with her more, but by virtue of Kyrie's duties being more around the house, Kyrie spent a lot more time with Vivian. At first Kyrie had been a bit of a nervous wreck around this new stranger, but Vivian had been patient with her, and they spent enough time together that Kyrie was starting to think of her as a tentative friend.
She was definitely much more comfortable around Vivian than she was around the lady of the house, that was for sure. Since Kyrie couldn't read well enough to be able to glean knowledge from the notebook that Mae had given her on all the animals, the lady was instead instructing Kyrie personally in the menagerie until Kyrie could read her notes. Kyrie had been absolutely terrified that first day: she hadn't said a word to the lady and had simply nodded along to everything that had been said. Despite her terror, she couldn't help but notice that no matter what animal the lady had been talking about, it had always been calm in her arms. She just seemed to have a natural affinity with them, so much so that she even had a crow named Teru that followed her around everywhere; no matter whether she was inside the menagerie or out of it. It was a sight that demanded respect, honestly: every one of the animals in the menagerie knew her and looked to her, and it was horribly intimidating to think that Kyrie would be trying to step in on that.
After the first few days in the lady's presence though, Kyrie began to see that Mae wasn't quite as terrifying as she seemed. Mae was stoic and strict, sure, but she also had infinite patience and encouraged questions. When Kyrie had stuttered out her first question to the lady, it had not been met with irritation or annoyance, it had been answered with care. Mae was a font of knowledge, one that Kyrie had come to respect in the days of her tutelage.
While Mae was a surprisingly good master, she could hardly be called a friend or even an acquaintance: she was the lady of this house, and that was that. Vivian though... This was a girl about her age that seemed to be perfectly friendly, and as a result Kyrie felt the most comfortable around her. So comfortable in fact that she didn't really stutter much in her reading to Vivian anymore.
Vivian corrected another error in the beginner book that Kyrie was currently reading, and while Kyrie mentally chastised herself for the mistake with a slight furrow of her brow, Vivian spotted something in the doorway of the slave's dining hall. Something that caused her heart to both leap with joy and wrench with jealousy: it was her beloved groundskeeper, Renard.
Now that he had been spotted by one of the inhabitants of the room, he gave Vivian a winning smile.
"Isn't this a sight for sore eyes? Two lovely women bent over their work."
Kyrie immediately clamped her mouth shut when she heard another voice in the room, and she looked up at Renard with a panicked expression before looking at Vivian.
...Oh?
Vivian could see that the girl didn't really like this interruption to their lesson, and not only did she not like it, she was looking to Vivian to take charge here. Vivian had noticed that Kyrie was shy, it had been evident by the dinners that they'd had since her arrival, but the full extent of it hadn't quite hit her until now.
… Perhaps this girl wasn't going to be as much of a problem as she initially thought.
To save Kyrie from having to say anything, Vivian let out a soft laugh at Renard's comment before getting up from her seat.
"We don't exist for your pleasure, Renard. Aren't you supposed to be working?"
Despite her critical words, her tone was light. It became especially clear that she was doing some teasing when she wandered over towards Renard and gently stroked the line of his jaw.
"Perhaps I'm too tempting for you?"
His hand snatched hers up at this prompting, and a pleasing shiver ran up her arm as he brought her hand to his lips and took a deep breath, as if savoring her scent.
"You already are too tempting for me to resist; why do you think we spend so much time together?"
He chuckled softly while Vivian puffed up with delight, but his gaze soon wandered to Kyrie who jumped a little to be caught staring. Vivian talked enough about Renard for Kyrie to know that she was head over heels for the man, but honestly, when Kyrie compared the two men of the house, she just didn't see the appeal of Renard over Isaac. At dinners Renard was more flirtatious and teasing, and while Isaac did like to tease, he was much more helpful and accommodating than teasing. Though really, Kyrie's interactions with both were practically nonexistent: they were outside during the day and Kyrie didn't really talk much at dinner.
Kyrie lowered her eyes to her book now that Renard had turned his gaze on her, so she didn't see when he reached into his coat to pull out a couple flowers: one a small violet, and the other a fully blossomed pink lily.
"As for what I'm doing here, I was indeed working but I couldn't resist when I saw these flowers. I've seen how you eye the lilies, Vivian, and so I present you with the one I felt most befitting of you."
Offering her the flower, she practically glowed as she took it and then leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Renard. I will treasure it."
There was another flower in his hand though, so while she was overjoyed to get the lily, there was an annoying pang to know that he would shortly be giving the other flower to Kyrie. Sure enough, after returning Vivian's kiss with a kiss to her forehead, he strode over towards Kyrie.
"Since I would be bringing Vivian something, I felt it would be tactless of me not to also find something for you, Kyrie. I can't say I know your tastes well yet, but I thought a violet would be a good place to start."
Kyrie looked lost as her gaze shifted between both Renard and Vivian. Vivian's expression read mild disappointment and annoyance, while Renard seemed rather eager as he offered the flower to Kyrie. Not wanting to irritate her friend, Kyrie tentatively spoke up.
"You really didn't have to, I-I barely even know you."
Vivian was a little surprised that the girl was trying to refuse the flower, and that drove her up even more in her mind.
Renard, ever uncooperative to Vivian's wishes, simply smiled in response and put the violet into Kyrie's hands.
"I know I didn't have to, I'm trying to get to know you better! Giving you an offering of good will, so to speak. Surely you wouldn't refuse a friendly gesture?"
His eyes positively sparkled with mischief, and Kyrie, horribly flustered by how his hands were on hers, mumbled out an acceptance and a thanks. Only once he was sure that she was accepting his gift did he pull his own fingers back, and Kyrie let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding to have him retreat from her.
She wasn't quite out of Renard's scrutiny though, because his gaze drifted down to the book on the table.
"You're already onto this book? You're either a quick learner or Vivian's an excellent teacher. It felt like ages before I'd finally made it to this one."
While Kyrie floundered for a response, Vivian decided that she was sick of seeing the two of them together. Inserting herself between Renard and the book before Kyrie could find some words, Vivian put her hands on his chest and began pushing him back towards the door.
"Yes, yes, thanks for the compliment now stop distracting my student! You have plants to tend to and she has words to learn. She's got a long way to go still if she wants to read the notes that Lady Dandridge gave her."
He watched Vivian with an amused smile as he was pushed out the door, and when Vivian slid her hands off him, Renard took that opportunity to grab her and pull her in close.
"Usually you're much more receptive to my presence."
His lips brushed up against her ear as he said this, and she couldn't help the soft tremble that coursed through her. She was already anticipating when they would next be together; his affection could so easily placate her jealousy. As much as she wanted to just lose herself in his arms, she really didn't want to be on the lady's bad side again after the rather terrifying scolding she'd gotten.
"I know... It's just that now's really not the time."
Vivian sent a glance over towards Kyrie to see that the other girl had her eyes firmly fixed on the flower in her hand; she was pointedly not looking at Vivian and Renard. A slight smirk passed Vivian's features to see this, and when she turned back to Renard she tilted his head so that she could take his lips in a short kiss. Despite the brevity of the kiss, it hardly lacked her passion for him.
Kyrie may be making it look like she wasn't watching, but she couldn't help glancing at them from under her lashes while they shared this kiss. She knew that moments like this were intimate and personal, but that's what made them so hard to resist: she loved to see moments of deep emotion, they held beauty even if they were in brief increments. Plus, Kyrie was still young, and so she was endlessly fascinated by these kinds of interactions due to how foreign they were to her. Vivian and Renard were so open with their affections and Kyrie was curious to see what that looked like. She felt a tiny bit guilty for watching them like this, but surely there was no harm done, right? They were clearly in public, after all... Furthermore, it's not like either of them had noticed, as evidenced by the fact that their eyes were both closed during the kiss and then fixed on each other after it.
"Tonight... Let's meet tonight. In the third room?"
Renard grinned at Vivian's suggestion and took her lips in a longer, hungrier kiss to tide himself over until the evening.
"Tonight it is then."
With that said, he let her go and sauntered down the hallway, whistling softly to himself as he went.
When Vivian returned to her seat besides Kyrie, Kyrie lightly fingered the flower in her hand for a moment. It was a pretty little flower, but Kyrie didn't feel that strongly about it, and she felt like Vivian would appreciate it so much more if Kyrie didn't have it. With that determination made, Kyrie kind of ambushed Vivian by thrusting the violet into her face.
"I think you should probably have this."
At first there was pure surprise on Vivian's face, but then a smile slowly spread across her features. This wasn't one of her practiced smiles though, this was one that held a bit more fondness. Kyrie was sweet, that much was for sure, but more than that, she was absolutely terrified of making waves in this house. Vivian could take advantage of that, and as long as she kept Kyrie under her wing there would be nothing to worry about with regards to Renard. This seemed like a much better tactic than the practically open hostility that she'd had to the other menagerie candidates. Perhaps... Perhaps she'd even be able to match the younger girl up with Isaac! If she could manage that then things would be even better going forward!
Kyrie could have this flower, but only because it would mean absolutely nothing to her: Vivian would make sure of that.
"Thank you, Kyrie, but you can keep it. He gave it to you as an offering of friendship, and there's nothing wrong with that. He really does try my patience sometimes though, he's such an awful flirt."
Vivian let out a soft sigh before putting a gentle hand on Kyrie's shoulder.
"I'm glad that you're so conscious about these things though. I appreciate your offer, and I hope I'll be able to count on you in the future."
A smile began to bloom on Kyrie's face as she set her violet down on the table, which was one of the rarer expressions that had graced her features since arriving. Usually she looked terrified or focused, but here she was, smiling at Vivian.
"Of course! I wouldn't dream of trying to interfere with your relationship."
Yes... Vivian would be Kyrie's best friend in this house: that seemed to be the better way to go about all this.