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15.74% Valerian Empire / Chapter 20: Homeless- Part 2

Chapter 20: Homeless- Part 2

Alexander walked towards his room but stopped at the door that was before his room. He could hear her heartbeat behind the door.

The cat pawed the door looking at Alexander.

"Not today, Areo. She needs rest," he said, going to his room.

After an hour when he was done bathing and drinking the blood that was brought by the maid, he went out of his room to head towards Katie's room. To his surprise, Areo was there sleeping in front of the door. The cat opened its eyes and looked at its master with half-closed eyes as if it was accusing him.

"I forgot you're my cat," he murmured as he turned the knob and pushed the door open carefully.

He sat on the vacant space of the bed, and the cat jumped on the other side of the bed, swishing its tail. She wasn't having any nightmares which was a good sign, he thought, instead she was sound asleep.

When he went to adjust the blanket around her to make sure she was warm and comfortable, he noticed her hand clutching the chain and her neck was bare, like an offering to him. His hand touched her slender neck, and the sheer thought of her blood made his tongue run over one of his canines. How long had it been since he had a satisfying drink? The blood he wanted was right here, yet it made him needy and angry at the same time. He didn't like the thought of someone having that kind of power over him.

The need for her blood was because he had bound her to him, and it had taken him six years to realize it. As the years had passed, he didn't understand what the cause was for his unfulfilled thirst of blood and mistook it for something else.

A few years ago he had bitten her, to place a temporary mark, a bluff in front of everyone so that the girl could be kept safe. After tucking the blanket in, Alexander picked his cat in his arm and left the room for the girl to sleep as Areo had begun to meow.

When the sun rose the next morning, Katie woke up feeling dazed, and her head felt heavy. She sat there motionless as time passed. There was no one to call her own anymore.

Days passed by like that and the pain she felt eventually reduced little by little. Sylvia and Elliot kept her company when they didn't have work while she saw Alexander only during dinner or sometimes not even that.

She was grateful for the kindness and hospitality they had shown to her, but it had been two weeks now, and she couldn't keep living like that forever. She was a guest and not a relative of the Lord. She didn't want to overstay her welcome. She knew a family who had moved to the next village and then she had her friend Annabelle too if she needed help.

On the fifteenth day, Katie decided to talk to Alexander and went to his study, where he was talking to Elliot and another man. She didn't want to interrupt, but Alexander had somehow realized that she was on the other side of the door and had made her sit on the chair that was in the room.

Elliot was playing with some device that looked like a clock while the Lord and the other man were speaking about their relationships with the villagers and townspeople.

"The revenue isn't helping us either," the man who wore glasses asked in the room.

"Perhaps, if we could reduce the taxation that's been going on we could use it to our benefit," Alexander suggested.

"Would that be okay?"

"We can get the money in other ways," said the Valeria Lord who took the blank parchment from the desk and wrote something on it before handing it to the man, "You know what to do with this, Oliver."

"Yes, Sir," Oliver replied curtly, taking the parchment and got up from his seat to leave.

As the man left, Katie didn't miss him looking at her from the corner of his eyes. It was a shrewd look. The man was stern and calm at all times, showing no emotions whatsoever. This is what they call a stoned faced man, Katie thought to herself, but maybe that was how he had achieved his position as the second in command in the Valerian Empire.

"How can I help you, Miss Katherine?" Alexander asked once Oliver left the study, closing the door behind him.

"I am sorry for interrupting your work," she apologized. When she had asked Sylvia where Alexander was she had asked if he was busy because if he was she could wait for a few hours.

"You need not apologize. Nothing was interrupted," Alexander replied to her with a charming smile that put her in a daze, forgetting the reason why she had come for a few seconds.

"We have planned to visit the theatre the following week. Would you like to come along?" Elliot asked her to put the device down on the desk.

"Theater?"

"I believe you haven't visited one before," Alexander commented to which she shook her head. The man was being kind to her, and if she stayed here longer, she would only feel like she was using his kindness for her benefit, "You must come. You might like it."

Katie was slow, but she remembered that she had planned to leave the mansion.

"I don't think I will be able to come," Katie replied with a nervous smile wondering how to start, "I came here to say that I will be leaving the mansion tomorrow."

Hearing this, Alexander narrowed his eyes for a second but schooled back his expression.

Ah-oh, Elliot said out in his mind seeing the Lord's demeanour change like the clouds passing by in the vast sky.

"Is your stay not comfortable here?"

"It's been very comfortable," Katie replied, feeling her hand sweat feeling the Valeria Lord's eyes, "But I think I have overstayed the days here in the mansion and I think it's time I start looking for a job to support myself. I know a friend who will help me."

Even though she had a home, she couldn't go back there. She was homeless, with no job or money.

"Is that so," Alexander replied coolly, "If I may know, what type of job are you looking for?"

"Something that pays well and is safe for me to work, the last job I had was being an assistant librarian, but now I'll have to look for two jobs."

"Hmm..." was his response, and he spoke, "I know of a job with a decent pay that comes with security and free space to live."

"Really?" Katie asked, sitting up straight.

Elliot knew where the conversation was going. There was too many human trafficking going on in the country, and having Katie in their vision was better than having her far away from where they didn't know if she was safe or not.

"Yes, it's here in the mansion," he offered with gleaming eyes, "We could use some extra help right, Elliot?" He asked his friend.

"Alexander's right. We fall short of members during parties," Elliot said, taking Katie's hands in his before she could protest, "You don't need to worry about anything anymore. I'm going to pass the news to Sylvia, until later then," he said with a huge smile on his face leaving the room.

"But what's the job description?"

"Just the normal household cleaning and gardening," Alexander said, leaning back in his seat, "You will also assist me when I require. For instance, tidying up my room, bringing me breakfast and looking after Areo."

It didn't seem that bad, thought Katie to herself. Maybe she should work here and move out after some time. As she walked to the door, the Lord of Valeria spoke,

"And Katherine."

"Yes?" She asked, turning around.

"You'll be sleeping in the same room you are in right now and not the underground where the servants sleep."


Chapter 21: Moon signs- Part 1

When Daisy was asked by the Valerian Lord to guide Katie with the mansion's work, as she would officially start working from the next day, the elderly woman was taken aback for a spare second.

A maid was equivalent as a servant for the higher class people and Katie wasn't invited here as a guest. Why would the Lord do such a thing? Most of the servants in the mansion were good but not all were nice.

"I will leave her in your hands then Mrs. Flynn," Daisy heard the Lord say and she bowed her head.

Katie took in everything as Daisy explained going through the mansion. As a guest, she hadn't explored the mansion as she had been mostly holed up in the room or in the garden but now as a maid, she could see how beautiful the mansion actually was. It looked bigger with the high ceilings that had paintings done on it.

Behind the mansion, there was a passage to enter the underground area.

"Is this the one that leads to your chamber?" asked Katie as they walked through it. Even though there were torch-like fires burning on either side, the place looked darker because of the black walls.

"It is," Daisy replied with a smile, noticing how Katie had referred to the place as 'your chamber' and not the servants chamber, "Every maid or servant who works for Lord Alexander resides in this place but not the generals and commanders. I think you know that already."

"Yes," Katie replied. Lord Alexander had mentioned it to her when he was setting up a few rules for her before she left with Daisy.

The chamber was sectioned into two after the common hall, one for males and the other for females.

Few maids who were gossiping stopped to see a new person in the underground. On the other side, she could feel men's gaze upon her who were present.

"Everyone, this is Katherine and from now onwards she'll be helping us out around the house," the elderly woman introduced Katie to the group of people.

"Isn't she the guest Miss Sylvia brought here a few days ago?" one of the maids asked.

"Yes, she was but-" the elderly woman was interrupted by another maid.

"Did the Lord finish fucking you and turn you into a maid?" She had brown curls that fell past her shoulders and her eyes were the color of olives.

"W-what?" Katie felt her eyes widen hearing the unexpected question thrown at her.

"Hold your tongue Matilda before I report your behavior," Daisy warned the girl and saw Matilda grin. Katie noted that the girl could be an appealing person to men's taste with her good curves.

"Looks like you haven't," Matilda commented as she exited the common hall.

"Don't mind her Miss Katie. She has one crude tongue," Daisy apologized with a frown on her face.

"Daisy is right, don't be bothered by her," a girl came forward around her age and giving her hand to Katie with a big smile, "I am Cynthia and this is Fay."

"Hello," Katie shook hands with the girls, a little nervous now. Did everyone think that she and the Lord had done it and that is why she was here?

"Oh, look at the time! I need to take the tea to Lord Alexander's room," Cynthia said looking at the clock on the wall.

"You need not worry about it from now," Daisy said and turned towards Katie, "You will be responsible for taking tea to his room and other things which were previously mentioned."

The smile on Cynthia's face fell and her brows furrowed.

"But-" Cynthia spoke and Daisy raised her hand.

"Weren't you the one complaining you had a lot of work on your plate. Now. Corey," she yelled the name, "Can you show Katie the way back."

A tall, young man in his early twenties got up from the far end of the table to walk towards them.

"Come on," the man said leading the way out. With a small bow, Katie followed the man named Corey.

As she walked through the lightly lit passage she lifted the front of her skirt a little to avoid it from getting dirty.

Was staying here a good idea? she thought to herself. The most important thing was if she could survive but a month would pass by easily, wouldn't it? She could handle a month, she nodded to herself.

"So when do you start working?" Corey asked her.

"Early in the morning tomorrow," Katie replied to him and heard him humming a song while they came out of the underground, feeling the cool air.

"Has grandma told you about the rules that have to be followed?" he asked her and she looked at him with a frown. Wait, she did remember Daisy mentioning that she had a grandson, "Hello, you there?"

"Ah-sorry, what?" she asked apologetically.

"I asked if you were told about the do's and don'ts here in the mansion," Corey repeated himself looking at her and saw her nod, "Hmm, I will go through some of them so that you know about it. One, listen very carefully to your superiors. Two, don't ever get in the way of the Lord. Three, don't get into trouble with other workers here because that will earn you the night in the dungeon," he said patting her shoulder-friendly.

"Got it," she replied.

"Just for curiosity, were you really a guest?" He asked and then added seeing her change in expression, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"I lost my family recently and I was brought here. I needed a job and the Lord was kind enough to offer me one here," she answered, keeping out the details of the cause of her relatives' death.

"I am sorry to hear it. You know if-" he was interrupted by a girl from the first floor.

"Hey, Corey! Mrs. Hicks has asked for you," she looked at Katie and asked, "Who is that?"

"This is Katie, she'll be working with us," he replied. The girl waved at Katie which made Katie wave back at her awkwardly, "That is Dorthy. Alright. I'll see you around then," he said hurrying his way inside the kitchen like a whirlwind while Katie went back to her room.

Katie had got used to waking up late and found it a little difficult to wake up early instead of wanting to sleep but she woke up anyway.

Mrs. Hicks was the woman who was in charge of the kitchen and she sure yelled loud enough for everyone to scurry and work as quickly as they could. It was noisy yet lively in the kitchen where it made her worry and loneliness fade away momentarily.

Corey worked as a helping hand in the kitchen and it made it easy to breathe when she first stepped into the kitchen after she was done watering the plants inside the mansion. On the first two days, he had taught her how to set things up and helped her in getting the trolley ready with breakfast.

It was her daily job to deliver breakfast to Lord Alexander's room every morning. Previously Daisy was the only one who was allowed to enter the room during his absence and now Katie. Areo was one difficult cat when it came to giving him a bath, she would run around the bathroom to catch him as he was stubborn to get cleaned.

Other than that she watered the plants in the mansion and liked helping in the kitchen as it was always fun to hear people teasing and laughing but that came with Mrs. Hick's scoldings. Another reason was that she had made friends there.

Katie couldn't say she got along with all the people in the mansion. There was the second in command, Oliver who always caught her free and would reprimand her for dawdling around. It felt like he enjoyed picking at her faults and was just waiting to criticize her at every given opportunity.

Then there were maids who spoke behind her back of how she had slept with the Lord and that was why her room was next to his. She had thought about going to the Lord and asking him to let her live in the underground but she didn't want to.

Was it wrong to think that she was in some remote way special to him? The thought made her happy but then there were days when she saw women going to his room at night. She told herself not to expect more and to be happy by just staying next to his room.

No matter how handsome he was, their status was a universe apart. He was a Lord. A vampire.


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