A Fae of the Utmost Standing

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"Wait!" he called out, his voice still shaking. He reached out to her, and that thankfully was enough to make her halt. He gathered his clothes and began to dress. Pants first, so as to cover the lewder parts. "There is...no Cavilli here. She never made it out of the cesspool of London..."

He looked down shamefully as he slipped on his polished leather shoes and began buttoning his shirt. When he finally looked up he spoke again.

"I am Eseldor Skinchanger. Master of the house," he informed her. "I am so, so sorry. I was the butler..." He changed his face and hair to resemble the relic she had first run into. "And I was Cavilli. I-I'm sorry. I'm a changeling. I can become almost anything I wish. I...wanted to know...what you were like. What the real you was like. You would not be honest if you thought you were impressing the master, I feared. I believed you would show your true self to your fellows."

He took a deep breath and sat down on the bed. "Cavilli's form...it was meant to allow me to see what you thought of the Fae." He wiped his eyes. "But that was a mistake...that was wrong! I'll understand if you don't want to stay, and I'll compensate you for your troubles, it's just...you are exactly what I was hoping for."
 
Shock, that was all Serena could feel as she looked at a man, that was once a woman, but in fact is a man. Her head was spinning more than she ever thought a head could spin. Looking back at the man she took a good look at him. He looked a bit like the man who was in the painting in the main hall they passed. So that told Serena that he was in fact the master of the house.

Not really sure on what to do she found herself inching closer before she was right in front of what was apparently called a changeling. Reaching a gentle hand up he grabbed his cheek and pulled at it, making sure this wasn't a cruel joke. When he cheek turned out to be real she raised a hand to his hair tugging at that too. When it didn't come out and he winced from the pain she jumped back her hand over her mouth. This wasn't a joke, this man could actually change into different people.

When the realization hit the sadness of Cavli kicked in. She, was dead, even though Serena technically never met her but from the few moments of the fake Cavli she knew she must have been a important woman especially if the master took her form to remember her better. Her heart sank at the thought before she could stop it a tear fell from her right eyes. Quickly she whipped it away putting on a brave face.

"I don't understand the lies? So this was all a test? Why?" A part of her understood and new it was a stupid question but a part of her felt lied too a bit. The two people she met and felt an instant connection too were all lies a part of her couldn't help but feel lied too. "Is there even a staff here? Or am I the only one?"
 
He did not stop her when she approached, nor when she pulled at his features to discover his nature for herself. She hadn't been the first to check and see if he was real.

"I have told truths during my lies," he muttered. "As Pierre, I told you that I was very picky about the company I keep. That is true. I have been hurt by many, many humans over the centuries. I have found that good ones are hard to meet. Even if they are plentiful they have never dwelled where I do. If I was to have humans in my house, they would be ones I could welcome as guests just as easily as workers.

"There is, most certainly, a staff," Eseldor continued. "Like I said, it numbers five live-in residents, with another three to six making periodic visits for landscaping. I can become anyone, but being in several places at once is not within my powers. If you would like, I'll stay away and you can meet the real staff."
 
All of it just seemed weird to her, if she could quit she probably would have. Crossing her arms over her chest she looked away not sure on what to say or do at this moment. This job could be very good for her, a good opportunity for a life other than then orphanage. This was her boss she didn't have a right to be angry at him.

Looking back at him she observed him the best she could, glue his features into her mind so he couldnt do this to her again. What caught her attention was his eyes, now that she thought about it both the people he imitated as had different eye colors.

"You can't change your eyes can you?" Taking a step closer she got up to his face, if it killed her she was going to glue those eyes into her mind.
 
He smiled halfheartedly. "Very good. It takes most people a week to see that. Yes, my eyes are fixed. I can change everything else, but not those."

He looked up and turned his head from side to side, watching as she followed his eyes, committing them to memory. He found it interesting.

"Since you're looking so intently at my eyes, I assume you'll be staying?" he hopefully implored.
 
Watching him intently he asked if she was staying. Coming back from her thoughts she realized just how close she was to him. Take a step back she thought about it for a second. Not sure on what her answer was going to be.

"Are there going to be more lies like this? If so I want no part of it." She spoke still a little sad about Cavli. A part of her really wanted to walk away from this bit as she looked at him her heart stired what happened that was so bad that he would do this? "Is that a deal?"
 
Her question stung. It was like a slap to the face and he winced as if it were. "I can change forms as you would change clothes, and I am not always in this one. My other servants have learned to indulge this little fancy of mine. But I will not pretend to be someone else. You have my word."
 
It was obvious she struck a cord from her question, she felt a little bad. "I dont mean you can't change, I mean I don't want to stop you from being you. But next time you want to know something from me or about me. Just ask me." Biting her bottom lip she looked around not sure what to do at this moment now. "So, now that that is out of the way. Can I finally learn what I am going to be paid to do?" Tilting her head to the side she smiled at him wanting to get away from the awkward feeling she had in her stomach.
 
He smiled and nodded, standing before her. Now that he wasn't a bent old man or a woman, he towered quite a bit over her. "Yes. Let's go onwards."

He led the way out of the room and down the stairs. "Dusting the whole house over the course of a week, as I mentioned, and polishing once a month..."

They strolled past Lucinda, the maid who's room they had been in, and he added, "You will probably be cleaning up after meals, since no one else seems to want that job."

Lucinda smirked as she walked past. "It was my job. Lot of dishes."

"We all dine together," Eseldor explained. He stopped the maid. "Lucinda? Can you help guide her through her first official day tomorrow?"

The maid smiled at Serena. "Be happy to."
 
Following behind him she looked at the back of his head. He looked older but a lot of his actions went along with someone who was young in mind. Listening and trying to pay attention she smiled as the new maid came her way. "Thank you very much." She spoke bowing her head a bit. "I look foward to spending time with you."

Looking at the maid she Loken at her eyes making sure this wasn't a trick but the woman had brown eyes, looking back at Esledor she saw his miss matched eyes. Looking at his face she couldn't he but blush, he was quite handome for his age, whatever that age was.

"What do I do for the rest of the day? Also, am I just kitchen cleaning the whole time I am here?" As she spoke she realized he said they all ate together. For some reason she found that weird, no master ever ate with the help let alone all together like a family. This man was definetly weird, but wither or not she liked it was another story.
 
Lucinda interrupted then. "Well, that'll only take a couple minutes. Dishes are usually done by one of us and the cook, so they go by fast. If that was all you did it wouldn't be fair to the rest of us."

She laughed to herself and waved as she left their sight.

"Serena?" Eseldor said to get her attention back. "Until dinner, you're welcome to explore the house. If you'd like."
 
Smiling she wasn't sure really what to do. Considering her chores were not going to start till really tomorrow. Looking around as the other maid left she looked back at Eseldor. "Is there anywhere interesting to really see here? I've never really been in a big house like this before. I'm not going to open a door and find something weird right?" She giggled at her own stupid joke, in her head she knew it wasn't funny but it still made her giggle thinking about all the possible things that could be in the house.

When she realized she was babbling she turned slightly red. "I don't mean that your weird, just it's a big house and I don't know my way around. I wasn't saying you had weird things to hide other than your dress obsession." Biting her lip she tried to stop herself. "I.." She sighed and looked away embaressed.
 
Eseldor stood and tried to hide his own smile as Serena stumbled over herself. He did find some of her comments embarrassing, though. He did change forms between man and woman often, and even had clothes for the occasions.

"It's alright. I know you meant nothing of it," he told her. He let his smile show to relax her. "Most of this house is quite normal. We have a library, a ballroom, a sunroom and various other areas. Where would you like to start?"
 
Her blush was apparent from when she stopped rambling. When she met her master rambling like an idiot was the last thing she figured was going to happen. Then again finding out your master was pretending to be people was also the last thing she expected.

When he spoke about the many rooms the moment she heard about the library her face lit up with glee. "I would love to see the library. Would you please show me?" Her face was excited, one of things growing up that she loved more than anything was her time at the library. It was the only place being human was something she shouldn't be ashamed to be. Year she spent reading about the prince's in her stories rescuing her from the home she loved in.
 
He smiled at that and led her downstairs and down the hall. Eseldor's library had come fully stocked much like the rest of his home. When he opened the doors he revealed a two story, fifty-foot long square room. Books lined the walls. Shelves sat in the middle of the floor. Ladders hooked on brackets on the walls could be rolled around the room.

A maid with glasses was sitting in an armchair, casually dusting a table with her nose buried in a book.

"Well?" he implored. "What do you think?"
 
The excitement was peeling off her skin in layers as they walked toward the library. It wasn't long before she was running in impatiently wanting to see the while thing. Her breath locked in her throat as she looked through the room. It had to be the biggest library she had ever seen.

The library she was use to was a small room that they let humans rent too. There weren't many books there, Serena had read a majority of them at least five times each but it was okay to her. Ever time she picked it up she read something she didn't see before. Not being able to hide the smile on her face she brushed her hands against the binding of what had to be the most beautiful books she had ever seen.

They were all bonded gracefully in leather. Picking one out she went to open it and read the first page already getting hooked to it. Looking up she saw the other maid in the room. It was apparent who she was staring at. When she looked to her side she saw Eseldor watching her with an amused face. The maid not so amused as she stared daggers at Serena then looked back at Eseldor what had to be the smitten look she had ever seen.

Not really looking at him she had to admit he was very handome. Though probably mid to late 30 ' s she had to guess. He was much older than her 18 years of age but even then he had look to him that reminded her of a character in on of the books she had read.

A noble man, who fell so in love with a princess. He rode for a year across the world to pick a flower from a field that was said to be the most beautiful flower in the world, but when he came back he had learned she had married another man. With the sadness in his heart he fell into a cave where he lived for hundreds of year. Until a woman came and freed him, it was then he fell for the woman and with his only happy tear it fell on the flower and caused it to bloom again. Yet, he refused to give it to her, when she asked why he spoke. "Because not even the most beautiful flower in the world touches the beauty in your heart."

Thinking about that store made her smile it was then she realized she was staring at him again. "Sorry! I was thinking about a story I had read. You look a bit like the lead male in it." Smiling she focused back at the maid who looked as if she was close to throwing her book at Serena if she didn't stop smiling at the master.

Quickly turning back to the books she put it back gently. "Where to next?"
 
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Eseldor watched as she looked over his expansive collection of leather and paper. He loved those books, too. It was perhaps his favorite part of the house he'd been given. He hadn't even learned to read until a hundred years ago, and even then he scarcely had the opportunity to do it. He remembered when he'd gotten to this house how he'd buried himself into the volumes. It was in here that he had connected with the maid looking to him from across the room. He smiled briefly at her.

He was distracted by Serena's outburst, saying nervously how he looked like the lead in a book she'd read. He smiled again. "Well...I appreciate the comparison. If you would like to read that later, you may take it with you to your room. I just ask that it be returned to where you found it."

"Esel - Sir," the maid corrected herself quickly. "I thought we were to keep the books in the library."

He shook his head. "No. If you'll remember, Bethany, you asked that and I simply said that was fine, not that it was a rule. Don't worry; it extends to everyone, not just her. Would you like to take your book to your room?"

She closed the book and set it into a gap in the shelf. "Don't bother. I have work to do, don't I Sir?"

As she stormed out Eseldor looked from her to Serena. "Can you give me a minute? I need to talk to her."

He left Serena and pursued Bethany, taking her hand and stopping her. "What is it? What are you so upset about?"
 
The bashful maid stopped and turned around to look at her master. Her face looked to the point of tears as she tried her hardest to hide her face from him. "No sir, everything is fine." She lied looking away. "I just have a lot of work to do." With that she turned around and walked away to do her work.

Serena didn't know how long he was going to take. Looking around she happened upon the book she spoke about, with the man that looked like Eseldor. Smiling she picked it up and started from her favorite part in the book. When she stopped she looked at the page with the man who stopped everything for the woman he loved. Giggling she laughed at the similarities, it was a nice thought to think she was going to be living with a book character.
 
Eseldor watched Bethany leave sadly. He hadn't meant to upset anyone by bringing Serena into his home. He worried to himself now that his surrogate family would be disrupted.

He went back to the library and found Serena peering into the book. Oh. So he looked like that man to her. He was flattered.

"Serena?" he asked. "I'm going to have Lucinda come to continue the tour. Alright?"

The maid who had been dusting the banister came in a short time later. After some official hellos, she led the way out, graciously offering her eyes for inspection when asked to prove she wasn't. She was friendly enough, but seemed distracted as she continued the tour on the Master's behalf. She showed her the sunroom ("Where the master likes to have breakfast"), the study ("It's pretty quiet in here. This is where the Master gives us our checks. Other than that, even he doesn't come in here often"), and the garden, where a small young woman waved enthusiastically ("That's Reya. She's pretty excitable").

The tour ended in the dining room. A long table with a white satin tablecloth dominated the room, with seating for ten.

"It's time to eat," she said as she started walking around the table. "The Master's diet requires soft foods, so I think Cook is making soup tonight."

Eseldor came back then, Bethany beside him. She was still quietly fuming and had her head down. The changeling sat at the head of the table, and looked up as Reya and a maid Serena hadn't met yet joined them.

"Serena, would you like the seat beside me for tonight?" he asked. He was asking it politely, but blushed at his own request. The other women all snapped their heads up. The maid Serena hadn't yet met bristled like an angry cat.
 
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When Eseldor came back in Serena snapped the book closed a little embaressed that she got so comfortable so quickly reading on of her favorite books. Standing up she was not surprised he asked another maid to come and finish the tour. He was the master of the house she was more shocked he had given her this much time. Watching to see the other maid come in she bowed her head to her new Master and followed.

The rest of the tour was quick and from the way this woman was explaining everything. It was obvious she didn't not want to be doing this. Half the time she would catch her glaring at her from reflections and mirrors. Serena couldn't understand why this woman was so displeased with her, she almost wanted to say something but thought that wasn't such a good idea. The happiness of seeing Eseldor over flowed her when he walked into the dining room. Spent a majority of her day with someone who obviously hated her it made her want to be around someone that could probably hide their unhappiness a bit better.

It was obvious she was the youngest maid the rest there mid to late twenties as they all came in sitting in there seats leaving one empty next to the Master. Standing there awkwardly she looked up when he called for her. Smiling she went to sit in the seat he asked her to sit in surprised by the stares she was getting. It was almost as if they were stabbing her with her eyes.

Sitting quietly Serena tried to act as smiley and happy as she could not wanting to give them anything to hold against her. When inside all she wanted to do was run, in the pit of her stomach that working here was not going to be easy. Fixing her long brown hair she saw there heads turn as what had to be the most beautiful woman she had ever seen walk in.

Hair as black as night with shining blue eyes, tall with legs for days. The woman could tell Serena she was a goddess and she would believe her. Looking over to where she was sitting she came over and looked at her than at Eseldor.

"Your new way of welcoming the new girl? How sweet of you, always caring." She walked up giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek and wrapped her arms around his shoulder hugging him the back of his head going into her breast and what perfect breast they were. Big and wanting this woman was a straight out of a man's wildest dreams.

Serena knew she wasn't ugly but compared to her she looked like a child or a pumkin made her nervous. "It's so nice to meet you my name Luna." she spoke dragging a finger down his cheek as if trying to warn her Eseldor was her's. Opening her mouth to speak a man walked into the dinning room. He was kind of young looking but you can tell his age in the way he held himself, but he was handsome not as handsome as her new master but enough to put a bit of pink on her cheeks. As everyone was watching him as he spoke about what was for dinner Luna spoke to Eseldor.

"Is she your new toy?" She whispered in his ear only for him. "I wouldn't get to attached look at the pink on her cheeks, looks like she has a thing for cooks." Giggling she licked the side of his ear. "She may sit in my seat tonight but remember who was your first."

Turning back to look at Eseldor Serena smiled as Luna went to sit at the other side of the table. Walking she smiled at Serena but looked back at Eseldor giving him a look that only he would understand and walking in a way that she knew would drive him crazy, reminding him what he already has.
 
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