• CHAPTER 1

    a castle stood on a hill masked by trees. the wind blew through the leaves giving the ocassional glimpse of a patchwork of old bricks and mortar. a young girl hobbled up the rocky path fending off the rain with a small shawl. she tripped on the stairs, exhausted from a long and arduous journey. she feebley chapped the door and waited on her knees for the owner to appear.

    after five minutes she wept, afraid that noone would come to her aid. after ten minutes the door creaked open and a tall pale man appeared between the frame. his hair fell lazily into his eyes as he gazed down his nose at her. he didnt say anything for another five minutes.her large tear filled eyes gazed lost into his all the while.

    suddenly, he picked her up in his muscular arms without so much as a whisper and carried her inside. he placed her on a victorian lounger in a large front room and sat back on a black chair in the corner. still no words were said. he took a homemade cigarette from his pocket and lit it, sipping at a glass of strange liquid.

    "what are you doing here?" the pale man said after a particularly long drag.

    "i am in this castle because its raining outside and i could see nothing but this for miles and the rain was too cold." she paused, staring at her hands in her lap, shaking violently with the cold, and noticed how dirty her nails were. "i am in this part of the world searching for work and a new home for myself." she suddenly sobbed again, hopeless now in her quest. she laid her forehead against her knees, her whole body shivering.

    "ha!" the man replyed with a manic glee in his eyes "Ha!"

    he crosses the room laughing to himself and picks her up the collar. "do you know who i am?" he asks with his face inches away from hers "im lord brandon, third heir to the throne. and who are you? noone! Noone at all" he dropped her back on to the seat laughing harder than ever. "and what use could you be to me? a weak little ugly wretch like you?"

    she stood aggressively and glared at him. "a lord, eh? a true lord would have enough compassion not to insult someone he brought in from the rain! a true lord would be hospitable to a lady! and..." she paused. "a lord... would have someone else... to answer his door. even this late in the evening." she wiped a sweaty hand on her soaked skirt and never broke his malicious gaze. "and i am capable of many things, useful to many people. i can sew, weave, hunt, repair things, clean things, play the piano, watch children, read, write, and do extravagent things to ladies' hair."

    brandon suddenly stopped laughing a lndeft the room. the young girl, now beyond the point of being scared, stared in wonder at the objects surrounding her. the walls were covered in old paintings and there were shelves adorned with various oddities. weird things in jars, old books and odd antiques were everywhere. one particular object, a small shiny box caught her eye and she stood to look at it. she blew the dust off it but before she could see inside it was snatched from her grasp.

    "you shall not touch my property." a cold voice said "you shall not speak out of place. you shall obey my orders at all time" brandon turned away from her as he said all this and put the small box into a desk drawer.

    "put these on" he said passing her some clean clothes "theyll make you feel less...naked"

    she noticed a tray on the table next to where she was sitting which had food on it. brandon noticed her looking at it. "yes thats for you. a slave must eat up for strength"

    "you have right to be angered. i was out of place in touching your things, but i will speak as i please, though be as courteous as possible around you." she emphasized the word 'you', and continued glaring at him.

    "i dont feel naked, and i already have better clothes. when you are the dresser and stylist of the ladies in a high class family, they will be grateful for your services, at least if youre good, and they rewarded me occasionally with clothes and other assorted luxuries." she allowed her bag to slip off her shoulder and into her hand.

    "as well, i do not intend to be a slave to anyone. i could carry on with this statement, but id rather prefer to be alive in the morning, and not to have died in the night from hypothermia."

    brandon surveyed the strange female creature before him. "you are so rude to my blatant kindness. i will hire you as a servent for you will surely die on the streets or end up in a whore house otherwise. There are no 'ladies in a high class family here'. your duties shall be cooking and cleaning for me and tending to my mythical creatures including the pegasus in the stables. you can dress me if you want but i doubt you would be up to that task" he said with a sneer.

    after she had eaten the food he had left out Brandon snatched her up in his arms (clothes and bag too) and carried her up a dank marble staircase. he walked silently along a corridor, past door after door before finally kicking one open and throwing her down onto a four poster bed. "my study is four doors down. i hate to be disturbed. if you need anything you may chap lightly. if im in a good mood ill let you in"

    before he carried her upstairs shed smirked at him, and at his final words. "i will try almost anything once. and continue in attempts to dress you until you are satisfied. and as for cooking: do you have any allergies or dislikes?"

    once she had settled from being thrown down on the bed she looked up at him cautiously. "i have just a few questions before you leave..." she trailed off and he stopped at the door, turning back to her slightly. "are the books in your study alphabatized? and may i hang up my wet clothes above the bath tub?"

    "Hang your clothes where ever you see fit. your the maid now so thats your job to decide"

    brandon closed the door with a snap behind him and let out a sigh. he had vowed never to have another servent after what happened last time. why had he agreed to this girl when he had refused so many before her? he strode down the hall and into his study cursing himself all the while. was it pity or sexual feeling or something else? brandon couldnt say for sure. but it would be good to be eating decent food again.

    she sighed and took off her shoes and quietly went across the hall, carrying dry underwear and a nightgown, along with some clothes line. she found the bathroom right across the hall and gently shut the door behind her, placing her dry clothes on the counter and shed her shawl first, dropping it in the tub. she turned back and got the clothes line, tying it to a hook one the wall, and let it cross over the bath, tying the other end to the showerhead.

    she hung her shawl over the line and pulled off two shirts and a bra, then her skirt, underwear and stockings, plus socks. she delicately hung these things, trying to space them out and stood naked for a while, squeezing out her hair gently over the sink and trying to dry off a little with a face towel.

    her long locks flowed over the curves of her subtle naked form as she reflected on the misery that had led her to this strange manor. a distant chiming could be heard over the subtle flow of water from the dirty sinks tap. midnight chimes already? she thought to herself. ughh im gonna have to clean this entire house. a few minutes passed and again the chimes sounded. huh? it cant be midnight again, what is that noise? she wondered to her self as she dried the rest of her hair.

    suddenly the bathroom door shot open and brandon burst in. "cant you hear the door you useless-"

    brandon froze at the sight of her naked body. "ugh s-sorry i didnt m-mean to-" he flustered, blushing, "i told you i hate to be disturbed" he barked doing a u-turn on the spot and standing in the hall with his back to her.

    as the door flew opened she let out a small, high pitched yelp, and crossed her arms over her chest and blushing a deep shade of maroon. her golden hair spilling over her shoulders.

    "i-i-im sorry! i should have locked the door! i should have dressed faster! i-" her words trailed off and she quickly dressed, slipping past him in the hallway and running down the stairs. she had to lift the long skirt of her sheer nightdress so she wouldnt trip. at the bottom of the stairs she realized how cold the floor was as she made her way to the front door in her bare feet.

    "egit" brandon muttered to himself, rubbing his temples "she's only been here an hour and you've already mucked things up. THIS is one of the long list of reasonss you deserve to be alone. stupid brandon!" he muttered kicking the wall and stubbing his toe. damn i better go check she's ok he thought to himself as he hurried along the corridor and down the stairs. who on earth could be at the door at this time?

    he stumbled as he rushed after her and half ran half fell down the stairs after her. he was a terrifying sight. a tall, extremely pale young man dressed all in black falling like a fluttering crow. he held on to banister to steay himself and watched as she opened the door.

    she looked back and saw him stumbling. such a gawky, uncoordinated sight. she giggled softly, covering her mouth and smiled, slowly opening the heavy door. the wind and rain bit through the opening and she shivered. one of her arms crossed her ribcage to hold onto the other and she looked at the figure , stepping into the doorframe. she backed up and to the side, leading way for brandon to see who it was.

    Brandon straightend up as if nothing had happened but his cheeks were glowing a faint pink. "who's there? who dares disturb my manor at this hour?" he shouted as bravely as he could managed but a quiver of fear was unavoidable

    she glanced back at him and looked back to the door as a largely muscular man entered the house. he had dark hair and wore a black coat that was very well fitted. his frame dripped immensely onto the floor and she couldnt help but make a slight face, knowing shed have to clean it up.

    "sir, it is very late this evening, and cold and wet, may i ask who you are and why you have come here?" she spoke as she gingerly closed the door, the wind chilling her to the bone.

    he answered her in an enormously booming voice that echoed through the room. "i am george of course! here to visit my big brother! told you id be coming soon!" he nodded to brandon with a smile and crossed the room for a hug. after brandon was wet from a bear hug he glared at his brother. "sorry there wasnt much notice for my visit.," george went on. "but i was in the area and wanted to visit." george suddenly turned back to her. "my, my. there hasnt been a woman residing in this house for over 10 years! have you finally gotten married then, brandon? well, youve got yourself quite the foxy little catch here! dont tell my wife i said that though!" he winked at her and she blushed, shaking her head. she opened her mouth to correct him, but brandon spoke before she could.

    "you never change do you?" brandon muttered gravely, "you better come in then. and er... dont make yourself at home" but it was too late, george had already thrown his coat on the floor and kicked his dirty feet up on a sofa.
    brandon picked up the dripping coat and hung it on a peg. "shoes. now." he said with his arm out stretched.
    he took george's shoes and put them next to the door. then brandon began a shoddy attempt to clean up the mess.
    "leave that for your wife, cleaning up mess is a womans job" george said with a hearty laugh.
    Brandon grimaced "cleaning up YOUR mess has always been MY job"

    she glared at george and got towels to help brandon clean up the watery mess. "you seem very cold compared to such a teddy bear of a brother. even a sexist one." she muttered to brandon as she pulled up her skirt and mopped up some water. "by the way, my name is jacqueline."

    "see!? shes happy to do it, brandon, come sit!" george called to him from the couch. the perfect woman, i must say. even for such an inhuman being as yourself. wonderful body, great hips for carrying children! and the tiniest damn waist ive seen in a while! beautiful face, long hair, though its dirty as hell. and willing to clean up, even though shes all dressed up to go lay with you. how is this little one in the sack anyway? and why wasnt i invited to the wedding? you got any kids yet? or is one in the oven now?" he spoke quickly, and far too loudly for a large stone room such as this. she looked at him, appalled by such words.

    "would you please stop talking about my servent like that" brandon muttered angrily. he was not used to having any company nevermind being ganged up on by them. he looked down at his feet as he said "leave the mess jacqueline. im really sorry about this. please. sit with us. or you may retire to bed if you so wish."

    "thank you. i think i will sit, but only if i dont have to sit next to him, and i will get a sweater or shawl first." she strolled upstairs, watching brandon sit down in his favorite black chair in the corner and smiled to herself as she walked down the hallway. jacqueline quickly went through her bag and pulled out a warm shawl, wrapping it loosely around her shoulders, admiring the pale shade of lavender it was. she descended the stairs holding her hairbrush and sitting quietly on a sofa across from brandon.

    while jacquline fetched her shawl brandon brought fancy treats from his kitchen. he watched as the beautiful girl sat down fighting hard to not stare at her bare legs beating loosely below her skirt. "here" he grunted passing out the chocolate pastries.

    "ha! giving chocolates to a servent? are you sure she isnt your wife?" george said with a chortle, reaching over the sofa and putting his hand on her thigh "but then you'd never be able to get a girl this fine to love you"

    "take your hands off of her!" brandon shouted jumping to his feet.

    "ah so you, at least, do have feelings for her. though i doubt she could ever love an empty shell like you. no one will." he laughed again.

    she smiled and thanked him quietly for the chocolate, and bit into it, smiling. "they are delicious." she exclaimed happily after shed chewed and swallowed.

    she blushed bright pink as george's hand carressed her thigh. the moment his hand had lifted off of her, jacqueline moved quietly to a large winged chair by a grandfather clock. she situated her leg on the chair to be half cross legged and the other with her toes just touching the floor.

    she heard what george last said and found her voice, though it was soft. "i believe someone will love him. or at least has. if someone has loved him and he loved her back, maybe she hurt him somehow. and all he needs is someone to help him learn how to open his heart again." she gently pulled her shawl tighter to cover her chest.

    "cease this insolent chatter now! both of you! THIS is why i do not entertain visitors. THIS is why i do not have servents. can a man not live in peace?" it seemed her comment had struck another nerve.

    george, now looking sober for the first time since he entered slowly and quietly said "now brandon thats no way to talk to a lady, you can talk like that to me fine, but you were raised better than that. brandon knows i was only playing with him for love is a taboo topic in this house. it seems he has filled you in on a lot more than i thought he ever would, or is it a ladies intuition?" he gave a wink and returned to his usual warm self

    she curled up as small as she could make herself and looked down. "just intuition... i apologize immensely if it insulted you in any way..." she looked over at brandon who had turned mildly red and crossed his arms. the room had grown very quiet and solemn. jacqueline tried to change the subject to something neutral or at least a little less contravertial. "what should i make you for breakfast in the morning?" she looked at brandon kind of tiredly.

    "ah breakfast! yes what indeed brandon? you know how i love my food" george said beaming "eggs and bacon?"
    " yes, that sounds fine." brandon said awkwardly "i suggest we call it a night and retire to our beds. there will be plenty time to er...catch up tomorrow. let me show you to your rooms"

    Brandon walked them up to their separate room and finally collapsed on to his bed. today had been eventful and he had a feeling that things were only just beginng.

    END CHAPTER 1
    **the other chapter are on my journal so you can subscribe if you want**