The Indentured Mistress of a 'Human'

Maiden in Distress

Hey~ sorry for not uploading in forever! The new story is still in progress (have you noticed that I suck at meeting deadlines? o___0) so please wait a little longer. This upload doesn't really have a lot of action, it's more like a building chapter, so sorry if you're bored by this one! On the bright side, the next upload should be about a forced date, so that should be interesting! BUT WITH WHO?! ;) 

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            The next few lessons were hectic to say the least. With the meeting at Latsliant only five days away, Brook was forced to learn the history of musical eras, duets with a reluctant Nathan, past civil wars, how to knit a sweater, the waltz, and oil painting.

            The only comfort Brook received wasn’t from her impatient fiancé who she constantly stepped on during dance practice, but Will. Of everyone at the mansion, William and Lily were the only ones who didn’t insist on sophistication and full marks in every subject.

            Julia and Angela provided comfort and friendship, along with the other fifty-two servants that Brook was beginning to recognize. They were kind and somewhat in awe of their informal mistress, but also disapproved her intimacy with plebeians such as themselves.

            As a result, every time Victoria rapped Brook’s knuckles with a ruler or Lucy threw a frying pan at her face, or Sarah made an unbelievably snide comment, the poor girl would run vent her feelings to William during their ride. If not, Brook was sure to recount the day’s event to Lily during dinner.

            Still, it wasn’t all bad. Politics was definitely Brook’s favorite subject, for human society was far more fascinating than mosaics ever would. The most interesting lesson began three days before the fateful meeting day.

            “Telepathy?!” Brook gasped when Barbara told her the news.

            “Exactly. It’s been in the Lee family for ages, a unique heritage within the family bloodline.”

            Brook opened her mouth to ask if it was the same as Nathan’s ability, but quickly shut up before the secret slipped out.

            “You need to be able to block it out during the meeting, or a lot of information harmful to the Walker family might fall into the Lees’ hands.”

            Brook felt the blood drain from her face. They’d find out she was an indenture.

            “So, this is how it works,” Barbara continued. “The person needs to have some kind of skin contact with you, usually a handshake. By doing so, that person is able to see all your memories in an instant, no matter how long you’ve lived or how complex your past was.”

            So it wasn’t the same as Nathan’s; it was worse.

            “However,” Barbara continued, “there is a way to prevent that person from obtaining your memories despite having a handshake with you. When you have skin contact with that person, I need you to think of the most unpleasant moment you’ve ever experienced and let everything from that moment occupy your mind.

            “You need to maintain a light and easy expression on your face instead of grimacing or bursting into tears, though, and that’s the hardest part of the trick. If you fail to do this, it means that you are able to somewhat relieve your pain and escape the misery. If this happens, then the person will be able to do so, too.

            “If you succeed in blocking the person out, what happened is that when he or she is trying to rifle through your memories, all that will come up is a blur of unpleasant feelings and a swirl of misery. The person won’t even see what the memory is.