Arielle
Over the next few days, I was actually able to relax a little knowing that Isabelle had set up the meeting for Friday afternoon right after her lecture. After the weekend, we had both returned to Isabelle's house. I felt much more at ease here since there weren't guards wandering the halls at all hours.
I also didn't have to worry about Francis. Isabelle had introduced me to Marcel and he actually seemed to be a kind person. He had apologized for scaring me the night we met and reassured me that he had only been following orders to frighten me enough to talk. However, Francis was a different story. The way he smirked whenever he saw me gave me a very bad feeling. Luckily, I was never very far from Isabelle and she would always send him away if she sensed my discomfort.
It was currently Tuesday morning and Isabelle was still asleep. I had woken up early today even though neither of us had class. I laid in bed for awhile, just observing Isabelle's facial features, my hand occasionally brushing her hair. Normally when we were at Isabelle's father's estate, the chef would prepare all the meals, but Isabelle usually did the cooking here. She insisted that I was a guest at her house and didn't want me to have to cook. Part of me wondered if she was just worried about my cooking skills.
This morning, I made the decision to surprise Isabelle with an omelette and a cup of her go-to coffee. I had seen her make it once before and realized that it was the same coffee she offered me during class once with the special taste (a shot of rum added - making my eyes widen that first time I saw her make it). As quietly as I could, I slipped out of bed and snuck out of the room. I walked by the bathroom to put my hair into a bun before going downstairs.
Once downstairs, I looked in the fridge to gather the ingredients for the omelette. I knew Isabelle preferred her omelettes simple with spinach and feta cheese. I decided to toss a side garden salad as well. I beat the egg mixture and began to make the coffee as I waited for the pan to heat up. The whole time, I tried to not make any loud noises and I was very grateful that Isabelle's bedroom was on the second floor.
Once I had finished with the food, I set it all up on a tray with cutlery. I was very excited to bring the food up to her. As I ascended the stairs, I heard noises coming from the bedroom. "Arielle??" Isabelle's panicked voice was heard. I quickly hurried up the rest of the stairs just as she came out into the hallway.
We made eye contact and I gave her a sheepish smile before holding the tray out towards her. She silently backed into the room again and I followed her. "You couldn't have woken up two minutes later?" I teased as I waited for her to get back onto the bed so I could set up the tray.
"I was worried..." she muttered in embarrassment, the slightest blush coming over her cheeks.
I bit my lip. "I-I wouldn't sneak out...I know you keep me here for my own safety. Besides, no one knows where you live. Not even Chase or Celine." I pointed out.
She gave me a small smile and looked at the food. "My little chef." I blushed as she tapped my nose softly.
"I didn't burn down your kitchen if you were afraid of that." I sassed. "And if anything I'm your little servant." I held back a giggle.
"Oh? Then perhaps you should try on that little maid costume that I had fitted for you." She smirked.
I blushed again. "You're lying."
She raised an eyebrow at this. "Calling your Mistress a liar? That's not nice. Now be a good little girl and go look in the closet."
My eyes widened this time. Surely she had to be joking. I went to look in the closet anyways. It wasn't on any of the hangers, but then I noticed a big box on the floor and the costume was folded nicely on top. I silently groaned and came out holding it. I pouted at Isabelle as I made my way over to her.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Change, my little servant." I blushed furiously before turning to walk to the connecting washroom. "Change here." Isabelle ordered, making me stop in my tracks.
I whimpered quietly in embarrassment and started to unbutton my pajama top. Isabelle began to sip on her coffee, her eyes glued to my fingers. "Now this is a nice sight to go along with a delicious breakfast." I bit my lip and she groaned softly.
My face felt like a tomato as I slid my pants off as well. I started to put on the dress and noticed that Isabelle had seemingly ordered a size too small.
She definitely did this on purpose. She knew what size I wore.
I scowled at the realization. "Now what's with that face again? Shouldn't you be happy to be serving your Mistress?" Her smirk seemed to only grow wider.
I walked over to her once I had the apron on as well. "How may I serve you, Miss?" I whispered and I could hear her breath hitch.
"So many ways, but for now, I would like you to be a good girl and join me for breakfast." She lifted the blanket and patted the spot beside her. I crawled back into bed and she wrapped an arm around me. I blushed and leaned into her side. She started feeding me small pieces of omelette, alternating with taking bites herself.
Once Isabelle was done eating, she placed the tray back onto the nightstand. "So," she started and I held my breath. Whenever Isabelle started a sentence that way, there had either been a change of plans or she was intending to tell me something that she knew I wouldn't like. "I need to make a run to campus today. I totally forgot about my extra office hours for my first years leading up to the final exam."
I looked at her for a moment. "Oh, that's fine. I'll just hang around here. No one knows I'm here anyways."
"Yeah, nice try." She scoffed. "You're coming with me."
I groaned. "Isabelle, I'm not a child. You can leave me alone for a few hours."
"Last time I was asleep, you took my phone to call someone!"
"That was weeks ago and I didn't tell Chase anything!" I protested.
"You're coming with me. End of story." I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to win this one.
"I need to study for my finals too though..." I added after a moment.
"You may do that in my office." I sighed for a moment. I didn't especially want to be on campus because I was always anxious that someone would recognize me, even though no one had in the last few weeks. My disguise was that good. I had learned to do my makeup the way that Isabelle did it and I would do it that way whenever we had to leave the house. When we were at the Versailles estate on the weekends, I didn't have to keep the wig on because Francis and Marcel had already seen my real hair that first night.
I got up to take the plates downstairs to wash and I could swear that I heard Isabelle whisper behind me. "My good little maid."
In the last weeks, Isabelle and I had had many heart-to-heart conversations and I trusted her enough to tell her things that I had never told anyone else. As a result, I stopped talking back as much in defence when she asked questions, although it still happened sometimes out of habit. I did make a special effort to refrain from talking back at all when at the estate. This meant I got in trouble a lot less.
Once I had finished the dishes, I went to change into a simple skirt and crop top for campus. Normally, I would never dress this way, but this was part of my disguise.
Isabelle always checked my wig and outfit before leaving the house. Once she had done so, we grabbed our things and went to her car. One good thing about this disguise was that now I could be seen on campus with Isabelle without having to hide. Everyone believed that I was a distant relative of hers.
It was about a 20 minute drive to the university today. After we arrived, she took me to see Michael. Michael was the only one on campus who was allowed to partially know my situation. I would check in with him whenever I was on campus and he would let my parents know that I was alright. After that, we went up to Isabelle's office.
Isabelle's office was very tastefully decorated. She had a desk near the back of the room with some tabletop plants. She also had a desktop computer there, but she usually preferred to bring her laptop as well. In the inner right corner, there was a small, comfortable armchair that I liked to study on when I was here. In the left corner, she had a small coffee machine.
I set my stuff down when we got here and helped Isabelle organize her papers as well. Although the TA story was just a cover, over the last couple of weeks, I had practically become her TA. "Do you need my help with anything else?" I asked once we had unpacked and sorted her materials.
"No, baby girl. Go ahead and start your revision." I got onto my tiptoes and kissed her cheek before sitting down on the couch and starting my work.
Isabelle's office hours today were from 10am - 3pm. No students came in the first 30 minutes, but there was a knock on the door at 10:35. I glanced up momentarily as Isabelle went to open the door. It was a boy from Isabelle's class that I remembered was named Jordan.
"How many I help you today, Mr. Owens?"
Jordan smiled politely. "I was reviewing my notes and found that I didn't quite understand some of the the philosophical views of justice that we covered in second week, so I was just hoping you could clarify for me."
"Of course, please take a seat." Isabelle mirrored his tone as she gestured to the seat in front of her desk. "So which views are you having trouble with in particular?"
"I was trying to understand J. S. Mill's views in contrast to the definition of justice based on social contract theory."
"That's a good question. Ava, would you like to try to answer?"
My eyes slowly lifted from my book when I realized she was talking to me. "Erm-"
"You do know the answer, don't you?" She pressed. I could see the hint of a smirk on her lips.
"Of course!" I said in indignation. "M-ma'am." I added hastily. "Erm, so justice is defined in social contract theory as what is agreed upon by everyone as fair. However, John Stuart Mill's views were more utilitarian. He thought that justice was the result that had the best outcome for the most people. So not necessarily everyone would agree on that kind of justice and the ends would take priority over the means."
"Correct, Ava." I let out a small sigh of relief and looked back down at my book. "Which view would you be leaning towards more?" I bit my lip, only to find Isabelle smirking slightly at me again. She always loved to try and test me.
I hesitated before trying to decide what would be an appropriate answer. "I believe both views have their merits, ma'am." I settled on that.
"Please explain." Jordan was now looking at me as well.
"Erm, well J. S. Mill is saying that in justice, the most people should benefit the outcome, which is kind of like majority rules I think, which is how society works basically. However, I don't think the ends necessarily justifies the means. As we're seen in history, the majority isn't always right either. The other view isn't always practical though. You're not going to get a consensus in society, but I believe that justice does exist."
Isabelle smiled at me in satisfaction. "Well said, Ava." She turned back to Jordan. "Does that clear things up a little?"
He nodded. "Yes, thank you, Dr. Williams. And Ava." He nodded at me and I gave him a small smile. "I still have one more question." Isabelle nodded for him to continue. I went back to my reading and this time, she didn't ask me to answer.
A few more people came in after Jordan left. At around 1:30pm, I told Isabelle that I was going to go get us some lunch in the food court. She hesitated for a moment, but allowed me to go. I went down to the food court and noticed that campus wasn't too busy today. I pretended to be on my phone while I walked to deter anyone from trying to talk to me.
Once I arrived, I decided to get us both a BLT sandwich and some soup. As I was lining up, I noticed Kylie sitting at one of the tables at the corner of my view. I froze, but tried my best to act natural. I didn't know what the others at the office had been told, but I knew she couldn't see me. I quickly placed my order and turned the other way. She didn't seem to notice me. Once I got the food, I hurried away before she could look in my direction.
I made my way back up to Isabelle's office. "Oh my god, Isabelle, you won't believe what-" I froze and cut myself off when I realized that she wasn't alone.
Isabelle bit her lip and raised an eyebrow at me. There was another girl sitting in front of her. She had curly, brown hair and blue eyes. "I'm sorry." I mumbled quietly. I didn't recognize her so she must have been from Isabelle's lecture on Friday mornings when I had my Sociology lecture. I placed the food down on her desk and took my seat silently. When I glanced at Isabelle again, I noticed a box of sweets on her desk that hadn't been there before.
"Sorry for the interruption, Emily, this is Ava Williams. She's a relative of mine and is working as my TA for some of my classes. Please continue."
I blushed and whispered an apology as well. "Well, as I was saying, Professor, I really still don't understand what you were saying about crime trends and the crime swap in class last week." There was something about her voice that just annoyed me. I looked up just in time to see her flip her hair and lean in towards Isabelle.
I immediately frowned. Isabelle seemed to notice this and glanced at me for a split second, with the slightest hint of a grin on her lips. "Well, Miss Sanders, I'm going to let Ava try explaining." Emily frowned at this.
I had to hold back a sigh. It was a very straightforward concept. She had either not been listening or was just using this as an excuse to be here. "It means that crime rates have pretty much stayed stable throughout the last few decades. Even though you may hear more in the news, it's just because there's more coverage now. The crime swap means that certain types of crimes have become less prevalent, while other types like cybercrimes have increased due to technology changes."
She frowned at me. "I don't understand what she is saying, Dr. Williams, would you mind explaining to me yourself?" She fluttered her lashes at Isabelle and I gritted my teeth.
Isabelle started to explain, basically saying what I had said, but Emily nodded with wide eyes. "That makes so much more sense, Professor, thank you. I have a few more questions."
The questions seemed to get progressively worse. Her intentions became more and more clear, but Isabelle didn't seem to get frustrated like I was. I was sick of watching her openly flirt with Isabelle, especially when I noticed her lean forwards and pull her shirt down slightly.
I decided to get up to make myself a cup of coffee when I got an idea in my head. I set a up a mug and started to brew the coffee. A few minutes later, it was done. I went to bring the mug to Isabelle and she smiled softly at me as I set it down on her desk. Emily frowned when I reached across her. I pretended to move a piece of paper, but instead, I gently pushed my knuckles against the cup, spilling coffee all over her bag. Unfortunately, it also got on a few of Isabelle's papers.
Emily shrieked and jumped up, giving me a death stare. "You-"
Isabelle quickly stood up to grab a roll of paper towel. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sanders. I'll help you clean up. Ava, apologize." She snapped at me.
"I-I'm sorry..." I whispered, trying to sound sincere.
Emily was practically in tears. "My new bag is ruined!" She scowled at me.
"I'm sure the stain will come out, Miss Sanders. If it doesn't, I will replace it for you."
I scowled but made sure she couldn't see. "Oh no, Dr. Williams. It's certainly not your fault." She backtracked before glaring at me again.
"Nevertheless, Ava is under my care. I'm afraid I have to cut office hours short today. It's almost time anyways. I need to clean this up." She gestured to her coffee-stained notes and I immediately felt guilty. "You should probably go wash your bag as soon as possible too. That'll get the stain out." She smiled politely at Emily.
Emily looked very disappointed at this. "Of course, Professor, I understand." She picked up her things to leave. "I will see you in class on Friday then."
Isabelle smiled and walked her to the door. "Thank you for stopping by today, Emily. I apologize once again for the mess and thank you for the sweets again."
I scowled, facing the wall. The door clicked shut after a moment and I heard footsteps approach me. Isabelle's arms locked around my waist and and growled in my ear. "You are in so much trouble, Miss Reagan."
———————————————————————————
*edited*
💙💜💙💜
-Cindy