Without Noel there it seemed that Stacey took an extra long time in removing Altair's clothes. She also felt that the looks that Stacey was giving her were uncomfortable. She found them to be very similar to the looks she got from fanatical people she had come across. It disturbed her slightly.
The moment she was out of the dress she chased Stacey out while ignoring all of her complaints about her underwear needing to be removed properly. Altair just didn't care. It was underwear and there was nothing special about it.
Although she did finally learn what those strange little belts were for today.
On her way to the bath, her eyes strayed to the full-body mirror near the bath. Reflected back was her own naked self and she found herself shaking her head. All of the scars she had received from her fights to survive in the wilds and on the battlefield were just memories to her now. Her body had been cleaned of all of them. There was no longer any sign of the struggles she went through.
She turned her attention back to the bath that she had longed for and slipped into the warm, comforting embrace of the scented liquids.
Altair took her time in the bath. She didn't leave it until an hour later, dressed in a nightgown that was showier than Altair would have liked. It was picked out by Stacey and Altair was starting to question if she should continue to leave her with access to her clothes.
As soon as she left the bathroom, the enticing smell of seasoned food wafted into her nose and instantly made her stomach complain because it wasn't already inside her.
The noise did not go unnoticed as Stacey laughed lightly before her.
Altair ignored Stacey and moved to the table that had plates on it. The chairs were slightly higher than she was used to but didn't pose a problem for her to get on.
The meal before her was something new though. It looked like dozens of golden threads mixed together in a strange red substance with chunks of meat. On the side was a simple salad that she was used to.
She stared at the pasta food that she had never had before for a short time before grabbing the fork at the side. She still wasn't that skilled in using the chopsticks and this dish appeared to be tricky to eat without getting everywhere if she used the chopsticks.
Altair was soon proved right as she scooped some out with the fork and bit into it, oblivious to the noodles that hung off the fork and splattered her face with sauce.
However, she realized her mistake immediately. The thought never crossed her mind that the sauce would stick to her. She didn't even consider a possibility.
With this newfound knowledge, she rolled the noodles from then on around her fork and ate it without getting it everywhere. It was a mushy, delicious mess of food.
She then devoured her salad last, as it was her favorite part of the meal that had been given to her.
Afterwards, she cleaned her face off with a napkin and the dishes were cleared away. Before she could get up to head to the bathroom for a more thorough cleaning of her face though, another dish was placed before her.
It was a triangular shaped food that seemed shake lightly when it was placed down. The top of it was a layer of white substance sprinkled with brown flakes. The middle layer was a darker color of brown and the bottom layer appeared to be some kind of bread.
Altair tilted her head at the sight of the strange dish. It was another thing she had never eaten before but she had already had dinner so what was this after dish?
Stacey smiled at the strange looks Altair was giving the chocolate cream pie. She then stated, "It's a celebratory desert, Young Miss."
Noel was standing next to her and bowed in time with Stacey as they both said, "Congratulations on being accepted into the main family, Aria Marnithok."
To them, it was a rare exception for someone to join the main family line. They had always thought it was just a rumor until today. They couldn't have been happier when they found out that it was the same girl that they had met previous in the Servants Quarters. The rest of the servants still though they were lying about having met Altair that day but in the face of being accepted as her personal maids going forward they had to finally accept the truth.
Altair looked at the dish and took the leftover spoon in hand. It was the only piece of silverware she had left to use. She then used it to take a bite of the pie and ate it. Her mouth immediately exploded in the strong and fantastic taste of chocolate and whipped cream. Her eyes widened at the heavy, but wonder, taste, and her hand moved to take another piece into her mouth while she was still working on what was in there.
It didn't take long before she devoured the whole piece. It was the best thing she had ever eaten.
Altair then went and cleaned herself up with the sink in the bathroom. By the time she came back out, Noel had already cleaned up the table and left leaving only Stacey and herself in the room.
Altair felt a little tired but she had another goal in mind tonight. She judged she probably wouldn't be able to complete it with Stacey present though so she went to the bed feigning weariness.
Stacey saw the direction she was moving in and hurriedly went ahead to pull the covers open for her.
Altair frowned at the movement but didn't say anything and chose to climb into bed. She sank into the bed on contact and was stunned slightly at how different it was from her old bed. It wasn't just larger and more luxurious but also more comfortable as well! She really felt like she was being treated like a delicate princess as this moment.
She didn't like that feeling.
She pulled up the covers and lay back, then turned her head toward Stacey and said, "You can go now. I suppose I will see you tomorrow." She added in her head, 'Unfortunately.'
Stacey smiled brightly in response and spoke with a voice filled with affection, "Of course, Young Miss. I shall be here when you wake up."
Altair closed her eyes and resisted the urge to actually sleep as she heard Stacey leave the room. She then waited for a couple of minutes before she got out of bed.
Her room had fallen into near total darkness. There were lines of light coming from the corners of the wall where the floor met the wall but it was extremely light. Altair had no idea there was light there. It wasn't like that in her room at all.
She ignored her curiosity to investigate it as she walked toward the door. Now would probably be her only chance to look at the stars in the sky. She was planning on using the constellations she was used to in order to determine where exactly she was.
It wasn't that she didn't believe Renald when he told her he didn't know about the Rebanon Kingdom. She just wanted to know for sure, though. She couldn't help herself. Any Human should have immediately known where the great Rebanon Kingdom was. It didn't make sense for them not to know.
She opened the door and, just as she expected, Dave and Ben were still out there. They both looked at her with the same stern expressions she received when she tried to sneak out at night before.
Altair knew that one of them would soon drag her to bed and she needed to act quickly. She spoke honesty and earnestly when she said, "I want to see the sky." She was hoping that their relationship so far would allow her to get away with it just this once.
Dave frowned slightly before asking, "Can't you see it just fine from your window?"
Altair shook her head, "I haven't been able to look up at the night sky since I was brought here." She put on a sad look before pleading, "Please, just this once."
Ben turned to Dave and said, "I'll take her."
Dave shook his head, "No way am I letting you do it. Let the person with a child handle it." He then turned to Altair and his frown deepened upon seeing her wearing nothing but a nightgown. He took off his jacket and handed it to her while saying, "Put this on. Then we'll go."
Altair took the heavy jacked from him and was startled at exactly how heavy it was. By her estimations it weighed at least 15 kilograms. She burned some Mana so that she could put it on easier and once it was on it basically looked like a dress to her. It was longer than the nightgown she was wearing and had the distinct smell of high quality leather about it.
Dave then motioned for her to follow while saying, "Come on then," and turned around to walk away. She quickly walked after him, leaving Ben to stand guard by room.
Dave led Altair through the mansion with precision. He deftly avoided paths where other servants and guards were walking about, despite knowing that their position would be recorded down in the Observation Den. He still didn't want the others to see Altair walking around in a nightgown and his jacket. He didn't know if his reputation could survive the hit.
Altair was already numb to the lavishly decorated interior of the mansion. She didn't know why nobles liked to waste so much money on making their house shiny and pretty. Wasn't it enough to just keep it clean? Why did they feel like they had to go overboard and make sure everyone know how wonderful their place was? It was beyond her.
Eventually they made their way downstairs without running into anyone. Dave then directed Altair to a backdoor used by servants and guards. He didn't want to go out the front because it was always under guard. The servant's door would be far safer for his reputation.
The servant's entrance was unguarded as Dave suspected it would be. There was really no point in it being guarded with all the other security around the house. The only reason the main doors were guarded was for appearance sake.
Dave put in a code through his communicator next to the backdoor and it opened.
Altair didn't even see a Holodisplay when he did so. It just looked like he was moving his fingers over his bracer and then she heard a clicking noise from the door itself.
Dave opened the door for Altair and moved out of the way. He then said, "You have five minutes before we head back up."
Altair nodded appreciatively before she walked out into the cold air. It wasn't as bad as the ATR room and, with the help of Dave's leather jacket, didn't bother her much. She stepped out onto the stone steps and looked up toward the sky expecting to start looking for the constellations she knew of.
Only her eyes opened as wide as saucers at what she saw. There were no clouds in the sky but there also wasn't a single star she could see. Altair was dumbfounded. Just because she left one world didn't mean that stars didn't exist in every sky, right? It was a constant that Altair had been holding onto.
'Just where did I go?'
Without Noel there it seemed that Stacey took an extra long time in removing Altair's clothes. She also felt that the looks that Stacey was giving her were uncomfortable. She found them to be very similar to the looks she got from fanatical people she had come across. It disturbed her slightly.
The moment she was out of the dress she chased Stacey out while ignoring all of her complaints about her underwear needing to be removed properly. Altair just didn't care. It was underwear and there was nothing special about it.
Although she did finally learn what those strange little belts were for today.
On her way to the bath, her eyes strayed to the full-body mirror near the bath. Reflected back was her own naked self and she found herself shaking her head. All of the scars she had received from her fights to survive in the wilds and on the battlefield were just memories to her now. Her body had been cleaned of all of them. There was no longer any sign of the struggles she went through.
She turned her attention back to the bath that she had longed for and slipped into the warm, comforting embrace of the scented liquids.
Altair took her time in the bath. She didn't leave it until an hour later, dressed in a nightgown that was showier than Altair would have liked. It was picked out by Stacey and Altair was starting to question if she should continue to leave her with access to her clothes.
As soon as she left the bathroom, the enticing smell of seasoned food wafted into her nose and instantly made her stomach complain because it wasn't already inside her.
The noise did not go unnoticed as Stacey laughed lightly before her.
Altair ignored Stacey and moved to the table that had plates on it. The chairs were slightly higher than she was used to but didn't pose a problem for her to get on.
The meal before her was something new though. It looked like dozens of golden threads mixed together in a strange red substance with chunks of meat. On the side was a simple salad that she was used to.
She stared at the pasta food that she had never had before for a short time before grabbing the fork at the side. She still wasn't that skilled in using the chopsticks and this dish appeared to be tricky to eat without getting everywhere if she used the chopsticks.
Altair was soon proved right as she scooped some out with the fork and bit into it, oblivious to the noodles that hung off the fork and splattered her face with sauce.
However, she realized her mistake immediately. The thought never crossed her mind that the sauce would stick to her. She didn't even consider a possibility.
With this newfound knowledge, she rolled the noodles from then on around her fork and ate it without getting it everywhere. It was a mushy, delicious mess of food.
She then devoured her salad last, as it was her favorite part of the meal that had been given to her.
Afterwards, she cleaned her face off with a napkin and the dishes were cleared away. Before she could get up to head to the bathroom for a more thorough cleaning of her face though, another dish was placed before her.
It was a triangular shaped food that seemed shake lightly when it was placed down. The top of it was a layer of white substance sprinkled with brown flakes. The middle layer was a darker color of brown and the bottom layer appeared to be some kind of bread.
Altair tilted her head at the sight of the strange dish. It was another thing she had never eaten before but she had already had dinner so what was this after dish?
Stacey smiled at the strange looks Altair was giving the chocolate cream pie. She then stated, "It's a celebratory desert, Young Miss."
Noel was standing next to her and bowed in time with Stacey as they both said, "Congratulations on being accepted into the main family, Aria Marnithok."
To them, it was a rare exception for someone to join the main family line. They had always thought it was just a rumor until today. They couldn't have been happier when they found out that it was the same girl that they had met previous in the Servants Quarters. The rest of the servants still though they were lying about having met Altair that day but in the face of being accepted as her personal maids going forward they had to finally accept the truth.
Altair looked at the dish and took the leftover spoon in hand. It was the only piece of silverware she had left to use. She then used it to take a bite of the pie and ate it. Her mouth immediately exploded in the strong and fantastic taste of chocolate and whipped cream. Her eyes widened at the heavy, but wonder, taste, and her hand moved to take another piece into her mouth while she was still working on what was in there.
It didn't take long before she devoured the whole piece. It was the best thing she had ever eaten.
Altair then went and cleaned herself up with the sink in the bathroom. By the time she came back out, Noel had already cleaned up the table and left leaving only Stacey and herself in the room.
Altair felt a little tired but she had another goal in mind tonight. She judged she probably wouldn't be able to complete it with Stacey present though so she went to the bed feigning weariness.
Stacey saw the direction she was moving in and hurriedly went ahead to pull the covers open for her.
Altair frowned at the movement but didn't say anything and chose to climb into bed. She sank into the bed on contact and was stunned slightly at how different it was from her old bed. It wasn't just larger and more luxurious but also more comfortable as well! She really felt like she was being treated like a delicate princess as this moment.
She didn't like that feeling.
She pulled up the covers and lay back, then turned her head toward Stacey and said, "You can go now. I suppose I will see you tomorrow." She added in her head, 'Unfortunately.'
Stacey smiled brightly in response and spoke with a voice filled with affection, "Of course, Young Miss. I shall be here when you wake up."
Altair closed her eyes and resisted the urge to actually sleep as she heard Stacey leave the room. She then waited for a couple of minutes before she got out of bed.
Her room had fallen into near total darkness. There were lines of light coming from the corners of the wall where the floor met the wall but it was extremely light. Altair had no idea there was light there. It wasn't like that in her room at all.
She ignored her curiosity to investigate it as she walked toward the door. Now would probably be her only chance to look at the stars in the sky. She was planning on using the constellations she was used to in order to determine where exactly she was.
It wasn't that she didn't believe Renald when he told her he didn't know about the Rebanon Kingdom. She just wanted to know for sure, though. She couldn't help herself. Any Human should have immediately known where the great Rebanon Kingdom was. It didn't make sense for them not to know.
She opened the door and, just as she expected, Dave and Ben were still out there. They both looked at her with the same stern expressions she received when she tried to sneak out at night before.
Altair knew that one of them would soon drag her to bed and she needed to act quickly. She spoke honesty and earnestly when she said, "I want to see the sky." She was hoping that their relationship so far would allow her to get away with it just this once.
Dave frowned slightly before asking, "Can't you see it just fine from your window?"
Altair shook her head, "I haven't been able to look up at the night sky since I was brought here." She put on a sad look before pleading, "Please, just this once."
Ben turned to Dave and said, "I'll take her."
Dave shook his head, "No way am I letting you do it. Let the person with a child handle it." He then turned to Altair and his frown deepened upon seeing her wearing nothing but a nightgown. He took off his jacket and handed it to her while saying, "Put this on. Then we'll go."
Altair took the heavy jacked from him and was startled at exactly how heavy it was. By her estimations it weighed at least 15 kilograms. She burned some Mana so that she could put it on easier and once it was on it basically looked like a dress to her. It was longer than the nightgown she was wearing and had the distinct smell of high quality leather about it.
Dave then motioned for her to follow while saying, "Come on then," and turned around to walk away. She quickly walked after him, leaving Ben to stand guard by room.
Dave led Altair through the mansion with precision. He deftly avoided paths where other servants and guards were walking about, despite knowing that their position would be recorded down in the Observation Den. He still didn't want the others to see Altair walking around in a nightgown and his jacket. He didn't know if his reputation could survive the hit.
Altair was already numb to the lavishly decorated interior of the mansion. She didn't know why nobles liked to waste so much money on making their house shiny and pretty. Wasn't it enough to just keep it clean? Why did they feel like they had to go overboard and make sure everyone know how wonderful their place was? It was beyond her.
Eventually they made their way downstairs without running into anyone. Dave then directed Altair to a backdoor used by servants and guards. He didn't want to go out the front because it was always under guard. The servant's door would be far safer for his reputation.
The servant's entrance was unguarded as Dave suspected it would be. There was really no point in it being guarded with all the other security around the house. The only reason the main doors were guarded was for appearance sake.
Dave put in a code through his communicator next to the backdoor and it opened.
Altair didn't even see a Holodisplay when he did so. It just looked like he was moving his fingers over his bracer and then she heard a clicking noise from the door itself.
Dave opened the door for Altair and moved out of the way. He then said, "You have five minutes before we head back up."
Altair nodded appreciatively before she walked out into the cold air. It wasn't as bad as the ATR room and, with the help of Dave's leather jacket, didn't bother her much. She stepped out onto the stone steps and looked up toward the sky expecting to start looking for the constellations she knew of.
Only her eyes opened as wide as saucers at what she saw. There were no clouds in the sky but there also wasn't a single star she could see. Altair was dumbfounded. Just because she left one world didn't mean that stars didn't exist in every sky, right? It was a constant that Altair had been holding onto.
'Just where did I go?'
