Chapter 27-The Party Tonight/Just A Sympathizer

Valene:

When I returned to the Wade estate, Harlyn’s car was already outside. With only two hours before everyone had to head to Bone’s, I was honestly surprised that she didn’t call me. During this time, she was usually frantic about getting ready. I was always tasked to be her calm and support. Maybe Penelope was that source tonight.

I went into the house and quickly rushed up the stairs and to her door. “Mistress?” I started to knock when her door swung open.

“Where the bloody hell have you been?” Harlyn’s eyes were bewildered and frantic. I tipped my head to the side and looked past her, and sure as I was standing there, Penelope was sitting on the bed looking entirely defeated.

“Apologies, Mistress,” I quickly countered. “Master Wade wanted me to make sure that everything was in place. Had I known th-”

“Nevermind that! Come in! Help me!” she said and yanked me into her room, slamming the door behind us.

It took almost the whole two hours to make sure that Harlyn was in a good headspace to get ready. I didn’t understand why one could get so worked up over something so seemingly superficial as a birthday party. Then again, I never truly experienced one so maybe the feeling was understandably lost on me.

“I’ll be down in twenty minutes!” The birthday girl reassured me. I nodded and swiftly headed to the door to take my leave.

I didn’t want to stay in that room any longer than I had to with Penelope Minken sitting there. The whole entire time, she seemed to be seething and I had no idea of the exact reason why, but I was sure that it was because of something Harlyn said to her. More than likely about me.

“Oh, and Valene?”

“Yes, Mistress?”

“Wear something a little less, Vassal-like.” she said.

“Such as?” I was confused as the only clothing that I owned that wasn’t vassal-like were my former work clothes and even they seemed to fit the criteria in terms of color.

“I don’t know, find something just a little less uniform.”

An impossible feat but I had already used my one-question quota. To ask yet another question would only more than likely segue into conflict. Penelope Minken was the last person that I wanted to speak frankly with Mistress Harlyn in front of. Especially, after the way, her aunt reacted on the night of our argument.

“I’ll do my best, Mistress.” I bowed and exited the room.

“Something less vassal,” I mumbled to myself as I pushed open the door to my room in the basement. Before even bothering to look into my closet of scarce clothing, I took a quick shower first, hoping that something would come to mind as to what I should do or wear to appease the birthday girl on her day.

Naturally, due to my immense misfortune, I came to the closet to find that there was nothing hanging in that closet that would save my proverbial hide from Harlyn’s tongue-lashing.

“Oh well,” I murmured under my breath. Even Harlyn knew that what she had tasked me with th carried an unreachable goal.

With my robe still on, I picked out something that was nice but vassal-like and sat on the bed for a minute to gather my thoughts. Then a knock happened upon my door. Surely, that couldn’t be Harlyn and if it was, she’d be livid to see that I wasn’t dressed yet. Although, her twenty-minute warning wasn’t up yet. It was probably Master Wade.

“Come in.” When I saw his head peeking in, I chuckled. “For a moment there I thought you Mistress Harlyn.” I sighed. “She’d have real tongue-lashing for me if she was ready before I was.”

“Well being that I just checked on her, I can assure you that you have plenty of time,” Master Wade said entering my room.

He was already dressed. “You look handsome, sir.” I complimented though it was a rare time that Master Wade wasn’t dressed to the nines whether casual or otherwise. His suit was deep stark blue, his lapels a deep burgundy-a color resembling that of Shadow Veil’s colors. His slightly silver-streaked hair and beard were sharply done.

“Thank you,” he smiled. “I trust that everything is set for tonight.”

“Yes sir, everything looks great.” I reassured him and as I did, I couldn’t help but immediately turn my thoughts to Bone’s concerns about his hard-earned business.

“Something’s wrong,” Master Wade said. “What is it?”

“Oh, nothing-it’s nothing!” I quipped, not wanting him to worry about any hiccups concerning the party but I still needed to know. “I just-” I looked at him. “You aren’t trying to…buy Herry Bones, are you, Master Wade?”

“Buy?” He placed whatever he had carried into the room with him on the bed. “What do you mean? Who told you this-”

“No one told me anything, Master Wade. I just…he’s afraid.”

“Why? Because I am inhuman?”

“That’s just it, I don’t think that it’s what you are, Master Wade, more than who,” said I to him

“Elaborate?”

“Sir, you are…a powerful person aside from being a great wolf. You own the whole of Virginia. Now…adding to that fact is the intimidation of what you are compared to him. He’s afraid.”

“I’ve never even mentioned taking him or his establishment. I don’t understand where he could have gotten such a ludicrous idea?” expressed Master Wade with visible disappointment.

It was to that question that I dropped my head and said, “For that, I may be the one responsible, unfortunately, Master Wade.”

“Is that so? Valene?” he called my name when I didn’t answer him. “What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t tell him anything, Master Wade-not…not in the way that you may think.” I said. “Herry seems to think that there is another…more under-handed way in which you collect humans.”

“Why would he think that?”

“Because he cannot…for the life of him understand how someone like me came to be under your servitude.”

“Ah,” he seemed to understand after I pointed this out. “Well, I could understand the confusion in that case.”

“Yes,” I said and looked into the mirror as I began brushing through my hair. I hesitated before saying what I said next. “He…seems to think that…if you truly cared about me…you would release me.” I paused brushing my hair, needing all of my wits about me to say it.

“You know why I have not released you, Val. We’ve discussed this.”

After he said this I grabbed my scent-blocking fragrance, reminding myself that I'd have to put some more on at some point before leaving my room.

It was after Master Wade said this that I thought better of continuing the conversation. I regretted even mentioning it; it was only wishful thinking that I could even survive outside of being under the helm of Master Wade’s protection. I guess wishful thinking would always be a plague in the back of my mind.

“I guess my…display of action that night in the bar has convinced poor Herry that I could face any beast who comes near.”

“And what about you?” asked Master Wade following the lull in the conversation. “Do you think that you can take on the world alone?”

I dropped my brush and simply shrugged. “I think that there are variables that I cannot calculate well enough to answer that, Master Wade,” I said honestly. “What I do know, sir is that right here, where I am now, is safe. I am content as I am.”

“I…can’t say that I am necessarily glad to hear that, Valene. But if you are okay then so am I.” We shared a smile before he headed toward the door. “Oh! Before I forget,” He picked up the significantly sized bag that he dropped on my bed earlier. I didn’t even realize what it was until that moment. “I had a request,”

“What is it, Master Wade?” I asked, glancing at the bag before regarding him again.

“I was wondering if you’d perform tonight…at the bar?”

This was certainly a surprise. “I-sir, are you sure that I should-”

“Yes,” answered Master Wade without hesitation. “Harlyn hasn’t heard you play in years. I want everyone to hear your talent.”

“Well in that case I…I’d be honored, sir.”

“Good.” he smiled. “I asked the woman at the boutique to pick something out befitting a mystery-clad cellist.” I joked. “I hope you like it,” he smiled and departed.

After he closed the door, I sat down on the bed and pulled out the clothing that he purchased for me. “Boy…do you come in a bloody clutch, Master Wade.”

The outfit was still slightly vassal-like but only in color. The blouse was a beautiful cold-shouldered cutout, a little revealing in the front but not unclassy. The skirt was…sexier than I had imagined me wearing but it would certainly give me free rein where positioning my cello between my legs was concerned. Fortunately, there were sheer tights in the bag and the shoes were heels but nothing that I couldn’t handle.

Quickly, I put my shoulder-length curls back into a ponytail and braided it down, my shoulder-length hair now falling into a thick braid down the middle of my back. I didn’t own any makeup and wasn’t sure that I’d wear any if I had it to put on. There were a pair of cuffed silver earrings with shapes of the moon and a wolf and a choker to match.

When I finished dressing, I looked in the mirror at my completed look and…for the first time in-well, maybe forever…I felt attractive. With a small smile, I grabbed a few things, saturated my body in the essence blocker and quickly headed for the foyer. When I reached the living room, Master Wade was already there, I parted my lips to thank him for the outfit when I noticed the bothered look on his face.

I paused. He glanced at me and then grimaced as his gaze returned to the direction of the stairs leading up to Harlyn’s room.

“Master Wade? Is everything-”

“Are kidding me?!” Harlyn’s voice echoed through the house in anger. Before I could finish my sentence, she came storming downstairs at high speed. “You didn’t!” She snapped at me, her eyes dilated, her incisors sharp and her ears slightly pointed. Her wolf, Fera, was nigh to taking over her as she faced me, Penelope straddling reluctantly behind, avoiding eye contact. What did she say to her?

“Mistress, I-”

“You killed a nurse?!” Harlyn exclaimed. “Are you serious?!” she growled, her hands rising to grab me when they ignited with fire.

“Enough, Harlyn!” Master Wade interfered.

She stopped, bewildered as she stared at her father. “You’re the one who told her to do this…didn’t you? You okayed this?”

“Harly, some things that you-just like your friend here, just don’t understand. And you probably won’t until you get older-”

“But she will!?” snapped Mistress Harlyn as she gestured to me and then laughed bitterly. “Oh you give her far too much credit! She’s hardly older than I am!”

“Yet, she has far more involvement in my dealings than you do. Just like every other vassal that was in attendance yesterday.”

Somehow, even given the logic in what Master Wade had said, Harlyn still seemed upset about what he had said. Her eyes zeroed in on me again. “Why didn’t you just not-”

“I would have, Mistress, if I had a choice-”

“She begged me not to let her go through with it.” Master Wade interceded. “She didn’t want to do it no more than you wanted her to.”

“Then why?” Exclaimed Mistress Harlyn. “Why would you put not only her but our whole family in a position to be potentially characterized as sympathizers to a lesser kind? You have taken a human’s side over our own! How do you think that will play over with the head factions as well as their clans?”

“She was on a path to anarchy.” he simply replied. “She tried to kill your sis-”

“Don’t you…dare!” She growled at Master Wade stopping him dead in his tracks from slipping up and calling me her sister. Mistress Harlyn looked at me and then back at her father. “Daddy, did you even think about the repercussions of Valene’s actions before you told her to commit these acts?! Do you really think that our people will be alright with this? I can tell you that a few of them certainly are not!”

“And who did you hear this from?” Master Wade asked, and then turned his stern gaze over at Penelope. “Surely, you have the answer to my question since you knew enough to tell Harlyn about the meeting, miss Minken.”

“I…” she was frightened and she probably should have been because it was obvious that Master Wade was not happy with her.

“Answer me.” demanded Master Wade in a dangerously low voice.

“My aunt.” she quipped. “My aunt found word and she told me…”

“Why am I not surprised?” He grunted under his breath.

Harlyn scoffed. “How can I show my face at that party? They’ll be looking at me like a traitor or-or-”

“Harlyn.” Master Wade approached his daughter. “I assure you that whatever third-hand news you received from your friend is not something that you should concern yourself with.”

Harlyn’s features returned to a more-human state and she glared at me. I didn’t know what to do outside of apologizing to her. “Mistress, I-”

“Don’t.” she cut me off. Where she was once sitting down on the chair, she stood and headed for the door. “You can’t do no more than he allows.” Mistress Harlyn said, rolling her eyes at her father. “Just…just get us to this party. Suddenly, I can’t wait to get this over with.”

As a vassal one could hardly be made to feel lower than what we already are and yet…even in my beautifully glammed-up state, I felt my lowest. A sympathizer…is that what Harlyn was to me? Just someone who sympathized with my inferiority? Somehow, she found a way to further belittle my meaning in this family and without even trying. I glanced at Master Wade suddenly feeling the same as Harlyn; I wanted this whole thing to be over as quickly as possible. “Yes, Mistress,” I said and quickly exited the door to play my role as the chauffeur. It was as I was on my way to the car that I realized that the only gift that I wanted at this point for my anniversary was to be alone.