Chapter 7

Meredith

“Get up and stop feeling sorry for yourself Meredith. You have no one to blame but you.” I said to myself. I got up to do what I had started earlier. I got up and walked back into Mom and Dad’s bedroom. Only now it was MY bedroom. I looked at the bed for a moment and then I looked into the mirror that mom used to use to use. I was still getting used to looking at the new me. But I swore then and there I would go above and beyond to make mom and dad proud, but more importantly, Hannah.

I pulled the bedding off and stuck it in the hamper to be washed. After that, I walked into the closet and started to clean out their clothing. I took everything out of their dressers and the clothes into the guest room and just piled them on the bed. I’d donate it all later.

I walked into my old room and started moving my clothes into the master suite and hung them up. My personal things like my computers, books, and other stuff could wait for another day. Maybe I’d turn that into my office since we actually had 4 bedrooms in my house. I grabbed some new sheets and put them on the bed and made it up. I grabbed a different comforter out of the hall closet, folded it longways across my king size bed, and left it. Last thing I put on my bed was my woobie. Stepping back and looking at my new bedroom. It didn’t feel like mine yet, but it would, down the road.

When I was finished with the sleeping area of my bedroom, I cleaned out the bathroom of all their things and moved mine in. The 10x13 picture on the wall of Michael and Allison caught my eye. It was taken when he was stationed in Italy, right after they’d gotten married. I smiled at how happy they looked together. “I miss you guys,” I said to myself. I started to shed some tears but quickly wiped them away. I took the picture down off the bathroom wall, brought it out to the bedroom fireplace, and put it on the mantle overlooking the bedroom.

An hour later, I heard her come back upstairs. I had just finished putting sheets on my old bed when she walked into the master suite holding two glasses of wine. I dropped down to one knee and bowed my head in respect. My mistress walked over and sat down on my couch and put the glasses down on the table in front of her.

She said only one thing to me, “Come, sit with me.” I got up off the floor and moved slowly over to the sitting area in my new bedroom. I sat on the edge of the cushion and looked in her direction, but not directly at her. I was a bit nervous and was wondering what she was going to tell me.

“You took your punishment like I would expect someone of your station to. You didn’t beg for mercy, and you didn’t cry about it. You made a mistake, you owned up to it, and you did your penance. This incident is in the past, we will never speak of this again.” She said to me. As my hands shook a bit from remembering what I went through, I took another sip of my drink remembering what I had been through. We sat there just looking at each other. I finally felt her again in my mind and I actually started to tear up in relief. Her presence in my mind was comforting and I had gotten used to it being there. When she wasn’t, it felt like a piece of me was missing.

“Do you feel any remorse for killing those men earlier?” She asked breaking the silence a few minutes later. “No, mistress, I don’t. It felt ... Right to kill them. But if I may ask, it felt so erotic when I took his soul. Does it always feel like that? I asked her.

“Yes, and no. The more evil the soul is, the more pleasure you get out of it. It sounds cliché, but it’s one of the very few things that the myths got right.” She told me. She then started to tell me about an artist during the renaissance that she had made a deal with. He had only wanted one more night on earth. “His name was Masaccio and he was a very talented painter. He was well known and had created many great works of art.” She said. Hannah told me that he had lost his wife and son to disease and felt that he had nothing left to live for. He wanted to make love to his wife one more time and then my mistress could do whatever she wanted to his soul.

I felt a tear falling down my face. I felt sorrow for the man who’d lost everything. “What did you do after that one night with him?” I asked Hannah.

“After I had taken enough of his life force to make him sleep for a day, I walked into his dream as his wife and told him that as much as he loved me, he had to move on and not to squander his gift and that his wife would be waiting for him. He met another woman and had two sons and a daughter. I chose to let him live.” I looked at Hannah in disbelief. “You can see some of his works hanging in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence.

“What about the agreement you made with him?” I asked.

“I decided not to keep it and let him keep his soul and life.” She told me. “My point to this is that there will be times when someone doesn’t need to die, and we don’t need to kill. There’s also going to be times that we want to kill, but we won’t because it’s more advantageous not to. We don’t go around slaughtering indiscriminately or just because we get bored. When we kill or when we don’t, there’s always a reason or a purpose.”

“What was the purpose behind me killing those men earlier?” I asked her.

“The purpose was for me to see if you would kill when I tell you to, and for you to experience taking a soul.” She said to me. “Did you enjoy it? Taking the soul, I mean?”

“Yes ... very much so. Killing the others, I felt nothing but ... satisfaction.” I said. “When I looked at the soul I took, I saw nothing that would redeem him if he had another chance. His crew was just carbon copies of him. They did what he told them without thinking of the consequences.”

“I’ve seen his memories and I can tell you that you did the world a favor by getting rid of them.” My mistress said to me.

Hannah got up off the couch and was moving around the bedroom looking at the pictures. She stood in front of the fireplace for a couple minutes.

“I’m pleased you listened to my guidance regarding this bedroom. I can’t think of a more perfect place for that picture.” Hannah quietly said to me referring to the picture on the mantle. She moved over to the floor-length mirror that mom used to use. I heard her laugh as she was looking at the pictures. “Michael looks really hot in your mother’s micro bikini. The thong really does a lot for his ass.” She said out loud.

I laughed as I remembered when the picture was taken. “I had just gotten into Auburn University with a full academic scholarship and they wanted to throw a party. We had friends from all over come to celebrate. Dad got a bit drunker than he should have and mom dared him to put her skimpiest bikini on. I don’t know what the stakes were, but I came down the next morning to see that mom was walking funny. All she’d say to me when I asked her why she was walking funny was ‘your father won the bet’ and that was it.” I explained as I shed a few tears.

Getting up to finish getting ready for our visitor, I went ahead and put towels in my old bathroom for our guest, whoever she was. I had just finished making up my old bed when I saw lights coming up the driveway. “Hannah, someone’s here,” I said.

I heard the car door close as I was walking down the stairs. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I noticed that Hannah was already sitting in the living room chair facing the door. “Open the door, I know who it is...” She said.

Opening the door, who I saw was rather ... Surprising.

“Bon Jour Meredith,” The woman named Adrienne from my dream said to me. “I told you we’d meet soon.”

I literally didn’t say a thing and didn’t move I was so shocked. There she was, all of her, exactly like she was in my dream, only now I’m as tall as she is. I stepped out onto the porch and touched my finger to her arm, just to make sure she was real.

“Yes, I am real and you’re not dreaming anymore.” She said giggling. She has such an infectious laugh. I stood there staring at her for I don’t know how long. “If you would like, we can sit and talk on the steps. But I think we might be a bit more comfortable inside?” She asked me.

I snapped out of my stupor, apologized, and invited her in. I grabbed her bags and put them next to the door after we walked in. She was beautiful in my dream, but in real life, she was desire and lust on two legs. She walked over to Hannah, dropped to one knee, and bowed her head. “Ma maîtresse, je suis ici comme vous l’avez commandé.” Adrienne said. When she was done, she kissed Hannah’s right hand, and stood behind her to the left.

“Meredith Mackagen meet Adrienne LaCroix. Adrienne, this is our Meredith.” Hannah said. “Meredith, Adrienne is the one I told you about that’s been with me for a long time.”

I nodded in understanding. Then it hit me. Adrienne is bound to her as I am. Therefore, she has the same powers as I do and is either here to teach me to use them or on a special mission for OUR mistress.

Hannah smiled. “You continue to surprise me, Meredith. Yes, to both of your thoughts. She will teach you how to use everything I’ve given you.” She looked back at Adrienne and nodded.

Adrienne walked over to me and took me by the shoulders and kissed me on both cheeks. I blushed because, in addition to my own desires, I felt that hers was as high as mine.

“Es-tu bien ma fille? You look much better now than you did in your dream. The change is no easy thing to go through.” Adrienne said to me. She let go of my shoulders and touched my face with one finger and just moved it down my cheek. Adrienne leaned forward and touched her forehead to mine and looked me in the eyes. Suddenly I felt a surge like I did when Hannah’s presence came to my mind. There she was, talking to me in my mind. But there was something else there as well. With Hannah when she was talking to me, she felt more like a parent or guiding force. Adrienne felt like someone you’ve known your whole life or ... family.

“This is a necessary thing for you and me, but I still prefer speaking out loud. It just feels more ... personable to me.” She said to me.

I said to her through the bond, “I agree.” And then started to speak out loud. “In the short time she’s been there, I’ve grown accustomed to Hannah’s presence in my mind. But I can’t explain why I feel such happiness after you joined our link.”

She lightly kissed me on the lips and then went over to sit on the couch. I hadn’t noticed, but Hannah had gone and gotten some wine from the kitchen and was pouring three glasses for us. She handed Adrienne and me our glasses, and we sat down to talk. “Adrienne has also experienced a loss like you have Meredith. I’ll leave it to her to explain it to you. But she is here because she is the yin to your yang. You compliment each other and will work very well together.” Hannah paused for a minute and took a drink or wine. “I have other things that require my attention while you learn from Adrienne,” Hannah said to me. I was surprised and started to ask why she was leaving, but she held up her hand to stop me. “This will be the best way for her to teach you what you need to know and help you grow more powerful. With two of us teaching you, it would be a bit overwhelming and possibly confusing. However, I will be watching as you learn, and your power grows in the next few days.”

I looked at Hannah and said, “I will be an excellent host to Adrienne. My home is now hers, and she will be well cared for.” I reached my hand out to Adi and she put her hand in mine. I saw her wipe a tear from her eye after she took my hand.

“Adrienne, I leave our Meredith in your more than capable hands. Work fast and learn quickly, the fight is coming. Sooner than you think, and we need to be ready for it. I will return when you tell me she’s ready.” Hannah said. Adrienne and I both stood and bowed our heads in respect as we felt her power rise and a second later, she disappeared.

I let go of her hand and walked over to her luggage and picked it up. She was still sitting on the couch as I started to walk upstairs. I turned and looked at her at the top of the stairs and said, “The couch is really comfortable if you would prefer to sleep down here. But the beds up here are better.” She smiled that beautiful smile to me and followed me. When she got to the top of the stairs, I was standing there leaning against the wall in front of my old room. I had put her bags in the center of the hallway and looked at her. I pointed at my old bedroom. “I made up my old bedroom for you. There are towels in the bathroom, clean sheets on the bed, and everything you’ll need to unwind after a long journey. The bathroom has a garden tub and Jacuzzi jets.” I said to her. She poked her head in and looked into my old room and then at the bathroom. I pointed to my bedroom and said just two words to her, “But, if...” I walked back downstairs to lock up, turn off the lights, and get the wine glasses. I looked out into the backyard for a couple of minutes, wondering if this was the right thing to do. Then I remembered what Hannah had told me, “Don’t fight it.” I decided not to.

When I walked back up, the bags weren’t in the hallway anymore. My old bedroom light was off, and the door was closed. I walked into the master suite and heard Adrienne in the closet unpacking. “The drawers to the right of where you’re hanging your clothes are empty Adi, feel free to use them,” I said to her as I sat down on the loveseat in the sitting area.

She came out a few minutes later holding her clothes and wearing a black silk half robe. She had taken her hair out of the braid and it just flowed down to the small of her back. She put her clothes on top of the hamper and walked over to me. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home.” She said as she straddled my lap and sat down. She looked me in the eye and said to me, “I feel the love and sense of family that was shared here. My greatest desire is to have the same thing someday.”

I put my index finger to her lips and just stared into her eyes. They were so beautiful. I would have no problem getting lost in them. She smelled of jasmine and lilies. She took my hand and put it into her robe right over her heart and said, “We just formally met, but after everything I have seen through Hannah’s eyes, I feel like I’ve known you for years.” She lightly kissed my lips after she finished speaking. Putting my hand over her heart, she told me, “Here you are, and here you stay.” She said with such a feeling of love that it almost overwhelmed me. Lightly kissing me again, she pushed her lips a bit harder this time, and I didn’t resist in the least. I can’t understand how I felt like I did after just meeting her, but I felt ... Loved.