Haley Thistle
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Silas the Incubus: Part One (special preview)
🕑 Added 2022-07-27 21:00:03 +0000 UTCA few years ago, during a rather routine art festival in your local town, a strange woman approached you. She bought everything in your booth, and handed you her card so you could schedule a meeting. The woman was Lady St. Clair, a wealthy aristocrat well known for her insinctricities and penchant for causing trouble amongst her own kind.
The meeting was actually a job offer for you. She hired you on as her in house artist and the pay was, to say the least, ludicrous. It would have been insane for you to turn it down, but from all the rumors you had heard, it would also be insane to stay.
You chose the money.
Since then you had lived in her palatial estate, painting her guests, her trophies, her pets, whatever she wanted and whatever you wanted to do. It was actually quite the elegant lifestyle for you, one you never assumed you’d ever see in your life.
“Look at you! Painting so early in the morning.” Lady St. Clair stepped into the ball room where you had your easel set up. “What are you working on?” She leaned over your shoulder and the fluffy feathers upon her robe tickled your ear.
You pointed at the congregation of black cats gathered outside the ceiling to floor glass windows. At first it looked like a dead body laid out there, but closer inspection revealed a large number of black cats.
“Oh they’ve come back!” Lady St. Clair cheered. “Wonderful. I’ll leave you at it then. I’ll send Silas with your morning tea.” She scurried off, giggling and chatting to herself, or perhaps one of the ghosts within the house. She kept several.
Sometime later you heard the hard clacking of Silas’ heels walking across the floor. He set up a small tray table beside you and placed your usual pot of tea and cup upon it.
“Thank you, Silas.” You turned and smiled up at him, seeing he was as stoned faced as ever.
Silas placed a single cube of sugar into your cup then elegantly poured tea over it. “Will that be all this morning, Ms. Artist?”
Silas was, of course, Lady’s head butler and the chief of her staff. He’d been with her for ages from what you could tell. He was tall, and regal, quite possibly the most graceful person you’d ever seen move. His deep red skin was flecked by freckles that shone like gold, which matched his sharp eyes perfectly. He wore glasses with little chains that dangled down against his cheeks, and his dark hair was always slicked back, never a lock out of place.
“Would you be a dear and pose for me today?” You asked.
Silas looked down the bridge of his nose at you. “Afraid that won’t be possible.”
You pouted. “You never want to pose for me Silas, and yet you’re the most beautiful creature within these walls.”
Silas cleared his throat and pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Sugarcoat me all you want, Ms. Artist, but I have given my answer. And it will be the same answer every time you ask, just as it has been before.”
You smiled. “I still like to ask.”
He sighed. “I wish you wouldn’t. Now, aside from that, will the tea be all for you?”
“For now.” You took the cup and sipped. The jasmine tea was still quite hot, just the way you liked it. “Thank you, Silas.”
He bowed his head, then turned on his stiletto heel, clacking across the floor in a pleasant rhythm.
Silas was another one of Lady’s discoveries. Although you hadn’t heard the full story, you knew Silas was an incubus and had been held in the home of one of Lady’s former friends. Apparently there had been a fight and Lady won. But you didn’t know the rest of the story. Silas was dedicated to Lady and she doted on him. You found his uptightness appealing, as well as his beauty. Ever since you came to the estate, you had longed to paint him. But the idea of it flustered him, so he turned you down more times than you could count.
The mass of black cats spread out like oil as the sun rose, they moved as one and stretched further into the sunlight. They leaked down upon the stairs and moved out towards the garden to lay about in the soft grass and the feet of the stone statues who bent to pet them.
You set your easel aside and supplies aside and gathered the teapot and cup to take to the kitchen. Lady’s estate was no minimalist dream house, every inch of wall was covered with something unique and interesting. The halls were never the same twice, thanks to her collections of rescued spirits, gremlins, and other houseguests.
