Intas 22, 2718
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Theodora's Passive Procurements. The woman could hardly be trusted to procure an osta. After all, she wouldn't have been here right now if it hadn't been for that unfortunate incident with the last girl. Her diablerie had been rather messy. She hadn't been fit for much after that and the boys had had to really scrub to get those bloodstains out.
So new year, new passive.
The procuress might be a little useless but she had to admit that the passives she acquired were reasonably well-trained and Theodora could be discreet, which was definitely good. She could be trusted to find those passives who could withstand a beating, were properly submissive but with some will remaining. Drezda didn't like her passives to be broken. There was no fun in kicking something that had no spirit left.
Still, it was important to find the right sort and that meant interviewing them, looking them over herself and making her own judgements. She couldn't just take Theodora at her word. She wasn't thick. Unfortunately, it was a laborious process, not enjoyable and frankly too time-consuming for her liking. It had to be done though. She rang the little bell beside her, summoning the next candidate as she shuffled through her papers again.
Her eyes flicked up, catching sight of the redhead cautiously stepping across the threshold. Her dark gaze scrutinised the girl from crown to toe. She didn't have that awful carroty-orange hair that many Anaxi had but was darker, bearing a more genuine red tinge. Well, that was a small mercy at least. Short, possibly the same height as herself although she wouldn't know for certain until the Hoxian stood up to compare them properly. Good, she could be a genuine shadow then.
Drezda's gaze seemed to have stopped her for a moment, the girl freezing in place and leaning away for a moment before she recovered, dropping her own wide green orbs.
"Close the door and come here. Which one are you?" she asked briskly, returning her attention to the pages before her, shuffling through them.
"Roz, ma'am," the passive murmured, doing as she was bid, creeping towards the table where the diplomat sat. The Hoxian glanced up, the girl curtsying under her gaze before clasping her hands neatly before her.
"Rosmilda?" Drezda questioned, picking out the name and wondering why she'd given a diminutive form.
"Yes, ma'am,"
"Don't call me that. Why did you say that your name was Roz instead of Rosmilda?"
"Ma'am?" the passive questioned, evident puzzlement on her face. The Hoxian's eyes were cold on her. Now that Rosmilda was up close, she could see that she had quite a few freckles, especially over the bridge of her nose, which had crumpled in her confusion. "I- Rosmilda's a bit cumbersome for a passive. Roz is considered more suitable but some call me Milly. Milly less so because it sounds too human, ma- apologies but what do I address you as if not ma'am?" the redhead asked timidly.
Drezda stared. Had she just said cumbersome? She blinked, scanning the profile as she tried to gather her thoughts. Yes, she could read and write. At a level that was simply listed as 'fair'. She wondered what the passive had done before that she'd been permitted to learn such a thing.
"Mistress. Ma'am makes me- Never mind. Yes, Milly does sound very human but I don't like Roz either. It sounds like something that belongs to a barmaid," she commented with a distasteful curl of her lip.
"I understand, ma- mistress," Rosmilda murmured with another curtsy.
"You said cumbersome before, didn't you?"
There was a pregnant pause, definite worry showing on the girl's face. Well, it wasn't fair to call her a girl, was it? Drezda would pin her as being in her early twenties, the puppy fat of teenhood having left her face, a definite maturity there in the slight hollowing of her cheeks. Maybe it was the narrowness of her features that made her appear that bit older but she was definitely a woman, even if the curves of her form were subtle. She wasn't even certain that she possessed hips beneath her skirt because of the way it fanned out as it swung from her waist.
"I... believe that I did, mistress," she hazarded cautiously.
"That's a big word for a passive."
Green eyes flashed, bright and startlingly unexpected for the Hoxian as their gazes met ever so briefly. Had she seen a momentary anger there? Resentment? Offence?
"Does my comment offend you?" the diplomat asked, a slight smile on her face, her field coloured with amusement. The response wasn't immediate and certainly wasn't the swfit but polite denial that she'd been expecting.
"I have some education, mistress. I've had advantages that other passives haven't," Rosmilda explained.
The diplomat laughed softly, earning a truly startled look from her would-be servant. "That's a yes, you are offended then."
Was she allowing herself to be amused by a passive? Why yes, she was.
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