BELLRAM V01 - Ambivalence of Light and Shadow I

BP001-P09 - White Wine 1

"Miss Arvis?"

Meia heard a voice and slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she could make out in her blurred field of vision were two voluptuous hills. They seemed to be exposed breasts? Probably she was just imagining things again in her half-sleep. Confused, she refocused her gaze, but contrary to her expectation, they did not disappear, instead they became firmer.

The breasts belonged to a naked woman who was entwined by what looked like vines. Desperately, she reached out for the hand of a man who, strange as it seemed, was also completely without clothes and entwined by the vines. Determined, he raised his sword to break the woman's prison. Meia quickly realised that it was only a statue. It was carved from grey stone, standing on a round plinth, and water splashed outwards like an umbrella over the couple. It was a fountain with the statue adorning its central area and that statue was quite impressive. From here it seemed as if the woman even had individual stone eyelashes. The couple looked as detailed as real people. In a way, they were also censored. The really crucial parts were completely overgrown - by vines. If you got close, you might still be able to catch a glimpse. You would only have to get into the water basin, bend down a little and look up from below, then you would definitely be able to make out something...

"Miss Arvis?"

"Huh?"

Meia noticed that the voice came from behind her, which made her stop lying around on the table and check. Unfortunately, while doing so she discovered that she had drooled on her sleeve. However, this little faux pas had to wait for a moment, the voice was more important at the moment.

When Meia turned around, her gaze met blue eyes. They belonged to a man standing at the door and leaning into the carriage and towards her.

Instantly Meia was awake. The man looked like high nobility. She recognised that straight away. He was around 20 years old, was shaved and had a beautiful face. His light brown hair was neatly combed back with a kind of pomade. He wore a brown blazer of high elegance with a small blue pin on the reverse, then shiny black trousers and patent leather shoes that looked as if they were new. He had no tie and his shirt was slightly untucked. He looked like a businessman on the weekend. Probably everything was woven from the finest fabrics and even his socks were worth a fortune. At least that was the impression he gave. In summary, he looked like a wealthy, attractive man.

As the man realised that she was awake, he pulled back and, in the same movement, leapt light-footedly backwards off the footboard. It seems that he was also athletic. You could hardly see it through his clothes though. Meia wanted to quickly wipe the drool away, but he jumped backwards without looking behind him first, and made it to a standing position without stumbling backwards. If it were a sporting competition of the nobility, Meia would be holding up her sign with the highest score at this point.

"Please forgive me for waking you so rudely from your rest, Miss Arvis. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Jean Monet."

Meia had suspected it. She had hoped not to meet him when she arrived. Now she wondered how she had looked in her sleep. ~Was it cute?~ Hopefully it was.

"It-I-"

"I am pleased that you accepted my invitation. It was rather short notice. Unfortunately, my first letter did not arrive."

~He cut me off.~ But at least in this way she had successfully avoided having to introduce herself as well.

"Mr Monet, would you like me to escort Miss Arvis into the courtyard?" asked a male voice approaching Mr Monet from behind.

Meanwhile, Meia moved her head a little to the side to see who was coming. She was astonished. Stepping up to Mr Monet was a man who looked like a penguin. It was the kind of servant only the ultra-rich had. It was a real butler! No, at second glance, actually it was just the coachman, only now he had a tailcoat, white gloves and no longer a hat. Had he quickly changed his clothes in the house and came back here? ~What is this about? Is this for tax reasons?~