Just the Maid

Chapter Sixteen- Arrival

The next morning, I woke up early so I could give the bottle Silva had given me a closer look. I silently landed on the floor and quickly got dressed. Then I left the room so I could find a private place.

'Where in this whole mansion could there be such a quiet and secluded place for me to be totally alone?' I wondered. 'Ah hah! The ballroom! Where Silva and I fought before!' I scurried to my destination quickly so I wouldn't be seen by anyone else who would be up at this hour. I walked into the dimly lit room and shut the door behind me.

"Alright, time to see what this thing is," I whispered to myself. I pulled the bottle and note out of my boot to examine them. Then I walked over to the windows so the rising sun could shed a little light on what this concoction was. I first looked at the bottle. It was spheric-shaped glass that was tinted a shade between red and deep purple. The topper was a small ball that could be pulled off to reveal the liquid inside. I pulled off the topper and gave it a small sniff. It smelled... sweet. I peered at it through the small hole and saw that the liquid was a light, crystal blue. I pulled my eye away from the small hole and put the topper back on. I set it on the windowsill and grabbed the note. It still said the same words as before. Then I flipped it over.

'Also, if you're inquiring what your reward is, it's this bottle here. What's inside? You'll never know unless you drink it. But do it when Killua comes back. I don't want you leaving before he has a chance to say goodbye. If you have any questions, come see me at breakfast. I'll have answers. Maybe.

~Silva Zoldyck

'Questions... QUESTIONS!? OF COURSE I HAVE QUESTIONS!'
"WHO DOES HE THINK I AM!? A DIMWIT!?"

"You should be quieter, you'll wake up the others," a voice scolded from the other end of the room. I looked over to see who it was.

"S-Sorry... Master Illumi. I'll be more careful." I bowed in respect. When I came back up, he was right in front of me.

"KYA!" I shouted, and I stumbled back a little. He just stood there, silently, looking at me with his deadened eyes. Then he glanced over at the bottle on the sill.

"So, you were such an opponent that he gave you this, hm?" He picked up the bottle and held it in his hand.

"You know what it is?" I asked.

"Of course. Father got it when he went on a mission across the sea. A country called... Fireo? Forie? Anyways, he got it there as thanks from the couple he did the job for. He never told me what was inside of it though. Or what it does." He placed it back in the windowsill.

"Don't let it out of your sight. It's powerful." With that, he was gone. I walked over and grabbed the bottle. I shivered.

'He sooooo gives me the creeps!' Breakfast would be coming soon and I had to help with the preparations. Then I would talk with Silva.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I never did get the chance to talk to Silva that day. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. I never got the chance to talk to him. Until the day Killua came back. Two years later. I was cleaning the door to his room, coincidentally, that day. I saw him as soon as he turned the corner. He watched me as I finished in silence. As soon as I put the rag into the bucket, I kneeled down, and he gave me a big hug.

"How was your trip, Master Killua?" I asked after he'd had his fill of hugs.

"Fine. It was a little boring though. I see you got a job here, Kitty," he replied. I sighed, but smiled.

"I see you're using that embarrassing nickname too, Master Killua."

"Don't talk to me all formal like that, it's weird. Anyway, can I tell you about my trip?" His eyes sparkled as he spoke.

"Sorry, I have to keep cleaning. I will come back later when I have free time, okay?" I smiled at him.

"Oh okaaaay..." he sighed. "I'll be in my room when you're done."

"Alright. I have to get back to cleaning now, so I'll see you later, Killua."

"Bye Kitty." And he went inside of his room.

I continued on with my day until the evening. As soon as I finished dinner, I ran to Killua's room. Or, I tried to anyway. I was first stopped by Katrina.

She grabbed my shoulder to stop me. "Where are you going, Kat? Aren't we going to sit on the roof?" she asked, concerned.

"Of course! But, Master Killua is home and he asked me to come to his room after dinner so he can tell me about his trip!" I answered, cheerfully.

"O-Okay... I'll be waiting then." She released my shoulder hesitantly.

"Katie, don't be sad. I promise I'll meet you on the roof before sunset," I reassured. She nodded and went on her way looking slightly satisfied. I smiled and began to run to his room again, but as I turned the corner, I almost smacked into Master Silva.

"S-Sorry Master Silva! Please excuse me!" I bowed in apology.

"I was actually looking for you. I need to speak with you about your "job"," he stated as he walked past me.

"Alright..." I said, skeptically. I still had the bottle, so maybe he wants to talk about that? In any case, I followed him into his room. He shut the door and sat on his bed-couch thing. A white Mike-looking dog was on my right. He lifted his head to look at me, then just laid it down again.

"So, whatcha need ta talk to me about?" I asked.

"It's about that bottle I gave you."

"I knew it!" I exclaimed. I took it out of my boot and gestured to it dramatically as I talked. "What the heck is this thing? What does it do? Please explain, that would be very nice."

"I will, now be quiet," he said, sternly. I shut up real quick.

"That there is a potion I found in a country called Fiore. It has magic powers. I got it as a gift from these people I did a job for. I was told that if you drink it, you wouldn't age for 10 years. That is all they told me."

"So why do you want ME to drink it?" I interrupted.

"I want you to drink it because it's your reward for drawing with me in our battle. But since I don't know how it works exactly, I wanted you to wait until Killua came back, so you could say goodbye. In case anything happened, that is."

"So you're saying it could KILL ME!?"

"No, I'm saying we don't know what it does."

"Well take it back! If there's a chance it'll kill me, I don't want it!" I tossed it to him, but it never finished it's flight. Someone grabbed the bottle in midair, took the topper off, and started making me drink the potion. I tried not to swallow it. Then I saw his eyes. The eyes that were drawing me in. I couldn't stop it. It was... controlling me. Making me drink it. Finally, I was released and I collapsed to the floor. The room was spinning. I heard yelling in the distance. I curled up against the sudden cold that was enveloping me. The last thing I saw was the broken glass of the bottle.