Chapter Six
Master

I wasn’t sure if I’d come to regret my decision in the end, but Zephyr seemed trustworthy enough.  As far as I could tell, he was leveling with me despite having kidnapped me, even if he apparently couldn’t exactly reveal everything to me.  I didn’t hold it against him – it was obvious he was just the messenger, sent to pick me up and nothing else.  He probably didn’t even know who he was picking up, just some girl named Psyche.  I didn’t think it was a common name even in Greece, but I’m sure it was more common over there than it was where I was from.  He was probably thinking I was just some poor girl who was given an odd name, which was why he was surprised it was me who walked up.

Plausible deniability, I guess.  If Zephyr had been caught before I showed up, he could just claim he was picking up someone named Psyche, and that he wasn’t given any other details, and even if he did reveal who had sent him, the guy – or girl – could just make some shit up about picking up a girl named Psyche.  It worked out in the end, and neither of them would get in trouble for it.  At least my kidnapper was the sort who actually thought ahead, and wasn’t just winging it.  I’d know I’d be in trouble if that were the case.

But still, Zephyr didn’t seem that bad, even if he had that expression that was slowly becoming infuriating.  Like he knew more than he was allowed to let on, like I was the butt of some private joke or something.  I still didn’t hold it against him that he couldn’t tell me anything, although I was guessing that he did know why I was brought here.  I suppose I couldn’t fault him for just doing what whoever sent him said, although I realized that plausible deniability was rather moot.  Or else it was only when he saw me that he realized what was going on.  His amused expression only came to light when I arrived, since before then, he just looked bored and a little confused.  There was something about me specifically that he knew.

Then again, I was a celebrity.  Maybe it was the mere fact that he did know who I was that allowed everything to click into place for him, and now he did know what his benefactor was planning with me.  But judging from the way he was reacting, it wasn’t anything bad.  I was hoping that a guy like him wouldn’t allow harm to an innocent little girl such as myself.  Sure, I was an adult now, but just barely, and most people, my parents included, still treated me like I was a child.

Which, of course, wasn’t really annoying, to be honest.  It just meant that they treated me as they usually did, since the idea that I was legally an adult was going to take some getting used to.  Penny and Phoebe fought tooth and nail as soon as they were of age, slinging around the fact that they were adults all over the place whenever Mom or Papa called them out of their stupid behavior.  They were allowed to because they were adults now, and Mom and Papa couldn’t tell them what to do.

As for me, I figured as long as I was still living under their roof, Mom and Papa could still make rules for me.  The only thing that changed was my curfew, making it nonexistent on weekends, and a suggestion on days I have school the next day.  But I also knew that the only reason I had a curfew in the first place was to appease my sisters, since I never actually went anywhere.  Only times I wasn’t home at night were nights I was spending with Maddie, and Mom usually knew about those.

But still, I’m not sure if Zephyr knew about me being eighteen or not.  It wasn’t as heavily publicized as it had been for both Penny and Phoebe, since I wanted it to be a quiet affair.  Some sickos, of course, have been counting down the days before it was legal for them to start fantasizing about me in some nasty situations, but that was about it.  There was a brief mention of it in People, and it pretty much went to the wayside like I was hoping.  I didn’t have any lavish party – it was just my parents and Maddie celebrating, since we had a larger party for me over the summer while we were visiting Greece.  Maddie had come then, with Nona insisting so she could celebrate as well.  It was out post-high school/pre-college trip, and it was the best vacation I had in a very long time.

There were some advantages of still thinking like a child, I suppose.  One being that I could still act like I was an innocent little girl in order to ensure that no harm would come to me.  I wouldn’t trust anyone who thought the idea of torturing a child was in good fun, I knew.

I tried not to gawk too much as he lead me towards the mansion.  Everything was just so pristine and perfect that it was hard not to be impressed despite how much I hated seeing it.  There was something nagging in the back of my head that this wasn’t created the way I thought it had, and that I should be impressed.  The feeling of familiarity was eating away at me, and was extremely annoying, because I think I would remember ever being in a place like this.  The plants were trimmed back perfectly, sometimes creating figures in the topiaries.  Most of it was innocent enough – animals, mostly, with a few shapes.  Hearts seemed to dominate where they could.  Zephyr sort of smirked at one such topiary, but that might be because it was extremely, well, pretty.

I still couldn’t make heads or tails of what any of this meant, but from the way the gardens were kept, I almost wanted to say a female kidnapped me, not a guy like I thought.  Or else his wife kept things extremely feminine, and the guy just let her get away with it to keep her happy.  I don’t see any guy getting this obsessive about the gardens, unfortunately. 

I tried to keep my face neutral during the walk to the front of the mansion, making sure Zephyr didn’t get the wrong idea.  It was impressive, but I wasn’t impressed.  Mostly because, you know, I was being kidnapped and all.  Although I wasn’t sure if it could be considered kidnapping if I was given the choice of staying, and chose to actually stay.  Still, he took me without my permission, and I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing I didn’t regret the decision I made.

No, I didn’t regret it right away.  I was so regret it later when I actually learned something about it.

He finally had me right in front of the mansion, and even though I lived in one myself, I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed.  However designed the building was going for intimidation, I could tell that much, since the doors were about twice as big as they needed to be.  I half expected there to be a trap door under the doormat for anyone who’d push the wrong button, since this seemed the sort of place a criminal mastermind would have.  Strangely enough, on either side of the door stood two statues – both made of marble and both depicting the same cherub Cupid figure.  They were cute, standing on the ones of one foot and preparing to make someone’s life miserable with their little bows and arrows.

But curiously, both their heads had been knocked clean off, and neither of them could be seen.  Not exactly the welcoming image one would expect from Cupids guarding the door.

Zephyr didn’t seem to think them strange, and instead merely opened the door for me.  I think the more impressive motion would have been to open both at once, making it a dramatic action, but he acted like he was just welcoming an old friend, shoving open just one of them, and moving aside so that I could stroll pass him.

Of course, I thanked him as I did so, and slipped into the mansion like I had been invited there in the first place.

It was so weird to think that my mansion, which admittedly could be considered a little modest by the standards we were living in, paled in comparison to what I was seeing now.

Mom had a thing for carpeting, which tended to drive out maids nuts with how often she had them vacuum them.  But she liked to explain that it gave the house a warm feeling in the winter, and since it tended to be cooler where we were thanks to our latitude, it sort of made sense.  The only places not carpeted were the kitchen, which was tiled, and the foyer, which was hardwood flooring.  The rest of the house was carpeted with the same soft, white carpet.

Everything here, though, seemed to be made of marble, actually.  And I could see what Mom meant about the carpeting, since the marble gave the massive foyer a cold and almost unwelcoming feeling.  I think the foyer could fit in at least half our mansion comfortably, with the ceilings extended to the second floor.  A massive staircase sat directly in front of the doors, leading to that second floor.  Columns held it all together throughout of the foyer, also made of marble, and seemed to be of a Greek design.  The staircase slip halfway up, and another destroyed Cupid statue sat in the middle of the landing.

“They seem to have a thing for Cupid,” I muttered to myself as I took in the room.

Zephyr snorted.  “You could say that,” he told me.  “I wouldn’t take any meaning from it if I were you, Psyche.  It’s not because he hates love or anything like that.”

I blinked up at him.  “I wasn’t thinking that,” I said, confused, wondering where he would have gotten that idea from.  “I was thinking they hated Cupid.”

He seemed surprised at my assessment.  I guess that wasn’t the common though, as he revealed.  “Quite,” he laughed.

“This is all just…incredible,” I admitted.  “And I mean, I don’t live like a pauper either.  I don’t think I’d ever see someone richer than we were.”

“There is always someone richer than you, Miss Karalis,” he said, using my surname only to make a point.  “Your father’s only been making his fortune for the last twenty years.  Some have been doing it for centuries.  Your family is, by definition, ‘new money’.”

“Really?” I asked, although I realized this was true.  A lot of the girls at my school were wealthy because their grandparents or great-grandparents got them started, and the only reason we were accepted as ‘old money’ was because we happened to be a household name, and they could see the advantage of being friends with us.  But ‘new money’ didn’t quite hold the same meaning as it did even a hundred years ago.  The computer craze was making billionaires nearly overnight.  “And this is the result of ‘old money’?”

“In a sense, yes,” he admitted.  “You’re allowed to be impressed, Psyche.  I’ve seem more lavish homes, but to a mere, um, girl like yourself, I could see how it’s impressive.”

“There’s grander houses than this out there?” I found myself asking despite myself, glancing at him with wide eyes.  He laughed at me again.

“I doubt it’s anything you’ll see in your lifetime,” he said.  “I fly all sorts of people around, so I’ve pretty much seen it all at this point.  I wouldn’t be too impressed it I were you, though.  This should suit you just fine.”

I glanced around the lobby, trying hard to do what he suggested.  But the idea that this wasn’t the most grand place I could see made it difficult.  I wanted to see the other houses, just to compare.  But I guess I didn’t really have that option, and that I should just remain being impressed with what I was seeing. After all, I was going to be staying here for an undetermined amount of time anyway.

I wasn’t that surprised that he led me to the staircase, but I realized that I was surprised he was still helping me out.  A mansion this large was bound to have an equally impressive staff, but it seemed to be empty for the most part.    Which I think was another reason this place had a cold feeling to it.  There was no life here.

I had to wonder about that, actually, since I wasn’t sure if I was going to be held in an empty mansion or what.  I had never heard of such a thing – being kidnapped and placed in an empty mansion.  What the hell was the point of that?  I didn’t say anything, though, because I had a feeling it was one of those things he couldn’t answer.  And one of those things I was going to have to figure out on my own.

“So what, you’re the pilot and the butler,” I teased, though, feeling a little uneasy.

He laughed nervously. “Something like that,” he admitted.  “I do fly a lot of people around, and I’m allowed to crash here in between jobs if I wanted, with the condition that I, um, attend to whatever guests are staying here.  It’s not a bad gig, actually – not too many people are ever invited to stay.”

“Well, I’m honored,” I said sarcastically.

“What?  Oh, right.  Well, technically you were invited when I gave you the option to leave.  That was your invitation.  And since you agreed, then, well, you’re a guest here.  And as such, I’m supposed to wait on you hand and foot.”

“That’s not really necessary,” I reassured him.  “I’m not some selfish rich girl who can’t take care of herself.”

He shrugged at me.  “Yes, well, I get to play host because he likes to lock himself up and only comes out to sneak up and scare the living hell out of me,” he grumbled, leading me to believe it was a game they played.  “You might not need too much help, but you are staying in a, um, unfamiliar place, so it’s only natural that you need some help, don’t you think?”

I glanced at the hallway he was leading me down.  “I suppose you’re right,” I admitted.  “I’m sure it’s easy to get lost in this place, for one thing.  And I don’t know where anything is.”

“Exactly.  And it’s my job, apparently, to make sure you’re comfortable.  So seriously, if you need anything, feel free to ask.  I might not be able to do everything you want, but I can sure try my best with what I can.”

He set my things in front of one of the doors, which unfortunately looked exactly the same as several others in the hall.  Except this one had a pink heart on it, which I knew would make it easier to distinguish.  “Okay, here you are,” he told me as he opened the door.

“So why this room?” I asked, uncertain.

“Huh?  Oh, well, the other rooms are mostly just for show,” he told me.  “Like I said, we don’t invite people here too often, so this is pretty much the only room we have set up for guests at the moment.  The rest is, I believe, storage or in various states of uncleanness or just plain empty.”

“What’s the point in having such a huge house with so many rooms when there’s only one available as a guest room?”

“Hell if I know,” he told me.  “I didn’t design the place, nor did I choose it.  Well, I chose it, but only because of who lives here.  This is all his doing, not mine, and you’ll have to ask him if you want to know the answer to why he has this place so sealed off.”

“Can I do that?” I asked him, glancing into the room real quick.  My initial view was that it seemed to be very…pink.

“What, ask him?  Well, sure, I suppose you could, if you can find him.  One advantage of a large place like this is that there are plenty of places to hid, unfortunately.”

“So let me get this straight: I might not even see who decided to bring me here?  What, is he just going to watch me the whole time where I can’t see him?”

He chuckled at that.  “Knowing him, it might be a possibility, actually,” he laughed. 

“Is there any sort of…conditions to my stay?  Like, any place I can’t go or anything like that?”

He looked confused for one brief moment.  “Well, not that I’m aware of.  He didn’t tell me otherwise.  Psyche, you’re a guest here, and you’ll be treated like one.  I know you think that you’ve been kidnapped, but that’s farthest from the truth.  You’re going to be treated like a guest, not a prisoner.  You chose to say, if you recall.  No one forced you to.”

Except you did, with your suggestion of me learning more, I thought to myself as I just grinned pleasantly at him.

He left me with my things at that point, reassuring me that he’d still be around if I needed his help with anything.   I wasn’t sure how he was going to just know, and how I was going to find him in this mansion.  The size of this place was just ridiculous, and I seriously thought that it seemed bigger on the inside than it appeared from the outside, as impossible as that seemed.  I could see myself seriously getting lost here, and wondering around for hours, if not days, looking for anything.

It was probably best that I stay in my room and just let Zephyr take me back and forth to the dining room or something.  I could tell, even from the door, that the room had a bathroom attached, so at least I didn’t have to spend time wandering around looking for that.

I let out a small sigh, wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into.  I glanced at my watch out of habit, since I still had no clue what time it actually was, and did a slight double take.  It might be because of the time difference, but according to my watch, I had only been gone an hour since we took off.

I threw my bag on the oversized bed and yanked out my cell phone to confirm, and sure enough, the date and time revealed that I wasn’t in the air for eleven hours, but rather just one.  No wonder I had slept through the flight!

That made sense, though, since Zephyr wasn’t taking me to Greece, but rather to some secret location that was apparently only an hour’s flight from JFK.  I wondered where I was, since it wasn’t exactly cold enough to be in Canada.  I knew it wasn’t cold there all the time, but that the weather was somewhat similar to what I experienced in Winchester.  Here, it felt pleasant, whereas there was still a nip in the air when I left. 

Maybe just somewhere south, I figured, but I couldn’t think of anywhere remote enough.  I didn’t think I was on an island, since I couldn’t seem salt air. 

I glanced back at my phone to realize that I had a voice mail, probably from my mother, but when I tried to access it, it wouldn’t allow me because apparently, there was absolutely no service available in the area.

And yet, the clock seemed to be working just fine, and I was pretty sure that used some sort of network.

But still, that meant that I couldn’t call my parents and inform them of what happened.  Internet wasn’t available, either, so I couldn’t email them.  I threw my phone on my bed in annoyance – I had become reliant on the device to help me get through the day, and the idea that it was useless frustrated me.  I sat on the bed staring at it, trying to figure out what to do, before remembering that I was the one who got myself in the situation in the first place.

And it didn’t seem like a terrible situation at the moment. Zephyr was nice and trustworthy, and I still hadn’t found reason to regret the decision.  And it was my decision.  I could have easily refused, but I was entirely too curious.  It was my own fault that I was here, so I might as well make the best of a weird situation.

First things first, I needed to acquaint myself with my room.  I thought it was extremely pink and feminine, but I guess I was wrong, since everything seemed to be decorated with neutral whites, reds, and golds.  It had a regal feeling without being too over the top.  But seriously, I thought this place was pink, which I knew I couldn’t stand being in for too long.  So strange…

Despite being about twice the size, the room was set up in a similar manner as my own room back home.  The bed was ginormous even by my standards, and could easily have fit four people in there without any of them touching.  There was a vanity and a wardrobe, since I guess this room didn’t house a closet, being so old fashioned.  A matching dressed sat beside it, and a nightstand beside the bed.  A small sitting area was set up beside the large bay windows, which was closed off to the world with thick red curtains that let no light through. 

The bathroom was similar, although smaller than I expected, although still larger than my own bathroom.  But I think that was because it had a standing shower and a tub, whereas I just had the tub with the shower.  But it was just a pleasantly decorated in a style I found pleasing.

I returned to my things and entertained myself by unpacking for a bit, since I wasn’t sure exactly how long I’d be staying there.  No sense in living out of my suitcase, after all.  Inside the wardrobe I found several pretty white dresses, which one almost like they were designed for me.  But I had no clue what the hell they were there, so I just shoved them to one side and placed my own clothes on the hangers offered.  I wasn’t sure if I was offending the person why kidnapped me by not wearing them, but I’d rather not take my chances.

Once I was done with all that, I sat in one of the chairs by the window (which were way too comfortable) and read for a while due to a lack of anything better to do.  But my curiosity was making it hard to concentrate, which was a new sensation for me.  Eventually I just put the book down, annoyed at myself, and decided I needed to explore a little bit more.

After all, Zephyr did say I had free range of the mansion.  Maybe if I got too lost, he’d end up finding me and pointing me in the right direction back to where I needed to be.

One of the first places I wanted to see what one of the rooms next to mine, to see exactly why I had to be given the one I was.  Sure enough, it was completely empty save for the curtains, and the one beside that one was filled with what appeared to be junk.  Well, I suppose if you have that many unoccupied rooms, you might as well use them for storage.  Mom made sure to use every last one of our bedrooms as a guest room, like we’d actually have that many people over.  She lived close enough that her family just visited for the day for holidays, or we’d just visit her parents.  Only once did I actually see us fill up the guest rooms, and that was when I graduated from high school, and Papa flew in whatever members of his family who wanted to join us to celebrate.

Considering what Zephyr said about this being the state of most of the rooms, I had a feeling that my little tour was actually just me finding out where everything was.  This hall was filled with empty rooms, plus a generic bathroom, for some reason, and the hall on the other side resulted in the same thing.  There was one room that seemed to be set up for visitors, except that one seemed to be undergoing renovations or something.  This hall basically mirrored the one I had been placed in, though.

I wasn’t sure how large this mansion was, if it just had two floors or any more above it.  But exploring the first floor seemed to be a good idea, since I knew it was there.  There was still no one around as I found my way back to the grand staircase, and I felt a little awkward as my footsteps echoed in the empty foyer.  Surely there had to be someone around to hear me walking around.

There was no one cooking in the kitchen when I found it, although the refrigerator and the cupboards were fully stocked.  I took a moment to sneak a quick snack, hoping no one would really notice.  The apple I ate was possibly the best thing I had ever eaten, and I found it gone before I realized what I was doing.

The dining room was about as impressive as I expected it would be, with high ceilings and a table that would fit fifty easily.  The chandelier was huge and made of hundreds of shards of crystals.  I had seem one similar to that in my mother’s parents’ house, where the help would gripe about having to clean it once a month because it was a pain in the ass to clean.  Mom refused to have anything like that in our house for that very reason.  Everything in those mansion made me cringe to think about the poor help having to clean.

Except there was no one around to clean.  By that logic, everything should be filthy, but somehow, everything was immaculate.

I found a living room that was, again, twice the size as the main one Mom liked to use.  It was set up for entertaining, with the large, over stuffed couches facing each other, and two sets of armchairs by either window.  A massive fireplace with a large mirror to reflect the scene back on the visitors took up one end of the room.  The other end opened up into the dining room.

This place even had its own ballroom, which I only gave a slight glance to.  All I could see what the size of the room, anyway, since it was set up for dancing, not anything else.

I found another flight of stairs that took me passed the second floor to the third, which I wasn’t too surprised about.  Our mansion had three floors itself, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one had more.  Although all this space with only, what I was guess, one person living here seemed like wasted space.  But apparently it was a question I was to ask whoever lived here, so I didn’t know.

The third floor wasn’t all that impressive at first place.  It was more open then the second floor, with a wide open hallway with rooms on either side.  The one side seemed to just be an extended sitting room that offered a view of the valley the mansion was sitting in.  The other side seemed to be an office, another sitting room, and the place where Zephyr crashed, since he sort of waved at me when I peeked in.  I quickly shut his door in embarrassment.

The end of the hallway, though, was adorned with a large set of ornate doors which seemed a little out of place with the rest of the décor.  Everything here had an ancient Greek feel to it, mostly because of all the marble and the stone busts all over the place.  This seemed rather modern, but it captured my attention like I had a feeling it was meant to, and I wondered if this was off limits despite what Zephyr said.  But I had to try.

And I walked into what I perceived to be my heaven.

I suppose I wasn’t that obsessed with books, but considering I tended to find the written word to be my escape, finding a descent sized library in the place I was staying was certainly a welcome surprise.  If anything, it gave me something to do.  We had a library in our house as well, although it was the size of a standard room, and generally filled with books the entire family could have access to.  This one was at least three times the size as well as being two stories high.  And filled with books.

I found myself entering the room without really realizing it, moving to read the book titles.  But I saw that they all seem to be written in Greek, a language I only had speaking knowledge of.  Papa taught me some, but not enough to actually read well, and I felt a little defeated.

Although I did find it a bit strange that it would be Greek.  I think that would at least explain Zephyr’s accent, I guess, if these guys were actually Greek.  But seriously, what were the odds that a Greek would want to kidnap me?’

Excuse me, invite me to stay at his house.

Considering the size of the room, I wondered briefly if I just had the bad fortune to be standing where he kept his foreign and moved in a little deeper to see if I could find something written in a language I would understand.  I decided to start on the first floor, since that seemed to be a more natural place to start.

The first floor was also a little more comfortable, since there were more sitting areas in the middle of the room.  I moved to the shelf directly across from the stairs and glanced at the title of the book.  I was perhaps a little too delighted that not only was the title in English, but also that it was my favorite fairy tale, Beauty and The Beast.  I wasn’t thinking when I grabbed the book excitedly and rubbing the soft leather cover in my hands in delight.

“Fond of books, are you?” a slightly laughing voice said from behind me.

I jumped, not thinking anyone else would be in the room with me.  After all, I hadn’t seen anyone, and I knew where Zephyr was currently.  And the guy sort of lounging on the couch behind me was certainly not Zephyr.

He stood politely when I turned to him in shock, revealing a rather tall individual.  He, like Zephyr, has the dark olive skin tone of a native Greek, except his hair was a golden blond color, cut a little on the long side.  His eyes, though, were the exact same pale crystal blue color as Zephyr’s, which made me wonder briefly if they were somehow related.  That would explain why he’d be allowed to crash here from time to time.

My heart did this weird flip when he smiled genuinely smiled at me.  Even I could tell this got was hot, the sort of guy Penny and even Phoebe would fall over themselves for if they spotted him.  “Hi,” he said to me as I continued to stare at him, not even realizing I was.  He appeared amused as well.  “You must be Psyche.  I’m Eros.”

That brought me out of my daze.  “Eros?” I squeaked somehow.  “Seriously?’

I think he was expecting me to freak out a little, since he looked a little confused before shrugging.  “Yeah, I know, but what’re you gonna do when your parents are cruel?”

“So, what, you saw that someone in the world just happened to be Psyche, and you thought to yourself, ‘Ah, wouldn’t it be funny if we got together?’ and with your rich, pretty playboy logic, thought you could just kidnap me?”

I thought he might be offended somehow, but he just grinned further.  “What makes you think that it’s simply because you happened to be named Psyche that I wanted to bring you here and get to know you a little better, huh?  I’ll admit that my methods might be a little…unusual, but sadly, this is the only way I could think for this particular meeting to take place.  Forgive me for being, well, rather straightforward about it.  It wasn’t exactly my intention to force you to do it.”

“And what was your intention, then?”

“Actually, Zephyr was supposed to ask you if you wanted to come before you even step foot on his plane, but apparently you got the wrong impression, and he just rolled with it.  He did give you the option of leaving, did he not?”

I bit my lip.  “Well, yeah, but I felt I had to stay to get answers, like why this happened.”

“I just told you,” he said, taking a seat again.  “My situation is rather unique, and I knew I couldn’t get to you any other way.  And I felt that I did have to get to know you a little better.”

“So let me get this straight; you saw me on TV or something, and just decided you wanted to get to know me better?”

“Rich, pretty playboy logic,” he said, still grinning that infuriating grin of his.

I dropped my head into my hands, smacking my forehead with the book I had forgotten.  “Well, just great,” I muttered.  “I was kidnapped by a lunatic playboy.”  He just continued to grin at me, and I sighed, feeling I had no other choice in the matter than to move to join him on his couch, and maybe get some answers out of him like Zephyr promised I might.

Chapter Five

Modern Day Cupid Chapter Six

Chapter Seven