Sincerely Yours [Stefan Salvatore]

[80. The Roommate]

[5x01; I Know What You Did Last Summer]

Lucilla had risen late that day. The sun was not yet up but the sky was light enough to know that it would be coming any moment. She rushed to get dressed for the day, making sure that her veil and headpiece were tight in place as to not show off her hair and the bottom of her face, and ran out of the service headquarters. She passed Amara on the way, where she was dusting the stone walls—she was sure there was a smirk hidden under that veil; she and Amara were friends but Amara always felt the need to one up her—and entered the living area of the family in which they served.

The household of Atlas of Bennett were one of the head households that made up the village that they lived in. There was Atlas, the patriarch, his wife, his two sons, and his daughter, Qetsiyah. Qetsiyah was who Lucilla served; she helped her clean herself, laid out her clothes, and got her dressed for the day and did the opposite when she went to bed, while tending to the house in between. Amara, however, was Qetsiyah's companion, stuck to her side all day.

Lucilla wasn't surprised to see that Qetsiyah was already awake and waiting for her.

"Did you sleep restlessly?" Qetsiyah asked her as she got out of bed, a half-smile on her face. She and Lucilla were considered friends but it was not to be known outside of the four walls that made up her room. "I could have sworn you went to bed early last night."

"I did, Miss," Lucilla answered with a lie, glad that the veil hid her blushing cheeks, while pulling one of Qetsiyah's dresses from the burrow. It was a beautiful yellow silk, one of which the family's seamstress spent a very long time on. She laid it on a chair and turned to Qetsiyah. "Do you wish to bathe today, Miss?"

"Not today," Qetsiyah replied. "Tonight, maybe."

"Yes, Miss."

Lucilla helped Qetsiyah get into her undergarments, dress, and jewelry, making sure every piece was set perfectly. Afterward, she brushed her long and beautiful black hair and secured a headpiece that matched the dress to it. Next came the beauty creams and balms; Qetsiyah was very beautiful so she did not require much, just some pigment on her lips.

Once Qetsiyah was all set, Lucilla escorted her to the dining quarters, where her family was waiting.

Atlas, her owner, scowled at her once Qetsiyah was settled in her seat. "You're late," he snapped. "What a wretched, nasty, and hideous abomination you are."

Lucilla was used to the insults. She simply bowed her head and did not speak. She wasn't allowed to speak to Atlas or his sons. His wife and Qetsiyah were the only people in the house, other than the servants, she was allowed to speak to.

With a wave of Atlas' hand, she was dismissed. She scurried out of the house and to the family's garden. It was a sort of safe haven for her; she tended to the plants, harvesting any herbs, fruits, or vegetables that the garden had produced and made sure that any extra that they would use for their own meals, was ready to sell at the village square. In her free time, she drew pictures in the soil, admiring them until she had to rake them away.