Having grown up in a merchant house Serafina found herself near awestruck at the swift action of the staff, the way they moved with grace and beauty, and yet achieved such aims as the Lady put forth to them with nary a moment wasted. They had had but two servants in her home, and here there was a veritable army of them, all dancing to Nicoletta’s whim. And oh how lucky were she to shadow such greatness, to sit at the courtesan’s elbow and with great attention learn how such feats were accomplished in this game of wills between a Lady and her Lord.<br/><br/>Once more came the gift of clothing from Nicoletta’s infamous own wardrobe, adjusted to fit her figure just so though they had much the same in regards to the width of their generous hips, though Serafina was perhaps slightly smaller of breast, still budding into womanhood. The gown she was decorated with, for it seemed far more ornamentation than practical clothing, needed hemmed some three inches to compensate for the difference of their height, yet Nicoletta only smiled as she oversaw the work, and once clothing was addressed they removed themselves to the task of overseeing the decorating of the house for a funeral feast.<br/><br/>No sorrow haunted those beautiful eyes, so Serafina gathered that there was no danger to the one Nicoletta held dearest. Instead there was mirth, a hint of challenge, and so happily did the golden haired maiden dedicate herself to anything asked of her. When the first carriage arrived her Lady mentor pulled her into a hidden room, tucked just off the grand foyer and wrapped about her features a mask of raven black, a veil tucked into her sunshine tresses to match the flowing gown of black classical gown that hinted to the youthful body beneath it. To her midnight ebony garments and mask, Nicoletta was the purest white of snow, the veil wrapped about her dark hair sparkling with diamonds just as the one in Serafina’s own glittered with the darkest onyx.<br/><br/>It was a trusted handful of guests, friends from what she had gathered, and she lingered closely to her mentor through both dinner and the music that followed, offering only a few words when directly asked and otherwise keeping her silence. She was to remain a mystery, that she could understand and thus strive to keep her status as an enigma until such time that Nicoletta and Alessandro decided she was ready for the world.<br/><br/>There was no denying the way her heart skipped a beat when Nicoletta rose from her lounge, gesturing for the blond to join her. Instantly the younger woman obeyed, linking arms with the courtesan to glide to a destination she did not know for so much of the house was still a mystery to her. Were she not so focused upon her mentor Serafina might have found her head spinning from the sheer amount of changes to her life in such a short time, yet no regret lay within her breast. Nay indeed, only bright joy and an eagerness to see how this game would end. Out into the moon kissed night the sounds changed, drunk laughter spilling upward from where Alessandro, her new Lord and master in many ways, and his Asp, clutched at each other and braved Nicoletta’s wrath that was not wrath.<br/><br/>Blue eyes found Alessandro’s features, altered from the calculation of this morning to be softened, or perhaps loosened with the wine they had imbibed. There was no denying the man was handsome, mature and powerful as he had made himself. She admired him, in truth, for carving out a life that suited him so well, for loving and being loved by Nicoletta, and for this as well. Many men of power would never abandon their staunch dignity for fear of being lesser. Yet it was his very abandon that made him<em>more</em>, that made him singular. As she gazed down at his moon painted features with a mask to disguise her own countenance and remove it from observation the young woman felt the flutter of desire, to know what it meant to be so free, to be his as Nicoletta was, and to be<em>theirs</em>. Perhaps that desire shone in her sapphire gaze, perhaps it softened her full lips, her heart beating faster as she observed two masters at play and wondered of the day she would join them fully.<br/><br/>