The rain poured down heavily on the estate as Reni a young striped hyena collected the last bundle of clothes from the hamper in the guest room. It was laundry day, Reni's favorite day out of the week for one reason and one reason only. The process of washing hundreds of garments was therapeutic for him, it was as if he was washing away all of his pent-up stress and starting his week from a clean new slate. It was his favorite chore to do, unlike the other tasks that his mistress would assign him. Tasks like tending to the garden or preparing the kitchen for meals which would normally be cinch for him if he was able to use his magic. However, as a slave, the Dynese government would never permit a slave or slave owner to wield such power. Especially a slave of his caliber. Which is why as a child he was branded with markings designed to permanently seal away such power, regardless of its potential benefits monetarily or otherwise. Though with the recent progress made by the countries' abolitionist movement, it would not be surprising for him to see slavery outlawed within his lifetime, despite the slave industry being the countries economic pillar for the last few centuries.
After loading his kart with the final load, he began to move through the darkening hall taking care to keep to one side of on coming traffic, and eventually passing by his mistresses room. To come to think of it, it had been about four months since he has seen her around the estate since the incident. Sure he caught glimpses of her in room every once in a while, however the situation was peculiar to say the least. Especially since he was considered to be her first and favorite slave compared to the others that have come and gone over the years. If he remembered correctly , she said it was his feminine wiles and alluring figure that made him her pride and joy. A "Toy" she would never let go of, no matter what. He was unsure how he should feel about that. But as a male slave in a female driven society, what could he do? He was powerless to do anything about it.
Reni entered the dimly lit laundry room and set his kart next to the pile of clothes in the corner and prepared the water in the tank with an assortment of softeners and detergents and then frantically searched for his washboard.
"I know I left it in here. Where did it go?" He asked himself.
Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he noticed what he thought to be a Burly Long-haired Highland Cattle.
"Looking for something?" The burly man asked. He had a slight playful smirk on his face as he effortlessly twirled the washboard with his fingers.
"Guillaume!" Reni said with excitement as he ran to embrace the bovine.
"How's it going short stuff? I didn't think you missed me that much, I was only gone for about a week." Guillaume said playfully while returning Reni's embrace.
"You and I both know that is way too long." Reni replied longingly.
"I know. I know. How has everything been since I left. Did anyone put their hands on you? I swear to god if they did I..."
"I'm fine Guillaume. Honest." Assured Reni.
"If you say so. I was just worried..." Guillaume trailed off.
"I know. And I appreciate that, but you and I both know that I am not worth the effort." Reni said sadly.
"That's not true!" Guillaume exclaimed.
"Guillaume..." Reni whispered.
"You need to stop thinking of yourself like that. You have people here who care about you!" Guillaume asserted.
"No. I don't." Reni said as he took the washboard from Guillaume's hand and begin to start on the laundry.
This action and conversation alone slowly began to irritate Guillaume.
"Then what about me? Do you really think that I don't care about you. Especially after what happened with Odette?" He asked with pain in his voice.
Reni stopped doing the laundry and stared hollowly into Guillaume's eyes as he muttered two words.
"Twelve Livre."
"What?" Guillaume asked, confused.
"Odette bought me for Twelve Livre Guillaume. Even among slaves I'm not worth much. What makes you think I worth anything to anyone but her? I'm not like you. People don't see me as someone worth anything." Reni stated.
"I hate when you get like this." Guillaume said frustratingly.
"I have work I need to do." Reni said as he continues to do laundry.
"Fine. Just... fine." Guillaume said and he left the washroom frustrated.
This wasn't the first time the two had spats such as these. But ever since the incident with Odette a few months ago seemed to increase the frequency of them. Or that's what Guillaume seemed to notice anyway. He cared deeply for the pretty little hyena. But at this point, he was out
of ways to help him. Out of ways to show him that he still cared. The only thing he could do now was to get back to work. To keep his mind off things, if only for just a moment.
Hours passed and Reni was exhausted. He was used to this feeling, and for him it felt nice to be able to justify his keep. Reni put away the washboard and drained the water from the tank as he hung the clothes outside in the damp air to dry. Normally laundry day was Reni's favorite day of the week. The process of washing hundreds of garments that was once thought to be therapeutic for him, seemed to have done nothing for him mentally or spiritually.
Meaning that this uncomfortable familiar feeling was most likely going to last till at least next week. If he was lucky.
As Reni headed back inside the estate he heard a voice yelling in his direction from a distance.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?" The distant voice said.
Reni was unsure if the voice was directed at him or not. But the longer he pondered on it the more he figured it was for him. Afterall he lived a majority of his life being confused for the opposite sex that at this point he might as well make the commitment and switch sides.
"Ma'am!" The voice said closer and louder.
Reni turned around and noticed a very unfamiliar face. From what Reni could tell just a a glace was that he was a tall yet well built giraffe who seems to wear the mistresses crest. Was he a guardsman? If so, he must have been new.
"The mistress requests your presence." He stated formally.
Reni looked at him puzzled.
"I'm sorry but I don't believe I've seen you around here before, I'm Reni!" He said kindly holding out his hand. The gesture alone threw the guardsman off completely. From his experience, slaves were usually brief and skittish at best when talking to anyone other than a slave. But this one was different. But then again this estate and the person who runs it don't typically fall in the standard way of operations. Especially for Dynese standards. Slaves here were treated very well with decent clothes , three square meals a day and even more strangely with respect. Then again this estate belonged to the De la Croix family. The De la Croix family from what he could remember was a world renounced slave trader with an empire that used to span to at least three other countries. But that all change when the Isaure Act passed about sixty years ago banning slave breeding which in turn decimated them financially to this day.
"My name is Engle. I'm the new guardsman your mistress hired yesterday. Today is my first day." He said frankly.
A warm genuine smile grew on Reni's face.
"Well welcome to the family. I usually get tasked with baking a cake by the mistress but I haven't heard from her lately." Reni said warmly.
"That's why I'm here. Your needed in her chambers. Immediately." Engle said firmly. He watched the smile on Reni's face slowly disappear.
"Oh, ok." he said.
From Engle's point of view the drastic change alone was surprisingly concerning to him. He may not have known Reni for very long but to see his demeanor change from a warm gentle soul to a disconnected zombie was enough to be concerned for his well being.
"Um, are you okay?" Engle asked cautiously not knowing what he might get himself into.
"I'm fine. We should probably go now." Reni said as he trailed off into the direction of the mistress's room.
"What did I get myself into?" Engle asked himself. It was clear as day to him that there was something off about not only this situation, but this place in general. But there was nothing he could do unfortunately, so his best bet was to mind his own business. After all that's what he came here to do.
Reni lowered his pace from what he usually walked whenever he moved through the halls of the estate. For him, and in this moment, the longer it took to get to his inevitable destination, the better. Four months. It had only been four months since he's really seen her. And to it still wasn't enough time for him to process everything. Eventually both he and Guillaume talked about what happened and how they each felt, but watching Guillaume break down apologizing to him and taking responsibility for everything didn't set right with him at all. Not to mention trying to convince Guillaume to not leave the estate and especially him, even if it was for his "safety" was more than nerve wrecking enough as well. Four months and he still can't get rid of the smell. Her smell. And the feeling of uncleanness he felt, he cried, he washed, but couldn't quite get away from it. At times he could hide it. Repress it. But there have been times like this one where for just a moment, it slips through. He hated those moments.
"Hi Reni, I'll let mistress Odette know your here to see her!" The Guardsman said cheerfully.
Reni didn't notice that he had already made it to his destination already. He figured he had a little bit more time since he even took the long way to her room to by himself some time to get mentally situated but it seems that even that wasn't enough.
"Your all set to go Reni." She said opening the door for him.
"Thank you Gabrielle." Reni said to the guardsman before slowly entering his mistresses chambers.
The large bedroom was dimly lit like it always was. But something was off about it. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Hello Reni. Did you miss me?" A raspy feminine voice asked in the direction of the bed.
Reni's stomach sunk. He wasn't expecting he body to react so drastically and so soon.
"Hello ma'am." He said timidly.
"Now Reni, we've been together for what? 16 years... you know your supposed to call me by my name don't you? You wouldn't want to upset me on our special day would you?" She asked coyly.
He hated it. He hated her manipulation very much. He might not have been educated like the others that he was surrounded by everyday. But he knew for sure that she was manipulating him but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Hello, Odette." He said flatly behind a hollow smile aim towards the bed ridden lioness.
"Now, isn't that better puppy? Come, have a seat next to me for a moment." She said as she motioned him to come sit next to her on the bed.
Slowly but surely, Reni did what he was told and sat next to her.
"I wanted to apologize for that, unsavory event, that took place months ago. And I wanted you to know that it wasn't your fault or mine, but Guillaume's. If only he listened to my prior warnings , our first time could have been something really special between us and less... barbaric. But a message had to be sent. You understand, don't you?" She asked softly caressing Reni's face.
"I understand." Reni said, barely able to contain his disgust and frustration.
"Good." She exclaimed.
Reni wanting to leave asked her the question that was on his mind the moment he stepped into the room.
"Is there a reason why you needed to see me?" He asked plainly. It was then and only then that Odette began to sit up right in her bed with a smile.
"There's someone I think you should meet!" She replied as she eagerly got up from her bed and made her way to the corner of the room and retrieved something from a basket in the corner.
"I'd like you to meet our daughter." She said as she revealed the baby to him. Reni was confused. How? How was this possible? Where did she even come from? The sleeping infant was the splitting image of both him and Odette, a hyena - lion hybrid.
"Does she have a name yet?" Reni asked timidly. He realized that this was a nightmare. It was real.
"I haven't decided yet." Odette said frankly.
"Maybe I could..." He started to ask before he was swiftly interrupted .
"No. She MY daughter Reni. I will be the one who names her." She said aggressively.
"Ok." Reni assured her. For a moment, he forgot his place.