"Min - I - stra - trix", the word tumbled around a bit in her mouth as she felt the weight of its implications settle into her heart. Bella swung her legs over the edge of the bed and flexed her toes in the sunlight streaming through a tall window casting a beam of warmth across the ornately patterned rug. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and tried to remember the evening when she decided she was drawn to a ministratrix position with the Manor. Flush with wine and giddy from the sensuous environment, she had watched the other ministratri effortlessly move about the room. During parties, the ministrati were responsible for tending to the needs and whims of those gathered in hedonistic revelry. Her friend Marie who lived in the Manor had first brought her here months ago and Bella was fascinated by the concept. When an invitation arrived to become a regular visitor with a room assignment Bella did not know exactly what to expect, however, she knew the idea was deeply appealing.
The invitation had instructed Bella to arrive late on Friday evening, enter through the servant’s entrance and proceed directly up the back staircase to the fourth floor where her room would be waiting for her. When she had arrived there was a snack waiting on her night table and a note encouraging her to relax and get some rest. The protocol manual given to Bella in advance of her visit explained the use of notes and other written communication. Prior to her arrival, she had fallen asleep several nights in a row poring over the orchestrated details of everyday life in the Manor.
The Envelopes
There were three types of envelopes delivered to the occupants of the 4th floor each morning. The envelopes were always found perched on the nightstand on their ornate tri-footed easel. The flaps were always sealed with wax bearing the insignia of the household. Red, gold, and white they would be the first thing each resident or regular visitor would see as their surroundings settled in around them shortly after dawn. However, sometimes this could be much later in the morning depending on the antecedent activities and the number of hours since they ceased.
The red envelopes carried service assignments, some mundane and seemingly obvious, some would shock and be unfathomable by many living in the surrounding communities, with either type leaving room for personal embellishments by each unique ministratri. This is the type that Bella had opened earlier with trembling fingers, soon the routine will become a source of comfort and excitement, but at first, each envelope seems just the smallest bit overwhelming and wrought with uncertainty.
Gold envelopes were rewards, granted perhaps once per week or a bit less often for visitors to celebrate exemplary service, most often accompanied by a red envelope as well since simple rewards were always provided after a regular day and evening of service. On very rare, and extremely special occasions, an occupant of the 4th floor might receive a gold envelope all by itself. This would mean a full revolution of the planet drenched in pleasurable activities.
White envelopes were another matter entirely, these stark and gleaming packets of correspondence brought unfortunate news. They were somewhat a rarity, rarer than the gold that arrived with red, but not as rare as a solitary gold sparkling in the morning sun. Of course, the white envelopes were not something to look forward to as one's eyes fluttered into focus in the morning.
Unlike with the gold envelopes, a red envelope alongside the white envelope was a welcome vision, perhaps an opportunity to commute the contents of the white. A white envelope standing alone meant a day of preparation followed by a night of - perhaps quite severe - correction for whatever flaw had been discovered in the performance of the servant.
But this morning was just a typical day, with a red envelope listing precise and time-bound instructions for the next 24 hours. Bella’s first instruction for the day was to shower and dress, notable only because it explained in detail where to find everything she might need. For example, the basket of sweetly scented toiletries and plush towels resting on the crimson red tall backed brocade chair tucked into the corner at the foot of the bed.
After locating everything else on the list, Bella took another look around the room. The bed was draped in thick fabrics attached to the rail running to and fro the thick pillars reaching into the billowing cloud of the canopy above. The room was long and narrow with incredibly high ceilings, there were still several feet above the bed before the sturdy looking exposed beams crisscrossed overhead.
Seeing the time on the clock next to the bed, she could not waste one more moment absorbing the strange new world she had stepped into. Clutching the basket against her belly, she slipped out of the room and down the hall to the large bathroom shared by all occupants of the 4th floor. When she pushed open the door she discovered the bathroom already bustling with activity as each servant bathed and prepared themselves for the day ahead. The tone of those around her and the type of preparations being engaged in revealed which color envelope had arrived on their stand that morning.
The Shower
Steam rose from the soaking tubs along the west wall, two in use and two waiting empty for the deserving servant who would be celebrating a gold envelope day. The center of the room featured two parallel sets of low flat benches with padded surfaces covered in plush absorbent fabric. After the bench was used by someone for drying, applying lotion, and taking care of any other post bathing routines the damp covers would be replaced ensuring that each seat remained perfectly inviting to the next body emerging naked from a tub or nearby shower. This particular task was completed with a quiet yet energetic flourish by one of the Manor's residents. She was a petite young girl of just 19 or so - who Bella had not yet met other than to admire the flaming red hair and a smattering of golden freckles dancing across her pale, cream colored skin.
Bella had counted a total of six doors as she came down the hall, she knew that there were three more to the other side of the bathroom, so the swarm of activity was not a surprise. As she approached the three transparent shower enclosures she could see that one was available, setting her basket on the closest bench Bella removed the bottles of shampoo and soap plus the sponge and left the lotion and towels where they were. Because the walls were clear with only a delicate frosted etching of the household insignia and a faint outline, Bella could still see most of what was happening in the rest of the bathroom.
The 4th floor was not gender segregated, therefore both male and female servants shared the same space, and none were the least bit concerned with modesty. There were one male and one female servant each in the soaking tubs being attended to by two others, and two more males had just stepped out of the adjacent showers and were sitting facing away from each other on the benches. Bella had never seen a male genital piercing before and caught herself attempting to make sense of exactly how the ring got where it was dangling, occasionally catching the light and sending signals from within the shadow cast by the muscular legs of the thusly adorned male.
While working the thick creamy lather through her soft tawny locks, Bella's mind wandered perhaps a bit too long as she realized that now there were only two others with her in the bathroom. Time had a way of swiftly evaporating on her previous visits and she worried about being bested by the distractions here on her first day of actual service. Grabbing the water and soap soaked sponge she quickly finished refreshing the rest of her skin, checked to make sure that she rinsed clean all of the foam from her hair, and returned to the bench
While Bella slathered her skin with the sweetly scented lotion, she noticed a strange apparatus being operated in the far corner of the room. It would seem that one of the servants was tipped, face down, angled forward, and was being administered some sort of foamy fluid.
Curious, but feeling the pressure of fleeting time, she watched the procedure while she finished drying off, and then noticed the white envelope laying on the floor next to the odd table as her path back out of the bathroom gave her a different vantage point. From that angle she could also see two female servants in the other corner having a moment of mutual pleasure, trying to keep her invasive glances around the room unnoticed. Pretending to drop the towel that had been wrapped around her hair to the floor accidentally, she stole a few more seconds - hearing them tick loudly in her mind - to glance once more between the two images developing in those opposite corners. This last look provided the opportunity for the impression to be burned onto her memory, she then quickly retrieved the towel and forced herself to turn around and exit the room.
After closing the bathroom door behind her, she floated effortlessly back to her room lifted by the sense of anticipation generated by knowing what was in store next. Bella dressed hastily in the simple clothing laying across the foot of the bed and only stopped to take two deep breaths at the top of the stairs leading down to the kitchen.
The First Morning
Descending the servant's staircase with the contents of the red envelope tucked into the waistband of her short black pleated skirt, Bella was reciting the second instruction over and over in her head.
2. Go to the kitchen at 8:15, on the counter, will be a tray labeled 2D, speak to no one as it may cause you to be delayed, take the tray and bring it to room D on the second floor. Ring the bell on the tray three times and then enter whether anyone calls out to you or not, leave the door and inner curtains exactly as you found them. Once inside the room, place the tray on the long table at the foot of the bed. Stand perfectly still close by - when the occupants of the room are ready, remove the covers from the plates. If asked to obtain anything go as quickly as you can back to the kitchen and return with the desired item, our guests appreciate prompt service. Remain quiet and still unless specifically asked to do something, do not react in any way to anything that happens while you are in the room other than to respond to direct requests. Remember these instructions as from now on you will only receive a room number assignment in the morning and will follow the same procedure each day.
When she reached the last landing she could smell the delicious aroma of the fluffy Belgian waffles and bacon. She had only seen the kitchen once before, the night that she was shown how to enter the manor and find her room on the 4th floor. It had been dark at the time and the pots and pans hanging from the ceiling had been quite ominous for some reason.
She was surprised to discover in the bright morning sunshine, the kitchen was warm and the cheerful yellow paint and murals of the French countryside embracing each wall above the chair rail. She looked around in stunned silence at the others in the room carefully carrying out the perfectly orchestrated dance of preparing breakfast for the manor's guests. They worked seamlessly while carrying on animated conversations with each other. Everyone who noticed her smiled and nodded, however, no one spoke to her because no one wanted her to risk breaking the rules on the first day. The scene seemed reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell type painting of a large family enjoying each other's company whilst preparing a large meal.
The only thing that made such a recorded image unlikely was the Manor uniform, which left little to the imagination as it clung to the skin of each servant. Bella adjusted the crimson silk strap of her own camisole while she scanned the counter for the tray destined for room 2D. She found it quickly and took a deep breath before transferring its weight to her arms. Nodding at a larger woman with enormous breasts stirring something on the stove who was looking at her worriedly, Bella turned and proceeded back up the stairs and to the second floor.
Once she reached the hallway she began to wonder what she might witness within the room she had been assigned. She stepped slowly with great care not to tip the contents of the tray as she made her way to the end of the hall and stood outside room D. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found the door open and was glad to only have to step through the heavy velvet curtains at the entrance to the room. She shifted the weight of the tray onto one arm and leaned it against the wall so that she could retrieve the small silver bell. After ringing the bell three times, Bella stepped into the room looking first for the table. She set the tray on the table before noticing the woman in the corner seeming at first glance to hover in mid-air. She stood in a position so that she could see what was happening just out of the corner of her downcast eyes.
A man with long dark hair crossed behind her from the small door on the opposite side of the room, the room's private bathroom, and smacked Bella on her ample bottom as he said, "Don't pretend you don't want to look, isn't she beautiful like that?"
With this explicit permission, Bella examined the scene before her carefully and saw how the woman had been suspended by a series of pulleys and cables from the ceiling, her flesh was straining against the tight rope tied in diamond patterns across her torso and limbs. The image stirred something inside of Bella and her interest in what she was seeing was made obvious by the blush creeping over her cheeks and the fact that her nipples became extremely visible through the thin material of her top. As the man lowered the woman to the floor and released the many points where her body was attached to pulleys, he told Bella to get the items on the tray ready for consumption.
The guests enjoyed their breakfast, thanked Bella, and sent her on her way.
Bella collected the items back to the tray and left the room as silently as she had entered. Heading back to the kitchen she risked an upward glance to see an exquisitely beautiful and impossibly tall woman wearing a shiny black bathrobe. Having never met the actual owners of the manor she could not be sure, but she thought that it might be the Lady. Returning her eyes to the floor about two paces ahead of her feet, she was surprised to feel a hand on her shoulder and hear a voice in her ear, "You must be the new 4a, let me take a look at you," the woman motioned for Bella to make a full turn. "Very interesting, well Marie has never steered us wrong, welcome to the manor, perhaps I will see you again soon."
The woman continued down the hallway and entered the doorway at the very end, the Master suite, more evidence that this was, in fact, the Lady.
Casual Dinner Service
3. Once you have completed breakfast service you are to take the tray back to the kitchen and leave it by the sink. On the counter there will be a tray with your room number on it, 4a, the tray will have items for your breakfast and lunch, for today you should take it up to your room so that you can relax and prepare for your evening duties in quiet. There is a long night ahead so please do not be ashamed to nap, you will soon find that it is a necessary ritual to maintain the pace of the household.
As Bella returned to the sunshine filled kitchen bubbling with activity and cheerful voices, she was greeted this time with several introductions that somewhat blurred together. She briefly introduced herself and thanked everyone for making her feel very welcome, she had met only a handful of the regular residents on her short visits to Marie before her decision to become a visiting member of the household. Marie was one of the regular residents, the occupants living on the third floor, some were servants like Bella, however of a slightly higher status, and some alternated between service and being served, Marie fit into the latter category and was one of the Lady's very favorite female residents regardless of her role on any given day.