Red - Dragon story pt 2

I noticed the keys were on a table next to the bed. At least they weren’t planning on locking me in. A clock in the hallway struck eleven. It’s not that late. I figured I should look around. I got to the top of the stairs and saw Violet coming up the stairs.
“What, not sharing his room?” Snappy little bitch. She eyed me.
“Obviously not. What’s your problem?”
“Him. Freaking Greymalkin knows all, does all and baby sis has to stay in the damn house.”
“He does have a stick up his ass, doesn’t he?” I started to walk past her when she grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking by. “You’re going to deny it?”
“No, I’m gonna offer you a cappuccino and some food. Girls night?” Well, who knew, I have an ally.
“Only if you tell me where you get those awesome clothes from.”
“Ugh, got a trunk full of them and two closets. I don’t get to do my own shopping. So, what’s your name?”
“Bianca. So what do you do in this place all day? And, do you go by Violet?” She locked her elbow around mine like she was afraid I’d leave.
“Go out of my mind. And yeah, Violet. No shorter version. Sorry I was such a bitch. I thought you were after him. Like, a million girls are.” Her black locks bounced as we walked down the stairs. “I don’t get what the big deal is anyway. Grumpy ole man. He’s getting up there in age you know.”
“So am I.” We hit the bottom of the stairs and she giggles. “No, really I’m an old maid. Twenty-seven. He said something about how you’d be married off if it were centuries ago. Doesn’t that piss you off?”
“Yeah, but I’m the last of his family that’s not cremated, you know? All I have is movies. Apparently the local channels could rot my poor little mind.” We entered a large room that was painted in a deep crimson red. Violet picked up a remote control from the coffee table and a large picture of a castle and dragon went up into the ceiling to reveal a television. I’m not great with tape measures or anything, but the sucker was at least ten feet wide. No wonder it was on the other side of the room. She sat on the couch and pulled a rope that was to her right. I sat down on the other end of the couch. Pretty soon, there was a servant asking what we “required”.
“Cheesecake?” I ask hopefully.
“From scratch or from the freezer?” Violet is asking me.
“Um, people make them from scratch? I always use a box mix for all my baking.” I look from her to the lady whose peppered hair looked a little frazzled on her plump little head.
“Miss, to do a cheesecake from scratch shall take hours. I’d suggest something quicker.”
“Boxes it is! Yeah, please, Tilly. Brownies and cheesecake. Both from those box mix things.” Violet was way too excited about that. And then turned to me. “Those boxes are magical!”
“Sweetie, you really need to get out more. Why don’t you ever sneak out?”
“Can’t drive.” She shrugged her shoulders and hit a button that displayed a list of movie titles. Apparently that was the end of that. “What you wanna watch?”
“Underworld? Isn’t that a little fake with vampires and werewolves and crap?”
“It’s not so unbelievable. We exist and some people think that’s unusual or freakish.” She flipped to the end of the titles, apparently quicker to go bottom to top now.
“What do you mean ‘we’ exist.” Violet flipped up a few titles and paused on Titanic as if contemplating it as a choice to watch.
“You know, the filthy rich.” She kept going. It had to have been fifteen minutes and we were only on S. “Why is there never anything new in here?”
“Mind if I ask a couple questions?”
“Sure. As long as you don’t freak at the answers.” The brownies arrive along with two glass bottles of milk - one white, one chocolate. We’re told the cheesecake is on it’s way.
“Do you have the internet here?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what to even look at or look for. If I want to read, I’ll go to the library. If I want to watch something I have this,” she sighed and shoved a brownie in her mouth. “Besides old fire-breath makes me have supervision. My mind might be warped or something.”
“You’re a legal adult, does he know that?” I pour chocolate milk into the delicate wine glasses that were provided. “And what’s with the wine glasses?”
“Oh, so you can hold the stem, not the glass so the milk stays cold. Kinda the same concept with some wine. ‘Only the best’ says big brother.”
“Ooh, Pirates of the Caribbean! Johnny Depp is hilarious in that.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like watching those old clothes anymore than I like wearing them.” She snorted and I swear that she even had steam coming out her nose. “I wish I could fly.”
“Because you can’t drive?” I ask.
“Something like that.” She flipped the tv off and turned toward me settling into the couch. “Obviously we aren’t going to watch anything we agree on. Why don’t you tell me everything there is to see in the world.”
“You aren’t seriously that sheltered are you?” I only had to look into her sad eyes to get an answer for that. “Okay, that’s so wrong. I don’t know where to start with that. What size are you?”
“Shoes or ass?”
“I meant dress size, but yeah.”
“I’m a seven. Why?”
“Do you have anymore dresses like that?”
“Yes. Definitely yes. Come with me!” Obviously she was thinking what I was thinking. Down the hall and up a flight of stairs, we run - yes, we’re running - into her room. “Pick one. Your hair’s sandy blonde so it will go with just about any color. I have some from different eras and cultures. Though, you wouldn’t look as good as a Spanish rose with that hair. Here. Victorian age with minimal bustle action. I have to admit corsets are the only things I actually like. I mean, after I eat all those brownies, if there wasn’t a corset, I’d eat more. Plus what fat I do have, no one would ever notice since it’s sucked in here.” She pulled out a light pink corset and handed it to me along with the dress. “You can put everything on in place in the bathroom and then come out for me to lace you. Unless you’re able to lace them yourself. Then you deserve a medal.” I went in the bathroom that looked Victorian itself and pulled off my jeans and top. I don’t even know what happened to my coat. Did one of the servants take it when I got here? I can’t remember. Surprisingly, my boots didn’t look too shabby peeking from underneath the dress. I came out to find Violet in her undergarments with eager hands out to try on jeans.
“Oh! This is going to be so fun. You have to send me a pair if you leave. I’ll give you the address.” She was pulling them on over bloomers of some sort. “Hm. Not really comfy, huh?”
“Do you have scissors to cut those things shorter?” I motioned to her bloomers. They went down past her knees. No wonder there’s discomfort. She needs a serious shopping spree. She searched a drawer on her vanity - I didn’t think people even had vanities anymore.
“How short?” the scissors were in her hand and ready for use. She put the scissors halfway up her thigh. I motioned it a little higher until it was boy-short length. Mental note: she also needs to shop Victoria’s Secret for real unders. She made a little shriek as the last bit of fabric fell to the floor. She ran to the jeans and pulled them up. “Scandalous!” After admiring herself in the mirror, she turned. “I need a top and...oh you need laced, turn.” I did and she had the sucker laced up in seconds. Obviously when you deal with them all the time, you must get good at it. I looked to my top. Did Victorian dresses really reveal this much chest? I all of a sudden recall the dresses buttoned to the chin.
“You look great. It’s not quite authentic. I begged for that cut, but never ended up with a chest after all these years. I’ve given up on them. What do I do for a top?”
“Wanna make your brother freak?” She nodded. I looked through her drawers until I found a short-sleeved shirt.
“That goes under a dress.”
“Not today. Put this on, leave it untied and put the corset on over it. Trust me, it’s more modern than anything you have here. Madonna fashion.”
“I don’t think the Madonna wore anything like this. It was more like layers and layers of robes.” Her head snapped up. “We’re in trouble.” She pulled on her boots and sloppily laced them so they’d stay on. Before I knew it, she grabbed my hand and started down the hall.
“Violet!” Grey shouted down the hall, he was running towards us.
“I know!” He threw coats at us. I didn’t question, just put it on. He stopped and looked me up and down. In shock, I suppose. “They’re coming down the drive and are going to come in the north windows and front door.”