Lacie Ch. 07

Leaving the home theater, Lacie headed to the main hall, eventually wandering into the northern wing. Slipping through a door, Lacie saw dozens of musical instruments, guitars, drums, flutes clarinets, a pair of grand pianos. Nearly every instrument conceivable hung from, or sat in, stands around the massive room. A small glass window in one wall revealed a small mixing studio, the electronic panels covered with slides, knobs, switches and blinking lights.

A few more uninteresting rooms, then Lacie stepped into a very interesting chamber. Wrought iron lamps hung from the walls of the large room. The walls were covered in slate grey stone and mortar, very much resembling the walls of a castle or dungeon. There was a raised edge around the room, only about 3 feet wide, and the middle of the room was a four foot deep pit with a thick layer of sand on the floor. Padded weaponry hung from the edges of the pit walls, and the stone above was covered with beautifully designed and decorative weapons. Lacie wasn't sure whether the steel weapons decorating the upper walls were sharp, so she left them alone. Lacie thought the room was probably used for hand to hand combat training.

The young girl felt a shiver run down her spine at the idea of Master being trained in combat. He had seemed lethal enough when she had thought he hadn't had any training. Still, Lacie smiled at the mental image of him spinning around in the sand with a sword in his hands. She bit her lip gently when she wondered if he trained shirtless...

Shaking her head, Lacie left the dojo, heading up another flight of nearby stairs. There were fewer rooms on the third floor, and Lacie knew there were likely none in the south wing at all, the entire floor likely taken up by the theater and library. Still, there were a few rooms she had yet to explore in the north end, so Lacie headed back that direction. Opening the first door, Lacie was disappointed to find a simple bathroom. Stepping back out, she headed across the hall, grasping the handle of the door and pushing gently. The door swung wide and Lacie saw a strange room spread out before her.

A massive number of computers and large screens were arranged around a large chair set in the center of the otherwise dark room. Lacie counted over a dozen different computer screens set in a curving half bowl around the chair. Some had muted news stations lighting the screens up, others had technical data, some had scrolling numbers and letters flowing across their screens. One had a 3d wireframe of the mansion on it, looking exactly like the model Lacie had seen on Bridget's tablet. The rest of the screens were blank or turned off. A large number of hard drives and computer towers sat behind the screens, and a large keyboard and a technical looking mouse sat to one side of the chair on a swinging arm. The room itself was otherwise bare, save a wooden door behind the computer screens. The room was silent, all the screens having been muted. The only sounds in the sparse room were the sounds of humming electronics.

Moving to the far door, Lacie could hear voices coming from the other side. Unable to hear specific words, Lacie didn't know what was being said, but the tones and pitch of the voices led her to suspect that Master and Bridget were in the next room. Lacie clearly heard Bridget's lilting laughter as she pressed one ear to the door. The wood was too thick for her to hear their conversation though. Stepping back in disappointment, Lacie turned away from the door. She didn't want to interrupt something important without good cause, and the way that Bridget had left her earlier left no doubt in Lacie's mind that she was not invited to spend any more time with Bridget that day. Looking back to the computer screens, Lacie saw that it was almost seven. Hurrying back down to the first floor, Lacie grinned as she dashed through halls that grew more and more familiar to the quickly moving brunette.

At five minutes to seven she found herself just outside the dining hall. Moments later she was joined by Lindsey and Heather. Conversation between the two beauties quickly included Lacie as they began to question her about her day. The discussion quickly expanded to include the rest of the women of the house as they arrived one by one. Finally, Master and Bridget arrived, a contented smile on the older girl's face as she walked arm in arm with Master, leaning her head on his shoulder as they moved at a stately pace down the hallway. Pushing the door open, Master pecked Bridget on the head and gently pulled his arm free, ushering the rest of the women into the dining hall.

The table was already set, and Lacie saw Ana moving around the room, setting down bowls filled with delicious looking sauces, cheeses and spices. Large platters of sizzling vegetables and meats were spaced down the length of the table, and gently steaming tortillas were folded on each plate in an ornate pattern. Smiling, Lacie took her seat and joined the rest of her 'family' as they waited for Ana to finish and join them, before giving thanks and digging in to the amazing food.