The Abyss Gazes Back… and Purrs

As the sun sank beneath the horizon, the world outside of the Cthulhu Household’s estate came to a standstill. Gas lamps began to flicker and horse-drawn carriages began to settle down. The hum of the sea continues to linger around the household.

In the heart of the estate, in a wing half-forgotten, lived Ele’yah, isolated daughter of the Slumbering god, heir to the household.

Her room remained untouched; mindless servants did not dare to wander close. The shadows in her room stretched long across the walls, warped subtly from the breathing of the isolated lady. Her windows illuminate the room with bright hues of reds and oranges before dimming down into the blues and violets of the twilight, mirroring the melancholy residing in her heart.

Her mother, The Mistress of the household, had been absent for weeks… no, months… caught in the tangled duties of the head of the household. Since the sealing of the great Cthulhu, the future of the household lay in her hands, and that future was uncertain.

The Mistress was one of the few stabilizing forces left. At least… that’s what Ele’yah had told herself to avoid admitting the truth; Her mother simply preferred the outside world. Preferred the wars, the chaos, the schemes. Preferred anywhere Ele’yah wasn’t. Her father, Cthulhu, lost to an eternal slumber that had saved the world. She would never hear his voice again… unless awoken.

Ele’yah sat alone on her bed, running her finger along the folds and wrinkles of the sheets she lay on, she had found solace in the silence that had surrounded her. However, she did not know that silence was about to be broken.

A letter, delivered two nights ago by a servant who appeared and disappeared like a whisper.

My dear Ele’yah,

I am to return to the estate come two days from the time this letter reaches you.

I hope you will retreat from your room to greet me.

I have someone I would like you to acquaint yourself with.

With much love,

We shall reunite soon.

Ele’yah had read it a dozen times, it felt… off. Her mother rarely warned her of her arrivals. Rarely remembered to write. Rarely remembered her at all. “With much love,” it felt rehearsed, foreign even.

It wasn’t excitement that kept Ele’yah awake these past two nights. It was dread. Was it a suitor? A foreign ambassador? Another noble? She didn’t have much more time to mull over it, the sun was rising, she felt her mother’s presence approaching the estate. The air grew heavy.

The servants shifted from their eldritch forms, molding into a mimicry of humans. They woke up from their mechanical routines and shuffled into organized lines at the courtyard, prepared to greet the mistress upon her return.

Ele’yah tidies up her appearance in anticipation of her mother’s arrival. She bathes herself with extra care, washing and brushing her dark-teal hair, adorning it with an ornament shaped like the Cthulhu Household’s emblem. Dressing in a black floral dress and fastening her corset tighter than usual.

She stepped out of her room for the first time in a while. The hallway lights flickered as she passed and her shadow stretched along the walls. Down in the courtyard, the gates creaked open, revealing the carriage holding The Mistress and her mysterious guest. As the carriage rolled towards Ele’yah, she felt a sense of angst.

The Mistress stepped out with the grace of a trained noble… Behind her, a girl—slim, dainty, and elegant. A pink tail swished at her back, her ears at attention reacting to her surroundings. She wore a maid uniform that hugged her figure snug.

Ele’yah’s eyes widened at the sight. A Nekojin? She’s never seen one before, and for her own mother to bring one here, it seemed impossible to her. What hoops had she jumped through to get one? How did she enter their secluded territory?

The Mistress’ voice interrupted her spiraling thoughts.

“Ele’yah my dear, you’ve finally tidied yourself up and fled that dungeon you call a bedroom.” The Mistress snarks at Ele’yah, running her hands around Ele’yah’s waist. “I am so glad to see you, have you gotten skinnier?”

Ele’yah brushes her mother’s hands away from her body.

“I’m glad to see you too, mother. I wish to meet this person you wrote about so highly.”

“Of course.” The Mistress stepped aside. “This is Chiyo.”

The maid bowed her head gracefully to make acquaintance with her new lady. Ele’yah was taken aback by her mother’s idea that she’d need a babysitter.

The Mistress explains that Chiyo will be looking after Ele’yah in her absence. Not that it truly made a difference, for she was never around at the estate long. She hadn't needed one before and she certainly didn't need one now. Yet Ele’yah reluctantly concedes to her mother’s command and flees inside the estate. She runs up the stairs and down the hallways to her room, where she slams her door in defiance.

After a few hours pass, the silence in Ele’yah’s isolation is broken by the sound of a faint knock on her door. Behind the door is an unfamiliar voice.

“Excuse me, Miss Ele’yah, I am coming in.”

Ele’yah calls out, “Wait, you simply cannot grant yourself entry to my room!”

Ignoring her comment, the maid came in. Her hips and tail swayed with each step she took. She had an intimidating yet alluring aura to her. Something shiny in the maid’s left hand caught Ele’yah’s eye.

“Miss Ele’yah, as your personal servant, it is only right for you to be able to summon me at any time, especially considering the lifestyle you live, so I’ve heard from The Mistress.” The maid’s voice was seemingly emotionless, Ele’yah’s eyes narrowed at the remark. “I grant you this, you may ring it when you need me, and I will attend to you as soon as possible.”

It was a cat bell adorned with intricate engravings, where each etched pattern seemed to tell a story within it. Ele’yah, curious to hear what the bell sounded like, shook it. No sound came out of it.

“You got me a broken bell? Is this some kind of joke?” Ele’yah hissed before looking up and seeing the maid before her, her head tilted and tail swishing from side to side.

“How may I serve you, Miss Ele’yah?”

Ele’yah’s lips parted. “...What?”

“The bell can only be heard by those with sensitive ears like mine.” The maid gestures to her head. “It is a Nekojin signal bell, an instrument used by my people in The Great War.”

Ele’yah stared in suspicion. A gift from her maid on their first meeting? She scoffed.

“I do not want to entertain this further. Leave at once.”

Chiyo bowed. “As you wish.”

When the maid left, Ele’yah stared at the bell for a long time. She did not ring it, not even once, but she kept it beside her bed. Even as days blurred into nights, and nights into the dusk of her nineteenth birthday, Ele’yah expected nothing… Then came a faint knock on her door, a warm glow peering underneath.

“Excuse me, Miss Ele’yah. I am coming in.”

“Maid. I thought I had already said you cannot let yourself into my ro-”

The maid stepped inside, carrying a small, elegant cake, adorned with a single candle, and a voice soft enough to melt her heart. She sang for Ele’yah. Though startled, Ele’yah couldn’t help but sit still and listen. It was in a language unfamiliar to her, yet it felt as if she knew the meaning.

“Happy birthday, Miss Ele’yah.” The maid presented the cake before Ele’yah before setting it down on the nightstand.

“Maid… What is the meaning of this?” Ele’yah’s eyelids fluttered. “How did you know it was my birthday?”

The maid learned a lot of things about Miss Ele’yah before meeting her. The Mistress educated her well.

Waves of confusion and warmth wash over Ele’yah. She could not remember the last time her birthday was celebrated. She looked into the candle of the cake, its glow flickering in the reflection of her purple eyes. The silence stretched between the two, so the maid broke the silence.

“I have also prepared a gift for you.” She presents a small velvet box.

Ele’yah hesitates to take it, she opens the box ever-so-slightly. Inside lay a delicate silver pendant, its centerpiece a dark, iridescent pearl, one that shimmered with the same hues present in her hair.

“This is such a beautiful gift…” Ele’yah paused briefly. “I don’t understand…”

The maid’s ears twitched, her expression unreadable, “It is your birthday, you are allowed to celebrate it.”

The amount of knowledge the maid had on Ele’yah almost intimidated her, but she could do no more than trace patterns around the pendant that was gifted to her. The maid was trying to establish a connection with her lady, and she was not having any of it. She wanted to sever this now. With a firm voice, Ele’yah scoffed.

“Maid, whatever you try to do to get me to warm up to you, it won’t work. You are no more than a servant in a land where you don’t belong.”

Before Ele’yah could continue her tangent, the maid’s lips curved into a warm smile and she bowed before her, her eyes genuine yet laced with an enigmatic allure.

“If you’ll permit me, I’ll leave you to enjoy your cake. Should you need anything…” She gestures toward the cat bell on the nightstand.

Ele’yah watched as the maid turned to leave. For the first time in years, the silence of her room didn’t feel oppressive, it felt… different? All because of one person trying to break into the walls she had set up around her heart. The lady didn’t understand why she couldn’t brush this pest off her shoulder. The maid, whom she refused to refer to by name, refused to summon her, refused her existence, continued to persist. Ele’yah just simply didn’t know what to do.

“Maid.” She suddenly calls out, her voice barely above a whisper.

The maid paused, glancing over her shoulder. “Yes, Miss Ele’yah?”

Her lips tremble. “...Thanks.”

“Always.”