The Sassy Maid

Alvin forced himself to calm down after taking some deep breaths. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I've been struggling to control my emotions. Though, I guess I never did a great job before either." 

His hands that were tightly clenched on the handrest of the recliner loosened. The holes and tears left by his sharp nails were repaired by themselves as soon as he let go. 

Elara sighed, shaking her head. "I'll help you," she said. "With your emotions. And your powers. Don't worry!"

Seeing the firm look of assurance in her eyes, Alvin found himself inclined to believe in her.

Noticing he was now willing to listen, Elara brought the conversation back to the main topic. "What I was going to say is that Pais are usually controlled as servants for vampires, for their use."

"But, Vanessa and I used an alternative, a ritual that suited our current situation. In a sense, even though we are bonded, you are not my servant, and neither are you compelled to do my bidding."

"You are..." She paused, letting her words sink in his mind, and said, "Something like my other half."

"Even though you are still a Pais, you are more like my partner than my servant." Elara declared in a clear tone, showing no hesitation in her actions. "And also, you are now the child of the Metanoa family!"

"In a sense, Pais also means 'child' in Ancient Greek," Vanessa chimed in, declaring her presence as she walked towards them, her hands clasped in front of her. "I would like to apologize on my lady's behalf. What she said was reckless, but she does not trust her family. They would leave no chance to control her, and a Pais is a great way for them to do that."

Vanessa glanced at Elara, and upon seeing that she had no objection to her words, besides the slight frown on her face, she continued, "She wanted to choose a Pais for herself—one that no one had control over and one she could fully trust her life with."

"You sure leave no chance to make fun of Elara." Alvin chuckled, now slightly understanding why Elara chose to save him.

"It's merely your imagination. I am my lady's personal maid; how could I badmouth her?" Under Elara's sharp gaze, Vanessa did not flinch and shook her head with an innocent look on her face.

"Now that our course is set, I am going to examine both of your bodies." Vanessa stepped closer to Alvin and leaned forward, causing her supple hair to slide down from her shoulders. Her voluptuous chest, hidden beneath her modest maid outfit, also dangled in the air as she reached for a button on the side of Alvin's recliner.

'Is she doing this on purpose?' Although he had no evidence, Alvin felt she was teasing him, especially with his emotions running high as if he were on every kind of drug.

Click!

With a click, the back support of the recliner moved, allowing him to lie flat. Once he was settled, Vanessa gave him a small smile before moving toward Elara to do the same.

As they lay flat on their backs, a faint glow covered their bodies, scanning them from head to toe. The glow pulsed as it moved downward. Vanessa looked around and closed the transparency feature of the plane with a wave of her hand to avoid distractions.

Just before she did, she happened to notice that their aircraft had entered a massive storm, but she showed no change in emotions and acted as if the weather was clear as day.

Time passed as the process continued. Vanessa stood beside them, her eyes glowing with a golden hue. Above the two of them, a faint, illusionary internal structure of their bodies' began to form.

The kind that showed more than any scientific equipment known to man was capable of showing. 

"You can open your eyes now," Vanessa finally declared after two hours. The glow around their bodies had dimmed, marking the end of the examination.

Their chairs adjusted automatically, sitting them upright without needing to press a button. Both Alvin and Elara looked at Vanessa with deadpan expressions.

Elara pressed her lips together and chose to focus on what was important. "What did you find out from the inspection?"

"There is good news and bad news," Vanessa said solemnly. Just as Elara was about to choose which she wanted to hear first, Vanessa cut her off, grinning. "I'll tell you the good news first!"

Her serious look was instantly replaced with a serene one. Alvin tried his best not to look at Elara, whose chest rose and fell in frustration. Instead, he focused on the illusionary image floating before him.

It was a golden imitation of a human body, but rather than the surface, it displayed the deep nervous system, organs, and muscles.

With his enhanced eyesight, Alvin studied it closely. The figure, roughly one and a half feet tall, rotated in place, providing a complete view of his body.

"Is this… what my body has become?" Just from a glance, he noticed several differences from a normal human body. His blood pulsed sluggishly through his veins. If he were still human, he might have gone into cardiogenic or hypovolemic shock due to the lack of oxygen and reduced blood volume.

He also noticed a faint twitch in his muscles, accompanied by the release of a violet-colored mist. The mist was similar to the energy that had exploded out of him before; it seeped into every cell of his body upon release.

"That is indeed your body. The scan traced every detail in that projection. We use this model to analyze a subject's condition."

"Quite the convenient power you have… Are all vampires capable of this?" Fascinated by the projection, Alvin wondered if he could wield such power himself someday.

"Do what? Spells?" Elara asked, puzzled. The next second, she burst into laughter, covering her mouth with a hand. "Vampires cannot use magic to do spells!"

Between her stifled laughs, Elara continued explaining, while Vanessa added with a hint of annoyance, "And what made you think I'm a vampire? Are you mocking me, Sir Alvin? Do I look like a bloodsucking maniac or a walking corpse to you? I am a witch!"