Chapter I|II|III|IV|V|VI|VII|VIII|IX|Setting
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In a possible future, in a world not unlike our own, one single kingdom rose as the dominant and only power. It was an ethereal realm with castles made of gemstone and technology so great it was indiscernible from magic. A land where humanity had advanced so far that to live in comfort and excess was the standard, and a life of hard labor and servitude was a rarity. It was known as the kingdom of Celene.
To be a worker or servant in this kingdom was a special privilege. They were the 1% who slaved their lives away so others may prosper. Alas, to be a worker was not a simple choice but a burden granted at birth. As in our time, where to be noble meant to be part of a family lineage, in this kingdom, a worker was a sort of birthright. Grand worker families spread their branches across the domain. To be born in one meant a life of hard work and labor, no matter your personal opinion.
However, their best and brightest were chosen for the highest of honors. To be personal servants for the eternal royal family that ruled this ethereal kingdom. Among those best and brightest exists one family. For generations, that family has held the grandest honor of being the only ones allowed to attend the Queen and her daughters. However, such an exclusive honor can create odd results in exceptional circumstances. Such abnormal results greatly influenced the life of the young woman Serena Diane. Suddenly thrust from her life as an average girl into one as the personal maid to the kingdom’s youngest princess. Such a life should be one of poise, elegance, and formality. Alas, Serena is not so lucky, as the Queen, princesses, and high nobles are anything but…
~--~
Serena trudged through the palace’s storage room, a massive warehouse somehow fitted beneath the grand structure, a heavy steel crate held in her hands. To most, such a young girl hefting a metal object almost twice her size would be an astonishing sight. Yet, it had become such a routine occurrence in the past few months Serena had barely considered that fact.
The raven-haired girl grit her teeth as she felt her muscles grow sore. ‘I understand that a princess would have a large collection of springs clothes, but how many does one little girl really need?’ She griped.
“Incoming,” Orion appeared behind her, carrying two such crates. The blonde young man was straining under the weight, which was clearly too much for him. Yet, the butler still persisted, resulting in what would normally be an amusing balancing act if it didn’t involve objects in the several hundred pounds range.
“I warned you not to try that,” Serena managed to say through the strain of holding up her crate.
“One trip, one trip,” Orion repeated as he fumbled through the warehouse. Other servants in the area gave him a wide berth, as they had their own heavy objects they struggled to carry. Well, most of them, at least. Serena noticed several servants just standing off to the side and doing nothing to help their fellows.
“If they weren’t going to help, the least they could do was not stare at us like that,” Serena muttered. The unhelpful servants’ gazes were anything but warm. In fact, Serena caught a couple fairly hostile glances being pointed in Orion’s direction.
“Hrrr,” a butler with long blonde hair sneered.
“Sneer,” a brunette maid with a ponytail emoted before the two and walked off in a huff.
‘The heck was that about?’ Serena wondered.
~--~
Serena plopped the metal crate down in Princess Irene’s closet. It sounded silly, but to the young maid, it almost seemed like the closet was far more spacious than the underground warehouse. Serena decided it must have been her mind playing tricks on her and refused to process it further.
Lady Aphros arrived soon after and cracked open the crate like one would open a soda can. Inside laid a half-dozen more containers filled to the brim with spring clothing in the youngest princess’s size. Aphros inspected the clothing, ensuring they had no holes or dry rot.
“I think this might be a little small for her now,” the blonde noble muttered to herself as she picked up one of the pieces. “Oh well, we can just have another one or three tailored just like it,” Aphros chucked the article of clothing aside.
“Shall I start moving the clothing into the closet, Lady Aphros?” Serena asked, trying to sound professional.
“Nah, we’ll sort that out later. I’m looking for something specific right now,” Aphros brushed her off.
“Very well,” Serena sighed. She sat silent for a moment as Aprhos rummaged through Irene’s clothing before speaking again. “Lady Aphros, I’m not normally one to complain, but I have to comment on the work ethic of some of the other workers-.”
“Oh, let me stop you there. I think I know exactly what happened,” the noble interrupted. “They stood off to the side standoffishly and sneered at you, correct?”
“Well, they mostly sneered at Orion,” Serena answered.
“Oh, dear Serena,” Aphros sat the maid down on a nearby stool. “You’re still relatively new, and you’ve mostly stuck to myself or princess Irene, so you probably never noticed or realized.”
“Hm?” Serena wondered why the noble talked to her in a tone generally reserved for a mother speaking to an ignorant child. Or, in Aphros’s case, the tone she reserved for Orion. Alas, the maid couldn’t argue her point. She had only begun her training last fall and started work in the palace a mere two months later. Winter had passed by in what seemed like a flash, and now Spring was right around the corner. The majority of the time had been spent in the noble’s company, and the only other servant she regularly interacted with was Orion.
“You see, Serena, while the Diane are assigned as personal servants of the royal family, they aren’t the only workers in the palace,” Aphros explained. “Most of the palace staff is from the Regas family, and they have a less than stellar relationship with yours. A passive-aggressive rivalry, if you will.”
‘Oh Lord, more politics,’ Serena tried not to roll her eyes.
“Try to avoid the Regas servants for the time being, at least until you acclimate to the climate as it were,” Aphros advised. “Instead, you should interact with the Lambros family servants. They’re the smart ones, the engineers and all that. Plus, since this whole maid thing has stalled your education, hanging around them could help keep your mind sharp.”
Despite the friendly advice, Serena had known Aphros just long enough to sense when her words were laced with an ulterior motive. Which was all the time.
“What’s the actual reason you’re telling me this?” Serena spoke out of turn.
“Well…” Aphros realized she’d been caught. “Like I said, I was looking for something in particular in here,” the noble peered back into the crate. “Serena, be a dear and pull out that miniature crate, third from the left.”
“As you wish,” Serena nodded and plucked the container from inside the larger crate. It was pretty heavy for its size, too much to be simple clothing.
“Thank you,” Aphros popped open the crate, revealing not clothing but safety gear fit for a science lab in a cheesy sci-fi movie. Goggles, rubber gloves, gas masks, and a full radiation suit were mixed in, among many other strange and very heavy-looking things.
“Lady Aphros, if you don’t mind me asking,” Serena resumed her professional demeanor, “what is this for, and why is it mixed in with Irene’s spring clothing?”
“To answer your first question, it’s for later today,” Aphros began. “You see, we’re having a scientific demonstration in the palace, and we’ve learned to take extra precautions. As for your second question, where else would we put it?”
“That’s not…never mind,” Serena diverted precious brainpower into exploring the more sensible of Aphros’s answers. “What’s this about a demonstration?”
“Well, Lady Herme, you know her, right?” Aphros asked.
“Isn’t she the chief of education?”
“She’s more than that. She’s also the chief of all things science,” the blonde added. “She’s coming to the palace to reveal her and General Chrona’s latest invention. I think it would be a delightful chance for the princesses, and by extension you and Orion, to learn something.”
“General Chrona,” the name rang a bell in Serena’s mind. “Wait, isn’t she the one who created that gun that blew out everybody’s eardrums last month?”
“The very same,” Aphros nodded.
‘I haven inkling what she wants me to learn isn’t purely academic,’ Serena suppressed the urge to glare at the noble.
“Alas, the general can’t make it to the demonstration, so I need backup in case of disaster. Thus, I’ve asked the princesses to sit in on it, with you and Orion in tow, of course.”
“Wait, you expect something to go wrong?” Serena exclaimed.
“No, I didn’t say that,” Aphros denied.
‘I can’t tell if she’s a terrible liar or just likes plausible deniability,’ Serena thought. ‘Dear Lord, what am I in for now?’
~--~
Serena and Orion sat in a small side room of the palace, sorting through their respective princess’s clothing. Instead of the usual dresses, however, it was the mass of protective suits and safety goggles Aphros had shown off earlier. It was an odd assortment, seemingly designed to ‘snap’ over the noble’s clothing, with similar gear set aside for the servants themselves.
‘Anything to stay stylish, huh?’ Serena thought to herself as she looked at Irene’s miniature protective suit. The maid could only imagine how ridiculous the thing would look on the young princess. “How are you feeling about this whole science demonstration?”
“Are you concerned?” Orion asked.
“Well, all the nobles I’ve met so far have been,” Serena paused to find the right word, “intense.”
“Don’t worry,” the butler assured, “I’ve met Lady Herme. She is among the nicest, most level-headed members of the nobility. You needn’t worry about anything going wrong under her watch.”
“And?” Serena pressed her friend further.
“General Chrona, on the other hand, she’s a different story,” Orion sheepishly admitted.
“I can only imagine, but do tell,” the maid commented.
“Well, I haven’t heard much,” Orion explained, “but she’s known to be a bit eccentric…and destructive…and easily bored…but she’s not a bad person...I think.”
‘Mad scientist, got it,’ Serena thought.
~--~
That afternoon, Serena and Orion escorted the princesses to the palace auditorium. The four were technically dressed in their usual attire, but it was buried under the boxy protective suits. It was like wearing a cross between armor and a 1950s era hazmat suit. The material leaned towards the hazmat suit, but it snapped over their clothing like body armor. The thick plastic protective goggles completed the look and made each individual, sans Irene, feel incredibly silly.
‘This would be so embarrassing,’ Serena glanced to the other figures in the hall. All the other nobles and servants wore similar suits, each equally ridiculous. ‘But, at least we’re not the only ones,’ the maid acknowledged.
“I feel like a complete fool,” Princess Atlanta muttered under her breathe. Orion tried his best to placate her, but the royal had none of it. Serena sighed at the sight and turned her gaze back to the crowd before spotting some vaguely familiar faces. It was the blonde butler and brunette maid who sneered at Orion earlier that day. They were also suited up in protective gear but hadn’t put on their goggles yet. Serena noted their contempt-filled gazes targeted at both her and Orion.
‘Not those two again, I hope they don’t start any trouble-’ Serena’s thought was interrupted by a childish giggle. “Princess Irene, your goggles are not a slingshot!” The maid began her usual song and dance with the young princess, which continued until they all sat in the auditorium.
The palace auditorium was a massive room, far larger than any similar room Serena had encountered in her life before. A huge semi-circle stage stood at the base, with row after row of seats rising higher and higher above it. The stage had a wooden floor with marble pillars on each side. The rest of the room was decorated in a similar fashion, with more marble pillars and a general aesthetic of white and silver. The seats were wood and velvet affairs, finely crafted and with plenty of room for each individual seated in one.
Serena noted all of this as she observed from the royal family’s private seats held in their own balcony. The young maid felt as though the room didn’t quite make sense. The upper parts of the auditorium seemed to be on the same level they entered from, the palace’s first floor. Yet, the stage seemed to rest so far below it had to be at least on the same level as the first basement, where that massive warehouse was. Serena decided not to think about it too hard, which had served her well in this job so far.
“Glad you all could make it,” Lady Aphros entered the balcony. “All of you have a seat. You two included,” the noble pointed at the two servants.
“That wouldn’t be proper, Lady Aphros,” Orion pointed out.
“Trust me, we’re going to be here for a bit,” Aphros looked at a clock on the nearby wall. It was about ten minutes to 2:00 pm when the demonstration was supposed to start. However, Serena noted that the stage was still completely barren, except for a podium. There were no devices, projections, or even people. Heck, there weren’t even programs in the seat pockets.
The group sat down and waited, and waited and waited some more. The whole auditorium had settled by 2:02 pm, yet the stage remained empty. Within the next few minutes, the entire room was beset by an air of restlessness. Murmurs began to spread, everyone wondering if the whole event had been suddenly canceled without warning.
“Give it a minute,” Lady Aphros stated as she leaned back in her chair. It was almost ten after, but the noble just smiled and began to count down. “Three, two, and one.” As if on cue, something bolted into the auditorium like a gust of wind. Suddenly, the whole stage was decorated; new objects littered the space, from white wooden cubes to a model of the solar system. It was complete by a massive object hidden beneath a white sheet. In addition, all the empty pockets of the seats were now filled with the until now missing programs.
Standing at the center of the stage was a woman with medium-length black hair, just a few shades away from a dark navy blue. A pair of glasses rested over her sea-green eyes, while a pure white lab coat was draped over her conservative attire. She took a moment to clear her throat before approaching the podium and addressing the audience through a microphone.
“Apologies for my lateness. I was running one last test on the device to ensure everything was perfect,” the woman apologized. “Before I knew it, it was already 2:00. How silly of me.”
‘Is she being serious?’ Serena briefly wondered before realizing this woman had set up the whole demonstration in only a few seconds.
A group of what Serena assumed to be assistants entered the room shortly after, dressed in similar lab coats and a few in overalls. Compared to Lady Herme, they appeared ragged and exhausted, as though they had worked nonstop for the last dozen or so hours. ‘Those must be members of the Lambros family,’ Serena guessed.
“Now,” Lady Herme began as her assistants fine-tuned the hastily constructed demonstration behind her. “I know General Chrona has developed something of a reputation these past few years. I assure you all, I’ve tested the device personally. All the glitches have been worked out, and nothing can possibly go wrong.”
‘Oh no,’ Serena shuffled closer to Irene. Ready to yank the princess to safety at a moment’s notice.
“Royalty, nobles, and workers of the palace, I welcome you to this demonstration of our next step in our scientific revolution!” Lady Herme declared dramatically as she tore away the white sheet behind her revealing…nothing but an empty podium. “In a moment, it’s not actually here yet.” The whole room let out a collective groan as Herme pulled out a small remote and clicked a button on it. A massive platform descended from the ceiling, the hole left in its wake closing up behind it before reaching the stage.
Now upon the stage was a massive device that looked like a laser fit for a corny sci-fi movie. Serena noted as the crowd suddenly became on edge, fearful of the apparent weapon. However, the young maid remained calm. Her danger sense had yet to alert her that the princess was in peril, so it probably wasn’t a weapon…probably.
“I present to you all the Graviton Ray (patent pending), the key to manipulating gravity itself,” Lady Herme revealed. “With the single press of a button,” the scientist moved to the back of the ray and manipulated its controls, “I can alter how an individual object interacts with gravity.”
The assistants arranged a pair of the wooden blocks side-by-side, one larger than a person and the other small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Herme flicked a few buttons and knobs on the Graviton Ray, firing two beams, one after the other, at the blocks. The beams struck true, but both blocks appeared unharmed and unchanged.
“Behold, science at work,” Herme ran over to the larger block, and with a single touch, the object was knocked from the floor and began to float in the air, weightlessly. Next, she tried to pick up the small block, which she clearly struggled with as the tiny object seemed to weigh a ton. After only managing to lift it a mere meter off the ground, the scientist dropped it, causing it to make a clear indent on the floor.
“I know what you’re all thinking. She only managed to alter their weights, the theory behind that was figured out a century ago. Ah, but we’ve far surpassed such elementary concepts,” Herme returned to the device and fired off another set of rays at the blocks. Suddenly the larger block went from floating aimlessly to stationary, only slowly rotating in the air. The small-block suddenly lifted up from the ground and began to revolve around the larger block. “Behold, gravity!”
The crowd was quite pleased with the display, and applause quickly swept through the room. Even Serena found herself joining in. It was a fantastic demonstration, one that flew in the face of everything the young woman thought she knew about gravity, but amazing nonetheless.
“Now, while we can make objects act as though they’re in a zero-gravity environment, it’s not exactly like being in a vacuum,” Lady Herme clarified. “So, there’s no worry of liquids boiling, like your blood, for instance.” The comment made the room shudder, just a tad. “We haven’t quite nailed down what the ray is doing, but we’re certain it’s breaking several if not all of the laws of physics.”
Serena felt a slight creeping sensation crawl up her neck. If they weren’t sure exactly what this did, why were they so casually using it? Let alone so eager to put it on for public display.
“Let us continue,” Lady Herme moved on with the demonstration, using the ray on the model of the solar system behind her. The once stationary model floated into the air, the numerous smaller objects representing planets and asteroids floating around a central sun model. It was an even greater display than before. It boggled the mind that this was real and not some computer-generated effect.
“Of course, we should all remember that the majority of gravity is in your perception of it. So don’t flip upside down, it’ll give you quite the headache, and that’s if you’re lucky,” Lady Herme joked. The scientist continued to order her assistants around as the demonstration continued, treating it more like a stage show than a serious scientific speech. They even showed off a gravity slingshot effect using one of the wooden cubes…which flew off into the audience and nearly struck one of the nobles in the head.
“Sorry about that,” Herme apologized, “I suppose that’s enough play for now. Let us move on to the proper theory and math, shall we?” Serena couldn’t hear it, but she could feel most of the room let out a collective groan. The young maid prepared to steel herself to stay awake through the whole event, although she spotted Irene already prepared to nod off.
“A simple flick of the switch and-” Lady Herme began before the world suddenly slowed down for Serena. The young maid recognized this feeling, and it wasn’t a good sign. Her danger sense had been triggered, which meant the princess was about to be in peril but from where? As Serena tried to determine that, she felt her focus narrow on the stage. Suddenly she could see Lady Herme very clearly, as though she were standing right beside her. The scientist was manipulating the controls of the Graviton Ray very casually, leading her to fumble with their delicate operation. The ray shot out another laser, but it missed its intended target and struck the wall.
“Oh dear,” Lady Herme muttered into the microphone.
“What now?” Serena said aloud, her danger sense blaring like mad. As she stood up to scan the room, she swiftly realized her feet were no longer touching the ground. In fact, everyone’s feet were no longer on the ground as the whole room began to float out of their seats.
“Everyone, please remain calm,” Herme insisted as her voice wobbled. Everyone present complied by screaming.
To Be Continued…
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In science, especially in the case of new technologies, safety is the top priority.
I hope you enjoyed this new chapter of Maid in Fantasy. I decided to go ahead and turn this into an ongoing story. There are plans for where it will go, but for now I have this four part story. Future chapters may be stand alone, two-parts and four-parts and so on. I'm sure you've noticed the narrative is slanted in a far more comedic bent, which will grow more apparent in the coming chapters.
Frankly, I just enjoy writing this series, and I hope you all will enjoy it to.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
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