Maid in Fantasy - The Feeling of Wind

Story Hub (To see the rest of the story): [link]

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            Lady Ze enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair, and she loved the smell of moisture in the air. It meant a storm was coming, which was the best train time. Most people would see braving a thunderstorm in full plate armor to be a foolish, if not suicidal, endeavor. Ze was not most people.

            She stood at the ready in the castle’s courtyard as the black clouds rolled in from the horizon. The warrior made one last inspection of her person, she knew she was ready, but she couldn’t contain her excitement. Spear, check. Training dummies, check. Water bottles, check. Protein, check. Armor, double-check. She couldn’t remember the last time she even took it off.

            The storm finally arrived, heralded by an opening flurry of raindrops. The weather wasted no time in turning from a drizzle to a downpour, backed by echoes of distant thunder. While everyone else in the city was likely running for cover, Ze stood right in the worst of it, not even budging an inch as the courtyard was flooded with water.

            She held her spear high as if challenging the heavens themselves to strike her down. Despite her provoking, bolts of lightning didn’t rain down upon her. But she could fix that. Leaping to the upper roof of the palace was an effortless action for her, and from there, she’d finally receive what she was waiting for.

            As if by a stroke of luck, the heavens opened up, and her challenge was finally answered. She held her spear aloft and struck forward as the storm brought down its fury.

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            “She did it again?” Aphros exclaimed as a maid delivered word of Ze’s latest tangle with mother nature. “Is she alright?” Her question was answered as the woman of the hour trudged down the hall past her, dripping wet and emitting the sharp yet clean smell of a spring storm. “Ze, don’t worry me like that.”

            “Hmm?” Ze looked over curiously. “It’s nothing. A little lightning can’t hurt me.”

            “True, but it does nothing for your smell,” Aphros shook her head. “You could use a bath.”

            “I suppose it’s that time again,” Ze shrugged.

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            ‘Finally, it’s been too long since Ze and I had a chance to be casual together,’ Aphros hummed to herself as she undressed for the bath. ‘Maybe I can finally convince her to use some real shampoo and conditioner. The world must be reminded that there’s a beautiful lady underneath all that armor.’ Aphros giggled to herself; convincing Ze to use a shared bath was perhaps her finest act of diplomacy yet, and now she’d see the dividends. Maybe she’d find out if the rumor about Ze going bald was true.

            “Alright, I’m ready. How about yo-?” Aphros chirped as she stepped out into the bathing area only to find Lady Ze still armored, with a towel wrapped around her waist. “You’re not going to bathe in your armor, are you?”

            “Of course not. I shed most of my armor,” Ze gestured to her chainmail shirt and then to the stack of plate mail in the changing room.

            “Well, it going to be hard to get clean,” Aphros pointed out.

            “Didn’t you once say that bathing was just as much about cleansing oneself spiritually as it was physically?” Ze reminded.

            “Yes, but I was drunk at the time,” Aphros replied. “Come on,” she tugged on the chainmail, “why don’t you take all the heavy armor off and cleanse those pours.”

            “No, I’ll be fine,” Ze brushed her off and went into the bath.

            “One day, Ze, one day,” Aphros muttered. ‘I bet she’d hiding something really embarrassing.’ She joked before getting in the bath.

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Always find time to do what you love.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.

Eclectic Narratives - Work

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Work is what it is.

Work is what is expected of you.

Work is what you do.

Work can be hard, frustrating, and ridiculous.

Yet you do it, it has to be done.

No matter how imbalanced or poorly plotted.

Buckle up and get it done, you don’t have to like it.

Of course, that can’t be said for everything.

Work can still be impossible.

Whether too much to do or too little time to do it.

Then forget about doing it because you can’t.

You can still try if need be.

You can get angry over the impossibility, who could blame you?

But work is what it is.

Work is what is expected of you.

Work is what you do.

Get it done and get ahead of the curve.

And maybe those impossibilities will become less and less (or maybe not).

Work is hard, frustrating, ridiculous, and hopefully rewarding.

It has to be done, but that doesn’t mean you have to like it.

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Work needs to be done until it isn't.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.

Night of One Hundred Horrors - She Was an Angel-Faced...

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            He had worked in the facility for damn near a decade, yet he felt it had amounted to nothing. He was still stuck doing the same basic tests and experiments he had since he was an assistant, still no closer to making real progress in his field. Promotion was forever outside his reach, seniority apparently counted for nothing, and it seemed everyone always knew more than him. It was infuriating, it was demeaning, and, in some ways, it was almost terrifying. Then he met her.

            She came into his life out of nowhere with her long golden hair, delightful green eyes, and that genius to rival, nay eclipse, his own. Her face was like an angel, and her words were weighted with unmatched wisdom. Yet, despite everything she came to him, she took an interest in him, and she wanted to spend time with him.

            The way she was dressed, he had initially mistaken her for some kind of secretary, a tea lady, or even someone’s visiting wife. Yet, the second she opened her mouth, he felt foolish for even thinking such a thing. Despite that, she bolstered his intelligence and confidence whenever they were together. It got to a point that he could even convince himself they were equals.

            “I can see your frustration,” she once told him in private. Her sweet words dripped into his ear. “You know you’re so much smarter than them, yet you’re still stuck in place.”

            “But what can I do? Move on?” He replied. “I’ve worked so many years and have nothing to show for it. Would anyone else take me?”

            “Don’t worry about that, silly,” she giggled softly, sending his heart aflutter. “You can make it here. You just need an ‘in’ to all those little secrets they’ve been keeping from you.”

            At the time, he had no idea what she meant, but as he considered it, maybe she had a point. He always wondered if there was a “club” he had never been invited to join. The ‘in’ crowd who had run of the place. It sounded paranoid and childish at first glance, but even from his jaded perspective, he could see more than a kernel of truth to it.

            He took her up on the idea, and she got this smile on her face. It was warm, it was inviting, and playful. But above all, it gave off this sense of excitement. Like she had been waiting for this moment for heaven knows how long. He found that to be a good sign, and if she was excited, so was he.

            For the first time ever, he followed her deeper into the facility, down hallways, and through doors, he didn’t even know existed. He knew they had a basement, but he never knew about the second basement, let alone the third or fourth. And the further they went along, the more he began to wonder about her. His gaze was locked on her swaying figure leading him down into the depths of the facility. He again pondered why she was so interested in him. Especially now that she had revealed her access to such depths of the facility.

            ‘Could she be an executive of some sort? Or maybe a senior researcher?’ He wondered. She was on the younger side, maybe even younger than himself, but perhaps she just took very good care of herself. Whatever she was, it didn’t matter. She had an ‘in,’ and soon, so would he.

            Finally, after going so deep he didn’t even know what floor they were on, she showed him to a door. It was unmarked, save for a simple string of letters and numbers that all the doors in the facility had. She motioned for him to enter, and he did so. The door was heavy but thankfully unlocked.

            Inside it was quite dark, but a few lights and some monitors gave the bare minimum illumination. It looked like some kind of obscure research was occurring here, but he couldn’t say what. The monitors showed data tracked by the minute, and some kits of unknown contents were filling a shelf in the corner. On the far side of the room was something obscured by the darkness, but he could make out anything but the vaguest of shapes.

            “Whose room is this? What are they studying?” He asked aloud.

            “It was mine,” she answered, “but now it’s yours.” She shut the door behind him and locked it tight.

            “What? What are you doing?” He banged on the door. But his only reply was her soft giggle, which sent his heart racing. More so as he heard the click of her heels fade away down the hall. He slumped to the floor as he went weak in the knees. Not prepared for the weight of realization falling upon him.

            “What now?” He looked across the room to the vague shapes he had seen before. He prayed something over there would be his salvation and ran to it. Yet, he found nothing but an open cold steel cylinder pressed into the wall. He pawed over the whole thing and found only a smooth, featureless surface, like the inside of a container. “Nothing.”

            “Nothing at all,” her voice suddenly appeared behind him. He flipped around to see that angel-like face as the steel cylinder closed around them.

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She Was an Angel-Faced Demon.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.