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\\~~~\\ 0 //~~~//
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, a servant, or a
laborer in this kingdom was seen as a mark of honor. They were the 1% who
slaved their lives away so others may prosper. Such a great sacrifice was
recognized and rightfully praised. Alas, to be a worker was not a simple choice
but a burden granted at birth. As in our time, where being noble meant being
part of a family lineage, a worker was a sort of birthright in this kingdom.
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 a certain young woman who knew
naught of what her family history truly meant.
Previously on Maid in Fantasy:
Serena Moffat, or rather, Serena Diane, was informed by the High Noble Lady
Aphros that she was a member of the Diane worker family. Her cousin was meant
to attend to the Queen’s youngest daughter as a maid but then quit
unexpectedly. Serena was the only member of the family of age who could take on
the important role. Given no choice in the matter, Serena’s life as a low noble
was dropped completely so she could begin her training as a maid. With little
time to prepare, she was brought into a fort at the base of the capital city’s
palace to begin her training as a maid. However, rather than being trained in
etiquette, manor, and housework, Serena was forced into military drills and
weapon training. After being pushed to her breaking point, the new maid was
rewarded with the news she’d continue her training with the captain of the
guard as her personal tutor. She would be joined in this training by another
new Diane family servant named Orion.
\\~~~\\
I //~~~//
Október 19th
757
One fine morning, Serena and Orion
were brought into a cordoned-off section of the fort’s courtyard to begin their
training with Lady Ze. The captain of the guard cut an intimidating figure and
radiated an unflinching authority. She was garbed in black and emerald green
armor straight out of a fantasy novel, which covered her from head to toe. Ze
towered over the two teens and most of the men on the fort’s grounds. Serena
didn’t feel she was looking at a person so much as a giant.
“Welcome, Serena, Orion,” she
greeted them. “I’ve heard quite a number of things about you two. Orion, you’ve
proven yourself adept at learning your duties, and Serena, you’ve made great
progress for someone who had only begun training a month ago.”
‘Here comes the but,’ Serena gulped.
Even though Ze’s words were calm, the teen’s hair stood on its ends. Whether
that was out of fear or that light static feeling in the air, Serena couldn’t
tell.
“However, one thing you both lack is
the proper physical capabilities expected of your future station,” the captain
of the guard declared. “Allow me to demonstrate.” Ze walked over to a nearby
parked hovercraft and lifted it half a meter off the ground with one hand as
though it were a small couch. And it wasn’t like the sleek luxury craft that
Aphros brought Serena in. This was a bulky military model for transporting
troops. Despite that, there was no force or exertion behind the action. It was
plainly obvious that Ze could have picked up the entire vehicle if she wanted
to.
“By the end of this month, you two
will perform a similar feat of strength,” the captain of the guard laid down
the law. “If not, you will train every day, from sunrise to sunset, until you
can. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Serena and Orion
replied instinctively.
“I can’t hear you,” Ze barked. Her
voice carried the fury of a thunderclap.
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” the teens
shouted in unison. Serena blinked in surprise as herself. She didn’t know what
had come over her. For some reason saying anything less would have felt wrong.
The teen had heard of being a natural authority, but now Serena was confident
Ze could change the flow of a river if she yelled loud enough.
“Good, then let’s get started,” Lady
Ze’s tone became much warmer. Alas, it was a deceptive tonal shift, as the
training that followed would have made most grown men cry. It began with a
multi-kilometer run, followed by dozens of push-ups and sit-ups, then an
obstacle course and weight training. All of which would certainly be
substantial and intense workouts in and of themselves. However, in Ze’s
regiment, that was just the first three hours of the morning, nothing more than
a warm-up in her eyes.
The two future servants, broken and
exhausted, returned to their starting point in the courtyard. Serena was so
sore she could no longer stand while Orion desperately tried to see straight
and keep his breakfast down. Ze, who participated in all the morning’s
activities, had barely broken a sweat.
“A good start, you two,” Ze beamed,
“now drink some of this, and we’ll move on to something less intense and more
technical for the afternoon.” The captain tossed the duo a couple of palm-sized
aluminum bottles. Desperate for sustenance, both teens sucked down what little
they were given, and after but a moment, the two bounced back to full energy.
“I feel incredible,” Serena felt all
her exhaustion and soreness melt off her body. She felt full, hydrated, and
ready to run a marathon.
“So much better,” Orion’s nausea was
gone, and a spring was back in his step.
“You like it? It’s called Panacea,”
Ze explained. “Serena, you should be familiar with the less potent variants in
our infirmary. However, this is the real deal. Instant recovery, fullness,
hydration, and rest anytime, anywhere.” The captain of the guard nodded. “Just
don’t drink too much, or you’ll get sick and bloated. Also, your heart might
explode.”
“Okay,” Serena held in a gasp.
“Now, where was I? Oh yes, weapon
training,” Ze snapped her fingers, and a set of wooden training dummies flipped
up from the ground while she retrieved a table full of melee weapons. It must
have weighed quite a bit, but Ze carried it like an oversized party tray.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to get robots
to help with that?” Serena inquired.
“Hmm?” Ze looked back at the
raven-haired girl. “Oh, surprisingly, no. We don’t have many robots at the
palace. Too much risk. For the robots, I mean.”
‘What?’ Serena felt like she was
missing something but discarded the line of questioning as Ze pulled out a
massive, ornate spear.
“Now, this is my weapon,” Ze
presented the spear. It was long, sleek, and styled with twin serpent dragons
wrapped around the top of the shaft. The weapon was accented with golds,
blacks, and greens, and Serena swore she saw it crackle as though it were
charged with electricity. “It may appear ceremonial, but I assure you, it is
made for battle.” Ze chucked the spear at one of the training dummies, which
was vaporized in a burst of lightning on impact.
‘Okay,’ Serena held her breath.
‘That’s also not a halberd. I guess Aphros can’t tell the difference.’
“Of course, something like that is a
little too much for almost anyone,” Ze admitted. “I do, however, have weapons
that you two should be comfortable with.” The captain of the guard gestured to
the weapons on the table. Upon it was a sleek short sword with a handle like a
gun’s grip, a hi-tech compound bow covered in attachments, and a halberd with
what looked like small jets strapped to it. They were placed among several
similarly modified weapons.
‘I still don’t get why they have
this obsession with old weapons,’ Serena observed the gathered implements of
destruction with unease and confusion.
“I’ve seen that look before,” Ze
commented, which nearly made Serena yelp. “You’re wondering why swords? Why not
guns? I’ll show you.” The captain drew a pistol hidden within her armor’s thigh
and tossed it to Serena. “Now shoot me.”
“What?” The teen was taken
completely aback. Even Orion looked stunned.
“Shoot me! That’s an order!” Ze
barked.
“Okay,” Serena squeaked. Drawing on
her recent training, Serena turned off the safety, cocked the gun and, with
great hesitation, fired three rounds at Ze. The bullets struck true and left
not a single mark on Ze’s armor. The projectiles didn’t so much as bounce off
as disintegrate on contact.
“Now then,” Ze grabbed a loose piece
of armor from beneath the table and dropped it on top. She picked up the short
sword and swung down, cutting through the armor like paper. “That’s why.”
“I see,” Serena handed the gun back
to Ze.
“Now, to be fair, part of the ease
in cutting through was because I’m me,” Ze declared. “However, bullets would
still do almost nothing, even to that inferior armor. The, ahem, special
methods we use to reinforce our armor make them indestructible to conventional
weaponry. In response, we need equally special materials to cut through them.”
“What kind of materials?” Serena
asked. Ze raised her finger to answer, but…
“Azure Stone,” Orion beat her to the
punch. “A fairly rare mineral found mostly deep underground. It can be
processed into a material used to forge weapons. It’s also extremely toxic in
its natural state, so it’s dangerous and costly to mine and even store.”
“That’s exactly it. A literal
textbook answer,” Ze nodded, “excellent, Orion.”
“Lady Aphros demanded I study
various subjects,” Orion replied sheepishly. “It’s no big deal, really.”
“Alright, but why weapons? You can’t
just use the stone to make a bullet?” Serena inquired.
“We could, but like Orion said, it’s
too rare and expensive to be used on something as disposable as a bullet,” Ze
revealed. “However, on something reusable like a melee weapon, or potentially
reusable like an arrow, you get more mileage out of it. Besides, no matter how
skilled you are with a gun, you can’t increase the speed the bullet travels or
the strength of its impact. You can, however, improve the strength behind a
sword swing.”
“That seems like a serious
simplification,” Serena commented. ‘And it still doesn’t explain why it cuts
through that armor like butter.’
“True,” Ze admitted, “but that’s
just the broad theory. We’ll get into the nuances as we go along.” Ze walked
back behind the table and retrieved two outfits. “Now, before we begin for
real, put on these new training uniforms. For safety.”
‘For safety?’ Serena cringed as she
was given her new uniform.
\\~~~\\
//~~~//
Serena and Orion reemerged into the
fort’s courtyard with their new training uniforms. The clothes were like sleek
tracksuits, colored in black with thin strips of gold and white running up the
arms, legs, and across the chest. Serena was elated to finally have workout
gear that fit her perfectly, even if the material felt a little stiff and
inflexible.
“Excellent, you two look ready for
anything,” Ze beamed. “Your training uniforms are similar to armor in that
they’re highly resilient, although only to low-caliber rounds. Allow me to
demonstrate…”
“N-no need, Lady Ze, I believe you,”
Serena interrupted.
“Oh, okay, let’s get to work,” Ze
nodded. The captain grabbed a sword and a halberd off the weapon table and
handed them to Orion and Serena, respectively. “Now,” Ze brandished her spear.
“Come at me!”
“What about the dummies?” Serena
pleaded.
“I changed my mind. You two need
more practical experience,” Ze explained.
“Oh,” Serena’s heart sank along with
the halberd she could barely lift. It was miraculously a little lighter than
the one she had used in training, but only a little. There was no way she was
doing anything fancy with it.
“No more questions. Come at me, or
I’ll come at you!” Ze snapped. Serena and Orion looked at each other. For a
brief second, their hearts and minds were as one in a single thought.
‘Oh Lord, No!’
\\~~~\\
II //~~~//
Október 24th
757
Serena and Orion never spoke of
their first sparring session with Lady Ze, not to anyone else or even to each
other. Alas, events similar to the first day continued for the rest of the
week. Serena began to crumble under the intensity by the second day. Orion held
out a little longer and managed not to complain a single time. Alas, he too was
worn down by the constant punishment and joined Serena in being completely
exhausted every night.
Come the weekend, the two looked
forward to a brief respite from their extreme physical activity. However, the
weekend was also when they began their “formal” training with Lady Aphros.
Serena didn’t know what to expect from these lessons. No, she did know what to
expect. It’s just that her time at the fort had been built entirely upon
subverting expectations, so there was no point in thinking logically about it.
Serena and Orion began the day in
what amounted to a makeshift classroom. Likely a modified presentation or
briefing room filled with a couple of student-style desks for the duo, a large
mahogany desk for Aphros, a large holo-board on the wall, and a few bookshelves.
For once, it looked like things would match their expectations.
“Now then, you two,” Aphros began.
“It is time we outline the duties of your new job, what is expected of you, and
the appropriate manner in which to conduct yourself.” The blonde noble strutted
about the room like a strict teacher would. “This will be mostly review for
you, Orion, but Serena, you’ll want to pay close attention.”
‘By the Lord, is this actually
happening?’ Serena was elated. Part of her was depressed that something so
basic was worth being happy for at this point, but the rest of her didn’t care.
Aphros was going to seriously teach her the important details of her job. The
teen was ready and even brought a pencil and journal to take notes.
“You two will each be assigned as
the personal servant to one of the princesses,” Aphros began. “Your primary
duty will be their care and safety. You will wake them up in the morning, help
them dress and prepare for the day, escort them everywhere, slay their enemies,
shield them with your life, prepare them for bed, and so on.”
‘What was that part towards the
end?’ Serena nearly dropped her pencil.
“You will act in dignity with all
your actions,” Aphros continued, “remember, you represent not just yourself but
also the palace, the princesses, and the Diane family. You are to always be
there but never the center of attention. You must always be at your princess’s
side, be her hand, her sword, her shield, her ear, her confidant, etc.”
‘Concern mounting,’ Serena thought.
She glanced at Orion, but he was just nodding and accepting all this as common
sense.
“Remember your posture, speech, and
even your slightest gesture are important,” Aphros started getting into it. “To
all the world, you must appear mild-mannered and docile, eyes down and hands to
yourself. They must not know you see and hear everything, know every escape
route, recognize every threat, both physical and social.”
‘Are we servants or bodyguards?’
Serena could barely write what she was hearing. It seemed so insane to her.
“Did you get all that? I hope you
did,” Aphros didn’t even wait for a reply. “The specifics of your manner and
speech are covered in these manuals,” the noble brandished two copies of the
“Diane Family Manual of Proper Servant Manner.” “Orion, I know you’ve skimmed
this before…”
“Actually, I read it cover to cover
three times,” the teen admitted with a blush. Serena did a double-take looking
at him. “I get bored sometimes,” the boy shrank under the attention.
“Well, I’ll be,” Aphros accepted
this information. “Ahem, still study this thoroughly. There will be a
test...Eventually…” The noble handed out the books. “Now, while I could waste
the rest of our time going over these chapter by chapter, I think our time
would be better served with something a little more pragmatic.” Aphros reached
under her desk.
‘What now? Magic tricks?’ Serena
joked to herself.
“Magic tricks,” Aphros proudly
declared as she held up a box of miscellaneous items.
‘I need to stop jinxing myself,’ the
teen’s mood deflated as she prepared to dive back into the nonsense that was
her life now.
Aphros shifted the lesson’s focus
entirely to parlor tricks and sleight of hand. Apparently, pouring tea from a
kettle into a cup half a meter apart (which was apparently called decanting,
but Serena felt that was only partially true), juggling and card tricks were
far more critical than learning their job duties. Despite her reservation,
Serena did her best to absorb the presented information. It was certainly
better than doing another 4-kilometer jog.
Orion managed himself very well as
most of these tricks were old hat to the young butler in training. Serena’s
success was far spottier, but she managed. Although, as the lessons went on,
the raven-haired girl’s already absent enthusiasm was steadily replaced with
concern.
“Do we really need to learn how to
pickpocket? And steal watches and jewelry?” Serena inquired.
“Of course, you do,” Aphros replied
as though it were the most obvious answer in the world. While it did a number
on her conscience, Serena nonetheless made an effort to at least understand the
skill. Again, her execution could have been better, but it was only the first
day.
“Next, the disappearing flame
trick,” Aphros presented a pair of candles, which she lit. “With a simple
sleight of hand, we’ll make it look like the flame went out,” the blonde
demonstrated the trick, “but when you wave your hand back over, it’ll
reignite.” Just like she said, the vanished flames reignited. Then the noble
deposited the two candles in front of the teens and a pair of lighters, before
walking back to her desk and looking at them expectantly.
“Um, Lady Aphros, you didn’t tell us
how?” Serena pointed out.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,”
Aphros stated.
“What?” Serena was taken aback. She
looked at Orion, who replied with a shrug.
“This one’s new for me, too,” the
blonde admitted. Orion quickly got to work trying to replicate the trick but
found no success.
‘Just great,’ Serena looked at the
flame in front of her. It was a strong flame, very warm, and made her feel all
fuzzy inside just being near it. Alas, she couldn’t even conceive of how to
repeat Aphros’s presentation. The teen stared at the flame for a good five
minutes while Orion repeatedly failed at her side. At this point, Serena
realized Aphros had been staring at her the whole time, not even giving Orion a
glance, except for the one time he almost burned himself.
‘Lovely, now I have the weight of
expectations on me,’ the raven-haired girl sighed. She tried in vain to pull
off the trick, only to extinguish the flame and nearly single her fingers. This
pattern repeated for the next ten minutes, with her coming no closer to success
than Orion. Aphros merely stared at her with a smile the whole time. At first,
it creeped Serena out, but after a while, it just agitated her.
‘Damn it, what’s the point of this
stupid trick? Just ignite already!’ Serena fumed as she tried several ways to
extinguish and relight the flame in rapid succession. However, all of them
involved the lighter being openly visible in her hand, which obviously ruined
the trick.
‘Maybe, you don’t actually blow out
the flame,’ Serena thought. ‘Maybe you just knock it down just enough for it to
reignite on its own, and after that, it’s all timing.’ The teen felt self-assured
in her assessment, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the
timing down. After managing to burn herself, Serena finally lost her temper.
“Dammit, just work,” she nearly
smashed the unlit wick, but she was stopped because, for a brief moment, she
got her wish. The candle burst into flame for but a second, nearly scaring
Serena out of her seat, before it fell over and broke. The fire died with the
shattered candle. “So, it was a trick?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Aphros appeared
over her shoulder, which did cause Serena to fly out of her seat.
“When did you-?” The teen clutched
her beating heart.
“I’ve been standing here for the
past eight minutes,” Aphros explained. “You were laser-focused, and I didn’t
want to disturb you.”
“Right,” Serena did some calming
breaths. She looked over at Orion, who was slumped over in defeat.
“I think we’ll call it quits on this
trick for now,” Aphros declared. “In fact, I’ll call the lesson here too. You
two take tomorrow off to recover. I think you’ve earned it.”
“Okay,” Serena looked at the clock.
It was nearly five in the evening, and she couldn’t help but agree with the
noble.
\\~~~\\
//~~~//
Serena and Orion walked down the
corridors of the fort in silence, both mulling over Aphros’s lesson. The young
woman was still frustrated with her failure but was more confused and a little
freaked out by whatever happened at the end. Was that part of the trick, or did
she overdo it? Were they weird trick candles, or was it something else? On the
other hand, Orion was silent and looked a little embarrassed.
“That was fairly difficult, huh?”
The blonde teen commented.
“Hmm? Yeah, it was,” Serena replied.
She realized the two of them hadn’t talked much before outside of brief
exchanges. She had never felt the urge to speak with him outside of training,
as she was usually too tired.
“Maybe it wasn’t sleight of hand
after all,” Orion suggested.
“Then what would it be?” Serena
inquired.
“Um, maybe the lighter…? No, it’s
probably…I don’t know,” the teenage boy sighed.
“You and me both,” Serena shrugged.
The raven-haired girl stretched her shoulders before turning to the boy. “So,
what do you guys do for fun around here?”
“Well, I’ve got some paperback books
I was gifted by Lady Aphros,” Orion replied, a little surprised by her
question. “Mostly her old romance books,” the boy blushed, “but there were some
textbooks and a few really old adventure stories mixed in. I don’t remember
what she called them…Pulp?”
“Sounds interesting,” Serena’s eyes
lit up for the first time in over a month. “You keep them in your room, I
guess?”
“Y-yeah,” Orion nodded, “let me show
you.” The two steered a course for the blonde’s room.
\\~~~\\ III //~~~//
Serena and Orion continued their
training with Lady Ze and Aphros and nearly a month passed by in the blink of
an eye. The two grew closer out of necessity as Ze’s relentless training pushed
their bodies to the limit every day. Orion thrived in these challenges, having
been put through similar rigors his whole life. Serena followed his example,
which helped her overcome the worst of Ze’s trials. Conversely, Aphros’s
training drove their minds, sanity, and patience up the wall. However, Serena
quickly got a handle on Aphros’s teaching style, which Orion had always
struggled with. Soon Orion was following Serena’s example in the classroom.
This pattern repeated for the first few weeks until it all came full circle.
About a third of the way into the
month of Ennéaber, Ze put the two servants in training through an aquatic
obstacle course. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, except it was outdoors in
the rapidly falling temperature of autumn. For once, even Orion’s physical
prowess seemed like it would fail him as the cold slowed him to a crawl.
“There’s got to be a trick to this,”
Serena muttered. They had reached the halfway mark of the course, a small
island of vinyl mats in the middle of an artificial lake.
“Lady Ze,” Orion gasped from
exhaustion in-between words, “doesn’t like tricks.” The worker in training
shivered, the only thing keeping his mind off the cold was movement, and now
that wasn’t the case. “Aren’t you cold?”
“Not really,” Serena noticed. Her
adrenaline must have been flowing like crazy, she concluded. “You’re right, Ze
doesn’t do tricks, but she isn’t a meathead. There has to be a more efficient
way to do this.” The teen pointed towards the water. “You see that? I think
there’s an artificial current. If we swam with that, we’d save ourselves a lot
of trouble.”
“You’re a genius,” Orion sputtered
through his cold chill. The rest of the trial went swimmingly.
That weekend the duo found
themselves in one of Lady Aphros’s trick lessons, as usual. For once, they were
both stumped as the blonde noble presented them with a strange puzzle box shaped
like a cylindrical cage, although they couldn’t see what was inside. The only
hint was that the card tricks she had taught them that morning would somehow be
necessary to solve it. The best they could determine was that the cage could
rotate individual sections and looked like it could collapse. However, they
couldn’t figure out how and were stuck fiddling with it like a child who lost
the instructions to a transforming toy.
“I get it. It’s a trick,” Orion
suddenly announced into the second hour.
“Of course, it’s a trick, Orion,”
Serena sighed, “it’s always a trick with Aphros.”
“No, I mean,” Orion tried to explain
himself, “it’s literally a trick. A magic trick, the collapsing bird cage.”
“Yeah, a lot of Aphros’s lessons are
about duplicating magic tricks,” Serena commented but let him continue.
“Aphros loved showing me magic
tricks when I was younger, and I swear I remember her showing me one like this
before,” Orion explained. “Her lessons are always tricks. They look complicated
on the outside, but they’re always simple at heart.” The blonde teen played
with the cage a little bit. Once it rotated into the right spot, a pull tab
appeared at the bottom. With a yank of the tab, it collapsed into a box shape,
similar to a deck of cards. A few steps later, Orion yanked out an ace of
hearts from within the cage.
“You’re a genius,” Serena smiled.
“Ah, well,” Orion blushed.
Despite their triumphs, the lessons
continued on and on. Their victories were small bright spots amid the endless
torment of their training. Exhaustion set in, and the two felt themselves wear
down. Their shared pain was the only thing keeping them going, but even that
could only last so long.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Ennéaber 18th
757
Another evening, later in the month,
Serena and Orion limped back to their quarters. The day’s training had run a
little late, but by the grace of some higher power, Lady Ze gave them the next
day off to recover. Which was welcome, as Serena had almost dislocated her shoulder
during halberd training. The duo split as they approached their doors and
dragged themselves into their adjacent rooms. Serena collapsed on her bed, a
real one this time. Her new quarters were undoubtedly better than the closet
she had been stuck in for almost a month. It was a touch spartan, but that was
expected for a single bedroom in a military base. At least there was room for a
small dresser, desk, and chair.
“I don’t know how much longer I can
take this,” Serena moaned into her pillow. The past month had been way worse
than anything she had encountered in her brief stint in basic training. The
teen had spent more than a few days paralyzed from exhaustion. If it weren’t
for the Panacea, forget crippled for life, Serena would be dead by now.
“I feel like I say this every day
now, but I’ve never been more exhausted in my life,” Serena commented as she
lay limp on her bed. ‘I was too hard on Orion when we first met. If this is
what he went through his whole life, he’s not an idiot. He’s a champ and probably
a little crazy.’ The raven-haired girl rolled over on the bed. ‘And maybe, so
am I.’
‘Speaking of crazy, my life is
growing crazier by the minute. I haven’t even had time to contact mother,’
Serena scolded herself for neglecting her simplest task. The teen could count
the number of times she’d spoken to her mother since she started training on
one hand. Serena hadn’t so much as messaged her in the past three weeks. Yet,
even with her guilt, she couldn’t muster up the energy. “I’ll call her…in the morning,”
Serena closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Despite her exhaustion and absence
of energy, Serena struggled to fall asleep. The young woman still hadn’t grown
used to having sore muscles all the time, and that bizarre sensation still
bubbled beneath the surface of the aches and pains. Unable to sleep and unable
to focus on much else, Serena rolled out of bed and knocked on the wall
dividing her and Orion’s rooms. The young man replied with two knocks, meaning
he was still up. Serena gathered up what little energy she had and dragged
herself out the door and into Orion’s room.
“Can’t sleep. What about you?”
Serena asked as she waddled into the room. Orion’s quarters were a mirror of
her own, equally spartan and differentiated only by a few personal possessions.
Mostly the young man’s small collection of inherited books.
“Same,” Orion nodded. “I think I
sprained something this time.” He clutched his ankle.
“Oh, you’ll be fine, you big baby,”
Serena joked as she collapsed into a chair. “I want a bath or at least a
shower. I’d even settle for skinny dipping in a shallow lake.”
“Stop with that,” Orion muttered
back. The blonde put on a smile, but he was so exhausted he couldn’t keep it
up.
“I don’t think I can keep this up.
If this goes on another week, I feel like I’m going to keel over,” Serena
admitted. ‘Then there’s that weird feeling, but just thinking about that makes
me queasy.’
“Don’t be like that. We’ve got
another month or two tops,” Orion tried to comfort her.
“Then we’ll be onto the palace, with
real responsibilities,” Serena pointed out. “If the training doesn’t kill me,
the stress will.”
“Hey, you lasted this long. Lady Ze
said most people would have died by now,” Orion tried to look on the bright
side.
“That doesn’t make me feel better,”
Serena sighed. “I just don’t-.”
“What’s going on in here?” Lady
Aphros burst into the room, startling the duo. “Oh, you’re just talking?”
‘How long has she been here?’ Serena
wondered silently.
“W-what did you think we were
doing?” Orion asked genuinely.
“I just thought…Sorry, that was my
mistake,” Aphros apologized.
“Do you honestly think we have the
energy to do something like that?” Serena muttered, earning her a surprised
glance from Aphros. “Did I say that out loud?”
“What are you two going on about?”
Orion asked, earning a pair of surprised glances.
“Ah, poor, sweet, innocent Orion,”
Lady Aphros said under her breath, just loud enough for Serena to hear.
“Anyway, I came to give you two some good news.”
‘Dear lord,’ Serena bit her lip.
“I managed to work out a deal with
the folks in the palace. You’ll start working there a little earlier than
expected.” Aphros beamed.
“Let me guess, by the week’s end?”
Serena inquired.
“Correct, you’re getting sharp,
Serena,” there was a bit of pride in Lady Aphros’s eyes. “Oh, I can’t wait for
you two to meet the princesses.”
“What about our training?” Orion
asked. “I’m almost done, but Serena still needs to catch up ten years’ worth.”
‘Don’t remind me,’ Serena sighed.
“Oh, we’ll sprinkle that out through
the next year or years in Serena’s case,” Lady Aphros dismissed their concerns.
“Think of it as on-the-job training. Do people still say that?”
‘Must I keep asking? Why me?’ Serena
complained internally.
\\~~~\\
III //~~~//
Ennéaber 22nd 757
The following week came far too
quickly for Serena’s taste. Before she knew it, she and Orion were shuttled to
the palace. It was a grand building of pure crystal, towering over all others
in their fair city. It was so massive, Serena guessed the structure amounted to
10-15% of the entire city. The young woman wondered what they could possibly
need all that space for. Even factoring in luxurious living spaces for all the
highest nobles and quarters for guards and servants. Reasonably speaking, they
would only need a structure half that size. Wisely, Serena decided not to
question it.
Upon their arrival, Lady Aphros led
Serena and Orion to a massive set of double doors that looked like a mirror.
Once they passed through the threshold into the palace proper, Serena felt an
immediate change in atmosphere, like she had just entered a different world.
The grounds surrounding the palace already felt distant from the outside world,
but the interior took it several thousand steps further.
Serena noticed the air first; it was
heavy with something. Not that it was humid or filled with some kind of gas,
but rather it was occupied by a presence and an inexplicable sensation. Kind of
like the feeling of being watched, but it wasn’t creepy. Instead, it felt like
a warm blanket was draped over her, and someone she trusted watched over her
while she slept. Serena almost felt secure and right at home if it weren’t for
the sheer bizarreness of the location.
Aphros led them through a series of
grand halls and winding staircases. Their path felt almost random at times, the
structure coming off as more of a labyrinth than a palace. Yet, Aphros led them
forward confidently and without concern. And after a series of three left
turns, which Serena was certain should have brought them around in a circle,
they passed through what looked like the servant’s quarters.
At least, that’s what it appeared
like to Serena. There were no servants, maids, butlers, or likewise, to confirm
that hypothesis. In fact, Serena hadn’t seen another soul in the palace beside
the three of them since they passed by a handful of guards at the front
entrance. She shelved the thought for the time being as they stopped in a
modest wardrobe filled with sets of identical uniforms. Aphros smiled as she picked
out an outfit for the duo and handed them over. The blonde noble quickly
shuffled Serena and Orion into a pair of dressing rooms to change.
“Is this really the royal servant
uniform?” Serena inquired as she exited the dressing room. “It seems a little…”
“Retro?” Aphros smirked as she
observed Serena’s new look. The young woman was garbed in a long black dress
that came down between her knees and ankles, adorned with a white apron, cuffs,
and bonnet. The dress was so long one could barely tell she also wore long
white socks and pitch-black shoes. She almost appeared as though she walked out
of a Victorian-era period piece, albeit one with some creative liberties taken.
Notably, the royal seal, a yellow gibbous moon backed by a crossed sword and staff,
was etched into the collar and cuffs, adding a splash of color.
“That’s…an accurate way to describe
it,” Serena admitted.
“Well, the Queen is into
some…old-fashioned things,” Lady Aphros explained. “Of course, if I had it my
way, I’d hem the dress to be a touch shorter, right-” Aphros ran her finger up
Serena’s dress, stopping just above knee height, “-here.”
“Right,” Serena swallowed her next
comment. ‘I’m starting to formulate an opinion on Lady Aphros, and it is not an
altogether positive one.’
“Hmm, Orion’s taking a long time,”
Aphros turned towards the other dressing room. “You okay in there?”
“I think it’s too small,” Orion
squeaked, clearly struggling with the outfit.
“No, no, it’s supposed to be like
that, just suck in your gut it’ll slip right on,” Aphros assured.
‘That poor guy,’ Serena sighed and
brushed her hands over her new uniform. The young woman didn’t have the easiest
time fitting in her outfit either. She noted it felt soft at some points and
completely stiff at others. At those points, it was very thick and inflexible,
and what was with all the oddly shaped pockets? “Lady Aphros, why is there a
pocket in the-?”
“Oh, don’t worry. Ze will get to
that in training soon,” Aphros winked.
“I got it on, but it’s still a
little tight,” Orion emerged from the dressing room. To match Serena’s
stereotypical maid, Orion was the stereotypical butler. He wore a white shirt,
black waistcoat, black tailcoat, long black pants with black shoes, and topped
off with white gloves and bowtie. “Lady Aphros, if I may boldly ask, why is the
waistcoat made of-?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Aphros
deflected the question and stepped in closer to inspect the young man. “One
last touch,” Aphros slicked the blonde’s hair back, only allowing a single
strand at the center to dangle forward, “perfect. Now that you both look the
part, acting the part should come naturally.”
“Of course, Lady Aphros,” Serena
humored the blonde’s logic.
\\~~~\\
//~~~//
In their complete garb, Serena and
Orion were again guided by Aphros through the palace. Serena continued to note
how the many grand halls looked eerily similar, and all seemed to blend
together. She shuddered at the embarrassing thought that she’d get lost in
these halls one day. Before she had a chance to dwell on that idea, they all
arrived at a relatively small sitting room (which was still the size of
Serena’s old bedroom and then some). Awaiting them were three individuals, Lady
Ze standing in her full armor, and two young girls.
The first girl looked to be a little
younger than Serena. Her hair was a silver lilac that turned pink at the tips
and fell to her waist. The other girl looked no older than nine and had blonde
hair that turned lilac at the ends but only came to just past her shoulders in
length. The first girl sat poised and refined, slowly sipping a cup of tea. The
second was bouncing in her seat. They wore the same long, flowing silver dress,
but the second girl’s dress looked fairly wrinkled.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,
princess,” Aphros bowed deeply to the older girl, “and you as well, Lady Ze.”
The princess did not respond.
“It was…no trouble at all,” even
beneath her emerald armor, Ze’s aside glance towards the younger princess
couldn’t have been more obvious. “Shall we move on to greetings then?”
“If we must,” the older princess
huffed and stood up. The younger princess followed with a spring in her step.
“Just like we practiced,” Lady
Aphros whispered in Serena and Orion’s ears.
‘Okay,’ Serena took a deep breath
and curtsied, her head bowed and eyes closed. Orion followed suit with his own
bow.
“First Princess Atlanta,” Lady
Aphros gestured to the older princess, “this is Orion Diane. He shall serve as
your personal attendant from here on out.”
“Whatever, hope he lasts longer than
the last one,” Atlanta rolled her eyes. Orion bit his lip to keep a straight
face.
“Third Princess Irene,” Aphros
turned to the younger princess, who had already grown bored of the exchange and
was looking the other way. “Princess Irene!” Aphros snapped, earning the young
girl’s attention. “This is Serena Diane. She shall serve as your personal
attendant from here on out.”
“Okie Dokie,” the princess giggled.
“What happened to Caenia?”
“I told you already princess, Caenia
had to go back home. Serena will take her place,” Lady Aphros explained, a
pained look in her eye.
“Okay then, let’s play!” Irene ran
up to Serena, “tag, you’re it!” The princess smacked Serena’s side before
darting out of the room at a speed that shouldn’t have been possible for a girl
her size in such a dress.
“What just happened?” Serena broke
character in shock.
“Aphros, you were supposed to warn
them about that!” Lady Ze exclaimed.
“Oops, I knew there was something I
forgot to do,” Aphros made a ‘silly me’ gesture.
“Serena, with me, we’ve got to catch
the princess before she hurts herself!” Ze charged out of the room.
‘So, this is why my cousin quit,’
Serena realized as she raced after.
To Be Continued…
>>>~~~~<<<
A new job often comes with unexpected challenges. A problem well known
to the workplace may take an outsider by complete surprise, that's why
it is important to outline such things in orientation and training.
Author's Note: Here' s a chapter that exploded in size and length. I felt I had brushed over their training a little too much in the original, having it all happen "off screen" and only spoken of. Here we get a lot more insight into what happened, clearly define how long it went for and plant some seeds for future training.
My favorite part to write had to be the Aphros section. She's just fun to write, because she's fueled by both whims and grander intentions, but you never know which.
My intentions here are to establish more groundwork as the story rolls forward. The more in-depth mechanics will come later.
Finally, we have the introductions of the princesses, which all this training led up to. Can you see why they need to be in the best shape of their lives to handle them?
I've just been jumping from point to point here without any rhyme or reason. More chapter to come, I'm almost done writing the first story arc (which will end at Chapter 8). Chapter 5 is basically ready to go and will be up soon, and chapters 6 and 7 should follow shortly.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
