Story Hub: [link]
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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, 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. Alas, to be a worker was not a simple choice but a burden granted at birth. 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, the Diane. For generations, the Diane 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 Diane was strong-armed by the assassins into cooperating with their plot to kill Princess Irene, with only assurance from Lady Aphros that the palace had a counter plan to comfort her. However, Orion became immediately aware of her suspicious and out-of-character behavior, leading to him landing in the middle of the next assassination attempt. While one assassin was down, another had their sights set on the both of them. Would they be able to survive long enough for help to arrive?
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I //~~~//
Serena tried to recall where it all started to go wrong. The real answer was when Aphros first arrived to whisk her away from her old life, but that’s not a thought she wanted to dwell on. Maybe it was the initial assassination attempt, maybe it was agreeing to go underground, perhaps it was allowing those robbed figures to coerce her into being an accessory for their crimes, or possibly it was agreeing to participate in Aphros’s plan to undermine the assassins.
However, suppose the maid wanted to pick the moment when today went off the rails. In that case, it was going into the palace basement to speak with those shadowy figures. It was bad enough to realize the assassins were literally plotting under the royal family’s nose, but now she had to be a part of it. It didn’t help that Orion had been following her all morning, she understood his concerns, but he didn’t need to be involved in this too.
After finally losing him, Serena arrived at the “secret meeting room” deep beneath the palace. Which was really a glorified closet with a single working light and no windows. It was dark inside, especially after she closed the door, but she could make out two of the robed figures from before standing in the darkness.
“Finally, you’ve arrived. I hope you haven’t gotten cold feet?” The first asked. Serena didn’t recognize his voice, but he sounded like every word was spoken with a sneer.
“This is all a little sudden. If I don’t get back soon, I’ll miss my assigned duties, and people will get suspicious,” she spouted her rehearsed reply. It helped that it wasn’t really a lie.
“Don’t worry about that. Just take the princess away from her guards and to the gardens, and it will all be over soon,” the other figure replied. It was the lead one from last time, the guy with that slick and familiar voice. Serena desperately tried to recall where she had heard this guy before but didn’t have time to think about it.
“This is all happening so fast. I don’t know if I’m ready,” Serena commented carefully. She didn’t have to feign concern or anxiety in her voice.
“Do not worry. By the end of today, the third will be gone,” the first guy assured with more than a hint of condescension in his voice.
“I still don’t really understand what I’m supposed to do,” Serena tried to play along, but she could feel her façade slipping as her heart raced faster.
“Do not concern yourself with such things, we’ve already handled the first, and you just need to play your part,” the second man declared. “There will be two. All you need to do to assure your innocence is draw the attention of one while the other does the job.”
“I see,” Serena gulped. It all sounded far too good to be true. She tried to find the catch, the loose thread that would strangle her when this was all over, but clearly, they were smart enough to keep that part hidden from her for now. The maid was beyond grateful when those two finally released her, and she could “do her job,” as it were. As she made her way to Irene’s room at full speed, her thoughts turned to her discussion with Aphros the previous night and the scheme the noble had laid in place.
Serena had faith in Lady Aphros’s plan, it was layered in deception and complexity, but it had a solid enough foundation. Her first part was done, playing along with the assassins, whom Aphros had lied to about Serena’s true loyalties. She had accepted her “orders” and would follow them to the letter. Aphros was already aware of the general shape the plot would take and assured Serena all would go well if she did her part.
Serena didn’t know the full details of the rest of the plot, but from what Lady Aphros described, it involved linking a paper trail back to the first princess. Serena assumed this was where the assassins would throw her under the bus, probably by forging correspondence between her and Atlanta. Of course, Serena wouldn’t be careless enough to play along with this whole scheme.
The final act of Lady Aphros’s counter plan was fairly straightforward. A special squad of royal guards, led by Lady Ze, would discretely follow Serena and Irene. Then once the assassins exposed themselves, Ze and the guards would descend upon the garden. The conspirators would think they were leading the third princess into a trap when they were the ones in danger all along.
‘It would all work out,’ Serena tried to convince herself as she prepared the surprisingly cooperative Irene for her day. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel she was walking into the jaws of the beast. Her instincts, her regular instincts, not that weird sixth sense, shouted at her that this was a terrible idea. But what was her alternative? If she refused, she was defying a direct order from Aphros and revealing her duplicity to the assassins. Once again, she found herself without a choice, or at least without any good choices.
With a heavy heart and a pit in her stomach, she allowed Irene to sneak away from her guards and led the child into the palace gardens. Her sixth sense was going berserk, not that she needed it to know something horrible was coming. At least her part was done. She’d just have to wait for the assassins and then for Ze to bail her out. Then Orion had to come charging in.
Serena had hoped she had lost him this morning, but it appeared she underestimated him. Even then, he still shouldn’t have pieced together what was happening so quickly. Which meant he had no idea what was about to happen. Regardless, there he was, running right into the middle of this whole mess. At least he saved her and Irene from that assassin’s bullet. Even with that strange danger sense, Serena wasn’t confident she would have reacted in time. More importantly, his interference as a third party might have preserved her cover. Hence the second assassin joined the fray.
Conversely, Orion’s presence could have prompted the assassins to act sooner. Alas, there was no way to know for sure. Now all they could do was wait for Ze to arrive. Not that Serena knew when the captain would arrive or if she would in time.
As the second assassin charged Orion from behind, Serena’s concern for her friend overtook her loyalty to the mission. She threw her hidden dagger as hard as she could into the attacker. She expected to do nothing more but stun or impair him, but instead, he fell flat on his back. Serena pondered that she didn’t know her own strength.
However, she had a bigger problem. She had just blown her cover. She screwed it all up as usual, but Serena would be damned if she’d let her only friend get hurt over this. But now that she’s drawn her line in the sand, what was she supposed to do?
\\~~~\\
II //~~~//
“You idiot,” Serena said as she clutched the princess tightly. Orion had turned to look at the downed assassin before swinging his head towards the sniper in the distance. With no time to waste, he leaped towards Serena and the princess. The look of concern on his face said it all, and he likely intended to shield them with his own body. They formed a tight lock around the princess, protecting her from the outside world.
‘This is good for the moment, assuming there’s only one assassin left,’ Serena realized. Again, recalling Caenia’s warnings about being lied to and manipulated, she spotted several more menacing figures emerging from every dark corner of the garden. It seemed like every cloaked figure she encountered underground, minus one or two, was here. At a glance, her instincts alerted her to at least one more sniper and five more assassins armed with various weapons.
“I’m sorry, Serena. I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ll distract them while you run!” Orion apologized.
“Forget it, there’s more of them, and I can’t outrun a bullet,” Serena replied. “I can sense when they’re about to shoot, on three, fall to the ground.” The world slowed as Serena could feel the danger approaching. “One, two,” Serena counted until she knew the bullet was coming, “three!” The trio fell to the ground as another bullet whizzed over their heads.
“Now, run!” Orion shouted as the two stood up, Serena carrying the princess in her arms, and they sprinted away. Irene was practically catatonic; the sudden danger had frozen the small child in place. Thankfully, despite the girl still wearing her long flowing dress, it didn’t get in the way of Serena’s escape. The maid silently thanked whatever magic had enchanted Irene’s dress to be so elusive. Especially when one of the assassins jumped from the bushes and tried to snatch Irene by her dress. However, the fabric slipped through his fingers as though he had grabbed air.
‘That was helpful for once,’ Serena smiled as Orion elbowed the surprised assailant right in the nose. The attacker tried to retort by cutting Orion down with an overhead swing from his sword. However, the butler deflected it with the protective material on his sleeve before socking the assassin in the stomach, knocking him flat.
‘Wait, those weapons aren’t made of Azure Stone?’ Serena realized. She had heard from Lady Ze how their uniforms were woven with that special material that only Azure Stone could cut through, but this was the first time she’d seen it in real action. However, despite its protective properties, she could see the pained look in Orion’s eye and how his arm was twitching. It hadn’t cut through, but it had done some damage.
Before she could dwell on that thought, a second attacker rushed Orion with a dagger and cut the young man in the side. Orion’s pained cries made Serena’s blood run cold, and she froze at the sight of her friend’s fresh wound. Another realization swept through her mind as the attacker turned his attention toward her.
‘No Azure Stone weapons, but they do know about gaps in our protection,’ Serena noted. ‘I guess it shouldn’t surprise me they have insider information.’ The maid held up her arm defensively, uncertain of how she would fend off this foe.
Thankfully, Orion bounced back quickly and snatched the first attacker’s sword off the ground. The dagger man had carelessly assumed he’d disabled Orion, so he wasn’t prepared for the blonde to clip him in the side with a sword. The attacker reeled in pain, allowing Serena to kick him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground with a dull thud.
The two had no time to celebrate as the last three melee assailants came at them all at once. One brandished a mace, the second wielded a giant axe, and the third swung around a halberd. They moved more cautiously than the first two, trying to surround and overwhelm the duo of servants.
‘How did they smuggle all those weapons into the palace?’ Serena wondered before a more pertinent fact struck her through her sixth sense. ‘Wait, I think they might be blocking the sniper’s view of us. We might be able to leverage that,’ the maid glanced at Orion, who seemed to have caught on to the same realization. ‘Regardless, Orion can’t fight all three of them by himself, especially not while injured. I may have my hands full, but I can still be helpful.’
The three assassins moved together, the halberd guy keeping Orion at length with his better reach. Meanwhile, the other two waited to press the advantage the second the butler made a single misstep. Their mistake was assuming Serena was a nonfactor while holding the princess.
‘Please work,’ Serena held out her hand and tried to gather mana to produce the light spell. However, the magic refused to obey her no matter how hard she pleaded. The attackers continued to press Orion, and the halberd-wielding man stabbed forward, forcing Orion to dodge. That’s when the axe guy seized his chance and jumped in to cut down the young man. Orion moved to evade again before realizing the mace assailant laid in wait on his other side. He could jump back, but then he’d leave Serena vulnerable. With no options, the young man prepared to take on a heavy blow.
‘Damn it, no!’ Serena fumed, “Don’t you dare hit him!” The maid boiled with fury, the magic finally headed her call, and flames formed along her fingertips, subtly forming into the shape of a dagger.
“No one said she could use magic!” The halberd guy exclaimed. The other two were equally surprised by Serena’s sudden display, flinching in fear for a brief moment. A moment was all she needed as Serena chucked her fire dagger at the axe guy, who terminated his attack and retreated for his own safety. He felt foolish when the dagger fizzled out after making it halfway to him. The halberd guy meanwhile took Orion’s foot right to his head. A burst of energy sent him tumbling away, and his weapon clattered to the ground.
“Ze’s training was not for nothing!” Orion exclaimed.
“Enjoy the moment. It won’t last much longer,” the mace guy came at Orion again, and the axe guy followed suit.
‘Damn,’ Serena swore as she eyed the fallen halberd. ‘It’s worth a shot,’ she snatched the weapon off the ground with one hand. After all her training with Ze, it felt practically weightless, as though it were made of wood. Alas, physics wouldn’t let her wield this thing effectively with one hand, but she didn’t need to. With all her strength, she swung it overhead and clocked the mace assassin over the head with the flat side of the halberd, sending him down with a sickening crack.
Simultaneously, Orion took his chance to dodge the axe man’s swing and force him back with a punch filled with inner strength. The assassin was knocked over and crashed into the ground like a fallen tree, but he still had some fight left in him.
‘We might actually make it through this,’ Serena panted. “Come on Orion, just a little further. Hopefully, Lady Ze is in position,” the maid explained before the world went slow again. “Bullet!” She threw herself, the princess, and Orion to the ground. Another bullet whizzed past, clipping her in the left shoulder as another grazed Orion’s right leg.
“Damn,” Serena swore. It took her a moment to realize she had been hit, but that was probably the adrenaline. Unfortunately, the reason she noticed was because her left arm had gone numb, making it harder to carry the princess and forcing her to drop the halberd. With Orion’s leg also injured, it looked like this was as far as they go.
“I’ll take the next one. Just keep running,” Orion declared as he put himself between Serena as the axe assassin, got back to his feet, and approached them, followed by the sword guy who had retrieved the fallen mace.
“Can’t, my left arm is going numb. I won’t be able to carry the princess far,” Serena admitted. “All we can do is hope Lady Ze gets here in time.”
“O-okay,” Orion tried to stand tall and wield his sword despite the pain in his leg. The two remaining melee assassins approached with malicious intent, while the duo snipers were likely aiming their next shot.
The mace assassin struck at the young man, but Orion stood his ground. He parried the mace with his blade, giving him the opening he needed. The butler socked the assassin right in the face, sending the cloaked figure flying back. Alas, the axe guy followed up immediately and cut Orion on his wounded side. The young man fell to the ground as the assailant raised his weapon to finish the job.
Serena desperately tried to gather the magic for another spell, but again the mana refused to heed her commands. Tears streaked down her face as the adrenaline faded, and she could no longer keep a clear mind. She shut her eyes, unable to watch Orion’s grisly end, but after a few seconds, nothing happened. The garden had grown quiet, and a palpable static filled the air. In a flash of lightning, Lady Ze had finally appeared. The axe man’s weapon shattered on her gauntlet before she slammed him into the ground. At the same time, the snipers were accosted by a swarm of guards that flooded the garden.
“Thank the lord,” Serena declared in relief. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the blinding pain from her wound had set in, and the maid began to blackout.
\\~~~\\
III //~~~//
The whirlwind of a day that followed was even worse than the previous assassination attempt. A quick trip to the palace’s infirmary left Serena with a bandaged shoulder and the limping Orion with bandages all over his body. Their medicine was incredible, but serious injuries still needed time to recover. All things considered, Serena was doing fairly well, despite the fact she could barely move her left arm.
For some reason, the two were taken along to watch as all the assassins were arrested for their crimes. They had gathered the assassins and a few other conspirators in a meeting room on one of the palace’s upper floors. Most of the captured traitors were corrupt guards and soldiers. The ginger maid, who loved gossip, and a couple of politicians in Lady Aphros’s camp were dragged in later. Serena recognized one of them when he spoke as one of the shadowy figures she met in the depth of the palace that morning. The other was nowhere to be seen.
Serena, Orion, Lady Ze, Lady Aphros, Princess Atlanta (who had come running in when she heard the news, even fussing over Orion for a moment), and two squads of royal guards were all present. Serena silently wondered why they had gathered the assassins here and not in some dungeon. However, between glares towards the assassins, Aphros shot her a few reassuring looks.
Suddenly, Lord Adonis burst into the room, an untold fury in his eyes. “Is it true, Lady Aphros, two of our own are involved in a conspiracy against the crown?” Having only seen him in polite and relaxed settings before, seeing Adonis so furious scared Serena a bit. Who knew that smooth voice could command such fury?
“It seems so,” Aphros gestured to the two bound politicians.
“What madness could have possessed them? Do they not know what damage they have done to our cause?” Adonis exclaimed.
“Who can say what blights their minds, but we can only wait and see what effects this brings,” Aphros replied.
“I say we take them to the gallows at once. Have these traitors hung before the public to show them what happens to such conspirators,” Adonis declared.
“Patience,” Lady Aphros replied. “They still have the right to some kind of trial. At least let us hear their reasoning, no matter how flimsy it may be.”
“Well, I am a trained judge, allow me to do it,” Lord Adonis offered.
“Who said anything about a judge?” Aphros giggled. “We have a much higher authority present,” she gestured to a grand set of double doors.
“You don’t mean to say that the Queen is-?” Adonis began to ask.
“She wants to speak to the would-be killer of her youngest daughter personally,” Aphros explained. “Everyone, to the throne room, and be on your best behavior.” The blonde directed everyone to the grand double doors before she glanced over to Serena and Orion and beckoned them to follow.
Proceeding into the throne room, Serena felt the entire environment shift. It was almost ethereal walking through the hall. The place certainly lived up to its name: a grand structure lined with marble pillars and tile, crystal statues in every corner, and the throne itself. Five seats sat at the room’s far end, three smaller ones, likely for the princesses, and two larger for the king and queen.
A mahogany box surrounded each throne, with partially transparent ivory curtains hung in all five. Three boxes were empty, with the curtains pulled to the side, but two were occupied, with the curtains half drawn. In one sat a young girl, a few years younger than Princess Atlanta, who, by process of elimination, must be the second princess. She had long lilac hair that turned a deep red at the tips and wore the same dress as Irene and Atlanta. On her face was the warmest smile Serena had seen in her life. It practically made her heart melt. No wonder Aphros and Adonis favored her as the heir.
On the other throne sat a woman unlike any Serena had seen before. The curtain obscured her face a little, but despite everything else being in plain view, it was almost like it wasn’t. The woman had hair so long it seemed to touch the floor. In one light, it looked a vibrant purple, and in another, a soft lilac; sometimes, it appeared almost silver, and at other times it was all three. She wore a dress that was a more intricate and detailed version of the princess’s. It was far longer and seemed to disappear into the floor. While she couldn’t see the woman’s eyes, Serena could tell on instinct they contained the moon, the stars, and everything else.
This woman was the queen, there could be no doubt. She was breathtaking, ethereal, and majestic. Her very presence shook Serena to her core and made her question whether or not this person before her was even human. She was beautiful, amazing, and absolutely terrifying. Serena didn’t even believe she should look at her, half out of reverence and half out of concern for her own sanity. Should she throw herself to the floor and pledge eternal allegiance, or run away as fast as she could and never look back? Serena couldn’t tell.
Then, the queen took one glance at Serena, and the maid felt like she was staring right through her, down to her very soul. It was almost violating how deeply a single glance from the queen seemed to peer into her, but the tension was diffused as the queen let out a small giggle. The thought, “How flattering of you,” was communicated to Serena wordlessly, and suddenly she snapped back to reality.
Serena wondered why nobody had started bowing until she realized they hadn’t even finished walking across the room. That single glance at the queen felt like it had lasted for hours, but no more than a second had passed. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Aphros stopped a few meters away from the queen and gestured to everyone to bow. Even their prisoners bowed as if on instinct.
“Queen Celene, I have brought the conspirators before you, as requested,” Aphros spoke with a level of reverence Serena had never heard before.
“Thank you, Lady Aphros, my dear friend,” the Queen’s voice echoed through the room. It was light and airy, like a voice on the wind. “Lord Adonis, step forward,” her now commanding tone thundered through the room.
“My Queen,” Adonis stepped forward.
“Just one question, why?” The Queen asked her concern, and worry carried on each syllable. It almost brought Serena to tears as though a dear friend had committed horrid atrocities before her eyes.
“My Queen, I do not understand,” Adonis was taken aback, his voice cracked slightly.
“Do not play coy with me,” the Queen’s tone shifted to that of a displeased mother times a thousand. Adonis tried to maintain a stoic visage, but the Queen’s words had pierced right through him.
“I cannot…” Adonis tried to speak, but the words refused to come up his throat. Whatever oil had slicked his words before had dried, leaving him choked up.
“Speak,” the Queen gently ordered, “say what is on your mind, but answer my question truthfully and without deceit.”
“Yes, my Queen,” Adonis nodded. He stood there for ages, unable to say a word. The words died in his throat every time he opened his mouth to speak. Finally, after much internal deliberation, Adonis spoke through gritted teeth and a pained expression. “Yes, it was me. It was my plan,” he admitted. “I believed the first princess unfit to rule the kingdom, so I did what needed to be done so the second could take her place. Lady Aphros agrees.”
“Did you honestly believe Lady Aphros would freely join your conspiracy?” The Queen inquired. She spoke as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Serena found herself hanging on every word, pitying Adonis for being so foolish.
“Lord Adonis,” Lady Aphros spoke up, “my loyalties lay to the whole crown, not a single jewel. I have deceived you this whole time.”
“She is not the only one,” the Queen proclaimed.
“Of course, the maid, I should have known better,” Adonis shot a nasty look at Serena until a beam of something crossed before his vision. Serena could just barely make out a clean-cut forming across his right cheek. As though the edge of a fine blade had been run across his skin.
“Do not project your frustration toward the servants,” the Queen warned. “Regardless, she is not whom I spoke of. You are.”
“My Queen, I’m not sure I understand,” Adonis was confused.
“What is the real truth behind your motives? What is your true reason for favoring the second princess?” The Queen inquired, her question cutting right through Adonis.
“It is not…I do not,” Adonis began to sweat.
“Speak the truth, and do not fail to answer,” Queen Celene commanded as the tension in the room began to crescendo.
“It is…because…I…I,” Adonis choked up and desperately searched for a convenient half-truth but failed to produce one.
“Is it because you believe her to be foolish? Easily manipulated? A perfect puppet so you may become the true power behind the throne?” The Queen accused her words like spears, puncturing Adonis’s very soul.
“Yes, damn it!” The nobleman screamed. “That invalid waste of skin was no better for the throne than those two brats who dared to call themselves your children. Alas, the first was far too clever to be manipulated, and the third’s unfettered nature makes her impossible to control. The second, though, she would be like clay in my hands!” With his rant complete, horror spread across Adonis’s face as though he had only just realized he had shouted his darkest secrets for all the world to hear.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” the Queen closed her eyes and pondered. “Having admitted your crime, your punishment is now decided.” Celene waved her hand. A flash of light washed over the throne room and just as quickly vanished. Once the light was gone, so was Adonis, and in his place was a clay statue of him in his raving mad state. “To the dungeon with them all until a more formal trial can be arranged. But as for Adonis, I want him out of my sight.”
All the royal guards and Lady Ze led the remaining assassins in somber silence. The last guard carried out the clay statue, and with his exit, the grand double door shut behind him, and suddenly the room felt so much lighter. The almost oppressive ethereal atmosphere departed in an instant and was replaced by a tangible whimsy.
“Politics are so exhausting,” the Queen leaned back in her chair and sighed. The illusion of her absolute grace and majesty was shattered as she let out a loud yawn and stretched. “At least the counterplot was altogether successful. Do you think I went a little too hard on Adonis?”
“Nah, he had this coming,” Aphros stood up and spoke casually to the queen. “It’s too bad, though. He had excellent taste in wine. If only he wasn’t such a crazy, power-hungry madman.”
“Uh,” Serena and Orion both gaped.
“Oh, you two can stand up now,” Aphros smiled. “It’s okay.”
“Okay,” Serena nodded as she and Orion stood up. “Um, what?”
“Oh right, that was just a show to scare the conspirators,” Lady Aphros explained. “Although I must admit, you overdid it on the glamour, Celly. For a minute, I thought Serena was going to faint.”
“Celly?” Serena blurted.
“Just an old nickname,” Queen Celene giggled before turning to the first princess. “How’s my eldest doing?”
“A little annoyed you didn’t tell her about the slander campaign,” Princess Atlanta grumbled. “Or the rest of this little scheme you and Aphros cooked up behind my back. Was Irene supposed to be in the firing line?”
“Of course not. Irene has been here the whole time,” Aphros gestured. On cue, the youngest princess appeared from behind the Queen’s throne, skipped forward, and curtsied.
“Then who was I protecting this whole time?” Serena exclaimed. She had wondered where Irene had disappeared during all this, but she didn’t have much time to think about it.
“Oh, that was an illusion,” Aphros snapped and, in a flash of light, conjured a double of Irene which just as quickly disappeared. “Cool trick, huh?”
‘My whole everything is a lie,’ Serena resisted the urge to slam her head on the floor.
“Lovely, you’re like a bunch of children playing spy,” Princess Atlanta scoffed.
“Or like you when you play pretty soldier dress-up,” the Queen said with a motherly tone.
“Mother, don’t talk about that!” The first princess screamed.
“But you’re so precious when you do it,” Celene beamed.
“I haven’t done that since I was nine!” Atlanta yelled back.
“Dear lord,” Serena and Orion looked on in horror at the little family spat, realizing what they had sworn their lives and loyalties to.
“You get used to it,” Aphros laughed.
“Right, wait, where’s the second princess in all this?” Serena looked back at the throne to see the princess fast asleep. The young woman was snoring away, seemingly oblivious to all the events of the past few minutes.
“Yeah, she gets bored really easily,” Aphros explained.
“You know, after all this time, I still don’t know her name,” Serena admitted as she looked at the second princess.
“Yeah, there’s a reason for that,” Aphros leaned closer to her, “that’s because it’s…” She whispered the princess’s name in Serena’s ear.
“That’s not funny,” Serena replied.
“I’m serious. That’s her name,” Aphros assured.
“Oh my Lord,” Serena shoved her face into her hands.
“Wait, what’s her name? I didn’t hear,” Orion asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Serena informed.
\\~~~\\
IV //~~~//
Serena, Orion, and Aphros left the Queen and the first Princess to their little comedy routine and returned to the meeting room from before. Serena felt a wave of exhaustion overwhelm her, the whiplash from the Queen’s personality shift doing her no favors. Aphros rested her hand on both their shoulders and looked at them with pride.
“I’m very proud of you two. Our training paid off, and then some,” Aphros beamed.
“All it took was putting myself and Orion in mortal danger,” Serena muttered. ‘And lying to us every step of the way.’
“I understand your frustrations, Serena, and you’re right,” Aphros admitted as she stepped away. “I thank you both graciously for an exceptional display of valor in the line of duty,” Lady Aphros bowed deeply.
“You don’t need to…” Serena didn’t know how to react.
“I apologize for manipulating you two, but I needed to play my cards close to my chest to keep up the double agent act,” the blonde explained. “I didn’t believe the assassins would come out in full force because it’d be so risky. Adonis must have put his silver tongue to work to get them so willing to throw their lives away like that.”
“I know it was risky staging an attack in the palace gardens, but they had a plan, right?” Serena asked.
“Not one that involved escaping. They were never meant to get away,” Aphros explained. “Why else would they have their snipers standing inside the gardens instead of in a window or something?”
‘I guess we weren’t the only pawns in this scheme,’ Serena considered.
“I bet they were excited to see Atlanta show up at the meeting room, a perfect chance to throw her under the boss and blame her for the whole plot. That’s why Adonis was there, to help that along,” Aphros continued. “That’s where I came in to flip their plan on its head. The situation panning out like that is why I had to string you two along. It was all a matter of opportunity. You see, Orion can’t keep a secret to save his life-”
“Hey,” Orion was offended.
“-and Caenia suddenly quitting opened up a chance to bring in a complete outsider. What happened with Caenia was still…” Aphros trailed off. “Anyway, you two will be greatly honored for your help in exposing and foiling this plot. Before that, I hope that, despite everything, you at least consider me as a friend, Serena.”
“Would it really be proper for a servant to be friends with a noblewoman?” Serena asked.
“Technically, no, but I don’t care,” Aphros giggled. “The Queen and I make the rules, not people like Adonis.
‘Yeah, I can see that,’ Serena held her tongue.
“What’s this about greatly honored?” Orion inquired. “I know what that means for nobles and soldiers, but what’s it means for us?”
“You’ll see,” Aphros smiled widely.
“It can’t be too big. We’re just servants,” Serena commented.
\\~~~\\ V //~~~//
Dékaber 13th 757
A few days later, Serena and Orion found themselves at the center of a grand ceremony. The two of them, and Lady Ze, were awarded medals for their service to the crown. It was a truly massive event, held in a grand public theater. There must have been tens of thousands in attendance. Confetti flew freely, trumpets blared to the heavens, and a half dozen speeches were made in their honor.
Serena and Orion were in complete shock throughout the whole event. Even as the first princess hand-delivered their medals, all the two could do was go through the motions. The entire day was a blur after that. They vaguely remembered being asked questions by the media and that their faces were now plastered across every surface in the city, if not the entire kingdom.
Which came as a great surprise to a certain silver-haired girl who was watching the event unfold on tv from the comfort of her home. She spat out her milk as she saw Serena’s image grace the screen. A boiling rage filled her soul as her mind jumped to an absurd conclusion.
“Curse you, Serena,” the silver-haired girl shouted. “So, this was your trick all along. Run off and become a hero, will you? I’ll show you. I’ll do better, you hear me?” At the same time, Serena shuddered, and she didn’t know why.
\\~~~\\
VI //~~~//
At the end of the whirlwind, nay hurricane of a day, the still-stunned Serena and Orion found themselves back at the servant’s quarters in the palace. Lady Aphros had given them the rest of the day off, yet the two could only lay about in Orion’s room in silence. It was Serena that broke through the haze first.
“Well, there goes any chance of returning to my old life anytime soon,” Serena mutters. “It’ll probably be a few years before I’m not recognized by everyone on the street.”
“Oh right, you were hired only a few months ago,” Orion remembered. “Have you kept in touch with your mother?”
“Not recently,” Serena admitted, “haven’t had the time between the conspiracies and keeping the princess still.”
“Do you want to go back? To your old life, I mean?” Orion asked. Serena looked at the blonde and saw that genuine curiosity only he was capable of. Just like he forgot her circumstances, sometimes Serena forgets that Orion had been training since he was a small child. He never really had a “normal” life.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t this exciting,” Serena joked. “But, there’s such thing as too much excitement. Personally, I don’t know anymore,” the raven-haired girl admitted. “Going back to normal sounds so appealing now, but can I actually return?”
“Why couldn’t you?” Orion asked.
“It’s like a switch was flipped in my head,” Serena admitted. “My perception is different, and all these assassination attempts have left me more than a little paranoid. But beyond that, something tells me there’s a good reason I can’t go back home just yet, and it’s not just the paparazzi.”
“So, you want to, or you don’t?” Orion pressed further.
“Not right now. I’ll play my assigned role as Irene’s faithful maid for the time being,” Serena admitted, “but one day…I hope.” She stood up and began walking towards her own room.
“Serena, are you okay?” Orion went to stop her.
“Of course I am,” she smiled. “We should get to bed; we both have duties to attend to tomorrow morning. Perhaps tomorrow is the day I get the princess to attend her etiquette lesson. Goodnight,” Serena curtsied and stepped out.
“Goodnight,” Orion replied, unable to think of anything else to say. Serena returned to her room and collapsed on the bed.
‘Who knows how many allies Adonis has left hiding in the shadows?’ Serena considered. ‘Who knows what other enemies the palace has that I don’t know about? Who knows what else Aphros is lying to me about? Caenia was right. I’m only a pawn being shuffled around in someone else’s game.’ The maid buried her head into her pillow. ‘Aphros was truthful about one thing, though, I didn’t really have a choice.’
Serena’s pillow muffled any un-maid-like sounds she made for the next few minutes before she reached into a bag and pulled out a phone. She dialed a familiar number and clicked the talk button.
“Hello, Mother, you wouldn’t believe the month I’ve had,” she said into the receiver.
May This Fantasy Continue A Little Longer…
>>>~~~~<<<
Author's Note: And here we are, first story arc is now done. For the sake of organization I'll call it volume 1. When I wrote the first chapter of Maid in Fantasy over a year and a half ago, I expected it to be a one and done short story. Then the story just kept expanding until it blossomed into what you see before you.
As for changes from the original, I basically turned two chapters into one, sort of. Together they make a continuous through line to the climax of the story, but at the same time the whole was way too long. Hence it is split at a dramatically appropriate point, like a two-part movie.
The first thing I focused on changing was the action, expanding the whole confrontation with the assassins and tying it in with Serena and Orion's physical progression.
After that I decided to address some of the details, namely exploring more of Serena's perspective before the confrontation in the gardens.
Lastly, I made some logical adjustments to the overall narrative. Like Irene not actually being in danger. On one hand it could retroactively take away the tension, on the other, it makes no sense for Aphros to put the princess in harm's way, so I had to make a call. And I feel the fact it ties into Aphros's ongoing tendency to lie and omit truths to basically manipulate Serena.
The only thing I didn't touch much at all was the meeting with the Queen, except for expanding Adonis's "dialogue" with her. I wanted to give it the sense that this has been brewing in the background for a while and Serena is witness to its conclusion. Other than that, I had the most fun writing the Queen's introduction, she's beautiful but also very powerful, to the point it awakens a nameless terror in your heart. Serena is clearly marveled by her, but also wet her pants scared of her.
That's about it, the story arc comes to a conclusion, with plenty of threads to pick up on for future story and character arcs. Which will come...eventually...As for now I have a rewrite of the original chapter 8 which has been converted into a bonus chapter and hopefully an update to the setting details coming up in the next few weeks.
After that the story will continue into volume 2 with the rewrite of Chapter IX: Engineered Insanity.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
\\~~~\\
VII //~~~//
“Serena has proven quite capable, my Queen,” Aphros reported to Celene. The Queen’s private chambers were a vast expanse of marble and laced white curtains. Yet, despite its apparent size, it held only the two. The Queen sat back in her chair, considering Aphros’s words.
“I still don’t know how I feel about this,” the Queen replied, “but you’re correct. She far surpassed all expectations. She’s a natural, but this goes against the original agreement.”
“Don’t you worry about that. I have everything figured out,” Aphros assured.
“That’s what you said about Caenia,” Celene pointed out.
“That was my mistake, one I intend to rectify,” Aphros grew serious. “I’ve learned my lesson, and I won’t let the same happen to Serena. Please trust me.”
“I will. It’s in your hands, my friend,” Celene nodded. “You know, behind her snark and anger lies quite the charming soul.”
“She’s like her father in that regard,” Aphros added.
