Story Hub: [link]
\\~~~\\ I //~~~//
It was a beautiful spring day in the palace gardens. An array of exotic birds chirped away like a choir wearing every color of the rainbow. The giant flowers bloomed under the protection of the even more giant trees. A gentle breeze carried the scent of lavender across the area. At the center of this was Princess Irene playing among the flowers, watched very closely by Serena, who dared not even blink less the Princess pull another vanishing act.
The young maid’s raven hair had grown out quite well over the past few months and was well on its way to returning to its original length. Yet, despite being so much closer to reclaiming her precious long hair, Serena was in a foul mood. Lifted only slightly by the Princess’s enthusiasm.
“If only something as simple as the garden would make me as happy as her,” Serena sighed. Orion wandered into the garden and noticed Serena’s lament.
“Serena, what’s wrong?” The butler inquired.
“Good Afternoon, Orion,” Serena replied without looking back. “I thought you’d be with Princess Atlanta right now.”
“The Princess has requested a moment of privacy,” Orion explained.
“Loudly, I assume?” Serena guessed.
“Very much so,” Orion slumped.
“To answer your question,” Serena took a breath, “I got yelled at by Lady Aré this morning.”
“What for?” Orion asked.
“Everything,” Serena groaned.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Ever since Lady Aré had taken over as Serena’s mentor from Aphros, the noble had more than doubled Serena’s training in etiquette, manners, and magic. The renewed training had been going for barely over a week, but Serena already felt a year and a half come off her life. It was during one of those magic lessons this morning that the two butted heads. The same classroom Aphros had once taught Serena in was now drowned in tension. Serena was seated at a desk while Aré loomed over her like a blazing specter.
“Now channel the magic!” Aré shouted, bringing Serena back to her early days at the palace under the drill sergeant.
“I’m trying,” Serena focused on her pocket dagger. The cylindrical weapon should have been a perfect conduit for her magic and an excellent tool in her line of work as it was meant to be concealed on her person (in case of another attempt on the Princess’s life). Alas, the maid still couldn’t force the magic to come out on command.
“I’ve read the reports, maid,” Aré slammed the desk, “I know you conjured a dagger of flame during the attack on the gardens those many months ago. Aphros went on and on about how much potential you had in the field of magic. Was she lying again?”
“I only managed to do that because of the adrenaline,” Serena admitted, “besides, Lady Aphros hasn’t trained me in magic in months, so what little skill I had is gone.”
“That’s no excuse, maid. You’ll need to master such power if you want to protect the Princess from her enemies,” Aré got in Serena’s face.
“What enemies?” Serena snapped back, “Adonis is a statue, and his cronies are in prison.”
“If you are so naïve as to think that Adonis was the only threat you’d face, then I’d say not only did Aphros fail you as a teacher, you failed as her student,” Aré accused.
“What’s with you and Aphros? If you’ve got a problem with her, don’t take it out on me,” Serena jumped to her feet.
“How dare you talk back to me like that. Do you not know your station, maid?” Aré screamed.
“My station? I knew it full well until you dragged me from my home to take care of the Princess because you couldn’t retain your best staff,” Serena countered. “I can see why Caenia quit in a fury if she had to put up with people like you!” The maid matched Aré’s fury. As Serena’s temper reached a boiling point, she failed to notice she was still unconsciously channeling her magic through the dagger. A massive blade of flame burst forth from the weapon’s tip. However, just as quickly as it arrived, the flame extinguished as Serena realized what she had just done, and a curtain of shame snuffed out her own rage.
“Well, it seems Aphros didn’t lie about one thing,” Aré said coldly, “you can only use your magic when you lose control of your short temper.”
‘You’re one to talk,’ Serena glared but did not vocalize her quip.
“We’ll speak about your outburst later,” Aré leveled her gaze, “for now, I’ll instill in you the temperament required to control your emotions.”
‘Because you’re so well known for your stoic disposition and self-control,’ Serena tried not to roll her eyes.
“I heard an explosion. Is everything okay?” Lady Aphros peaked her head into the room. The blonde noble was sporting a new haircut, her long blonde locks styled into a half dozen hair drills.
“Leave us, Lady Aphros. This matter doesn’t concern you,” Aré shook her head. “This maid simply failed to control her magic.”
“That wasn’t the explosion I was talking about,” Aphros clarified.
“Do not soil my lesson with your nonsense, Lady Aphros,” Aré glared.
“Now, now Aré, you’re always so harsh. The younger generation needs to be guided gently and with sympathy these days,” Aphros didn’t take the hint. “They don’t want all this pressure. They want to do things at their own pace.”
‘What an adamant defense,’ Serena felt herself gag.
“What did I just say?” Aré snarled, “Regardless of what you think, this maid must be disciplined. Especially if she thinks her violent outbursts will be tolerated. Need I remind you of her ‘preemptive self-defense’ against the Regas servants? An idea she must have learned from you.”
“Well, it certainly sounds like something I would say,” Aphros shrugged, “but she was bereft of options. I wasn’t around, Ze is still out of town, Atlanta was being herself, and frankly, you haven’t endeared yourself to her as a trusted authority figure.”
‘If you’re trying to make her angry, it’s working,’ Serena noted as she watched Lady Aré literally fume as the air around her began to warp from a sudden increase in heat.
“Regardless,” Aré’s words dripped with fury, “she still turned to violence as her first option. Despite what the other servants and apparently many nobles think, violence is not the ultimate solution to your problems.”
‘Yet, for some reason, the opposite seems to be true around this madhouse,’ Serena thought to herself.
“You are like so many other people, maid,” Aré declared, “especially the young, overconfident, and spoiled. They all think they’re smarter than they actually are and refuse to back out of a bad idea until it’s too late.”
‘Says the brilliant mind who refused to cancel her ego concert despite knowing it was going to be ground zero for the Diane and Regas’s latest feud,’ Serena was running out of ways to look annoyed.
“And another thing,” Aré pivoted and jabbed a finger at Serena’s face, “your hair has grown out of control. At this rate, it’ll reach the center of your back within the next month. Long hair is the style of the nobles, not workers. Your hair should always remain shorter than your mistress’s, in this case Irene.”
“I’m not cutting my hair again. I’m drawing the line right there,” Serena stood her ground. She would die on this hill. A girl’s hair is her life, after all.
“It’s not a matter of choice, maid,” Aré leveraged her slightly greater height over Serena.
“Aré, give her a break,” Aphros jumped to Serena’s defense. “Besides, didn’t you used to have the same haircut? The Queen loved it when you had long hair.”
“Aphros, cease your insistent interruptions,” Aré flipped her attention to the blonde.
“So many big words. I’m glad you’re getting mileage out of that thesaurus I bought you for your birthday last year,” Aphros chirped.
“Aphros, you absolute moron, would you stop talking for once in your life!” Aré broke character. Their conversation devolved into the usual bickering, which Serena took as her chance to escape.
‘Exit pursued by a bear,’ Serena quipped silently as she slipped out of the room.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
“So yeah, I’ve put myself in an awkward spot,” Serena lamented. “They can’t fire me since I’m the last member of the Diane family available (read: willing) to care for Princess Irene. And they want me and only me to be in this position anyway, for some mysterious reason.” The maid focused on her charge, who was currently observing a small butterfly at rest on a giant flower. “Since she can’t get rid of me for my screwups, Aré will make my life a living hell.”
“She might have just been in a bad mood,” Orion sheepishly suggested because even he couldn’t deny the reality of the situation.
“Lady Aré default is a bad mood,” Serena commented, “I’m terrified to imagine what she’s like on a bad day.”
“Perhaps…um…Maybe you’ll figure something out?” Orion struggled to give advice.
“I’ll just try to live in the moment,” Serena declared. “Watching the Princess’s carefree frolicking is a welcome breath of fresh air compared to everything I’m dealing with right now.”
“Is there anything else bothering you?” Orion asked.
“This horrific feeling that Aré might have a point,” Serena admitted, “at least, with the whole violence thing. It really didn’t work out for me, and she, of all people, had to bail us out. She’s going to hold that over me for a long time.” The conversation trailed off as the two servants silently watched the Princess play.
\\~~~\\
II //~~~//
The tranquil peace of the day was brought to a screeching halt as Lady Aphros trekked into the garden. A rare look of concern was spread across the noble’s face. Serena braced herself for the inevitable nonsense that would define the rest of her day.
“Good afternoon, Serena, Orion,” Aphros put on her smile.
“Lady Aphros, I can sense your concerns from here. What’s the problem?” Serena cut to the chase.
“Oh,” Aphros deflated, “Well, I know it’s been a while since the last incident, with the fire and everything.”
“That was a week ago,” Serena reminded her.
“Huh, it feels like it’s been longer,” Aphros commented.
‘Please stop this line of thought. We’re on a fast track to a place I don’t want to go,’ Serena thought.
“Anyhow, there’s some kind of sewage problem beneath the palace, likely a blockage,” Aphros explained. “The Regas and the Gataki are rushing to keep it from backflowing all over the palace, but it seems like the main choke point is centered beneath the gardens.”
“The Regas and the who?” Serena was confused. “And backflowing the entire palace, what kind of blockage are we dealing with?”
“Should we be concerned, Lady Aphros?” Orion added.
“Well, a little,” Aphros admitted, “I just got word that all signs and readings indicate a pipe over here will burst very soon. Just fair warning.”
“Is that all?” Serena rolled her eyes. ‘Just my luck, another peaceful day, ruined by stupid shit, literally!’
“Should we evacuate the gardens?” Orion asked.
“Probably,” Aphros nodded.
‘Probably?’ Serena stared at the noble in disbelief. ‘But why is this the first time I’m hearing about the fact we have a sewer? I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. This palace is the size of a small city. A full-on sewer instead of just a piping system makes sense.’
“Princess Irene, we must leave,” Serena called out to her charge. “Princess?”
“Lady Aphros, if you don’t mind me asking,” Orion began, “what will happen with the pipe bursts?”
“Oh, that’s easy, it will-” Aphros replied before Irene popped up in front of her to interrupt.
“The poo shall emerge from the Earth and then rain from the heavens,” the Princess exclaimed, “a miasma of the stench of feces shall taint this noble garden, twisting it into a man-made swamp.”
“That’s it, I’m having a word with her poetry teacher after this,” Serena declared.
“I’m her poetry teacher,” Lady Aphros pointed at herself.
“Did I stutter?” Serena snapped as she turned to Irene. With a swift motion, she retrieved a pair of handcuffs from her pocket and chained herself to the Princess. “This time, I’m prepared. We’re leaving, Princess.”
“Nope,” Irene slipped her hand out of the cuffs like a magician, “I wanna see the miasma.”
“No,” Serena grabbed the little girl’s waist and picked her up, “you will not. Now, let’s leave before-”
The ground a couple dozen meters away began to shake violently. A crack formed into the earth, which rapidly expanded before bursting open. Two halves of a pipe rocketed up from the ground, spitting a deluge of tainted liquids into the air. But more strikingly, a single, blobby figure covered in the sewage also flew out. They and the liquids rose several stories into the air before crashing into the ground with a wet splat. Miraculously, the figure stood up from its long fall with minimal effort. Serena’s group, standing at the very edge of the splash zone, looked on in shock.
“Here we go again,” Serena groaned.
\\~~~\\
III //~~~//
The “sewer figure,” Serena mentally named them, shuffled around in place for a moment, clearly dizzy and confused. They were caked in filth and dripping with numerous disgusting liquids of unknown origin. Yet, despite the fact they just fell from at least five stories high, the sewer figure seemed merely stunned rather than injured. Serena was on guard, unsure what to make of the situation, and she certainly wasn’t ready for the first words to come out of their mouth.
“You!” The sewer figure pointed in the group’s direction. “After all these months, I’ve finally found you, I challenge you!”
‘Please don’t be me, please don’t be me,’ Serena prayed.
“Serena, our rematch is at hand!” The figure exclaimed, in, what Serena noted, a vaguely familiar female voice.
“Of course,” Serena sighed. “Here, hold this,” the maid handed Irene over to Orion, who was equally bewildered by the situation.
“You won’t escape me this time!” The sewer girl began to charge the group.
“Over here,” Serena bolted to the side, drawing the girl’s attention.
“Lady Aphros, what’s going on?” Orion was at a loss.
“Frankly, I’m just as confused as you,” Aphros stared at the scene with interest.
“Not to be rude, but,” Serena yelled at her pursuer, “but who are you again?”
“You don’t even recognize me? You jerk, you promised!” The sewer girl stamped their feet. “You said you’d come back, but you didn’t!”
“Huh?” Serena felt a vague memory clawing at the back of her brain but didn’t quite remember from when or where. It didn’t help that she was being chased by a slimy sewer dweller.
“Huh, who knew Serena was such a heartbreaker,” Aphros commented.
“Lady Aphros?” Orion was taken aback.
“I’m just kidding,” Aphros laughed, “I’ll be right back, I’ve got a plan to cool this off.” The noble zipped away.
“You forgot on purpose, didn’t you? Having too much fun being a hero instead of returning?” the sewer girl fumed. “I’ll have my rematch, and you’ll give it to me!” She started swinging wildly at Serena, who did her best to avoid both the blows and the sewer glop being thrown every which way.
‘Oh Lord, the smell,’ Serena gagged.
“Don’t you run away!” The sewer girl charged. Serena bobbed and weaved through the garden’s giant trees, trying to put as much distance between her and her pursuer as possible. Alas, the sewer girl just charged right through the trees, smashing through them like Styrofoam.
“That’s alarming,” Serena stopped in front of a decorative boulder. “Well, if you’re strong enough to bust through that, then I’ll need something with a little more weight to stop you.” The maid flipped around and grabbed the boulder behind her. She lifted it with great effort and hurled it at the sewer girl.
“Raaggh!” The other girl barreled at the projectile. As she and the boulder collided, the boulder lost, shattering into pieces. The sewer girl barely flinched from the clash.
“Okay, rock doesn’t work, now what?” Serena was left at a loss. If they could smash boulders without pain, Serena was certain she couldn’t beat them in a straight fight. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.
“Incoming!” Aphros announced. Serena looked in her direction to see the noble had wrangled the burst pipe with her chain whip. With the blockage removed, the pipe was now spouting much clearer water, which was currently being directed in Serena’s direction.
“Lady Aphros, wait!” Serena tried to say, but she and the sewer girl were quickly doused with the water. “Cool, now I need a bath.”
“Cold!” The sewer girl exclaimed. Serena looked to see that her pursuer was now cleaned of the muck clinging to her so the girl beneath could finally be seen. A girl Serena immediately recognized.
“It’s you from back then…” Serena gaped as she beheld a very familiar face.
“So, you finally admit you recognize me!” The other girl snapped.
“Yep, it’s you alright…I don’t know your name,” Serena admitted. She really didn’t because it was the silver-haired girl from her neighborhood. The nutty girl obsessed with challenging Serena (which should’ve been her first clue). But that raised the question, what was she doing here?
\\~~~\\
IV //~~~//
After an impromptu shower (for which Orion remained outside with Irene for obvious reasons) in the garden’s bathrooms, ‘Which of course they have,’ Serena commented to herself, proper introductions were in order. The silver-haired girl, having cleaned herself up effortlessly (much to Serena’s irritation), curtsied to Lady Aphros (which was hard because she was wearing a boiler suit).
“Um…Greetings…um, Ma’am, I am Penelo Ekho…no wait, it’s Penelo Gataki now,” she introduced herself. “I’m Serena’s destined rival.”
“Oh, and why is that?” Aphros smiled at the assertion.
“Because destiny,” Penelo’s eye practically glittered with excitement. “We used to compete at everything.”
“No, you’d always challenge me out of nowhere almost every day since middle school,” Serena corrected. “I can’t even remember half the stuff we did.”
“Maia 4th, 753, we competed in our first race in a circle around the school,” Penelo exclaimed, “I was in the lead the whole time, but Serena somehow got there first.”
‘I never left, and she believed me when I said I was so fast she didn’t see me,’ Serena remembered.
“Thúra 22nd, 754, I challenged her to get the highest score on the winter exams,” Penelo continued. “Math is hard.”
‘Sounds vaguely familiar,’ Serena scratched her head.
“Október 7th, 755, we did battle in the school gymnasium for three days and three nights,” Penelo proclaimed. “I don’t remember who won…just that I was really sleepy.”
‘That did not happen,’ Serena rolled her eyes.
“Eptáber 19th, 757,” Penelo raised her finger into the air.
‘Wait, why does that date sound familiar?’ Serena paused.
“We agreed to a race around the world when Serena returned home from whatever she was doing,” Penelo finished. “And I waited patiently since that day for our inevitable, ultimate final duel!”
“You promised? Oh my!” Aphros egged her on while she ate from a bowl of popcorn that appeared from nowhere.
“That was until a certain someone appeared on the news, suddenly a great hero of New Celene,” Penelo pouted. “I should have known it was all a trick and that you were trying to one-up me all this time! I bet you thought cutting your hair would make it impossible to recognize you, too!”
“My my, Serena, I didn’t know you took this rivalry so seriously,” Aphros giggled. Serena replied with a stare that could kill lesser men.
“Penelo, I promise you that wasn’t my intention,” Serena urged.
“You won’t fool me,” Penelo huffed. “Since you became the best worker and a hero, I decided to do the same. I cast aside my life from before and became a worker myself, so one day we could work side by side and compete as we were destined to! It wasn’t even that hard. I just showed up one day, and they handed me a scrubber and told me to start cleaning.”
“You did what?” Serena exclaimed. “Penelo, becoming a worker was not my choice. Even if it was, it’s a terrible responsibility to foist on yourself. Can you even do that?”
“Well, there’s no law saying you can’t renounce your noble title and become a worker,” Aphros explained. “You should know, Serena.”
“Well, I was a special case,” Serena reminded, “you should know.” Despite the quip, Aphros ignored the maid and continued.
“That also explains the name and why she flew out of the ground like that,” Aphros pointed out. “The Gataki are the sewage workers. They clean the sewers, dispose of waste, recycle water, and do general handyman work. They’re always looking for new recruits for obvious reasons.”
“So, plumbers?” Serena asked.
“And sanitation workers and a little bit of hydroengineering,” Aphros added.
“So, plumbers and garbage men?” Serena replied.
“Mostly,” Aphros sighed, “but not entirely.”
“Right,” Serena shrugged, “Penelo, you do realize there are different worker families with variable responsibilities, right? Becoming a sewage worker is a far cry from my job in the palace.”
“It is?” Penelo was aghast.
‘Oh my Lord, I was hoping she was just playing the long game, but she really didn’t know,’ Serena facepalmed. ‘Have I been surrounded by nutjobs all my life and just never noticed?’
“What did your parents think about you throwing your life down the drain like this?” Serena asked. ‘Literally,’ she added mentally.
“My parents are fine with it. In fact, they joined me,” the silver-haired girl beamed. “They said we all had nothing better to do anyway and that it could be fun. We all work in the sewers now and love our jobs.”
‘Oh, so it’s genetic,’ Serena was running out of ways to look surprised.
“Forget all that,” Penelo changed the subject, “now that we’re reunited, we can begin our race around the world!”
“No, Penelo,” Serena shook her head. “I still have a job to do, and I can’t spare time to play with you anymore (besides, I haven’t even fulfilled the promise yet).” Penelo looked conflicted but seemed ready to argue the point further. “Besides, don’t you have a job to do down in the sewers right now?”
“Hm?” Penelo paused. “Oh no!” She jumped. “I still have to clear all the clogs down there before all the water pipes backflow or burst!”
“Besides the one you already broke?” Serena pointed out.
“Is that what that was?” Penelo was shocked by the great revelation.
\\~~~\\
V //~~~//
Penelo raced out of the showers like a bat out of hell, beelining straight for the hole in the gardens. She moved so fast that she nearly ran over Orion on her way out. Leaving the butler more than a little confused.
“Lady Aphros, what was that about?” Orion asked as Aphros and Serena exited the showers.
“Oh, that’s just Penelo. She’s Serena’s destined rival,” Aphros grinned. “She’s supposed to be fixing the clogs.”
“Okay?” Orion was more confused than before.
“Fun?” Irene chased after the running Penelo as if joining a game of tag.
“No fun!” Serena ran after the Princess.
“But she looks like she’s having fun,” Irene gestured to Penelo, who hopped back into the hole in the ground. The little girl was within a few meters of the hole and ready to follow in the Gataki’s footsteps.
“No, she has a job to do, and so do I,” Serena caught Irene and locked the little girl’s wrist to her own with the handcuffs. “No hijinks will ensue today, young lady.” The maid asserted. However, the universe had different ideas, and the ground beneath their feet gave way, sending them tumbling beneath the soil. “Why do I say things!”
The two landed with a splat in a sewer deep below the ground, the burst pipe hanging above them. Serena prayed that whatever liquid she landed in was water, but she knew better.
‘This is what I get for thinking I had things under control,’ Serena lamented.
“3, 2, 1…” Penelo’s voice came from directly behind. Serena looked back in time to see the other girl winding up like a bull about to charge.
“Penelo, wait!” Serena shouted.
“Go!” Penelo bolted forward, accidentally picking up Serena and Irene in her mad dash and carrying them deeper into the sewers.
Aphros and Orion watched most of this display from afar, the latter horrified as he heard Serena’s voice fade away into a distant shout.
“Lady Aphros, we must go after them,” Orion declared.
“Don’t worry, Orion, Serena’s a big girl. She can take care of herself,” Aphros assured, pretending she wasn’t disturbed by the idea of going into a sewer. “As long as she doesn’t run into any of the monsters that emerge from the ooze and slime down below, she’ll be fine. Not to mention the vampires and mole people.”
“What?” Orion went white as a sheet.
“Just kidding (mostly),” Aphros made the ‘silly me’ gesture.
“Mostly?” Orion went back to being confused (although still mostly horrified).
“Well, it should be fine. It’ll work out,” Aphros backpedaled.
“Blagh.”
“Yeah, what he said…who said that?” Aphros looked back towards the hole to see something crawling out from the sewers. “Oh, so that’s why it was getting clogged.”
“Lady Aphros, what is that?” Orion reached for his sword.
“Don’t know, but it certainly doesn’t look friendly,” Aphros hummed, then more ‘somethings’ started crawling out of the hole. “Scratch that, it has friends. Guards!”
To be Continued…
>>>~~~~<<<
Reconnecting with old friends is a wonderful experience that can show you just how far you've all come.
Author's Note: A year and a half later, the story finally continues. I've been sitting on the outline for this story for a long time, but now it is finally here.
And a big welcome back to a character we haven't seen since the end of the first story arc, who finally gets a name. When I initially wrote the first chapters of Maid in Fantasy, I obviously hadn't even conceived of Penelo yet, but once I decided to go back around and rewrite them I felt it was appropriate to include her.
As for my full thoughts I'll save them for next time, but I've really enjoyed writing Serena and Penelo's dynamic. Look forward to that next week.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment