Tale as Old as Last Wednesday [Maid IC]

[Deme]

OOC Thread

Episode 1: It's Been Years Since We've Had Anybody Here And We're Obsessed!

A long, long time ago...Well, maybe not that long ago...


The gates of a half-ruined palace swung open. In the distance, down the path lined with orange trees, was the shape of the palace with its looming tower. It must have been an elegant building once, and the gardens around the front seem to have been somewhat brought to some order. And today, this strange place was welcoming new maids, to tend to it and its cursed prince.

Of course, this could only be noticed in passing by the maids who were just now being allowed into this yard. In front of them was something much more urgent: a tall young man in a blue suit, sizing them up through his single monocled eye. His hair was neatly tied in a low and slender ponytail as was the fashion of young men at the time, with bangs to cover the eyepatch he wore over his missing eye. He greeted them with a very stiff and formal posture, but the young man's expression was welcoming.

"Hail and Well-Met, fair maidens. I am Terran, the Prince's man. I have come to welcome thee into His Majesty's employ, and to offer forth my hopes that thy time here will be...Longer than that of our previous maids. Might thou favorest me with thy names?"

It's apparently time for introductions.

[Lycan 01]

Yuki stands at attention, listening to what the man in charge had to say. She was fully focused on doing this job right; her current track record for assignments was less than favorable. It wasn't that she was bad at her job. She'd managed to complete all her missions, either assassinating or preventing the assassination of her target each time. But in the process, she'd accrued a rather bad collection of wounds and scars, including the loss of an eye, the loss of an arm, several bullet and knife wounds, a burn or two, and a few surgical scars. Her superiors had decided that she needed an assignment that was less dangerous, but still worthy of an assassin of her caliber. So, here she was. Posing as a maid, in order to protect a prince. Shouldn't be too hard...

Appearance wise, Yuki has short, slightly wavy blonde hair which partially frames her face, and her right eye is emerald-green. Her left eye, or lack thereof, is concealed by a black eye patch. Her features are attractive, despite her constantly stern and dour expression. She's slightly tall compared to most girls her age, but her weight is about average and gives the impression that she is at least relatively in-shape. Her build is slightly curvy, with the width of her hips and the size of her chest (size C and proud of it) accentuated by the tightness of her uniform.

The uniform itself is deep blue with white stockings, apron, and headdress, though it slightly varies from standard maid attire in a few ways. Specifically, the sleeves of the blouse are long and extend all the way to her wrist, and her skirt could easily be qualified as "short," though it still leaves something to the imagination. The top couple of buttons on the blouse are undone, so that a tasteful amount of cleavage is visible. And in addition to black shoes, she also has on a pair of black leather gloves. Whether or not they matched didn't matter to her; black gloves were her thing.

She had reasons for these variations, of course. The short skirt and loose buttons were comfortable and offered less restriction to her movement in case she had to spring into action, and they would likely prove distracting to anyone who she had to deal with, violently or otherwise. The long sleeves and gloves were more than just a style and comfort choice, though. They helped to conceal the fact that her left arm was a complex prosthesis, comprised of a brass framework filled with a myriad of springs, cogs, and whirling clockwork. Granted, the arm subtle clicked with every movement, but walking around with visibly clockwork arm was sure to raise more questions than the occasional tick-tock.

When spoken to by the butler, Yuki stands at rapt attention, arms folded behind her back. When he asks for introductions, the assassin thinks for a moment before answer. "My name is Yuki," she states factually. "Pleasure to meet you." Her tone may be somewhat lacking in sincerity, but at least she's trying to be proper and cordial.

[Trobby]

A blonde-haired girl stepped forward, her golden locks hanging over her ears and neatly combed...save for two long strands that seemed to stick up all on their own. Her hands held in front of her politely, she held her skirt and curtsied to the Head Butler, rising up to look at him through brown eyes that seemed to have a slightly unnatural shine. She wore a dark uniform, nearly black but just barely tinted with a bluish purple, which made her already thin frame seem even more slim. She had a slightly nervous look about her, as she spoke to the butler in a surprisingly smooth voice.

"I...am Ante Hanaba. I come to you from far away, wishing to serve the prince of this kingdom. I...am but a novice in the ways of household service, but I shall endeavor to be a most adequate servant."

Having had her say, she gave the butler another small curtsey, before stepping back in line with the other maids.

Spoiler

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First Impression, Affection Roll: (2d6)[3][3](6)

[Atreli]

Before the gates had begun to swing open a young girl had myteriously appeared in the beach' surf. Like some ghostly apparition she came forward, one step in front of the other. She was clothed in the simple uniform of a sailor, a lace up brown peasant top and torn pants at the knees to match. The girl did not seem to be wearing any boots. The closer she came, the more her features came into much clearer focus.

Big bright green eyes were partially hidden on her pale face by waist length curls of pink hair. Small elf ears poked out from beneathe the curls. By the time the gates were open and the butler and maids assembled she had walked almost completely to them. Once she was just a few feet away, she stopped, smiled and said in a delicate voice:

" Hello, my name is Lune. What is yours?"

[Benson]

A young looking maid stood at forced attention, partially listening to what this Terran was saying. She was much too busy noticing how familiar this Ante Hanaba woman looked, and the name too, she felt like she heard it before. She immediately felt herself not liking them and momentarily glowered during that girl's turn.

Anyways, this young girl who donned a mostly basic sky colored maid's uniform that went just above the knees, but not in a provocative manner, was named Meridith, or rather that was the name she adopted. She was a short lithe girl with pale skin and small boobs, but that latter thing didn't concern her that much, since, smelling the brimstone took priority, something she was rather self conscious about. At the moment she probably smelled weird to others, having had put a lot of perfume to mask her smell of brimstone. Whatever. She also had herself classic 'tsurime' pink eyes, and not the disease mind you. As for her hair, 'twas pink tied into two pig tails that defied gravity, much like possibly, Yuki's boobs. But it helped in hiding her pointy devil ears. I guess. All in all she was your token cute, 'hard around the edges' devil girl in disguise, lolita bodied girl. Say that four times fast.

Anyways.

She idly scratched her nose with her index finger before realizing she was up for introducing herself.

She nearly stumbled in her footing as she stepped forward and forced an adorkable one fang grin. "H-hello..." She bowed and curtsied mimicking that Ante girl's action, she had to right herself from tipping over and falling on her face. Nerves, man, just nerves. And she had right to be nervous, it wasn't every day you signed up to be a maid for the boy you used to be the imaginary friend of, in which you coerced them do naughty things, and then disappeared without telling them, essentially abandoning them. *exhales* I forget where I was going with this. Oh yes. Right. Introductions.

"My name is...M-Meredith Liliths, I too come from far away and feel it to be an honor...and stuff to work here, as a maid, for the prince. IhopethatIcanbeworthyofsaidhonor,pleaseconsiderme. " She sharply bowed her head again almost giving herself whiplash.

[Trobby]

Ante tilted her head a little, trying to get a good look at the maid introducing herself. She could swear she'd heard that voice before...

But from where she stood, she could not get a good view of her, and she dare not step out of line. That would be asymmetrical. And that's just...WRONG!

So she stood firmly in place, attempting to keep the line as symmetrical as possible.

It didn't help that they were all different heights, and that they hadn't lined up in any sort of order from tallest to shortest...

...This was going to bother her. It was already bothering her. A torrent of bother had washed over her, and no force on the planet could hold it back now.

[Lycan 01]

Yuki idly studies the other maids around her as they make their introductions. Then some random girl in ragged sailor attire randomly walks up out of the surf. Yuki raises her right eyebrow as she observes the girl, and notes that she has pink hair just like one of the other maids, and pointed ears, just like Yuki. Her's looked natural, though, while Yuki's were... not. She preferred not to dwell on that experience.

At any rate, Lune was clearly not a maid, unlike all the other girls present. Strange. Why was she here, then? "One of these things is not like the other..." Yuki idly observes to no one in particular.

"My name is Yuki," she factually tells the new arrival. "Are you here to apply for a housekeeping position as well?" she asks, her expression neutral aside from her slightly quirked right brow.

[Atreli]

Lune turned to Yuki a little startled at being noticed but then flashed a brillant smile, making her features even more adorable.

" Hello!"

She paused at the maid's question then said quickly. " Yes, yes I am! I believe I would be a good maid too. I am eager to work, especially here."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki stares at the sea-girl for a moment, blinking a few times. This Lune girl seemed to be quite chipper and cheerful. 'Bubbly' was probably a good word to describe her. Yuki didn't do bubbly.

The assassin idly raised her left arm from behind her back, and pointed a finger at the butler. A serious of mechanical clicks and ticking noises accompanied the movements. "You may wish to speak with him, if that is the case."

[Trobby]

Ante bites down on her lip, trying to not speak out at the two girls who are being so very...very...asymmetrical! So blatantly and utterly asymmetrical! And instead tries to focus on the very young catgirl standing beside her.

I do hope she is not too young for this... She thinks to herself. But then...she had nowhere else to go when I found her...so what other choice did I have? Little sis...for your own sake, I hope you are ready for this.

[Hawkflight]

A blonde-haired girl stepped forward, her golden locks hanging over her ears and neatly combed...save for two long strands that seemed to stick up all on their own. Her hands held in front of her politely, she held her skirt and curtsied to the Head Butler, rising up to look at him through brown eyes that seemed to have a slightly unnatural shine. She wore a dark uniform, nearly black but just barely tinted with a bluish purple, which made her already thin frame seem even more slim. She had a slightly nervous look about her, as she spoke to the butler in a surprisingly smooth voice.

"I...am Ante Hanaba. I come to you from far away, wishing to serve the prince of this kingdom. I...am but a novice in the ways of household service, but I shall endeavor to be a most adequate servant."

Having had her say, she gave the butler another small curtsey, before stepping back in line with the other maids.

Spoiler

Show

First Impression, Affection Roll: (1d6x5)[15]

Ante bites down on her lip, trying to not speak out at the two girls who are being so very...very...asymmetrical! So blatantly and utterly asymmetrical! And instead tries to focus on the very young catgirl standing beside her.

I do hope she is not too young for this... She thinks to herself. But then...she had nowhere else to go when I found her...so what other choice did I have? Little sis...for your own sake, I hope you are ready for this.

The young kitty-girl was not in fact beside her older sister, but hidden partially behind her. As onii-san turned her attention to he kitten, she looked up, gave a small nod, and shyly peeked out at the waiting butler.

The girl was young, around nine years in human terms, but appeared even younger than that. She wore a cream-colored uniform and had mid-length orange hair, contrasting sharply with Ante's colors. She had the ears and tail of a tiger cub, and wore a ribbon in her hair and another larger one on her tail. She also wore a bell collar, which made a light tinkling noise as she stepped forward, clutching Ante's shirt tightly in one tiny hand.

"Um, m-my name is Hani-chan," she said quietly. "I-It's a p-pleasure ..." The rest was just a squeak.

Spoiler

Show

Affection roll to make a first impression: (1d6x5)[15]

[Deme]

The butler smiled at the two maids who made an effort to impress him, accepting the kitten's strangeness and the demoness' disguise without too much bother. He dropped to a one-kneed bow for the little tiger.

"A pleasure to meet thee, Hani-chan. Is she thy sister, Miss Hanaba?"

To the rest of them, looking up from his bow...Well, he looked them over again. Meredith Lillith...The name rang a bell, but he could not place it. It had a nostalgic sound. And, of course, there were two other maids... It didn't occur to him that the girl in the sailor suit was not a maid. It just sort of happened. He continued his speech.

"The next few days shall't be a...trial period for thee, to determine if thou all art truly suited to positions here; this household and his royal highness Prince Leon hath specific needs of its staff, and we have yet to keep maids that meeteth them."

[Lycan 01]

"Understood," Yuki replies to the butler in a crisp, professional manner. "May I ask what the staff has specific need of, exactly?" she asks, standing straight at attention, her arms folded behind her back.

[Trobby]

Ante listened carefully to Terran's words, and kept her sister within arm's reach of her. Her desire for perfect symmetry was partly overrun by her desire to treat her 'little sister' with love, and right now she looked like she needed some.

"You did great, sis." She said softly, patting the tiger girl's head.

[Atreli]

Since the main butler had done nothing to stop her or question her, Lune slid into line with the others. It was then she noticed how differently she was dressed compared to the girls. If she was to work and be here she would need a uniform. Perhaps there was an extra lying around inside...

She waited for Terran's words eagerly. What would their jobs be she wondered as how did they say it...maid?

[Deme]

He was still waiting for a response to his question from Ante or Hani, and still on his knee, but he replied to the question from his position with as much decorum as he could muster.

"The standard services one would expect of maids, of course, apply, though, of a level suiting for His Highness... But parts of this place require restoration, which shall be amongst thy undertakings..."

Here, he faltered, seeming to try and figure out what his master would like him to say when it came to...The ultimate reason they were here. Not that they expected thing King and Queen's plan of "throw girls at him until one breaks the spell" would work, but...

He settled on the broad strokes version. Not too personal.

"This manor recieveth little contact from outside: only us, acquiring supplies, and never once have we recieved visitors. As a result... Thou must beeth suitable as companions, as well... My hopes, in this, are low; I am praying to be proven wrong. Any questions?"

[Lycan 01]

"Standard maid services will prove to be no problem," Yuki states factually. With a slight smirk, she adds: "Repairs and renovations should not be too much of a challenge, either. I know my way around a hammer and screwdriver." She gave a subtle flex of her artificial fingers behind her back. She was quite experienced with mechanical repair and tinkering. Architecture shouldn't be too much different.

She then raises her eyebrow at the butler's last remark. "Companionship, you say? You do not think the Prince will like us? Hm..." Her eye narrows, and her smirk deepens. "Challenge accepted."

Yuki doesn't actually expect to earn the Prince's friendship, of course. She doesn't need to, really. She just needs to be able to get in a position where she can be close to him so she can properly keep and eye on him and perform her bodyguard duties. It didn't really matter to her how she got there, be it through respect, friendship, or affection.

[Trobby]

"I and my sister are ready to take on any task that you may have for us." Ante says with resolution. She holds onto Hani a little bit tighter, to affirm to her that they are together in all of this.

[Hawkflight]

The butler smiled at the two maids who made an effort to impress him, accepting the kitten's strangeness and the demoness' disguise without too much bother. He dropped to a one-kneed bow for the little tiger.

"A pleasure to meet thee, Hani-chan. Is she thy sister, Miss Hanaba?"

To the rest of them, looking up from his bow...Well, he looked them over again. Meredith Lillith...The name rang a bell, but he could not place it. It had a nostalgic sound. And, of course, there were two other maids... It didn't occur to him that the girl in the sailor suit was not a maid. It just sort of happened. He continued his speech.

"The next few days shall't be a...trial period for thee, to determine if thou all art truly suited to positions here; this household and his royal highness Prince Leon hath specific needs of its staff, and we have yet to keep maids that meeteth them."

Ante listened carefully to Terran's words, and kept her sister within arm's reach of her. Her desire for perfect symmetry was partly overrun by her desire to treat her 'little sister' with love, and right now she looked like she needed some.

"You did great, sis." She said softly, patting the tiger girl's head.

Hani again hid partially behind Ante with a slight blush. It was then one might notice she was carrying a fairly large teddy bear, albeit old and ragged, with soft golden fur. She did let out a slight purr when Ante pet her on the head.

"I and my sister are ready to take on any task that you may have for us." Ante says with resolution. She holds onto Hani a little bit tighter, to affirm to her that they are together in all of this.

"'My sister and I', onii-sama," Hani corrected softly. It appeared some of Ante's OCD was wearing off on her. Whether she spoke loudly enough for even Ante to hear her was ... debatable.

[Trobby]

"...Yes, sweetie. Thank you." Ante says in reply, trying not to inwardly chastise herself too hard for being corrected on her grammar by a 9-year old.

[Benson]

.

"Any questions?"

"When's lunch time?" Merry asked as her stomach growled loud in an exaggerated manner that echoed across the heavens, where time itself stopped long enough for a large sweat drop to develop and stay in place for a short moment. Plenty of tact here.

[Hawkflight]

"...Yes, sweetie. Thank you." Ante says in reply, trying not to inwardly chastise herself too hard for being corrected on her grammar by a 9-year old.

It was even worse than that to the others, if they overheard. She was 9, but looked closer to 5, maaaybe 6.

"S-Sorry, onii-sama," she apologized, blushing.

[Atreli]

Lune laughed, clearly delighted at the thought of a maid.

"It sounds so exciting! I promise I will do my best!"

But first order of business. Maid outfit search.

[Deme]

"It's not necessarily that he may not liketh thee... But if it suits thee to see it as a challenge, so be it."

Terran replied. He wanted very much to not expose too much of the...sadder goings-on around here. So let her think what she will.

"Lunch will happen once I've shown thee to the kitchen...But first, dropped off thy things and gotten Miss Lune her own uniform. This way."

He walked them down the path towards the manner, and up its great steps.

"To either side of the manor is the rose and hedge maze... And the formal gardens where at times His Highness taketh his tea. There's a lawn for games, but with but three players, we don't play often."

He repressed a little sigh at this. Once, they had played, for a while. He led them into the manor's central hall.

It bore an oddly-proportioned portrait in an oddly-made frame. The portait was a little too narrow, was the thing. It showed a regal-looking man with very fair curly hair (if one knew their politics, clearly the king), a dark-haired woman (Queen #3, if you followed the past politics), and a very young boy with dark, curly hair. There was a hand on the boy's shoulder, but it vanished out of the cropped image.

The portrait was flanked by two double-doors. Stairs went to the left and right of the wall with the portrait to the open second-floor.

"We are now in the Great Hall. Through those doors are the Ballroom, through which we can access the dining hall and kitchen. To the east is the part of the mansion in which everyone lives, and it includeth thy quarters, the work-room, and the prince's rooms. To the West is the West Wing. Thou must'nt ever goest there."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki walks along behind Terran, listening to him explain their surroundings. "Does the Prince have any specific preferences for lunch?" she asks factually, quirking her eyebrow aloofly. Might as well get into character, she figures. If she's going to be posing and acting as a maid, she should do a good job of it. And finding out the Prince's likes and dislikes as soon as possible would likely prove invaluable in the long run.

When told about the gardens and games, Yuki asks: "What sort of games? Does the Prince have any favorites?"

As Terran shows Yuki and the other maids around the mansion, she idly calculates possible escape routes and shortcuts. Just in case. And when told not to go into the West Wing, Yuki nods solemnly. "West Wing forbidden. Understood."

[Trobby]

Ante glances up at the picture, canting her head to the side as she looks at it intently. She wonders about the master, and why he hasn't yet shown himself to the maids.

"When shall we meet our master, Sir?"

[Benson]

The West wing? Meridith scratched her chin and glanced up at the castle, her eyes going to the direction of the west wing. Forbidden places she shouldn't ventured to?.....good gravy biscuits, it was very tempting to be naughty and break that rule. She was now curious, like, deviously curious.

To anyone else who looked at her she looked to be twiddling her fingers as if she were plotting something, very hammily I might add.

She snapped out of her silliness and put on a serious business face.

"Yes....uh....Sir, when do we get the...honor, to meet him?" She partially parroted Ante.

[Lycan 01]

Yuki notices Meridith quite obviously acting devious. Not even ten minutes into the job, and already she knew there was going to be trouble. And considering they had only just been told to never enter the West Wing, it was quite obvious what the other maid was plotting. Yuki mentally sighed. She would have to keep an eye on her, and make sure she didn't do anything to get the rest of them in trouble, through force if necessary.

Her disapproving stare is probably quite obvious.

[Deme]

He was a little impressed by all these questions. Having come to a pause in his tour anyway, he could answer them and still take a moment for more before moving on.

"The prince hath a fondness for pasta, though for lunch, something light is always best...And what he liketh best is to have something at least somewhat new."

He said, trying to think of how to explain it. As a whole, he found his companion to be restless in his tastes, particularly now, when a new recipe or a new game was the only thing seperating him from total boredom.

"And in lawn-games, he particularly liketh croquet...Or any new game we can devise."

For the record, he liked dominos for indoor games, but had never once learned the rules for dominos. Yup.
As for when they'd meet him....There, Terran smiled very awkwardly, then gave it up, sighed, and smiled the smile of someone dealing with someone frustrating who he loved.

"An excellent question. When he hath satisfied his nerves with preperation, or I can convince him in spite of that...That is when thee will have the opportunity to meet him...I think one at a time would be best,"

He mused, clearly trying to figure out how to make introductions go smoothly.

[Atreli]

Lune's smile had shifted considerably in the last few minutes from bubbly to curious. Inside the place was incredible. She couldn't wait to start making this place shine.

" Will we have select duties like one does the cooking, the other fixing or do we just all work together in general?" She asked Terran firmly.