Unruly Servant

Unruly Servant (chapter 2)

Chapter two

“That’s much better,” I murmured, lifting the edge of the knee length skirts. 

A little snipping and taking in had made the outfit much more suited to someone of my petite frame. The skirts were daringly short, much shorter than anything I would have ever thought twice about wearing before. Brushing the tops of my knees I had brought the white lace petticoat into glimpsing view under the soft cotton of the black skirts above it. The skirt flowed away from my waist but grew tighter around my torso, hugging my small, barely noticeable curves. The heart shaped neckline was now laced with the excess material I cut from the white petticoat and the once slightly puffed sleeves fell like another skin against my arms to my elbows were a simple white cuff folded at the bend in my arm. 

Unfortunately the other maid’s old boots were two sizes too large for my dainty feet and there was no way for me to resize something like that. That was something beyond my talent. Instead I had to keep to my expensive black ones. They were the only pair I had been able to keep and I was now glad it was so. They matched the dress perfectly, ending halfway up my calf laced with white ribbon. The little heel in the back lifted me up a few more inches, topping me off at a short five five rather then my usual five two without any heel.

I re-situated my hair, pulling it back into a simple ponytail with a black velvet ribbon. The copper spirals rebelliously curled at the back of my head. Making the ponytail unruly and thick. 

I sighed, well there would be no use pushing back my trip to the kitchen any longer. I gave one last look around the room, before leaving it all behind me and heading down the hall towards what I believed would be the route to the kitchen. 

The mansion was built to be a maze and I quickly found that out as I tried to navigate the hallways without the help of Sebastian. Every hall that I thought I recognized turned out to be not the one I was searching for. I turned another and another, getting more frustrated by the second when I was unsuccessful again and again.

I growled softly to myself as I came to a fork in the hall I was currently traveling down. my patience was running thin and I was in no mood to play games with a house that wasn’t playing them fairly. 

To choose one randomly wouldn’t hurt now, would it? I sighed and took a left down the plainer of the two halls, which had to count for something, hadn’t it?

As I turned the hall I was startled to a halt when I heard a loud bang, as if something had exploded. I clasped a hand to my chest and stared wide eyed down the hall, where the kitchen door now stood open. Part of the once shiny wood surface was charred black and dark gray wafts of thick smoke swirled out of the open doorway. I gasped and lifted my skirts in my hand, hurrying towards the kitchen.

Mid-way to the door, Sebastian appeared out of one of the connecting halls, he didn’t even give me glance of acknowledgement as he stepped into the kitchen ahead of me. I followed behind, less in a rush now that Sebastian was there. If he was so calm and composed then this wasn’t something to fret over.

I took one look around the room before giving an appalling shriek, “What happened here?”

Sebastian sighed one word, a name.

“Bard.”

A head full of blonde hair sticking up on its end, poked up from behind one of the burned counter tops. He gave a sheepish grin and rubbed his left hand over the back of his head. It surprised me that he was alive and well. A blast like that should’ve killed a person.

“‘ey, Sebastian,” the man called greetings to the butler around the cigarette in his mouth.

Sebastian sighed and stepped forward, “What was used this time?”