[M] Burning Battalion (1x1 BurningSun22 x SaltyIrishman)
The road was bumpy as the taxi carried Hestia, no Anna, into Grandus. Her heart was racing, and her skin was clammy, but she kept a calm and collected face even though she was in enemy territory. It was different facing the enemy on the battlefield and extinguishing their life essence, it was another thing to pretend to be one of them. The taxi came to an abrupt stop as she was lost in thought.
“Get out! I’m on the clock and have other clients to pick up.” The driver demanded, his voice pulling Anna from her thoughts. He spat chewing tobacco out the open window as he waited impatiently.
“My apologies. Yes, here is your fare.”, she said handing him the money, not knowing if she was giving him too much. The driver yanked the money from her hands and sped away, causing water from the pavement to splash against the bottom of her light blue dress. What the fuck?! It was bad enough this servant’s dress was constricting and itchy. It would not due at all if she had to fight last minute if she were found out, but she had to blend in. The dress was made of a starchy material and clung to curvy figure. It fell to ankle length and went all the way up her neck, buttoned tight. How does anyone breathe in this thing? she thought as she dragged her bag to the dilapidated building that would be her new home. It appeared to be an overcrowded apartment building. People here lived in squalor and guessing from the smell, probably did not hold the best hygiene practices.
Stopping for a moment Anna took in her new surroundings. Everything was so noisy. There were cars beeping, people yelling, multiple feet banging upon the pavement. It was a stark contrast to the quiet and peaceful nature of Famus. Not to mention the air she inhaled. It was like an ominous gas that poisoned her with every breath. It was oppressive and made her want to gag. This tainted air came from the gray monstrous factories that loomed in the horizon. How do people live like this? I cannot wait to be back in the country… This place was advanced in technology but lacked by societal means. It was easy to see most here were impoverished and only those with magic or served were rich. Not to mention everyone was rude and angry all the time. At least in Famus those without powers had the ability to move up from poverty. There was also wealth spread equally, it was rare for people to be so impoverished as here.
Once she was in her room it did not take Anna long to settle in. Her apartment was a small studio with a bed in the corner, a small bathroom, and a kitchenette. She did not have many belongings, and everything was neatly put away. What took the longest was carving out a secret area for her guns and ammo. Those would be needed in case she needed to fight her way out of here. She had a mission after all, gather intel on the enemy and get out. It would also be helpful if she could find where POW were kept and could formulate a rescue mission. But that would be harder on her own. She knew others like her were infiltrated among societal ranks within Grandus, but she could not rely on them nor could she give away her position.
Anna got a glimpse of her new self in the mirror.
“You can do this.”, she told herself. So, what if she was used to brute force and violence to get her way? She could learn to blend in and be a meek, unassuming servant. There was a small doubt as she stared into her reflection. She did not recognize herself. Prior to departure Anna had undergone a makeover. A strange chemical was applied to her flaming red hair that bleached her hair to a soft blonde. It was so strong that chemical burns had appeared on her scalp, but she had withered through the pain and it was mostly healed by now anyway. Her luscious curls were replaced with straight hair that had a slight wave to it. Length had been taken from her long hair to make it more manageable. Now she wore it up in a tight and clean ponytail, with her bangs pinned back to blend in. The blonde color of her hair made her eyes appear lighter shade of aquamarine, almost like broken sea glass. This small change had transformed her completely, for better or for worse she was not too sure yet. Anna sighed and welcomed her new life.
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A couple of weeks had passed since Anna’s arrival in Grandus. She had learned the hard way to keep to herself and how to live the life of a servant. The start of every week was the same. She would be assigned to a house that she would be responsible for everyday duties. Also, for any request the master or mistress of the house desired. A servant could stay in the house for a longer rotation, only upon request.
Anna’s first assignment had been with Mr. Gabriel Brooks. He was a middle-aged divorcee, recently discharged from the military. The reasons why were suspicious, and Anna had hoped to find out through snooping. He was a water Arcanist and spent most of his time in his green house tending to his plants. However, the man had a temper. When she first introduced herself, Anna held out her hand and had made eye contact.
“Hello Mr. Brooks. I am Anna, your servant for the week. Please let me know anything I can do to help you during my time here.”
Before she had even entered the house Mr. Brooks had given her a hard back handed slap. It instantly split and swelled her lip. An indent from his Arcane ring making an imprint upon her lip.
“It is Master Brooks to you, peasant scum! All the new servants are the same. Happy and chipper, well you will learn your place. Rule 1. Never make eye contact and Rule 2. Only speak when spoken to. Now the duties I expect of you are placed in the kitchen. Do them perfectly and you won’t need to be punished. I’ll be back by dinner time.” He roughly pushed past her as he entered the taxi that was waiting for him.
It took everything Anna had within her to calm the rising flame of anger within herself. She wanted to turn and blast him with her flame thrower power and burn his smug ass to a crisp. However, she kept her composure and went into the house to perform her “servant duties”.
Another client, Mrs. Lydia Taft, had purposely followed Anna around the house and knocking things over or undoing all the cleaning she had done. Making Anna redo the tasks she had just completed. If Anna gave a rebuttal, she got a thwacking from a thick switch the woman kept faithfully at her side. She bared through it and continued her work while also gathering intel. At the end of workdays, she would send secret messages back to Famus. Despite the constant torture and physical abuse, masters and mistresses of the house were quite loose lipped around servants. Numerous guests would come and go and easily gab while servants waited on them. In the end all of this would be worth it. But Anna would be dishonest with herself if her pride wasn’t bruised and sometimes, she did cry herself to sleep at night after a tough assignment. She could not fathom how people lived like the permanently. If this was her actual life Anna might have taken her life by now.
Now Anna stood at her newest assignment. This would be her third week and third client. She learned to not make eye contact and to always address the owner of the household as Master or Mistress. She would also not speak unless spoken to. Her current appearance did not seem to match any of the other servants she had seen about the city. Maybe she had to get a good name for herself before people respected her or moved onto another new servant to bully around. There was a bruise on her right eye and her lip was still slightly swollen. There were also slight scratches and broken skin on her arms from the switch. But she still managed to stand tall, but with her eyes averted down as to not challenge her new owner of the week. This household would be a Master. Her new assignment for the week would be to Otto Von Schmidt. Anna knocked on the door and rang the bell once, awaiting a reply.
Spoiler: Hestia/Anna
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