Alcingeria Chapter Thirty Three: The Servants

While staying at Queen Yuka's castle, our heroes are each assigned a servant.

Chapter Thirty Three The Servants: I awoke to sunlight streaming in through my window. I saw my weapons laying at the foot of the bed. From here I could see a note written on a piece of paper resting on top of them. I read it.

Here are your weapons. Try anything and you will die before you harm anyone.

Wow. Short, sweet and to the point. I was about to go back to sleep. Turning on my side, I saw a person standing across the room! Giving a slight cry of fear, I stared at the man.

            “What the- who are you?” I asked in surprise.

The person was a male, he didn’t look much older than me, so he was about sixteen or seventeen. He was dressed a formal black and white tuxedo complete with white gloves and a bowtie. In his tuxedo pocket was a red rose. He had short orange hair and pale, freckled skin. He had hazel eyes and he was a little shorter than me, standing at around 5’10” and had a thin build, it didn’t look like he had much muscle. He carried himself in a self-respected, sophisticated manor. He had one hand behind his back and one hand over his heart. He bowed from his waist.

            “Hello sir Bradford. My name is Lawrence. I have been assigned by Queen Yuka to be your personal servant during your time here at the castle.” Lawrence told me, even his tone was formal.

Oh, this guy was my servant.

            “Hi, Lawrence. You can stop bowing now.” I said.

Lawrence stood back up, adjusting his tuxedo and straightening his gloves.

            “Of course. Very good sir.” Lawrence said, his tone still formal.

My stomach grumbled quietly, but Lawrence heard it.

            “All of your friends are downstairs in the dining hall, would you care to join them, sir?” Lawrence asked.

I nodded and grinned.

            “Yes, can you take me there?” I asked.

            “But of course.” Lawrence announced, opening the door, stepping out and holding it open for me.

I walked out and he shut the door behind me.

            “Right this way.” Lawrence said, walking towards the two staircases.

I followed him. When we reached the staircase, we descended and found ourselves in the grand entryway of the castle. I passed all of the roses and rose paintings, the roses’ scent filled the air. I was going to ask Lawrence about the roses, but I was too hungry to care right now. My stomach grumbled again. Lawrence led me in between the staircases and turned left, entering another hallway with a door on the end. On either side of the hallway, there were roses on pedestals. We came to the door at the end and Lawrence held it open for me.

            “After you, sir.” He said, gesturing inside.

I nodded to him and walked through the door. I saw all of my friends sitting at a grand wooden table that was probably about thirty feet long and five feet wide. Everyone was eating and talking and laughing. Each of the others had their own butler standing behind them. The boys of the group had male servants, the girls of the group had female servants. The male servants all worse the same black and white tuxedo with the rose in the pocket that Lawrence wore, the girls wore dresses of different colors. The dresses weren’t elegant, but they were fancy. The others looked like they were having a great time. On the table was a wide variety of foods. There were vegetables, breads, cheeses, fruits and goblets of water. I walked over and joined my friends, sitting next to Robert and Don. Down the table a bit was Macalister, eating his bread. Don gave me a huge grin.

            “We’re being treated like royalty! Can you believe it?” Don exclaimed.

I grinned in return.

            “Not really, no.” I said.

Robert put a hand on my shoulder and a hand on Don’s. He pulled us close so he could whisper in our ears.

            “Don’t get too comfortable. Remember the risk we took by giving Queen Yuka the jewelry? Remember how we lied to her? All of this could go up in smoke if we’re not careful, so stay sharp. I had the same talk with Macalister earlier, so he knows the risk we are putting ourselves at.” He told us.

I nodded. He made sense. One small slip up and we could all be executed. My stomach growled, my hunger took away the fear of being caught. I turned my attention to my plate to find that Lawrence had already put food on it while Robert spoke to Don and I. Robert spoke low enough so Lawrence couldn’t overhear, which was good. The plate consisted of apples, carrots, cucumber, celery, pears, bread and a small selection of cheese. There was no meat, but it was breakfast. Meat would come later at lunch and dinner.

            “Thanks, Lawrence.” I said.

He gave a silent nod. I ate some carrots and celery. When I was finished with them, I moved onto the cucumber and pear. I ate some of the cheese with the vegetables. I could tell that it was old cheese, it had a slightly sour but sweet taste to it. I ate more of the cheese, this time eating some bread along with it.

            “So, Redmond. What’s your servant’s name?” Don asked.

            “My name is Lawrence.” Lawrence said.

Don’s servant stepped forward. He was a male who looked about fifteen. He had much the same build as Lawrence. He had brown eyes and shoulder length brown hair. His skin tone was light. I also noticed that he wore a silver ring on his middle finger on his right hand.

            “I am Milton.” He said in a formal tone.

Robert’s servant also came forward. He was a boy who looked about seventeen. He had blond hair that came down to his neck and caramel colored eyes. He too had a thin, non-muscular build. He had a red handkerchief in his tuxedo shirt pocket.

            “My name is Xavier. Nice to meet you all.” Robert’s servant said with a bow.

Macalister’s servant walked over. He had short black hair, hazel eyes, a thin build and he looked about sixteen. I noticed a gold pocket watch on a chain partially exposed in his pocket.

            “I am Graham. Enjoy your meal, everyone.” Macalister’s servant said.

Ceberus’s servant stepped up. He had long light brown hair and light grey eyes. He had a slim build and looked about Ceberus’s age, give or take a year. I noticed that the man had a wedding ring on.

            “My name is Wolfe. Good day.” Ceberus’s servant said with a slight wave of his hand.

William’s servant was next, he had very short hair that was turning grey and faded blue eyes. He was about William’s age, but the guy had wrinkles on his face as well as a small grey mustache. He also had the slim build that all the servants seemed to have. I saw an odd thing in his tuxedo shirt pocket. It was an ace of spades playing card. Why would he have that?

            “Reginald.” Willaim’s servant said.

Raymond’s servant stepped forward. He was a boy who looked to be about seventeen. He had hazel eyes, auburn hair that was down to his ears and of course, a thin build. In his pants pocket was a small flask of what I assumed to be alchohol.

            “My name is Victor.” He said.

Francella’s servant introduced himself. He had shoulder length black hair, pale gold eyes, a thin build and he looked about sixteen. In his shirt pocket was a small white dove feather.

            “My name is Preston. Hello all.” He said.

Next, Walden’s servant walked out into view. He had pale green eyes and short, very dark orange hair. He looked to be about fifteen. Like all the servants, he had a slim build. He was also wearing a black top hat with white trim.

            “My name is Percival.” He said.

All of the boy’s servants had some unique belonging with them. Did the girl’s servants have any unique belongings?

I looked up to see Martha’s servant step forward. She was about Martha’s age. She had shoulder length hair that was going grey and she had bright hazel eyes. She didn’t have as slim a build as the boys did, but she was still thin. She wore a red dress with black trim. She also had a small ruby necklace around her neck.

            “My name is Merrietta.” She said with a smile.

Stella’s servant stepped forward. She looked about seventeen. She had short, cream colored hair that came down to the base of her neck and dark cerulean eyes. She had the familiar slim build. She also had a white ribbon tied in her hair on the right side. She wore a dark blue dress with black trim.

            “I am Juliet.” Stella’s servant said.

Erin’s servant had short, well combed chocolate brown hair, light blue eyes, a slim build and she looked about seventeen. She had a cross that hung from a chain on her neck that was dull silver in color. She wore a blue dress with pink trim.

            “My name is Jane.” Erin’s Servant said with touching her cross.

Finally, Tabatha’s servant stepped forward. She had short light brown hair, beige eyes and a slim build. She looked about seventeen and she had a pair of earrings that held one small sapphire each. She also wore a black dress with white trim.

            “My name is Nattallie. Pleased to meet you all.” She said with a bow.

All of the girls did have their own unique belongings. I wonder what all of these possessions meant to all of them? All of the servants stepped back behind who they were assigned to. I leaned over to Lawrence, who was behind me.

            “Why does everyone have something unique with them?” I asked.

Lawrence looked around at the other servants.

            “Ah, yes. You see, a few years ago Queen Yuka sent her men to my home village of Riverguard. They abducted people, tore them away from their families to bring them here to work as servants. All the servants in this room are from Riverguard as well. They were allowed to take one thing from home, so long as it was not a weapon. Everyone’s item is different. I have my father’s white gloves, for example.” Lawrence said, holding up his hands.

“Queen Yuka took people away from their families… Just so they could act as servants? That’s horrible!” I said in a strained whisper.

Lawrence just closed his eyes and nodded. I turned away from Lawrence. When I turned around, I saw Tabatha levitating her bread with her finger. After making it levitate through the air briefly, she brought it to her mouth and ate it.

            “Tabatha, you shouldn’t play with you food.” Don playfully scolded.

Tabatha looked like she wanted to say something, but she probably didn’t want to ruin the mood. She just kept silent and ate her bread.

            “How was the food, sir?” Lawrence asked, breaking the silence.

            “It was great, thanks.” I told him.

I looked to my friends and saw that they were all just finishing up their food.

            “Is there dessert?” Macalister asked.

Graham chuckled.

            “Certainly sir. I shall return momentarily.” He said while looking at his pocket watch.

He then walked off, heading for a door near the rear of the room. When he opened the door I saw chefs and other kitchen personnel running from place to place, preparing food. Graham returned pushing a cart loaded with desserts, sporting a grin and flipping his black hair. He parked the cart right beside the table and returned to his place behind Macalister just as multiple other males wearing the same black and white tuxedo with the rose in the pocket exited the kitchen wheeling carts loaded with sweets. They all parked them around the table. Macalister’s eyes widened at the sight of the dessert and he grabbed a few small cakes and pastries in his hands, putting them on his plate and quickly eating them.

            “Thanks, Graham.” I told him.

            “Yeah, thanks!” Walden exclaimed.

Everyone else was too busy eating to do anything else. I grabbed some pastries that had icing on top and put them on my plate. I ate them one by one, enjoying the sweet, sugary taste.

            “These are so good!” Stella said, wiping a spot of white icing from her lower lip.

            “Yes, they are quite delectable.” Erin said with a smile, neatly eating her pastry.

I looked over to Macalister to see his plate littered with crumbs and his mouth coated in icing. He was still chewing.

            “Macalister.” Robert said to get his attention.

Macalister grunted and looked his way.

            “Wipe your face.” Robert said with a grin.

Macalister took his napkin and wiped it across his mouth.

            “There you go!” Don sarcastically praised.

Macalister growled.

            “Poke the bear and ya get eaten pal.” Walden chuckled.

The girls giggled along with Walden. Macalister grinned at Don.

            “What’re you smiling about?” Don snapped at him.

Macalister’s grin fell from his face and he grabbed a few more pastries from the cart. He began to eat them quickly. There was an uncertain silence. We couldn’t discuss our worries about Queen Yuka or about what to do next with the servants around.

            “Did everyone get their weapons back?” Robert asked.

Everyone nodded.

            “A guard told me that we may possess them as long as we don’t use them inside the castle, although he said that we were free to go outdoors on castle grounds and practice.” Raymond said.

            “I think I may practice my combat skills, they do need sharpening.” Erin said.

            “I’ll second that.” Stella mumbled.

            “What was that?” Erin snapped.

            “Nothing, I was just saying that your combat skills could use some work.” Stella explained.

Tabatha tapped them both on the shoulders. They turned to face her and saw that she had a grin on her face.

            “Both your combat skills need work.” She teased.

            “You may be a better fighter, but I’m so prettier than you.” Stella said with an arched eyebrow.

Tabatha’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She shut her mouth and pulled both Stella and Erin close, so that all three of their heads were only a centimeter or so apart. Tabatha looked at Don, so did Stella and Erin.

            “Don, who do you think is prettier?” Tabatha asked him.

Woah. That was a little forward, even for Tabatha. I looked to see Don’s face starting to go red.

            “I’m not getting in the middle of this one!” Don said in surprise.

Stella frowned.

            “Oh, come on! Just tell us.” Stella said.

            “Stella, he really doesn’t have to…” Erin said.

            “Come on, Don. Who is it? Who’s prettier?” Tabatha asked with a smirk.

Just then, Milton walked up behind Don, leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Don whipped around, gave him a funny look and turned back around to face Stella, Erin and Tabatha.

            “Girls, you’re making him blush. He’s embarrassed.” Erin protested.

Tabatha’s smirk faded.

            “Alright, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” She said, letting go of Erin and Stella.

I could almost hear Don sigh with relief. He went back to eating his pastries, so did the girls. There was a silence as we all ate our dessert. Occasionally one of the other servants would walk up behind who they were assigned to and whisper something in their ear. The person would either shake their head or nod silently. After a few more minutes we were all stuffed and we stopped eating.

            “All finished?” Percival asked.

We all gave nods while holding our stomachs. Percival grinned, adjusting his top hat.

            “Very good.” He said as he went around the table collecting the plates.

When he was done collecting the plates, he disappeared into the kitchen. I sat back in my chair, absolutely stuffed.

Author's Note

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