Alessandra

Alessandra heard Miss Kat kneel beside her and ask, “Alessandra, what are you doing?”

Alessandra looked at her, slightly puzzled. Wasn’t it obvious, she thought, I’m bowing? That being the case, she said, “I’m bowing to the Investigator.” Realizing Miss Kat wouldn’t have asked her what she was doing if she was bowing correctly, she asked, “Did I do it wrong?”

“Not wrong, just the wrong type of bow. You did the bow to ask for something, not to introduce yourself. Now stand up,” Miss Kat said while dusting off Alessandra’s dress. “For now, no bowing; you need to be taught. These nice people are here to help you, so wave and tell them your name."

Trying to behave and do as she was told, Alessandra waved to the Inspector and Counselors and reintroduced herself, “Hello, my name is Alessandra.”

The Inspector waved back, “It’s nice to meet you, Alessandra. My name is Investigator Gisselle Rochelle.” She pointed to the man, who waved at Alessandra, “This is Counselor Gregory Ufton.” Pointed to the other woman, who also waved, she said, “And last but not least, this is Counselor Nadine Rathmon. We each have a job which means we will be spending some time with you. You are not in any trouble; we want to make sure you’re ok. For now, why don’t you, the Caregiver, and Counselor Nadine see what toys the maids have brought out for you?”

Alessandra wasn’t sure why the Investigator was telling her what to do. It was the same thing Miss Kat had told her to do, but now she didn’t want to. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t; she rarely got to play with toys and had been excited about the playroom until the Investigator started telling her what to do. She decided to ask Miss Kat and Miss Yvette what she should do. She tugged on Miss Kat’s sleeve since she was next to her; when Miss Kat looked at her, she motioned her down so she could whisper to her.

“Should I do what she says?” Alessandra asked.

“Yes, you should,” Miss Kat answered. “She is the Fluffy Priestess that Duchess Helga asked to come here to help make sure you’re safe.”

Alessandra looked at Miss Yvette, waved her over, and asked her, “Is it true? They’re Fluffy Priestess?” Miss Yvette nodded a yes. Alessandra’s eyes widened with understanding, and she ran over to the Investigator, almost crashing into her in her haste.

“Miss Priestess Investigator, are you the people I’m supposed to tell about perverts? If so, I have to tell you about one!” she blurted out.

“Yes, we are. Has one been bothering you?” the Investigator asked.

“Yes, there is a guard who ran into the bath when I was naked and I thought he might be one but Miss Yvette said he was just doing his job and she made him leave after he gave me back my pretty dress,” she held out the surcoat that she was still clutching, took a breath and continued, “But the one I wanted to tell you about was Grabby when I woke up earlier today he was pushing up my dress and I was scared and confused and then I fell asleep again and woke up with this on my arm,” she shoved the arm with the bracer in the Investigators face, took another breath and continued, “and Grabby was in here I think he is following to do the bad thing the whores told me perverts want little girls to do but they never told me what it was just that it was bad to do and run away from perverts Miss Kat said he’s nice but she’s a guard or maybe a countess I haven’t figured that out yet and you’re a Fluffy Priestess Investigator and the whores always said to tell a Fluffy Priestess if I thought someone was a pervert so I did.” When she was done, Alessandra deflated, the day’s events finally catching up to her.

The Investigator blinked a few times, sat back down in her chair, and motioned for Alessandra, who was taking deep breaths to recover from her triad, to sit on her lap. “If ‘Grabby’ is who I think he is, he isn’t one.” The Investigator looked at Miss Kat and asked, “Was she talking about Lord Hector?”

“Yes, Investigator, she was.” Miss Kat said.

“Then I can assure you, Alessandra, he is not a pervert,” The Investigator said.

Alessandra’s face fell. “Was I wrong to tell you he might be one?” she asked.

“It’s never wrong to tell us about people you think are perverts, Alessandra,” the Investigator said, hugging Alessandra. “Next time, though, it might be better to tell me privately. If he was and someone overheard, they might tell him, and he could escape. About the guard who ran into the bath, Miss Yvette was right; he was simply doing his job. I’ll ask Countess Kathrine what happened just to make sure. Now, why don’t you go check out the toys? I see some dolls and play swords over there,” she said while pointing at a chest over-full with various toys.

Counselor Rathman stepped over and held a hand out for Alessandra, who hopped off the investigator's lap and pointedly ignored her hand; Alessandra wasn’t sure she trusted a Counselor. People were always complaining about them. Though she was beginning to feel tired, but she was excited about the toys and ran towards the toy chest. Alessandra rummaged thru the chest, tossing dolls, toy swords, wooden soldiers, and other toys all over the floor. When she got near the bottom, she let out a gasp and pulled out her prize, an old ragged stuffed cat. Hugging it tightly to her chest, she looked up at Miss Yvette, who had come over and looked at the mess in a mix of awe and horror at how quickly Alessandra had created it; she held up the toy and proudly said, “I found a kitty! Isn’t it cute?”

“Yes, it is.” Miss Yvette then pointed at the scattered toys and asked, “Can you tell me how these toys got all over the floor?”

“Yes! I threw them there, looking for a huggable toy. I always wanted one, but Seth could never find one, and the whores said they were a waste of cloth, but I found one, and he’s mine now. I’ll call him….Bitey!”

Being tired and done with all the new people talking to and about her, Alessandra went to a corner, sat, wrapped herself in her surcoat, hugged her stuffed cat, and started telling it about her day. She saw Miss Yvette begin to say something, but Counselor Rathman stopped her. Counselor Rathman whispered in Miss Yvette’s ear, who nodded and started picking up the toys. The Counselor walked over to Alessandra, ignoring her glare, and sat beside her.

“That’s a nice cat you found, Alessandra,” Alessandra grunted and glared harder; she was tired of new people and wanted to be alone. She was getting very tired and hungry. Still ignoring her glares, the Counselor continued speaking, “You can call me Miss ‘dine.” Alessandra grunted again and turned away from ‘Miss ‘dine.’ “Did I do something to make you mad at me?” ‘Miss ‘din’ asked.

“Yes! I want to be alone, and everyone says you can’t trust Counselors. They say you’re worse than merchants,” Alessandra said through gritted teeth. She wished everyone would leave her alone with Bitey; she was getting tired and wanted to go to sleep.

Miss ‘dine laughed, “Oh dear, you’re thinking of the wrong councilors. It’s my job to listen to you and help you adjust to your new family, not to take your things. You can tell me anything you want. If you are confused about something, I’ll help you figure it out. If you get mad or frustrated, you can yell at me about it until you feel better. Does that make sense to you?”

It confused Alessandra that there were different types of Counselors. Whatever, she thought. She just wanted to be left alone and find somewhere to sleep, but Nice Duchess Helga had promised food, and she didn’t want to miss out on food by sleeping. Yawning, she decided to agree so Miss ‘dine would go away.

“Fine; you want me to yell at you when I’m mad and confused, right?” Alessandra asked.

Miss ‘dine smiled and nodded, “That’s right,” she said.

“Well, I’m mad that you won’t leave me alone with Bitey; I’m confused about why people suddenly care about me and frustrated that I haven’t gotten the food Duchess Helga promised me.” As Alessandra spoke, the strange warmth in her chest came back. She took a deep breath and screamed, “ GO AWAY! ” After she screamed, the warmth in her chest went away again.

She turned around, hugged Bitey, and started crying, overwhelmed by the confusing day. She didn’t notice when Miss ‘dine left. Nor did she see when Counselor Ufton walked over and cast some spells on her. She did notice when Miss Yvette came over with a wonderful-smelling tray.

“I have some food for us to share, Alessandra. Will you join me?” Miss Yvette asked.

“(Sniff) Yes, (sniff) Miss Yvette. (Sniff) It smells good,” Alessandra answered while turning around.

She ate quickly and silently, remembering to use the spoon like Nice Duchess Helga said. When Miss Yvette wasn’t looking, she slipped some bread into a pocket. When she was done, she asked Miss Yvette, “Where sleep?”

“I’ll take you to your bedroom and help you get ready for bed,” Miss Yvette said, taking one last bite of soup.

She held out a hand for Alessandra, who had quickly grabbed her surcoat and Bitey. Alessandra ignored the offered hand and followed Miss Yvette. Two more new people and a maid were waiting for them in the hallway. Alessandra ignored them. The maid quickly led them to a nearby room, told them that someone would be outside all night if they wanted anything, and left. Alessandra didn’t have the energy to be shocked when Miss Yvette helped her get into a nightgown, which, apparently, you only wore to sleep in, and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

****

When Alessandra woke up before dawn, she realized two things almost immediately. She wasn’t so hungry that her stomach hurt, and she was in a bed. Laying in the soft, warm bed that had PILLOWS AND BLANKETS, her memories of the day before started to come back, and she realized something else, there were people who wanted to keep her safe and feed her, and she wouldn’t even have to pay them Protection. Hugging Bitey, she whispered to him, “Bitey, I think I’m safe here. No one is going to beat me or steal my food. I think Miss Helga means it when she says she wants to protect me. I hope it’s true. I don’t want to leave here. Everyone seems so nice, and there is so much food.” She quickly fell back into a fitful sleep, never noticing the Archbishop, who was taking a turn on watch in case a nightmare set off Alessandra’s Death Aura.

A couple of hours later, Alessandra awoke again when someone shook her shoulder.

“Alessandra, it’s time to get up,” a voice she thought was Miss Suzzane was saying. Alessandra wasn’t sure she wanted to get up and curled up under the blankets with Bitey. “Oh no, you don’t!” the voice said, and the blankets got pulled off. “Get out of bed, young lady.” Grudgingly, Alessandra got out of bed.

“That’s better. Use the toilet if you need to; if you want help untying the undergarments, let me know,” Miss Suzzane said while pointing to a door.

Having been reminded of the toilet, Alessandra suddenly felt the need to use it. She went thru the door indicated and managed to get the blasted undergarment untied by herself. Unfortunately, she was less successful in retying them. Poking her head out the door, she saw Miss Suzzane and Miss Yvette looking at some dresses lying on a table across the room. They didn’t look happy with them.

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She called out, “Miss Suzzane, please, I need some help retying the undergarments.”

Miss Suzzane turned around, “That’s ok, Alessandra. Come over here. We have some new ones for you to wear today.”

Alessandra made her way over to the Caretakers, who motioned for her to go behind a screen. She saw a stool and a small table with a mirror when she got behind it. She was immediately entranced by the mirror, having rarely seen one in the Slums. She noticed a few changes since the last time she had been able to use one. Her black hair was not as dull and frizzy as it usually was. She also didn’t have any of the ugly bruises or small cuts that were usually all over her face. She reached up to touch her face to ensure that it was her in the mirror.

“OK, let’s get you into some clean clothes,” Miss Suzzane said, stepping into the changing area, causing Alessandra to jump in surprise. Chuckling at the girl’s start, “I guess this is your first time seeing a mirror after all the healing and the bath?” At Alessandra’s nod, she continued, “Well, there will be more changes in the next few weeks. When you’re cleaned up and not throwing a tantrum, you're a rather cute kid. Come over here so I can help you get changed; it’s almost breakfast time.”

With those magic words, Alessandra cooperated in the changing process with alacrity. She was surprised when Miss Yvette came into the changing area holding two dresses for her to choose from. One was a dark blue that she was told would set off her black hair; the other was a green that Miss Yvette thought would match her gray eyes. Miss Yvette was amused when Alessandra asked if she could wear both; Miss Suzzane was not amused; she barked a curt no, leaving no room for argument. She chose the blue one; the green one just didn’t feel right. Alessandra was not happy when Miss Yvette told her that she could bring Bitey or her pretty dress with her to breakfast, but not both. She was ready to argue that the Maid-Thief might come and take whichever one she left, but Miss Yvette had an answer for that.

“You can’t drag all your thing with you all the time, Alessandra. But I understand why you’re afraid of thieves, so Miss Suzzane and I will stand by the door facing the wall while you hide whichever item you’re not bringing with you,” Miss Yvette said.

Alessandra thought about her offer for a few seconds. It sounded reasonable, but she still felt like she was being tricked somehow. Unable to figure out the trick and wanting breakfast, she agreed. After the Caretakers had turned around, she slid her pretty dress under her bed. She thought that she would get fewer weird looks bringing Bitey with her than the pretty dress.

The same maid-thief from yesterday was waiting in the hallway to lead them to the dining room. She noticed the Archbishop and the Fluffy Priests were already there when they got there. The Archbishop and Investigator were talking to two tall women who had swords at their sides. Alessandra wasn’t sure what to think of them, but if the Archbishop weren’t scared of them, she wouldn't hide from them. She saw Miss ‘dine with the other Counselor and remembered that she had been really rude to her the night before. She felt a little bad about yelling at her. This was an unusual feeling for her; she usually felt good about yelling at people.

Tugging on Miss Yvette’s sleeve to get her attention, when she had it, she asked, “Should I apologize to Miss ‘dine for yelling at her? I ‘member that she said it was ok, but I feel bad about doing it.”

Mis Yvette looked at her thoughtfully before answering. “If you feel bad about it, you should; even if someone says it’s ok to do something, you should apologize if you feel bad about it later.”

“Ok, I’ll go apologize now,” Alessandra said. She walked over to Miss ‘dine and waited for her to notice her. She didn’t have to wait long, as Miss ‘dine had seen her when she had come into the room.

Acknowledging Alessandra’s presence, she asked, “Is there something I can do for you, Alessandra?”

Alessandra shook her head no and said, “I wanted to apologize for being rude last night; I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

Miss ‘dine blinked a few times in surprise but replied quickly, “Did Miss Yvette tell you to apologize to me?”

“No, Ma’am,” Alessandra replied. “When I saw you, I just felt a little bad for yelling at you.”

‎ “In that case, I accept your apology. Did you sleep well?” Miss ‘dine asked.

“Yes! I got my own bed, and no one tried to steal my pretty dress or..." she held the cat up for inspection, "...Bitey. When I got up, Miss Suzzane and Miss Yvette gave me new undergarments and this dress. I had to choose between this one an’ a green one. I didn’t like the green one. It seemed wrong somehow, but I liked this one.” She gave a twirl, like she had seen some whores do when they got a new dress, and asked, “Do you like it?”

“Yes, it looks good on you,” Miss ‘dine answered. “Can you hold still for a second? I saw something in your hair I want Counselor Ufton to look at.” Alessandra, wanting to be a good girl, stood still while Miss ‘dine and Counselor Ufton looked at her hair.

“This is unusual this soon after an Awaking,” she heard Counselor Ufton say. “Archbishop, Investigator, can you come here?”

Alessandra felt a little nervous as Counselor Ufton stepped over and started whispering to the Investigator and Archbishop. Miss ‘dine noticed her shifting nervously and knelt to look her in the eyes and said, “Don’t worry, I noticed some of your hair changing color. It’s a bit unusual, but people who have strong magic sometimes have their hair change color. It usually takes more than a few days to happen, that is all. This means you are a very strong little girl.”

Alessandra was about to ask what her hair had to do with her magic, but Nice Miss Helga came into the room then. Alessandra was happy to see her and started to walk over to her but stopped after her first step. She was confused about her feelings. She had only met Nice Miss Helga yesterday, so why did she feel so happy to see her? True, she had given her food and the pretty dress, but she had never felt this way when the Priestess or whores had given her food and clothes in the Slums. What was going on?

She felt Miss ‘dine put a hand on her shoulder and ask her, “Why did you stop?”

“I don’t know. I’m happy Nice Miss Helga is here, but I don’t know why I’m happy.” Alessandra said, looking at Miss ‘dine with a worried expression.

“That’s all right, Alessandra. Feelings can be confusing, and you have had a couple of busy days. From what I’ve been told, Duchess Helga was the first person that was kind to you in a long time, so you feel attached to her. This is normal and good for you, so why don’t you go hug her? I’m sure she’ll like that.”

Alessandra remembered that Miss ‘dine had said she was there to help with her confusion, so she thought about what she had said. She wasn’t sure if being attached to someone was a good thing; people betrayed their friends all the time, but she felt safe with Miss Helga, so she decided to follow Miss ‘dine’s advice and hug Miss Helga.

Miss Helga was talking with the Archbishop and didn’t notice Alessandra’s approach, so she jumped a little when Alessandra wrapped her waist in a hug.

“GOOD MORNING MISS HELGA!” Alessandra said a bit too loudly.

“OOFF!” Miss Helga exhaled. “Well, you seem to be in a good mood this morning, Alessandra. I assume this means you slept well?”

“YES! Thank you for the bed! It was the nicest one I ever slept in,” Alessandra said as Miss Helga pried herself free from the glomp monster Alessandra had become. “Look at the pretty blue dress Miss Yvette found for me to wear. The green one didn’t feel right, so I chose this one.”

Having successfully freed herself from the glomp, Nice Miss Helga did look at the dress and said, “It is pretty, and blue does seem a good color for you. I have a few meetings this morning; we can look for some more in storage after I am done. I am sure that we have some nicer ones. Plus, we need to find you some trousers and blouses for running around outside.”

Alessandra’s eyes widened at Nice Miss Helga’s words. She knew that Nice Miss Helga and Beard Man were rich; they had the carriage and all these guards and maids, but having so many spare clothes that they had a storage area full of them is what caused it to sink in for Alessandra. She decided to continue playing along with whatever Nice Miss Helga and Beard Man were up to. They had not really hurt her, though she did not want another SPANKING, so she would do what they asked her to do. The Archbishop asking her a question broke her out of her thoughts.

“Alessandra, could you tell me why the green dress felt wrong?” the Archbishop asked.

“Not really. It felt icky, like something that had been in the sewer or on a dead person for a week,” Alessandra said. “I don’t know why I think that, though; it didn’t smell bad.”

“That’s a perfect answer, sweety,” the Archbishop said. She looked at Nice Miss Helga and said, “Please show her a few green and yellow clothes while looking through your storage. Her reaction to them should answer a few questions for us.”

“Of course, Archbishop,” Nice Miss Helga said, though she looked confused.

Alessandra was about to ask why liking or disliking a certain color would answer questions when Beard Man came through the door. He looked mad about something, so Alessandra decided to keep Nice Miss Helga between him and herself.

Nice Miss Helga spoke before Beard Man could say anything, “Now that we are all here, let us head in and get breakfast.”

Alessandra, used to waiting a long time between meals, was still excited about having breakfast and tugged on Nice Miss Helga’s sleeve, “Will there be meat?” she asked.

“You should ask your question like this: ‘Miss Helga, will there be meat?’ try again, Alessandra,” Helga said in a soft but firm voice.

Alessandra lost a bit of her excitement but did as Nice Miss Helga asked and repeated her question, “Miss Helga, will there be meat?”

“I do not know, Alessandra. It will be a surprise,” Helga said with a smile for Alessandra, “That was a very polite way to ask a question.”

Alessandra looked at Beard Man, wondering why he had been so quiet, and when he looked back at her, she tried to hide in Helga’s skirt, which almost caused them both to trip.

Beard Man steadied Nice Miss Helga asked Alessandra, “Why were you trying to hide from me? You almost made Helga trip?”

“You looked like you were mad at me,” she said quietly. She quickly added, “Sir.”

“I wasn’t mad, girl, just not fully awake. I need coffee, ignore me for now,” he half-growled out.

She pulled Nice Miss Helga’s skirt in front of her face with a squeak and said, “Yessir!”

“Alessandra, let go of my skirt! I cannot walk with you tugging on it. Jerome won’t hurt you,” Nice Miss Helga said, trying to extricate her skirt from Alessandra’s glomp, with limited success.

They went into another room with a big table and wonderful smells. Nice Miss Helga led Alessandra to a chair next to her that had a HUGE bowl of porridge in front of it. Alessandra thought at first that she would have to share with everyone but quickly noticed that everyone had their own bowl. She also had a glass of regular water and another one that had orange-colored water in it. She started to shovel the wonderful porridge into her mouth and got even more surprises. The porridge had honey and chopped-up nuts in it! It was almost better than meat. She heard Nice Miss Helga start talking to Beard Man about the dress hunt later.

Forgetting to swallow, she asked, “I murflge more dreslfe?”

“Alessandra! Don’t speak with your mouth full!” Beard Man barked at her. “Swallow and ask politely, please.”

Swallowing, she tried again, “Yessir, Mr. Beard Man, sir. Miss Helga, will I really get more dresses, Ma’am?”

Miss Helga responded, “Yes, dear, you will get more dresses. And I have told you before that his name is not Beard Man; it is Jerome. Call him Duke Jerome or Mr. Jerome. Repeat what I just said, please.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Mr. Jerome or Duke Jerome, not Beard Man. I will try to remember,” Alessandra said, stealing a glance at Bea…..Mr. Jerome, and saw him smiling at her. Maybe he was Nice Mr. Jerome, not Scary Mr. Jerome? She would have to wait and see.

“Finish your food, Alessandra; I’m sure the Caretakers and Paladins have a full day planned for you,” Mr. Jerome said. He patted her head and added, “I’ll come by later to play with you.”

Confused and a little suspicious of what he meant by coming by to play, she just nodded her head and went back to her food. The orange-colored water was wonderful!