A few weeks after getting hired by the Marrow clan, I found myself settling in. As terse and callous as old Achilles had been, the rest of the staff were fairly decent. They didn’t treat me like a kid, in either the bad sense, or the good sense. Which meant that even if they weren’t going easy on their demands and expectations, they didn’t try to walk all over me, or bully me, either.
It also helped that there were a few folk who didn’t mind taking the time to properly explain things to the new guy. Including one kindly older maid who was maybe the one person who was treating me and the other new hire like the kids we were. Despite what I just said about liking being treated like a grown-up, it was paradoxically something I didn’t mind, because it was nice to have someone see me and care. Even if it was just the bare minimum of care.
On a certain Tuesday, someone started a fire...Or maybe, the hot summer weather had caused some of the particularly flammable reagents to ignite. In either case, there was a small fire and it burned down a shed that had been modified to serve as a small laboratory and storage place for magical materials. I’d heard that the masters of the house were none too pleased and were looking for the culprit. As for us servants, a few of the tougher, larger men had already been sent to clean up the area. Breaking down the shed and hauling away its larger pieces.
After doing my rounds of going through the gardens and the yard to pick up any litter that might have found its way onto the Marrow’s land, sweep the walkways and paths, and pull up any weeds, I was tasked with dealing with what remained of the burned down shed.
“Okay, boyo. Will ya be needing some of the lads to come out and help you?” said Old Achilles. Chewing on that pipe of his instead of smoking it because the plants and flowers that were beneficial to smoke, or worth the negative effects, were far too expensive for servants like us, and getting sick was even more overly expensive.
“Uh...N-, No, sir,” I said. Shaking my head.
It was a big job, but it wasn’t as big as it could have been, and I figured I could handle it. Beyond that, I could sense some kind of test in the old man’s words. When I saw the brief glint of approval in his wrinkled face. I quickly reasoned that being too useless and weak to be able to handle a “small” job like this one, would either see me quickly fired, or sent off to do something menial and unpleasant while the real work was done by people who could do it.
“Alright, lad. I’ll leave ya to it,” said the old man. Patting me on the shoulder and stomping off.
A little later I found myself outside. Behind me were a bunch of trash cans. I had also been sent out with a small arsenal of brooms, dustpans, rakes, and shovels. The idea was to use the rakes and shovels to shift the dangerous-looking bits of the shed.
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While I worked I eventually started to get this pervading sense that I was being watched. An itching between my shoulders. I was also wearing gloves because of course there was stuff that I’d have to move by hand. After all the heavier stuff was tossed into the trash cans. I used the rakes, brooms, and dustpans to get the smaller stuff.
Just as I was almost done cleaning up the site where the burnt-down shed had been, I felt the feeling of eyes on me grow stronger. I turned around and saw a young girl standing in the distance. Skinny, oddly pale for our region, like coffee with too much milk in it. With long white tresses. I wished she’d go away, between my core-treasure and life on the road, I’d grown to be a thoroughly paranoid young man. Yet even if I was brash enough to say so, I didn’t dare try to send her away. Her clothes were of a far better make and look. The dyes unfaded, the material untattered, with no visible patching. Plenty of ruffles and frills. Even if I had been a stupider child, it would have been obvious that she was a member of the house. One of my employers. A Marrow.
“C-, Can I help you?” I said. Squinting at her because she was a bit far away, and the sun was in my eyes. The ripples of heat that rose from the ground made the girl look more fae-like. Like a character in a weird dream.
“....What?” said the girl. Shouting over the distance.
Suddenly I was shouting too.
“Can I help you?” I cried.
“.....” The girl didn’t answer. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, where she looked one way and then the other surreptitiously, as if we hadn’t just been shouting at the top of our lungs, she approached.
“Um...Jacqueline Marrow of House Marrow...At your pleasure,” said the girl. With more than a touch of haughtiness.
I awkwardly bowed because that’s what I’d been taught to do if I ever ran into one of the members of the house.
“H-, honored, Miss,” I said. Feeling more than a little flustered by her sudden change in attitude. She’d gone from shy child to haughty brat at a speed that could make one’s head spin.
“Yes, indeed...Now, groundskeeper-boy, I don’t suppose you found a broach while you were cleaning up that shed?” said Jacqueline.
“Um….Yeah, actually,” I said. Vaguely recalling seeing a shining “thing” mixed in with the detritus. I went over to one of the trash cans and brought it out. The girl snatched it out of my hand and clutched it to her chest with a look of utmost relief.
“Uh….Er, very good, very good. I’ll make sure you’re dully rewarded. Um, do keep this between the two of us though. You wouldn't want the other servants getting jealous and all that...Ta-ta,” said the girl. Running away. Vanishing so quickly it was like her parents had gifted her a second pair of legs.
I stood staring at nothing for a moment. Wondering just what the hell I had just run into. Then eventually, being a simple-minded sort, I just went back to work. Putting the strange girl out of my mind. I still needed to give the ground another once over. Then I needed to rake the area to see if I’d missed any detritus and mix the burnt soil with fresh soil, so that it would be easier for new grass to grow over the spot where the shed had been.