Masquerade - These Masks We Wear

[Channelknight Fadran]

Quote

Hey Star, do you want to take some of the waitresses? I'd rather not one-off all of Wendy's story from here on out.

"Servants' quarters are right in here." The other waitress yawned loudly, but didn't seem too bothered by the fact that she'd been woken up at such an hour. "You're new here, right?"

"Yeah." Wendy poked her head into the room. It was full of sleeping waitresses, as could've been expected. "How does... waitressing work?"

"Well, you're expected to take the orders of any masters or guests of the palace. Disobeying their orders will get you beaten. Do your work, try not to get stabbed in the back by the others, don't try to seduce the squires, and save Kimby for a last resort." She rubbed her eyes. "And try not to make eye contact with any of the crusty nobles. You're technically allowed to say no if they try to pull you into bed, but that doesn't mean they'll take it for an answer. If it's a choice between running away and getting beaten or staying there and getting beat, then you can make the call; we won't judge you either way."

"I--"

"Yup. This place is pretty much hell." The waitress pointed at an empty bunk. "You take that one. Call me if you need anything. Or... don't. Actually, please don't. I'd rather not... do. Anything. 'Night."

Edited May 11, 2021 by Channelknight Fadran

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Quote

I can absolutely do that! Fun stuff.  Hehehehe. I think I'll play Allivia. 

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

Quote

Oh. Wonderful. I love Allivia.

I guess I'll post again for you...

Wendy lay down on her bunk, opting to keep keep on the bulky waitress uniform in the absence of a proper blanket. Or, well... it seemed like there had been blankets, but they'd been hoarded by a few older-looking girls in the corner. So there was a class system?

Don't get stabbed in the back by the others, Wendy recalled. Was she joking?

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Quote

I love that Wendy is in this crappy bunk while Arabella is being given cookies by the Raveness.  

"Hey," someone said. "You're new here?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

Wendy popped open an eyelid. "Hm?"

Edited May 11, 2021 by Channelknight Fadran

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Wendy was met by the too-charming smile of a golden-haired woman who looked to be in her early-mid twenties. "I'm Allivia," she said. "Nice to meet you. What got you landed in waitressing?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Um..." What the heck do I say? "I have to pay off a debt. You're Allivia? I'm Wendy."

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"Wendy. Nice, nice. Well, I can't say you'll enjoy it, but make the best of it, I guess. How long are you gonna be with us?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

“Um... don’t know. Awhile, I think.”

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Quote

I just had a very evil idea, but I think it's a bit much to actually have it be said explicitly. I'll PM you, I guess.

"Ah, well. You know, I'm actually not sure which is worse; being here because of debt or because you had no other choice. I'm the latter. Been here for almost a decade now."

[Channelknight Fadran]

“Is it really that bad?”

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"Ah, there are pleasures to be found." She yawned, stretching. "They're little, but better to find 'em than wither away all depressed, right?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

“I guess so.” I’ll have Arabella. She’ll be enough.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"So. What did you do before this?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

“I was just a farmer’s kid,” Wendy said hastily. “But, uhh... he had a gambling addiction and, uhh... kinda bet our farm against a powerful nobleman and didn’t pay up.”

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"Ah, brutal. That kinda thing could get your father sent to the Raveness." Allivia grimaced. "I hope he's okay. I knew a girl a while back that was sent to the dungeons. She wasn't executed, but she was messed up when she came back. Killed herself after a while."

[Channelknight Fadran]

“I certainly don’t hope he’s okay.” Wendy scowled. “He threw me away like a bag of bad apples to pay up.”

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"That's fair. And, well, probably good for the Raven to have her dungeons full. I've heard that if she doesn't have enough people down there, she'll pull civilians to experiment on. She's not allowed to torture castle staff though, unless the king lets her, so that's a relief."

Edited May 11, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[Channelknight Fadran]

“That’s good.” Wendy worked her jaw. “So how does waitressing go? On the inside, I mean.”

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"Eh, it's a throw away job," Allivia said. "We're really just glorified maids, to be perfectly honest. If someone important comes to visit, one of us gets assigned to them and at balls we're always rushing around getting stuff from the kitchens. Tonight was weird with that lockdown though." She shrugged. "You can definitely get away with slacking off, just be careful about getting caught too many times."

Edited May 11, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[Channelknight Fadran]

"And what about..." Wendy pointed at the girls hoarding all the blankets.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"Ah, yes. We trade a lot of stuff here. We don't get paid much, so we pay each other in favors. The girls in the corner are newbies. I guarantee people offered to give up their blankets so they could cash in later. Winter is coming soon and when the weather gets colder, well... those blankets will be in high demand."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Oh." So I had it backwards, then. "What happens if you don't play nice with the others?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"The higher-ups could usually care less what we do down here. If you have a grudge against someone, nasty pranks are pretty fair game. Just don't get too violent, I guess. That girl I mentioned, the one sent to the Raveness? She almost killed another girl. The castle staff is in rather short supply; working conditions aren't great, so very few voluntarily sign up. Severely injuring someone else here will get you, well, severely injured." Allivia chuckled darkly.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[Channelknight Fadran]

"So it's a survival thing, then?"