Chapter Text
In the south of Rose county, scattered among the luscious green hillsides, were many houses of grandeur and prestige. Some of which have stood for many centuries, housing the lineages of Eldia's greatest families. They were another world from the cities and nearby villages where prosperity and poverty were an everyday struggle. The families of these manors each had their own history, their own legends, and for some unfortunately, their own reputations.
The Ackerman family resided in Ploughfields, far from the biggest of country houses, but was considered amongst the most pristine...at least they once were. The recent generations of Ackermans were amidst in numerous scandals and tragedies that were widespread by high society's biggest gossipers. And despite the well-kept condition of the estate, it was known that the wealth of this great family was quickly diminishing. The current lord of the house was often never home, indulging in drink and gambling in the local taverns. His heir is said to have shut himself off from the outside world whenever possible.
These were some of the many tales that Hange Zoe (Dr. Hange Zoe as she wish she was known), tried to brush off as she prepared for her journey to the estate. The coachman had even given her the raised brow when she told him where exactly she was going.
Not that she was thrilled about the prospect of working for some rich stiffs herself, but this was no ordinary job she was being offered. Women doctors were often looked down upon Eldian society and no one was willing to finance Hange a medical office of her own. The money her parents had left her upon their passing was slowly drying up. The future seemed dim for her, considering she was with no family left and was no longer of marriageable age. It was what it was. She could find content in living the rest of her days in solitude...perhaps in a small cottage out in the countryside, with a small garden and local animals for companionship.
She was therefore shocked when she received an acceptance letter to arrive at Ploughfields by the evening of Oct. 31st. Often the cycle had consisted of her responding to postings for a home doctor or a caretaker with medical experience only to be profoundly rejected for lack of experience (or more obviously her gender). The posting from Ploughfields called for someone who could tend to an older sick woman. Perhaps this Lord Kenny or whoever thought this made her more fit for the job at hand.
Whatever the case, Hange had been determined to get there in a timely manner. The coach was traveling through windy rains when the wheels on the left side of the coach veered off the road into deep mud. She got out herself to help push the coach from behind till it was back on track. It resulted in the bun of her hair falling apart, her face smeared with dirt and her dress soaked from the hem to waist with who knows what, with no way of cleaning herself up.
She shrugged it off. The dress was just a plain black dress that could hide most of the dirt. Besides, the Ackermans weren't going to be that nit-picky about how she looked, were they?
The skies remained dark and the rain never ceased upon her arrival at Ploughfields. When Hange stepped out of the coach, she could scarcely make any detail of the large manor before other than the massive front door. The only light seemed to have come from a second story window, and for a brief moment, Hange swore she saw a curtain move through shadows.
Her nerves began to tickle her as she pulled on the bell pull and could hear a soft ringing inside. The door opening slightly to reveal a tall stoic man with a bowl-cut. This man was clearly the butler of the household.
“Hey there,” she greeted him casually. “Dr. Hange Zoe. Nice to meet you.” She put a hand out hoping the butler would shake it but he seemed more occupied with the state of her from having been out in such wild weather. “Look, sorry I'm late, okay?” Hange explained. “Clearly you can see...”
“Your delay was anticipated, Miss Hange,” the man finally said as he stepped aside. “You may come in.”
The door now wide open, Hange cautiously entered. Two footmen rushed past her to collect her things from the coach waiting outside.
Everything she had been told about these country manors were true. The main hall she was standing in was larger than most homes of the lower class. The grand staircase infront of her lead up to a long second floor railing looking down, similar to that she had seen in Eldia's great libraries. Everything from the trims to the columns were carved with exquisite details of elegant birds and flowers. And even in the darkness, Hange could see her reflection upon the shiny marble floor.
A slender woman with short blond hair and spectacles much like Hange's arrived in the main hall. “Miss Hange, is it? I'm the housekeeper, Miss Rico. We'll get your things upstairs and then...” The woman had been holding a candle in her hand, when the light reflected the floor surrounding Hange, the housekeeper gave a shriek and dropped the candle.
In a matter of seconds, several different servants and maids were rushing into the main hall. “Miss Rico, what's wrong? We heard a scream.”
Hange saw a horrified expression on Rico's face as she waved her finger at the floor. “Mud...she's tracked it everywhere!”
Hange looked down. She didn't realize in her exploration of the main hall, the mud and dirt from her dress traveled around the floor making contact with the rugs and the legs of furniture that was nearby.
“Master Levi will be furious! Don't just stand there...get the mops and buckets! Quickly!”
The servants instantly scrambled, grabbing their cleaning supplies and scrubbing furiously at every speck of dirt that could be seen...as well as other that couldn't be seen. In the chaos, the footmen that went to get Hange's things were already making their way up the stairs with her trunk...her incredibly fragile trunk that contained her glass vials, syringes, and other medical supplies.
“Wait! Be careful with that!” Hange tried to pursue them but Miss Rico tugged at the back of her dress before she could take one step up the staircase.
“Miss, you can't go up looking like that!” Hange looked down and could see two maids were trying to scrub the mud off her dress.
“It's not coming off!” One of the servants panicked.
The butler looked upon the situation. “Well, it appears some sackings will surely be in order soon.”
“What are you so worry about, Marlo?” said a footman. “You're the butler. Your position here is already secure. Besides everyone knows that the footmen and kitchen maids are always the first ones to get the boot.”
The kitchen maid next to him gasped. “Connie, don't say that out loud!”
“Oh come on, Sasha. You know it's true.”
“I meant don't say it infront of me!”
Hange could not have been more bewildered by the panic and chaos in the room. And Miss Rico still would not let go of her dress.
“Everyone, please calm down.” A soft voice called from the middle of the stairs. As soon as everyone saw who it was, the servants stopped everything and stood up. A beautiful young lady was descending down the stairs, with a shiny black hair and a complexion uncommon upon most women in Eldia. She wore a casual dress that was still much nicer than anything Hange brought with her. And her shoulders were wrapped by a bright red shawl.
The servants immediately looked upon the young lady. Miss Rico bowed and the others followed suit. “Miss Mikasa! Forgive us for having disturbed you at this hour.”
“It's quite alright, Miss Rico. I'll take Miss Hange up to see him. Just do your best here.” With that assurance Miss Rico could finally let go of Hange's dress. Mikasa was then given her own lit candle from one of the servants. “Please come with me.”
The ladies ascended the stairs to the second floor and down a long hallway decored with family portraits that nearly reached the ceiling. Even with Mikasa's calming aura, Hange was now starting to feel quite intimidated. “Um...excuse me,” she finally spoke up. “I believe that I was supposed to be looking after a woman.”
“You are,” said Mikasa. “I'm afraid Lady Kuchel will already be in bed by this time. I'm sure you'll see her in the morning.”
“So I'm seeing the guy who owns the place?”
“In a sense. Lord Kenny isn't seen much in the manor these days. Besides it wasn't him who made the request for a doctor.” They arrived at the end of the hall with a solitary door of dark oak. Mikasa knocked on it before stepping inside. She took Hange by the hand pulling her into the room.
Hange never knew what to expect of a room belonging to an aristocrat or socialite. It was just as decorative (not to mention clean and immaculate) as the rest of the house but a bit small. The walls were filled with books and in one corner was a large chair facing a roaring fireplace. To her right Hange could see a glass case where hung a military uniform of sorts. Above the fireplace were two swords with long shiny blades.
“Cousin, Miss Hange has arrived.”
The chair infront of the fireplace was so big, Hange was unable to see who could be sitting in it...if anyone at all. She could however see a hand waving for Mikasa to leave the room.
Now Hange was starting to panic. Mikasa had left her alone...well almost alone.
A face finally revealed itself from the side of the chair and all Hange wanted to do was to run downstairs and run. His eyes were piercing her like mad bird ready to strike. He only looked back to take a sip of tea from his cup and then he finally got up to face her.
Hange was able to relax when she saw what she had not expected from the man...how he was a bit shorter than she was. The man was still unimpressed. “Tch, do not tell me you came all the way here looking like that.”
Hange looked down and saw she was still trailing a bit of mud from her dress. Seeing the man's disgust, she knew that this had to be the Master Levi that was spoken of downstairs.
“Well, yes I did,” she said trying to stay confident. “It is storming outside. But that shouldn't be a problem. I should be able to take a look at Miss Kuchel...”
“I'm not letting you anywhere near my mother,” Levi spat at her. “Not until I'm sure that you haven't caught anything while you were out there. Are you even a real doctor or were you trying to deceive me with that letter?”
She feared that this would come up. How many times did people had to question her on just because she was a woman? “I have plenty of medical knowledge,” she explained to him. “Far more than you think. It just hasn't been easy finding work experience in my position...”
“I can see why. I'm starting to question this arrangement, Miss Hange. But I cannot have you making a mess here any longer.”
Levi went over to the wall and pulled on a bell rope. Moments later servants were rushing into the room. “No worries, Master Levi. We'll have this mess cleaned up.”
“Hitch!”
A scraggly maid with wavy light brown hair looked up. “Uh yeah...I mean yes?”
“Have a bath prepared for Miss Hange. If by morning she falls ill, she is to leave this house immediately and never come back.”
Hange protested. “What?! You can't fire me just because I might get sick!”
“Deal with it, shitty glasses. That's my final say on the matter. You're dismissed.”
…
Hange was fuming. The pleasures of a warm bath could only do so much to keep herself from exploding, though she tried her best to enjoy it. Never had she taken a bath in fancy ceramic white tub and never had she needed a maid to do all the scrubbing for her, but this was all on Levi's orders.
“He's a mad-man,” she vented to Hitch. “How is he more concerned about my cleanliness than he is of my ability to take care of his mother?” Hange pulled out her glasses to observe them more carefully. 'And what’s wrong with my glasses?'
“That’s just Master Levi’s way,” Hitch explained. “Just a bit of advice for you, Miss. Your best to followed his cleaning protocol if you want any chance of staying on his good side.” She dumped another bucket of water on Hange causing her to nearly scream. “He can’t be please much otherwise.”
After enduring an intense scrubbing at Hitch’s hands, Hange was then brought to her bedroom. Surprisingly it wasn’t among the servants’ quarters but a modest guestroom. Levi must not have wanted the servants’ filth to get on her if she was to care for his mother. She had to wear a new nightgown because the dress she wore upon arrival was still getting cleaned downstairs.
This Ploughfields was already proving to be such a strange place. And it didn't help matters that as Hange tried to settle into her new bed (for who knew how long) she could hear a faint moaning coming from the hall. To her knowledge, her room was of equal distance between Miss Kuchel's room and Levi's room. So the source could have been either one of them.
Her mind was spent trying to think how illogical it could have been for ghosts to exist in the manor, and by the time the sun came up, Hange realized that she had not slept a wink.