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There were days when Sakuya Izayoi really loved her occupation as the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Just serving as the right-hand woman and the confidant of the Scarlet Devil herself was a privilege in its own right; one for which she would, or rather, repeatedly had killed. But there were other things to enjoy, as well – the quiet feeling of pride and majesty as she wandered through the countless corridors of the estate. Helping Meiling in the garden on a warm, sunny day; when the soft wind bore the fragrance of its myriad flowers. Or even just watching over her subordinates as the latter darted to and fro.
Today, however, was not one of these days.
She had spent the last twenty-four hours (and then some more than that in frozen time) chasing after a seemingly unending string of minor and major accidents that were equally damaging to the mansion itself as they were to her sanity. Everything, literally everything that could possibly have gone wrong on this day had gone wrong, and usually in such a spectacular fashion that she found most of the affected areas to resemble a disaster zone – one that she naturally had to clean up after taking care of whatever might have caused it in the first place. She could not even rely on the help of her own underlings, for the sheer scale of the surrounding chaos was several times more than their tiny, little minds could hope to handle.
Needless to say, even this continuous catastrophe eventually found its end, but not before so severely driving the human maid to her limits that she seriously considered playing Russian roulette with a fully-loaded revolver. Every muscle in her exhausted frame was sore and stiff to the point that it would have made the Jiang-Shi of the Taoist lot look like a world-class gymnast. Heavens, it was a small miracle that she still could walk at all; if one truly was benevolent enough to consider her hunched-over, shuffling gait as a form of walking.
Indeed, she likely would just have dropped dead then and there in an instant, were it not for the fact that she was mere feet away from the object of her salvation – the one thing in the Scarlet Devil Mansion that helped Sakuya Izayoi to restore herself in both mind and body, regardless of what fate might have thrown at her.
An old wing chair. Made of cherry-red leather and situated in front of a large oriel window overlooking one of the most beautiful parts of the garden outside, the maid personally considered it to be the singularly most comfortable spot in the entire house. And consequently dragged herself towards it in an almost instinctive fashion whenever she was feeling down or tired.
With the beloved piece of furniture in her sights, Sakuya activated her very last reserves and approached it, one cautious step at a time as both of her shaky legs were at risk of giving away. When she finally made it to the chair, she did not so much sit down as she did allow herself to collapse into it; a shivering sigh of relief resonating through her entire body. If an angel would have descended from the heavens themselves in this very moment and offered her a place up there despite of her numerous, grave sins that ought to keep her down, the maid likely would have told it to sod off and bother somebody else.
Alas, the hand which now delicately tapped against the one on the chair's armrest was a little bit too small to belong to an angel, even if its owner also happened to possess wings.
“... what is it this time?”, a rather irritated Sakuya asked the fairy maid, not bothering to open her eyes after they had firmly snapped shut just moments ago . “No – wait. Let me guess: The Scarlet Devil Mansion exploded and I just haven't realized yet, have I?”
There was no answer. Only the unabated tapping against her hand. An innocent means to beg for her attention, but in the human's current mood, all it produced in her was a high-pitched whistling sound, not unlike that of a tea can whose contents were well beyond the boiling point.
Like a mousetrap snapping shut, Sakuya's hand grabbed that of her underling and squeezed it with enough force to make its owner whimper in pain.
“Listen well, fairy: You may be woefully oblivious of it, but I've had a very long, and very, very awful day. Unless you open that stupid mouth of yours this instant and give me an extremely good reason as to why you are bothering me, I will take you and spank you until you won't be able to sit down agai-”
As a fearful gasping noise reached her ears, the eyes of the maid shot open, and she abruptly turned her head to the petitioner. Easily recognizable by her dark twin braids and the big, horn-rimmed glasses; the teary-eyed fairy standing next to the chair was known under the name of Haruko.
She was a bit of an oddball. For one thing, because she was abnormally diligent when compared to most other fairy maids. The latter saw their jobs as little more than a glorified game and showcased a fittingly low level of discipline, but Haruko genuinely strove to fulfill the various chores given to her by the head maid. Truth to be told, Sakuya easily considered her one of her favorite underlings, and would routinely assign jobs to her she deemed too complicated for the other fairies.
Another odd trait of the fairy known as Haruko was that she was as mute as a fish, and thus had to attract the attention of people via other means.
Immediately letting go of her underling, Sakuya could do nothing but watch as the terrified little thing recoiled from her and used her free hand to shield the other one from any potential further abuse. The sight alone was enough to make something in the human's heart cramp up, and the burning sense of guilt she felt only grew worse when the fairy made an awkward step backwards for every one she made towards her after rising out of her chair.
With a sigh, she knelt down until she had found herself at eye level with her subordinate. “Haruko”, she softly said, “Haruko listen: I'm sorry. I'm really, genuinely sorry. I didn't know it was you. And even if it hadn't been you, that was cruel of me. Can you still forgive me?"
The fairy made a single step towards her. Stopped. Hesitated. Made another. And, all of sudden, flew right into Sakuya's outstretched arms to sob her eyes out against the shoulder of her superior. The human patiently waited until the child-like being had calmed down before she gently pushed her away and used her thumbs to wipe away the least tears from underneath the glasses of her underling.
“There”, she whispered. “It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?”
With a shy look, the fairy whose world was alright again shook her head.
“Good. Good. Now, young lady, go and make yourself useful somewhere else in the mansion. Please don't think I'm still mad at you – it's just that Miss Sakuya really had a nasty day, and really is tired. Okay?”
Haruko nodded. For a moment, it appeared as if she wasn't quite sure of what to do with herself - but before long, her face lightened up, and she darted out of the room.
Rising back to her feet, the human maid stretched herself and leisurely returned back to her chair. The sensation of feeling its soft leather against her aching back was nothing short of wonderful, and the light rain that now began to knock against the window in front of her somehow seemed to wash away all the tension in her body. She would have liked to enjoy this for a little while longer, but the sound of tiny feet that were rapidly approaching her made this rather difficult.
“Haruko”, she calmly pressed out between her teeth before the fairy even had a chance to tap on her hand again. “Haruko, dear, I really don't want to be mad at you, but if you...”
She stopped in mid-sentence, too baffled to continue as she found herself facing what almost might have passed off as a classical bedsheet ghost. Except those normally shrouded their incorporeal forms in white linen sheets, whereas the specimen before her preferred to use a heavy, woolen blanket.
Carefully taking hold of the blanket, she slowly lifted it upwards and was greeted by a beaming smile on Haruko's face.
“For me?”
The fairy nodded energetically.
Unable to suppress a short chuckle (the first sound akin to laughter that she had produced today, as Sakuya realized), she graciously accepted the offering of her subordinate and spread the blanket across her legs. She was about to turn back to the fairy in order to dispense a well-deserved headpat, but Haruko had already stormed off again.
Content to conclude the situation with a shrug, the head maid instead focused her mind on the blissful feeling of warmth that now began to emerge in her lower body and started to crawl its way up her spine. Her eyelids growing increasingly heavy with every passing minute; she would have been entirely content to just fall asleep there and then, had her flickering consciousness not registered two noises from the corridor leading to the room she was in:
Firstly, the squeaking of wheels that really could use some oil.
And secondly, the labored breathing of something that was pushing something far too large for it.
Sakuya stood up, rolled her eyes, and trudged towards the door. Opening it, she somehow did not even find herself surprised over the presence of a heavy, metallic serving cart; something she herself normally used to bring food into the basement room of the younger sister. By her own estimate, the cart weighed almost as much, if not more than Haruko herself; and as she quietly wondered how in all hells the fairy had managed to move it this far from the kitchen all on her own, the head maid hurried to take the place of the panting girl as she parked the cart next to the wing chair.
Its wheels had barely stopped when Haruko opened one of the cart's compartments and triumphantly pulled forth a tea can and an appropriate cup – as a stage magician would pull forth two white rabbits. Placing both on the cart's top tray, she diligently poured the head maid a cuppa with as much grace as elegance a girl still trying to catch her breath could come up with.
“... Haruko, dear?”
The fairy turned to her superior, clearly expecting some praise and accolades for the impressive feat she had accomplished.
“You know, I do appreciate the sentiment. But what I don't understand is ... why exactly did you choose to serve the tea in the heaviest cart in our kitchen when we also have ones that are both meant for serving tea - and are much less heavy, to boot?”
Haruko blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. And however little she would produce the sound herself, Sakuya still was certain that she heard someone muttering a dumbfounded 'Oh.'
What did it matter? Haruko still was smarter than the other fairies most of the time.
“Anyway”, Sakuya told her underling as she once more took her place in the wing chair, pulled the blanket back over her legs, and took a careful sip from the steaming-hot tea, “I am aware that we can probably continue this game indefinitely. But I would rather dislike seeing you work yourself to death on my behalf. So ... ”
The human raised a finger.
“If you really want to, you can bring me one more thing. But that's the last one. Am I understood?”
Haruko nodded, yet it took no expert to recognize that she had planned for far more than just one item. Choosing a single one from her tiny to-do list was a monumental task for her dense little head; doubly so as they all seemed equally important to her.
Just when her superior started to worry she might see smoke emanating from the fairy's ears, Haruko spread her wings, took to the air, and flew out of the open door. Sakuya dearly hoped that this last errand wouldn't be anything too ridiculous, but her worries turned out to be pointless when her underling returned to her no five minutes later; tightly clasping a book in her arms.
As she handed the book to her and Sakuya could see the cover, a nostalgic smile spread on her face.
“Alice in Wonderland? Heavens, I did not remember I actually took that one with me when we entered this one. I suppose I will have to show it to Miss Margatroid some time. But - no matter. It may not be what I had expected, yet it certainly is not a bad choice, either. Thank you, Haruko.”
Placing down her teacup and taking the book instead, the head maid had already opened the pages and would have started to read; had she noticed that the little fairy by her side made no attempt to leave. An intensely expectant look on her eyes.
“Was there something else, Haruko?”
Nervously trying to form a request she could not quite put into words, her underling shifted from one foot to the other as she first pointed to herself, then to the book, and then to her superior. Sakuya was not entirely sure what to make out of this. Then something in her head clicked, and she actually laughed over how long it had taken her to comprehend the innocent request of the girl.
As soundlessly as Haruko herself, she slightly lowered the blanket covering her legs and pointed to the newly-freed space created by this action. Her underling responded with a short jig of visible glee before she climbed onto the place of honor bestowed upon her.
As it was a skill explicitly required for a job in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, all of its fairy maids knew how to read. But much as with the children they so resembled, they very much preferred having a story read to them, instead. If that privilege also came with the added benefit of sitting in the lap of the one reading the story and having a warm blanket pulled all the way up to their chin - who where they to object?
“Let's see”, Sakuya said. Using one hand to turn back the pages until she reached the beginning of the book, whereas her other gently combed through the hair of the fairy.
“Ah, yes... Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: Once or twice, she peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or ... ”
(. . .)
“...there was a Duck and a Dodo, a Lory and an Eaglet, and several other curious creatures. Alice led the way, and the whole party swam to the shore.”
Overcome by memories of her own younger years, the human maid remained silent for a few moments before she addressed the fairy still sitting on her lap.
“Quite the story - isn't it, Haruko? And we only just finished the second chapter – things will get quite a bit more bizarre the further Alice continues.”
No response. Not that she had expected a verbal one, of course, but her subordinate could at least produce something like a nod, or use her hands to form a gesture. That she was doing neither caused Sakuya to raise an eyebrow.
“Haruko?”
Perhaps it was the physical exhaustion she had suffered after pushing the heavy service cart. Or perhaps it was the sensation of warmth and secureness which being cuddled up to the body of the human created in her. Whatever the cause, Haruko the fairy maid was fast asleep; the only movement that emerged from her being her soft, shallow breathing.
“Some audience you are”, Sakuya whispered as she put away the book, carefully removed Haruko's glasses, and slung her arms around her to pull her close. With all these things taken care of, she planted an affectionate kiss on the girl's head, and allowed the world to dissolve in sweet nothingness.
It felt as if she had slumbered for nothing more than a few seconds when the maid was awoken by the unpleasant sensation of someone grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her ever so violently. She tried to fend off the attacker and resume her torpor, but despite of her best efforts, the assailant clung on to her like a lioness that had latched onto her prey; seemingly taking major offense at the thought that her victim might find a single additional second of rest.
Forcing her eyelids open, Sakuya saw that the agressor was no-one else than Haruko. The fairy's hair was a mess, the position of the glasses on her nose was severely crooked, and, most disturbingly, her face was disfigured by a grimace of blind panic.
“H-Haruko? Haruko, what's wrong? Is the mansion under attack?!”
The fairy rapidly shook her head.
“Then ... then are the Mistress and the younger sister having a quarrel again?”
Another negative reply.
“Then what is it, damnit?”
The fairy pushed her right arm into Sakuya's face and repeatedly smashed a finger into its wrist.
“Your ... wrist? What's wrong with your ... oh holy...!”
Without so much as another word, she grabbed the fairy maid, shouldered her as if she were a sack of potatoes, and sprinted out of the room where both of them had blissfully overslept. For it normally was Sakuya who would scold her subordinates for being late. But when it was Sakuya who was being late, someone else would do the scolding.
And said someone had a temper that could be even more child-like than that of her fairy maids.