Maid of Heart

You took a couple of deep breaths in front of the mirror and fixed up your outfit. Date time was in five minutes and you weren't sure what to expect. Best to be mentally prepared though, the big spenders tended to be... Interesting.

"That was quite the bidding war for you," the voice of one of your co workers interrupted your thoughts and you turned around with a jolt.

Stood behind you with a teasing smile was Elania, a burgundy blooded girl who you'd worked with for quite some time now.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," you said almost sheepishly. "No doubt they want the novelty of seeing a gold blood play maid," and you weren't just saying that either.

You were usually the highest caste in the act, with everyone else being rust and bronze bloods. After all gold bloods tended to be more useful with their psionics and didn't typically have to resort to such measures.

Not much demand for a gold blood with half burnt out eyes though.

Elania shrugged, "Maybe, but hey if it brings the group more money, right?"

"Happy to help," you laugh and head off towards the room that had been set aside for your date.

"Stay safe," Elania called after you.

That's hardly up to me, now is it, you thought to yourself. Taking one last breath, you plastered a cheery smile across your face and pushed the door open.

The first thing you did was take in the client. After all, it had been hard to get a good look at him from the stage.

The troll before you was dressed in a casual hoodie and didn't look up from his palmhusk when you entered. A cerulean blood, so not too high up but still rich enough to be dangerous. Not to mention the piercings and intimidating undercut, though his sign seemed strangely familiar.

"Hello, sir," you started.

"Don't bother," he cut you off.

You blinked in surprise, "Pardon me?"

He shook his head with a lazy smile, "Two things. One, I didn't actually want to be here. A buddy dragged me with him. Two, the guy I was bidding against was a fucking creep."

"Oh, right, thank you sir-"

"Please, call me Mallek."

You sighed and dropped your persona, "You really aren't into this, are you?"

He grinned, "Nah, meat space isn't usually my scene. I just recognized that guy from a forum and knew he was kinda shitty. Wanted to help out."

You thought about it for a second, "He wasn't an indigo was he? Sharply dressed with the blunted horns?"

Mallek's eyes widened in surprise, "Spot on, he come here often?"

"Technically he's blacklisted but security doesn't really care if a couple of lowbloods get roughed up a bit," you huffed and gestured to the couch Mallek was lounging on. "Can I sit down?"

"Oh yeah, of course," Mallek said, scooting over to give you some space. "I'm actually surprised this place has a gold blood working. I mean, my buddy told me that was the main draw of this place but I thought that might be a publicity thing. Don't you have that whole living battery thing going for you?"

You shook your head, "Burnt out my eyes in a power surge a couple of sweeps ago. Hence why I couldn't even tell who was bidding for me. They don't let me wear glasses on stage, says it ruins the look."

You fished your glasses out from your pocket and put them on, "Ta dah."

Mallek laughed and pulled out his own pair of glasses, "We match."