Tyche | Technoblade x Reader

Chapter 1

Silence.

All except for the squelch of batter as you stirred with a wooden spoon.

Baking goods had become a normal routine for you, having nothing other than a recipe book and a kitchen... well, that's not entirely true. You could head to the library if you wanted to, or have a picnic in the garden if you felt like getting sun, but you chose to spend your time baking.

You took your freedom generously and tried your best to give back to those who didn't have the privileges that you had. And what's the best way to cheer someone up? Cookies, of course.

The rest of the housekeepers loved eating your sweet treats after a long day of cooking and cleaning. There were still those that were cautious of you, not sure if you were offering them goods out of I'll intention. It was as if they thought you were trying to make them fall into a trap, make them befriend you only for you to leave them for dead.

That was not your intention, but you understood where their unease came from.

For hundreds of years, your family has served the Greshams as if their life depended on it. They stuck through their side through thick and thin, creating a bond that was like no other. It was a weird relationship in your mind, however. There was an obvious power imbalance, the Gresham's having a hearty amount of money as well as some influential relationships that guaranteed them as much power as the capitol.

Your family was their housekeepers, their loyal servants that were born to serve their every need in exchange for food, shelter, and protection. They provided clothing that fits well and a nice room in their mansion, all in exchange for your service.

Although it seemed overbearing, you had the long end of the stick. You only had to serve the Gresham family themselves, and they usually only called you to work for events or meetings. You helped oversee many events that they would host, getting the housekeepers ready for their catering and making sure the guests were pleased before they left for the night. You also helped with their meetings. Lots of their meetings were confidential so they would only allow you to serve them. They didn't want any information to slip into the wrong ears and then be blabbered to the public. No, they made deals that you could argue were not very... thoughtful of others. But it wasn't like you had a say in the first place.

You were just a housekeeper and you had to keep up your family's reputation.

That doesn't mean that what the Greshams did went against your own judgment, though. Through the past couple of months, there have been murmurs of information floating around the mansion involving the influx of housekeepers suddenly being introduced then disappearing. You weren't too involved considering you weren't able to socialize with many of the other housekeepers in the first place, however, it didn't stop the rumor from reaching your ears.

You thought maybe it was because Eddingborough was a growing city, causing more rich families to begin moving in, and with more rich families came more room for service. Although, this wouldn't explain the reason why your boss was the one "collecting" these housekeepers, or why some of the housekeepers seemed less than willing to work of their own will.

Others theorized that maybe this was only the start of a master plan made by the Greshams. It was no question that they were rich and that their power prevailed over many others. Yet, there was still one thing that stood in their way when it came to power: the Farleys themselves, the leaders of the overworld.

This, in your mind, still didn't make too much sense. If they were planning a revolution of sorts against the most powerful family of all, why would they be collecting housekeepers instead of soldiers?

Maybe it's because they know that housekeepers can take care of themselves and if the rich are left to their own devices, they'd starve within a week.

Your face broke out into a smile at the thought. Oh, the thoughts that silence could bring.

That silence was broken almost immediately after your thought, the loud bang of the door hitting the wall making you almost throw your wooden spoon.

"My apologies for startling you, (Y/n)."

Your hand froze clutching the wooden spoon, eyes darting up to look at the guard standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Sir Gresham and his son would like to see you in his office immediately."

You nodded tightly as you cleared your throat. "Yes, I'll be right there."

The guard left after your response, leaving you to wallow in nerves as you quickly wrapped up the dough and set it in the fridge for later.

Being called to the office was not too weird, but it was a bit nerve-wracking considering that their request came out of the blue. Usually, your presence would be requested ahead of time, giving you a couple of minutes to get ready for whatever was going to happen. Whether it was setting up for guests or simply cleaning after work, you always had a couple of minutes to prepare.

You rushed down the hall and to the office, trying not to let your nerves show on your face. Thankfully, there weren't many people in this part of the hallway anyway, it was reserved for only those that were high enough in ranking or that the Gresham's themselves requested.

Once you had finally approached the door, you stared for a second, taking a deep breath before knocking and pushing the door.

•••

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. It's going to be a little bit of a slow start but when stuff gets rolling... you better be running.

Just a reminder, if you see any mistakes with gender-neutral classifications, like if I accidentally put the wrong pronoun, please tell me. I switched "maid" to "housekeeper" in hopes of it coming off more genderneutral. I really want this book to be open to anyone and everyone so don't be afraid to point out any mistakes like that.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day/night!