~CLAUDE'S POV (cont...)~
"I don't think that you should be so hostile towards his Highness, miss...taking into account that he is letting you stay here for now" I noted. She looked up at me with a 'really?!-I-have-to-be-nice-to-this-little-brat?!' look. 'I should know...I give myself the same one every time I look in the mirror' I thought humorously. "Well, who exactly are you, girl?" my master asked the neko, who was still partially in her 'warning!-back-the-fuck-off!' position. "I- I'm no one" she said with a sigh. "What? What the hell do you mean by 'you're no one' ?" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I don't remember my name...but, for as long as I can remember, I was always called 'kid' or 'girl' or 'street rat' or even 'freak of nature'...I was never given a real name since then...so I am no one..." she explained, almost without emotion.
"How did you get to my estate? It's quite far away from the nearest town" my master asked. "I ran here. I ran away from the humans. I got shot, so I high-tailed it out of there" she said, sitting on the bed, now more relaxed. "Well...if you can follow orders well, then there shouldn't be a problem with you staying here...what should we name her, Claude?" the boy asked me. "Hmm..." I pondered, looking at the neko, who was looking curiously back at me. "What about, Lily?" my master suggested (more like decided). "That's a fine name, your Highness" I responded, actually agreeing.
"Lily?" she asked curiously. "Yes. Now, Claude, show her how to do the housework. I'll be in my study" the blonde ordered, then walked away. Lily looked up at me expectantly. "Before we begin, your bandages need to be changed" I told her. She blushed and looked away. "I'll get Hannah to help you" I sighed and then left the room, off to go find said maid.
I soon found her, she was sweeping the foyer. "Hannah" I addressed her as I approached. "Yes, Claude?" Hannah responded. "We have a new maid, she has a bullet wound that has just reopened. You will help her clean it, change her bandages, and then dress her in a uniform" I instructed. "Alright" was her response before she went to do as she was told. 'I wonder what his Highness thinks about Lily...Perhaps he'll hurt her for back-talking him? Or maybe he'll find another random form of punishment.I highly doubt that he'll just forget about it and just act as if nothing happened, but he did willingly take her in...though I don't fully know the reason' I thought, walking through the manor.
~YOUR POV~
'Knock-knock-knock' you heard just before a timid-looking maid entered the room. "Who are you?" I asked, wary of her because my trust in humans is minimal. "My name is Hannah, miss" she replied. "Why are you in here?" I inquired. "Claude told me to clean your wound and then change your bandages" she explained, holding a small kit with a red cross on it in one hand, and a bucket and a small sponge in the other. "Where is Mr. Claude? I thought he was going to do that..." I asked nervously. "He wanted you to be comfortable with changing, so he sent me in here to help you...since we are of the same gender" was her response. It looked like she had just now noticed my ears and tail. "Y- you're a neko?" she asked, sounding surprised, astonished, and curious. "Yyeeeesss...is that a problem?" I asked, my tail flicking irritably. "N- no, miss, not at all! I was just surprised, because I haven't seen someone of your species in a very long time" she explained, walking closer to me. "Uhh...okay...but would you mind not approaching as if you're gonna grab me and then roughly pet me, like a human child?" I requested, standing on the other side of the bed, wanting to keep my distance from the woman. "Oh dear, my deepest apologies, miss. I didn't mean to alarm you" she apologized, looking very ashamed of herself. "It's fine..." I sighed. "I just don't trust humans very much...they can be cruel" I mumbled the last part sadly. "I'll be gentle with your wound, I promise" she tried to reassure me. "O- okay..." I nodded and walked over to her cautiously. You both then sat on the edge of the bed, about to address the wound.
Hannah poored warm water into the bucket, and then spread soap onto the sponge. "Miss Hannah?" I tried to get her attention. "Yes, miss?" she responded. "W- would you mind if I took a full bath? I'm rather cold" I inquired shyly. "Of course not, miss" she said with a soft smile, which I returned. "Thank you...and please, just call me Lily". "Alright, Lily" she said as she helped me get ready for the bath (undressing, towels, shampoo, body-wash, and conditioner). I sighed in contentment, "This feels great! I haven't had a nice bath in such a long time" I told Hannah as she helped wash me. "I'm surprised that you like the water, the nekos that I have met try to avoid it" said Hannah as she rinsed the sweet-smelling shampoo from my hair. "I love warm water, and swimming at times...I hate the rain though" I shuttered at the thought of the storm night before. "I see. So I'm guessing you aren't fond of thunder and lightning as well?" she assumed. "Yes. I absolutely despise stormy weather...I used to hide under my bed until my parents came into my room to comfort me" I sighed. "I'm very sorry. Don't worry, I'll do my best to keep you safe from harm." she cooed, rubbing the soapy sponge over my pale skin. "Thank you, Hannah" I purred softly. "You're welcome, Lily" she replied, rinsing my bubble-covered body.
After about thirty-five more minutes, Hannah had finished washing me, drying me, cleaning and bandaging my wound, and brushing my now-soft hair. "Alright, now you need to get dressed" she told me, carrying in a purple and white maid's uniform, that looked a lot like hers. "Why do I have to wear that? " I asked, gesturing to the dress. "It is a maid's uniform. Since you will be working here as a maid, you will have to wear it" she explained gently. "Fine..." I sighed, standing up to get dressed (with Hannah's help). "It feels a bit strange...and the corset-thing is a little too tight" I complained, my ears were back and my tail (which partially poked out from under my dress) was flicking in irritation. "It'll be alright, Lily. You should get used to it soon" she reassured me, giving me a small hug, which made me smile. "Okay...if you say so Hannah" I sighed, following her out of the room.
