Resistance

Regulated

I tried chasing after the mysterious woman, but she was lost in the mass before I could even see her disappear. So I let the crowd push me on, until the very edge of the market area, where I took a right, walking toward the city's outer walls, then suddenly I felt a snap, and then the woman's presence wasn't there anymore. It stopped me dead in my tracks, feeling lighter, as if I had been carrying a heavy weight I didn't know about, and was suddenly relieved of it.

My day was the same normal routine as it is every day. A long watch for around six hours, then training, lunch, and more training. Then between the last training session and dinner I got a letter.

"Dear lieutenant James,
This is a letter informing that a maid has been newly appointed to your services, and will arrive at dawn. She will be your responsibility.

I had entirely forgotten about the maid i hired. My mother will probably be pleased though, it being the end of the year and me having a month long vacation from the school, thus making more of a mess than when I'm just there to sleep, since I eat with my fellow classmates in the mess hall of the military school.

I continued walking toward the mess hall, hungry from training. I could probably eat a cow.

When I got there the sudden loud noise blasted out of the door, assaulting my ears. My peers were probably getting drunk on whiskey, celebrating the end of the year. I would join in, I needed to get my mind off of the girl I saw today, she had been distracting me all day, which was not good when you're fighting with trained men who are trying to beat the living crap out if you. Let's just say I've got a lot more bruises than I had in the morning.

So as i went in and my buddies called me over and shoved a drink in my hand I didn't protest. As they say, bottoms up.

***
I moaned, rolling over and stuffing my face in my pillow, effectively blocking out the sudden sunlight that  poured through the window.

I had the worst headache, and felt dizzy and nauseous, the after effects of my heavy drinking.

I heard a sigh come from the side of the room with the windows, immediately catching my attention because it didn't sound like my mother at all.

I rolled over, landing on my feet, and grabbed a sword that I kept on my wall.

When my eyes landed on the intruder I lowered my weapon, it was a girl that looked vaguely familiar, standing with her hands on her hips, looking at the sword I had pointed at her.

"We're you planning on using that sir? I don't see any threats around. Anyhow, it's late and your mother told me to go and get you up since you seem intent on sleeping all day.", she said, sarcasm seeping out of her voice.

Nobody had talked to me like that since Edward, who was later in the infirmary for talking ill of my family.

Yet this little lady that barely reached to my shoulder was looking at me like she was going to beat me with my own sword if I didn't get out of my room and to the breakfast table within five minutes.

"And who exactly are you? I asked, it wasn't within a woman's authority to tell men what to do or show this much disrespect.

"I'm your new maid, and I'm also the one who made your breakfast which will be cold of you don't get out fast. If you're not out within three minutes you'll be making your own coffee for that hangover.", I made up my mind that I officially hated sassy women.

She turned on her heel and left the room, leaving me in shock. She was not like any other woman I had ever met, even the regulator women warriors behaved lady like and minded their manners around the men.

Once I snapped out of my shock I rushed to get ready, pulling on my slacks and a shirt, pulling a vest over it, my mother hated it when I wore my armor to the table.

As I stepped into the kitchen I smelled the scent of cooking bacon and eggs. I knew it wasn't my mother's doing, although she was now a house mother she had been a warrior of the regulators before she had me and was not the best cook since she had never learned.

I looked to the hearth where the new maid was kneeling, pouring a mug of hot water.

As I went to my seat I watched her, for some reason she intrigued me.

Instead of using an oven mit she grabbed the top layer of her skirts and used that to hold the hot handle of the tea pot. She poured the water into several cups, not even flinching when some hot water splashed onto her skin.  Then she got up, balancing two cups in both hands and without using something to pull herself up she stood, her back straight and switched one of the cups into the other hand, grabbing the sugar bowl and tapping the edge against the cups, not measuring with a spoon. She then grabbed the coffee and added it to all the cups, only pouring cream into one of the cups for my mother who hated black coffee. Then she walked here and in one motion slid all the cups to their place on the table.

She glance at me and upon seeing my uncombed hair and unwashed face grimaced.

"Either come to the table clean or don't come at all", she scolded and threw me a wash cloth,"go clean up and don't come to my table with a filthy face or hands again or you'll be cooking your own food."

I grabbed the cloth from where it had landed in my lap after hitting me in the face, who knew towels could be used as weapons.

A/n: this is going to be the last one so far, until I'm sure that I like the others, then I'll put up more
:)