12:45 pm // noon
Winnie's Mansion
"Hello," she scanned over the line of thirty people. All uniformed in differing outfits, tidy, well-gathered individuals. They stood still and watched her. She folded her hands behind her back and smiled.
"My name is Winnie, but it shall not be spoken here. You will refer to me as Queen or Boss, whichever you choose. If you call me anything else, you will no longer work here," she strode down the line. "I will captain a tight ship, things will be done my way and when I say them. Failure to do so will result in your departure."
"Now I must rid my garden of obvious weeds," she stopped at the end and turned on her heel.
She pointed her finger and began to walk, "One, two, three, four..."
They stepped forward.
"Five, six, seven," she paused and pondered on a girl. She let her be and picked the one next to her, "Eight, nine."
She stopped at the end at an old man.
"Alfred," she crossed her arms. "You're lucky number ten. Don't come back here or else I'll shoot you in your head. That'll send a message to Batsy, won't it?" She smiled lightly and turned away from her lineup.
The old butler tightened.
"Leave all you!" The ten of them left, even Alfred.
She took a deep breath as she looked at Reyes who stood in the doorway of the kitchen. She turned back to them and straightened her dress.
"The rest of you sort yourselves into the house maids, handmaids, kitchen hands, and other," she gave them a moment. The girl that she spared immediately joined the handmaids.
Of the surviving twenty, eight were housemaids. Three were handmaids. Four were kitchen hands. And three awkward souls joined 'others'.
She looked at the 'others.'
"Leave."
They left.
She crossed her arms and looked at the housemaids. Why so many? She relaxed her brow.
"Housemaids, follow me. The rest of you, stay here," she took the housemaids on a tour of the mansion.
The kitchen, the bedrooms, the cellar, the bathrooms, the dining areas and meeting places. The library, the (empty) stable, and the garage.
They made their way back to the house and showed them where they'd find cleaning supplies and their beds.
The staff would share a large, open bedroom that took up the whole attic. The staff would also share two bathrooms (one for male and one for female).
She then went to the three handmaids and showed them her room. She showed them the way she liked to get ready and the way she liked her own things to be.
Finally, she took the four kitchen hands and left them to their own devices in the large kitchen and cellar.
"Reyes," she found him lounging in the library and reading some novel. "I need guards, I need henchmen and a crew..."
He set his book down and sat up. She sank into the couch, exhausted already. Her dress rested delicately around her body.
"Where do I find them?" she asked him, as if the humble chauffeur knew. He did, and replied:
"You forge them."
YOU ARE READING
dark places | wayne
Fanfiction"could you imagine the taste of your lips if we never tried to kiss on the drive to queens? 'cause i imagine the weight of your ribs if you lied between my hips in the backseat. and i imagine the tears in your eyes the very first night i'll sleep w...
