Just the Maid

Chapter Seven- Canary

After having to leave Mike behind, we started trudging through the forest. I was able to get a closer look at the flora this time, now that I was on the ground. The different colors and shapes astounded me, now that I was up close. They were so much more beautiful and exotic. I reached to touch a petal, mesmerized-

"Captain!"

I was startled out of my trance and stood up to join the others. They were gathering up ahead. They opened a path for me so I could go to the front. I looked up and blinked.

There was a young girl, about six or seven years old holding a black staff with a golden ball on top. Her hair was parted neatly into eight puffball ponytails. A butler's suit with black high-heeled boots underneath was her outfit. Quite fitting, actually.

"Are you their leader?" she asked me. I nodded in response.

"Then I must ask you to turn back. You are not welcome here."

"We didn't come all this way just to be turned around!" yelled Mustache Man.

"Then you leave me no choice." She drew a line in the ground in front of her between the two stone walls on either side of her. "If any one of you are to pass this line, I will have no choice but to take you out," she stated. She slammed the base of her staff to the ground in front of her in finality.

"To dinner?" asked one older guy, scratching his chin.

Her eye twitched. "No, I will basically beat you to a bloody pulp." Everyone 'oooh'ed at her remark to the guy.

"We're not gonna be scared by a little girl are we!?" yelled Mustache Man.
Then he gave the fatal word.

"CHAAAARGE!!!"

Everyone rushed past me in a fury, swinging and trying to hurt the girl. I didn't know anything about her. She wasn't in my reading. I stepped back as I watched her take out all of my comrades. My men. They trusted me with their lives. I started to panic, just a little.

"Wait..." I thought. "She's not killing them, she's just knocking them out!' This made me feel a little better, but then I saw him.

I looked up and saw the same white-haired boy that I saw in the town. He was watching the girl take down my comrades and eating an apple.

I ignored him and looked back at the fighting. Every single person was down except for me and Mustache Man.

"W-Why you-!" he yelled. Then he charged, knife ready. I almost called out for him to stop, but by then it was already too late. She had hit him on the back of the head hard with her staff. She then looked at me.

"Are you next?" she asked, coolly. I just stood there, watching her. She walked back to her post, most likely thinking that I wasn't a threat. BOY was she wrong. I grinned and took the few steps towards her until I was right in front of her. She still couldn't see my face, but I stared her right in her eyes. In a flash, her staff went from her hands to mine and I had jumped back a little, for distance.

"H-How did you-..." and she trailed off, astounded. Quickly, she regained her composure and ran towards me. I stretched her own staff in front of me, trying to jab her stomach. Instead, she swiveled to my right, grabbed her staff with her left hand and kicked my face with her right leg. I was forced to let go of her staff and was sent flying back. I laid on the ground, face first. My cheek stung from the kick, but I got back up. I charged at her as quick as I could. She readied her staff in front of her, but I wasn't aiming for that. She swung her staff at me and it was like it was all in slow motion.

She watched me the whole way. I jumped up, placed my left hand on her staff, then my right hand on her afro-head, and cartwheeled right over her to the other side of the line. I landed on both of my feet and I stared her right in the eyes. She whirled around, her eyes showing strange emotions. Anger, astonishment, and... fear? Anyway, she stood down, and looked at the ground.

"You have bested me. You are well trained. What will you do now? Take pictures? Try to bring down the mighty Silva Zoldyck? Steal the intelligent Milluki Zoldyck's anime figurines? What?"

I said nothing, only walking forward to the castle in the distance.

"Wait!" called the girl. I turned to look at her. "I have to take you to the butler's cottage first. At least for the night." She gestured toward the darkening sky. "And you have to help me get these men outside the gates."

"I can do that. You lead... that person... to the butler's cottage." The white haired boy jumped down from his perch in the tree and threw his apple into the woods. Then, he grabbed two bodies, one on each arm, and started walking the opposite way.

"Master Kil-" the girl started to say.

"It doesn't matter to me. I don't care if it's demeaning or whatever. Just go do your job," said the boy as he was walking away.

"Y-Yes, sir," she replied. She bowed to his back and started walking the other way. I followed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We finally reached the butler's "cottage". It wasn't any cottage, it was a fricken MANSION! Spires and walls and everything. It was HUGE! The girl led me through the decorative doors into a massive hall.

"Canary! What are you doing back from your post?" A black-haired man with glasses came stomping up to the girl, apparently named Canary.

She bows and stays there as she speaks.

"I'm sorry, sir. Something came up that I think you would be very interested in hearing."

"Well, it better be good! Mr. Silva is here for inspection and I don't want ANYTHING to mess this up!" he whisper-yelled. Canary was sweating to beat the band. I felt a little bad for her. I coughed to get the man's attention and he looked at me for the first time.

"Who's this?" he asked in his normal voice. "And you can stand up straight, now."

She stands straight and faces me. "I don't know his, or her, name, sir. But..." She pauses, looking at the ground.

"But... What? Spit it out," he coaxes her.

"Well, he, or she, beat me in battle, sir." She stays looking down. I see him look from Canary to me and back to her. I just stare straight at him.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice says from behind me.