With snow beginning to fall, the lakes freezing over, and frost appearing on the roads...winter is here and so is the Noah's Ark Cricus. Rose, a tightrope walker along with her best friend Doll, doesn't have much to say about herself. All she is to...
An elderly man with short gray hair and mustache, a monocle and a black suit with white gloves lead us from the kitchen to two bedrooms in the corner of the humongous manor. Tanaka held his hand out towards the bedrooms with a small, closed-eye smile on his face. "May I ask for your names?" He said.
"My name is Snake," Snake replied.
"Freckles," Freckles pointed to herself.
"Violet," I gave a curt nod.
"Well, you three will be working as the Phantomhive footman and women," Tanaka told us.
We all exchanged confused glances with each other. Everything Tanaka told us made no sense. Tanaka gave us a chuckle, "A footman serves under the butler and assists him with his duties."
Tanaka opened one of the bedroom doors. "Snake, this will be your room," He instructed.
Snake nodded and silently entered the bedroom, Tanaka following close behind. I assumed the other bedroom belonged to Freckles and I, so I twisted the brass doorknob and opened the door, leading to a dimly lit bedroom. Three beds were lined up, with a dresser and full-length mirror in the corner. The beds had simple wooden frames, a mattress, and a white sheet and blanket. It looks like Freckles and I shared the bedroom with another girl. There was a window, with the curtains pulled over the window.
Someone knocked on the door and Freckles and I turned to ace the door. "Come in!" We said.
The doorknob turned and the door creaked opened, revealing Tanaka. He gave us another smile and walked over to the dresser, opening one of the drawers and pulling out something. He placed some folded clothes on two of the beds. "These are your uniforms, Freckles and Violet," Tanaka explained. "Please wear them and come out so you can meet the other servants."
"Thank you," Freckles and I replied.
Tanak closed the door, giving Freckles and I our privacy to change. Freckles and I stood over our beds, unfolding the clothes. It was a long-sleeved, neck-high, white top with a dollie-like frill over the chest and a black ribbon to be tied around the neck. The shirt was paired with a waist-high, maroon, knee-lenth skirt with eight buttons in two rows in the middle of the skirt. There was also white stockings and black clogs.
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Freckles and I took off the rags that we called clothes, which all that remained of our second-string outfits at the circus. As I slipped on my new uniform, I kept the wristlet that shot out wire on me. I turned to Freckles and she looked back at me, wearing the same uniform as me.
I stifled a giggle and looked away from Freckles, pink spreading across my cheeks. "Oi, what's so funny?!" Freckles demanded.
"I never seen you looking that girly!" I snickered.
"Well, I always had my circus costume," Freckles pouted as she looked away from me as well, a blush dusted on her cheeks as well.
"True," I nodded, opening the door and exiting the bedroom, Freckles following close behind.
As we stepped out, Snake was already outside his bedroom, wearing his uniform. Snake wore a suit with a low vest and a ribbon. I realized something was off about Snake. "Snake, where are your snakes?" I asked.
"They went off exploring the manor on their own," Snake explained, one of the rare moments he talked without his snakes.
Going back to the kitchen where we came from, peaking around the doorway. Snake, Freckles and I saw a maid with plum-red hair tied into two pigtails, a scrawny, blonde-orange gardener who wore his straw hat over his neck, and a chef with dirty blonde hair and a scruffy beard along with a cigarette in his mouth running all over the kitchen, Snake's snakes running rampant. We blinked, watching the spectacle in front of us.
Something hit the back of my head and I held it, wondering what hit me before I was shoved ahead. I looked behind me to see Black, smiling with his hands out. He had also whacked Freckles and Snake and pushed them both as well. "Go on-introduce yourselves!" He grinned at us.
The other servants stopped their panic and looked over, hearing Black's words. We all stood in a straight line, our hands folded in front of us. "Snake," Snake mumbled.
"Name's Freckles," Freckles continued.
"I'm Violet," I finished.
"Oh, new servants!" The maid gasped delightfully as she clasped her hands in front of her. "I'm Mey-Rin!"
"Sweet!" The chef grinned, still holding the cigarette in his mouth. "I'm Baldory!"
"And I'm Finny!" The gardener smiled, closing his eyes and waving at us.
"Who's snakes are these anyways?" Baldory muttered as he pulled another snake off of him.
"Mine," Snake raised his hand, and immediately all the snakes slithered back over to him, crawling up into his suit and nestling in there. The other three servants' jaws dropped at the sight, looking at each other then at Snake.
"Snake, Freckles, and Violet were originally part of a circus," Black explained. "However, they will be joining us today as servants."
"Welcome!" Mey-Rin, Baldory, and Finny greeted us.
Tanaka entered the kitchen, joining the Black. "You three may take today to rest, but tomorrow you three will start work here at the manor," he instructed us. "Report directly to Sebastian in the morning and he will give you orders of what your tasks are."
"Yes, sir," we all nodded in acknowledgment to Tanaka as he and Black left the kitchen.
