Manors and Maids

"There it is.." Opal said quietly, glancing around for any unwanted company. The three of us had made it up the path, and our destination was now in plain sight. No more joking around. I looked Opal and then Faith, nodding at them. "Should we review our plan once more?" Opal asked, looking at Faith and I. It was a smart idea, so we stepped off the path a bit to talk. If we were going to stand here and chat, getting out of sight would be best. Three girls conversing in front of a stranger's mansion isn't exactly normal.

"So, we keep the maid act going until we find an opening, right?" Opal asked. Faith nodded before answering verbally. "Yeah, but we need to report back to each other at night or some other time where we won't be working. We can discuss openings that we have discovered and the best way to...kill him." I could see both Opal and Faith were uneasy about having to assassinate the man. After several seconds of thought, I offered to do it. "I'll kill him." Faith and Opal were a bit surprised by how calm I was with offering to do something like that. Before they could say anything, I continued. "Although, I will not kill unless I have solid proof that he has completed the actions that were on the request flier. I won't kill without reason, or for anyone's pleasure." Faith and Opal nodded, agreeing with my statement. "So, we find proof, an opening, and then report back to each other?" Opal asked, making sure she understood every part of the plan. "Yeah. Now, should we get going?" Faith asked. Instead of answering verbally, Opal and I made our way back onto the stone path along with Faith.

"Who are you? A man asked. He was tall, light skinned, and was wearing a butler uniform. He had layered dark purple hair. The man's eyes were golden, and one was covered by his bangs. He seemed to be very polite. "Hello there." Opal stated with a small bow. "We're here to take on positions as maids." The man looked at us, his gaze going from Faith, to Opal, and then to myself. After a moment of silence, he smiled politely. "It's not up to me to choose who works here, but please, join me inside." The three of us nodded, agreeing to follow the butler into the mansion. As we walked through the yard, I examined my surroundings. There were many plants, more bushes than trees. There was a garden throughout the whole front yard. A stone fountain in the middle of it all. I followed the butler up the small steps and stopped in front of large double doors. I glanced at Opal and Faith, seeing that they were still behind me and examining the area as well. The butler opened the door, holding it with one arm. With the other he gestured at us to come inside. I entered the mansion, looking at the interior of the foyer. It was astonishing. The carpet was spotless, the walls were clean, and paintings placed throughout the room. There was a double staircase in the center of the room. If the foyer itself looked this nice, I couldn't imagine how luxurious the other floors would be. "Excuse me, I believe I forgot to tell you three ladies my name. I am Thorn." He bowed after closing the front door. "Please,  follow me." He headed towards the staircase. I glanced at Opal and Faith before following Thorn. The three of us walked up the staircase behind him. It lead to an area that I would assume to be the living room. The four of us went through a couple of other rooms and halls before stopping in front of a door. Thorn knocked before opening and entering. He had Faith, Opal, and I wait out in the hall for a second. "This must be the master's study.." I whispered loud enough for Faith and Opal to hear. The door opened again and now Thorn invited us in. Faith and Opal walked in first, and I followed behind. There was a grown man at a desk, his arms folded as he watched the three of us enter. "Please, take a seat.." The man said, gesturing to the multiple chairs laid out in the room. The three of us took a seat. Thorn was standing by the desk. "So, you three would like to be employed here as maids?" He asked. I had just noticed this name tag on the desk. According to the name tag, the man's name was Alexander. I had zoned out for a bit, and suddenly I was being asked to sign a contract.  I saw that Faith and Opal had already signed. Figuring that they already read it, I signed as well.

"Allow me to lead you to your rooms." Thorn said. He exited the room and I followed. Opal and Faith walked beside me as Thorn led us through the large manor. "Here you are. These three rooms are empty. They are all the same, so there is no need to spend too much time deciding which one you want." Thorn then departed, bowing before he left us. I gestured Faith and Opal into one of the rooms, closing the door behind us. "Let's talk about what we know and have seen so far." I said, crossing my arms as I leaned against the deep blue wall of the room. "Well, this place seems pretty big. Only someone really really rich would be able to afford some place like this, and drug smuggling is a well paying job." Opal said, sitting on the full sized bed. Faith and I nodded, agreeing with her statement. Which then led me to bring up something. "Big mansion means big money, and both of those mean many servants. I sensed twenty. The thing is, some of them have powers. I saw one using telekinesis to clean."

"Really? I didn't notice, but I guess we can just find out the powers of each employee just so we know what we're against." Faith said, looking at me. "That would be a good thing to do." Opal said. I then uncrossed my arms, looking at my two friends and speaking. "Well, I guess we better start looking for evidence. I don't want to be here for too long."

It's been exactly one day since I arrived with my friends at this estate. To me, we blended right in. I was comfortably sitting in my bed writing. Considering there is not always time to talk to Opal and Faith about new evidence, we would write notes and exchange notepads whenever we could. I capped the black pen and set it down on the table next to the bed, closing the notepad afterwards. It was now time for me to get ready. I made my way over to the the wardrobe on the opposite side of the room. Oh how I miss my dorm. This room wasn't so bad, but I just didn't feel at home. The tall wardrobe in the room held multiple maid outfits. They were all identical and my size. Faith, Opal, and I all got extra uniforms after being hired. After changing I left my room. Out came Opal and Faith too. We exchanged notepads and then went on our way to go work for the day. We had various jobs. Cooking, cleaning, fixing, serving, and more.

The stars were painted across the clear night sky for all to see. I went back into the mansion considering that I finished my work outside. "Day two is complete." I whispered to myself as I made my way to my room. I opened the door to see Opal and Faith talking and using their phones. "Thanks for telling me there would be a meeting." I said with a small chuckle before going in the bathroom to change. I returned to where Opal and Faith were after changing into my pajamas. The bed creaked as I climbed on top of it, sitting beside my friends.

"So..I found the place where he stores his illegal drugs." Opal said, looking at Faith and I for a response. Faith smiled because of what Opal shared. She then spoke, bringing up a plan. "Well, now that we know for a fact that he is doing everything the flier accuses him of, let's take care of business. We could easily distract the other employees and get to master Alexander." Although Faith had a decent plan, I decided to bring something up that I discovered. "He's not just a drug dealer....." Opal stared at me, raising an eyebrow. "Continue?" I began explaining my discovery. "While working I discovered that under the manor is a dungeon." I was interrupted by Opal's curiosity. "What about it??" I glanced at her, hoping that she would see that I needed her to be quiet. "Like I was saying, the dungeon underneath is full of activity, specifically yesterday. There was so much life, and when I decided to go spy, I learned that Mr. Alexander is running a slave trade business down there. The sight was revolting, but it just adds to the stuff that he's done."

Faith looked at me, shocked by the information. "Well... At least I feel a bit more comfortable with what the request asks for us to do. I mean...death penalty over some drug smuggling is a bit drastic, but slavery is just.." I looked at Faith, speaking. "I know. That's why we're going to end this."

"When? Tomorrow?" Opal asked as she doodled in the notepad she had. "The sooner the better. Let's go ahead and discuss some basic tactics before tomorrow." I said, looking at Faith and Opal.

For the rest of the night we discussed different approaches to our attack. No solid plan was created, but many ideas were shared. Eventually Faith and Opal retreated to their rooms due to how tired they both were. Rest was definitely needed. Who knows how complicated this could get?

Today was the day. I smoothed out the wrinkles in my maid uniform before exiting my room. I nodded with a smile at several other servants I had come across on my journey to the kitchen. I walked through the doorway, seeing that Opal was there. I began preparing breakfast for Mr. Alexander. I had purposely offered tocook today. Opal had a wet rag in one hand, a small towel in the other. She cleaned while I cooked. "Is Faith already in the room?" I asked, focusing on the breakfast I was preparing. "Yes, she said she'd be there before we finished in here." Opal answered. She kept her attention on her task as well. This was just a precaution. Neither of us wanted to the other employees to become suspicious.

I finished preparing the break fast, placing the food on a rollable cart. I placed my hands on the car and pushed, heading towards where Mr. Alexander and Faith were. Opal followed behind me, assisting me with the food. We arrived at the room. Opal and I stood right outside the wooden door. "Our target, Faith, and Thorn are currently behind this door." I muttered to Opal, just loud enough for her to hear. She nodded before lifting her hand up, and knocking on the door. A couple seconds later, the door was pulled open and we were greeted by Faith. I pushed the cart in without a word, approaching where Mr. Alexander was sitting. I set the breakfast out for him, and he began eating. I glanced at Opal and Faith. At that moment, I watched Faith 'accidentally' drop the vase she was cleaning. "Oh no! I'm sorry...it was an accident!" Thorn, who had been quiet this whole time, sighed. "I'll go get a broom." Faith looked at him, concern in her eyes. "I'll go with you. Again, I'm sorry." Faith said, following Thorn out of the room.

Opal and I exchanged one last glance before the action began.