Page 22 of Kingston
“Thank you.”She flittered away only to return a few seconds later.“Is there something wrong?I can fix just about anything.”
“I’ll be your faerie forever if you wish.When we have some time together, we’ll form a connection.That way, you can call for me when you are in trouble.We have a lot of the battle warriors with us, too.Some in each house.”He said that he’d like that too.“Good.You’re a good man, lord Cassian.I’m happy to be serving you.”
When she went to the room, he got down a saucer and put some water in it.He did wonder how they drank it, but didn’t let that bother him too much.He had help around the house, and that was going to be perfect for him.As he thought of things that he wanted to do for the pip he now had, he knew he was going to have to come up with some rules.He didn’t know what they might be right now, but he was sure that he could figure them out as he went.Having a lot of faeries around would be nice, but it might be too overwhelming as well.That was Kings biggest complaint.There were just too many of them around all the time.
By dinner time, he had two rules for them.They couldn’t be in the bathroom if he was in there, and they weren’t to bother him while he was in his bedroom if the door was closed.Same with his office.If the door was open, they were more than welcome to come and talk to him.Otherwise, he was simply busy with work and couldn’t be bothered while on the phone and such.Also, he noticed that the house was beginning to look different with them all there.
The carpets had been cleaned.He’d been trying to remember to vacuum when he was home, but it was too much effort when he was exhausted after a day of working.He abhorred dusting and never did it unless he was having company.Then he would only dust the room he thought they’d be in.Not only were all the rooms seemingly dust-free, but he could swear that all the windows in the house had been shinier than they’d ever been before.
The house seemed warmer, not in the heated-up sort of way but as if they had made his home homier.He found himself going around the house and finding new things that he’d not noticed before.There were flowers in the main hall.Little touches of light that made the room feel like it was brighter.He loved having the faeries around now, if they were going to give his home the warm touches that he was seeing now.
“Lord Cassian, there is a person at the main gate to the house who wishes to bring you a package.Did you have something coming?”He said that he did, he’d ordered some things online just last night.“There is a brownie at the gatehouse now that will ring the house when you’re in attendance.He said that if you could give him a list of people to allow in, he’ll only let you know that they’re here and not ask you about them.”
“I can do that.”He got his package in record time.Usually, he would be notified about something being delivered and have to search everywhere for the package.This was so much nicer.Something else that he was going to have to talk to Buttercup about was how he would pay the brownie and whether they would be human-like, too.So many questions popped into his mind at different times of the day.He asked her what his name was.“Just so I can acknowledge them when I see them.”
“His name is Henry Fonda.Something that he picked up from a television show that he was watching.He’s quite proud of that name, sir.”He laughed a little, thinking of the movies that he used to watch with the late actor in them.“Shall I tell him that you’re pleased with his work so far?Brownies can be quite the handful when they have nothing to do.Lady Earth thought that he’d work well at your gate for you.She is going to make it so that all the houses have gate houses for some brownies to work in.”
“Excellent idea.Yes, I can see where that would come in handy for everyone.”He did too.Just so people didn’t pull in the driveway to see a dragon all the time.Also, the package delivery system was perfect for them.“I hope that we can all have this special job taken care of.”
By evening, he was as happy as he’d ever been about having the faeries in the house.He did realize that he had fewer than Kings had, but he could see the usefulness of having them around.They made him feel less lonely in the house, too, and they did brighten up the rooms they were in.He’d never had such fun trying new things before as he was having the little people at his beck and call.Not that he ordered them around all that much, but he did love being able to talk to them when they came to him with questions.
Chapter 9
Raven loved her job.She’d been working in the fast food restaurant for the past five years since turning sixteen and needing some extra cash for a car that she wanted to purchase.Since then, she’d not just gotten her a second or third-hand car, but she’d been promoted to head cashier, too.It paid a little more than she’d been making, and she got to be the one in charge while they were all busy at the cash register.
But today, sadly, was her last day.She was going to finish her college education and become a lawyer.Taking night classes all this time had suited her needs well, but now that she was having to intern and go to classes, it had become a bit too much for her.She’d been able to secure enough grants to not have to work, but she was going to have to pinch her pennies until they screamed for mercy.
“What are you going to do with all your free time?”So many customers thought that she was just quitting so as not to have to work anymore.“I bet you have a list a mile long to do when you’re off.”“I’m betting that in a month you’ll be back like nothing happened.”“You’re too good a worker not to have a job.”Her favorite one, people said to her, was “So you’ve won the lottery, have you?”She could only wish that the last one was true.
But the people that she worked with knew what she was doing.Not all of them understood her need for higher education, but she didn’t care.It had been a dream of hers to be a lawyer since she’d been to her first court hearing at six years old.
Her parents were divorced.And they both wanted her to live with them.Not because they loved her.No, her parents only wanted the child support the other would have to pay.She knew this the day she was seated in the big chair by the judge and asked what her opinion was about living with one or the other of them.She looked at the older man and told him she didn’t want to live with either of them, but would very much like to live with her grannie, who had been raising her since she could walk.That threw a big bomb on the way things went after that.
So at age six, she moved in with her grannie permanently, and both parents had to pay the dreaded child support to her mother’s mom.They didn’t want her anyway, and with them having to pay support, they didn’t feel as if they had to visit her either.Fine by her, she loved her grannie very much.
“It’s time for your break.”She nodded at the assistant manager and grabbed her drink.She got a free meal daily, but had long since gotten tired of the same food daily and brought herself in something to eat now.As she was eating her PB&J, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she tried to ignore the man whose office was right next to the breakroom.“You know there’s a fat bonus for any one of us who can talk you into staying just where you are.You should think of the people you’re leaving behind.They’re going to miss you.”
“I’m leaving here, not dying.They can visit if they want.”The fact was that no one knew where she lived, and she liked that just fine, too.She loved her job and only somewhat liked the people that she worked with.“I’m going to school and I won’t have time to work a full-time schedule.Not even a part-time one.”
She didn’t point out to him either that if she stayed, she wouldn’t be leaving anyone behind.Sometimes Daniel didn’t think before he spoke, and it made him sound stupid.Or maybe he was.She didn’t really care.He kept at her during her break about leaving and the bonus so much that she took the last fifteen minutes of her break outside in the cold.
Her classes started next week, and she was looking forward to studying a bit more.She didn’t own a television or even a radio, but she could travel a bit, and she was going to see her grannie and hang out with her for a couple of days.Then she was going to get her apartment in order beforeeverything started happening.
When her break was over, she went back in to clock in and start on the register again.While she’d been gone, they had put someone else on her line, and she decided to clean up the lobby.It was a mess since kids were off school today, and it took her an hour to get things back to looking good.One of the other people she worked with said they’d take out the trash, and she was all for that.It had been cold standing out there, and she was glad that she didn’t have to go back out.
At the end of her shift, she was standing to clock out when Daniel started harassing her again.It really was getting old the way he kept at her all the time.She thought because she was older than him, it was what made him think that bossing her around was fun, but she just wanted to do her job and go home.He was making it so that she didn’t enjoy coming to work as much with him always on her about something.
“Can you stay over?”She told him no, she already had plans.“Just for an hour.I need someone to watch the lobby for me while I run to the bank.It won’t be that bad.”
“No.I want to go home.You should have asked me before I made plans and clocked out.”He followed her out to her car.“Just leave me alone.As of ten minutes ago, I no longer work here.I want to go home.”
“Damn it, why do you have to be such a stubborn bitch all the time about everything?It’s just an hour or two.I have to run to the bank, and you can keep an eye on things while I’m gone.”She told him that it wasn’t her job that he should have gone earlier when there were more people there.“Well, I didn’t, did I, and now I’m telling you that you’re going to get your ass back in there and wait for me to return.I won’t be but a couple of hours, as I have shit I have to do.”
“I’m not going back in there.”The slap to her face startled her so much that she fell against her car.“What do you think you’re doing?You hit me.”
“I know what I did, and now you’re going to do what I say and get your ass back in there so I can run some errands.I’m sick of you thinking that you’re better than anyone else who works here, and now you’re going to do what I tell you.I’m your boss.”She shook her head, still holding onto her face.When he hit her again, she felt her head hit her car, and the pain was blinding for a second.Just long enough for him to start dragging her by the hair back into the building.This was going too far.
Fighting him to get away from him, she hurt her arm and ribs.The man was tossing her to the cold pavement even as she was trying to catch her breath.He was really hurting her the way he was beating on her, and she knew that she was bleeding from her mouth and nose.There was no telling where else she was bleeding by the time she was inside the building.
