"Oh, come on!!! I know you want to go as much as I do!"
Light fell through the window to the enormous kitchen inside the mansion, where two figures, one with a blue dress and the other with a black uniform, were seen together shoulder to shoulder.
Anna was washing the dishes, her eyes concentrated on removing the oil on the pan. Her hair was tied up in two cute braids, which were being annoyingly played with by her young misses's fingers.
"You should remove those horrid glasses of yours" said the lady,"they make you look like a man whose only hobby is doing his taxes. You know I could give you ones much less ugly if you just did this one favor for me! "
Anna sighed and let go of the sponge.
"Miss Marcela"
"Yes?" Said the smiling mistress.
"I will never take you to those underground parties in the city and I will certainly not cover your plans from your aunt. So miss might prefer saving your money on better jewels than spending it on some simple folk like me."
Marcela raised an eyebrow and laughed mockingly.
"Simple folk? You being so modest? That's a new one. Weren't you the one who said I was a spoiled egotistical piece of shit who likes to torment homeless children for fun?"
Anna froze on the spot.
"I already apologized for what I said that day. I didn't know you were Mistress Fernandes's niece and forgot to put myself in my place, I'm sorry."
Marcela squinted her eyes and stared at the servant, analyzing every micro expression that could turn her true feelings in.
Seeing that Anna's face was indifferent as a stone, the young lady put her hands in the water inside the pan and threw it at the maid.
The water splashed in the servant's dress, which was not only new, but was her only presentable uniform.
The miss made a smirk, anxious to see her maid's expression.
Anna, however, didn't seem surprised or sad at all. She maintained her head down and spoke in the softest and most careful voice possible.
"Miss Marcela? I apologise for insulting you, but I can not put your ladyship in any potential danger these streets could offer. If there's any anger that still lingers in your heart from our first encounter, my lady is welcome to punish it on my salary."
Marcela, hearing the response, got immediately bored and sat on the counter opposite to the sink, snacking on the little cakes from her right side.
"Don't think much about it, I do not hold any grudges from that incident anymore. I just thought I could try and benefit from an advantageous deal, that's all. It just seems my business partner is more boring than I expected."
Anna sighed.
"I'm sorry to have disappointed my lady. If my company isn't to your satisfaction, Sir Lucas might be a more agreeable option for a friend and he can certainly take you to more appropriate social events."
Marcela made a disgusted face and stood up. She was just walking through the door when she stopped and said:
"Don't need to remind me of that boring man, he is just as insufferable as you and this enraging town full of barbaric idiots."
Anna watched her mistress leave upstairs to the bedroom, not saying a single word after that.
They… indeed have a very interesting dynamic, to say the least. And a quite unpleasant first impression I might add.
The two had met a week ago. Anna had just got off from her other job at a bar downtown when she bumped into Marcela on the street. Although the whole Castro Mansion staff was preparing for the arrival of their mistress's niece, the maid had never imagined that a girl with such simple dressing would be her.
Besides the fact that Marcela had a very unusual reddish hair color, nothing else really made her stand out. She was alone and with no staff near to serve her needs, not lady-like at all! Who could have imagined this was a noble girl from Europe?
When they met, the rich miss had all her hair messed up and she was holding the wrist of a random homeless boy. Anna heard them argue for a bit until she saw Marcela suddenly push the boy onto the road!
A horse was about to stomp the child to death when Anna ran and quickly grabbed the boy out to the sidewalk. His eyes were wide open in pure shock and then proceeded to cry in her arms.
Everyone on the street rushed their attention onto Marcela, who looked equally stunned at the scene.
The maid, who rarely showed anger, shouted:
"What insult has this boy directed at you for such an extreme reaction?! How could you do this? Are you out of your mind?!"
Marcela's initial shock dissipated and it soon turned into rage.
"So? It's none of your business! So what if I pushed him? He is a thief! And one so lowly I doubt anyone would miss him!"
That crazy girl had such an audacity, Anna was dumbfounded!
She put the boy aside and rushed to the red head, grabbing her arm.
"How could you say this? Whatever he has robbed, I will pay you, but the poor child is homeless, for god's sake! Don't you have a heart?"
Marcela let a little laugh escape from her lips.
"If he is homeless then that's his fault. If he died in an alley by starvation, no one would care. So what's the problem if he dies by my hand? What makes it different?"
Anna was a red tomato at this point.
"You egotistical piece of dog shit! I've never seen such a cruel and disgusting girl in my fucking 18 years of life! I do not care where do you go, just go to fuck yourself somewhere else!"
Marcela's mouth was on the floor. She had never heard such foul language escape from a young woman's lips before. But it was definitely a new experience… and a very interesting one at that.
She smirked and said:
"Fine, I shall do what you say, but this won't be the last time you will see me, I will make sure of that!"
And she went just like that.
That strange girl had just pushed a boy almost to his death, but was walking away head up with zero guilt in her mind.
Anna hoped to never actually see that lunatic again, but fate is quite comic sometimes. When the girl went to work at Castro's Mansion that night, who else was there? None other than the crazy lady from that same afternoon.
Marcela's hair was tied up neatly and her dress was a noble forest green. She was pouring tea to her aunt, kindly laughing at all the boring jokes the old woman spit.
Anna had just walked into the room with biscuits, however, when their eyes met, both froze. The maid's expression paled, turned red and then paled again. She was already planning on seeking other places to work, maybe at laundering or selling street food, but Marcela, instead of immediately denouncing the servant to her aunt, just smiled and greeted.
"Oh my, you again? What a nice coincidence!"
Anna bit her lower lip and lightly nodded her head.
The old lady made a confused expression and asked:
"Have you already met the maid?"
Marcela put a warm smile on her face, capable even of melting the coldest man's heart, and placed her hands on top of her aunt's.
"Yes, we've met before and she demonstrated great kindness to me when I was in a complicated situation, I don't think I will ever be able to forget such consideration, so now I only wish to be her friend. Could she, perhaps, be my personal maid during my stay?"
"Although she is indeed a good enough servant" replied the old woman, "I have ones much more capable of dealing with our kind nobility that could offer more stimulating company, are you sure?"
"Hm, yes, I'm sure. I really want to get to know her better in hopes of becoming a friend. And just as my mother used to say, the most fruitful friendships usually come from the unusual coincidences God throws at us."
The house mistress thought for a bit and soon agreed. Anna interrupted them.
"My lady, although I'm indeed grateful for her ladyship's favor, I cannot exclusively take care of her. I'm sadly in a very difficult financial situation because of my mother's health and as so I cannot afford to lose the incoming of my secondary jobs just to concentrate on miss."
When the old woman was about to speak, Marcela made a teary face. Making Mistress Castro sigh and turn to the maid.
"That's no worry, whatever those jobs are paying, I can give you double during my niece's stay. We can also talk about increasing your base salary after she leaves if you wish."
Anna analyzed the proposition, but there was really only one correct answer. At her current economical situation, she wouldn't be able to pay for medicine much longer, so she needed the money.
Marcela clapped her hands and exclaimed:
"Then that's settled! I'm so excited!!"
Anna gulped and let a drop of sweat fall from her forehead, glancing at her misses' eyes, but seeing no kindness or friendship in them.