The New Girl
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto.
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Guess who's back?! That's right: ME! I have returned from the great wilderness and have found this story worthy to- Eh, don't listen to me... I'm just being dramatic. Anywho, I'z be back and ready to REWRITE Not Your Lady! *cue dramatic superhero music* Hee hee... ^U^; Don't kill me...?
Already dedicated to WhiteAnimeAngel because she was my first internet friend and kept nagging (in a good way) for me to write this story! Well her constant probing has finally paid off! ^^ Love ya, Chika!
Also, I'd like to thank the people who kept reading and favoriting this story, even though it IS the story that hasn't been updated in two years... oops.
Now, on to the story, which has been under major reconstruction. You might not even recognize it! XD
Oh and BTW: For my new readers... This is set in the Victorian Era, around the late 1800s.
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"Did you hear?" One of the maids whispered from her hunched over position on the floor, cleaning out the drawing room fireplace.
Her friend paused in dusting the crystal lamp that stood on the lacquered mahogany side table, "Know what?" She asked, as equally as quiet.
The first maid glanced around quickly to make sure no one was around before leaning in to hiss lowly, "We're getting a new girl to help with the upcoming season."
The other maid scoffed as she started brushing her feather duster across the mahogany table, cradling the lamp in the crook of her arms like a child, "What's so great about that?" She asked a little louder. Now that she knew it wasn't juicy gossip about the lords and ladies, she really didn't care.
"No no! That's not the best part!" The first maid said, standing up and turning to face her friend, her open face smudged with soot. Her friend giggled and pointed out her mishap. The first maid rubbed quickly at the soot, spreading it more, as she said, "The new girl, she's to be Miss Mori's companion. Like a lady-in-waiting. Isn't that spectacular?! The new girl must be really pretty." The first maid sighed, wishing that she could be pretty enough to be even in the same room as Miss Mori, who was said to be the prettiest lady there was.
The second maid snorted in contempt, she had been working here for years, so she knew what the Mori family was really like, "I bet the new girl is going to be arrogant, thinking she's better than us for being hired just to be that brat's personal maid. Lady Mori should had just promoted one of us maids, we're as good as they come."
The first maid laughed, "I bet you're secretly wishing that Lady Mori chose you, huh?" She asked. The other maid blushed a little, having been thinking just that.
Before either one of them could say another word, the housekeeper, Mrs. Kitsune, stormed in, looking angry like she always did, "You don't have this room finished yet? The other girls are already having breakfast! If you don't hurry you don't get any, and don't miss a spot or you don't get lunch either!" Mrs. Kitsune growled. The first and second maid squeaked and bustled to finish the job quickly and perfectly.
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"Miss Emika Nakamura is it?" The housekeeper asked sweetly as she poured tea for the both of us.
"Yes."
The housekeeper raised one of her bushy eyebrows, "You speak so clearly and perfectly." She commented as she dropped two lumps of sugar into her teacup before stirring slowly. I just took mine plain.
"I do."
The woman looked like she expected me to elaborate. I didn't, seeing no need to tell this woman why I spoke on par with that of the gentry. I took a cautious sip of the warm tea and was glad that my mother always told me to keep my expression neutral. This tea was horrible! It tasted like dirt, literally. I wondered mildly if the Mori family gave their servants dirt packed into tea bags. Gently I set the teacup down on the table and didn't pick it back up.
The housekeeper, however, was guzzling her portion down like it was the sweetest nectar. I watched the gluttonous woman with mild interest. From what I could tell in just the few minutes I've known her, this woman enjoyed her high position to a degree that was unhealthy. She was a power seeker, if I wasn't careful she would have her poisonous claws into me before I knew it.
"Pardon me, mistress, but if you could inform me of my duties." I inquired politely as the housekeeper clacked her teacup down on its poor saucer like it had done something wrong.
Her bushy brows drew together, "First you can lose the 'better-than-thou' attitude. You are a servant and nothing more." She snapped.
My own eyebrow inched up a little, was there something in the tea that made her loosen her tongue? Mentally I smirked, if only she knew who she was talking to, then she wouldn't be so quick to reprimand me. I bowed my head, "Forgive me. I do not mean to come across that way." I murmured.
The housekeeper didn't seem to like my polite apology. Was she expecting me to grovel at her feet? Such a blatant woman, thinking that just because she had a higher position than me made her better than me. The woman scoffed, "You will perform duties as expected of a maid in this household along with the duties of accompanying Miss Mori to all the social engagements. When you are not performing those duties, you are to looked after the young Mori twins as their governess. Is that understood?"
My eyebrow quirked up a little higher, did they honestly expect one woman to do so much? Still I dipped my head and quietly murmured, "Yes, mistress. Shall I go?"
Mrs. Kitsune waved her hand impatiently, reaching across the table for my cup of tea, "Yeah yeah. Just don't go thinkin' you can make friends with the Mori girls. That'll get you fired quicker than you can sneeze." The housekeeper drawled before drinking down my cup of tea.
I stared at her, surprised at her disregard for manners. How did this woman become a housekeeper in the first place? And how did she manage to keep such a position with her failures so obvious? I stood and dipped into a shallow curtsey, more than the woman deserved, before leaving.
^o^
Ta-da! Told you that you wouldn't recognize it! This is a whole completely different plot line and everything. The only thing that is really the same is the characters.
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