TIME:
3 HOUR LATER
LOCATION:
ORENTHIA PRIMARY
RESIDENTIAL FLOOR 2
DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
I sit in a blank gray room with only a table and two chairs as its furnishings. In front of me was a sweating rotund man that could only seem to ask inane questions, I of course answered them patiently. Clearing his throat, I almost cheered at his barely hidden look of relief, "Well it would seem that is all. We will see to it that you have an answer in at most 2 days, Governess Runethari."
I nod my head and he stands up and reaches his hand over attempting to shake mine. I decide to be petty and just ignore him and walk towards the door. I had some free time anyways and I would rather spend it working on the girl.
This would be her first time having her blood drawn. So I wanted to be there to make sure nothing went wrong. I hum softly as I follow another bureaucrat out of the maze of cubicles and hallways and arrive at the entrance.
Just as I was about to leave I noticed my two stalkers were standing at the counter seemingly engaging in small talk with a man in a suit. One of the men takes that moment to look over his shoulder straight at me, I just wave at him as he tries and plays it cool.
I walk out of the building and step onto the pedestrian pathway and turn to head to my void ship. The people giving me weary looks and holding their spawn closely as I pass only serve to brighten my mood.
The middle class district was made of many different blocks but for the most part it was easy to navigate. Most of the infrastructure was maintained though I could see occasional signs of mismanagement.
I walked the pathway just observing the middle density buildings that took up as much space as was physically allowed. Bridges spanned gaps allowing residents to get to stores without having to fight the foot traffic. It was chaotic and seemed random but I could notice most of these bridges were actually quite well thought out.
I stumble into something and almost fall but manage to catch myself barely. Looking down I noticed a small human spawn, their clothes seemed more ragged. The child stares up at me wide eyed clutching something close to their chest. I feel a little surprised as I stare at her. She has white hair, though her eyes aren’t crimson… shame she would’ve been cute if she had them.
I heard a shout coming from a building and both the child and I looked to the side where a tired store clerk stormed out of one of the lower level stores. The child quickly tried to spring up but I grabbed them by their arms stopping them as they struggled to free themselves. I spared a glance and noticed they had short black hair and an androgynous face. Truthfully I wondered if it was a boy or girl, but I was more interested in seeing what the situation was.
"Sam! I know you're upset, but you can't go back there, it's for employees!" The store clerk, a boy with brown hair who seemed to be in his teens if I had to guess stormed towards me and this child.
I looked down feeling the spawn shaking like a leaf as the boy approached. I decide to help out as I catch a glimpse at what they're holding; internally I nod my head at her taste.
"What did this brat do? And are you certain it's a good idea to lecture them in the middle of the street?" I ask, staring at the boy who freezes momentarily but puts on a strong front.
The brat in my hand starts shaking even more and I notice that it was probably caused by me. I slowly let go and they quickly ran towards the clerk distancing themselves from me. Their eyes were a little wet for some reason.
The girl hugged the clerk closely trying to hide behind him as she clutched her plush bat. Despite her being clearly distressed she didn't seem to want to talk much.
"So what's the problem?" I ask with an annoyed look at the teen.
"I-I'm sorry miss for the trouble my sister caused. She is very shy so I hope you’ll forgive her for me." The boy nervously answers.
I looked into his eyes and he seemed scared but he held his sister close and was slowly trying to distance her from me. I let out an exaggerated sigh and shook my head, "It's fine I can't be too angry at someone with such a tasteful doll. Just don't let it happen again okay? Now you should get back to your work. I would doubt your boss would be all to happy with your disappearance."
I turned my back on the brother and sister duo and continued my journey towards the elevators.
Mother suddenly spoke in my ear, "I am surprised Lilith, you handled yourself well."
"Sigh I just couldn't help it, that bat plush was just too adorable. You already know my opinions on what humans call 'plushies.' Regardless, look into them, will you the girl seem odd... also I would like to know where she got that bat plush" I muttered the last bit under my breath but a quiet giggle in my ear made me just look at the ground in embarrassment.
Ten minutes later I was riding an elevator up to the void ship hangers. I was unfortunately joined in the elevator with several people that all had to stop at every level. It took another five minutes to actually board the Astro Dawn.
TIME:
5 MINUTES LATER
LOCATION:
ORENTHIA PRIMARY
ASTRO DAWN
POV:
Liza Velsent
The mistress returned though I felt something was odd, she was distracted. When I asked if there was anything I could do to help clear her and help her focus she told me she would like to extract a bag of blood. My heart sank as I feared she was going to kill me like she had done to my captors but Lady MARA cleared the confusion almost quickly, probably detecting my fear.
That led me to my first trip to Medbay. When I went inside I discovered something frightening. On one of the beds with a pipe running down her throat and a few tubes coming out of her chest was a small pale skinned girl.
"Uh uh, who is that Mistress?" I freeze transfixed by the terrifying sight.
"Oh her, that's not important, can you sit in that chair while I get the tools ready?" Mistress answered dismissively and I felt grateful as she passed by me, allowing me to calm down in her presence.
I took a seat on a slightly padded chair that sat in the corner almost forgotten. It looked almost luxurious for the purpose it would be fulfilling today.
Sitting on it I found myself constantly taking peeks at the girl. She seemed like she was dead. Her chest was failing to rise at all. The monitoring equipment besides her bed was the only thing that made it clear she still had a pulse.
I took slow deep breaths calming down as I looked back to see my Mistress approaching me. As she got closer that blissful calm helped guide me into the state of mind I needed.
After a few moments she ran the whole procedure needed to draw blood. I was actually relieved when I saw the antiseptic cloth as it meant she did indeed intend me to survive. When she finally slipped the needle into my arm she immediately hit a vein. At first I felt fine but rather quickly I felt cold and sweaty, my head felt weird but uncaring the Mistress pressed on drawing blood. As the seconds felt like hours I started to realize my Mistress wasn't reacting not because she didn't care but because she didn't want me to worry; the quicker we finished the quicker I could return to that calm and I felt an ember of happiness crackle in my heart.
After what felt like a few minutes but wasn't even close to that she pulled out the needle and threw it in a plastic bin. She looked down at my blood and a hint of drool almost escaped her lips. I was just glad I could be of service to the Mistress after all I don't know what I could pay her for the calm she brings me.
I took a few minutes to sit on the chair as she walked out of the room to properly put away the blood. When she returned I had mostly returned to my usual state though I did still feel a little cold. She looked over to me with those striking red eyes, and I was once again reminded of her beauty.
"Don't look at me like that savage," She with a shiver tells me to look away.
"I am sorry Mistress, I think getting my blood drawn has affected me. What do you wish me to do as punishment?" I responded quietly.
Mistress hasn't hit me but I know her anger can be foul so I try to be of service whenever I can. Even if I have to be like wallpaper I will always try to help her. The calm she brings is an amazing drug after all.
"Sigh I would like you to join me shopping, I need to find some clothes for you and buy some food; we're starting to run low on nutrient bars finally." Mistress states before walking out of the room as she looks at her tablet mumbling about something in her native tongue.
I carefully stand up and walk after her. Catching up I make sure to stay a few steps behind as she taught me. I helped Mistress put on her eva suit under her clothes making sure to help her as quickly as possible. She always says she will wear one when we are shopping; apparently she does this because she didn't want to make people wary. We eventually leave the Astro Dawn through the cargo lift.
Stepping into an elevator I notice another person in navy clothes of the system fleet. He seemed to look at Mistress oddly as we both stepped on board, but quickly looked forward with a cough as he noticed that I’m glaring at him; he should be more respectful and keep his gaze away from mistress. My heart begins to start to beat faster as the elevator closes the familiar anxiety I knew starting to worm its way into my mind.
Thankfully there are no additional stops. I silently send my thanks to whatever deity is out there. After a nervous minute of riding the elevator we step foot onto commercial floor 1—where the highest end items are.
We cleared security rather quickly, Mistress only wearing a combat knife, and being a system governor meant it was extremely quick. The security officers seemed wary of my lady but I just ignored it as we stepped through.
"Assistant, do you know any good clothing stores? I also just realized I might need something as well, and afterwards we need to visit an electronics hardware store." My mistress asked me and I quickly scrambled to pull something up on my tablet. "Uh yes Mis– um Captain there seems to be a general clothing store in Block S2/F1its name is–." Mistress raises her hand to silence me before she begins walking.
The block was really close and I marvelled at the amazing building that radiated opulence. Most of these stores sold stuff from the capital so quality was almost always assured. When we stepped into the clothing store my lady immediately went to the women's clothing section and looked for long sleeve clothes. Trusting me to find things I like I imagine I look through the options but I just decide to default to some rather plain and cheap clothes. If they were expensive I might ruin them so I went for durable but bland over anything ostentatious.
"Assistant, have you selected everything," Mistress suddenly speaks behind my back causing me to jump 'I didn't even know she was there.'
"Uh yes Captain, I have selected everything I want." I mumble nervously as I hand her my tablet.
She reads through everything quickly and approves it with some minor changes. It seems she wants me to wear things in red and black. I knew that was the colors of the Runethari Empire but I swear she overdid it a little. I am handed back my tablet and I notice she also included a few aprons I had forgotten to grab. I almost started to shake at my blunder but I realized it wasn't that terrible so I calmed down.
"Now onto an electronics store, any recommendations–?" I open my mouth to speak as I found one that seems like it will fit her needs. "–Okay so Nano Nexus alright thanks Mother." But I am quickly silenced and left to follow behind Mistress as she seemed to have been asking her Mother instead of me...
I look up the store map and notice something and a small smile graces my face; the electronics store seemed to have something nearby that I'm sure would be fun to browse. I'll have to ask Mistress if I can go there while she buys her supplies.
With pleasant thoughts and a smile sporting my face I keep pace with Mistress, our bags swaying uncomfortably in my hands.