Month: December 2016

9:00 A.M.

Alys walked out into the estate gardens. Beautiful flowers of all kinds, neatly arranged into various shapes formed a breathtaking sight.

But for Alys, it was work.

She grabbed her gardening tools from the shed, and went to tending to the plants.

The crimson roses were watered.

The pristine lilies were cared for.

The vibrant violets were blessed by her hands.

Each day, when the weather was good, Alys would come out and tend to these plants. They were her children, and she cared for each plant individually.

Tirelessly, for a few hours, she cared for the plants.

And at the end of it all, she didn’t even break a sweat.

8:35 AM

The master and Yura had completed their meal, and so Alys began cleaning the table of dishes.

Yura, as always, had finished her meal completely, with no scraps on her plate. Her area of the table was also quite clean. No food bits had dirtied the oaken table.

The master, on the other hand, was quite the picky eater. Pieces of his breakfast had managed to escape his mouth and land on the table. Some food even remained on his face that had missed his mouth.

Alys took a napkin and wiped the food off the master’s face.

“Will you ever learn to eat properly? You’re setting a poor example for Madam Yura,” she remarked.

“Oh it’s fine,” the master replied, “You’ve taught her to not make a mess. Besides, my messiness is one of defining character traits.”

“I think it’s a trait I need to purge from you. Shall I prepare a lesson on manners?” she said with a dry smile.

The master could detect an aura around Alys that said “You better shape up or punishment is in store.”

He fearfully shook his head and said, “N-no, that won’t be necessary. Anyways, I’ve got my work to get back too.” He got up and kissed Yura on the forehead. “Be a good girl and don’t give Alys too much trouble, ya hear?”

Yura smiled and kissed her father on the forehead in return. “If anything, Papa, I’m more concerned about how much trouble you give Alys.”

The master gave a hearty laugh, then left for his work.

Alys could only sigh.

8:15 AM

Alys took Yura to the dining room and sat her next to it. No one else was in the room yet, which meant that her master was either on his way down or he went back to sleep. Alys hoped it was the former… for his sake.

She then left the dining room and went to the kitchen, where she found a white haired lass a tad shorter than her cooking at one of the ranges. The lass was humming some tune that Alys did not recognize. The cook did not seem to notice Alys.

“Good morning, Ila. Are the masters’ meals almost ready?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes. They’re almost done. Today I’ve got some a western style breakfast with eggs and bacon~.” Ila’s voice was high and playful. Alys thought thought she sounded like what Yura would in a few years.

“Very well, please bring it out as soon as it is ready.”

“Yes~.”

With that Alys left the kitchen, and walked back into the dining hall.

8:00 AM

After helping Yura change her clothes, Alys moved the wheelchair out of the room and into the hall.

“It’s so pretty outside…” the young girl quipped as they walked.

“Indeed, madam,” the android replied.

“Alys, you know you don’t need to call me that.”

“Indeed, but it is only proper that I do.” As the head maid of the household, Alys has a standard she must maintain, including the proper addressing of the building’s occupants.

“Ehhh. That’s no fun. Aren’t we close enough that you can just call me Yura?” The girl was not happy with Alys’s reply.

*sigh* “You know I should not be doing so.”

“But-” Yura started. Then, Alys interrupted her before you she could finish.

“But, I will make an exception on your next birthday,” Alys said.

A smile appeared on Yura’s face, and she excited bounced in her chair. In fact, she was bouncing so much, she fell off, landing face first into the floor.

As Alys picked her up, she saw that Yura was still smiling, and not at all bothered by the pain of falling.

“My, my…” she whispered, with the faintest grin on her face.

7:55 AM

Alys stopped before a door, which had a placard with the occupant’s name.

She knocked on the door.

“Yes? Who is it~?” The voice of a young girl replied from the other side.

“Madam, it is time to get dressed. I am coming in,” Alys said.

She opened the door to the bedroom where a child, no more than ten years of age, was lying on her bed. Her brown hair was a mess, as she pulled the covers off of herself.

“Alys!” she exclaimed, opening her arms wide, expecting a hug.

Alys complied, and gave the child a hug. “Madam Yura, it is almost time for your morning meal. Let us get you dressed.”

Yura simply smiled and let Alys change her clothes, helping where she could. After it was all said and done, Alys took the folded up wheelchair on the side of the bed and opened it up, and gently placed Yura in it.

“Thank you, Alys~! I wish I could be more independent…” Yura looked down at her legs. From the outside they seemed fine, but a disease had taken their mobility from the young girl.

“Do not fret about such things. I am here to humbly assist you.”

“Is Papa awake yet?” Yura asked with a smile on her face.

“…” A very slight twinge of annoyance appeared on Alys’s face, probably recalling what happened half an hour ago. “He is, and if he is not, I will go wake him up… again.”

7:45 AM

Now that Alys had (hopefully) awoken her master, it was time to move onto the next part of morning routine.

She navigated the corridors of the large house. The decor was simple, and with large windows along the walls that gave view to an expansive courtyard.

Alys paused for a moment to let the sunlight bask on her. The sun shone on her long violet hair and her fair complexion. Though she was not human, she still enjoyed the feeling of warmth of the sun on her.

She looked in front of her, and behind her, and above her, and to her sides to make sure no one was around. After confirmed that no one was, she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

“Ah… this is nice.” She sounded serene. This was one of the few moments of the day when Alys could relax and, however briefly, ignore the day to day chaos that was her duty as head maid.

But her responsibilities could not be ignored for too long, so she left the embrace of the sun, and continued on her walk.

7:20 AM

On a certain day, in a certain place, the android Alys awoke in her charging dock. As was part of her boot up sequence, she performed her daily diagnostics.

“Systems normal. Excellent.” Her words were crisp, and without much emotion.

She opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust to the early morning sunlight that filtered in through the windows.

Alys got out of the dock and began to don her daily outfit, a long maid uniform. The Master had told her that it was the standard uniform of housekeepers everywhere, but in the corner of her programming, she knew it was just his preference.

She proceeded to begin her daily routine. Her first duty was to wake up the Master and Yura, and so she walked the halls until she came to the Master’s bedroom.

She knocked once.

“Master, it is time to wake up.”

No response as expected.

And so, Alys opened the door. Inside, she found a slovenly mess on the bed that was the Master who was sleeping quite peacefully.

Alys raised her volume and said “Master, it is currently 7:30 AM. It is time for you to wake up.”

No response.

Alys walked up to the bed and ripped the covers off of the Master, who stirred slightly.

“…snooze please… just a few more minutes…” His voiced died down into drowsiness.

“No.” Curt and to the point. “I do not have a snooze function. We do this nearly every morning. Please wake, and get dressed. Ila will have your morning meal ready soon.” With that, she turned around and left the room.

“…yes…”