Rory was young, yes. She was inexperienced and rowdy; altogether quite unfit to work in the High King’s manor. Somehow, the girl got the job though. She wasn’t important or depended upon like Lillian or Kent, she was just a lowly housekeeper. Another maid in the mix, with nothing more than a talent in keeping things tidy. As the First Lady has once said, Rory was just one of those lost souls. Growing up in an unstable life led to street smarts and snarky attitude. Those were the only things that had kept her alive during the war, really. Rory was petite, a bit naive, and the girl that could have been easily taken advantage of when she lived in the slumps. She learned quickly, and with her fiery remarks, sarcasm and surprising ruthlessness, Rory soon found herself at the steps of the palace.
It was never her intention to work for the scumbag who created such poor living conditions down below, but Kent had convinced her into it. He was a good friend, in fact he was the one who had introduced her to the rebels. Rory took his word for it and joined the other young women clad in the traditional maids outfits. Beside the brutally rude and pampered aristocrats that walked all over her, she enjoyed her job. The cleaning wasn’t so bad, and with company it was even enjoyable. She and a couple of other girls often did their dailies together, gossiping and chatting about juicy details including both commoners and royals. Her job was also a practical way of collecting information from the aristocrats by way of eavesdropping.
Her outfit was a joke. That was for sure. It was as if the males in charge of this place were a bunch of sexist pigs. Rory pulled at her skirt. The outfits that the common housekeepers wore were the classic, almost costume esk, maid suits. A short, mid thigh, black dress with a lacy apron attached. Along with that, a frilly hat that forced Rory to put her hair up in a bun. The only thing that she did not conform to was the policy on shoes. The young girls and women were supposed to wear sheer black tights and black shoes. Rory followed up on the nylons but intentionally and almost annoyingly wore her lucky pair of bright red and white striped oxfords. There were just something she couldn’t do. Black shoes was one of them.
A yawn escaped her mouth as she off with a bundle of friends toward the High King’s office. The poor thing had been up since five o’clock, shining everything from the ballroom floor to the expensive silver spoons. Her arms were sore and her knees ached from having been on all fours buffering the dance floor. Not that there would be much dancing. She just knew she needed to clean and that everything needed to be spotless. Spotless. Other aristocrats were coming, and the Bennets and friends needed to impress. Approaching the door to make the King’s office, the other girls began whispering and blushing about Finn. Like most days, Rory got her fair share of giggles and girly chatting about the men, especially the single men.
Finn was an exceptionally handsome man, Rory would admit that, but he was also an aristocrat. He bathed in money, and she doubted that he cared for anything more than that. She rolled her eyes as an elbow poked into her, perhaps the girl had developed a small crush. “No.” She shot back at them in a tense whisper; they were always pressuring her into making conversation with the man. But what would they talk about? Oh, I would like to you convince the King to give more money to the poor. No. Maybe, boost the economy? Or how about those designer clothes Rory knows nothing about.
With suspicious acts and looks between the King and his obvious mistress, Rory gathered that they would not be cleaning the office anything soon. The other maids were joking and laughing while Rory listened in, nothing too important. Just sex. As usual. How much did the King really need? Honestly. He was only one man, and Rory didn’t think he was all that powerful anyway. Sure, he could see bits and pieces of ones thoughts, but it wasn’t like he was this great mind reader. Because he wasn’t.
After the King dismissed Finn the other girls got an idea. Rory's eyes followed Finn as he left to find some wine. She couldn't help but keep her eyes glued on him. Rory shook her head after realizing she was gawking. A couple of strands fell from her bun, making her look more of mess than she already was. Then off they went to the next room, unfortunately for her and her teasers, they passed by the adviser on their way out. A toothy and quite flirtatious grin was flashed at Lillian, Rory's young heart sunk for a just a moment.
It didn't last long though, because before she knew it one of the girls had shoved her into Finley. A straight blush turned her face red. Her eyes widened in dismay. "I- I- I- I am so sorry, sir." A stutter came out of her as her nerves rose. She had rarely spoken to him before, only for work matters, and thought it only best to address him correctly.