The Vivacious Deadlock: S3G6: Round Three: The Sable Masque

Mrs Lazuli, the Head Housekeeper of the Resplendent Palace was an imposing woman; tall and thin with her face hidden behind a blank black mask. She spoke with a carefully flat intonation, the kind that invited those with a guilty conscience to dig their own graves. Her dress was by far the most pragmatic article of clothing Phere had seen since arriving at this party; plain, black and not in a cool fashionable way. Behind her a maid, Phere was informed that it was the maid who'd interrupted her conversation with Klendel though what with the masks and the matching uniform she wasn't able to really tell one from another, stood awkwardly, looking for all the world like she didn't want to be there.

"You do not deny that you rebuffed the affections of an amorous guest?" Mrs Lazuli asked, and honestly Phere was kind of getting fed up of this impromptu interrogation. The only reason she was just about putting up with it was that this was the woman who had the power to have her ejected from the building. She was doubtful she'd be able to bluff her way back in a second time and she wasn't prepared to spend another round sitting out on the sidelines.

"Yes ma'am." Phere answered meekly. It physically hurt to do so.

There was a long moment of silence and a feeling of intense scrutiny from Mrs Lazuli. "Well..." she said eventually. "It is your first day... and we can't afford to lose any members of staff this close to the coronation. I guess you get a second chance, just don't make me regret it." And that was all she had to say on the topic. She sashayed out of the room, off to oversee other crises presumably, leaving Phere and the maid behind.

"Sorry about that." The maid said nervously. "Only the thing is," she glanced up and down the corridor to check whether they were being watched (it was a futile gesture) and then continued in not-quite-a-whisper "they've got eyes everywhere. They would have found out about it eventually and then we would have both got in trouble." She kind of trailed off and started fidgeting with her hair.

"Did I just get in trouble?" Phere asked bewilderedly.

"I really am sorry." The maid said, then she seemed to register the confusion in Phere's voice. "Well, I, are you being serious?"

"Always."

The maid glanced back and forth along the empty corridor again, though maybe it was more a nervous habit than an attempt to spot eavesdroppers. "You've seen the valets, and the Tireless Men right?" Phere confirmed that she had, and that it was kind of difficult to miss them. "Well don't you think that if they just wanted someone to clean the rooms, change the sheets etcetera then they couldn't just create one of those mechanical men to do it?" she paused. "Prob'ly end up saving some money as well if they did that."

Phere wasn't getting it. "Could you stop dancing around the point and actually get to the point?"

The maid sighed. "We do clean the rooms, change the sheets an' all that, but really the main reason we're here is entertainment." She paused. "For the male guests." Another pause. "And some of the ladies, if they're into that sort of thing."

"Oh," said Phere hollowly. "I've become a prostitute. And I thought this round couldn't get worse than the last one."

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SpoilerThis is probably half a post at best??? I fully intend on following this one up with another to get Phere up to date.