Chapter Text
Beebeep! Beebeep! Beebe- click
BOOTING UP //
TIME - 17/05/305# - 04:45:39
CHARGE - 83%
GOOD MORNING Serial Designation J####-10X111001
TODAY'S TASKS -
Be Tessa’s favourite.
Please the master and mistress.
Show everyone you're the best.
Laundry.
BETTER GET TO IT.
Urg, mornings were the worst, especially when she didn’t get a full charge. She never got a full charge. Sure, she could make it up with some batteries later, but that would require her to take a break from her work, something she couldn’t afford didn’t want to do. It didn’t help that she had to wake early, so that she could check what chores needed doing and what needed prioritising. Whatever, just power on through and hope everyone survives another day.
REQUESTS -
We will be hosting a gala this coming Thursday. Make sure the whole manor is spick and span. Tessa will be expected to look good in front of potential suitors. Ensure she is refreshed on our family history and that of the attending guests.
Great, another gala. It seemed that there was a new party of some kind to plan for every day with the masters of the house back. They just loved showing off their wealth to make themselves feel more powerful than they were. Looking over the details, it seemed they wanted some of the large statue decorations to be set up in the foyer, which would be a good task for T and N to help with. Several of the guest bedrooms would need fresh linen, a task L could lead. Given how she had performed in helping to make recent meals, Doll would be more than capable of keeping up with catering for the event. And with how often other drones things get broken on the build-up to and during a gala, in no small part due to the master’s efforts, Zi would be kept quite busy. V would keep the greenhouse in top shape, in case any guests decided to explore it. Among the boss's drones, that only left Cyn without a task. On the day of the gala, she would need to be hidden in the library basement, a task no one took joy in doing, but it had to be done by order of the master.
Now, Unit Alpha had already started on the halls of the west wing and was scheduled to finish later that day. If that were the case, they could be assigned to assist Unit Lambda in preparing the parlours and guest rooms, seeing as they were so close by. This would be the team L would be in charge of. Unit Upsilon was scheduled to start moving the larger furniture around the gala halls soon; working with Unit Omikron was a logical decision, since the other team would be laying tables and setting up smaller decorations. Unit Delta was already in the kitchen, and given the rotation schedule, Unit Theta would be handling catering; introducing Doll to them was a must, since she would be leading the team.
While preparations for the gala were important, the usual rooms still needed cleaning, especially when the masters expected fresh linen on their beds each night. Normally, that would have been Unit Kappa’s task, but the majority of their members were currently in serious need of repairs. They had been the team accompanying the masters on their trip, and had suffered many casualties for it. While Zi and the mechanics worked their magic, the members that were still functional could work with Unit Beta to get the west wing tidied. That left Unit Omega, the drones that took on tasks that would easily destroy others. They had been set to repair the road outside, worn away by water damage. The job seemed a fruitless effort; any patches made only temporarily when faced with the endless torrent from the sky. Why did it almost always rain in the swamps they called home?
A question for another time, as with the plans for the day finished, she needed to prepare herself to wake Tessa up. Pushing herself out of the recharging station, she quickly dressed herself in uniform and tied her hair into twin tails, doing her best to keep quiet so as not to wake any of the others. One of the perks of being one of Tessa’s personal drones; they had a separate room from the rest of the staff, even if she still had to share it with seven others. Once properly dressed, the image of a good employee, her eye emotes changed to read “MORNING ALARM.MP3”. The digital sound of alarm bells ringing was enough to stir most of the other drones, N and T being the first ones up with a smile. Ugh, where did they get all that positive energy?
At least with her co-workers up, she could make her way to more important tasks, such as getting Boss her morning mocha with two sugars from the kitchen. The breakfast staff were always punctual, the warm drink was regularly prepared and ready for her to take just as she walked in. She took a whiff of it as she made her way to the young girls' room, a sweet, creamy smell with a hint of bitterness that could perk up even a drone's processor. Entering the room, trapped between the occult and childish naivety, a mound shifted under the bed sheets at the sound of the creaking door. J moved quietly, placing the coffee on the bedside table before gently resting her hand on what was usually the mound’s shoulder. The one time it wasn’t still left her mortified, even if Tessa was ok with it. “Good morning, Boss,” she softly greeted, giving the mound a tender shake.
From under the blanket, the lump wriggled, pushing out an uncempt ball of hair with groggy green eyes poking out. “Mmmrra, Jaybird?” Tessa murmured, her eyes adjusting to the light that bled in through her window. As her mind slowly caught up with her, she shuffled herself into a sitting position as she stretched with a loud groan, letting some of the night's tension leave her. “Morning,” she groggily greeted, weakly rubbing some of the sleep from her eyes. With clockwork precision, J stepped back, picking up the coffee and handing it to her boss. A small window in her HUD measured the temperature of the drink, 63 degrees Celsius, 5 degrees less than when she had first gotten it from the kitchen, the perfect temperature to balance heat with flavour. The young girl carefully took the warm mug in both hands, taking a ginger sip before sighing. The rest of her muscles relaxed as the heat cascaded through her body. “Thank you,” she purred, always grateful for the effort from her oldest friend. Oh, how she wished they could be more than friends.
J pulled out a notebook, just for formalities, as the schedule was actually loaded on her visor. “Your schedule today is quite light,” she noted with professionalism. “Your parents have requested you be tutored in your family's history, as well as that of the Jenson’s, the Day’s, the Doorman’s, and the Frumptlebucket’s.”
Tessa’s head was thrown back in a groan. “Come on, Jay,” she bemoaned, “I already know all this stuff from last time.” It wasn’t surprising; while they were a family of high status, the Elliots often kept their circle of associates small, down to only the people they found useful.
But the master and mistress would not be forgiving if nothing was done to prepare her for the event, so a compromise was in order. “In that case, a simple test should suffice to refresh your memory and prove sufficient evidence of progress to your parents.”
She returned to the schedule, seeing very little filling it. “Aside from that, you have piano lessons at three, and nothing else for the rest of the day,” She chipperly stated.
With a finger brought to her cheek, Tessa gave an exaggerated hum. “In that case, I’ll probably wander around and make sure everyone’s doing ok.” As though that was a novel idea, the activity she did most of the time when not encumbered by her parents.
“Of course, Boss.” J gave an affirmed nod. “I will inform them of your plans to visit immediately.”
But before the head maid could do anything, Tessa hesitantly cut her off. “I’d- rather you not, J.” She rubbed the back of her head with an awkward smile. “I think it’d be good if they don’t know I’m coming, so it doesn’t cause them any stress.”
The head maid flinched. Had she overstepped? Put her position at risk? “U-understood,” she stuttered out, trying to reclaim some professionalism. A small forced cough recentered her as she put her hands behind her, head held high. “Is there anything else you would like help with?”
Tessa's smile was warm, though it pained her to see her oldest friend unable to relax. “I’m ok for now, J,” she softly answered. “Thanks for offering.”
On the outside, she remained cordial and formal. “Of course. In that case, I’ll take my leave.” Inside, though, she deflated, feeling as though she had fumbled her chance to spend more time with the one she lo- RESPECTED!!!
Her heels clicked as she turned for the door, a respectable walk that felt like a trudge. “See ya later!” Tessa called out, hoping her cheer would help her best friend through her day.
Twenty-four drones nervously chattered and shuffled around the hall, brought here to set it up for a gala that was less than a week away. They knew how the master and mistress of the house were; even though they were early, being caught not doing anything would be grounds for being scrapped. Fortunately for them, the head maid walked in, surprised to see the two teams here earlier than herself. “Listen up!” she called out, the drones quickly getting into rank and file formation. They all looked at her with mixtures of fear and contempt. It was to be expected. One of her self-appointed jobs was to keep them all out of the scrap yard; that didn’t require them to like her for it.
She crossed her arms behind her back, letting the feeling of authority wash over her. It was intoxicating. “The master and mistress will look for any excuse to scrap you,” she barked. “Do not give them that chance. I want to see your best work out there.” Her gaze landed on the drones grouped to her left. “Upsilon, you are to move eight tables into formation X, then set up the grand piano next to the stage.” Her orders were kept simple and clear, leaving little room for misunderstanding. “Omikron, Tables need to be set for a five-course meal. I want to see five seats on each table, and utensils for any possible meal.” She could see the digital sweat dripping from their visors and smell their fear. Not really, but if such rumours kept the general staff obedient and stopped them from slacking off, she would feed into them as much as she needed. “The master is scheduled to inspect our progress in one hour and thirty-eight minutes. He’ll probably scrap us if it's anything less than perfect, so let’s get this right first try.” Her command of the situation was absolute, the drones tightening their stance and giving a sharp salute.
They quickly broke into their teams, J floating between the two to instruct where she could, taking notes while offering criticism. She did not stay on the sidelines, though. When Upsilon didn’t have enough drones to move a table, she would grab a corner. When there weren’t enough salad forks for every table, she rushed to find enough to make up the difference. Time flew by as they worked, though J kept track of every second. “Ten minutes left to go! Let’s wrap this up, people! We need to be in rank and file in five!” The piano crept the last few inches into place, and the flowers at the centre of the farthest table were turned half a degree to face the right way. Once everything was in place, the drones lined up by the door once more, twenty-one in three rows of seven. “Remember, backs straight! Eyes forward! If anyone shows a modicum of weakness, the whole unit will be scrapped!”
Just as she finished, the doors flew open, and the man of their nightmares, James Elliot, walked in. His gaze swept the room like fire, seeking any glaringly obvious failing in how the room had been set up. Then he scowled, unsatisfied, swinging his arm to point at the head maid. “You! Tessa’s drone!” his voice boomed, irritation the only emotion anyone could hear. “I assume the preparations in her are done?”
J didn’t flinch; this happened too often for her to flinch. Instead, she gave a small curtsy and bowed her head. “Everything is to your specifications, master.” She kept her voice robotic; any fear she had felt in the past was long since replaced by apathy toward the man's behaviour.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” the patriarch of the house grumbled, striding further into the room to investigate more closely. Though he hunted for even the tiniest of flaws, J was sure he would never stoop so low as to undo their hard work just for an excuse to scrap them. He may have been a horrible person, but he did have honour, in a twisted sense. His hunt came to an end when he stalked towards the final table, carefully examining every knife, fork and spoon. When he couldn’t find anything, he stood up with his back to the drones. “It seems that everything is in order. This time,” he sneered, disappointed he had no good reason to destroy these drones. That didn’t stop the units from twitching in fear, hand clenching and tightening around wrists during the long silence that followed. He may not have been able to break them physically, but he knew how to torment them emotionally. After a minute that had no right to be so long, he waved the back of his hand as he left the room. “You are dismissed,” he casually huffed.
Once he was out of earshot, a wave of sighs echoed across the room, each drone having held their breath in anticipation.
J, however, remained stoic; not a shred of her code doubted that they had performed adequately. “Good work,” she proudly stated to the crowd, though she didn’t give them a moment to rest before their next orders. “Thoughs of you on fifthteen percent charge or less, you are to report to your recharge stations.” A drone low on charge was as effective as a blunt tool, and she would not tolerate a blunt tool as part of her workforce. “If you’re with Unit Upsilon, head to the foyer and provide assistance to the drones moving the large statue decorations into place.” T and N could probably do with some help, she internally reasoned, especially N with how much of a corporate liability he was. “Unit Omikron, you are to head to the kitchen and help clean dishes.” As the chief practised and prepared meals for the event, more pots and pans would need to be cleaned to be reused for the next course. The drones gave a salute before rushing out of the room in a march. It was good to see them eager to work, which made them less likely to be scrapped. As they had finished with a few minutes to spare, the head maid decided to amble her way to her next task, giving her time to prepare some questions for the test.
“What invention started the relationship between the Elliots and the Jensons?” J asked, reading from the digital queue cards she had prepared ahead of time. The general study made a great place to hold an impromptu pop quiz with Tessa, especially since it was where all her private tutoring took place.
“The first worker drone prototypes,” the young heiress diligently answered. “Put together by Jonithan Elliot in 2689. While he had the patent for them, JCJenson provided the materials and workforce required to make them into a global product.”
The head maid gave an affirming nod, proud of the young girl for her studious work. “Last question. What industry do the Doormans specialise in?”
“Security and defence,” she quickly answered once more, though this time she continued with a more sardonic tone. “And they definitely don’t deal in black market weaponry that would be banned by the Geneva Convention.”
The head maid simply rolled her eye emotes at the comment. She knew Tessa wouldn’t actually make such comments during the gala; she was smarter than that. That didn’t change how inappropriate and dangerous such words were. “That should suffice to satisfy your parents for now,” she stated, a recording icon in the corner of her visor changing to that of a floppy disc. She would have to doctor the footage slightly to remove such improper comments, but it was unlikely her parents would ever be able to tell the difference.
Tessa seemed to visibly relax, leaning back in her chair and allowing her arms to dangle over the sides. “Thanks, Jaybird,” she sighed out with a warm smile on her face. Neither of them liked learning and relearning the history of rich snobbish families with pasts marred in blood and crime, least of all her own, but they could at least enjoy the time they had together while it lasted.
But simply existing wasn’t enough for J, her hands twitching, aching for something to do, some way to be useful. “Is there anything else you need, Boss?”
“Not really,” she listlessly answered, mind exhausted after that gruelling test. “Just wish I didn’t need to go to this stupid thing.”
“How has your inspection of the others' work ethic gone?” J asked, desperate to continue the conversation, even if it was just small talk. Her time with Tessa had frequently been cut short by her work in recent days, leaving her craving the attention more.
The young girl perked up a bit, energy returning to her tired body as she recounted her visits. “V’s busy replanting and caring for some of the flowers used in decorating the place for this stupid gala.” It was a shame that the Elliots always requested fresh bucaies to bring colour to their grand, empty halls, cutting the plants' lives short just like so many of the drones they disposed of.
“T and N seemed to be doing alright. They appreciate you sending some help their way.” It was good to know the two hadn’t broken anything and that they were grateful for her consideration.
“Cyn went to help L and the others with the rooms. She’s trying her best.” That was concerning, but given how little work was given to the gangly drone, it was good to hear she had been taking initiative as a member of staff. She could only hope the prankster didn’t cause more trouble while on the job.
“Doll practically took charge of the kitchen, became our own little Gordon Ramsay” Such a change was unexpected, but the russian drone had quickly made herself the queen of the kitchen, taking a position of authority not unlike the head maid. It was impressive, if not a little concerning to J, that her position could be threatened.
“And Zi’s been keeping up with… my parents' treatment of the staff.” J grimaced at that one. While it was good to hear fewer drones were being disposed of thanks to the precocious purple pipsqueak, the job wasn’t a pleasant one, seen by the automatons as similar to open-heart surgery. But next came a question the head maid wasn’t prepared for. “What about you, J? How’re you doing?”
Given the success of her tasks so far today, the head maid puffed out her chest with pride. “My work has been performed to the adequate standards expected of-”
The sound of Tessa’s giggling cut her off, leaving her to look at the young woman with confusion. “That’s great Jaybird, but I meant how do you feel?”
Feel? As in her own emotions? That wasn’t something she had to concern herself with to be a model employee, and whenever she did face them, they were messy and unorganised and illogical. “W-well, as long as I am useful, I’m satisfied.” But the question had opened a Pandora's box, as J felt confronted with her own nature. Her unjust dismissal of V, L and T as nothing more than faceless drones' destiny to return to the scrap pile. Her unease around Cyn, as though something was deeply wrong with her. Her growing fear of Doll replacing her as the most useful. Her animosity towards Zi for her rebellious attitude and aggressive demeanour. Her loathing of N’s natural understanding of emotions and burning jealousy that her beloved Tessa gave him so much attention.
It was too much. She wanted to soak in more of Tessa’s presence, but the emotional flood she was experiencing threatened to drown her. Keeping her voice level where it wanted to crack, she dismissed herself. “Anyway, I should probably be off to my next task.”
She left faster than she should, speed walking to the halls. “O-oh, ok, umm, later J…” Tessa faltingly murmured, confused and concerned by the reaction as the doors shut a bit too loudly behind her.
Why has she run away like that? A stupid question that kept looping in her processor as she filled the washing machine with dirty clothes. ‘Tell her how you feel, that you need her more than the others.‘ She poured fifty millilitres of liquid detergent and thirty-three millilitres of fabric conditioner into the machine, before setting it to an hour-long wash cycle at sixty degrees Celsius. ‘She would be disappointed in you, unable to share her love.’ A basket of wet undergarments and hand towels was poured into the tumble dryer; the weather was often too poor to be able to hang everything outside in the sun. ‘She only needs you. The others are a distraction that risks getting her into trouble.’ One by one, she hung each shirt, dress and trousers on the rubber-wrapped wire that spanned the warm, stuffy laundry room. ‘The others make you obsolete. They can feel in a way you struggle to, the way she wants you to.’ Her internal struggle continued as she finished hanging the washing, then moved on to dry clothes that needed folding and pressing before being sent to their owners.
But she stalled when she noticed one of the dresses in her hands; a silky black, form-fitting thing went down to her knees, held up by two thin straps that went over the shoulders with the arms barely attached under the pit by a few threads. A ruffle of similar purple fabric draped over the chest, equally soft and smooth. Without prompting, a memory began to pay.
“Hey J, try this dress on for me, would ya?”
“But boss, won’t your mother be upset if she finds out?”
“She won’t know, and you deserve to feel pretty, even if only for a bit.”
The dress fell from her hands as though it were on fire, landing like ash on the floor. She was fortunate that someone had the foresight to vacuum and mop in here recently; otherwise, it would probably need to go through the wash a second time. Folding it quickly, she rushed to finish the laundry, leaving piles of clothes for other drones to deliver while she got on with her last few chores.
While the day was approaching its end, the only way anyone could tell was with the chiming of clocks throughout the manor. It had been such a dark and dreary day. It was depressing. J had returned to the kitchen once more, waiting for the few remaining chief drones to finish making the last of their evening treats. One drone in particular gently whisked cocoa powder, sugar and small chunks of chocolate into warm milk, waiting for it all to mix together before adding a splash of vanilla extract. After stirring it a little more, the mixture was poured into a small white mug, and a dollop of whipped cream with marshmallows and chopped chocolate was placed on top.
Once the drink was ready, J carefully took it, slowly making her way to Tessa’s room to deliver it. As she trudged through the manor's halls, she once again found her emotions in turmoil. Her sense of duty, something foundational to her core programming and bolstered by her feelings and desires for her favourite human, clashed with her inadequacies and contempt for the other workers that surrounded her. They shouldn’t have been a problem; most were doing their best to help. Even N, the target of most of her fury, would often go out of his way to set the human and head maid up with more time together. She didn’t deserve them, any of them, but she couldn’t just will her feelings to be different. It wasn’t like she had much time left to think about it, already standing outside Tessa’s room with a hot chocolate that was slowly getting cold.
She knocked on the door. “Tessa? I’m coming in.” They were all a lot more cautious when entering the young lady's room at this time of the evening, ever since N had walked in on her mid-changing and ran out screaming.
The door creaked as it slowly opened, the heiress sitting on the edge of her bed as she read from a large green book with golden filigree, a golden, serpent-like draconic creature on the cover surrounded by people. She looked up at the drone, a startled expression quickly giving way to a warm smile. “Jaybird,” she whispered, hesitant to break the quiet her parents expected late at night.
Walking in slowly, J presented the hot chocolate. “Here you go, boss.”
The book was placed on the nightstand, the page marked with a small silky ribbon. “Thank you,” Tessa cooed as she took the mug, a sip of the liquid chocolate warming her insides.
As she continued to enjoy her drink, the head maid joined her on the bed. It was what they often did, catching up at the end of the day with small talk, but this time, J caught her off guard. “I… need to apologise for running off earlier.”
Immediately, she carefully put the warm drink down to place a hand on her back. “No… J, you don’t need-.”
But the twin-tailed drone continued, allowing her walls to come down in a way she rarely ever entertained. “I find my emotions difficult to process, sometimes getting in the way of my efficiency.” Her eye emotes hollowed as she continued, digital tears pricking at the edge. “And… I’m always afraid that… if I’m not efficient, I’ll be thrown out. And I don’t think I could-”
She didn't get to finish, pulled into a hug, and her face buried in the crook of Tessa’s neck. “It’s ok, Jaybird. I’ll never let you be thrown away again,” she whispered, the tightness of her heart heard in each syllable. “Even if they did, I’d dive in headfirst after you; I’m never letting you go.” The embrace tightened before she was released, but still her shoulder was gently held at arm's length, and a warm hand softly caressed her cheek. “And that goes for every one of you, you’re all my precious family. And I wouldn’t trade any of you for the world.”
J couldn't hold back her tears, letting the digital droplets roll down her visor. Her breathing began to hitch as she threatened to start sobbing. “I… find myself… thinking things… feeling things that… I know you would disapprove of…”
She found herself dragged into the hug once more, Tessa’s hand rubbing comforting circles in her back. “You don’t have to be perfect; no one is. You’re already everything I want, and so much more.”
They stayed like that for a while, their normal chatter replaced by comfortable silence and the warmth of each other's arms. Eventually, though, a quiet alarm buzzed on the head maid’s visor, alerting her to the time. “We should probably get you to bed,” she groggily stated, voice rough from the short disuse. “You have a lot scheduled tomorrow.”
“Fine!” Tessa teasingly groaned, lifting up the covers, ready to rest her head. Once her legs were under, she gave the warmest, most caring smile she could. “Goodnight, Jaybird,” she whispered with affection.
“Night Boss,” J whispered back, as she slowly dimmed the lights and left the young girl to sleep.
What a day it had been for the head maid. Organising preparations for the gala was one thing, but dealing with her own inner turmoil of emotions was a whole different monster, and even then, it hadn’t really been fully resolved. The last to drag herself to her personal recharge station, she flopped in, barely able to stay awake long enough for the last few notifications of the day to roll in. Should could deal with those in the morning when she planned the schedule. For now, she would sleep mode take her, her processor running in low power mode to conjure dreams of her and Tessa alone together.
