Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Harmony woke up on the day of her au, her bed as cold as iothing was under her trol. Ambrosia dashing out for the band after every shift hasn’t helped. Someone was buying her, and her best friend was out with her new friends rather than hanging out with her for the st few days they had left. The rest of the staff only made skills-supported ents, but it felt like all the eyes were ohat pressure made her soul feel tender.

  “This is not what I oday.” The neancer groaned from her bed.

  “Cheer up. You’ve heard the boys. The semi-finals are happening today. That’ll be the week’s talk and not some maid who stood up a duke.” Fel noted from her bed with a gnce up from her romanovel.

  “Aren’t you going to miss me?”

  Goosebumps formed on Harmony’s arms as she blurted out the question she’d wao ask but mao keep the cold tained as [Cold Touch] acted up.

  “Oh, we like you, Harm. There’ll be many toasts during today’s golden moment. Having a neancer on staff was an adjustment. You worked hard and took the jobs we didn’t want. But it’s a job. The staff turns over or evolves. Jessica is on her way out. Bates kept her on for so long, hoping she’d evolve and he’d not o break the trad buy her out. Not all of us are as ied as Ambrosia. Most of us are burning with jealousy. Miss you? Yes, I’ll miss you, frog master.”

  Hyath huffed at being called a frog from his spot by her bed.

  The mention of the beast tamer’s name caused Harmony to look for her.

  “She left. I wouldn’t worry about not seeing her before your au.” Fel added with a little smile.

  [High Kick] reared its ugly head with a desire to kick the redhead until she eborated further. To rise up at something as silly as a goodbye surprise. Never had Harmohis out of trol. It had to be ay. A skill doctor that wasn’t a phony could cost three weeks’ wages if she needed one for this.

  “I hope you enjoy the manor to yourselves while my future is being bandied about.”

  All the lords and their guests staying in the manor would be gone. Off to the semi-finals or to sit in the guild’s room at the Colosseum for the au. The staff will get aended golden moment out of all this drama. Harmony khat if Fel was getting sold, she’d be enjoying that time, so she couldn’t really bme the staff that had to stay behind.

  The schedule had them leaving after breakfast, so Harmony rolled out of bed to start the day by heading to the kit early for a bite. Something light that might settle her stomach. Ohere, she couldn’t resist the chef’s warm bread from the oven and the taste of cheese. Everyone was busy going about their day, but it felt like they were staring at her. When someone did give her a serious gaze and said her name, she flinched.

  It was bates. “Harmony, please meet me in my office.”

  Quickly stuffing what was left of her bread and cheese into her mouth, squirreling it a little, she followed the head butler. Hyath hopped along with her.

  The uling feeling inside was building, and Harmony couldn’t tell why. Letting the distand trol of emotion from [Cold Touch] seep into her showed it made no sehis was an au. Sure, it was stressful, but she’d been in worse. She pushed the skills’ influence away. The icy detat was a tool, not who she was, an overused survival tool she’d trol. She swallowed the st bit of food when they reached Bate’s office.

  She closed the door to the tiny room behihe paperwork and objects on the man’s desk seemed to have doubled since she was st here a few days earlier. She noticed a stack of resumes and suspected one would be her rept. That hit like a punch tut.

  “Sir?” She inquired as he took a seat behind his desk.

  “Today will be a trying day. As you know, the young lord may have been a bit eager in his attempt to create a fashion-forward staff. Rarely are those in our professions ever made such the singur focus of attention. Because of the broad attendance, we have acquired a more traditional uniform for you today.”

  He pulled out a dress box from underh his desk, not uhe ones she had carried away from Lad Ladies. The neancer ope to peek. She couldn’t help herself, and there wasn’t much time left before she’d have to ge into it and head for the arena anyway. Inside erfectly standard, possibly slightly modest maid’s uniform. The fabric was a touch higher quality than one would wear to do the dirty tasks of scrubbing floors or hauling dirty linens. Still, she sighed lustfully at the practicality of it.

  “Thank you.” She said, not even needing to rely on any skills to sound sincere.

  “Well, we don’t have much time. Get ged. The dy wants to see you at the mairance soon.”

  Giddy, Harmoo ge again. Sav the emotion.

  Harmony ran her hand up the long sleeves to the colr at her neck. Modesty at st, well, retively. It had a corseted waist, so it showed off feminine curves even if the dress went nearly down to her knees. White thigh-high socks that had e with the uniform hugged her legs. If she had more time to admire how covered she was, she’d have spent half the day enjoying the y of it.

  Quickly, she went to the marao wait with her familiar. Most of the lords, dies, and guests were already at the Colosseum, having failed to iate for one of the slots avaible in the guild’s viewing room for the au. Tyler came first, looking more put together than she’d st seen him. His cousin, Sir Maxwell, was by his side and only stiffened briefly in Harmony’s presehe neancer could feel the oath he made to her but didn’t want to focus or tweak it this time. With how off she felt, su act could cause disaster. Appropriate clothes could only do so much to settle her.

  Lady Coodly and her personal maid Astel came dow. The matriarch didn’t look too pleased this m. Astel, however, shot the maid-for-au a slight smile.

  “Harmony, I had such glorious pns to introduce your work to the capitol. I still hope to introduce you there, but abnormal forces are at py. Either way, may today’s events work out for you.” The matriarch’s somber tone gave away her ck of fiden retaining the maid.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Harmony responded as calm outside as she felt turmoil inside.

  “Let’s get this business doh.” The dy of the manor announced ahem out to the waiting carriages.

  The carriages rolled towards the Colosseum, and the crowds thied, gesting the streets. A slow procession filled with energy aement, not too dissimir from Prince Adric’s funeral. But this time, for the sport of fantastical beasts fighting. The semi-finals winner in Hazeldown would head to the capital to face their division champion.

  It recisely the kind of atmosphere that would make st week’s new obsession a thing of the past. As that obsession, Harmony White knew she would have beeed about that fact if only it wasn’t inexorably lio her current ay.

  Harmony did her best to remain still and calm. Astel, Lordy Tyler, and Lady Coodly had taken the lead carriage, leaviuck with Sir Maxwell, her sworn knight.

  “Hey, Harmony. Everything is going to be alright. Tyler pns to save you if your tact gets snatched by some vilin like the duke. It’s a stupid pn, and I certainly wouldn’t take the deal.” The knight’s eyes widened as his mouth ran off that st bit of entary. “Twice buried oath. It’s leveling nicely, at least.” The ma out a grunt of frustration.

  That bait was too much for the maid to ignore. “What’s his stupid pn?”

  “He’d offer to marry you. It most likely wouldn’t ge your css or profession to royal. But like the duke, it would create a legal status ing your employment tract.”

  The temperature in the carriage dropped a few degrees.

  “What!?”

  “See, stupid. Gran would disown him over this, not that the old dy doesn’t like you, but it’s not like it would improve your situation. The kingdom would move him into one of those group hopes for nobles with no property.”

  Did the man think that she was beio a death senteher than merely a different job? No, the idea of being an impoverished noble was not more appealing than doing whatever difficult task was assigo her. Nor did she want to be Tyler’s pity wife or wife at all. It wasn’t like she took the easy jobs at the manor. Managing dangerous spiders and other nasty vermin was a hazardous job. Between her and Hyath, they’d learo do it well.

  The shadow toad’s ck of ughter at this farce made her che him through [Familiar Bond]. The toad sighat her internal disfort was b him and provided two weak mental ughs to show it was amusing even as he sat silently beside her. What was that amphibian hiding? Harmony didn’t have time to pull it out of him.

  “I’m sure it won’t o e to lord Tyler needing to lower himself for me.”

  “You’d be l yourself for him. Now if you wanted a rong knight like me.” Sir Maxwell spped his hands over his mouth, sealing it shut.

  That, thankfully, left the ride forcibly quiet for the rest of the trip. The carriage rolled to a stop at the private entrao the ission’s Hazeldown Colosseum.

  Harmony steeled herself before she exited. After a few rounds of fighting, they’ll be the mid-tourney break, and she would be doh this cursed au business and feeling much better, she hoped.