Curt clocked out with a satisfied smile. The presentation had gone smoothly, and he was ready to head home and get some rest. The rest home Kasai had been staying at was a fair distance away, so Curt had asked Meredith to leave before the meeting had ended, hoping she could avoid rush hour traffic and be back to pick him up by the time it was over.
Unfortunately, he found himself standing in the parking lot with no sign of the mouse-maid in sight. After pacing around for a few minutes, his cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hello Master, Meredith speaking.”
“Ah, I was wondering where you were.”
“Well, I managed to claim Kasai’s things with no issue, Master. Unfortunately, there was an accident on the highway that’s held up traffic to nearly a standstill.”
Curt sighed. “I figured something like that must have happened.” He couldn't prepare for everything.
“I apologize that I will not be able to pick you up for some time.”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault,” Curt said quickly. After seeing how far Meredith had been willing to follow orders this morning, he didn’t want her to start feeling guilty about stuff beyond her control.
“If you do not wish to wait for me, Master, Susan’s bus, going to Cornell County, is scheduled to make a stop near Green Ridge Park just a few blocks away, in about fifteen minutes. I’m certain she’d be happy to see you, and she stops very near your home shortly before her route ends.”
Susan? Curt didn’t remember any Susans. Must have been someone Anna or Skyla changed. Putting the thought aside, Curt spoke again. “Good idea. Thank you. I’ll take the bus, and you just stay safe and come home.”
“Of course, Master. Again, apologies for not being able to help you myself.”
“Again, don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
“Goodbye, Master.”
Curt headed down to the bus stop, idly looking over the toy-like ray gun again. He 'holstered' it in his pants pocket again as he approached the bus stop, the clear booth’s bench occupied only by a teenage boy. He quietly took a seat at the other end of the bench, and waited.
The boy glanced at him for a moment, then spoke. “Hey, aren’t you that Evanson guy?”
Curt was a bit surprised to hear a complete stranger say his name, but compared to the weirdness of yesterday, it wasn’t that unusual. “Oh, yeah, that’s me. How’d you know my name?”
“You’re the guy that won the huge lottery payout a few years back and hired a bunch of maids. A lot of people know your name.”
“Lottery? I don’t even remember entering the lottery. But, I do have a lot of maids, yes.”
“Must have heard the rumors wrong, then. Still… I heard you liked dragons a lot, right? You’ve even got a statue of one. And a couple of your maids were dragons too.”
Statue? Did the teen mean that 3D printed figure of a dragoness he had commissioned? How would he know about that? Had he left it by the window by mistake?
“Well, yes… I like reptiles of all stripes, but I’ve got a soft spot for dragons.”
“Glad to see someone respects us! It’s so nice to finally see someone I can talk to about this.”
“Us?”
“Yes, us! I might look like a human on the outside, but I am an Otherkin! Within my heart is the soul of an ancient dragon god!”
“I see. That’s pretty impressive.” Curt did his best to restrain his amusement. He remembered going through an Otherkin phase when he was a teen, though he liked to think his was a little more restrained in the insistence of powerful, grandiose, past lives than most. (It wasn’t.)
“Yes! And someday, I’ll find a way to re-awaken that old form. And then forty feet of rippling muscle, gleaming gold and ebony black scales, mighty claws, and massive wings, will rain divine fire on humanity for its sins!”
That last bit… Seemed like a bit much. Still, it seemed like a perfect opportunity had just walked right up to him. Anna may have already made a pair of dragons, but Curt figured the world could use a few more. Plus he hadn’t been there to see those two change. Than again, he didn’t want to force a kid to work as a maid for him. But on the other this teen would outright want the change! And while he might also be enabling the teen’s delusions of grandeur, he figured that once the mental changes kicked in, he would be able to help him (well, it would be her, by then) tone down a bit.
“Well then… Sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
“Oh, you can call me Simon,” the teen said.
“Well, Simon, I can understand relating to dragons on a spiritual level. And I think I’ve got something that can help awaken your inner dragon.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There’s no going back afterward, though. Is that okay?”
“Who would want to go back?”
“I honestly don’t know. But would you be willing to work for me if I could?”
"On the spot, in a heartbeat!"
Curt chuckled, and pulled the gun out of his pocket, choosing “target’s favorite” species, “busty,” and “nude” and fired.
A green bolt of lightning struck Simon in the chest. And, much to Curt’s surprise, Simon started getting smaller. Hundreds of black scales began to grow over the boy’s skin, covering his back and spreading down his arms, as they became shorter. The boy looked like a ten year old. Curt was confused, at first, but then he remembered what Anna had told him about the elderly women who had wound up being “teenagers” when they were made into dragons. Given he had been the one who had suggested it in the first place, he realized that he should have expected the teen to end up a lot “younger.”
The kid was shrinking into his clothes, as the black scales spread over his back and sides. On his chest, in contrast, thick, shimmering, golden scutes grew out. When the oversized clothes vanished, his chest no longer had nipples, nore was there anything immediately visible between his legs.
Speaking of his legs, they were shrinking rapidly as well, as the black scales enveloped them. His finger and toe nails vanished, the bones at the tips growing out through the skin, and sharpening into glistening, gold-colored claws in their place. The now eight-year-old-looking child’s hands retained their five fingers and general shape, while his feet became thinner, and his toes longer, his little toe painlessly shifting around to the back of his feet.
The boy’s internal plumbing began to shift around as he continued to shrink and look younger. She looked around five as a little nub formed above her rear, and began to stretch and sway behind her into relatively thick, but flexible tail, tipped by a golden spade shape, while subtly curved yellow ridges rose up along her spine, from the top of her now-hairless head, all the to her tail.
The shrinking seemed to finally stop as the girl came to look about three years old. Her mouth and nose began to stretch out, becoming a slender, beak-like snout, her tongue becoming more sensitive as it forked down the middle, and her teeth growing sharper as more grew in alongside her originals. Her irises turned red, while her pupils became thinner. Her ears shrank down to holes in the side of her head, and above them, a pair a pair of subtly forward-curving horns grew out. Then, from her shoulders, a second pair of limbs grew from her back, the 'fingers' on these limbs stretching long and thin, as a yellowish membrane grew between them, forming bat-like wings.
Lastly, the former boy’s mentality changed. She still remembered her education, and family and friends, though her memories of them were slightly altered to reflect her new sex, and maturity level. But her thought process did become a little more childish, and, with her BEING a dragon, she felt no need to think of herself as an “Otherkin.”. Not that that stopped her from wanting to be seen as something big an important, though. Even if she was loyal to Master now, she still wanted a big, fancy title to herself. She vaguely remembered claiming to have the soul of a dragon… Something… Something big, and important, and respected by everyone… What was it? Oh wait, a princess! It obviously had to be a princess!
While Curt was still a little surprised with how it turned out, curt had to admit, the little dragoness looked pretty cute like this. And he actually got to see a real dragon! Even if she was a toddler and a former human, that was still something that he thought he would never be able to cross off his bucket list.
Still he was kind of unsure about what to do with her. Was it safe to leave her out here alone in this state? And where were her parents? And, now that he thought about it, how were her parents handling having a child that apparently was very slow to reach adulthood? But maybe it was better to focus on the more immediate questions.
“So, uh… Simone,” he said, guessing at the Dragoness’s new name. “How are you doing today?”
“I’m good, Master,” she said, her voice sounding young and girly, as one would expect.
Curt breathed a sigh of relief that the most obvious name change happened to be correct. “And what were you doing out here by yourself today?”
“Skyla called us all over to talk about chores and stuff. And maybe to throw a re-birthday party for Kasai. I heard Emma wanted to do one for her.”
“And your mom’s okay with you going by yourself?”
“I’m not going by myself. I’ll be riding with Susan! And now you’re going too, right?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess I am.”
“Mommy said it’s okay for me to go with you and the maids. Besides, I’m fourteen and a half! And a princess! I can do things by myself.”
Curt may have felt a little bad about sort-of de-ageing the boy, and the potential risk of having a toddler apparently regularly traveling to his home, but he still couldn’t help but smile at the baby dragon girl trying to act tough. “Yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
Simone nodded smugly.
“So, you mentioned a ‘re-birthday party.’ What’s that about?” Curt could already guess from the name, but he figured Simone would probably be happy to explain it to him, anyway.
“It’s a thing people do for phoenixes when they die and come back to life. It’s like a birthday party, where everybody gets cake and ice cream, and sometimes presents too.”
“Sounds like fun,” Curt said. “Are you getting her a present?”
“No, I didn’t have time.”
“I don’t think she’ll mind too much.”
The bus finally pulled up to the stop. Curt could see a fox woman’s face through the front window as it did so, confirming his suspicions that this “Susan” was indeed someone Anna or Skyla had changed.
The doors opened, and Curt’s jaw dropped when he saw the bombshell of a vixen sitting before him. “Hey there Master! Fancy meeting you here! Did you decide to take the bus home today just to spend a little time with me?”
“Um… Hi Susan,” Curt said, trying (and failing) to avoid staring. “I sent Meredith to run an errand, but she got stuck in traffic. So I needed to take the bus home.”
“Aw, and here I was hoping you were just looking for excuse to keep me company.” Susan smiled.
Simone stepped up the large steps of the bus, with some difficulty.
“Need some help there, Simone?” Susan asked.
“No! I’m a princess! I can take care of myself,” Simone grunted as she cleared the final step.
“Of course you can,” Susan nodded. “Why don’t you take a seat, princess?” The little dragon girl did so. “So, Master, so you want to get on, or do you want to stand there and stare? I don’t mind the attention, but as long as you’re asking me to keep this job, it’d probably be a good idea to keep my schedule.”
“Right! Right! Sorry!” Curt rushed in, and the door closed behind him.
Susan laughed softly. “Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you this flustered, Master. Is the new lipstick THAT good?”
“Yeah…” Curt muttered slipping his cash into the machine.
“Still insisting on being the gentleman and paying for everything, huh? Well, I guess part of that’s what makes you such a great guy to work for. Take a seat, and enjoy the view.” Her bushy tail brushed his chin.
Curt walked back a bit, and took an empty seat next to Simone. He looked around at the other people in the bus. Several teens and adults, presumably just finished with work and school, a mother and her son, an old man resting on his cane. It still surprised Curt to see that none of them treated the naked fox woman with the supermodel figure, nor the dragon toddler, as if they were anything unusual. Again, if anything, the fact that he was carrying around what looked like a plastic toy ray gun got him more odd glances, and even then, most people were too busy with their own issues to pay much attention to it.
Speaking of, he looked down at the gun again, noticing a new pop-up message on its holographic HUD.
“Note: When the ‘Busty’ setting is used on prepubescent individuals, or an individual becomes prepubescent due a change in age, becoming a species that matures more slowly, or a combination of the two, the setting will affect their physique only once they enter (or re-enter) puberty.”
Well, that was… good to know, Curt supposed. He certainly didn’t plan to change any children that young, but if he did, that was one awkward question about the process answered.
“Oh! What’s that, Master? It looks like a gun!” Simone spoke up.
“It’s just a toy,” Curt spoke somewhat loudly, to assure anyone that overheard the dragon girl’s comment that they didn’t need to worry about him shooting anybody.
“Oh. Can I play with it, then?”
“Not right now.”
“Aw, okay.”
Curt was a little surprised to hear the little kid give in so easily. Guess that was one upside to having all those changed desire to see his wants and needs fulfilled. He pressed the X in the corner of the screen, and the message closed, another taking its place.
“Congratulations on creating twenty (20) total anthro maids! Your Transformation Ray Gun has been upgraded to version 1.4! This update adds the ‘Wide Beam’ option.”
Part of Curt chuckled, resisting the urge to hum the “item get” theme from a certain sci-fi video game, as he continued reading. Another part of him, however, was a little surprised at how busy Skyla and Anna had been in such a short span of time.
“Want to change multiple targets at once? Select the wide beam option before firing, and your target, and up to five compatible people around them, (within a 10 meter radius,) will change simultaneously!
“Please be aware that in this mode, the same settings will be applied to all that change. Thus, if you want more variety while using this mode, it is recommended that you use the ‘target’s favorite’ settings.
“Your next upgrade is at Fifty (50) total anthro maids created. Have a nice day.”
Fifty maids? The bigger number made sense with an upgrade that sped up the process, but still, who would ever NEED fifty maids? Maybe not all of them would end up working for him, and the owner was just 'supposed' to increase the world’s anthro population as much as possible? He pressed the X in the corner to close the message again, and stuck the gun back in his pocket. He’d worry about that stuff later. He figured he might as well enjoy the ride for now.
He spent the rest of the ride looking out the window at the world passing by (though his eyes occasionally were drawn back to the buxom vixen in the driver’s seat). Eventually, they came to a bus stop in Curt’s neighborhood, where Curt and Simone got off.
“Thanks for the ride, Susan,” Curt said.
“No problem, Master! I’ll probably see you soon. Skyla called all of us to your house, and I’ll be heading back here once I make the final stop on my route.”
“Okay. See you then.” Curt waved as the vixen closed the doors and slowly drove off again. Curt suddenly realized what Susa had said. Skyla had invited everybody over? All twenty maids? Hoo boy, his house was gonna be cramped… He kept his thoughts to himself as he walked alongside Simone.
The bus stop was a block away from Curt’s house, so it took a while before it came into view.
“Am I at the right place?” Curt looked around. Yep, all the other buildings in the neighborhood were as he remembered them (though his next door neighbors had a little less lawn space than he remembered) But in place of his home, was a larger three story house. “Wh-where is my house?”
“It’s right there, silly!” Simone said, pointing to the small mansion before them.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! It’s got your dragon statue and all the gardens out there.”
As Curt stepped closer, he could see there was indeed a fountain in the middle of the front yard, with a lovely marble statue of an anthro dragoness, wings flared out, head tilted back, and jaw open as if she was ready to launch a fireball into the sky (instead of the stream of water that currently sprayed out from her stone mouth), and plenty of shady oak trees and lovingly arranged flower beds, a bit of blue here, some yellow there. Under any other circumstance, Curt would have thought it looked great, but given it hadn’t been there his morning he was still a little shocked. Simone had mentioned that she had heard about him winning the lottery. He certainly didn’t remember it, but had he? Maybe this was another change to reality?
Looking at the driveway and curb, Curt saw a bunch of cars parked around the place, though he only recognized Skyla and Marceline’s vehicles. It seemed to be a sign that this place was indeed still his.
Nevertheless, he was still feeling nervous as he stepped up to the front door. He remembered another story about a guy who won a mansion in a contest he didn’t remember entering. Curt hoped that when he opened the door he wouldn’t find that a bunch of ghosts had trapped Anna in a painting, or something. Hands shaking, he stuck in his key, and turned the knob.
As he opened the door he found himself stepping into a large foyer, where he was greeted not by ghosts, but a familiar naked Donkey girl.
“Master, you’re finally home!” Danielle cheered, her tail swishing excitedly as she stopped dusting the grandfather clock in the corner, and ran up to the entrance, feather duster still in hand. “Oh, and Simone too! Wow, you’re getting bigger every time I see you!”
“Thanks!” The dragon toddler said.
“Hi Danielle. Nice to see you again,” Curt said. “I guess Skyla called you here too?”
“Yep, I came as soon as I got the message. I’ve been looking forward to visiting your place again for a while! I was just doing some cleaning while I waited for you, Marceline, Susan and Simone to show up. Once they’re all here, we’ll be ready for the inspection.”
“Inspection, huh?” Curt muttered, wondering what there was to inspect. “Well, it’ll be nice to get the chance to see everyone again.” Curt went quiet again, trying to think of a good excuse to give his confused friends when he didn’t remember the layout of his own home.
“Master, can I play with Emma and Kasai while we wait?” Simone asked, tugging on Curt’s pant leg.
Curt paused for a moment. Which one was Kasai? Oh, right, he heard Meredith call the Pheonix girl that name. And Emma was the unicorn? “Oh, sure. I might go along with you, make sure they’re doing okay.” It was also a way to follow someone who was more familiar with this place.
He followed the young dragoness as she skipped through the halls, glancing at the rooms and decor as he passed them. There were quite a few bedrooms, some of which were already full of personal belongings he didn’t recognize, and some with cardboard boxes, presumably being moved into. He guessed that the reality changes must have been affecting his home now, allowing him to provide room and board to some of the maids. Hopefully that lottery win was large enough to also help pay them for a significant period of time, too.
He also noticed quite a few paintings; a mix of landscapes images of animals, anthro or otherwise. Ordinarily, Curt wouldn’t have hung up anthro art like this, but he guessed that in a reality where anthros could be seen as normal, it wouldn’t have gotten much judgement from his guests or family, when they visited.
Speaking of, there were also quite a few family photos on the walls, as well as photos of him with some of the staff, and his friends. Family photos with Anna in them were rather surreal to look at now, not only because everyone in the photo was human except for her, but also because Curt had been so used to seeing her human face in them for so long.
Eventually, Simone turned and entered a brightly painted room There were a couple chests filled with toys (a few of which Curt recognized as being his and Anna’s, from when they were kids) and a few shelves with more toys, some board and card games, and a selection of children’s books. And currently seated on the large, comfy looked sofa, were Anna, Kasai, and Emma (who was reading “The Last Unicorn” to the other two).
“Hi Curt!” Anna smiled. “Who…” She stopped herself when she realized she should “already” know who the baby dragon was. “I mean… How was work?”
“It went well. Bumped into Simone here on the way back.”
“Simone-ojou!” Kasai flew off the couch and hugged the dragon girl in her wings.
“You can already fly, too...” She grumbled under her breath. “When am I gonna learn to fly? So,” she said more clearly, “what are you guys doing?”
“Emma was reading her favorite book to us,” Anna said.
“Boring! I wanna play princess.”
“Simone! That’s rude,” Curt said, “and not fitting a princess at all.”
The dragon girl looked at her feet. “Sorry Master.”
“It’s Emma you should be apologizing to.”
“Sorry Emma.”
“I forgive you, Simone.”
Curt shook his head. He had already gotten something like parenting experience taking care of Anna before the change, but he hoped this wouldn’t be a role he’d have to take too often. For the second time, he was glad the mental changes had made them more willing to listen to him than most kids would be, at least.
Simone began rummaging through one of the toy chests. “I still wanna play princess while you read, though.” She pulled out a glittery plastic tiara, and placed it on her head, before sitting on the couch between Anna and Emma.
“A princess, huh?” Anna asked. “Does that mean you’re gonna kidnap yourself when you’re older?”
“No, that’d be silly,” Simone giggled. Then added, after a brief pause. “I’ll kidnap Master when I’m bigger.”
Curt and Anna had a little chuckle at that. Before Emma could resume reading, a wolf maid poked her head through the playroom door. “Hey girls! Oh, hi to you, too, Master. Thanks for hiring me, it’s awesome to finally work here.” She gave a short, quick bow before continuing. “Anyway, girls, Meredith and Susan finally came. Time to get lined up!”
The toddlers each gave a nod or a “yes” and got up and went out the door, Anna following behind them without a second thought.
“I guess you’ll want to be there for the display and inspection too, right Master?” Rachel asked.
“Yeah, I guess I should.” Curt shrugged, still not exactly sure what they would be displaying or inspecting.
He followed the girls into the dining room, where he saw Skyla lining up everyone else who had been transformed by the ray-gun up against the wall (though Marceline, due to her more unusual physique, wasn’t quite lined up straight). It was rather odd to see the mail vixen again, being the very first person he had transformed. There were plenty he didn't recognize, including another 'cub' maid, accompanied by a group of human bodygaurds. All twenty ladies transformed in one room with him, for a teenage boy this was a dream come true, for Curt, this was rather overwhelming.
“Alright everyone, now remember, stand up straight, legs together, hands together, and look your best; we want Master to be impressed when he sees you.” A couple nodded, and a few others, including Anna (who had lined up with the rest of the maids) quietly pointed behind the kitsune. Skyla turned around. “Master! I didn’t think you’d be here right away. We’re almost ready, though.” She motioned for the toddlers to line up with the rest, a little surprised to see the dragon girl following Emma and Kasai. “There we go!”
“Wait,” Curt whispered, “we’re ‘displaying and inspecting’ the maids?”
“Yep,” Skyla nodded, as the maids stood at attention. “Okay, girls, role call. I’ll start, then you each say your names, from left to right. Skyla Foster.”
“Anna Everson.”
“Vicky Hunt,” said the mail-vixen.
“Oh, now I get it,” Curt said, still hushed, “this way I can learn all their names without making things awkward, since I’m supposed to have ‘already’ known all of them for a while. Very clever! Thank you.”
“Er… Of course, Master, you’re welcome,” Skyla said, deciding to keep the fact that she had mainly lined up the girls to admire their prizes to herself.
Curt did his best to hide his surprise and interest in the anthros he hadn’t met (and again, tried to make sure he didn’t end up staring at Susan for too long a period), particularly for Janet the snake, and Carrie and Kathy, the eastern dragon twins.
After the role call had finished, Curt, Skyla, and the maids spent some time discussing schedules, living arrangements, and their ‘side-jobs.’ All of Skyla’s converted co-workers expressed interest in moving in as soon as possible (and Janet and Luna had apparently already started). Curt discovered that Skyla, Meredith, Cassidy, Carrie, Kathy, and Emma all ‘already’ lived here with him and Anna, and that before her death Kasai had arranged to move in once her life had reset.
After the basics of the schedules had been established, Emma spoke up.
“Excuse me, Master, Head Maid Skyla?”
“Yes?” Curt replied.
“I was wondering, since Kasai was just reborn, do you think we could have a re-birthday party for her tonight?”
Curt thought about this for a moment. “Well, it’s kinda short notice. I don’t think we’d have time to go out and get decorations, or presents, for that matter.”
“I could still fix her a cake tonight,” Janet said. “I’d just need a few volunteers to help me in the kitchen, so we can make enough for everyone and still have time to make supper too.”
“I’ll help!” Eva bounced and raised her hand.
“Same here,” Vicky chimed in.
“I would be glad to assist as well,” Stephanie said.
“Well,” Curt said, “I guess we can at least do that for her, now.”
“Yay!” Emma and Kasai cheered.
As Janet slithered off into the kitchen, a vixen and two bunnies in tow, the other maids engaged in small talk.
“Sorry we missed the fireworks, Kasai,” One of the Eastern dragon twins said.
“Yeah, I head we left just before the big moment!” said the other.
“We would have stuck around if we’d known.”
“It’s okay,” Kasai said, hugging the two dragon girls as best as her small wings could. “I still remember Carrie-basan and Cathy-basan visiting when I was sick. Arigato.”
“Oh, you’re welcome.”
“It was no problem at all.”
“Us longer-lived girls gotta stick together!”
“Isn’t that right, Skyla?”
Skyla, who had been at the dinner table looking over her schedule again, looked back to the two dragon girls. “Sorry?”
“Us longer lived girls need to stick together, is what she said.”
“Yeah, it gets kind of lonely otherwise, don’t you think?”
Skyla nodded hesitantly. “Yeah… I guess it can.” That seemed to confirm it. She really was older, now. Much older. And she might even outlive her family and friends. And Curt… She tried to focus on something else. She looked at her former boss, Morgan, being held by her bodygaurds, as Emma was talking to her.
“I just think you would enjoy some time in the playroom, that’s all. You don’t need to be so serious all the time,” Emma said.
“Honestly, those activities simply don’t appeal to me. Besides, both the Master, and my firm are depending on me. If I don’t keep the books balanced, who will?”
“I simply think it would help you relax and enjoy yourself more, if you took some time to act your age.”
Curt, meanwhile, had thought up a decent excuse to get one of the maids to introduce him to his home. “Meredith?”
“Yes, Master?”
“With the new staff we’ve hired, and possible plans for further expansion, I realized we would need somebody to give them tour of the place. Would you be willing to do a practice run while we wait? Just treat me as if I was a potential new hire, and lead me around the place, show me where everything is, etc.”
“Of course, Master.” Meredith bowed.
“Oh, can I come too?” Danielle asked. “Seeing how I only moved back into the area recently, I figured I could use a look around the place, too.”
“I don’t see a problem with that,” Curt said.
Meredith started by leading them to the foyer, and from there, to the parlor, back to the dining room, and to the kitchen, talking about the importance of keeping these rooms ever ready for visitors. She then led them through the servants quarters (Curt noticed a set of weights in what was probably Cassidy’s room, and plenty of fireproof material in Kasai’s), showing them the playroom along the way.
Heading into the basement, she showed them where the laundry and storage rooms were, as well as the boiler, and other utilities. Moving up to the second floor, Meredith lead Curt and Danielle around the guest rooms, a common room, a study filled with books of all sorts, and an entertainment room where a TV and game systems had been set up. There were posters from several of Curt and Anna’s favorite movies on the walls, and even a couple of Skyla’s too.
On the third floor, the mouse maid led the two through a rec room, and then to the bedrooms and offices. Anna’s bedroom was quite a bit larger than it had been that morning, now featuring a more impressive cat tower for Noni, a big, soft bed, with dozens of plushies, and on the walls posters of horses, and shelves holding comics, and doll displays. After that was Curt’s office, which had changed surprisingly little. A few books had been moved off the shelves and into the study, in their place were folders on payroll details for the maids, a copy of the schedule from Skyla, and so on.
“This next room is Head Maid Skyla’s office. If you find you are having difficulties in your job, or would like to discuss a schedule change, or vacation or sick leave, you may make an appointment with her,” Meredith said, continuing to speak as if she were addressing a new hire.
“Adjacent to it is the Head Maid’s bedroom. She cleans it herself, and as such, we are not to enter without her or Master’s prior permission.” Curt took a quick peek inside, noticing a Japanese ink painting on the wall, an elegant canopy bed, and a closet with dozens of different maid outfits, ranging from conservative to kinky.
“Lastly, we have the Master’s bedroom. If you are required to clean it, or deliver meals, the appropriate times will be listed on your schedule so that you may avoid disturbing him.” She opened the door and let Curt and Danielle in, while describing the way Curt preferred to have his sheets laid out, his clothes arranged, etc. Curt was surprised by how in detail it went, but found he agreed with everything she said. Stepping into his new room, he was surprised again by how spacious it was. It had large bay windows leading to a balcony overlooking the backyard, an impressive bed, a couple wall fountains, an ornate wardrobe, a small dining table (compared to the one in the dining room proper), and even a chandelier.
“Shall I continue with a tour of the grounds?” Meredith asked.
“No, no, it’s getting a bit late, and you’ve done enough already. Thank you, Meredith, you did a good job.”
“You’re welcome, Master. I shall excuse myself, now.” The mouse woman curtsied and walked out of the room.
“Wow,” Danielle said, “You really made something of yourself, while I was away, didn’t you, Master?”
“I guess so. Sometimes it’s still a bit much to take in, you know?”
“I can imagine. He he he haw.” The jenny’s laughter mixed with a bray. “To tell the truth though, I didn’t just come along to get a tour.” She looked down at her hooves. “I also wanted to spend some time with you again, Master.”
“Oh?” Curt was a little surprised. In his mind, their ‘last’ interaction all those years ago had been a pretty rough one, but then again, that hadn’t happened in this timeline.
“Yeah… I… Well… I know we had been dating in college for a while, and that you had eventually said you didn’t feel ready for a serious relationship. So, we went back to being friends for a while, but I… I couldn’t find someone else who was as reliable or caring as you…” She took a couple steps closer, her hooves clopping on the hardwood. “I… I just… I was wondering… If you felt ready for a relationship now… If you were still open? I would love to give this another try.”
Curt was dumbfounded. He nearly forgotten that they had been dating before that big blow up. And now that that big blow up had never occurred, he had left her hanging, emotionally. He hated to think of how she felt over those years. “Um… Sure… I guess we could try this again…”
“Oh thank you, Master!” Danielle leapt forward and hugged him tight, planting a kiss on his lips. “I’ve waited so long to hear you say those words, Master! I know we’ll be able to find our spark again.”
Curt hugged her back, while internally screaming at himself for letting his worries about her hurt feelings causing him to rush right back into a relationship that might just leave her even more disappointed if it didn’t work out. But he’d already said ‘yes’ now. He’d have to at least give it a shot.
“Hey, Master!” A voice called out from the hall, before Marceline poked her four-eyed head through the door, “Dinner’s ready and… Oops… Er… Am I interrupting something?”
“N-no, no, thank you,” Curt said as he and Danielle let go of each other. “We’re on our way down now.
The two soon arrived at the dinner table, where all the maids, save little Eva (who was serving) and Janet were seated. After all the changes to his house, Curt was pleasantly surprised to see that the food was still a relatively normal casserole, rather than some extravagant caviar or something. That being said, Janet’s cooking skills were truly something else; her use of spice and seasoning made even the simple meal taste like something out of a high-class restaurant.
After everyone had finished the main course, Janet wheeled a large, red and yellow frosted cake out, and set it in front of Kasai. In the center of the cake was an unlit candle shaped like a zero. Kasai’s eyes were as wide as they could be, and in spite of having a beak, one could tell she was grinning wildly.
“Everyone ready to sing?” Emma asked. Everyone gave a “yes,” “sure,” or a nod, and without lighting the candle, Emma led in the Happy Birthday song. Upon the song’s conclusion, Kasai took a deep breath, and blew a small flame at the candle. Janet removed the candle and put it out, then cut the cake and began serving it, (Kasai, naturally, getting the biggest piece).
When dessert was done, the maids chattered amongst themselves as they got ready to go, either to their own homes, their rooms, or any remaining duties that had for the evening. Curt waved goodbye as the anthros made their way out, Danielle giving him a quick kiss as she left.
Once all the maids that didn’t live here now (or yet) had left, Curt took a sigh of relief. He didn’t think of himself as antisocial, but something about having that many people in the house at once made him feel a bit weary. He never had been one for big parties. Nevertheless, he did have a good time, his rushing back into a relationship with Danielle notwithstanding, but he was ready for a rest.
He passed the rec room on his way to his bedroom, noticing Anna and Cassidy playing with Noni. He chuckled as he realized that Noni’s collar technically made her “better dressed” than the two “civilized” felines playing with her.