Chapter 1 : Shower Disturbance
"Che-chan?! Be a dear and come here!" Lussuria called me from upstairs and I perked up. I had been folding and refolding the recently washed clothes, hoping for something to do. The mansion was huge, but thanks to my diligence and some help from Mr. Hohome, the head butler, it was always cleaned quickly.
"Oh my goodness! This is a disaster!" He sounded horrified and I became worried. Did Lussuria get hurt? Worst case scenario, his nail broke or something. My legs pattered up the stairs and I rushed to his screams. Just as I was going into the room he was in, he pushed me out and closed the door.
"Mama? What's wrong?"
"Mah! I've never seen such a disgusting room! It's embarrassing!" Dramatics coming into play, Lussuria placed his hand on his forehead, leaning back.
"No wonder he doesn't let anyone in his room!" I didn't realize until after I figured out what was going on that we were in front of Belphegor's room. The Prince? Wasn't he all about perfection and being the best?
Thinking aloud to myself, I mumbled, "What does Bel-sama's room look like?" A hand planted on my back and a surgical mask, cleaning spray, mop, broom, water bucket, a basket suddenly appeared in Lussuria's other hand. Tilting my head, I grabbed the objects and watched him in confusion.
"I don't want you to see such horrible things, but I'm afraid I have no choice." Gulping, I looked at the door. It sounded as if I was going to die.
"Mama...didn't you just say it was disgusting?" Nodding furiously, Lussuria opened the door tentatively and shoved me in there, door slamming and darkness greeting me.
"I'm so sorry, Che-chan! But please...clean that pig pen!" When I heard the footsteps go away, I exhaled, resigning. My finger flicked on the light and I tilted my head, really not understanding the big deal. Shrugging, I picked up the basket and began putting the clothes strewn on the ground into it. A sharp wind noise whizzed near my head and I ducked, only for another to trigger and nearly cut my ear clean.
"Eep!" Now I understood what Lussuria was talking about. Belphegor had knife traps everywhere. There was nothing I could do; I had no idea where they were so I had no choice but to clean cautiously. This was a great opportunity, though! His room was locked and bolted shut in order to "ward off peasants", but now I could clean it! He was currently on a mission that could potentially take a week. Although I enjoyed the prince's company, I worked much slower when he was following me all day and making me do menial tasks.
After finishing with picking up the clothes, dusting the furniture, and organizing his closet, I collected the knives that were triggered.
"Why does Bel-sama have to have so many knives?" Frowning, I placed said knives in an empty drawer before leaving an apology note.
"I'm sorry, Bel-sama. Mama begged me to clean your room. He said it was disgusting, but I'm sure you're not disgusting. : )
Your shirts are in color order along with your boots and pants. I was too embarrassed to organize your underwear. X.X If it helps, I think they are very nice looking. Please don't be mad. I can organize it later if you want.
The knives are on your nightstand. I didn't mean for them to set off, it just happened. One of them cut off a bit of my hair. (Don't worry I cleaned it up!) The clothes on the ground are clean now, too.
I hope you'll be pleased. :3 ~Cheyenne"
I left the room to do laundry, satisfied with my note. His clothes weren't dirty; I just thought he would appreciate the gesture. Humming, I heard Squalo in the laundry room grumbling and yelling at the machines. I smiled.
"VOI! PIECE OF SHIT LAUNDRY MACHINE!"
"Squ-kun? Do you need help?" He turned around and swung his sword to cut my head off, most likely, but I ducked in time. You had to learn a few things to be a maid for Varia. They were merciless. Blinking, he noticed it was only me.
"I need to wash my clothes, but this," he kicked the washing machine, "STUPID WASHING MACHINE DOESN'T WORK!" Squalo almost tried stabbing it, but I waved my hands, begging not to.
"Ah! Squ-kun, please be gentle! That's the third washing machine we had to buy this week!" A growl bubbled from his throat, but he handed me his clothes, took off his jacket and gave it to me to wash.
"Hurry up." Saluting him, I urgently put down Belphegor's basket to wash Squalo's first. Smiling and giggling to myself, I noticed that Squalo hadn't rotated the time wheel. That was the only reason it wasn't working and I felt bad for the machine knowing that Squalo nearly stabbed it for a mistake that he made. A happy squeal from upstairs made me grin even wider. Lussuria dashed downstairs yelling my name. When he reached me, he picked me up and swung me around in joy.
"It's so clean~ Che-chan you're an angel!" He rubbed his cheek against mine.
"Thank you, Mama." Putting me down, Lussuria noticed that I was washing clothes.
"Che-chan...don't you think you work too much?" Mammon materialized into the room with a stack of money in his hands, counting it.
"No. She works just enough to save me fifty-six thousand, one hundred and twenty-three dollars a year. She is the only maid we need, really. Maybe if we fired Lucia..." He rifled through his stack of cash and frowned.
"We could be saving nearly one hundred thousand if we fired Alicia and Lucia. Those twins are a waste of space." Placing his hands on his cheek and wiggling his hips, Lussuria pouted and protested.
"But Alicia plays dress up for me! And Lucia is really smart and she helps me sew! You can't get rid of them~" Mammon sweat dropped and shook his head.
"I think I'll get on their termination papers...soon." A pen and paper appeared from nowhere as Mammon sat on my shoulder. Lussuria frowned and droped it, but turned to me joyfully.
"Don't worry, Che-chan, you're still the princess here." He pinched my cheeks and puckered his lips.
"Cute~" A small hand whacks away his face and Mammon frowns.
"Let her work."
"Mah! Well, I'll start on dinner while Che-chan finishes the laundry." My head tilts as I watched Lussuria, the striped sweaters, and white wife -beaters being folded.
"Mama, you don't have to. I'm almost finished folding."
"So quickly?!" Smirking, the Arcobaleno on my shoulder pulled out another stack of cash and began counting obnoxiously.
After everyone, excluding Xanxus and Belphegor, ate dinner, I took it upon myself to bring Xanxus food. I made a rib-eye steak, marinated in red wine along with sautéed tomato and mushroom pasta. The instant I opened the door, a wine glass cracked a few inches from my face.
"What do you want?" His gruff voice echoed in the room and I dusted my hair off, removing any piece of debris that remained. Grinning, I noticed that he was in a significantly better mood. He would usually call me 'scum' or 'trash' and made sure that the glass hit me, but today, none of those things happened.
"Xanxus, I brought you din-"
"I don't want it. Bring me some rum." Frowning I pushed the rolling table in the room with the plates of food on it, feeling stubborn. Xanxus scowled and his voice became angry.
"What the fuck did I just say? Get that shit out of here. I just wanted alcohol." Crossing my arms, I trudged over to him and placed the plates in front of him.
"Eat." He growled and I revised my request.
"Please eat, Xanxus-sama. It's important for your health."
"Since when do I give a shit about my health?" There was amusement in his eyes as he watched me sputter for an answer. He picked up his knife and fork, cutting into the steak.
"Bring me some fucking wine." A wide smile appeared on my face as I saw him shove some of the meat into his mouth. I ran off to get him what he requested.
I had been working for the Varia since Tyr was the boss. I didn't really like him, but I could have been delusional. After all, I was only eight when I started working there. Mammon, Lussuria, and Levi had been there only a bit longer than me, but Levi considered himself my elder. When Belphegor joined, he would pick on me and call me a peasant, much like now. He didn't purposely cut me anymore, though, unless he was really bored.
Squalo came shortly after, calling me a brat constantly, but out of all the people in the Varia, he got along with me best. I never complained or got bratty with him, unlike Belphegor, who would constantly annoy him. Said man killed Tyr and became boss for a short amount of time before Xanxus came to power. And again, Xanxus almost never threw things at me, only doing so on particularly bad days. That habit seemed to apply to me more in later years, though. Time seemed to have made him grumpier.
The boss was nicer to me than the other members since he clearly stated:
"All of you are fucking annoying, except for that maid. She brings me wine."
It wasn't much, but knowing how the gruff boss acted, that was enough for me to be satisfied.
I was born into servitude. My whole family on my mother's side had been serving the Vongola family for years so it was only natural for me to follow in their footsteps. Originally, I was to work for Iemitsu, but said man pushed me away, saying he didn't need such a young servant. The Cavallone family gave me the choice to work for them or the Varia.
My mother begged me to choose the Cavallones for reasons that I understood now that I was older. Younger me didn't know the implications, but when I saw the 'adorable' Arcobaleno baby, my choice was easy. Naturally, I was intrigued that a baby could talk and count money like he did, but I got over it and became fast friends with the baby. He seemed pleased, too, knowing that he would get a maid free of charge.
Rushing back to Xanxus's office, I grinned when he chucked another empty glass at my head, missing. Bringing him the wine bottle, he yanked it from my grip and drank straight from the bottle. He noticed my smile and scoffed.
"The fuck are you smiling at?"
"I'm happy I work for the Varia." A pause in the clanking of plates made me look at him. Xanxus stared at me, not knowing why I said that.
"...fucking idiot. Get out of my office." Bowing, I did as he said, but not before receiving a good glass to the back of my head. It was bleeding. I felt the wetness and pondered.
"I guess I'll have to stitch myself up."
Once I reached my bed, I sighed, overjoyed that I could rest. Squalo yelled at me for putting fabric softener on his clothes. It wasn't my fault that I wanted him to comfortable. He claimed that it was 'itchy', but I think it was a matter of pride and not itchiness. He eventually gave up after I apologized profusely and gave him an extra serving of food. Groaning, I realized I hadn't showered yet.
Although I didn't feel like it, I remembered Lussuria saying that, "only nasty girls don't shower every day. You're a pretty princess so you have to do it." Gathering my clothes, I went to bathe myself. It was half past one. In the morning. It was a handful being the only maid that worked. To be honest, I didn't even have to work as hard as I did, but it made me happy hearing the Varia's small praises here and there.
Turning the tap, I stepped in and shivered in delight when the warm water trickled on my back. I washed my hair and lathered in soap when I heard a noise that made me freeze. I turned off the shower and the noise came again. My heart beat against my chest, but I sighed in relief when I heard an even louder bang in the room next to mine followed by a loud 'VOI!' Knowing that Squalo was on the scene made me feel way safer.
"FUCKING LITTLE SHIT! GET BACK HERE!" Feeling the door to my room burst open, I fumbled to get out of the bathtub, tripping and falling with a smack on my butt. Stars flashed in my vision and the air was knocked out of me. Breathing hard and panting, I didn't notice when a small figure jumped into the bathtub with me, landing on my stomach. Gasping, I saw an Arcobaleno baby with a motorcycle helmet on his head. Not even having time to question it, Squalo burst open the bathroom.
"VOIIIIIIIII! GET OUT OF CHEYENNE'S ROOM!" The baby squeezed his eyes shut and clung to me. Feeling pity, I hugged him and whispered comfortingly. When Squalo peeled back the curtain, a few distinct emotions flashed in his eyes. First, anger then confusion and finally his face was set ablaze once he saw the baby resting on a very naked, very confused me. His eye twitched before he left, slamming the door on his way out. Sighing, I stared down at the baby, who was still clinging to my neck fearfully.
"Hey. What's your name?" My voice was soft and sympathetic as I gently smiled at the Arcobaleno baby.
"S -Skull."
"Hi, Skull. It's nice to meet you, but would you please get off of me?"
"This is a waste of time. And time is money." Mammon hissed as Skull wrung his hands together, nervous. The entire Varia woke up after Squalo had a fit. Supposedly, the baby sneaked into his room, commanding Squalo to show him where Viper was, Viper being Mammon. I only had one question. Why was the baby here to begin with? Skull was sitting on my lap as I bounced him on my leg. He didn't seem to want to be near any other member or person aside from me.
"Reborn told me that there was a cure to the curse." Everything was silent after he said that small thing.
"Now I have your attention!" Smiling, I rubbed his head. He was adorable.
"Well? Spit it out." Scratching his head, Skull didn't know how to describe to Mammon what Reborn said.
"A ah...I'll call him." Mammon facepalmed at his forgetfulness. It rung one time before a familiar 'ciaosu' could be heard. To be frank, I had no idea who this 'Reborn' person was, but he had to be someone important if Mammon was so eager to hear from him.
"The lackey forgot, didn't he?" Skull protested and I squeaked at how adorable the purple-loving Arcobaleno was. I brought him to my face and nuzzled his cheek.
"Cute." The baby blushed and forgot everything he was mad about. He climbed onto my shoulder, just as Mammon would.
"I eavesdropped on Verde and borrowed some blueprints-"
"You mean stole?" The purple Arcobaleno laughed and Reborn completely ignored him.
"There are a lot of theories, but there's a recurring cure." Squalo growled and stomped to his room, Lussuria following in his trek by going to his own. This discussion was irrelevant to them and they knew better than to try to understand anything they were saying. The members dispersed aside from Skull, Mammon, and me. I was curious.
"Cheyenne." Humming in reply to Mammon, I smiled at him.
"You can leave, too." Shaking my head, I had a determined look.
"I want to help, too! You always complain about the 'curse' right? Maybe I can be helpful." Mammon sighed and allowed me to remain in the room. The babies continued the conversation.
"When they of malicious intent, scars of which there is trifle, home to none, but one comes, then will there be strife. Only one can contain the hearth and such is the grail of hope for the clear prism of the people." My brain seemed to melt. I understood very little from that because, well, I didn't receive an education. The only thing I knew was how to fight and clean. All brawn, no brain. Skull scratched his head, too. Only Mammon had a semblance of an idea of what was said.
"Why is it a riddle? He did it on purpose." Reborn chuckled.
"The Ninth said it wasn't his doing. That's a riddle from long before his time. Vongola Primo is said to be the only one who knows the answers. I think Verde is trying to resurrect the Primo." The room was silent and Mammon had a somewhat worried look.
"The Vendice wouldn't let that happen." Mammon frowned and shook his head. Shaking, I was afraid when I heard the Vendice being mentioned. Those soulless guys scared me.
"I agree. That's not it, though. The Vendice are the least of our worries. For now, I'll let Verde continue. He doesn't seem to be doing anything illegal. We must train the Tenth first. Then, we figure out what that riddle means. Ciao." An exaggerated silence followed and the line was hung up. Shaking his head, Mammon shooed Skull away. Said Arcobaleno saluted him and ran off. Disappointment flashed in my visage before Mammon landed on my shoulder.
"Take me to bed." Nodding in compliance, I went off to do as he told. The baby flopped on the mattress, but just when I was about to leave, he beckoned me back.
"I want your insight. Do you know what any of that meant?" Even if he knew that I was uneducated, maybe I could provide some kind of childish opinion.
"I'm not sure, but it all sounds really bad..."
"Okay. Good enough." Taking that as my cue to leave, I went to my room to sleep. Contemplating what I said, Mammon frowned.
It was such a simple statement and yet it meant so much.
If there are any errors, PM me and I will rectify them as soon as I can! If you have any character/episode/plot you want me to write about, tell me and I might include it! Please leave a review! I love reading them!
