She paused for breath before knocking on the door of her boss's chamber.
"Come in! Called Count Bleck," called Count Bleck. The door opened slowly to reveal his secretary.
"Um, yeah, so Count..." The woman fumbled with her glasses, pretending not to notice how worn down he looked. "I just wanted to let you know that there's been some, you know, resistance... With the prisoners, and all..."
Count Bleck looked up from his desk. "Hmm. Well, Nastasia, why not just re-hypnotize them into submission? Or don't tell me you've tried that already and it's failed..."
"Oh! Er, great idea, my Count." But she didn't turn to leave.
"... Is there anything else, Nastasia?" Count Bleck raised his one visible eyebrow in concern at his most faithful minion, usually so on top of any situation. Normally, she wouldn't have even bothered to come see him about a problem such as had been mentioned. "Is something troubling you?"
"Um, no, Count. 'K, I guess that's it... I'll see you later..." She silently cursed herself as she turned toward the door, but still couldn't bring herself to leave.
"Are you certain? You know Count Bleck would do all he could to help you if you have a problem, Nastasia," her boss spoke up after a moment.
Gathering her courage, she turned back around and looked at him over the top of her professional-looking glasses. Count Bleck winced and held up a hand to shield his face. Her eyes were quite powerful... Indeed, they were the reason her glasses adorned her face.
She pushed them up as she felt them slipping. "Well, uh, I was wondering, Count... That is... Ah..."
"Yes?" the count prompted.
"Well, so, Mimi and O'Chunks and Dimentio and Mr. L were all whining at me about having a 'bonfire' or something immature like that later tonight. They're such children, right? Anyway, I figure to shut them up I'd let them build one, and you know, I figured I should be there to make sure they don't burn the castle down."
"... Um... That sounds fine with Count Bleck." Bleck was rather puzzled.
"W-wait! I'm not finished yet, Count," the secretary said, frustrated. "M-My point was... Uh... Would you care to join me while I babysit, so to speak?" She took off her glasses and fumbled with them nervously, a very rare thing for her.
Count Bleck paused for a few moments. Nastasia glanced at him nervously but his face wouldn't betray his thoughts.
"Ahh... Of course. Th-that wouldn't interest someone like yourself, my count. I-I apologize. Forget I asked, 'K?" With that, she turned to leave, this time without hesitation.
But she was stopped. "Wait! Nastasia! Wait a second, insisted Count Bleck!" insisted Count Bleck. "When did Count Bleck ever say he wasn't interested?"
"Um... Well... You didn't answer, so I thought--"
"I was merely thinking, Nastasia! You should give a man a chance to think!" The Count seemed to pout.
"Oh, m-my apologies, Count. Then do you want to...?"
"Yes. Yes, I think I would like to come." A rare smile flashed across her employer's face. "That sounds rather... What's the word? Fun? Yes, I believe that's the word Count Bleck desires to use. It sounds rather fun."
"R-really?!" Nastasia said excitedly, then coughed, composing herself. "I mean, uh... That's, that's great to hear, Count. I'm sure all the minions will, you know, really enjoy seeing you there and all. Yeah."
"The minions? But I thought it was you asking me, Nastasia."
The woman coughed again and cleared her throat, flustered. "Err, well, yes, I mean... Th-that is to say..."
"Well, no matter. I'll meet you all in front of the castle at... Shall we say, 8:00 tonight?"
"Y-yeah, 'K, that fits into my schedule perfectly. I'll see you then, my count." With that she quickly adjusted her glasses and made a hasty escape.
She wandered back to the employee meeting room to tell the other minions that Count Bleck would be joining them for the night. Once she got there though, she paused. "Mm... Maybe I should let it be a surprise for them," she thought. "After all, it was a surprise for me! And maybe... Maybe there's time yet for him to change his mind."
There wasn't, of course. She knew that. But it hurt her too much to let go of her hope, so she kept it close to her heart.