"Ouch!" Santana winced as the toe of her leather boot found the corner of the door jam as she walked too quickly through the doorway. Her arms were full of paper rolls and books and charts. She had placed a pencil in her hair carefully to keep her long dark curls from falling into her face and blocking her view. Santana swiftly lined up all her materials in neat rows and piles. She could hear the click of heels coming down the hall and she pulled the pencil from her hair and smoothed her skirt just as the clicking materialized in the form of a tall elegant woman.
"Cutting it a little close, girl." The woman's rich voice cut through the silence in the room and sent a shiver down Santana's spine. Her name was Constance le Claire but to call her that would quickly earn Santana a beating. She had been Santana's guardian for the last 15 years and Santana learned she was not the motherly type.
"One of these days you will learn how to better manage your chores in a timely manner. Then you won't have to rush through your assignment and you might have the chance to bathe." Madame le Claire used the end of her long cigarette holder to moved a piece of Santana's hair from her face. "It really is tiring to look at the face of a peasant as it is and yours is covered in soot. Your dress is filthy and your hair is like straw. Disgraceful." Madame le Claire circled Santana like a hawk for a moment more before turning up her nose and finding her seat at the large mahogany desk.
Santana's face burned with anger and her small hands clenched at the folds of her thick skirt. She certainly wasn't foolish enough to talk back but she convinced herself, yet again, that one day she would have the last word. But until then she stood silently listening to the scratch of Madame le Claire's pen as she sifted through all the pages.
"Sloppy. Redo it all." Madame le Claire slammed the book shut and pushed her chair out from her desk. "After all the trouble I went through teaching you to read and write this is what you give me in return? That bumbling blonde scullery maid could have done better than this and she can't tell the difference between night and day! I expect these by dinner tomorrow."
Santana gasped and reached out at her guardian. "But there is no way I could.." She stopped short as she felt a searing pain on her face with a nice bright light in her eyes. She could feel welts forming on her cheeks in the shape of a handprint and she dropped her hands to her sides once more.
"And now I expect it done by the morning." And with that she was gone.
Santana stood rooted to the spot, trembling with tears falling down her face. She closed her eyes and tried to focus but her mind was swimming with anger and she could not focus. With much less grace than before she gathered all of her things from the desk and made her way out of the dark study.
She ran as fast as she could from car to car, jumping over the gaps between cars with ease. She stopped at the goods lift and decided to take the easy way down to the servants quarters rather than taking the stairs over the water.
When she finally made her way to her room she let her work fall from her arms and she fell limply onto her bed. She pulled the threadbare blanket over her face and closed her eyes. She tried her hardest to tune out the world and calm her breathing but she was still shaking. It took her weeks to get all that work done. It was perfect! Even the idea of doing it over in one night was ridiculous.
In the midst of her mental rant there was a soft knocking at the door. She lifted the blanket from her face to see a cascade of long golden locks falling through the crack in the door and a pair of bright blue eyes peeking in.
"I've brought your supper, miss." Her voice was timid but still sweet.
"Come in, Brittany. You know you don't have to knock." Santana sat up and tucked her hair behind her ear. Brittany gracefully opened the door and slid into the room to place the metal food tray on the desk. "Yes, miss." She replied shyly and made her way back to the door.
"Wait!" Santana said scooting to the edge of the bed. "I wish you would stay awhile. I could really use the company."
Brittany froze at the door and dropped her hand. She nodded her head and turned to face Santana but stood perfectly still. Santana reached for the chunk of her bread on the plate and nibbled it carefully. "Well don't just stand there. Sit down." Santana said a little too sharply.
"Yes, miss. Sorry, miss." Brittany said dropping her hand and quickly sitting back on her heels with her hands folded on her lap. Santana sighed and put the bread back on the plate. She slid to the floor and quickly crawled over to Brittany.
"That wasn't an order, Brittany. Why are you being so weird today?" Santana said pulling Brittany's hand into her own. "Did she get to you today, too?"
Brittany nodded and dropped her head into Santana's lap and started to sob quietly. "She destroyed the kitchen and screamed at me all morning because the sugar dish wasn't completely full."
Santana combed her fingers through Brittany's hair and rubbed her back in gentle circles. "It's okay, Brit. It won't be long until we don't have to deal with her any longer. Don't be sad. She is just picky about sugar because she is so sour!" Brittany let out a giggle and threw her arms around Santana's waist. "Thank you, Santana."
They sat there for a long while until the warmth in Santana's cheeks was too unbearable. She gently pulled Brittany's arms from her waist and pulled the tray down and placed it between them. Being to close to Brittany for too long always made her face flushed and she felt weird pulling in her belly. Thankfully Brittany seemed just as glad for the spaced and took a hunk of bread and dipped it in jam.