Chapter 1

"Miss Ral, I see that you are, once again, playing with the merchandise." A male voice drawled as its owner watched the young woman tease a young lion cub with a piece of rope. The three month old albino cub would jump for the rope when it was dangled above him but would always miss as it was quickly moved away. The hand holding the makeshift rope over the small cage almost dropped it in surprise at the voice.

Petra Ral winced and turned around from her kneeling position to see her employer, Archie Quentin, looking at her with a frown. He was sharply dressed in a black suit, likely having come back from some event. His short brown hair had been slicked back and looked greasy in the dusk light. In contrast, Petra was wearing a brown shirt and trousers which had seen better days. As the young woman took care of animals all day, she did not wear anything nicer often. It was also cleaning day for the barn and animal enclosures so she chose to wear the oldest pair of clothes in her small wardrobe.

"I do not pay you to waste time, I pay you to do your job." The man continued. Petra Ral sighed internally at being caught once again as she tried to make the lives of the animals in their cages a little more enjoyable. It was a good thing was that she was prepared this time. She stood up, dropping the piece of rope on the ground and brushing the dirt from her clothing.

"I apologize, sir." She bowed her head in an apologetic manner to emphasize this. "I believe playing with the animals makes them happier considering their circumstances. If the animals are happy and playful, I'm sure potential buyers would be more willing to purchase them over sullen beasts that do nothing but lie in their cages."

"Hmm? Well… I suppose that is true. You do finish all the tasks assigned to you even when you slack. And you are much better than the previous man I hired." The man paused as if pondering. "As long as it does not interfere with the rest of your duties then you can carry on. The faster I get rid of these beasts, the better."

"You allow me to continue then, sir?" Petra asked just to make sure he was really was serious.

"I will but see to it that your work is always finished." With that, Archie turned to walk away from Petra and the courtyard they were in, back towards the manor.

The ginger haired woman smiled in relief at his departure. She could not afford to lose this job. Her father's health depended on it. Petra turned back to the small cub to see that it had found a small rock to play with in its small enclosure. The enclosure was a roughly square shaped metal cage who's top could be opened and closed with a key. There were several cages like this of different sizes in the courtyard. The only one occupied at the moment was the one with the lion cub but previously there had been a bear living in one of the larger cages. The bear did not stay long, having been sold within a week of its arrival.

Petra was a keeper for animals who were bought and sold by her employer, Archie. She worked on an estate near the edges of the city and far enough away from her own home that she would have to live on her employer's land as she worked. Petra's father often sent letters asking how she was doing and the young woman always made sure to reply to them as soon as possible. She was given two days off every other week to visit her home while someone else took over. The temporary keeper did not do a very good job so Petra was always hesitant to leave him in charge of the animals.

Originally, when bought by Archie, the estate's only intact buildings were the manor and the horse barn which was close by. The other buildings had been destroyed by a fire which had also ruined most of the forest and the prime farming ground of the land as well. Archie had no interest in the forest or farmland and ended up buying the estate at a cheap price thanks to the damage. All the man needed to do was renovate and add a few buildings to have things suit his needs. The new buildings he required were built right next to the existing ones to create an open courtyard. The placement would make it harder for animals to escape if they got out of their cages or the barn.

The east side of the courtyard bordered the barn with the servant's living quarters in the corner between the barn and the gate on the north side. The south side bordered the food cellar, a second cellar created for rarer and more dangerous beasts and the make-shift aviary. The aviary had once been part of the barn but it had been remodeled to hold birds. The west side bordered Archie's manor and and the guard's quarters nestled in the corner between his home and the gate. The gate was both tall and wide, made of dark metal and could be opened to allow carriages and larger beasts in cages entrance.

Just a keeper for animals, Petra slept in the servant's quarters near the gate, which was currently only occupied by her. When the temporary keeper came, he would take another room in the same building for the two days he usually stayed. As Archie had bought the estate cheap and then cheaply converted it to his needs, many things, like Petra's current quarters and additions to the barn, had been crudely and hastily built. Somehow everything seemed to have worked out, though the shoddy workmanship would likely cause problems in the future. Petra's room wasn't the most comfortable place to stay with it being rather bare, cramped and always having a chill but she endured it.

Closing and locking the cub's cage, Petra decided she had played with him enough and left for the barn. She still needed to clean out the horse stalls and change the food and water in the aviary. She only opened the cage to play with the cub as it seemed lonely. The giner-haired woman was careful not to get her hands too close to the animals though. Petra had learned quickly that no matter how cute or gentle an animal looked at the moment, it could turn on you in an instant. The woman still had a scar on her left arm, courtesy of a young tigress. As she made her way to her next destination, the young woman reminded herself that she would only need to be here for another three months. After that she would be free of this place and back at home with her father.

This is another fic I've had sitting around for a year or so. Maybe posting it will give me the incentive to finish it.