Silence Suzuka stared out the car window, mindlessly watching the scenery go past. She would never admit it to Special Week, but she was still nervous about this whole venture. It was hardly surprising when Special Week had laid her hand on her own. She had turned and given her roommate a quiet smile and turned her hand over to entwine their fingers. "It's okay Spe-chan, I'll only be gone for a month."

"A month is so long though." Special Week whined. "What am I supposed to do until then? You promised we would go running together again."

With an arm about Special Week's shoulders, Silence Suzuka drew her friend close to her. "What you are going to do is to focus and train extra hard. I was rather disappointed in your last race Spe-chan, I expect to see some drastic improvement by the time I return."

"Suzuka-chan!" Special Week whined again. "You're so mean, why do you have to be so mean to me?"

The car turned into the naval base and Silence Suzuka brushed Special Week's cheek with her lips. "Because I'm your friend; and since you won't listen to Trainer-san, then I have to tell you the truth. Look at me." Intense green eyes bore into the normally elated purple eyes. "Forget about me. All this month, you forget about me and focus on your training. You will listen to Trainer-san and you will cut back on your eating and you will push beyond your self-imposed limits, understood?"

The car pulled into a parking space and Special Week nodded timidly. She warmly returned Silence Suzuka's hug and brushed away her tears with a sleeve. "I'll miss you Suzuka-chan!"

Emerging from the car, Silence Suzuka stretched, flicking her tail. "I'll miss you too Spe-chan."

"Are you sure about this Silence?" Trainer called out.

"I am after all it's something to add to my resume." With a wave, Silence Suzuka hurried away though more to keep from climbing back into the car. She hurriedly brushed her own tears away and strode purposefully towards a tall blonde-haired woman clad in a red cloak. "Silence Suzuka?" The woman called out with a cultured accent.

"Yes ma'am, I am."

"Well met my dear. I am Prince of Wales, you may refer to me as Prince of Wales or your highness."

Bowing, Silence Suzuka nodded. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance your highness!"

"If you'll follow me? I'll introduce you to Belfast." Prince of Wales turned and walked towards the large yellow stone building behind her.

Casting a glance over her shoulder, Silence Suzuka was disappointed to see that Trainer had left, but she was glad too since it removed the temptation to flee. She hastened after Prince of Whales, her eyes sweeping about to observe the goings-on. There were lots of girls about, many sat around chatting while others appeared to be exercising and others studying. As they passed by, a variety of greetings were given and Silence Suzuka heard a variety of accents. She found it amusing that while most of the girls addressed Prince of Whales with deference, there was a small number of girls who addressed her more casually, often to the chagrin of her highness. They entered the building and Prince of Wales led her to a small elegant room. Seated on a large plush couch, a petite woman with a beautiful crown on her head. Seated on a chair near the couch, a tall woman, as refined and elegant as the other two.

"Your majesty," Prince of Wales stated with a bow of her head, "may I present the horse-girl Silence Suzuka.

"Silence Suzuka, her majesty Queen Elizabeth."

Silence Suzuka bowed, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance your majesty."

Setting down her cup of tea, Queen Elizabeth looked up at the newcomer, giving her a good looking over. "It is our pleasure to meet such a fine racehorse. I have watched your races, you are by far my personal favorite.

"Bel, your pupil is here."

As if appearing out of the woodwork, a stunningly beautiful woman with long white hair and purple eyes stepped up. The armored gauntlets she wore seemed to add to the overall elegance of the young maid. "Thank you, your majesty, if you'll excuse me I shall see to our newest maid."

Picking up her teacup, Queen Elizabeth waved dismissively. "You are released."

Belfast beckoned Silence Suzuka to follow and she disappeared through a back door. Together they walked through a hallway and Belfast turned into a small bedroom. "Welcome Silence Suzuka. I am Belfast, a royal maid ship, the head maid in fact." She gestured at a small chair and seated herself in the other. "This is a spare bedroom that we set up for you. As you won't be here long it's a bit bare, but you really won't be spending a lot of time in here. So before we begin your training, why don't you tell me why you want to train to be a maid?"

Sitting down, Silence Suzuka thought for a few minutes. "I'm a bit of a realist, I guess. I know I won't be able to run forever. Some of the older horse girls teach or open their own shops. I don't have any skills other than running, so I thought I might start adding some skills."

Belfast gave a genuine smile that warmed Silence Suzuka. "That is a very excellent reason for wanting to learn to be a maid. A maid's service will always be needed. However, I must warn you, being a maid is no easy task. There is much you must remember and there is, indeed, no thanks in this job. A maid's thanks comes from the satisfaction of a job well done. If you are content with this?" At Silence Suzuka's nod, Belfast stood, "then let us begin."

Walking over to the closet, Belfast withdrew a maid outfit. "Your trainer sent your sizes and I believe this should fit you. Your headband, ear covers, and ear ribbon may stay, everything else must go. You can store your clothes here in the closet. I will step out to give you a chance to change, once you have changed we will begin." With that, Belfast left the room, closing the door behind her.

Staring at the maid outfit for a moment, Silence Suzuka quickly changed, putting her school uniform into the closet. She stepped out and gave Belfast a nod.

"Very well, walk with me. Make sure your hands are always clasped in front of you, right hand on top of the left. The best maid is the one who does not exist until her presence is required. Let me first run through a list of titles when addressing royalty or nobility. As we only serve the Royal Navy, don't worry about titles for ships from other camps. Queen Elizabeth, the current sovereign, and King Geroge the fifth should be referred to as 'your majesty'. Prince of Wales as 'your highness' and Duke of York as 'your grace'. Other ships that you might encounter, such as Monarch, Warspite, Illustrious, Ark Royal, and Hood will be referred to as 'my lady'. That being said, your primary responsibility will be taking care of Prince of Wales. You will find she is very caring and compassionate, so try your best. Always remember the Royal Maid's primary purpose is to take care of our master. Your happiness will be found in making sure that her highness is happy and content."

The rest of the day was spent shadowing Belfast. Silence Suzuka was amazed at how silently the maid could appear, perform her tasks and disappear into the background to await further instruction. She found Belfast to be a warm and pleasant teacher. When the day had ended and Belfast had dismissed her, it was an exhausted yet content Silence Suzuka who collapsed into her bed.

The month passed very quickly and Silence Suzuka found that she had inherited responsibility for Hood as well as Prince of Wales. Hood was freer with her praise but when Prince of Wales did give a compliment it was very sincere.

When the day arrived for Silence Suzuka to return to Tracen Academy, she had made arrangements for Trainer to pick her up early. She bade a fond farewell to Belfast before getting into the car.

"Did you have a nice time Suzuka-chan?" Trainer asked.

"It was challenging, but worthwhile. How was Special Week? Did she listen to me?"

"Yes and no, but the overall effect will be a pleasant surprise."

When they arrived, Silence Suzuka headed for the dorm while Trainer went to park his car. She opened the door to her room and shook her head at the sight that met her eyes.

Special Week was sprawled out on her bed, snoring peacefully and her carrot plushie laying on the floor. Clothes were strewn everywhere and her desk was a mess of papers. She notices several sheets of paper covered in her name in different forms of print. Sighing, she began straightening up the mess when a piece of paper fell to the floor. Leaning over, she was surprised to see an A on the test she had dropped. Looking at the paperwork more carefully, she discovered most were tests that Special Week had scored exceptionally well. A weight chart had been taped to the wall and it showed a slight but continuous loss of weight. A wave of pleasure washed over Silence Suzuka and she hastened to finish cleaning up. The sun was just beginning to peek through the window when she finished and she drew back the curtains. She gave a gentle shake of Special Week's shoulder. "Good morning Spe-chan!"

Special Week fumbled, blinking trying to push herself up. "Suzuka-chan? Issat you?"

Smiling, Silence Suzuka gave a bow. "It is indeed Spe-chan. If you get out of bed and go wash your face, we can go to breakfast."

Blinking, Special Week pushed herself out of bed and trotted towards the bathroom. She emerged after she had woken up more and cleaned up to find that her roommate had made her bed and stood waiting with a pile of clothes in her hand. Taking the clothes, Special Week got dressed and then turned to Silence Suzuka. "Ummm...it's good to see you?"

Beaming, Silence Suzuka drew her friend in and hugged her tightly. "It's good to see you too Spe-chan. I've missed you as well. Now if you're awake, let's head down to the cafeteria so you can have a leisurely breakfast before we head off to class." Silence Suzuka followed discreetly behind Special Week, hands clasped gently before her. Their arrival caused a bit of a stir among the other horse-girls.

"Air Groove, why don't I have a maid like that?" Symboli Rudolf demanded of her vice president.

"I...I suppose I could do that for you emperor!" Air Groove squeaked, blushing.

Guiding Special Week to a table with her friends, she pulled out a chair for her before walking to the counter to place an order. While the food was being prepared, she took a tray of tea and cups which she carried over to the class president. She carefully poured a cup and set it before Symboli Rudolf. "Do enjoy!" She commented, smirking at the glaring Air Groove.

"Air Groove, find out where she learned how to be a maid like that. I want you to do that for me!" Symboli Rudolf commented to her vice president as Silence Suzuka walked away to retrieve Special Week's tray of food.

"Boy Spe-chan, I think I want to transfer over to Team Spica if you get maid service every day." El Condor Pasa commented.

Beaming, Silence Suzuka slid the tray before Special Week and sat down beside her friend. "Oh no El Condor Pasa, this isn't a Team Spica thing, this is a Spe-chan thing."