It was an overwhelming feeling, walking into Downton Abbey as a new maid. The Abbey loomed great and high over Anna, dwarfing her in every possible way. For the first time since her mother told her she would be leaving to work at the estate, Anna felt as though it might have been a bad idea. After all, what in world could she do but be underfoot?

"Now, usually we don't like to hire maids this young, but her Ladyship requested someone around Lady Mary's age, though I hardly know why." The kindly Mrs. Hughes led the way through the downstairs part of the Abbey, stopping to introduce Anna to people who seemed too busy to be bothered to look in her direction. "There are three daughters, and you'll help attend to all of them," Mrs. Hughes said, pausing at the bottom a stairwell. "And if stairs are a problem for you, you might as well go home now and save us all the trouble of training you."

The stairs weren't a problem for Anna. The problems came when she was introduced to the daughters of the Earl.

"But Mother...she's a little girl!"

That first impression of Lady Edith stayed with Anna for a long time, until she was old enough to understand that first impressions never counted as much as last impressions and that children often say whatever springs to mind.

"Come off it, Edith. Mrs. Hughes said that she was my age, and I'm certainly not a little girl." Lady Mary moved to stand in front of Anna, almost a protective figure against Lady Edith's lack of tact. "Do you think I'm a little girl, Anna?"

Anna shook her head furtively, anxious that she should not run afoul of the Earl's eldest daughter on her very first day. "No, Milady."

Lady Mary smiled, and Anna thought she might float to the ceiling, such was the weight that was lifted off her shoulders. "Marvelous. We'll get along just fine."

Lady Sybil was easier. "My name is Sibby and Mother says I'm not old enough for a maid yet." The child grinned up at Anna, and Anna couldn't help but grin back. Lady Sybil was sure to be a troublemaker, and Anna liked troublemakers, as long as they didn't include her in on the trouble.

"Oh Mother, look at those nasty shoes! Why are they so nasty?"

Anna blushed furiously as Lady Edith gawked and pointed at the shoes Anna's mother had worked all night on to get clean for the trip. Every instinct told her to bolt from the room, but she stayed put when Lady Edith's mother, Lady Grantham, put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Now, Edith, I don't think you're being fair. After all, it was you who insisted that we call her down to meet her now, instead of waiting for her to get settled. Mrs. Hughes probably hasn't even had a chance to pull out a uniform for her." Lady Grantham smiled gently down at Anna and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "And I think those are lovely shoes."

The disbelieving look on Lady Edith's face would be forever committed to Anna's memory.

"Quite right. I think it's time to get Anna upstairs and into a proper uniform. Come along, Anna." A gentle pressure on Anna's shoulder let her know that it was time to go. Chancing one last look at her miniature employers, she caught Lady Mary's eye and grinned, beaming when Lady Mary grinned back.

The grin faded when she and Mrs. Hughes were sidetracked on the way up the stairs.

"Lord in Heaven… you'd think Carson would have more sense than to hire one more twink into this overstuffed house, but they just keep coming."

Twink?

Anna didn't know that it was possible to hate someone on sight, but she was pretty sure that this woman hated her with every inch of her being. Apparently Anna's size was going to be an issue downstairs too, if the way she was sizing Anna up was any indication. Not that she had any room to be judging people on their looks. The woman was anything but attractive, with her face pinched and drawn and her lips pursed so tight Anna doubted she could fit a spoon between them. There was also something not quite right about the curls that sat right above her forehead…

"I'll have you know, Mrs. O'Brien, that I hired this girl, and not to be a twink. She's going to assist Lady Mary and Lady Edith. And perhaps Lady Sybil, when she gets a bit older," Mrs. Hughes huffed. "And I'll thank you to remember that it is none of your business who gets hired in this house. Although it may benefit you to pay attention to who gets fired."

With that, Anna was swept past a fuming Mrs. O'Brien and up the stairs.

"One very important thing to remember, Anna," Mrs. Hughes said as she unlocked a door that lead to a long hall. "You are not here to make friends. Oh, you'll make plenty, of course, but you are here to work. And as long as you do your job well, people like Mrs. O'Brien will have nothing to hold over your head when they decided they don't like you."

Anna nodded solemnly.

Work over friends.

As if it were ever going to be any other way.

"And now for the part I assume you're most interested in."

Anna's attention shifted to the door Mrs. Hughes was opening.

"Your room. For however long you're with us."

It was a small room. Not that Anna had expected anything different. But it was clean and neat and easy to move around, with two dressers and two small tables… and two small beds. Anna looked curiously up at Mrs. Hughes.

"Molly is downstairs. You'll meet her later. She's around your age. A good girl if there ever was one. I'm sure you'll get along fine. And even if you don't… I'll have no squabbling amongst my girls. If you cannot control your temper, you'll be shipped back to your mother with whatever wages you haven't squandered. That being said, it's never too early to begin saving." Mrs. Hughes smiled at Anna's bewilderment. "That's free advice. Take care… very little comes for free in our world."

It was truly overwhelming. Wages. Saving. Molly…

"Mrs. Hughes?"

"Questions, finally?"

Anna flushed. She couldn't help being nervous. The Abbey was unnerving all on its own, nevermind all the personalities within it.

"Who is Molly?"

Mrs. Hughes' eyebrow shot up into her hairline.

"Your roommate. Don't tell me you thought you'd get a room to yourself! Gracious, it's a wonder I have a room to myself!"

Anna shook her head. That wasn't what she thought at all.

"No, I knew I'd have to share. But Molly is the only one?"

She may as well have asked if the sky was green.

"Of course she's the only one! I only see two beds here!" Mrs. Hughes rolled her eyes as Anna's widened. "Yes. You get a bed to yourself. That bed with the nice clean uniform on it? That's yours. So is the uniform and I expect to see you in it within the hour. And I expect it to stay nice and clean, do you hear me? I've no use for a messy girl."

And then Mrs. Hughes was gone and Anna was left alone in her room. The room with a bed all for her. No sharing with siblings. No sharing with her mother. No sharing with anyone at all. Anna smiled as she kicked off her shoes and unfastened the buttons on her dress.

She was going to like it here.

In her own bed.

a/n: Thanks for the wonderful reception into the Banna fic world! You've all been so great, and I thank you for the feedback. I'm going to try to post at least weekly, as much as I can.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.