(Protectorate year 390)
Dear Master
Hello, it is I once again, your strongest and most capable servant in this life, Soldier Ribbee Kourt Dusari, First Daughter of Soldier Grug Debdo Sugurat and Soldier Kithk Venerg Fedrid, Born of the Minruube Spawn Pits on Disputed World Gedri.
So there I was. Walking the forest trail on my peaceful patrol.
As you know, Minruube is a dangerous land, fraught with danger! Human dangers! Situated on the border between two human lands, there’s danger around every corner, danger around every tree. Luckily, the expert diplomats of the Spawn Pits (backed up by us fearsome Soldiers) have managed to navigate the political landscape well, allowing Minruube to maintain our independence.
Blue skies, birds chirping, a dirt path with trees flanking either side, and a wonderful canopy overhead that provided the perfect mixture of sunlight and shade.
I picked one of the bright pink flowers which grew on a nearby bush, then smelled it. Sweet, vibrant, spring had truly sprung in this land. Then I crumpled the flower in my hand and looked down the trail, “smells like danger!” I declared suddenly.
I continued my patrol, and a small blue bird landed on my horn. He tweeted his little tune and began pruning his feathers. “A spy!?” I yelled as I reached up and caught the bird in both hands. “Who are you!? Which human are you working for!?”
Under my paralyzing, inquisitive gaze, the blue bird shook his head frantically, trying to convince me he wasn’t a danger.
I remained decidedly unconvinced.
When his innocent ploy failed, he began pecking my fingers! The absolute gall!
“Ha. I knew it. You weren’t a spy, but an assassin!” I threw him up in the air and the bird quickly corrected himself and flew off. Shaking my fist, I yelled “go tell your boss he’ll need a whole lot more than you to get the drop on me! He’ll need… at least twenty bird! Maybe thirty!” When he disappeared from view, I huffed in satisfaction. Thanks to me, the roads were just a tad bit safer.
I continued on the road for a bit longer until I came across a large wooden cart.
“Suspicious.” I thought as I went closer to inspect it.
It was a large supply cart, with a human animal (that I later learned was a horse) tied to the front. His bushy tail swished back and forth, and he looked… dangerous. The cart had seating for the driver in the front, a co-driver next to her, a few passengers in the back, and cargo space in the gap between the seats. The only cargo was a few empty bags and some rope.
“Suspicious!” My danger-alert was screaming that something was off. A human beast? An abandoned cart? Devoid of any alternative, I walked to the front to have a chat with this ‘human-beast’.
He seemed somewhat carefree, devoid of thought. His long face and beady little eyes conveyed a sort of aloofness I found hard to believe. Like it was all an act.
“Hey,” I slapped his neck, “buddy.” I slapped it again, forcefully. My intent was to show him who’s boss, but it was so thick and muscular that I don’t think he registered me as a threat. This was good for him. I’d have to use my full power to make him respect me, but using my full power would assuredly cause him to prematurely expire. “Whaddya doing here, human-beast?” I put my hands on my hips and leaned forward at the waist, looking up at him with sharp eyes full of malice and authority. “Why you blockin’ my trail?”
He didn’t respond with words, but instead, he lowered his head until his snout brushed against a large patch of grass on the side of the road.
“Submission! He lowered his head out of deference to my power! Ha!”
With a bright smile, I reached over and patted his strong back. “You’re not as dumb as you look, human-beast! You understood the situation and showed the proper respect to your betters, good job! So, is there anything I can help you with? Are your wheels stuck or something and you can’t move on?”
He didn’t raise his head, which made me a little embarrassed.
“Hehheh, aww, thanks. But I’ve already acknowledged you, you don’t have to stay down there any longer, silly.”
He began to raise his head… and that was when a group of humans burst out of the surround forest and attacked me.
“Wha-!?”
It all happened so fast. One came up from behind me and tied a cloth across my mouth so I couldn’t speak. Another somehow managed to tie my wrists together. A third shoved a large bag over me and tied the end by my ankles, so just my paws were poking out. My wings, incorporeal as they are, phased through the burlap sack. One of those three punched me in the stomach and, while it didn’t hurt thanks to my incredibly developed, soldierly abs, it was quite rude of him and I didn’t appreciate it.
I felt myself hoisted up by one of the humans, and I tried in vain to struggle and flail about.
“Haha!” One of the humans said. “Calm down there, missy. We’ll take you somewhere real, aaah, ‘fun’, hehheh!”
“…fun? Well… I like fun. Maybe these are good guys and not a danger. Actually, that would make sense! Their human-beast was a good guy for showing me the proper respect, so I have to assume his master is too. Aaah, that’s why they were able to get the drop on me! I was on the lookout for dangers, and they’re not dangers. Hence, I didn’t detect them. This makes sense.”
So they threw me in the back of their cart and I landed with a thud. It kind of hurt, but I’m a big, tough Soldier strain. I wouldn’t complain about something like that.
I heard the cracking of a whip, and the cart pulled off. It was a rough ride with plenty of shaking and rumbling, and my spot was quite uncomfortable. When I tried to readjust myself, one of the humans put their boot on me and shoved me back down. Could they have done it for my safety? It must have been dangerous to wiggle around a cart, but then why’d they not give me a seat? Despite trying my best, I couldn’t even verbalize my complaints because they gagged me.
I guess I can’t be too mad. Humans aren’t that smart, after all. You can only expect so much of them.
We continued riding for a while and I’d say, overall, it was a decent enough trip. A bit boring, no snacks, not much going on, but at least it was toasty and dark inside the sack.
Eventually, we came to a stop, and I was picked up and let off the cart. They set me down and my paws touched hard, polished cobblestone, and then they untied my ankles. The took the sack off next, and I closed my eyes tight as I needed a moment to adjust to the light. My mouth was still gagged, my wrists were still bound together, and I felt them put a leash around my neck.
When I could finally bare to open my eyes, I was met with the sprawling complex of a modestly-sized mansion. Pearly white walls, sparkling blue roof, multiple floors and wings, many steps to reach the front door. The cart stopped in front of the main gate, and the mansion was far in the distance, past various rose gardens. To the left and right of the main path were hedge mazes, with trees disbursed around the property.
When comparing this to Slavani architecture, it was pretty shabby. Small, no dining hall, above ground which is gross, no farmland, and vacant. No matter how much I looked, I didn’t see anyone traversing the front yard. It seemed lonely. A thousand sisters could make this mansion their home, but I don’t see a thousand humans.
When comparing this to what I know about humans, however, I think this means the owner was particularly well off. Humans don’t make structures like this for communal living, they use their immense wealth for themselves and their families.
One of the humans who escorted me here hooked an arm around the inside of my elbow and walked me to the front steps. It was a bit forceful, but I think it was just excited to show the place off to me, so I forgave it. I wanted to stop and smell some of the flowers in the rose garden, but the human yanked me back, which was pretty annoying.
When we reached the front steps, another human was waiting for us.
This human was tall (much taller than the humans who captured me, and those three were already taller than me), and wide. Its neck was thick, its shoulders pronounced, it had short hair and a menacing jaw which sat under two sharp eyes, and three proud horns that stood tall above its eyes, and the third horn near the back of its head. In terms of gender, humans are split into men and women, while we Slavani are just women. Due to the fact it was much bigger and wider than me, I think that means this particular human was part of the human’s ‘Soldier’ strain, which I think makes this human a man.
I forgot his name though. I think it was ‘bob’ or something.
So, bob looked me up and down with cold, uncaring eyes. “So you managed to get one?”
“Mhm-hmm.” I nodded, my mouth still gagged.
Bob ignored me and let the other human speak, “yes sir, one and done, wasn’t an issue.”
Bob nodded his head thoughtfully and turned to me. “Congratulations, Slavani. Our boss has a real fascination with you creatures, so you’re the lucky thing that gets to work on the (I forgot the name) estate!” He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the shabby little mansion behind him.
Despite the inherent comedy to be found in him trying to show off a building which couldn’t even slightly compare to what We can build in a day, my eyes were beaming and I couldn’t stop smiling behind the gag. I was chosen? That’s awesome! His boss is fascinated with Slavani? Ha! Of course! That’s simply the fate of all humans, to be fascinated with, and eventually subsumed by, our superior biology and culture.
I held my head high with pride as bob grabbed my horn and pulled me up the steps to the mansion. He gave some passing comment to the three humans that they’d get their payment in the usual way, and they were pretty happy about it. As carriage drivers, they could have done a lot to make the trip more comfortable, but I’m thankful they were able to deliver the chosen one (me) safe and sound.
He pulled me into the mansion and the foyer was pretty drab. A large central staircase with a red rug, a checkerboard pattern on the tiled floor, a large chandelier up top, and banisters from the second floor visible. There were hallways that disappeared in all sorts of directions, and the mansion was filthy. Dust, dirt, scratches, scuffs, how could someone live in such poverty? It was sad.
Bob had me stop before this central staircase, and from the top walked a new human. This one was older, as evidenced by the wrinkles, had silver hair which I think was dyed, and was a woman (though I only figured that out later). She wore a set of red robes and carried herself proudly, one hand on the railing as she elegantly walked downwards.
“Aaah, so this is the new help?” She had a thick, posh accent.
“Yes, ma’am.” Bob said with a nod. “Caught just this morning.”
“You ‘captured’ my attention all right. This place is a mess.”
The woman continued her long stroll down the steps, “oh, this simply won’t do. Remove her gag so I may be blessed by her delicate Slavani voice!”
Bob nodded, then reached over to ungag me. I rolled my jaw a little, and bob reached over to threateningly whisper “don’t scream”.
I raised an eyebrow at that. Why would I scream? What a stupid comment, I’m not a newly spawned child.
“Hello,” I said calmly. “I am Soldier Ribbee Kourt Dusari, First Daughter of Soldier Grug Debdo Sugurat and Soldier Kithk Venerg Fedrid, Born of the Minruube Spawn Pits on Disputed World Gedri.”
By the time I finished, she stood before me, standing about as tall as I do. The woman nodded, a smile on her face. “Aaah, there it is. The long, incomprehensible name of your kind! Charmed.” She reached out a hand, and I shook it. “Very good. So, from this day forward, you shall be in my employ. You shall sleep in this mansion, eat in this mansion, and work in this mansion. You are not allowed to leave the premises. Is that understood?”
My ears perked and my tail wagged, “eat? What kind of food do you have?”
Her smile was subtle, “my estate possesses a wide variety of dishes from across (she said the name of whatever country this is), you shall have your pick.”
“I’ll do it!” I screamed. My eyes went wide, and I turned to bob, “oops, sorry. That was a bit too loud.”
The woman waved off my worries, then stepped to my side and put a hand on my arm. She then told me a long, boring story. With my attention fading in and out, I understood very little. Basically, her estate has been in decline for decades, but there was a civil war in this country not too long ago, and her side won, and she has a chance to rebuild her estate, so she planned to use Slavani labor to help her do it. She fired most of her servants except bob, and then brought me in to upkeep the mansion while her money funds other projects.
Basically, Slavani are better and cheaper than humans, so she brought me to her mansion so she can save money. That’s the basic gist of what I got from her ramblings, and from later events.
“Does this make sense to you, dear Ribbee?”
“…” I stared at her for a moment before my brain finally processed that she asked me a question. “U-uh,” I gave her a thumbs up, “yeah! Sure. I agree.” I said with a nod.
“Very good.” She patted the sides of my face, then turned to walk up the steps. “Bob will show you to your quarters and get you settled. He’s my second in command, so listen to him when I am not around.”
“Sure thing, boss.” I gave a salute, then turned to bob with a smile, “so when’s food?”
“Later.” He grumbled as he grabbed my collar and pulled me along.
He showed off a bit of the mansion on our way. Tea room, dining room, book room, study room, smoke room, bath room, plenty of rooms I didn’t even know the use of. All of it was so dirty. How long ago did she fire her staff? If it was just a few days ago, then the humans didn’t do their jobs right.
Eventually we reached the staff room. “This is where you’ll stay.” He held the door open and I walked inside. There were dozens of triple bunk beds lining the walls of the room, with a few tables and chairs in the center. Beyond that, there was nothing. No snacks, no furniture, barely even any light.
“Which bed is mine?”
“Whichever you want. Or all of them, it doesn’t matter. Pick a new one each day for all we care.”
I patiently shook my head and put a hand on his broad shoulder. “Oh, you poor, poor… bub? Was it?”
“Bob.”
“Right. That’s not how we Slavani work. I’m fine with a communal space, but I need at least a bit of personal room!” I put my hands on my hips and strut into the room, inspecting a bunk. “I’ll need a curtain to put up, so I can draw it back when I’m not here. I don’t want anyone peeping on my space, after all.”
“You’re the only other employee here.”
I looked to him with an inquisitive gaze. “Yeah. You’re the only one who’d peep my stuff.” In my head, I had already claimed one of the bottom bunks, and I got in front of the bed to break his line of sight from my new personal area, putting my hands down to block him. “Why don’t you, ah, turn around until I can get a curtain up?” My brow narrowed, my voice threatening, he got the hint that it wasn’t just a mere suggestion, and stepped outside into the hallway.
Pleased with this victory, I stripped a blanket from a nearby bed and set it up around my bunk, creating my own little personal world. It was even bigger than my bunk back at the den!
“You done in there?”
“Yup.” I said with a nod.
“Then come on, we have other things to do.”
He brought me to a changing room and gave me the uniform I was to wear whilst on duty. A long black dress with various white frills. Long sleeves, high collar, long shirt, a small slit in the back for my tail, and a white apron in the front.
I stood in front of a mirror and gave a little spin. Pretty cute, Master, I couldn’t deny. You did a great job when designing us Soldiers! Not to be rude or anything, but sometimes I feel like you dropped the ball when making those other strains. There’s room for improvement, let’s say.
“So what now?” I asked bob.
He gestured his head for me to follow, then brought me to a large room near the back of the house. Filthy, just like everywhere else. Dust, dirt, clutter. It seemed to be a sort of trophy room, with podiums set up around the place, and a load of garbage housed in glass boxes sitting atop them. Each had small plaques which probably explained what each piece of garbage was, but I couldn’t read human-language.
“Your job is to maintain the mansion, starting with this room.” He shoved a broom and a dustbin in my hands, “don’t break anything.” Then, he left, closing the door behind him.
“…’Clean’? Whaddya mean ‘clean’? I’m not a Drone, or even a Worker.” I held up the broom and inspected the bristles. “How do you even use this thing?” I put the bristles down on the floor, then swiped it back and forth, flexing my muscles to get extra powerful swings. Dust was kicked up on both sides from the great wind pressure, and I quickly felt sick.
It… didn’t sit right with me. This work wasn’t suited for a Soldier like me. I walked forward, continually sweeping dust out of the way, but my stomach churned with each swing. I should be fighting! I should be killing the enemies of Master, or providing entertainment in the fighting ring! Or standing guard. I love going out on patrol, rooting out threats, and I’m really good at it too.
I had to take breaks often, just catching my breath or trying not to vomit. It was brutal. It felt like my flesh was trying to rip itself off my body in protest of such demeaning work, every swipe of the broom was met with my muscles screaming at me to stop. I felt hot, it was hard to breathe, it was awful.
Bob returned before long, opening the door without knocking. I hid the broom behind my back and let off a convincing, sly smile. My natural instinct was to hide something so embarrassing.
“You done?” He asked.
I looked around the room and everything was still so dusty. It clicked in my mind that I hadn’t used the dustpan at all, so everything I swiped into the air came back down and resettled on the floor. “D-do I look done?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Bob rolled his eyes, “fine, smart aleck. C’mon, I’ll take you to the next room.”
He left and I eagerly followed behind.
“Ha! The fool! Of course he doesn’t have eyes so well adjusted as mine to dirt and grime. This unobservant human has no idea I just tricked him.”
He took me to the next room and it was much the same. Swipe around dust, take breaks. I took a lot more breaks than the previous room. He returned not long after, and brought me to another room to ‘clean’. I took breaks longer than I actually worked. For the next room, I didn’t sweep at all, but he had no idea.
The next room was when I got bored and started swinging my broom around like a sword. Very elegant moves, and I’m good with spatial awareness so I never knocked anything over or broke a single item. What’s more, the wind pressure of my swings kicked up dust anyway, so I was technically doing my job. That’s how it went for the rest of the day, with me technically doing my job and bob being none the wiser.
“Heeeeeeey, bob? When are we gonna eat?” I asked as he led me down the hallway.
“When you finish all the rooms.”
“How many rooms are left?”
“A lot.”
I pouted. “I see… well, I’m hungry. I’ll start working faster in each room, and then I’ll come to get you! How about that?” My intention was to stand around in each room for a minute or so, then tell him I’m done. Humans are used to living in dusty squalor that he wouldn’t notice a difference.
“You can’t. I don’t wait outside for you to finish; I’m doing my own work around the mansion in the meantime.”
“Oh…” I said with an annoyed sigh. “What work are you doing?”
“Patrols. To make sure there’re no intruders.”
“What?!” I circled around to his front and reached up to grab his collar, “but I wanna do that! I’m great at patrolling, but you stuck me with cleaning? That’s not fair!”
Bob grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away. “I don’t care what you want. You don’t even know the layout of the mansion yet. Besides, you’re a slave. We’re not trusting you with security.”
“Slave?” I cocked my head, “what’s that mean?”
“It means my lady owns you.”
“Haha,” I looked up at him, this human must have had the intelligence of a child, “only Master owns me.”
He narrowed his brow. “You can’t leave. You’re stuck in this mansion.”
“And? This is a job. It’s only natural you can’t leave jobs.”
“You’re not getting paid.”
My face twisted in confusion, what was this human on about? “Aren’t you giving me food?”
“Yeah? What does that have to do with anything?”
“…” I was at a loss for words. There’s simply no reasoning with humans. They lack a basic understanding of reality and common sense. I shook my head, “let’s just continue.”
An hour or two later, we finished up and could finally head to the dining room.
The lady who owned the mansion was sat on the far side of the single, long table. She was the only one there, and had the only set of utensils.
“Hiya, boss.” I said with a wave. “What’s for dinner?” I licked my lips in anticipation.
She set her glass of water down and dapped her lips. “Whatever you cook. I fired my chef, hoping to eat traditional Slavani dishes, but it seems as though your work ran later than expected. No matter, we shall adjust your schedule for the future.” She gestured to a door on the left side of the grand dining hall, the wall opposite a massive, pane glass window with a view of the beautiful garden outside. “Go and make your dinner, I’m eager to see what you make.”
My eyes lit up with that news, that’s incredible! Back at the den, I was never allowed to make my own meals. I finally had a chance to show off my culinary excellence.
So I ran through he door and got to work in the kitchen.
A long roll of bread. Cut it in half. Add beef, ham, bacon, turkey, and chicken. Four different kinds of cheeses mixed throughout. Lettuce, tomato, fried onions, diced raw onions, pickles. Splash vinegar on the bread until it’s damp. Cut potatoes into thin disks then slap them on there too. Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, tuna. I found a whole bunch of spices in the cabinet and, while I didn’t know the names of them or what they tasted like, I poured each onto my sandwich. I dug into the cabinet and found some candy, so that went on, and there was also a jar of honey that I glazed over top. There was a potted plant tucked into the side of the kitchen, so I dug up some of the roots and smashed that between the meat layers, not wiping off the dirt as, in my experience, that just adds to the texture. I also found some eggs, so I cracked a dozen inside.
I had a hard time keeping such a tall sandwich in place, so I took some olives and tooth picks, then jammed a dozen inside for support. Then, I shoved the whole thing in the oven until the bread was crispy, the cheese melted down the side, and the condiments were bubbly. The eggs were almost fully cooked, but I prefer them to be a little runny anyway.
I was left with a long sandwich that was so tall I nearly couldn’t wrap my hand around it. The den never would have let me put so many ingredients on, working in the mansion was great!
Setting the monstrous food item on a plate, I carefully picked it up and brought the massive thing outside to the table. Bob and the lady looked at me, stunned, no doubt jealous of what I had created.
“That’s… a Slavani dish?” The lady asked.
“Nope. This is a Ribbee special, crafted on the fly. I’m pretty proud of it.” I sat down on the table and needed a moment to think about how I’d eat it. I couldn’t open my jaw wide enough to eat every layer, but missing layers would ruin the taste. It was quite the conundrum, but I realized I should keep it on the plate and start biting down on one of the ends. I took multiple bites until all layers were in my mouth, then I started chewing.
Final verdict? Amazing. An indescribably perfect taste, I had never eaten anything like it. My only complaint was that I kept biting down on toothpicks and wood was a flavor that clashed too strongly with the others.
I swallowed, and a wide smile grew on my face, “amazing!” I used a napkin to wipe my mouth, “would you two like to try?” I was loathe to share food, but they were the ones who gave me a job that allowed me to cook for myself, after all.
“…no thank you, though I do appreciate the offer.” The lady said with a cautious expression.
I turned to bob, and he shook his head, his face twisted in disgust.
“Suit yourself,” I said with a shrug before chowing down again.
“So, Ribbee,” the lady said, “did you have experience cooking in your den?”
I spoke with my mouth full of sandwich, “nope. Actually, I was forbidden from it.”
“Might I ask why?”
I swallowed. “Cause my batch of Soldiers was spawned with the purpose of patrolling the wilderness. We’d be away from the den for long stretches of time, so to make sure we didn’t suffer in the absence of civilization, the Casters gave us tastebuds that were a tad different from most sisters.”
“‘Different’,” bob mumbled, “yeah, I see that.”
I nodded. “So my batch can eat stuff we scavenge out in the wild, and eat stuff we find in the den. We can eat everything, I guess.” I took another series of bites. “It’s pretty great, I enjoy it.”
The lady of the mansion mumbled something about not being able to taste authentic Slavani dishes, and she seemed pretty upset about it. Oh well, I offered to try mine.
Bob made a human sandwich for himself and the lady, and we chatted for a bit. I told them all about the Minruube den and life within it, and the lady seemed particularly interested. She asked about all sorts of topics, it was fun.