At Your Service

By Christine Smith

“This evening has to be perfect.” Cecilia straightened Saegan’s bow tie with shaking hands. “We must impress the Minderas so they’ll invest in Master Gador’s business.” And she needed to impress Mastor Gador with her first dinner as his new housekeeper.

An eager spark twinkled in her newest employee’s eyes. “It will be my pleasure.”

She let loose a breath and pushed him into the dining hall. “Off you go then.”

The other servants bustled to and fro, beginning the first course. Cecilia slipped inside and stood on the far wall to overlook the proceedings.

Saegan glided straight over to Mrs. Mindera. She tittered with delight as he offered her cream for her tea with a smile that could charm a tree stump.

Perfect. Hiring him had been a good call.

Thunder cracked outside.

Saegan jerked up, eyes flashing, and two furry things sprouted up from his head.

Cecilia’s heart leapt to her throat. Were those… cat ears? He couldn’t be…

Another burst of thunder shook the walls. Saegan’s eyes grew in size and he tipped the pot of cream over Mrs. Mindera’s plate. Dairy spilled across her chicken fricassee and into her lap. She jumped up violently, her rather prominent form striking the edge of the table and sending dishes clattering. Mr. Mindera’s face turned red, and the guests exploded worse than the storm outside.

The source of the catastrophe studied the guests with confusion in his now round, unnaturally green eyes. “Wait, wait!” he called. “I’ve got enough cream for everyone.”

Cecilia clutched her apron so tight all feeling left her fingers. What had she done?

Master Gador had asked her to bring in new staff. When this man arrived, dressed in a fine blue suit and dazzling smile, she thought she had a winner.

“Saegan, at your service, madam.”  He had introduced himself with a graceful bow—so polite, so suave, so… so… cat-like.

“Oh, me.”

Only she would mistake a faerie for a human. This had to be fixed.

Hiking up her skirts, she marched forward.

The cat-eared man had climbed onto the table and crawled along it on hands and knees. The guests scurried to get away. Dishes crashed to the floor.

The man grinned. “This is my favorite game!” He batted off a cup, then set his gleaming eyes on Mrs. Henworth. “Try it!”

The woman’s face went sheet-white and she fell into a faint.

“Saegan,” Cecilia hissed.

He lurched around, causing another shattering of expensive dishes.

“Get off of there. Now.”

“But I—” Another bang of thunder sent him yowling. He leapt off the table and disappeared beneath.

The wailing guests pressed back. Only Mr. Mindera stayed seated, his face buried in a handkerchief.

Cecilia groaned and dropped to all fours. Saegan lay curled on his stomach and… Heavens.

“You have a tail!”

“Hm?” He glanced at the thing swishing back and forth behind him. “Whoops. It’s so hard to hold my human form with all this thunder. Do you think anyone noticed?”

“Do I— You poured cream onto Mrs. Mindera’s lap!”

His abnormally rounded eyes turned up to her, all innocence. “You told me to impress the Minderas. I love cream with my meals.”

Of course he did. “Why did you jump on the table?”

“Weren’t we playing a game?” His face lit up. “This is a party after all!”

“That’s not—”

Another room-trembling burst of thunder cracked through the air.

Saegan let out a mewling squawk and tore across the room.

“Hey!” Cecilia scrambled back up. “What are you—?” She broke off with a scream, echoed by the other guests, as the mad man clawed up the thick curtains. His hands—no, paws—tore at the heavy material.

She darted for him. “Get down!”

He dropped onto her shoulders. She crumpled with a squeal.

“Saegan!”

Thunder drowned her shout. Saegan pelted off her and back onto the table. Crack! More thunder. He jumped down, scuttled across dishes, and headed straight for the group of guests.

Pandemonium.

The mad man—cat—whatever—darted between legs, sprang onto backs, bounced off walls. He even perched on Mr. Benyard’s shoulders, cowering around the man’s bald head.

Still on the ground, Cecilia threw her apron over her head, pleading for a merciful burst of lightning to strike her.

An eternity later, the storm quieted, the shrieks ceased. Cecilia dared a peek out. The guests clutched each other, pale and murmuring, but no cat-man was in sight. Terrifying and reassuring.

Hearty laughter broke the silence.

Every pair of eyes turned to Mr. Mindera. He still sat at the destroyed dinner, his face red, shaking with mirth.

Cecilia blinked.

“Henry!” Mrs. Mindera, hair frazzled and cheeks puffed out, resembled a ruffled bird as she glared at her husband.

He shook his head, wiped tears from his eyes, and stood. “I have to tell you, Mr. Gador, this is the most enjoyable dinner I’ve ever attended.”

Master Gador, hiding halfway behind the curtains, stepped out. His lips trembled as if he were trying to smile but couldn’t quite make it. “S-sir?”

Mr. Mindera wiped at another tear. “I see you’re a faerie-kind advocate like me. I’m impressed.”

Master Gador’s shocked stare mirrored Cecilia’s thoughts.

Something furry brushed against her hand and she yelped. A speckled brown and white cat climbed onto her lap. Average-sized. Perfectly ordinary. But how… ?

Mr. Mindera’s laughter began anew. “Amazing creatures, the faeries!”

Master Gador breathed a nervous chuckle. “Yes… yes, of course. I couldn’t agree more. That’s precisely why I hired one.”

Wait… what?

“Well then, I’d be happy to fund a man with such a vision for our future. Though”—Mr. Mindera leaned forward conspiratorially—“you may want to give the lad the day off during thunderstorms.”

What?!

Cecilia looked down at the creature with a mix of relief and confusion. And horror. She was now stuck with him.

He grinned up at her like a Cheshire cat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christine Smith lives in the deep south where days playing in the thick woods first sparked her love for writing about enchanted forests and magical lands. When she’s not writing or blogging, she’s working at a quaint bookshop—the perfect setting to fuel her creativity. Her passion for reading, J.R.R. Tolkien, and all things fairy tales led her to the world of writing YA speculative fiction, and she’s never looked back.

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