Princess for a Day

Rewrite WIP of a story series I did last year. Will contain an angry Echidna.

Act 1 Reality of the Dream


No, the United States doesn't have nobility. That's rather unfortunate. This nation was a former colony to a once mighty kingdom. The territories rebelled and won their right to self govern. As a direct consequence, the thoughts of Monarchy, knights, and nobility were thrown out. At least on the surface.

In truth, this country still had a small semblance of royalty in the form of wealthy gentry. For example, the sons and daughters of the rich were more likely to become officers in the military than children from the middle class. In the age of Empire, it was children from noble birth that would become officers. It's a romanticized ideal to think that way, but I have my reasons. The mansion I work in was built for the lap of luxury. Not as a reward for some noble. It was simply constructed for anyone that had the money to purchase it.

Even though it was made in the style of a plantation, it wasn’t Colonial Era, nor was it Pre-Confederate. Almost no expense was spared when building this impressive estate. It had a price tag just over three million dollars when it first came onto the market in the early 1980s. I'll admit, walking through the front door has always been breathtaking for me. Anyone that enters into the foyer will be greeted by staircases leading up to the circular balcony of the second floor twin staircases going up to the second floor. Hanging from the ceiling, looking down between the stairs is a large and beautiful chandelier. Keeping to the right and passing through a few rooms will bring the guest to the indoor pool. Trust me, it's hard to miss.

Or alternatively visitors can walk straight through the entrance, ignore the stairs and pass beneath the chandelier to enter the large room where the thirty foot tall stone fireplace stands tall and proud. The novelties of this house couldn't possibly end there. A three car garage, a  spiral staircase, the three car garage, library, and self serve bar can all be found there with a little searching. But of course, the stonework has to be mentioned again.

The stonemasons that were contracted took over a year to finish all of their superb work on the house. There is one other section of stonework that is even grander than the thirty-feet-plus tall fireplace. In the back of the house is an outdoor eating area with a barbecue. All made with stone.

This sort of home is far from unique in the States. In places like Maryland and Virginia, many of the not-so-royal colonials live with a class and taste not so different from the Dukes and Duchesses of the United Kingdom. And I was surrounded by this luxury every day on the job.

“Fiona. We are heading out now.” Came an old motherly voice. It belonged to the lady of the house. She and her husband were leaving for some social event in D.C. for the next two days.

I stopped my current chore of cleaning the bar area and moved towards the front door. I opened the door as the elderly couple reached the bottom of the staircase. I know it sounds absurd to most people but I'd like to think they are the closest thing the United States could get to it's own nobility without going back two hundred fifty years.

“I hope you enjoy your flight, Mister. and Misses Crane.” Their limo was waiting outside for them. The driver had opened the door for them in the back.

“Thank you Fiona. Watch over the house while we are gone.”

“Certainly, Misses Crane.”

They both got settled in the back of the limo while the driver shut the car door and returned to the driver’s seat. I returned inside to finish dusting the bar. Me and the four maids, sorry. The four other maids and myself continued about our chores in our master’s absence. Master Crane’s new books were sorted for the library and his personal study, and the chemical and PH levels in the pool were checked.

The day proved to be uneventful… Until the flock of wild turkeys showed up and took residence out behind the house in the BBQ area. I rounded up the other girls and the five of us chased the birds away with mops, brooms and anything else we could come up with to overcome the fowl situation.

Laugh, damn it. That was a good one!

Anyways, after cleaning the mess left by the turkeys and finishing our assigned chores, the house looked  perfect. Neither Kiki nor Shog could have done better if I say so myself. With all that out of the way, I called it a day and dismissed the other maids. Even though the living space on the third floor was for maids, I was the only one that lived on site. The masters of the house said they could take tomorrow off but wanted me to keep an eye on things while everyone was gone.

That was a bummer but what can you do? I was new to Maryland so I didn't have any family in the area and I didn't really have time to make friends yet. So all in all, there wasn’t much for me to do anyways. If nothing else, I could swim in the pool, read books, make myself a drink at the bar, take a nice relaxing soak in one of the three master bathrooms. You know what? Who needs a day off from a job like that? Especially since a storm was coming in an hour or two. I could already see the nasty looking black clouds far off in the distance. It was best to stay in for the night.

I did a final check around the house, put my maid uniform in the wash, and got into something more comfortable. For those of you who are wondering, “something more comfortable” meant a loose University T-shirt and Pink pajama bottoms. Then I took the elevator up to the maid living area on the third floor. The wash load wouldn’t be done for another twenty minutes so I passed the time doing a little research on the web. My future needed a serious jump start. What, do you think I wanted to be a maid my whole life? Lets be real, this wasn't exactly the career plan I had in mind when I got my degree in computer science.

But drowsiness hit me like a freight train while I was in the middle of navigating through some tech firm website. Foolishly thinking I could overcome the sleep was a big mistake. I passed out and the next thing I remember was the roar of thunder that came crashing in. I jolted up from the bed as the house shook from the wave.

The house still had power and the hallway outside the room was still lit gave just enough visibility. I felt disoriented as I looked around for my phone. It wasn't on the bed where my foggy mind figured it should be. It wasn't on the end table beside the bed either. Then my confusion got worse as I realized the bed was much larger than the one I slept on. I grew more alert as realization set in.

It wasn't the maids quarters. That was a bedroom on the second floor.

I went into the master bath and turned on the faucet, cupped some water in my hands and slashed my face. Only after did I notice that my clothes had been changed. My T-shirt and Victoria's Secret PJ bottoms were gone. Replaced by a beautiful white dress. I was bewildered to say the least! I could only rationalize that what I was experiencing at that moment was a dream.

Well, if that's true, then I still haven't woken up yet even after all this time. But I'll get back to that later. For now lets focus on the story.

I should have known better. Warning sirens should have been blaring in my head. But everything felt so surreal. As mentioned before, I had quickly passed all of this off as just a dream. Even so, I still didn't leave the faucet running. Didn't want Poseidon getting angry at me for wasting water in a thunder storm.

After patting my face dry with a towel, I got to see what the dream had provided. The beautiful white dress looked gorgeous. For a moment, I was sad that I wouldn't get to wear it once I finally woke up. My hair had also been done up as if I was going to be attending some grand ball. I'm usually not big into hair accessories but the crystal butterfly hairpin was a nice touch. There wasn't much left to do in bedroom so I decided to explore the rest of the house. I distinctly remember wishing to find a Hakutaku in the library.

I've always been into mythology and humored the thought that learning the secrets of creation from a wise ox might look good on a resume. But I was stopped as I approached the library. A figure turned the corner and stood in my way.

“Ah, I see milady was awoken from her slumber.” The man's voice was alluring. In fact his whole appearance was attractive to my eyes. He stood at five foot nine and appeared to be in his twenties. He had black hair that looked wild yet somehow had a well maintained appearance. He was wearing a butler uniform as well. The Crane's didn't have any butler in their employ but I was starting to wish they did. The only thing about him that looked out of place were his eyes. They were golden and radiated with desire.

“Oh my,” I said, unable to hide my surprise and enthusiasm. “What are you doing here?” I questioned him. Without missing a beat, the lust filled voice gave it's answer.

“I am here to attend to your every need, Milady Fiona.” He raised his white gloved hand to his heart and gave a bow. The man had a charming aura to his presence.

Then something caught my eye. A black, hairless tail flicked out from behind the butler. The tail ended with a spade shaped point. Definitely a dream.

“Are you supposed to be some sort of incubus?”

“I am indeed.” He answered. The man certainly seemed to relieved that I picked up on what was going on.

“Is there a Hakutaku in the library?”

“I'm afraid not, Milady.”

“What about Elves?”

“We are alone for the night.”

“No Minotaur in the basement?”

“The estate doesn't have a basement.”

Damn. I thought lucid dreams were supposed to bend to the person's will. I mulled what to do in my head for a moment before giving him a command.

“Very well, Incubus. Can you go prepare a bath for me?”

He knelt down like a gentlemen and held his hand out for me. I caught onto what he was doing and gave him my hand. The Incubus gave it a kiss.

“It would be my delight, milady Fiona.” The demonic butler stood up and proceeded with haste towards the bedroom I had just left. “I shall call for you when it is ready.”


Act 2 Fancy Act Name Not Available Please Contact Local Administrator's Office


Things had gone smoothly enough but Calvin and his wife couldn't take too many risks. Just last  month, one of their business partners was about to expose everything. Kunoichi were promptly sent in to subdue the employees, secure any relevant files from the data farm and all paperwork, and apprehend the son of a bitch that was going to blow the whistle. Two weeks later, a Dragon Zombie had found it's way through a previously undiscovered rift to Earth and ran amok.

The incident was taken care of, sure. The cover story that they used worked on local authorities and the  investigation didn't reveal anything suspicious. Unfortunately, this didn't stop Coast to Coast radio and all the other idiots that dabble in conspiracy theories from telling stories about demons being recovered by federal authorities. And all because a certain Incubus couldn't fly strait in a storm.

He was supposed to convince the Dragon to return with him through the rift. Well she returned at the promise of a husband. But the Incubus never made it. He was found the next day, an ambulance was called; so was the FBI. They didn't know what to do so the peons took him to their new headquarters in D.C. until the they could figure out what they had. Well, what they had was a very important partner to the Cranes. One with extensive knowledge into every business venture they had on Terra. Getting him out from the Bureau's clutches without being suspect meant moving mountains but it wasn't impossible.

Both Mister and Misses Crane were guilty of calling in favors to ensure the man's escape. The only catch was that he had to remain out of sight at their estate in Maryland until they could move him back to Terra. Until then the couple would enjoy their time at the charity event in the capital.

They were until Calvin's smartphone began ringing. The man cursed under his breath and answered it.

“You know this isn't a good time.” He told the man on the other end.

“I know, I just wanted to check on how things are going...”

“Why are you whispering? Is everything alright?” His wife looked at him. He tried to hide the growing sense of fear but he couldn't hide it from her.

“Yeah, yeah yeah. Everything's fine.” He was still whispering. “Everything is going good.”

“Tyler what the hell is going on over there?” Calvin was trying to keep calm but the growing sense of dread made that difficult. The fact that his business associate fugitive didn't answer right away also didn't help. The only thing that could be heard was the sounds of Fiona screaming. “Tyler?”

“Hey listen, I gotta go. Your maid is trying to kill me.”

“When I find you I'll-!” Fiona's screaming was cut short as the call was ended on the other end.