The Maids of the Mansion

As I stood at the gates of the colossal mansion, I couldn't help but reflect on how I got here. My training to become a maid was grueling, but I persevered and finally succeeded. I suppose a boy wanting to be a maid is a bit strange, but I'm still amazed at how much competition I had. All the other graduate boy-maids found positions elsewhere, but only I was chosen to apply for this position. Does that mean I was the best maid? Or was I simply the most subservient? I had to laugh a bit as I wondered.

Showing my paperwork to security, I was ushered inside. The mansion felt even more imposing inside than out. Its halls were so ornate and pristine, it felt like the palace of a royal family. There were probably as many rumors about the mansion's master as the mansion had rooms, and seeing it myself, I had to wonder if any of them were true. After a short wait in the foyer under the close eye of a guard, I suddenly heard the sound of high heels echoing in the halls. With the sheer size of the house, I couldn't tell which direction it was coming from, but I knew it was drawing closer. Suddenly, when it was at it's closest, it stopped. That's when I spun around and saw her.

Her face was perfectly still, frozen in a gentle expression with just a slight smile. Her large, glass like eyes stared forward, unwavering, as they locked onto my gaze. Her face was sculpted into a perfectly delicate and feminine doll like appearance. It was the first time I had seen a mask like this in person, and it made my heart pound to look at it. She clasped her hands together, and bowed her head to me properly. As I watched her lavender hair roll gently over her shoulders, I snapped to attention and bowed to her as well. I was so stunned, it was as if I had forgotten all my maid training.

"The maid will escort you to the briefing room. Please follow her" the guard said, breaking the silence. "The staff there will instruct you further from there on."

With a gentle sweep of her hand, the masked maid gestured for me to follow as we proceeded down a seemingly endless hall. With each distinct click of her heels against the marble floors, the sound echoed in my thoughts. I couldn't help but watch her as she moved. With impeccable grace, she glided like a dancer in a ballet. Her uniform swished and swayed as she moved, stuffed with black and white frills, lace, and petticoats, but it was so clean and immaculate it practically glistened on her. That's when I noticed her skin, or what was on her skin rather. Under her clothes she seemed to be wearing some kind of skin tight suit, tight as though it were painted onto her. It wasn't shiny enough to be latex, but it didn't look like any fabric I recognized.

As we walked, I began to feel somewhat nervous around her. Could she tell I was looking at her? I was trained never to let the presence of an imposing figure interfere with my emotions, and yet I felt my emotions swell as I followed this beautiful walking doll. With a clack of her heels she suddenly stopped, and I only just barely avoided colliding with her as I snapped to attention yet again. She had turned to face a door with sign that simply said "Handler's Office", then approached it and knocked.

"Come in" a voice called from inside.

The maid opened the door for me and escorted me inside, where I was met with a room that looked like it didn't belong. In contrast to the Victorian palace like decor of the rest of the mansion, this room seemed like a medical office on a spaceship. Dotted with huge monitors and strange machines, utility lights and metal shelving, it was a jarring change of scenery. A woman behind a desk dressed in a uniform that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi movie stood and greeted me.

"Thank you Nineteen, that will be all" she said to the doll faced maid. And with that, the maid bowed to her and left, closing the door on her way out.

Of all the rumors about this mansion and it's master, it seemed the tales of him being eccentric were right, to say the least.

"So, you must be the star graduate the academy spoke of. Please, have a seat" she said to me, as a strange box emerged from the front of her desk and unfolded into a high tech looking chair. "I must admit, you're not quite what I expected".

"Well, I'm not exactly in maid-mode at the moment. But I stand by my scores at the academy" I replied. We made some small talk as we talked about my desire to become a maid, and my scores during my training. Though I answered as clearly as I could, my mind was focused elsewhere. When there was finally a break in the conversation, I spoke up

"Excuse me, I have to ask. The maid that showed me to this room..."

"Beautiful, isn't she?" she replied before I could say anything else. "I know what you must be wondering, and to answer your question; yes. That is the position you are here to apply for."

My heart jumped into my throat as I heard that.

"Our master is, well, very particular about the maids we employ here. Only maids of the highest caliber are employed, and even then they must meet certain criteria. If you are as good as the academy claims, you may very well meet that criteria."

Though I did my best to look calm and composed, my hands were shaking at the thought. Was that maid like me? Were all the maids here the same way? Could I really be a maid like that? I had to know. I needed to know.

What followed over the next several days was a punishing battery of tests and challenges. Each day I was pushed to the limits of my training as a maid, as I had to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could not only clean and maintain the mansion like a professional and serve its staff and guests with five star service, but also conduct myself with feminine poise and grace while doing it. Points were gouged off for the slightest missteps, as the conditions were impossibly high. It was hard enough just completing the challenges, but doing so while wearing their full maid regalia made it all the harder. By the end, my feet radiated pain from the high heels, and my muscles ached like I had lost the fight of my life. I was given a week to recuperate, then was asked to return to the mansion.

This time, a different maid came to escort me to the handler's office. Though her uniform was identical, her mask was unique. She had wide bright eyes and a playful smile, complimented by a bouncy green bob cut hairstyle. She looked whimsical, yet still so regal in her black and white uniform. It was subtle, but even her movements were bouncy and light compared to the delicate and subtle movements of the other maid. Again, she escorted me into the same room as before, where the woman I met with previously waited.

"Thank you Twenty-Two, that will be all".

And with a cute curtsey, the maid left.

"The master was very impressed with your performance. You should know he was watching your every step" said the woman with a small smile. "Would you like to learn a bit about the advanced suits our maids wear?"

I searched her face for more information, but after a brief silence I simply said "I'd love to".

As we ventured through a mechanical door, she lead me into what looked like a science lab. Crowded with complicated and expensive looking equipment, it reminded me of something from a spy movie. At least a dozen more women dressed in the same sleek future uniforms as hers tinkered with a dozen strange machines around the room.

"We are called the handlers, and our job in this mansion is to build and maintain the special suits and masks worn by the maids employed here. I'm sure you noticed not just the masks, but the skin hugging suits under their uniforms as well."

Along one wall were several feminine mannequins adorned with flesh colored bodysuits, each in a slightly different hue and no two exactly the same size or build. I couldn't help but feel a bit bashful looking at them.

"Each is made from a special polymer that we make right here in the mansion. Tailored to fit their wearers perfectly, they not only include padding and shaping in specific spots to enhance the wearer's feminine appearance, but also provide pressure and stimulation to the wearer's muscles and organs, maximizing their performance and minimizing fatigue and muscle strain."

My eyes traced over the mannequins as some of the handlers inspected them, making adjustments on machines hooked up to their displays.

"A maid in this suit wouldn't easily feel the pain and fatigue you did last week," she continued, "it allows them to go beyond their limits as a maid. It's also designed to protect the health of the maid. It shields against toxic substances, useful when working with various cleaning agents, and is highly resistant to both fire and cutting or piercing, excellent for maids working in the kitchen. Don't think that gives them the luxury of slacking on the job of course."

"No, of course not" I replied, as my head began to swim with thoughts of wearing such a strangely high tech suit under my maid's dress.

"Most importantly, these suits represent my latest advancements in nano-engineering. They automatically clean the wearer's body of dirt, grime, dead skin cells, and other impurities, in order to facilitate long term wear."

"Long term?" I asked. As I thought about what she just said, I began to wonder about something. "How long term are these suits designed to be worn?"

She turned and gave me reassuring smile. "Let's go back to my office, we have much to discuss."

As she sat at her desk, she placed two items on the desk. One was a large box, the other was a stack of papers held together with a metal clip.

"There are several reasons so few are considered for employment as a maid in our mansion. It is quite an undertaking unlike any other job, even in the service industry."

As I began to examine the employment contract closely, something shocking caught my attention.

"Once I put on the suit, it can't be removed!?"

"Well, yes and no. When worn together, the bodysuit and mask form an enclosed environment that is designed to remain on 24-7. The suit and mask lock together, and cannot be removed until the maid's employment period as defined by the contract is up. That's another important role we handlers perform here at the mansion. We not only perform regular maintenance on the suits, but tend to and ensure the comfort, safety, and health of the maids themselves as they remain in them."

"It says here that I won't be able to speak when it's on?"

"Eating and breathing are done through a special tubing system that connects your throat and nostrils to the mask. The upside is that it filters the air you breath, ultimately improving your lung functions, but unfortunately renders you unable to speak."

"How long exactly do they want to lock me into one of these things?"

"The contract they're offering you is initially for six months."

My breath stopped. I felt like everything in my body stopped. An entire six months, locked in a costume and unable to say a word? I had wanted to be a maid more than anything, but this was a world I was not prepared for.

"I understand this all sounds rather frightening right now. But please be assured that the maid suits are designed with the wearer's full comfort in mind. You will also be earning a wage that I am told is more than compensation enough for the dedication."

Once again, I was shaking. The idea of spending a whole six months voluntarily trapped and helpless behind a mask shook me to my core. In the grand scheme of things, six months may not be long, but in this moment it felt like a lifetime.

"Of course, you don't need to decide right now. We implore you to take some more time to read through your contract and think it over in detail. The work may be hard, but we take great care of our maids here, and the maids take care of each other."

As I was just about ready to leave, she told me she had one last thing to show me. I had nearly forgotten about the large box from before as she reached over to it and grabbed a handle on the top. With a pull, she lifted the top of the box up, revealing a maid's mask on a small stand.

With its big round eyes, it stared up at me from the desk. They were such a brilliant blue color, they gazed right into me. Its cheeks were a dainty rosy color, and its lips had a girlish pout painted with a faint hint of lip gloss. Its hair was a pastel pink, and it wafted out of the box like unrolling a length of silk. I was transfixed. As much as I wanted to leave, I suddenly couldn't move.

"This is to be your mask, should you decide to accept. The master designed it himself just for you."

I couldn't describe the feeling in my chest, I only knew I had to leave. I told her I needed time to think. With that, she pressed a button on her desk to summon a maid, and in moments, the maid I met originally appeared to escort me out. Once again, I followed the maid called Nineteen down the long endless hall, this time back to foyer. Nineteen, they don't even have names, I thought. I wondered if this maid was truly happy in this job, or if she was suffering under her suit. Was she going crazy in that mask? It was all too much to process.

Just as we arrived at the front door and I reached for the door to leave, the maid Nineteen suddenly grabbed my hand. I turned around to look at her, as she gently grasped my hand with both of hers, and then slowly placed it on her chest. And in that moment, I felt the beating of her heart. It was fast, like she was excited, and it was pounding, like mine was when I first met her. Suddenly she leaned into me, bringing her face close to mine. With the door behind me, I couldn't back away as she caught me by surprise.  With a quick tilt of her head, she pressed her lips to mine. They were rigid and felt like plastic, but unexpectedly warm against mine. After a few moments, she pulled away, and waved to me as she walked away, her heels clicking against the marble floor.

It was a full two weeks this time before I returned to the mansion. This time I didn't wait for the maid, and I made my own way to the handler's office, much to the guard's annoyance. I walked in and laid the signed contract on the handler's desk, and with that I simply said "Okay".

"Okay" she replied with a smile.

The preparations for my indoctrination as a maid were many. Building my suit was no small task, but first I had to be prepared. I felt almost like I was being baptized as I was dipped into a strange bath of chemicals, removing the hair from my body. In order to ensure a perfect fit and no chance of discomfort, I couldn't have any hair on my body or head. Even my eyelashes had to go. Feeling like a hairless cat, I had to swallow my embarrassment as every inch of me was then carefully measured, sized, scanned, and analyzed in order to create a perfectly crafted body suit that would cover every inch of me. From creases around my elbows to every individual finger and toe, it needed to fit better than my own skin.

And did it ever. A special machine applied it to my body, like it was somehow being peeled off in reverse. It gripped and squeezed and pulled against bit of my body, but soon settled on me, forming a perfect layer of tightness all around every part of me except my face. When I was brought before a mirror by the handlers, I couldn't help but admire how good I looked. My waist had never been so thin, my hips had never been so curvy. And yet despite the pressure on my abdomen I had no trouble breathing. My heart was starting to pound again, as I felt it stretch against my movement.

The next step in the process was inserting the breathing and feeding tubes. This was the part I was dreading. They detailed the process in the contract, and I read about it in detail, but it made it no less comforting to anticipate. As I sat in the large medical chair in the middle of small room, the lead handler was there to comfort me.

"Listen," she said as she placed her hand on my face. "This is the worst part, but I swear it's only a moment of fear before it subsides. Let me tell you, though all the staff here serve the master of the house, I think of the maids here as mine, first and foremost. I tend to them, and I promise you I will take good care of you as well."

Her hand was warm, and the tone of her voice was almost motherly. I steeled my nerves and told her I was ready to proceed as I reclined back in the medical chair. Despite her reassurance, I couldn't bring myself to watch the tubes slide into my mouth and nose, but I winced as I felt them lodge themselves into me. In that moment, I could feel her hand on mine, and after a few moments of panic and fighting the urge to choke, suddenly my body relaxed and I could breathe freely again. Just as she said, it passed, and I could now only slightly feel the tubes in place.

"Now, it's time for the final step."

My eyes had watered from the last step, but as my vision cleared, I saw her bring the mask over to me on a rolling tray. It was separated into three parts; the front and back halves of the mask, and the hair that would attach last. Carefully, she lifted my head and placed the back half under it. As it cradled my head I could hear the sound of tiny motors whirring, and a buzzing around the base of my neck told me it was connecting itself to the bodysuit. She held up the face of the mask, holding it so I could see inside. It was unlike any mask I had ever seen. Inside was all manner of technology. Screens behind the eyes that I would soon be seeing through, a connector of some sort behind the mouth that no doubt locked together with the tubes, special seals to enclose parts of my face, high tech padding to cushion and soften wearing it. And all along the edge of the mask were tiny metal hooks, designed to latch onto something.

"Alright, this is the final step. You see the micro-latches here? Once I press the two halves of the mask together, they will lock into place, securing the mask completely. As you can see, there is no release mechanism on either the inside or outside. We build these masks ourselves, and we can dismantle them when the time comes, but as the contract states, that won't be for a while."

"This is your last chance to change your mind. I know you can't speak right now, but if you're having any second thoughts or want to reconsider, show me a thumbs down gesture. I'll remove your tubing and suit and we can step back from this whole thing. But if you're still sure you want to be a maid here, show me a thumbs up and we'll proceed."

As I looked her in the eyes, I could hear my breath whistling through the breathing tube. I took one more look around the room at nothing in particular as I thought it over one last time. I thought one last time about my training at the maid academy, about all the challenges I overcame to get here, the excitement I felt learning about the maids, and about the kiss I shared with Nineteen. I took a deep breath, and gave her a solid thumbs up.

As she slid the mask over my face, everything went dark as I listened to the array of clicks and clacks indicating the mask locking itself together. As it echoed around me, it reminded me of the familiar click of Nineteen's heels against the marble floor. It pressed against my face, sealing itself around my eyes and mouth, then with a quick hum, the mask sprang to life and I could see clearly again through new eyes just in time to see my new light pink bangs drape over my field of view.

"Welcome to the mansion, Twenty-Seven. Let's get you into your dress and apron, you have a busy day ahead of you. The master is waiting for you."