Katarina Gets Kidnapped

There were about a million different things that Katarina would rather be doing, as opposed to sitting in a dark and dank room. Among them was some good old farming, hoeing dirt under the shining and blazing rays of the sun, getting her vitamins and exercise in a way that didn't make her want to cease existing rapidly.

Sighing, Katarina continued to dig with her spoon at the wall. For some reason, they kept replacing the person who brought her meals, which meant she could never have a proper conversation.

"After all, it's rude to not know anything about the person you're talking to, right?" she explained, poking the wall a little. "Besides, you've all got such interesting stories to tell, oh, by the way, did Mister Karl talk to his mother?"

Her watcher, an one eyed woman with a scarred face and a heavy cloak that covered most of her body, sighed. "Yes. Yes he did. And that's why we're cycling people here now."

"Well, that's good at least," Katarina replied, simply going back to poking at the wall. "Why are you guys keeping me here anyway?"

"DId- did no one actually tell you?" the woman asked.

"Well, Mister Sandieu was about to tell me but then he was cycled out and you came here," Katarina pointed out.

"Useless, everyone is useless," the woman complained. "Right. The royal family ruffled quite a few feathers when Prince Geordo insisted on the engagement," the woman explained. "We're not here to hurt you at all, we have nothing against you, but your family has made quite a few enemies, little girl."

Katarina hummed. She couldn't imagine that a ducal family would manage to hold onto their power without making at least a handful of enemies, and she knew that being Prince Geordo's fiancée came with a lot of problems on its own. So she didn't doubt it. "Oh ok. But what about you?"

"What about me?" the woman replied in turn. "We're mercenaries, we do what we're told, when we're told to do it," she said. "Nothing personal, kid," she said, waving her hand, "Just business."

"Oh, okay," Katarina spoke. "Just- what are you guys going to do when my family comes to get me?"

"What makes you think they will?" the woman asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Not to brag, but we planned this perfectly. You gave us an opening, but everything else... we made sure there were no traces."

Katarina hummed. "Yeah, well, you guys didn't cover your tracks anywhere near as well as I usually do when I'm trying to flee from Tanya, and so far, I've never managed to remain hidden for long," she explained. "You really should return me before something bad happens to us all."

"Don't you mean something bad happening to us?" the woman asked with a chuckle.

"No. No I don't," Katarina said, looking at the mostly destroyed spoon in her hands.

She felt it into her very bones. And right then, at that moment, she could only imagine that her demon of a maid must've been thinking... yeah, she was definitely thinking about how much of an idiot-

- I am!!

Again! I took my eyes off of milady for just one moment, just to give a report, and she gets kidnapped right from my protection! 

"There is no time for self recrimination or pitying," I spoke, trying to project confidence I wasn't feeling. 

"But- but, Miss Tanya, you entrusted the lady to my care... and I couldn't so much as prevent a handful of thugs from taking her!" the maid spoke.

Anne Sherry was probably the only member of the staff I trusted with Katarina's care. She was about as attentive to the young miss as I was, and definitely the only one who had a better grasp of her emotional state and character than I did. Of all the staff, she was the only one who could predict her sometimes wild choices.

Undoubtedly, one of the most valuable employees in the household, purely for her ability to prevent me from dying from overwork just trying to keep up with Katarina. Also the emotional support that the young miss needed, but someone like me couldn't provide, owing to the myriad psychological complexes I was afflicted with.

I found myself cursing my twisted personality many a time, but luckily, in this world, one need not be an island.

"I will track them," I said, placing a hand on the maid's arm. She bore old injuries, scars from a fire, but more importantly, she bore new wounds. Scratches and a sprained ankle, but it was enough to send the Claes household into an uproar. Someone had infiltrated their lands, attacked one of their maids, and made off with the heiress.

But now... now was when I could offer a different kind of service. Present myself as having a different kind of value. In some ways, this was actually a chance to provide the Claes family with an even greater reason to keep myself in their employ.

"I'll take care of this," I said, nodding. I would leave the young maid in the Claes household's infirmary. The staff room was no place for the sick or injured after all. My steps almost echoed through the empty halls, and I finally reached the room I was looking for... Duke Claes was already moving, already approaching the Palace for their aid and response.

However, here at their home, the Lady Claes held the fort instead. And so I entered her study, met with a woman who could be as harsh and cold as ice, yet right now was almost incandescent with anger, almost glowing behind her desk in the dimly lit study. Letters and papers littered her desk. "This is my fault. Save your platitudes, Tanya- they waited until you were reporting to me, I created this opening."

"I will not deny that. There are methods that can be used to prevent this weakness from affecting us again," I explained, knowing that I would only offend her with any other response. "Ma'am- allow me to inquire-"

Milidiana Claes pulled one of her drawers open, and pulled a box from it, laying it on top of the table, a simple wooden box at that. She flicked her wrist, and the magic holding it closed broke, the box opening.

"This is-" my eyes opened wide as I lay eyes on the object within. 

"Exactly as you requested. It took many attempts, but we've succesfully recreated the tool you've asked for," she explained. "I was going to give it to you as a birthday present," she chuckled bitterly. "Will this serve?"

In the box, on a fancy looking cushion, was a rather simplistic but familiar looking weapon. A combat knife. Not the kind of knives that the people of this world used, but rather, the kind I was familiar with. The standard issue combat knife I was used to, guard and all, exactly as I'd drawn on the blueprint document I'd made. I'd planned to take it to a blacksmith, but...

"This will serve," I said, grabbing at the knife. "Then..." I closed my eyes. "Please, give the command."

"Tanya Degurechaff, please, find and rescue my daughter. We will take care of the clean up and the legalities. Use any and all methods within your reach..."

I nodded. "It shall be done. Please excuse me," I said, bowing as I'd been instructed, and quickly leaving the room.

When I got to the staff room, it didn't take me long to take off my maid outfit. The dress was designed for practicality, to put it on quickly and take it off quickly as well - part of me wondered if it was meant to be taken off quickly so the master of the house could take liberties - and that meant I could change into a more appropriate set of fatigues quickly.

Admittedly, I could not get a proper set of combat fatigues, but I'd managed to get something close enough, resistant and tough clothes that gave me good range of motion.

With the knife fastened to my belt, I set off. They had covered their tracks well, not left much to follow the kidnappers by... 

But luckily, there were quite a few tracks of Katarina. From the scent of the strong perfume she used to hide her body odor from working hard all day in her fields, to the traces of dirt and mud that was all over her at all times.

Tracking Katarina to where they had taken her would take a couple hours, but soon, I found the tracks of a carriage, and I followed it to a cottage in the outskirts of the city.

They had put hands on my mistress. They had risked her life, but more important of all, they had risked her mind getting jumbled. If they were rough with her, if they were to bump her head even a little too harshly...

The people who surrounded the Demon Maid of the Claes Household could almost feel the aura of bloodlust.

A group of guards had amassed, following the maid as she tracked the young lady.

Each and every one of them could feel the incredible pressure as she closed in on the kidnappers.

"If they so much as touched a single hair on my lady's head..." she muttered.

The soldiers shivered. 

The younger two princes of the Stuart family, Alan and Geordo, had insisted on coming along to the rescue of Katarina. Geordo had insisted that it was his duty as her fiancé and Alan had insisted it was his duty as a man. The reason why they had both been coming to the Claes Household when things happened...

Well, it was best not to think about it too much, lest rumors begin to spread.

Still..

"Ugh... how are you putting up with it? It feels like she might stab me at any time..!" Alan muttered, shivering as Death Itself marched steadily towards the stronghold of the enemy, where the future princess was kidnapped.

Geordo's smile was blank, there was nothing there.

"W-Wha... he's- he's passed out?!" Alan said, shivering. "For some reason, I almost feel sorry for the people who kidnapped Katarina..." he said.

They were going to be coming up to the house soon. They'd have to do this properly... Alan looked at the maid. She was in command of the whole operation, and the one soldier who had tried to assert his leadership as a Captain was quickly brought down to size.

Alan didn't have much in the way of interaction with the maid, but he understood now why Geordo said that Alan himself would never be the number one opponent when it came to the race for Katarina's heart... not with the bond that would turn someone as harmless as a maid into such a force of death and destruction..!

The less said about the path of violence she carved through the operation, the better. Both the princes wished they hadn't witnessed it.

It seemed like she'd deliberately allowed Alan and Geordo to greet Katarina first, to catch her in sequential hugs. As much as it pained Alan, he left her and Geordo alone, chasing after the maid. Short as the operation had been... it was brutal.

The maid was in a separate room from her mistress, arms crossed, standing over a woman, on her knees. She was well muscled and scarred, no doubt a mercenary of some repute, to have survived that many wounds.

To be able to withstand the pressure that Alan was feeling, even as he observed from the doorway into the room.

Katarina took in a deep breath. "My mistress would be upset," she said. "So you will keep this quiet," she added. "Your life as you knew it is over. Your associates' lives are over. Everything you knew, everything you loved, everything you care about - all of it is over," she explained. "You've got a family... parents? A husband? Brother. Little brother?" she spoke, clearly gauging reactions, "little brothers, plural. Your accent gives out your place of birth, you're trying to cover it but you're certainly from Sorcier," she explained. "Not too far from the capital either."

Alan was amazed. She was able to get that much just from gauging the reactions to each word?! He was aware of the concept of cold reading, but this was... way beyond what he imagined could be done, and she made it look so easy too!

The woman growled. "Stay away from my family-"

"We'll find them. What happens to them..." she said, "that's on you. Either we make them disappear into the countryside, set them up as servants in a noble family's household, or, ah, have them follow the same fate that's about to be fall you... will depend on how willing you are to turn on your employer."

The woman grit her teeth. 

"You've made a terrible mistake," Tanya said, raising her slightly bloodstained knife. "And this is the one chance you've got at fixing it."

"F-Fine. I'll talk," the woman said. "Just stay the fuck away from my family!"

"We'll make sure everybody else stays the fuck away from your family, per your own words," Tanya said. "Especially your former employer. Now speak."

What came next was the condemnation of a noble family, and Alan would serve as a witness... but he would never speak a word. Nobody would know about the tragedy that was about to befall an upstart count and his family. Alan could never tell anyone, not even his older brothers, about the truth. 

Only he, the demon maid, and the Duke and Duchess Claes, would know what had truly happened that day.

And Alan knew, whenever he saw that maid. That was what it meant to be loyal. That was what it meant to care about Katarina. Because he had thought that protecting her would just mean raising a sword arm in her defense, but this... this was what it truly meant to protect someone.

Not to take an attack for her, but to eliminate the source of the danger from the root.

Perhaps he, too, could learn from the maid, as his brother did.