Veronica Williams stared at the ceiling of the guest bedroom. It was four in the morning, but even after a day of moving and checking on a number of job applications sleep would not come to her. She had about an hour before the maids would be awake, and shortly after she’d be served breakfast in bed. She had hoped to sleep in, but she didn’t want to feel rude by telling them not to disturb her. It wasn’t like she was getting much sleep anyway.

It wasn’t that she had no appreciation for her new arrangement and being tended to. It was that she wasn’t sure what to feel. Her best friend Elias knew she was struggling despite not telling her own parents or siblings, and while she didn’t want to feel like she was begging him for help she had nowhere else to turn. She knew he wouldn’t judge her, and disappointing her own family wasn’t something she wanted to face. This guest bedroom was nicer than any hotel room she could afford, and far nicer than her family home. Elias was also nice enough to allow her to stay indefinitely, at least as long as she was looking for a job, and even if she couldn’t afford her apartment anymore she could afford to keep her things in storage for awhile since he didn’t expect her to pay rent. She still couldn’t help but feel like a mooch. Worse, she felt like a failure. She couldn’t take care of herself, despite her best efforts, while all of her friends seemed to be finding their place in the world.

Elias Porter III had it all. A mansion, a private plane, a number of assets his parents had placed under his control when they deemed he, his brother Lucas, and his sister Evelyn were ready to take control of the family empire. He’d even managed to make a fortune on his own in college. Whether a stroke of luck or a handful of smart moves, Veronica could still remember when he’d made a few million off of a small business he’d started and some digital money stuff she didn’t understand. She could have accepted his offer to get in on either early on but he’d been a straight A student their entire lives, and attended an Ivy League school. In that time she had struggled through community college. She didn’t want to drag her friend’s work down, and so she watched from the sidelines, while he proved himself worthy of his family’s empire. As he reached new heights she struggled to find steady work. She also watched from the sidelines as he married Sabrina. Sabrina Porter, formerly Smith, could have been a model. Instead she chose to work in the financial sector. Maybe that was why Elias never made a move with Veronica. She thought he’d just never noticed her feelings for him, but maybe she wasn’t worthy like Sabrina was. Sabrina made smart decisions. Veronica couldn’t find herself making a decision at all most days. They were both everything she felt she wasn’t. Rich, hot, intelligent, charismatic, powerful, imaginative, motivated, the list could go on. Veronica had long black hair that was somewhat unruly, and thought her brown eyes to be dull. She felt average at best in the looks department, and certainly didn’t feel even close to average when it came to intelligence or ability. Sabrina, on the other hand, had the most beautiful and well maintained blonde hair and blue eyes Veronica had ever seen. Not only that, but she was model material and could have any man she desired, while Veronica struggled with dating. Elias had black hair as well, paired with green eyes and an authoritative yet relaxed demeanor which made even the lowest of his employees both comfortable and obedient.

Veronica had noticed how his underlings behaved towards him. Not just the maids, but the employees in what were now his businesses. The Porters were one of the big family names in their city, going back to its founding, and their status was on par with nobility. When his parents passed their empire down upon his earning of his degree it was the biggest story of the year, with some wondering if he was experienced enough, but a few years later and his portion of his family’s kingdom was more profitable than ever. He held a number of businesses and real estate on the north side of the city. Some of his employees even rented from him, as they had from his family in the past. This was such a well documented phenomena in this city that those who did so were often called serfs by those who had more independence. His older sister Evelyn was in the same position, but her territory was on the south side of the river which bisected the city. His older brother and the oldest of the three, Lucas, held a similar position in another city roughly an hour away. Elias, Veronica’s best friend and the first friend she’d ever made, was like a King and he was only 26 years old. At 26 Veronica couldn’t even find a stable job, or decide what she actually wanted to do with her life. She recalled her mother sobbing when she told her how badly she’d been doing in her college classes a few years ago. “You don’t want to end up like one of the Porter family’s glorified serfs do you? You’ll end up in one of their factories, spending half your monthly pay to live in a trailer park next door to your workplace.” 

As her thoughts lingered she heard a knock at the door. She hadn’t even noticed the daylight creeping into the windows, or that it was now six in the morning. 
“Come in” she said, in the friendliest tone of voice she could create at this time of day.
Immediately a maid entered. She couldn’t believe it but she knew this maid. Brianna had actually been a member of their friend group growing up, back when she was called Jeremy. Elias and Sabrina had made her an offer that she couldn’t pass up a couple of years ago. Previously Brianna had continued to live with her parents to save money, but when she came out they weren’t fond of her new identity. The deal? Elias and Sabrina needed more staff, and Brianna would save money by becoming a live in domestic employee. Not only that, but they’d pay for her full transition. “Is she working to pay them back?”Veronica thought, but didn’t want to ask. She hadn’t even seen Brianna in a couple of years. Instead she just smiled as Brianna entered with a polite curtsey and wheeled in a cart of food. She waited for permission before setting a tray across Veronica’s lap and serving the meal. It felt odd to be served by her friend, but she assumed Elias thought it would be more comfortable than a stranger. Maybe they could finally catch up. 

     Brianna stood aside as Veronica ate. Her uniform was made for service rather than show. A plain black dress made to withstand cleaning products, spills, food, any number of things a maid may have to deal with, and a suitable white apron and maids cap. The dress went down to just above the knee, and she wore white stockings with black flats. The uniform was kept in pristine condition. It seemed the staff here took pride in their work and being a reflection of the home. She stood with her hands folded behind her, straight as a ruler, eyes straight ahead rather than linger on anyone. Veronica’s focus, however, landed on the thick metallic collar Brianna wore. She was nervous to ask, and didn’t want to pry, but wanted to speak to her friend. So jokingly she snapped her fingers while saying “hello? Earth to Brianna?”

With the snap of Veronica’s fingers, Brianna instantly snapped to attention, turning to Veronica and giving an immediate bow, followed by a “yes Miss Williams?” Veronica giggled. “You can call me Veronica you know, we are friends, even if we haven’t seen each other in awhile. Life gets busy, and I know you work a lot, but to me we’re as close as ever. Do you like this job?”

“Yes Miss Williams. I love serving my Master and Mistress.” Her tone was filled with devotion, though her physical demeanor was  void of any noticeable emotion in the form of body language. 

“Does he make you call him that? Not allowed to use first names?” Veronica wondered, finding it a little jarring.

“Miss Williams, please understand, Master appreciates the art of service and its formalities. I am not to use first names with my superiors. Even with you I have been given clear orders to serve you as I would serve Master or Mistress.” she stated, her voice now monotone.

”but, you’re friends. All three of us are, Brianna, or has he just done so much for you that you feel that way about him now? Discover something you enjoy? I’m not judging, everyone has their thing” Veronica grinned. She half expected Brianna to show some shock, or to be offended, just something beyond this mechanical Brianna she was seeing. Brianna, however, showed no emotion save for her tone of voice. Her voice carrying a sense of unwavering loyalty to Elias, she explained: “Master has done more than I could ever hope to repay him for. It is true that we were friends, almost as long as you two have been, but as he and Mistress have taken this role in my life and as they have taken such good care of me our bond has changed. There is still a strong bond between us, but he is more than my friend. He is my Master and I am his maid. It is different than it used to be, Miss Williams, but it is what was always meant to be.”

Veronica wasn’t sure what to say to this, and decided to tap her now half full glass of water. She’d seen that done in movies, and had seen the Porter family tap on their glasses before for refills. She wasn’t sure why other than wanting to see what would happen. Brianna instantly responded again, silently fetching a pitcher of water from the cart and refilling Veronica’s water before returning to her position to await further instruction. Veronica found this somewhat amusing, albeit strange, but Brianna seemed happy at least. 

Roughly half past seven in the morning, Brianna had since cleaned up and left to go about a few tasks she’d been given, but had given Veronica a device with a button in case she needed anything else until she returned. Apparently, Brianna had been assigned to tend to her during her stay here. Brianna was to treat Veronica as if she were her Mistress during her stay, as long as her orders did not contradict those of Elias or Sabrina. She was happy to see her friend again, and it wasn’t as awkward as she’d expected when she first walked in, but she couldn’t help but think about how strange it was. Brianna had become a proper maid. Like the maids the family had always had. Not only was she attentive, uniformed, and quiet. She was unquestioningly obedient. It was strange to see, because she’d always been a rebel. A bit of a kind hearted trouble maker in their school days, fronting a punk band, and always ranting about authority and “the man,” how had she become this? She always got along with Elias extremely well, despite their difference in status, but Brianna was now serving the powerful and wealthy business tycoon Elias had become. In a way Brianna had become the bootlicker she’d always criticized. Not only that, but Brianna seemed hold a slavish devotion to Elias and Sabrina. The way she responded to that finger snap? She seemed trained. Not trained in the employee sense of the word, simply knowing what your duties are and how to perform them properly, but trained in a far deeper way. Something hard wired into her, conditioned, automatic like “a slave.” Veronica said aloud, thinking of the collar, but shook her head before getting her laptop out of her bag. “Come on Veronica. We have to look for a new job. Can’t just mooch off of our best friend.”