Hiding in the Rain
When the torrential downpour came, the maids working in the manicured woods scattered. The summer rains had finally come to the planet Victory beating back the sticky heat. The storm came so fast that the only warning was the wind ripping through the branches and roar of the water.
For Henry Patton though, he was not so lucky. He had been deeper in the woods than normal and was trying to help clear out the overgrown section. The young Terran wanted to install a recreation area near the temple. The temple of Ala had been a fixture for some time and needed more visitors. Maevin had been proud of him for the idea.
When the rains came, Henry was dragging a rather large branch when the wind ripped at his loose shirt. The maid that was working with him, Xion, called out and the two made a sprint towards the only shelter near them. It was an kiosk of stone with a roof that spread out from the center pillar providing cover. The rock was smooth from the years of exposure. They hopped the two steps to get themselves off the ground that was fast turning soft and muddy.
Even for the speed that they ran, they both were soaked. Henry more than the Xaltean maid. Henry’s loose shirt was sticking to him while his trousers dripped water into his shoes. He looked like a wet cloth bag wrapped around a human. Xion hadn’t as much to worry about. She wore what resembled a swimsuit bottom and a metal band on her sternum that followed the contours of her breasts. She was a Harvester of the Sixth Order. He knew the utility band was magnetic and held on to her skin through a sort of bio-magnetic system. Xion was wearing nothing else. Henry had gotten used to the fact that most of the maids around him were topless. It took a bit but he was finally getting comfortable with it.
“You okay?” Henry asked as he sat down on the carved stone step of the kiosk glad the rock had retained the heat of the day.
“Out of breath,” she laughed as she began to ring the water out of her long, brown hair. “That came out of nowhere. Weather services failed again.”
“Something in common with humans then,” Henry added. “Ours are horrible at predicting weather too.”
She giggled again as she threw her wet hair over her shoulder with a splat. Before she could say anything else, the gauntlet on Henry’s wrist hummed and lit up. He tapped it knowing who was on the other end.
“Are you alright, master?” Mistress Maevin Maer’s voice came over the small speaker. “The maids said they hadn’t seen you when the storm started.”
“I was further in the woods clearing some brush,” Henry explained. “I’m under one of the kiosks out here. I’m not sure which…”
Xion spoke up at that point. “Northern rest two, mistress.”
There was a pause that lasted a lot longer than he would have thought.
“Xion is with you,” Maevin stated. It was not a question and her voice carrying a tone he did not recognize.
“Yeah. She was helping me move brush.”
“I’ll have a vehicle come pick you up and get you out of the rain.”
Henry shook his head even though Maevin couldn’t see it. “No, no. We’ll wait it out. We’re under cover and it’s a warm rain.”
“As you wish, my master,” she responded but there was that long pause again before Maevin continued. “Xion—”
“I understand, Mistress, and will uphold your expectations.”
The channel closed with no other word and Henry looked to Xion with confusion. There was mirth in her eyes.
“Did I miss something?”
“There are propriety and rules when it comes to the lord of the estate,” Xion said sitting down beside him. “Third Order maids and higher are the only ones allowed to be alone with their master. It is because they have proven their loyalty and safety. I am only a sixth order harvester. I have not proven to my Arch Maid that I am trusted.”
“Trusted? I don’t understand. You all have been really nice to me,” Henry responded, the confusion deepening.
Xion shook her head causing the dark curled framing her face to bounce. The rain was still falling heavily accentuating the security of their little hideaway.
“Oh, my master. You are so wonderfully naive. I wish the rest of the Houses could be like this,” She saw his face and so continued. “Would you feel so comfortable sitting with a maid from Black Forge Estate or House Irisik in general?”
The mention of the Estate and House that Blue Blossom was in a feud with made the realization of what she was saying.
“A lower ranking maid could be working with an opposing house. If I was with Irisik, I would have you where no one could rescue you.”
Henry Patton chuckled nervously. “You’re...not Irisik?”
Xion let out of a laugh of pure mirth, the smile that had been hiding in the corners of her mouth now covering her face. “How dare you insult me, My lord! I am loyal to you and House Avernell.”
Henry knew she was mock offended and relaxed. The two stared out into the rain. It came down creating a gray curtain where the green and brown obscuring the woods.
“Is it true your people hate us, master?”
Henry turned to look at her but Xion’s eyes were still looking out towards the trees. He had no idea where the question came from but he took a moment to think before responding.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said with a sigh. “I think Xalteans are misunderstood and that misunderstanding breeds fear. Do you think we hate you?”
“I used to,” she admitted, her brown eyes flicking over to him with a bit of uncertainty. “People used to say that humans were disgusting creatures who could not control themselves. People who would burn our worlds, steal our resources, and violate our bodies.”
Henry swallowed, not quite sure how to respondt but Xion quickly bowed her head when she saw the expression on his face. “I’m so sorry, Master!”
“Don’t be,” he responded forcing himself to let the tension go. “I think it’s things like this that keep our peoples from getting along. We had our own beliefs about your people too.”
“Like what?” she asked curious.
Henry stopped for a moment. Having grown up within the Innocentia, they had a lot more to say.
“I was told you all were wanton, decadent, freaks who only thought of their own pleasures.”
Xion turned again to him and for a minute, Henry was worried he said too much but her eyes were twinkling. “But some of us are wanton, decadent freaks.”
The young man laughed awkwardly and quipped. “I now see what Maevin’s concern was.”
Instead of being insulted, she gently patted him on the shoulder. “Your virtue is safe with me, my master.”
Henry looked out towards the rain that had become a soft cadence. For a moment, this place had begun to feel like home.
© 2018 – 2025 by Jonathan Snyder