~Dessa~

 Before she knew it, it was Friday, and Dessa was following Maggie to Mr. Talon's office to pick up her first paycheck. She had never entered his office the day that he hired her, and now that she was standing in it with Maggie, she was in awe. She decided instantly that if a modern-day wizard had an office, that it would look like Mr. Talon's. A huge desk of pure marble sat toward the far wall, and on top of it was a neat stack of wax-sealed envelopes - the exact same stationary that her job offer had come in. There were also several ink bottles, two different feathered quills, a red candle, and a copper stamp with a wooden hilt. Dessa didn't realize until that moment that the letter she received was handwritten. To know the script was formed by Mr. Talon himself, rather than a computer-generated calligraphy font, was unnerving and it seemed downright inhuman. 

To the right of the room, there was a cocktail table that served as a drink station. Dessa had only ever seen the rich people in movies have such things. She guessed that the richer you were, the more you wanted to drink and have others drink with you, so you needed a station on hand that could facilitate that kind of luxury. Dessa wasn't much of a drinker at all, but she had tried alcohol before, much to her aunt's dismay. On her 21st birthday, she nabbed some from under the kitchen sink, just to try it. She didn't really see the appeal until her aunt died. Then she could imagine what could drive people to want the stuff - to numb their emotions. Luckily, Mr. Talon did not offer them a drink, since they were just starting their shifts.

To the left of the room was an impressive altar of sorts with ancient-looking parchment scrolls, geodes of all different shapes, sizes and colors, obelisks, and clusters of raw crystals. They were strewn about in a much less organized way, but they were breathtaking nonetheless. There were framed oil paintings that adorned the walls, and each one depicted the same castle, but from different angles. It looked like the castle was a real building long ago, but it couldn't still exist somewhere today, given the strange, twisting angles of the structure that made it look like a lair for an evil villain in a cartoon. The creepy castle looked like it would have needed magic and pixie dust in order to hold it together enough to stand the test of time. If it did  exist somewhere in modern day, Dessa never wanted to visit that place. It was beautiful but frightening, and just looking at the paintings made her feel like she was having a nightmare. She hurried to drag her eyes away from them to study the intricately-patterned rug on the floor that might as well have been handmade with threads of silver and gold, for how expensive it looked. She felt guilty for standing on it with her grubby sneakers. 

Mr. Talon gave them both a warm greeting as he selected two of the thick envelopes with each of their names on it. Maggie and Dessa both took their envelopes and thanked him, offering him curtsies before they left his office. Dessa glanced back over her shoulder as she went out the door, and Mr. Talon caught her eyes with his. The smile on his face seemed tighter than usual, like he was stressed about something and he was trying not to show it. If she wasn't being led by Maggie's hand on her elbow, she might have asked him how he  was faring. Though, as she followed the head waitress back down the hall, and the door shut behind them, she figured that maybe it was for the best that she didn't. He didn't seem like the type of man who shared his troubles, and it would probably be rude to ask. It was more than unsettling, considering that he always seemed to be in the best of moods, but she tried to brush it off. She was probably reading too much into it, and maybe payday was just a day for him that was more stressful than most, with his employees coming and going from his office that he usually kept to himself in.

Dessa didn't open the envelope until she made it home that night, and when she did, she was shocked by the contents. It wasn't a paycheck at all! It was a cash payment, and the amount was more than what she had calculated it would be, from the pay rate that was promised originally in the letter she had found on her doorstep only a little over a week ago. If she was a better person, she would have asked Mr. Talon if there had been some kind of mistake. But she wasn't, and she needed every cent of it. Aside from that, it was late at night, The Den was closed, and tomorrow would be the start of her weekend. 

The next morning, it was her first day off of work, and she immediately went to the bank to make money orders for all of her bills, even the ones that weren't due yet. The phone and the electricity first, then she put enough into the accounts for her water and heat, so that they would be paid up early. She might have been overzealous in doing so, but she used the last of it to pay her rent early, too. She stood in the bank for an hour, checking her phone, entering the money order numbers and paying all her bills. After every last dime was spent, (ironically) she felt rich. She wouldn't have to worry about any of them until next month. She could finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing she wasn't starving and nearly homeless anymore, after only one week of work. It seemed too good to be true. When she got back home, she counted out all her tips for the week that she had saved, and walked to the grocery store, without a qualm about all the walking she had already done that week. She was too excited to be able to get some food to put inside her now-working refrigerator. She even had enough tips to buy some laundry soap and dryer sheets, and just like paying her bills, spending every last bit made her feel wealthier than she ever had in her life. It made the walk home with all the bags more pleasant than it should have been, given how tired she was at that point. 

Once everything was put away, she was determined to laze around for the rest of the day, and the next one as well. Her weekend felt like a good dream that was over too soon. She smiled every time that she used the light switches, and every time that she opened the refrigerator and the cold air breezed in her face. She spent her days off watching her favorite DVDs, listening to music, and besides the trips to and from the bank and grocery store, she didn't leave the house at all. She rested her sore legs, nibbled on popcorn and other treats, and slept like a baby both nights, knowing that she was in better shape than she had been in a long time. 

When the moment came that she had to walk to The Den for the start of her second week of work, she was far too reinvigorated to be bummed out about it. She had a pocketful of sunshine, and she was walking on air! Her second work week went by quicker than the first, but not so quick that she didn't notice a few things. One of those things was that, like the first week, Penny was her lady-in-waiting for the first two days, then Heather for the next two, then Penny again on the last day. The pattern was consistent, and so she knew when to expect the nice one, and when to expect the mean one. Another thing that she noticed was that Lola seemed to be pale and sickly every couple days, and if the hostess hadn't been staring daggers at her ever since Mr. Talon held her hand a moment too long in the foyer, Dessa would have asked her if she was feeling all right. But by far, the most interesting thing that she noticed was that the man in the leather gloves hadn't shown his face in The Den since the night that he had been rude to her. Even though it made Dessa happy to see his usual table occupied by others instead of him, Colette sulked more and more with each day that passed without a visit from him. Dessa knew it was rude to think it, but she preferred a sulking Colette over the bitchy one that she had been before the man's absence. At least she wasn't sneering. Once her second week of work had come to an end, and she was being led by Maggie again down the hall, Lola stopped them.

"I'm sorry, ladies. I'm afraid Mr. Talon is indisposed. He asked me to give the payments," Lola explained to them, as she handed them their envelopes.

Maggie shared a confused look with Dessa, and they thanked the hostess, offering well-wishes to Mr. Talon. Dessa felt a wave of guilt churn her stomach for not asking him how he was doing last Friday. The man seemed like he was too aristocratic and proper to catch a cold, and she wondered silently if he had experienced the death of a loved one. 

"That has never happened before," Maggie whispered to Dessa conspiratorially once they were out of earshot of any possible eavesdroppers.

"Really?" Dessa squeaked, a little too loudly, then winced and lowered her voice. "What could be the reason for it?"

Maggie shook her head, her emerald eyes filled with concern. "I don't know, but I don't like it one bit."

"Me either." Dessa fought a shiver, thinking that anything that could trouble the boss to such an extent would have to be very troublesome indeed.

.   .   .

After her shift, Dessa insisted that she wanted to try to undress herself, but asked Penny to supervise and give her advice on how to manage the process on her own. Penny did her best to stifle her giggles as Dessa struggled, and instructed her on the best ways to maneuver her way out of the garments. Once she was down to her petticoat, she was sweating and panting, but she had been successful - though it took her much longer than it did with Penny's help.

"You will be a master in no time!" Penny beamed, taking the clothing from her as Dessa put on her street-wear.

Dessa laughed incredulously, shaking her head. "Next Monday, I'll practice putting it all on. As much as I adore your assistance, I never want to see Heather again if I can help it!"

Penny was well aware of Dessa's distaste for the other lady-in-waiting - she had even offered to adjust her schedule to match Dessa's, but she didn't want the girl to feel like she was obligated to do such a thing. 

"Just promise me that when you become a self-sufficient Victorian Lady, that you won't forget to visit me back here every now and then," Penny replied, earnestly.

Dessa was stunned by her words. Perhaps Penny saw her as a friend just as much as Dessa saw her as one. 

"Nothing would please me more, Penny! Your company is my favorite part of the day," Dessa told her, and it was in no way a bluff.

Penny actually blushed as Dessa hugged her goodbye. It seemed like no one really paid her any mind, and Penny was surprised that Dessa would say that to her. She couldn't hug her back with the garments in her arms but she smiled gratefully.

"I'll see you Monday!" Penny called to her as she went to launder her clothes. 

"Yes you will!" Dessa called back as she pulled her sneakers on. 

After grabbing her leftovers from the kitchen (which were dwindling each day, given her ability to eat more bites of the meals from her breaks with each one that passed) Hans flashed her a grin. He had warmed up to her more and more, and seeing him closing the kitchen each night was another bright moment of her shifts that made the job more enjoyable. 

"Have a good night, Hans," Dessa called out to him with a grin of her own.

"I will if you do the same," Hans chuckled as he wiped down the pass. 

That had become their back-and-forth over the past week, and it was comforting to have those words to exchange. The guaranteed consistency of the words helped her walk through the parlor room, feeling happy and content. Possibly even cared for. And it was so much better than be safe. 

.   .   .

That weekend, Dessa felt more frugal. She tucked the envelope into her sock drawer, and didn't even open it. She was going to save it up, and she wasn't going to walk anywhere. Her days off were even lazier than her first weekend, and she savored every minute of it. When her third week of work came around, her legs were finally rested up enough to not be sore at all. The first two shifts she had, Dessa floundered trying to get dressed while Penny watched her and tried not to laugh. Monday, she still had to have Penny help her with the laces on her corset, but on Tuesday, she had managed to get it done. And Dessa was way too satisfied to be able to tell Heather that she didn't require her assistance on Wednesday. Heather only snorted, gave her an exaggerated eye roll, and left her in the dressing rooms to do it herself. 

It was a delightful way to start her shift, and Dessa might have danced her way back out through the foyer - feeling like a little girl who had dressed herself for the first time ever - if it wasn't for the glowering hostess at the podium. Dessa ignored her and entered the parlor room, still smiling to herself for her accomplishment. But the smile dropped from her face immediately when she saw the man in leather gloves at Table 9.

Nooooooo!

Of course she wasn't so fortunate that she would never have to see that man again! Everything had been going so well in her life lately. She wasn't as malnourished anymore after eating regularly - almost to the amount a normal person would. She had made a friend of Penny, Hans, and even Maggie trusted her now. Colette had been so down that her snobby attitude when Dessa first started working at The Den had all but disappeared completely. All her bills were paid with money to spare. She was dressing herself, had kindly told Heather to fuck off just a moment ago. She hadn't been bothered by anyone on the street since Skinhead. She had definitely not been murdered yet, as far as she was aware. 

Dessa cursed under her breath, frowning at the back of his head. She should have expected something like this. Everything was almost too perfect. Naturally, something had to go and ruin it.