Reversed Roles

On the road just outside a manor not too distant from the capital, decorated for a party, three people were speaking to each other on a carriage. A blonde in a pretty but slightly outdated party dress, a radiant auburn haired buxom beauty in an orange ballroom gown of the latest fashion, and a brunette maid, who seemed to be bouncing on her seat.

They never tell you how uncomfortable and heavy the dresses of the nobility are, not even minutes before you have to stand between six maids to put one on you.

"I'm never putting one of these on again."

For Tanya von Degurechaff, once again donning the name of imperial nobility, against her will though it might be, sneaking somewhere and getting something done was old hat. The family she had entered the employment off, the Claes duchy, had made full use of her capabilities in the defense, protection and care of their little princess, Katarina, and Tanya herself had made it an objective in life to ensure the former hellion never hit her forehead again.

After having gotten so thoroughly comfortable in the black dress and white apron of a maid, she revived painful memories of being used as a cute little symbol of the empire's might, in a heavy party dress, having to pose for picturies that took several minutes at a time to take, with a plastic smile that made her cheeks ache.

"But you're sooooo cute!"

Meanwhile Katarina was having the time of her life. She was usually not allowed to wear a maid's clothes, for obvious reasons. The young Lady of Claes could not be seen in a servant's clothes. The gardening getup she wore was excusable as it was simply a hobby she participated in, but a maid's uniform? Unacceptable.

And yet, there she was, with her hair tied strongly into a braid and held firmly in place with a frilly white headband. She didn't wear Tanya's uniform, there were two sizable reasons why she couldn't right there on her chest, but she did get one in as close a style as she could manage.

They were interrupted by the sound of a fan closing sharply.

"We'll need to work on that."

Mary Hunt was crucial to the operation. It was thanks to her and Prince Alan that the two had managed to obtain fake identities and sneak into the gala ball. Mary would be watched, of course, but the baroness of a distant frontierland could move with a lot more freedom, as nobody would be terribly interested in what she had to say.

"I'll definitely have to get one with a shorter skirt... hmm... stockings, too," Mary said, looking Katarina up and down. "Should they be black?"

"Yes, and semi-opaque," Tanya commented. "Stains won't show well otherwise."

"Fair enough," Mary agreed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Katarina asked, tilting her head and crossing her arms, leaning back and looking puzzled. "Ah, whatever, probably not important," she said, "we should go onward!" she spoke.

Looking at each other, Tanya and Mary sighed and then Mary gave the blonde a nod.

"My lady should walk behind me," Tanya said, "you are the maid, and I am the lady," she added.

"Ohh that's right! I should try to act like Anne! Okay, I'll channel my inner Anne-" she began to rub her fingers gainst her temples. "Nnghhh... think maidly thoughts... think maidly thoughts..."

Someone knocked on the carriage door, and opened it.

It was indeed prince Alan, who had cleaned up quite a bit, going even further beyond the typical formal look, three piece suit with coattails and even carried a cane and he had a hat to compliment the outfit. He would be performing for the Marquis whose party they were attending, as a special favor, in return for preparing the party in the first place.

"We've no more time," he said. "We'll have to hope you two are ready, we'll be ready to exfil at any time, just give the command."

Tanya nodded, happy to see that even as the work the prince had to do, he hadn't forgotten the training she had put him through when he promised to grow strong enough to protect Katarina in the future.

"It'll be fine, we'll be fine, we survived even when all routes lead to doom, what can possibly go wrong in a party where our only job is to meet some corrupt nobles?" Katarina asked. "No, seriously, what could go wrong?" she asked. "We need to be ready for anything that could go wrong."

"Katarina sweetie I love you but- just, just stay quiet for this one," Mary said, shaking her head. "Just trust me."

"Okay," Katarina said. "But I'll still want an explanation of what I shouldn't do..."

There was no time.

"We have to go," Alan hurried. "Just follow Teach's lead," he urged. "It'll be fine!"

And that was that. Alan took Mary's hand and led her off, changing carriages to the grand and beautiful carriage afforded to the Hunt family, and leaving the small and slightly dinky carriage Tanya and Katarina rode for the 'poor frontier noble' and her maid, and then traveled the rest of the way to the party, which only gave a few minutes of last minute prep.

Luckily... nobody questioned their presence. They were seen as part of Lady Hunt's entourage, and once past the gate guards, they were led to the garden where the gathering would be taken place. Alan then would play the primary distraction, taking up most people's attention, and Mary would then gather all the honorable ladies that of course had no business being involved in corruption, as well as the ones they knew were clean.

And thus, Tanya and Katarina would be left free to roam the party and find the target, a viscountess who supposedly was capturing and then selling poor villages' children into slavery.

That... was the plan, at any rate.

As they approached the first group of nobles, who had gathered in a small gazebo to hide from the blazing sun to have a chat over drinks, however, it became immediately obvious there was a significant problem when it came to successfully passing off as a lady and her maid. Instincts died hard, and thus, Tanya had a habit of falling into step behind Katarina, who would take the lead, as she usually did.

Fools rush in, they say.

"Hello!" Katarina called, stepping into a conversation. "I couldn't help but overhear, the famine was caused by a bad harvest wasn't it?" she said. "I've been studying the southeast regions and the change in climate-"

Three noblemen and their wives turned to face the interloper, some of them looking scandalized, and one who looked remarkably like the monopoly man looking downright upset. "And who is this... thing that dares to speak with such familiarity to esteemed personages such as ourselves?"

Realizing they'd fucked up, Tanya tried to step in. "My apologies - I am Baroness Tanya von Degurechaff," she said, "my maid is a good girl and very studious," she hurriedly added, "she was just trying to-"

"Well then control your maid better! And von Doogu, whatever-chaff? Whoever's heard of that family? Must be some nobody from the boonies!" one of the uppity looking wives, a wrinkly woman with a permanent sneer practically glued onto her face, spoke.

"Why I oughta-" Katarina began, incensed.

Using everything she had learned in a life of being taught how the Japanese are to submit to and endure the abuses of authority, and then a further education in how to withstand the harshest treatment from her superiors, Tanya managed to rein in both Katarina and herself. "No please, forgive her," she asked, bowing, "she was just trying to help, and got a little over eager, you see, she has family in the area and-"

"Bah, as if I could care," Monopoly Mustache said, waving his gloved hand dismissively. "Get lost now," he said, "more important people are talking."

"Yes, I will sir, forgive me for interrupting your talk sir," Tanya said, bowing her head, and starting to move. "Let's go," she added, reaching for Katarina.

"Yeah that's right, you little nobody, the stench of your poverty is gonna ruin my appetite," one of the ladies spoke, and the others giggled darkly, clearly enjoying the abuse they were heaping on the two. "What'd you say your name was? Tanya? What a silly little name. Ugly, poor and stupid, you really are hated by the god-"

Whatever she was going to finish that phrase with would never be heard because in the blink of an eye she was laid flat against the ground several meters away.

"I've had enough of your mouth," Katarina hissed. "Think you can insult MY Tanya on MY watch!" she said, stepping forward and cracking her knuckles.

"What the-"

"How uncouth!"

"Preposterous!"

"You little-"

Monopoly Mustache raised his hand and swung it at Katarina.

Now, normally, that would be the time for the maid to heroically swoop in to save her mistress who was about to suffer violence, but, two things got on the way of that. The first, Tanya was wearing extremely uncomfortable heels that made taking the two steps there not as quick as it'd have to be.

And the second?

Katarina didn't need Tanya to step in. No, she ducked under the slap, caught the guy by the arm, swung him around and then with the momentum carried by his own swing and her movement, threw him to the ground over her shoulder, flipping him on his back.

Raising her arms, she smashed a closed fist onto her palm. "You want a piece of me!? I'll give you a piece of me!" she called.

Tanya palmed her face. "This wasn't how it was supposed to go," she said, "we were supposed to discover who the slaver was, carefully!" she hissed at her lady. "You were supposed to use your brain!"

"My brain said this was faster," Katarina quipped, with a bright smile on her face. "And I'm sorry but I couldn't just stand there and let them talk to you like that!" she said. "I've never allowed people to talk bad about my friends and I won't start now!" she said.

Tanya sighed. "Well then. I suppose we're doing this the old school way..." she muttered, grabbing her dress near the hem, and then raising and ripping it in half, revealing that she wore a skintight black bodyglove, and had knives and pouches strapped to her thighs, biceps and a series of the latest magical cuffs belted onto her chest and waist, all covered by the unfashionable dress before.

The other low level nobles seemed ready to bolt and run.

"Now," Katarina said, grinning as she looked at them, raising a hand and clenching it into a fist. "One of you people is working with really, really bad people and doing really, really bad things," she began. "I'm going to need you to start cooperating so we can dismantle the organization," she spoke, grinning brightly. "Please!"

They seemed doubtful, shrinking away, while the two nobles that had been laid out groaned on the grass of the garden just outside the gazebo.

Tanya cracked her neck and stretched her arms.

"Was that an ultimatum..?" One of the ladies spoke.

"Eh? No," Katarina said, frowning. "What's an ultimatum?" she half whispered to Tanya. "Tell me later," she said, turning back. "We could really use your help!" she finally said, turning back to them.

Tanya coughed. "Any help provided currently would be taken into account when the investigation by the authorities wraps up," she spoke, "why, some might even be considered collaborators instead of suspects," she said.

They sang like birds. The monopoly mustache man was not, in fact, a nobleman at all, but instead, a career criminal posing as a nobleman. Which explained his really shitty manners. Not a slaver, per se, more of a scammer, con artist and general dickbag. Oh, he had a story, of course he did, he too sang like a bird, especially when Katarina raised her fist again.

His "wife", still out like a light after Katarina knocked her out, was the target.

Of course she was. Needless to say... Alan and Mary had quite a lot of "fun" explaining to the host what exactly had happened, and especially playing coverup, but at least, everything was and would be settled, and hey, Katarina didn't even get blood on her apron even though she broke a woman's nose with a punch.

That was progress, usually she wound up in a complete mess.

"Normally, I'd say this is about as unlikely as it is nonsensical, but... it's Katarina, of course it went like this," Alan laughed. "I'm a little sad I didn't get to show off my cool side. I've been working on one liners for proper swashbuckling and dashing roguery," he said.

"You've been doing a little too much theater lately," Mary said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you know that I would've been the first on scene to save Lady Katarina from danger!"

Said lady, meanwhile, was simply bouncing on the balls of her feet, as she tested out the mobility range of her maid dress, now that she no longer had to pretend to be a maid, in one of the guest rooms afforded to visitors in the manor.

"This is so easy to move in!" she happily said as she jumped and did a little twirl. "How come maids get to dress in these while we have to wear the heavy dresses that are super hard to even walk in!?" she complained. "Even my shoes have sensible heels!"

Tanya didn't have the heart to tell her that was the maid dress she wore for their... couples' activities, and not, in fact, the maid uniform she wore for work.

She also tried not to pay too much attention to the fluttering of her skirts, shorter and without the weights that normally kept them solidly in place. Katarina wasn't even wearing bloomers under the maid uniform.

Alan and Mary looked upon the happy Katarina with smiles on their faces.

"Well, all's well that ends well right?" Alan asked, shrugging with his shoulders. "That might not have been according to plan but it works itself out."

Mary agreed.

"I suppose if my lady didn't resolve it her way, then she wouldn't be herself."

Katarina turned to face the three looking upon her with happy smiles. "What's going on?" she asked. "Do I look weird in these?" she grabbed her maid dress near knee level and raised it up, showing her ankles as she did. She really should have black semi-opaque stockings, but alas, they only had thin thigh highs. "I feel a little weird, breezy but nice!"

"You look fantastic," Mary said, smiling widely. "Could you do a twirl for us?"

"Oh like this?" Katarina did, indeed, twirl, and her skirt lifted just enough to show all the way up to just over her knees, showing a tantalizing glimpse of her thighs.

Tanya couldn't help but frown. Her lady's strange relationship was... not exactly a super well kept secret, it was of public knowledge for those who were onto the newest information regarding the latest gossip, but...

"We should perhaps expedite our return," she said. "I... think we might need to hurry on to the estate before long."

Alan and Mary agreed.

For some reason, despite not really knowing why, for the first time since they set out, Katarina felt an odd sense of danger. A good kid of trepidation and anticipation. For some reason, it grew only stronger, and seemed to intensify whenever she looked at any of her three traveling companions.

But surely, the sensation of doom impending was just her, right? After all, she had cleared all of the flags and reached Maria's secret super polycule harem ending, right? That meant she had to be safe. For sure.

Yet, as she traveled back home alongside her maid and friends, she couldn't help but giggle as she noticed their stares, feeling nervous for what her body knew was coming.