𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓'𝖘 𝕷𝖎𝖔𝖓

A Strange Waitress

"Tips," Alice said after a while.

"What?"

"Tips, sometimes patrons leave some extra money if they had a real good meal. If we work extra hard we can save up enough to get you somethin' to protect yourself with and a cloak or somethin' to hide your identity." Y/N hadn't thought of that. "We can't have people knowin' who ya are or they might come back and try to hurt ya, or get ya arrested."

"Yeah," Y/N sighed, "You're right about that." Alice got up from her seat and Y/N watched her walk behind the bar and open a jar with coins in it. She took out most of them and gave them to Y/N.

"Originally I was savin' up to hire someone to clean away these cobwebs, but I can tend to that myself with you helpin' out now. I'll get Christopher to take you to the market and you can get yourself a cloak or head cover, maybe a nice scarf to cover that pretty face, and I'll as the cook for any spare knives they can lend ya for your patrols," Alice let out a fond laugh, "You've hardly been here a day and you're more ready to make a change than the people who been comin' to this pub for years!" And with that Alice left to find her son.

Christopher, despite not being able to read, had managed to guide Y/N to a shop selling scarves and other things of the sort. "And this one," said the clerk as she pulled out a midnight blue scarf, "This one has a special clip right here so you can get it to stay in place in rough winds and weather." Y/N looked at the price and then to the money she had in her hand. Alice had briefly explained to Y/N how the currency worked and she knew she had just enough to buy the scarf. 

"I'll take it," Y/N said as she handed over the money. The clerk took it from her and handed her a bag with the scarf inside.

"Please come again!" the clerk called out as she waved Y/N off as she and Christopher left the shop. 

"Why'd ya need a, need a scarf?" Christopher asked, he had a stutter Y/N had learned, he repeated usually about two words a sentence.

"Well, as much fun as working for your mom is gonna be, I need some extra work so I can get myself an apartment or a house one day, and to get my second job I need a scarf."

"Sounds like a weird, a weird job," Christopher observed.

"Yes it does," Y/N laughed and agreed. She hadn't lied to him, protecting her identity was a pretty important part of her plan to clean up the street. 

It had been a few hours since sundown and people had come trickling slowly into the Dozy Dog for a drink and a cheap supper. Y/N had been taking orders perfectly and all the regulars that had come through so far had left large tips for the new help. So far no one had gotten the boot and most were still sober, the few who were a little buzzed had been cut off by Alice who was in a better mood than most insisted she had been in for a long time. "Thank you, miss," said a familiar voice, Y/N hadn't paid much attention to the faces of the people she had been serving but she almost mentally smacked herself when she looked up to meet his eyes. She was serving Fred Aberline! She made sure not to trip up or look too surprised. She passed it off as shyness as a "Thank you, sir," stumbled out of her mouth.

"I would actually like to ask you a question, miss." Y/N's heart was pounding, sure it was just Aberline but he was a real character from Black Butler! From what Y/N could remember easily he was quite polite, a little bit soft and very sweet. Y/N decided there was no harm in talking to him.

"Of course, what can I do for you, sir?"

"Well, it's just, I haven't seen you around these parts before, and you have a notable accent," Y/N mentally kicked herself, she should start trying to speak with an accent like theirs or people would keep picking up that she wasn't exactly from around there and get suspicious.

"Oh, well I was a traveler but I got lost and mugged. I can't go home and I had no place to stay so Miss Brewer offered me a room here in exchange for work, she's such an angel," Y/N said it in the most bubblegum cheery voice she could, if a random person just showed up and then people started getting their asses beat because Karma's a bitch, it would be pretty obvious who was behind it. Plus, happy workers get more tips.

"Oh my! Well I'm so sorry to hear that! I'm an officer, if you want to come down to the station I'm sure we can put together a sketch of who mugged you, miss!" He really was concerned and just as kind as Y/N remembered from the anime and books.

"It's fine," Y/N sighed, "those criminals don't actually exist," she thought bitterly, she hated lying to this many people at once. "I'm sure whoever did it will get caught eventually, especially with people like you on our side to protect us." Y/N flashed him a sweet smile before she excused herself to go greet another table.

"Huh," Aberline sighed to himself as he ate, "What a strange young woman."

The rest of the night had gone smoothly, no fights, no creeps and only a few more people asked about Y/N's origin, and every time she gave them the same story she gave Aberline: she was a mugged traveler who Miss Brewer was taking care of until she was back on her feet. After hearing that story some people left tips large enough to pay for another meal! Y/N felt a little bad about preying on the sympathy of others but she had been ripped out of her home and time, she wondered if anyone had noticed she was gone yet, she wasn't some crazy hermit in the woods. She had some family and friends who would want to know if she had any time to spend with them that summer, someone was sure to get nervous when she didn't pick up her phone and wasn't at the house where her phone and car were. It was just a matter of time before she became a missing persons. Y/N shoved those thoughts into the back of her mind as she escorted the last of the patrons out of the Dozy Dog before she locked the door and cleaned up and whipped off the tables one last time. Alice came from the kitchen with Y/N's scarf and two chef's knives. "I'll help ya tie up that scarf," Alice offered as she set the knives down on the table. As Y/N sat down Alice told her about how the chef was able to spare these two old chef's knives for her to defend herself, apparently the chef had been assaulted herself and was one of the reasons why Alice was so excited for someone to take action. "The sad part is, this ain't even the worst side of London, and yet nothin's being done to help us. Guess the 'Guard Dog' doesn't think much of us little people." Y/N had to stifle a laugh when Alice said 'little people', if only she knew that the Guard Dog was only 152 cm/5'1 in tall! Y/N also noticed how Alice always said 'Guard Dog' coated in sarcasm and venom, like she didn't really believe he existed and was just some stupid prank. After Alice clipped Y/N's scarf around her neck and handed her the blades she laughed a little to herself. "Miss Y/n, it hasn't been 24 hours since we've met and you've already gone an proven that you're one hell of a revolutionary woman!"

Y/N laughed at Alice's choice of words, "Yeah, I suppose I am! I just don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else tonight, I promise I'll be back by sunrise." Y/N had eaten some sugar filled cakes and drank some strong coffee to keep herself awake.

"You better be if you want to keep making a change, now go on and get to cleanin!" Y/N nodded at Alice's enthusiasm and left the pub, knives in hand, ready to take care of the people who would need help that night. 

"One things for sure," Alice said once the door closed, "She sure is a strange waitress."