Ever since the report on The Lion had been published in the local paper, the story had spread like wildfire throughout the country. Long story short: Y/N was famous. Of course neither her name nor her face was famous, but the alter ego she had made for herself had made an almost flawless debut. Y/N had never been one to eavesdrop much on what the customers were saying but now she couldn't help herself: she wanted to know what all of the locals thought of her little side hustle. Most of them agreed with her and her methods and they were dying to figure out who this mystery vigilante was. One thing Y/N was thankful for was the lack of a physical description of her in the paper. It wasn't until after she read it that she realized she had never asked the reporter's wife not to describe her, but the only things she was depicted as was a hero and a gift from God. Another good thing that had come from the article had been the increased foot traffic around the pub and shops nearby. Everyone wanted a chance to walk on the Lion's hunting ground. This also meant more and more people staying out at night looking for a chance to meet her, and a few times she had been approached by groups hoping to thank her. She never stopped them from offering thanks but she would only ever nod in return or occasionally bow to be extra polite. This had started a rumor that the Lion was mute, but anyone who was saved or was punished claimed that the Lion's voice was incredibly intimidating. Y/N found it laughable that people were actually scared of her horrible, fake, 'deep' voice that she had embarrassingly continued using when she actually had to talk to people while on patrol.
The Undertaker had been a little upset that the reporter's wife had been the one to get the special inside scoop with the Lion and not him. It reminded Y/N of a little kid whoes two friends knew a secret and would whisper about it behind his back and would flaunt "we know something you don't" over and over again. It was almost painful for Y/N to not to tell him; he had actually become a good friend as they shared more and more breaks and small talk about the town gossip. Y/N was aware he knew more than he was leading her to believe, but the feeling was mutual and the Undertaker knew it. It was like an unspoken rule: they talked about Y/N like her and the Lion were two completely unrelated and different people. Both of them knew it was only a matter of time before someone the Lion preyed upon didn't make it through the shock or the bullet wound and ended up in the Undertaker's care, and as much as he'd love to take care of one of her victims, he wouldn't be too happy to have to start visiting Y/N in jail.
Y/N was on her dinner break, sitting in a booth in the far back of the pub with the Undertaker talking about their days. "Well older men aren't much of a rarity for you, are they?" Y/N asked as she chewed on her food.
"No, they aren't, but you might want to go ahead and swallow your meal before I tell you about the beautiful guest I helped today. In fact," he giggled, "You might've already seen her in today's morning edition." Y/N stopped eating, almost choking on her food. That morning had been the first murder committed by Jack the Ripper. They were yet to get the name Jack the Ripper, but Y/N knew when she saw it in the morning addition: Madam Red and Grelle Sutcliff had finally joined forces and were on their way to becoming one of the most famous and prolific serial killers of all time. Of course Y/N had to pretend like she only knew what she read that morning in the paper: some prostitute named Mary Ann Nicholls had been torn to shreds around White Chapel by some unnamed killer.
"You don't mean the lady from this morning's paper, do you? Mary Ann something?" Y/N swallowed dryly and set down her utensils while the Undertaker smiled and nodded.
"I do indeed, she wasn't in the best of states when she arrived but I fixed her up all nice and pretty, made her look like a fine lady again," he laughed as he spoke. He told Y/N in almost gruesome detail about how he fixed up Mary Ann Nicholls after she was torn apart. Every bone, every fiber of Y/N's body was screaming at her to tell the Undertaker what she knew so that none of the other women would face a similar fate at Madam Red and Grelle's hands, but how would she explain how she knew so much?
Eventually the Undertaker excused himself so as to not be away from his parlor for a long time. He didn't want to lose a new customer or guest because he had been busy chatting away with Y/N. After he left, most of the dinner regulars began to pour in to get their suppers and Y/N wasn't able to catch a break. She was serving tables left and right, scribbling orders down so quickly it was almost illegible and she considered it a miracle she hadn't dropped anything or spilled a drink all over herself or a patron. Both Y/N and Alice were almost at their wits ends. They had expected a larger crowd because of the popularity of the street where the Lion prowled but nothing this large. "If this keeps up, I'm going to have to hire more help," Alice gasped as she leaned on the bar after handing out more beer than either of them had poured in a week.
"Yeah, you and I aren't going to be able to keep up with all of this if it becomes the norm," Y/N said as she took some breaths while flattening out her apron. Alice had recently purchased a bell for the door and it had been ringing almost nonstop since 6:00. It dinged again and Y/N sighed before shouting over her shoulder "I'll be there in a moment to seat you, please be patient!" Y/N ran over to the order window, picked up three plates and went over to the door to see how many people had walked in. She nearly dropped her plates when she saw them. There, in front of her stood two men, both clad in perfect white suits and hair to match. Y/N stopped perfectly in her tracks, the only reason she didn't drop her tray was that Charles Phipps caught it as it tipped from her hand. She was frozen, mouth hanging open as Charles Phipps placed her tray back in her hands, saying something about a butler always needing to be prepared for any situation while Charles Grey laughed at Y/N's reaction.
"I'm so sorry, sirs, we just don't usually get men of your, uh, status, 'round here," she breathed out as she took her tray from Phipps, her face flushed red with embarrassment. She quickly ran the meals to the people who ordered them before making her way back over to the Double Charles to get them seated. As she walked them to a window booth, close to where she had earlier sat with the Undertaker, she began to ponder why these two specific men would be choosing the Dozy Dog Pub to eat their dinner when much nicer places were open just a few blocks away. As they sat down, Y/N continued to ponder as to why the Queen's butlers would be eating at a small, slightly rundown pub and she arrived at the conclusion that they were doing what everyone else was: searching for the Lion. "I'll be back in a few moments to get your drink orders. I'm afraid we don't have a wide enough selection of wines, beers and other beverages to have a separate menu, so if you've got something specific in mind, please ask me. The menu right behind me has everything available for dinner tonight and I'll be back to tell you about our specials when I collect your drink orders," and with that Y/N scuttled away to give out and collect more orders and food. All the while as she picked up dishes and wrote down orders, she thought about how quickly the Queen's butlers had been able to locate her, but she also thought about how it could be a coincidence. This was the famous street where the Lion hunted. "They're probably just looking for the Lion to be walking around, shaking hands with people or something. They probably still think the Lion is a man who'd be all over an opportunity to bathe in fame," Y/N assured herself.
Earl Grey asked Y/N for a cup of Earl Grey Tea (which she found most amusing) and Phipps had just asked for a water. As she made her way back over to them, she worked up the courage to ask them why they had chosen the Dozy Dog. It didn't take much of a self-given pep talk because she found the idea of being afraid of talking to the Double Charles after spending almost three weeks becoming a local hero who took down men, some almost twice her size and weight, to be silly. It was childish even. She walked over to them with confidence, set their drinks down and got straight to business. "Now I know I've got no right to ask, but what are two gentlemen of an obviously high status, such as yourselves, doing in some place like this? There are much nicer and more upper class places just down the street, not even a twenty minute walk from here." The two men just looked at her before Grey began to laugh while Phipps just sipped his drink.
"You're a perceptive one, aren't you," It wasn't exactly a compliment.
"It doesn't take a genius to look around and figure out you two don't exactly belong in a place like this. You've got money, spend it."
"Maybe, but money doesn't buy the Lion, in fact, it seems like poverty does," Grey declared.
"Maybe that's a good thing: not every hero has to be for hire," Y/N huffed as she pulled out her notepad and pencil.
"Perhaps. We would like to ask you a few questions before we order, if it's not too much trouble," inquired Phipps. Y/N sighed before tucking away her notepad.
"Fine, but make it quick. Just 'cause you're dressed fancy doesn't make you entitled to the time of day. Miss Alice and I've got a full house so make it fast."
"You're educated, aren't you?" That was an odd question.
"To a degree, I suppose, yes?"
"You said 'Miss Alice and I'," observed Phipps.
"And?"
"Most people of your class would have chosen the wording 'me and Miss Alice," pointed out Earl Grey, "However, you used proper grammar and phrasing, and aside from a few shortenings of words, your English has been perfect."
"Maybe I just worked around higher class nobles or had an old employer who demanded I have proper grammar."
"I doubt it highly," Earl Grey waved off her statement, "Your hands aren't scarred or very calloused, they've hardly been worked. You either came from money and lost it, or you're just not using it. And your accent gives off the notion you're most likely not local." Y/N was a little shocked they had come to such conclusions after only speaking to her for such a short time.
"So what if I was wealthy, or still currently am. My financial status is none of your concern-"
"How long have you been employed here?" Phipps cut her off. Y/N looked slightly offended, she figured Grey would be the one to interrupt her.
"About three weeks, almost a month," she answered them, "You can ask Miss Alice if you don't believe me."
"And how long have you been in London?"
"I really don't see the point behind all these questions," Y/N was getting a little nervous now, they were asking specific questions about her whereabouts and it was getting more than suspicious.
"Well, tell us we want to know and maybe we'll return the favor," Grey mused.
"Funny thing: I don't feel like I can trust you two all that much," Y/N said with a fake laugh, "Also I'm not stupid, which is why I'm still answering your questions. You've got a blade and I'm sure you've got the skill to use it. The only reason I'm still talking is because my tongue looks better in my mouth than on the floor." Phipps sipped his drink and Grey laughed.
"Oh, you really are a bright one, aren't you?" He laughed a little longer before repeating his question, "So how long have you been in London?
"Same amount of time I've been working for Miss Alice. I got the job only hours after I arrived here. I tend to get lucky like that." Y/N did not care to elaborate on how she had acquired her job at the Pub.
"A smart, determined, social young woman like yourself. That's not too surprising." She knew what they had put together: both her and the Lion had shown up around the exact same time in the exact same area.
"Anything else about my personal life you'd like to intrude on or can I finally tell you about today's specials and take your order?"
"One more question: have you come into any contact with someone you think or know is the Lion?" Well that was pretty direct.
Y/N took a minute to pretend to think about his question when in reality she was coming up with a fake answer. She waited a few more moments before declaring: "Nope, no one comes to mind, I'm afraid. Sometimes I've seen someone run by the window after a gunshot but I've never seen a face. You should probably go invade some of the saved people's lives if you want information about the Lion's appearance." Grey just leaned on his arm and gave Y/N a smile, his eyes closed. Y/N felt like she had just gotten a big, fat, red target slapped on her face.
"Thank you for your help, Miss," Phipps said in his monotone voice. Grey nodded and then began to rattle off his order which contained practically everything on the menu. Y/N wasn't surprised but she was sure the cook would be. She was only one woman after all.
Closing time felt like an eternity away but Y/N and Alice were all the more relieved to lock the door once everyone had gone. They were so tired neither was able to stand any longer and they both collapsed in a booth by the window with huge sighs. "I don't know what was with that man in white you served, but he ate at least one of everything. Poor Rosina was up to her neck in dirty dishes. I wanted to help but she insisted she could handle it on her own." Y/N nodded before laying her head down on her arms. She and Alice just sat in silence and rested for a bit before Y/N went upstairs and changed into her binder, trousers, shirt, scarf and matching cloak. Alice had tried to convince her to skip tonight's shift but Y/N insisted that she go out and help people. Y/N passed Alice asleep in a booth before she left through the back door which she locked behind herself. She walked for a little while before she noticed her footsteps unnaturally echoing behind her. She continued to walk as if nothing was wrong, but slowly and without sudden movement, she sheathed one blade and pulled out and readied her pistol. Y/N continued to walk before she abruptly stopped, turned around and aimed her gun directly at who was following and was ready to blast the bastard full of lead, or in this case, bastards. Y/N was met face to face with Charles Grey and Charles Phipps. She would've lowered her gun but that would prove she knew them. Also, she knew what Grey could do to her with his rapier.
"Wow," Grey laughed, "You're a lot more fun than you were back in that Pub!" He pulled out his rapier before Y/N even had a chance to fire. She sighed and put down her gun. Phipps rushed over to her and took it.
"Push-y," Y/N emphasized the 'y' as Phipps unloaded the pistol and put the safety on just in case. Grey laughed again.
"So we were right! The strange, new waitress from the Dozy Dog is the Lion!" He declared.
"Hey! Be quiet! Other people haven't exactly figured that out yet," Y/N snapped at him.
"Well if we keep it a secret will you do something for us in return?" It wasn't a question and Y/N knew it. She was cornered.
"What?" She snapped.
"We've got a job offer," Phipps informed her.
...
"What kind of job?"