Getting Something Nice (Tag: Jack)

A cold breeze brought Wendy out of her thoughts and she shivered.  Was it supposed to get chilly today?  She gave a little squeak of surprise when a voice addressed her, and a staff suddenly entered her vision.  She took half a step back to see that a boy had been speaking to her.  He looked only a little older than her, although for some reason, his hair was white.  Maybe it was the result of some magical curse?  Wendy had heard stories of witches who did stuff like that, and people seemed to think that they still might try stuff like that, even with this new proclamation.  "Sorry.  Just...thinking about things," she said as she ran a hand through her hair.  "Are you visiting?" she asked.  Usually, people with staffs were travelers, since staffs could double as walking-sticks.  Of course, they could also be used to do magic, but Wendy wasn't about to suggest that.  People freaked out at the very mention of things like magic and spells.  It never failed to drive her crazy.

"Okay..."  This boy didn't seem to want to talk about himself a whole lot.  Maybe he was the mysterious type.  Boys could be like that sometimes.  "Nope, just me," she replied.  "I'm a servant at Lord Liddell's estate.  I'm just running some errands for some of the staff."  She held up the basket in her hands that contained all the good she had purchased earlier today.  "I just need to get a little something for his daughter, and I'm good to go."  Of course, she still wasn't sure what that little something might be, and she doubted the boy would be of any help.  Boys could be kind of clueless when it came to picking things girls liked.

Wendy raised an eyebrow.  "You say that like it's a bad thing," she said.  Sure, servitude wasn't the best life, but Wendy considered herself lucky in that retrospect.  If orphans didn't get a job somewhere, they ended up as homeless beggars on the street.  Wendy had seen it happen more than once during her time at the orphanage.  Plus, being a servant had become extra lucky for her because she had made a friend who didn't mind that she had powers.  If Wendy was honest, she would say that Alice was the only real friend she had ever had.  She gave a little laugh at the boy's question.  "I feel like the better question would be 'What doesn't she like?'  She likes everything a girl can like.  Candy, dolls, books, ribbons, you name it.  I'm having a hard time narrowing things down."  She gave a little sigh.  "I just want to get her something nice, you know?  She's been a good friend to me."

"Yeah," Wendy said in agreement.  Being homeless was certainly a worse alternative.  Or you could be stuck in a filthy, noise workhouse, where you worked nine hours a day and hardly got any compensation in return.  As looked down as servitude was, Wendy still felt like she had gotten a pretty lucky hand, considering her circumstances.  She gave another little laugh.  "She's a lord's daughter.  She can have anything," she said.  "She's not selfish, though.  Far from it.  She's one of the nicest people I've ever met."  Sure, Alice could have her bratty moments sometimes, and she could get steamed when things didn't go her way.  But Wendy saw that she tried to do the right thing whenever possible, and be generous as well.  Not all lords and ladies were like that.  "Yeah, that's what I try to keep telling myself," she said.  "I'm probably just overthinking things again."  That was one of Wendy's worse habits.  She tended to second-guess herself when it came to the important stuff, or when somebody else was concerned.  When she only had to worry about herself, she could make decisions easily.  But now that Alice was often in her care, she had to figure her friend into the equation as well, and that could make things difficult sometimes.

Wendy was happy to see that Jack was glad to hear that.  Some people were a little dubious when she spoke kindly of Alice.  Rich people, especially rich humans, had a bad rap among the lower-class, especially among the supernatural ones.  But Wendy felt like if there were more Alices in the world, then this stupid proclamation could be over and done with.  But Wendy knew better than to hope for that.  From the way things were looking, the proclamation wouldn't be lifted for a long, long time.  "Okay, don't think, don't think..."  Wendy kept muttering the words to herself as she shut her eyes for a moment.  Once she finally relaxed, something came to mind, and she realized it was perfect.  "Flowers!" she exclaimed.  She suddenly froze, realizing how loud that had sounded and her face turned red.  "Sorry.  That was...loud," she muttered.

The  boy quickly assured Wendy that she didn't have to apologize, which made Wendy happy.  She knew that she could be a little too polite sometimes, especially when she was nervous. That was when she came off looking a bit stiff.  But she felt like she could relax around this boy.  When he asked if she need an escort, she gave a little smile.  "Sure.  You can come along," she said.  "It's been a while since I've had other company besides my mistress."  She gathered up her basket of things, but she suddenly stopped when she realized something.  "I'm sorry, I don't think I've even told you my name," she said.  "I'm Wendy."  She gave a little curtsy.