Allies: One Idle. One Worker. One Mission. by Keegan Eichelman

Author:Keegan Eichelman [Eichelman, Keegan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult Fiction, teenager, girl, young adult, adventure, fantasy, Dystopia, dystopian
Published: 2019-10-24T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Erika

"You should have seen the way he looked at me," Duci snapped, referring to the Duke. Erika scuttled around the room clearing trays of food that the dark-haired woman had all but licked clean.

"Like I was nothing—just a pawn in his game. Ouch! Be careful where you pin that!"

Erika glanced over her handful of dishes at the timid seamstress kneeling at the foot of Duci's dress train. The poor Worker had been trying, and failing, to please the lady with the length of her new, larger dresses for the past hour and a half.

"Duci, do you want the rest of this?" Erika held up a half-finished block of cheese.

The dark-haired woman shook her head and the girl quickly added it to the garbage.

"Please tell me you are going to get back at him again soon. I feel like I'm losing time and all I can do is dress up and look pretty every day for the next social event—hardly helpful." Duci brought up two handfuls of the skirts around her and let them down in frustration, clearly agitating the measuring seamstress at her feet further.

"If you're done with me here," Erika offered. "I'd be free to run down to the garden. I think my friend hinted to me that another shipment is due in today. I could see about it."

Erika didn't want to say outright that she was going to steal the shipment in front of the seamstress.

"Yes, please.” Duci looked relieved. “Have you thought about—the other aspect?"

Eirka noticed the black-haired woman was also uncomfortable hinting about their knowing sabotage in front of the Worker kneeling on the floor.

"I have an idea."

"Good."

They shared a knowing look before Erika ducked out the maroon door and down the hall, still carrying a stack of plates and the garbage bag. The girl was so laden with her wide load that she almost crashed headlong into someone rounding the corner.

"Whoa!"

Two plates slid out of her grasping fingers and crashed to the ground.

Over-top the rest of the dishes, Erika saw the bewildered face of Atticus blinking back at her.

"Oh my goodness me!" he stuttered. "Did I do that?" One knobby, metal finger pointed in shock to the shattered, white pieces of dish on the floor.

Erika felt two emotions flood her at the same time: relief to see him and annoyance.

"Just leave it, I'll get it," the girl muttered, trying to shoo the old Idle's fingers from the shards with her foot. "Just one minute."

With a grunt, she lowered her load against the nearest wall and knelt, helping Atticus pick up the plate remains.

"Stop, really—I'll get it. ...Why are you here?" The girl’s voice came out far too harsh, surprising even her. She quickly tried to soften it by adding, "It's nice to see you."

Luckily, Atticus clung to the last line. His metal lips parted in an eager smile.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, his joy evident, like a small child's. "It's nice to see you too!"

"And you're here because..." Erika prodded once again, flicking a strand of auburn hair out of her eyes as she cleaned.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.