Private Undercover Nannies

[Maeve Linahan]

Jacqueline frowned. "Yes, he did… but his apologies won't bring Valery back! They mean nothing. I still had to pay for a brand new figurine!"

She folded her arms over her chest in frustration and still pouted, but Baptiste, bright eyes looking between Amani and his elder sister, rubbed his hands nervously together. "Well, I would rather use my allowance to buy more candy but… I guess I could save some to help pay her back?"

Jacqueline almost looked a little surprised. "You would do that?"

"Well… if I get to play with Valery again, I will."

"What? You broke her last time! Why would I let you play with her again?" Jacqueline shot a look over to Amani, as if expecting her to side with her this time. Whatever she said next likely would determine how the argument fared. Already, the two seemed ready to break into a fight all over again.

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

They made progress, but it hung on a thread. Baptiste seemed open to the idea of lending his sister money for the figurine, but only on the condition that he could play with its well. Jacqueline was, unsurprisingly, suspicious about the idea. Amani raised a hand, "Now, hang on a moment. You're right to be concerned, Jacquline. But I also think your brother deserves a second chance, to prove that he's learned from his mistake, hm?" She looked to Baptiste, "Now, if you do break it again, you're going to have to pay for a whole third figurine. And if that happens, you definitely won't be able to play with that one, okay?"

The healer lowered her hand, "I think the two of you can have a lot more fun together if you shared a little more," Another glance at Jacqueline, "But that also means being polite and respectful with each other's things," Another glance at Baptiste. "So, Jacqueline, can you give Baptiste a second chance to play with the figurine. As long as you, Baptiste, pay for the figurine, and promise not to break it?"

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Amani had a remarkable way with words that put both the children at ease. While they'd been at each other's throats only moments ago, Jacqueline's anger had considerably subsided, and at the offered compromise, there was little else for her to do than agree. She was Baptise's elder sister, after all. They were family.

"I… guess I can give him a second chance," she said reluctantly.

Baptise nodded eagerly and smiled up to Amani. "And I'll pay her back! I'll take super extra care not to break Master Noble again, too! Promise!"

"Uh, Olga?" Maeve called from the kitchen island. Now that Amani had, by some miracle, calmed the children and negotiated a kind of ceasefire, the Jedi Shadow needed her help this time. "I cut up all the ingredients you left on the counter. Should this be enough?"

Although she'd already mixed most of the vegetables in with the greens, Maeve gestured to several more overgrown piles of random nonsense she'd also diced to shreds, having not been sure what else to do with them. They included everything from three chili peppers, a pineapple, a slab of raw and molding chicken, and a potato.

"Is this what you normally add to a salad?"

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

Miraculously, the two children seemed to have listened to reason. Amani smiled at her success, and the restored relations between brother and sister, almost forgetting to respond to her fake name, "Y-yeah?" She said after a delay, then turned to the children one last time, "Alright, you two go have fun. We'll be ready with dinner soon."

Unfortunately, whatever Maeve had wrought was far from a normal salad. The base ingredients were there, but for some reason the Shadow had been compelled to inject a slurry of other nonsense from the fridge. Amani frowned deeply, "N-no. Is that… god, Maeve, there's mold on this! We had everything we needed out. Where did all this come from?"

The mirialan rubbed her forehead and sighed, "…Fuck it. Is there a frozen pizza in the fridge?" These kids were probably going to hate the idea of a salad anyway. It was time for Plan B.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"I don't know. I was trying to be… helpful."

Maeve was a miserable cook. Although a salad should've been the easiest meal to prepare in the world, she hardly knew how to properly make it. She sustained on packaged rations and meat stripped right from the back of her kills. Animal kills, of course. Salads and desserts and other 'elaborate' dishes were not in her field of expertise.

As Lady Helga returned to the kitchen, still nursing the newborn, she fell short from the island and gaped. "Good heavens, what is that?"

Maeve stared at the mess she'd made. Was it really so bad? She thought it looked rather appetizing. Then again, she could eat about anything.

"I… well, perhaps there may be something in the freezer? I'm not sure. I haven't looked in there in ages." Lady Helga turned and dug into the fridge, cold air blasting her face. After a long moment, she pulled out a small box. "Oh, would you look at that! A lasagna!"

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

Amani settled on a smile, pitying but appreciative, "Well… I appreciate the impulse." Despite how impressive of a mess-up it was, the setback was largely inconsequential. Of course Lady Helga reappeared soon after, and expressed her own shock. But the fridge had a backup for them, in the form of a frozen lasagna.

"Sure. Whatever. It'll do," Amani shrugged and took the box, pulling out the rime-coated block of pasta and sauce. She flipped over the instructions, then looked to Maeve, "I'll get to work on this. Maybe you should do some… meandering?" The real intent of that message relaying back to their mission. They couldn't very well keep an eye out if they were both fiddling with a lasagna the whole time.

Besides, the longer Maeve stayed away from making any marginally complex dishes, the better.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Meandering. Of course." Maeve nodded, understanding the message. Better out searching for the Sith Lord than here in the kitchen. She served little help between meal prep and baby-sitting, and if Amani thought she could handle it, then wonderful. The Jedi Shadow was free at last.

With a reluctant bow, Maeve left the kitchen. As she did, Jacqueline and Baptiste were already descending on Amani like vultures, clearly taken by her company. "Hey, Olga," said Baptiste. "Can we help make the lasagna since Nanny Mae doesn't know how to read instructions? We're great readers!"

Maeve scowled and rolled her eyes. She despised children.

As she entered the intersecting hall, unfortunately, one of them followed after her—Isabella, the girl who'd latched onto her when they arrived. She pursued Maeve like a shadow, dark eyes looking up to hers. "Can I join you, Nanny Mae?" she asked. "I can help you find August. He's my big brother."

Maeve gazed down at the little creature and hesitated. Just when she was about to answer with a resounding 'no,' the girl pouted. "Pleeeeease?"

She grimaced. Gods, what was she thinking? "Oh, fine."

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

"Good luck." Maeve got the idea, and made a quick exit. It was for the best, both for her and everyone else. The kids, on the other hand, were quick to take her place. Amani blinked, then reluctantly replied, "…Suuure. You guys can read the instructions for me." If anything sounded fishy, she could just double check herself. No problem, right?

She didn't quite see the eye-roll from Maeve, but she could practically feel it. Amani subdued an amused smile, covering it briefly with her hand, "Alrighty, kids. What do we do first?" She looked over their shoulders to verify the information for herself. Hopefully these kids could read as well as they claimed.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Let me!" Baptiste cried. "Let me read!"

Jacqueline rolled her eyes and let her younger brother pick up the frozen lasagna. Of course, it was incredibly heavy and the boy released a 'oof,' almost dropping it to the floor. As he struggled to keep it up, he tried to look at the instructions on the side.

He frowned. "Oh, wait, um. I don't know how to read."

Meanwhile, Maeve wandered the halls of the villa with Isabella shortly behind her. It was a large and lavish manor, the walls practically dripping in wealth, from oil paintings to colorful tapestries. Lady Helga and her husband certainly had extravagant taste.

"Your brother, August. What more can you tell me about him?"

"Well," Isabella began, "He's big and weird and scary. For the last week he has been very mean, too. He never wants to play with me anymore." She frowned. "I miss him."

Maeve continued walking, blank-faced and uncaring. "…okay."

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

Amani tentatively reached out, as if to save the lasagna from falling. But Baptiste saved it, only to then admit he didn't know how to read at all. She fought against every urge to roll her eyes, "Okay. Well. Can you spell it out?" She leaned over a moment to check the information for herself. Preheat the oven. Obvious enough. She got to work doing just that , figuring Baptiste wouldn't notice or care while working through the phonetics.

"Um- Jacqueline, can you find me a pair of oven mitts, please?" She asked, for the sake of giving her something to do, then turned back to the boy, "Whatcha got for me? Figure it out yet?" Amani underlined where he was reading with a finger. This felt more like being a teacher than she had expected today.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

As Isabella led Maeve through the villa to where her eldest brother August supposedly stayed, Baptiste and Jacqueline continued to run amok of the kitchen. The younger boy struggled to read out the instructions on the lasagna box, pronouncing each letter as if it was an entire word itself.

Jacqueline served to be slightly more helpful. As she searched through several drawers, she retrieved a pair of oven mitts shaped like a kitten's paws and handed them proudly over to Amani. "Here you go, Nanny Olga! They're the only ones I could find."

With that handled, now there was just Baptiste's reading to deal with.

The boy had barely made it to the second line, still drawing out every syllable. "I think it's saying to, um, preheat the oven to four million degrees!" He flashed a smile. Even though he hadn't even reached the part detailing the cooking temperature, the number sounded right in his head.

Lady Helga, still nursing her newborn, checked in from the other side of the kitchen. By some miracle, she'd finally managed to lull the baby into a nap without killing it. "How's the cooking going? Have we started yet?"

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

Amani picked up the mitts, and couldn't help but chuckle at the obnoxious design, before plopping them back down, "They'll work fine, thank you." Jacqueline had managed to fish those out before Baptiste finished his step. Four million degrees? "Close enough," She glanced back to the stove, which was heating up to a much more realistic temperature.

Lady Helga checked in right around then, and Amani shrugged, "Just gotta stick it in the oven, now." A frozen, store-bought lasagna was perhaps not the most elegant of pasta dishes, but it was pretty easy to make. The only caveat was, "It'll probably take a while." Which meant finding other things to do in the meantime.

"Alright, uh… How about we get the dinner table set up?" Amani clasped her hands together, "Plates. Utensils. Cups." She spun around, stuck the lasagna in the oven, set the timer, then looked at the array of cabinets, "Um— Where are the plates, utensils, and cups?" Once they found it, she could start handing things out for the kids to take to the table.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"I will grab the plates!" Jacqueline said earnestly.

"I can find the cups!" Baptiste added with a toothy grin.

Lady Helga glanced around with the newborn in her hands and shrugged. "Um, don't look at me. I've no idea where to start with the utensils. I trust you may find them on your own, dear Olga?" The woman flashed a smile and proceeded to shrink out of the kitchen. As always, being the wonderful mother she was, she left the responsibility to the Jedi.

———​

On the other side of the villa, Maeve had finally reached August's room. By now, from what Isabella had told her, she felt skeptical of the older boy, and it didn't help when she found his door locked. She rapped once. Twice.

"Hello? August? It's your new… nanny. Wanted to let you know dinner will be ready shortly. Your mother is asking for you."

Isabella hid behind Maeve's skirt. As she reached out through the Force, she felt an odd trickle of the Dark Side, hidden, but not enough for a sharp mind like hers to detect. She couldn't tell whether it was coming from August's room or not, though it only heightened her suspicions. Made her feel for her own lightsaber.

Before she could knock again, the door swung open. August, a teenage boy with a fraying mop of hair, glowered at her sharply. "What is it, hag?"

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

The kids were happy to help. So long as they were capable of basic organization, this should be a non-issue. Fingers crossed. Amani caught sight of Lady Helga, who frankly she hadn't expected to help in the first place by now. But it was still disheartening to see the ease with which she thrust all responsibility onto a stranger. Her, especially, given the real reason they were supposed to be here. Not to mention she apparently didn't even know where her own utensils were. Did this woman do anything on her own?

Amani began searching around through the drawers until she finally came across one with a collection of silverware. She grabbed the tray and carried it to the dining table, "Okay, one cup and one plate for everybody." Meanwhile, she laid down a fork and knife in front of each chair. Presumably nobody would be needing a spoon for lasagna. "Once you guys set everything else out, why don't you go gather all your other siblings and tell them dinner will be ready soon, hm?"

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

With the table set, the children seemed to run about in excitement. Even Lady Helga and the newborn had returned from the shadows, taking an eager look at the dining room. Now, all they had to do was wait for the lasagna. Oh, and for the others to arrive.

"All of us are here," said Jacqueline. "Well, were. Besides August."

"August?" Baptiste frowned. "Does he have to come? He's mean!"

Both children were determined to avoid fetching their eldest sibling. No one in the family seemed to have had a pleasant experience with the boy, at least as of late. And Maeve? She understood their reasoning completely.

———​

Standing at August's door, the Jedi Shadow glared at the boy, all the fires of hell contained in her eyes. "What did you call me?" she said in a dangerously sharp tone. If there was a Sith Lord lurking about the villa, anyone might've assumed it was her.

August was no fool. He saw the terrifying wrath in Maeve with one blink. Slowly, his face fell, and for the moment, he almost looked cowed.

"Uh," he said, unsure of himself. "What do you want?"

"We have prepared dinner," Maeve gritted out. "You are expected."

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

Amani squinted at the kids, "Oh. Right," She just kept assuming there would be fifty other kids just around the corner, despite having already been told how many there actually were. That made it easier, at least. Other than the fact that both Baptist and Maeve seemed wholly uninterested in having anything to do with their elder brother. Sure sibling spats weren't exactly uncommon, but this felt beyond that now. Like they actively detested him. Or were even afraid of him.

"What's wrong with bringing August? Why don't you want to have dinner with your brother?" She asked casually, hoping to pry a little more information from them. The timer on the oven beeped. She put on the oven mitts, and extracted the steaming block of lasagna.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"He's a meanie," said Baptiste, pouting. "He called me a butthead."

Jacqueline snorted. "Oh, he's called me worse! I even saw him sneaking around my room yesterday!"

Lady Helga tsked at her two whining children, swinging her newborn in her arms. "Oh, come now. It's just a phase. He's a teenager now." She paused, considering a moment, then slanted a look over to Amani. "Well, to be fair, he has been acting strange as of late. Always holed up in his room. Sneaking around the house during the night. It's quite odd."

As if on cue, Maeve returned to the kitchen. Isabella still stuck to her skirt like a lost piece of chewed gum, but more importantly, August was with them now. Persuaded—well, intimidated—by Maeve's furious glare and deathlike aura, the teenage boy had finally departed from the comfort of his room. It seemed like a miracle.

August was not a handsome boy. His hair was a mop of black curls and dark shadows hung under his eyes, like he'd been up throughout the night, and even at the smell of fresh lasagna, while his siblings salivated and leapt in excitement, he wore an expression bordering on disinterest. He clearly did not want to be here.

The boy folded his arms. "Is that fucking lasagna? Gross."

Amani Serys​

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[Amani Serys]

Amani squinted. This August was a peculiar boy. Suspicious, even. But to what end, she could hardly wager a guess. Surely it had nothing to do with their own investigation. Right? She waved off the notion, but remained studious of the teenager when he came in. Maeve had brought both him and Isabella down for dinner. August seemed unimpressed.

"Is that fucking lasagna? Gross."

Amani sneered, "Language. And yes, it is. What's wrong with it?" She dared to ask. The mirialan took a knife and began to cut into the dish, separating it into even squares. She stole a glance at Maeve, her conspiratorial expression clearly asking if she had found anything, without voicing it outright. "Get your plates ready and take your seats, kids. Dinner is served."

Maeve Linahan​