Heaven’s Servant Ch. 05

Chapter 5: Encounter with a Ghost

It was the night of her fifth day in Heaven.

Her fifth day was spent cleaning as much of the first floor as she could.

Her mistress spent much of her time in her second floor office and it was easy to avoid her. She spent much of her time avoiding any of the other residents because she was going through a crisis.

Melody didn't want to talk to anyone. Waking up her mistress had been difficult. Neither of them said much. She prepared meals in silence with Perry. She didn't even ask a single question which was very unlike her.

The maid just kept playing the disappointment of her mistress in her head as she turned over in bed. She had been so disappointed and now she was in bed thinking about it.

Thinking about it and feeling ill, but her resolve on the situation hadn't dissolved. She didn't believe their lives were in danger. She just didn't. And because of that she saw no reason to not have been a snoop.

"Right?" Melody asked her pillow. "I deserve to be curious. This is Heaven. I'm not in Hell and I'm not going to get my love killed because I snooped on one very unimportant conversation. Right?"

Melody turned it over and over in her head until she fell asleep with the pillow that she liked to pretend was her mistress.

Falling into another dream was very disorientating. She didn't collide with a table this time. However, a door slammed open on her as she landed.

Coming into his office was the man, the myth, and the biggest bastard in New York. It was her old self, Marvin. Who was holding paperwork and looked entirely too pleased with himself. Melody peeked over his shoulder to see what he held in his hands. Of course, it was something so entirely unrelated to his actual job.

The maid in her purple nightgown shook her head. It was nice her mind dressed her in something modest, but she felt it wasn't necessary. Well... maybe it was since she was hopping into minds that weren't hers.

Marvin held the finished paperwork for getting renovations done on a newly acquired apartment in the city. He was grinning from ear to ear when Julie and Eric walked into his office unannounced. Marvin was just glad that he hadn't been doing anything that would cause further embarrassment. Though, Melody could see a hidden grimace as he was angry that they had barged in uninvited.

He put down his finished paperwork, sat in his chair, and pretended to listen to their argument.

Melody remembered being pretty good at pretending to listen and Marvin's face was almost laughable. "This jerk isn't going to give you any helpful advice," Melody mumbled. She was very careful to not cuss.

"I swear to god, Eric, our office area is haunted. I can't believe you don't believe me," Julia said. She was an attractive Latina on the shorter side with long hair. Marvin tightened his hand into a fist as if he was holding something. Melody knew he was imagining pulling her long hair while fucking her from behind.

Marvin shook his head to snap himself out of any sexual thoughts while dealing with two employees of his. He turned his head towards Eric to listen to him.

The maid chuckled at the head shake. It wasn't new.

Eric was on the taller side with a much paler complexion. Melody guessed he was very close, if not above 6 feet, towering over the tiny woman. They looked like an odd couple in an animation. "You are just overly worked and over stressed. That's why we're here, boss," he mansplained.

"That's how it sounds like," Melody whispered in disbelief. It sure sounded like mansplaining. She leaned on the desk beside Marvin. Oddly, it felt like she was his sexy purple haired secretary.

Marvin nodded his head and said, "Marvin, call me Marvin, please, Eric." He motioned to the two chairs sitting in front of his desk.

"They will never call you that, bud," Melody teased.

"You are just a skeptic, jerk," Julie said before plopping her bubble butt down. Melody saw both of the men's eyes gravitate toward her every curve. Unfortunately, she wasn't doing much better.

"No need for name calling, Julie," Marvin criticized.

Melody winced. That tone felt so... ugh. She felt horrible.

"Sorry, sir," Julie said. Her tone was so deferential.

Marvin rolled his eyes. "Marvin," he said.

"Never gonna happen, sir," Melody teased. She sang the last word with a joy she hadn't felt since before her mistress had pushed her away.

"Eric just doesn't believe me. I have experience with ghosts. They're not to be messed with and I swear our work area is haunted." Melody could see fear in her slumped shoulders. Both men looked like they were ready to pounce on the woman in order to comfort her.

"Eric, what do you think?" Marvin asked. He had to tear his eyes away from the fearful and attractive Latina.

Eric sat down looking between Marvin and Julie with strained nerves. His strings had been pulled tight and looked like they were about to snap causing more harm than good. "I'm... not sure, sir. I swear we're just overworked at the moment. I don't think it's a ghost, but I wouldn't doubt it if it was proven to me."

"Alright. Let's think this through then," he said looking at the two of his employees. His eyes lingered a bit too much on Julie's tight blouse. "You believe there's a ghost in your work area?" Marvin asked.

Julie nodded. She looked confident, if a bit tired. Melody wondered when the last time either of them had taken a vacation. Overworked employees tended to burn out very quickly.

"And you think you're both just tired and over-worked? To the point you'd believe in ghosts, if it would stop Julie from harassing you." Marvin asked, looking at Eric. Julie glared at the two of them.

Neither of the men were going to believe her. Why would they? She was a woman and they were men.

Melody scoffed.

"Yes, sir," Eric said. He looked even more tired than Julie with a white shirt with one too many coffee stains on it.

Marvin shook his head and did his best not to criticize them. "You both are getting a paid week off. After you get back, if there's still ghostly happenings then I'll call the ghostbusters... or a psychic... or an exorcist." He looked at the two of them. Julie looked a bit pissed, Melody betted she thought he was only half joking. He had, after all, done similar things in his offices previously. "Sound good? Sound like a plan? Maybe, you two can go on a date during that time off."

They both blushed.

"Boundaries, sir," Melody criticized. She was wincing at the disgusting overstepping Marvin had just done with that tiniest comment. Who did he think he was? Their friend?

"Yes, sir," Julie said. Marvin's eyes lingered on her body. He was clearly jealous of Eric's hold on the woman as she couldn't take her eyes off of the tall man sitting beside her, probably imagining him carrying her out of the office to save her from any evil spirit.

"Better man than you ever will be, sir," Melody grumbled. She crossed her arms, pushed herself off the desk, and began to pace.

"Yes, sir," Eric said. The boss eyed his muscles and Melody wouldn't doubt that he could take Marvin down in a fight. Those muscles could carry her out of the office any day as well.

Melody had quick snapshots of him fucking her while he held her down with those strong muscles. From Marvin's stares he was thinking the same things.

Maybe Melody was always like this...

"Enjoy your week off. I'll assign others any remaining work you had to do and I'll personally take on any major projects until you both come back," Marvin said. Then he teased, "have fun."

Melody winced.

They both blushed again and left his office. Marvin called in Felicia.

"They just ran in, sir. I couldn't stop them," Felicia explained.

Marvin put his hand up to save her from any further explaining. "It's fine, Felicia. Call me Marvin, please. See what those two were working on and send it to individuals in the office that have less on their plates. Then send me any major projects they're working on."

"Yes, sir," she said and left the room to do something in ten minutes that would take him thirty.

Melody chuckled at Felicia's resolve. She really wanted to see the woman again. Her long blonde hair and those cat eye glasses were all she could think about sometimes. Those blue eyes that were so full of kindness.

Give it seventy years and she might see her again. Melody hoped she would live a long life with a loving husband.

She had stopped her pacing and stared at Marvin.

"Fuck," he said as he ran a hand through his short dark brown hair. He looked at the paperwork he had been working on for a few minutes, but pushed away, deciding to ignore it until it became too large to deal with.

Marvin got up and headed towards Julie and Eric's work area to see if he could spot any ghosts.

Having nothing better to do, Melody followed and found the same dark doorway as her third night in Heaven. Entering the dark, pitch black, door she found a familiar sight.

Melody found herself facing four paths once more.

It seemed like whoever was putting her here wanted her to stay as it locked her path back to her dream once more. The door to her old office flattened into a regular wall. There was no way out except through one of the halls. Maybe if she waited the dream would end on its own, but her inquisitive nature was quickly getting the better of her.

"Back again. I was hoping to see ghosts," Melody whispered. "Are you showing certain memories of mine on purpose? What about Ida's memory? Did I get that one on purpose? Or was that the dream she was having at that time?"

She didn't know who she was talking to.

She didn't doubt that her mistress would dream about her sister as that was a very normal thing to do. At least she thought so.... It wasn't like she had any siblings. She had been an only child raised by her grandparents and then they died, so she was used to being alone.

Melody hugged herself as she thought about how lonely she had been and how lonely the fight with her mistress had made her. A desire to save Ira was growing in her, but she briefly wondered if she would be jealous of their relationship. She wanted to save Ira and be her mistress's savior, but what if she ignored Melody in favor of her sister?

The hug tightened and she pushed those thoughts away.

Whoever was picking the memories she was revisiting could have played any of them where Marvin had been dismissive to a woman, yet it chose that one specifically. She was mostly sure she had seen that memory, not because of the muscles on Eric or the tasty curves of Julie, but because that memory had talked about ghosts.

It was a gut feeling.

Why would that matter?

Why didn't the muscles on Eric matter? Why couldn't she dream about the two of them and her in a threesome? She would eat out Julie while Eric fucked her pussy. All on Marvin's desk while he was hopelessly cucked.

Eric would fill her so tight with that monster cock of his. She had taken a few glances at his pants while he sat there.

Julie would pound her pussy into Melody's hungry mouth. Julie's hands would tightly grip Melody's long hair.

Melody would moan, mewl, and murmur for more. She would hold back cries of pleasure until she orgasmed so hard between the two of them that she would pass out.

She let out a soft moan of desire. It filled the room.

The maid let the scene play out in her head. She loved the idea of Marvin watching. Her past self, unable to participate because he was a jerk. He didn't deserve anything.

Melody tapped her fingers against her back and studied the paths in front of her.

She let go off her tight self hug and chose the vanilla white hallway. It called to her, albeit not as loudly as the red hallway. She had some idea of what she'd find. It wasn't her first time doing this and she avoided looking at the red hallway that belonged to her mistress. As much as the red whispered to her, she ignored it, and even her legs had difficulty going towards the white hall.

The maid held strong. Each step towards the white hallway got easier and she ignored the intense desire to find a way for Mistress Idalynn and her to make up.

Perry's memories were laid before her. Just as they had been with her mistress. They were paintings in oil and so intricate to the point it was believable that Monet had painted each one, but there were hundreds, if not thousands. Melody enjoyed the impressionist quality of each. She could see a tall figure standing in each going about whatever he had been doing in the memory.

The man had been an explorer. That much was obvious when he stood next to beautiful landscapes the likes of which Melody had never seen. Giant mountains and geologic features that would only be possible if someone had created them by hand. A few monumental structures, so tall they made Perry look tiny, also distracted Melody, but none were moving.

If ever there was someone to ask about Heaven it would have been this man, this explorer, and this tall glass of water.

"Too bad he doesn't talk," Melody mumbled. She was hugging herself once more. Self hugging was barely doing anything. The impressive visual onslaught should have made her distracted, but all she could feel was that she deserved to see none of it.

The long hallway that went on forever. Melody felt at certain points it would condense. Where a hundred paintings condensed into one. Where it would have taken several minutes to walk it took one second. Somehow it didn't exhaust her as she eventually stumbled upon one painting that was actually moving.

This memory was being relived. This memory was what he was dreaming of and Melody examined it until the oils leaked down a window, then the window and wall vanished as she was transported in.

He was climbing the mountains silently; as only Perry could do. A large pack on his back, much too big than what Melody expected, and a hiking stick in hand. The pack was way too large for a simple hike. Melody assumed he would be camping out once he reached the summit he was climbing to.

Melody hid behind a thick tree. Perry had looked her way for the briefest moment, maybe he heard the tiniest pop of her entering his mind. She watched from a distance. She watched his long legs carry him up large rocks only to realize she had to keep up.

She ran forward, careful not to stumble on any rocks, her bare feet glued themselves to each rock like she were Spider-Man.

It seemed he was close to finishing his trek. He was almost to the top of the mountain.

Melody jumped from large rock to large rock like a mountain goat. She knew that climbing a mountain was not this easy. It was like the dream world was helping her to keep up. She silently thanked whoever was running the dream world as jumped from one large rock, shaped like a giant egg, to another that was about four feet away.

She hid behind another thick tree as she reached the top of the summit. Perry was admiring the view in silence. The maid took the moment to admire him.

"So tall," she whispered. She imagined the painting, choosing this moment to encapsulate in a moment of eternity.

He wore a hat that covered his white hair. He still had his bushy walrus mustache and dark tusks that made him look like some fantasy race in a game. Perry hadn't shaved in a bit and had stubble all over his face.

His outfit, not his usual butler attire, was something she'd imagine a hiker to wear. A vest with way too many pockets, more pockets than were necessary, and more pockets than she would ever need. Of course, it was in that classic light brown color that all men loved. He wore shorts that showed off his hairy legs that looked very strong. His arms were also revealed and his arms were also very muscled and very covered in white hair.

He looked like an animal. He looked like a beast. And he could have fucked her right then.

Melody let out a horny moan before clasping her hands over her mouth.

Perry stared her way. The maid hid behind the tree, waited for a moment, and looked his way. He was done admiring the view in his silent and stoic way. He was bent over a rock that was taller than Melody, but he easily towered over it. The man probably couldn't lift the giant thing, but he was taller than it.

Beneath the massive rock, its bottom curved up slightly which was perfect for a hand to slip in, he knelt down, and he reached for something.

CLICK

It was a loud click. It echoed down the mountain. Melody saw Chastity's three towers below. They stood taller than even the mountain. The maid saw that apart from the large white towers that the mountain was the tallest thing around.

The mountain was giant. She could see for miles upon miles. It felt like she could see all of the orb she had been living in for the last five days. She thought she could also make out the faintest hints of a circular horizon and a glass dome.

Above were shapes of several islands. They were outside the dome and she couldn't make out much detail.

Perry let out a soft, but very audible, "Ah."

The sound distracted Melody from the view. It was the first sound she'd heard from the man that wasn't a chuckle.

"There," he muttered.

Melody tripped.

He had a lovely voice. It was deep and lovely. It was musical and so absolutely lovely. If voices were objects then his voice would have been a warm blanket that she could wrap herself in and fall asleep with.

RUMBLE

An elevator vibrated out of the ground. It shook the mountain like an earthquake, a heaven-quake, and Melody was glad she was already lying on the ground. Tripping had caused her to land with a soft thud. She was glad she couldn't get hurt in these memories.

Again, she silently thanked whoever she needed to thank.

Then with very little warning the quake stopped and there was a ding.

Melody got up as quickly as she could and sprinted towards the thing.

Perry got in. He disappeared from view and the doors were closing. This was her last moment to see something so interesting. An elevator like this was easily more impressive than the three giant white towers. This thing was easily more interesting than deciphering why Celestial were different heights.

This elevator would easily distract her from her issues with her mistress.

She was close to the golden cube, an elevator that looked like it would go nowhere except into the ground. The maid could reach out and almost touch it, but was running out of time.

Melody did something stupid, or very smart, she yelled, "hold the elevator!"

Just like someone in New York would call. Just like she had done several times when arriving at work. Most of the time it worked and she would see a hand pop out to hold the doors open.

This time she wasn't disappointed as she saw Perry's large hand stick out holding the gold doors open. Above the door were three lights and only one was lit.

Perry held it open as she jogged in. She was so grateful, but didn't express that gratitude for the moment. Her mind was still trying to catch up. Or she was still trying to catch up with her mind.

Melody did what she had taught herself to do when things were stressful and she had so many questions swirling around in her head. She made a list.

She was in Heaven, on the tallest peak of Chastity's Orb, standing next to a ten foot tall Celestial, standing in a gold elevator that had just rumbled out of the ground, and Perry was in khaki shorts.

The buttons! Where would an elevator in Heaven go?

She studied the buttons before she did anything else.

There were three. She had to count them twice. There was an H with a crown on top, E with a circle in the middle, and H with a pitchfork on the bottom. Melody could only guess what they meant, but she could make safe assumptions.

She was standing in an elevator that could take her to three places. Heaven being only one of them while the other two were Earth and Hell.

One button was glowing while the other two were dimmed. Perry had clicked on the H with a pitchfork next to it.

Wait! What? She double checked that.

Melody turned to the giant beside her. She was a little over half his height and she was close to him. There was an assumption that elevators were a certain size and this elevator was built more for someone his size rather hers. She felt tiny.

"Thank you, Perry," she smiled. "Thank you so very much."

Perry studied her. His brows were furrowed in concentration. They reminded Melody of two white haired caterpillars as he tried to recognize her. He didn't say anything and it was unlikely he would say anything and Melody was almost grateful. He couldn't lecture her for stumbling into his mind. He couldn't call her names and he certainly couldn't insult her.

Then there was recognition. That's when Mistress Idalynn's dream had ended. She recognized her and then yelled at her.

All the man could do was look at her with a mix of confusion, anger, and pain? Was that pain or regret? Either way that emotion easily made up for the fact he couldn't talk and Melody lost her happy mood. Her happy mood turned into a pout. She glared at his chest and avoided his orange eyes.

She wanted to punch his chest. It would likely do absolutely nothing.

"Might as well wake up, old man. Maybe you can give me that look when we wake up. I don't understand why you're in pain or regretful!" Melody growled. He was making her angry with that stare. "Every single fuc... stupid Celestial I've run into is so twisted into painful pretzels. You can't even talk because you're so... so... grrrr."

She stamped her foot.

She woke from the dream to a deafening silence. Melody breathed deeply. Then she breathed once more and it felt like she wasn't going to calm down. It took several minutes until she heard a knock on her door.

There stood Perry.

His hair wasn't perfectly coiffed when he arrived at her door. He was still handsome. His face was still contorted in pain. Not a deep pain, but pain nonetheless. She had once again crossed somebody's boundaries.

His buttons on his suit jacket were offset. He had put it on in a rush and had put the buttons in the wrong holes.

That was very unlike the giant.

His bow tie was also crooked. Melody saw it and pouted even harder. She glared at the stupid piece of white cloth before glaring up at Perry. She crossed her arms and glared for what felt like an eternity in complete silence.

Melody breathed deeply. She gestured for him to lower himself and for some very odd reason he actually listened.

"I have so many questions, Perry," she whispered, and she straightened his bow tie. "I have so many questions about that elevator and I'm sure you have answers," she continued, and she brushed her hands through his soft white hair. It was so soft and the first time she'd ever touched it as he was so tall. She smiled as she twirled his mustache. "But you won't say a word. I won't say anything to Mistress Idalynn. I assume she has never seen that elevator. I assume you want it to be a secret."

Melody unbuttoned his jacket. The man nodded.

Melody carefully lined buttons up with their corresponding holes while staring into Perry's beautiful orange eyes. There was so much she wanted to ask the man. There were so many answers rattling around in his head and she wasn't going to get anything.

"Where's your pocket square?" Melody asked when she noticed his jacket was missing something very vital.

He chuckled and lifted up the orange piece of cloth he probably just shoved in. He adjusted it until it looked like a gorgeous orange tulip with three petals.

"I won't say anything," Melody whispered. "But I want something from you. Other than regular fu... sex sessions. I want help getting Mistress Idalynn to fall in love with me."

He didn't say anything.

She continued, still in a whisper and very afraid her mistress might hear, "I know I saw something I shouldn't have. I know I crossed a line and I know I haven't been here long. This is my sixth day here. Do you believe in love at first sight? I saw that woman and saw the weight she carries on her shoulder and wanted her. I wanted her to love me."

Perry silently got up.

"I died alone... Perry, I was so lonely. I was a jerk and nobody loved me because of it," she said. Tears were falling down her cheeks. "I don't want to make the same mistakes and... maybe I am. I disobeyed her, Perry. I don't like being told to stay and not be... a snoop," she shook her head, "I'm not as bad as he was. I hope. I just like being curious. I invaded your mind because I'm curious and... it was there." She lifted her hand as if gesturing to something. "It was right there and then you went to an impossible elevator."

It was one giant excuse for her awful behavior. She was awful. She felt awful and assumed Perry would never forgive her. He would never trust her, if he ever did in the first place.

Perry made no interruptions. He listened.

"So? Perry, can you help?" Melody asked. Her voice cracked.

The butler eyed her naked body for a few long moments. They were long and painful moments as he came to his answer. Melody couldn't meet his gaze and stared at his black shoes. She knew that any answer from him would be silent and that if she wasn't staring at his face then she would easily miss anything to answer her.

A hand on her chin brought her gaze up. She stared into his eyes. He gave a half smile before he nodded.

Melody wrapped him into a hug. It was quick so he had no chance of blocking it. "Thank you," she mumbled, before looking up to his face. "I was serious about the regular sex sessions. I know I'm not her. Please, don't get angry. I'm not your Cera. But... I want... I want you to screw me and I want cuddles."

Perry gave her a pained look. He still nodded.

Mistress Idalynn again didn't say anything as Melody got her dressed. She avoided any stares from the maid and not once did she meet Melody's eyes.

Melody supposed if she didn't have anything nice to say then she wasn't going to say anything at all. They both wouldn't say anything.

Once the red wolf woman was awake, dressed in a shirt and skirt that Melody had chosen, did they go their separate ways.

She felt sad, but she forced those thoughts out. She had an ally. Perry was her ally, he could fuck her brains out, and slowly, very slowly, help her to get her mistress to fall in love with her.

Melody hoped.

Cleaning areas that Mistress Idalynn didn't frequent had become a recent specialty of Melody's. It was easy when the place was literally a palace and her mistress a queen.

Her palace must've had hundreds of live-in staff which caused it to have hundreds of staff bedrooms nearly identical to hers. Most were spread out on different levels while hers was on the third floor. A desire to get a bedroom on the fifth continued to eat at her. Why shouldn't be close to her mistress, her queen?

Chills ran through her as she thought of the woman as her queen.

She smiled, but forced her mistress out of her head. The woman was angry at Melody and needed her space. They both needed space and she really wished that would be enough.

Today, she was exploring her floor, the third floor, looking through any of the countless rooms (well she could probably count them, but that would get rid of the magical size) for something that needed urgent attention. Melody liked doing the stuff that was urgent, so that she felt like she had accomplished something other than a light dusting.

Wandering around some place the size of Buckingham Palace with no other souls felt ominous, but Melody was getting used to the quiet. She felt like she could hear anybody several rooms away or down any hallway and that settled any nerves. It made exploring the quiet place somewhat bearable. The only thing she wished she had was music.

An idea about getting a mini mirror to play music popped into her head. She felt like she needed to ask permission and that made the fun thought less fun.

Melody hummed as she traveled down the hall.

She danced as she pushed her cleaning cart.

Then she hummed as she found a room that needed urgent attention. And by urgent attention it could have survived another hundred years of no one visiting it. She danced as she dusted.

She was good at neither dancing nor humming and if her mistress was watching, or anyone, she'd have immediately stopped. Her face would have gone the color of her mistress's eyes and she'd have covered her face in embarrassment.

It was an Earth classic that was running on repeat in her head and she hummed the tune as best she could. Her best wasn't that great as she had always been terrible at music. Terrible at anything creative. She wasn't creative. She was inquisitive and could see people's emotions as if they were written on their face because it often was. Reading people was like reading words on a page. It was like watching a play and knowing exactly what was about to be said.

"That's why I became a flipping CEO instead of mastering guitar," she said to the pillow she was airing out. "Give me spreadsheets any day over music sheets. Give me a man like Perry and I can see every thought on his face. I should kiss him. That would be fun."

She chuckled at the word play and looked at the room as it shined brightly.

Finished with her dance, with putting new sheets on that weren't torn, and repairing blinds. There was no remaining dust, and there was a floor she could eat off of. She admired her work. Melody had no idea why the room had been treated so poorly. It was like some large cat had been dragged out. When they were dragged they tore at the blinds and bedding leaving slight claw marks.

"Another one done. Only a hundred more to go," she said with a smile.

There was no one to bother her, no one to interrupt her work, and no one to talk with or share anything with. The smile soon faded as she rolled her cart out of the room headed for the next.

Loneliness. It's something that Perry knew about her now. A secret that was revealed to the man and she wondered if he thought about her differently. She didn't want that.

If he fucked her more, then maybe she did want him to think she was a lonely woman who couldn't live a day without a good hard cock inside her. But what if he did think about her differently? What if he increased his distance? What if her mistress kept ignoring her? What if she spent the next hundred years in Heaven lonely?

There were people around, but did they see her? Did they care about her? Could they forgive her? Could she forgive her?

She stopped and tightened her grip on the cart. A tear fell down her cheek and the desire to run down to her mistress's office to ask for forgiveness crept in.

"Damnit! I didn't do anything wrong!" Melody shouted. The words seemed to echo down the hallway that was sparsely decorated. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Apart from spying on a private conversation between a loyal advisor and a queen. Or be a womanizer in life.

"Minor mistakes. Yet, she makes it out to be some horrible thing. She was sharing so much that I thought she trusted me and she didn't."

She pushed the cart to the next room with as much conviction as she could muster.

The next room was locked and Melody looked at the keyhole expecting something interesting, but only found dust. She had the extreme desire to get inside this particular room and she wondered where the keys would be to this room. Melody tried to ignore the temptation to ask her mistress and searched nearby for any hints of keys. Keys were usually in one spot. Since she was on the third floor she expected to find his room.

Why was it locked? Why this room and not the hundreds of others?

Should she open it?

What was inside?

Her nature got the better of her and she made a detour to Perry's room. She had seen him carry the large ring of keys several times before. A few things in this palace were locked and she tried to make a list of them like she was a spy on a mission.

Was she a security breach?

Were all the keys in his room?

Melody doubted that all of the keys were on his keyring in his room. That would be very dumb. She assumed every room key was in his room and perhaps a master key to all the rooms.

She had seen him venture into this particular door a few times since arriving in Heaven. Her cart was left in the hall by the door and she could see it in the distance.

His room was very close to hers. She counted the doors between them. One. There was one room between them. That seemed important, but she shrugged it off as she twisted the doorknob of the door. She wasn't disappointed to find that it was indeed his room.

Perry's room was as expected. His bed was large because he was a large man. Everything was neatly organized with his room decorated in grays, blacks, and orange.

On one wall was a large ring of keys and beside the ring of keys was what Melody assumed was the master key for every bedroom. She studied them before her hand grabbed the single key. Melody didn't want to spend an hour going through the hundreds of keys and waste time. The single key felt special and seemed to radiate an unearthly power in her grip. She shrugged that off to existing in Heaven. She assumed everything here held an unearthly power.

She shut his door on the way out and skipped happily to the locked room.

Another secret. Another hidden thing for her to discover and none could stop her.

She went to the locked door with her key. It was only hers because she was holding it, a new key. Upon entering the room she found that it held a small yellow radio which was like finding a hunk of gold, out in the open, ripe for the taking. Finding the radio was like finding a bag of money that had no one's name on it, and it was like finding a radio in a palace devoid of entertainment; apart from giant mirrors in most every bedroom. Melody placed the key in her apron and was drawn in by the radio, immediately ignoring anything else in the room and ran over to the portable radio.

"It's not like I'll get any good stations. I'm in Heaven and everything is probably some cultish bull," she assumed. However, she was going to find out. She wanted to know every station this radio played. It was the most advanced piece of tech from Earth that she'd seen. Heaven didn't have radios, no phones, and no computers.

Melody needed to lower her expectations as she clicked it on and looked at the back to find a battery compartment. It didn't have batteries and just came to life playing classical. She tried flipping through the channels, but the only channel it picked up was orchestral.

"Weird, but not unwelcome," she whispered to the radio before taking in the room. "Golly. Gee."

Melody clenched her fist at the silliest exclamations she had produced since arriving in Heaven.

It was like a hungry hound had been locked into the room and it tore everything apart looking for any scrap of food. The bed was on the ground in three pieces with giant claw gouges relieving most of its stuffing. Curtains were barely holding on a bent bar by the window; while half of the fabric was covering the ground rather than light shining through the window.

By far the worst object, that had taken the brunt of whatever devil had ripped apart the room, was a bedside dresser that no longer resembled anything it used to be. Drawers were gnawed, on the ground in several pieces, and the body of the dresser had been broken into at least a hundred chunks.

Melody's attention went back to the only object in the room that hadn't been torn to pieces and saw ethereal fingers coming through the radio.

A single hand made its way out of the radio and more was coming. Melody placed the radio on the ground and took a few steps back as a golden ghost entered the destroyed room. Exciting orchestral music ushered the creature into the room as some piano player played like his fingers were on fire.

Her eyes were glued onto the golden see-through humanoid as it pulled itself out of the radio. Some gut feeling told her she should be running. Her insides were screaming at her to make a run for it while she still could. Melody was reluctant to die again so soon after getting to Heaven. She was reluctant to know how it felt to die in Heaven and was reluctant of being reincarnated into somebody else.

The maid's curiosity was getting the better of her. As the more she studied the being the more time she lost running, but she wanted to know why ghosts existed in Heaven. It was stupid! Why did ghosts exist in Heaven?! Why weren't her legs working?!

She didn't know and her brain struggled for several more minutes before turning. She turned towards the door only to witness it slam shut.

BANG!

Almost as loud as a gunshot. Melody had never heard a gunshot up close. She had never shot any guns and never even held one, but that sounded like a gunshot. Right? Had to. Maybe Perry had heard it and would rescue her. Her mistress would definitely save her. She was her queen. Her queen would always rescue her.

At least she was half sure.

The side of the door she hadn't seen had been clawed at just as much as anything else in the room.

"Ok, so that's not gonna work," Melody said, as she studied the clawed door, her heart was racing. Each heartbeat felt like it would be the last. She ran towards the window as part of her second plan only to have a golden hand fall onto her shoulder.

A hand that felt solid and like it wouldn't budge with what little strength Heaven had granted her as a woman. Melody's hand reached up to pry the hand off her shoulder and an intense lightning storm shot through her body sending her to the floor.

Melody's eyes felt just as heavy as the hand on her had been. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a terrifyingly beautiful and pale yellow ghost, with floating golden hair that gave her the dangerous look of a siren, pulling Melody deep into the sea to never be seen again.

Waking up on a bed in three pieces was an uncomfortable situation to find herself in. Had she been moved?

Melody felt sick. It reminded her of every single bad hangover Marvin had gotten trying to out drink a woman to prove his manliness. He always failed because he was such a lightweight and couldn't handle his liquor.

"Didn't stop him, us, from trying," she muttered and gripped her head which contained a throbbing headache. "Mistress Idalynn is going to kill me. Shoot. Gosh-dang-it."

Memories of a golden ghost came rushing back in and her head bolted upright to look at the room around her. Her eyes bolted around looking for any nefarious specters. Her heart was skipping around like she was having a panic attack. A panic attack in Heaven was not new for the maid. Melody found the suspect floating beside her cart which now held the yellow radio.

"I'm not taking that, if it belongs to you," she admitted. "That's your spooky corn-shucking radio and I'm not forking around with some ghost genie. I have a rule to not mess with ghosts. Well... now I have a rule."

The pale yellow ghost which reminded Melody of a yellow rose or the morning glow of the sun turned towards her and made an effort to speak.

"I'm not hearing anything. Can you hear me?" Melody asked, surprised by how calm she was being. "A forking ghost in Heaven and you are trying to talk to it?" Melody asked herself quietly.

The specter nodded. She thought about how she might communicate with the pale woman. Marvin had taken college level ASL classes, but was always rusty and never had a chance to use those skills in life.

Marvin had silly dreams of finding a sexy girl who could only communicate in such a way which never happened.

She signed, "hello."

The ghost signed back, "I need sex." Her hands moved sloppily as if she was also unpracticed with sign language.

Melody did the classic surprised and shocked face. Heaven had been an unbelievably weird dream for her, full of sex, and she was not expecting a ghost to want to screw her brains out.

"Why?" Melody asked stunned.

"I'm hungry," she signed.

"I don't even know you!" Melody criticized. Those words felt very familiar and she blushed. Then mumbled jokingly, "now I know how my mistress feels." She, of course, didn't mean it. Her mistress loved her and knowing for such a short time was just an excuse to deny it. She hoped. She really flipping hoped.

Melody was distracted about how to make her mistress fall hopelessly in love with her.

The woman in front of her was attractive with impressive tits that were left uncovered. Immediately that derailed Melody's train of thought and the train exploded into a fiery fireball. Her whole body was nude and the whole thing left Melody confused about Heaven because her brain stopped working.

She shook her head stunned. It didn't help the inferno steaming from the train.

While she really wanted to have sex with every person in the palace she certainly wasn't expecting a ghostly human. A very well endowed, sexy, ghost with breasts that looked perfect. Her nipples stuck up and greeted the air happily. Was it cold? Not really. Her skin looked smooth and soft.

Those lips had a slight pink hue, just barely pink, and looked very kissable. So very kissable. Melody could imagine making out with the ghost in front of her for hours while she explored the woman with her fingers. Exploring every inch of this woman had become priority number one.

Introductions! Who is she? Can a stupid and invasive maid help her? Can a horny and desperate romantic save a ghost? "My name is Melody. I'm the mistress's new maid. You're a ghost. Why are you a ghost? Why do ghosts exist in Heaven? Why are you naked? Your nipples are very perky."

"Ellie, short for Eleanor. I'm hungry," she said with a small frown. As if she were imposing something awful upon Melody.

"Fu... Golly. What do you need?" Melody asked. Then she did an impression of Marty McFly, "this is heavy." She understood that sex was a basic meal in Heaven and that's why Maze liked to tease her an unbearable amount. It wasn't the only source of food for Celestials, but was the ghost in front of her a Celestial? She really didn't know.

"I need you to lay back and relax. I'll do all the work," Ellie signed.

The bed was completely uncomfortable and Melody stared at it for a long moment before coming to a decision. "Other room. Nicer bed," Melody signed pathetically.

Ellie looked at the totally fucked up bed. She cocked her head probably thinking about how long it had been like that and whatever events had led to it. She simply nodded and gestured for Melody to lead the way. The door that had been slammed shut eerily creaked open.

Next door was another simple servants quarters decorated sparsely, but the bed was intact and had clean and comfortable canary yellow blankets.

Melody chuckled softly. "Buy a girl dinner first," she joked beside the bed. "No sex on the...

Without warning, a pale ghostly hand pushed the woman onto the bed. Melody slammed onto the bed making it scrape slightly against the floor.

"... first date. Hey, I work hard to take care of this place. Can't go scratching floors."

The ghostly woman, who looked like a ghost out of a b-rated horror movie, put a finger to her lips and Melody imagined a shushing sound coming out even though no sound was there.

She floated there and smiled slightly. It was a really kind smile. Whoever this woman was, she was certainly kind. Melody was glad the ghost was getting something out of the whole thing. Ellie licked her lips and Melody felt a tugging on her panties even though no hands were there to pull them off.

"Impressive. I once was able to do a keg stand with one hand," Melody lied. She was trying to ease whatever tension remained from a ghost trying to fuck her. At least she felt tension.

Perhaps, it was because she felt like she didn't deserve such attention after being an intrusive snoop. She didn't deserve any orgasms because she had betrayed the trust of both her mistress and Perry. Worse, she had just broken into Perry's bedroom without the man's permission. An increasing tension was getting piled atop her with her growing list of faults.

A growing list of faults that she wasn't easily distracted by. The woman's soft curves, naked ass, perfect fuck me lips, and eyes that looked ready to eat Melody couldn't distract her. No. She couldn't be distracted by the warmth between her legs as her panties magically flung themselves off the bed.

Maybe she shouldn't wear panties. Maybe the effort of removing them and putting them back on every time she was fucked until no questions could find their way out of her lips was too much.

Ellie seemed to ignore the maid's statement and chose to float her face towards Melody's pussy. Soon she felt a tongue touch her and along came an electric shock which made her grip the blanket. The woman started with sucking on her inner thighs and running her fingers on Melody's belly. She even reached up to massage the maid's breasts and squeezed them.

Every touch, bite, and lick sent an electric current of pleasure that flowed through her body. She tingled and gasped. It felt like light massaged through her entire body mixed with a soft breeze.

"Chilly," Melody murmured.

"You alright to continue?" Ellie signed. Her hands still unpracticed with speaking, but really good with finding Melody's weak points. During those few moments of touching her toes had curled once or twice.

"A girl's got to eat... I guess," Melody joked. "Yes. However, you don't get to eat all the pussy. Spin that body around."

Melody's sex drive was acting up and all she could think about were the two of them doing a fun position she had always wanted to try. A proper 69 had been a dream of Marvin's which had naturally come to Heaven with Melody. She had seen many women do it and she wanted to eat out her first pussy in Heaven.

That first pussy wasn't going to be her mistress though. Melody was disappointed by that fact, but it didn't decrease her desire to do it.

Ellie chuckled and it was tragic to not hear the bells of her laughter. Those laughing lips were on her pussy which only made her want to kiss the woman more. She obliged and the naked yellow ghost spun ethereally through the air.

She continued on nipping at the area around Melody's pussy. Her tongue massaged her inner thigh and made Melody almost beg for more. Her hands roamed Melody's inner legs, belly, and breasts. Melody was being kneaded and toyed with. It was making her brain lag several seconds and the maid was having trouble focusing on anything else. There was a pussy in front of her that wasn't getting any attention and the stamp she had received was disappointed in her.

"At least I won't have to worry about your weight," Melody joked before her mind could stop the words from coming out. Marvin was always adept at saying the worst things as a means of joking. Her brain was leaking out with every touch from Ellie. "That wasn't meant as an insult. I'm sorry if you found that insulting. I wasn't calling you fa..."

Melody felt a strong pinch on her inner thigh that stung like a painful bug bite and then came a light bite on her clit which sent a lightning bolt straight to her brain short circuiting wires for a long minute. The sensation was intense and Ellie paused every other touch, lick, and ministration she had been doing. The pleasure with pain was screwing with her mind.

"Fiddlesticks!" she said through shivers. "Can you control those shocks? I'm sorry."

A desire to keep poking fun at the ghost, that was causing pleasure to crawl its way through her body like the electrical current centered around her pussy, filled her. Was she a brat?

Ellie had waited, but now was continuing whatever magic she had been doing. The woman had experience and Melody could see them quickly becoming close friends. Maybe more. Ellie's hands ran along Melody's thighs and ass cheeks while her mouth was latched onto her pussy. Melody desperately tried to ignore the intense pleasure, the ghost making out with her pussy and flicking her tongue against her clit, and tried to focus on the cunt by her face. It was as yellow as the rest of the ghost, but as beautiful as a tulip.

She stuck her tongue out and touched it against Ellie's inner thigh. Melody gave the woman above her a quick nip and a suck. It completed a circuit that was running through them and Melody's body shook as ripples of pleasure flowed through her like a sudden dam explosion.

Gasp!

Moan!

As Melody orgasmed the yellow of the woman floating above brightened like a solar flare erupting from a star and then dulled slightly to a warmer yellow than what was there before.

"It's working..." Melody snickered and went directly to Ellie's pussy which was wet with whatever she was getting out of this. Melody mentally kicked herself, it was the most she could with how absorbed her brain was in endorphins, and attached her lips to Ellie. The woman was too good and was getting Melody there so quickly that she couldn't keep up. She decided to get some revenge with a long and warm, very wet, kiss of her own to Ellie's clit which caused Ellie to grip more tightly to Melody's thighs. The effect caused Melody's thighs to squeeze ahold of the ghost between them.

Muffled moans escaped Melody.

The woman tasted of lemonade as she probed at Ellie with her tongue. Every lap of her tongue caused the woman to tingle. The maid took each tingle as a sign that she was doing well enough. She was also mirroring Ellie as well. Melody's hands explored Ellie finding the ghost's breast. She covered the woman's breast, massaging the soft flesh, with her hand and softly pinched the nipple. Her other hand cupped a butt cheek and offered it a soft slap.

Melody wished she could hear the moans and gasps, but decided to fill the room with her own as the woman between her legs was very good. Almost too good. She had thought she could catch up, but she was on the edge of another orgasm.

Loud moans filled the room as she broke contact with Ellie, "Jimmminy Cricket's forking umbrella!"

Pleasure flowed through her like a car battery on fire. There were flames and warmth that was speeding towards another orgasm.

Melody was completely failing at mirroring the pleasure, but quickly attached her mouth once more to give sexual kisses. She ran her hands over the ghost and squeezed her soft ass and ran her hands down towards the woman's belly massaging the golden skin wherever she went.

She alternated between light touches and squeezes as traced around the body above her. Soon Ellie was tingling like a battery against her tongue, but every part of her body sent out static. From Ellie's toes to her nose Melody was receiving soft shocks. It was so much better than the battery she tasted when she cursed and her pussy tasted of sweet lemonade. The soft skin around Melody's fingers vibrated like she had been rubbing her fingers over a statically charged blanket.

Desire to see what happened next overshadowed any fears that the woman above her might explode into tiny electric pieces.

She twirled her tongue and ran circles over Ellie's pussy. Each lick added to the electric air around them.

Desire to feel what came next consumed her as the beginning tremors of a massive quake shook through them and then came the real thing. It was like touching a divine electric fence designed to keep those giant carriage pulling birds, she forgot the name of them in that moment, by shocking them with the best orgasms of their lives.

Her brain fried and shut off for a few moments as wave after wave of pleasure rushed through her. All she could feel was that pleasure and then it was over.

Melody relaxed on the bed ignoring how bright Ellie still was and the sudden weight from her body collapsing on the maid.

After the ghost had eaten her out she forced any memories of Marvin's death out of her head. Feeling tingly lightning was like experiencing death all over again and almost ruined the orgasms completely, but thankfully Melody was able to push it to the side. However, now without the pleasure the pain was rolling back in.

Melody placed her head in her hands feeling that lightning strike snaking its way through her body over and over. Her blood boiled and details surfaced that she hadn't noticed at the moment of death. Smelling something cooking like a barbecue that made her want to throw up.

She had a heave come and then a jolt of electricity ignited through her body again causing her to jump from where she was sitting removing her head between her legs. Melody bolted upright looking at the golden woman.

Ellie cocked her head at the terrified maid. "Are you ok, Melody?" Ellie asked. She looked slightly worried about the woman and that helped Melody calm down a bit.

"Sorry. Just remembering my death. Your sparks remind me of it," Melody explained, reluctant to make the ghost feel guilt.

"What happened?" Ellie asked. "How did you die?"

"Struck by lightning," Melody said with narrowed eyes. She hated thinking about it. "Why are there ghosts in Heaven?"

Curiosity replaced any memories of her death. She locked it in a chest deep in her head and threw away the key for some other night of misery that future Melody would have to deal with. There was a ghost in Heaven and she needed to figure that out before she died a second time from not knowing.

"Part of my soul lingers on Earth," she signed. "So says the Celestials."

"But that's impossible," Melody argued. The rules of Heaven were confusing and she tried to contain her anger. "Yet, it happened. Why? Did that part of your soul get torn away from the rest or just didn't want to come with? What if that part goes to Hell? What happens to you then? Sorry. I'm rambling."

"I can't remember my death, unlike you, apparently, Melody," Ellie explained.

"So my guess is as good as yours. Which is frustrating and makes me want to pull out my hair. That's perhaps the most annoying thing in Heaven for me now. Do you dream?"

Ellie shook her head before continuing, "I'm glad my plight ranks so highly."

"Sorry," Melody conceded. "I didn't mean it that way. Well... maybe I did. Why were you in a radio locked away down here? Why is your room a mess?"

Ellie looked around at the neat room and started speaking. Sound still refused to exit her mouth. She used her hands. "Fuck. I hate it here. Damn woman upstairs couldn't understand sign language and threw me down here."

"Another reason for me to dislike Mistress Cross." Melody slumped. "How long has it been, Ellie? Did anyone else know sign language?"

"Too long. Three years? Forty? Who knows. I don't need to eat, sleep, or I thought I didn't. I found out I could hide in the radio, I'm pretty sure I arrived with it, and it shuts off my mind. Weird. You turned the radio on and it woke me up," Ellie explained while remembering the radio. She looked angry and defeated as she thought about the yellow thing. "One Celestial knew how to speak to me, but has since been taken away. Cross placed my radio in my room soon after and locked the door."

Ellie looked sad when mentioning the Celestial who had communicated with her. Another one to save? Had they been close? Where were they now?

"So I'm not the first human servant that evil wolf has gotten. I'm sorry she threw you away. That's forked up," Melody said angrily, already thinking of ways to tell off the stupid woman upstairs. "She said she'd never throw something away that belongs to her. I didn't see any indications it was a lie." She really didn't see any lies in what was said by her mistress. Maybe it was because Ellie hadn't been thrown away? She had been locked away and that made it a lie by omission. Then again she didn't sense anything hidden in that statement.

Had she simply forgotten about Ellie?

Melody, lost in thought, almost missed a question from the ghost.

"Why do I still want her to love me?" Melody whispered. She hugged herself in hopes she wasn't being messed with mentally.

Ellie offered a concerned glare. "How's Earth?" Ellie asked, probably wanting to change the subject from the depressing nature of Heaven.

Melody and Ellie talked about Earth while Melody cleaned the destroyed room. She was enjoying the new friend to talk with and they found out they had much in common.

"Wait, so you were a guy?" She asked and laughed. It was surreal seeing someone laugh so hard, but no sound came out. Melody should've laughed along with her new acquaintance and couldn't because she was thinking about how Heaven seemed broken. Her mistress seemed broken. Ellie wiped tears away from her cheek. "Like you said, 'that's forked up.' Why didn't you say fuck?"

"Stupid stamp. It makes it so when I say curse words I get a bad taste in my mouth and sometimes a shock. So, I avoid them now. Sometimes I screw up and say something," Melody explained. Ellie nodded along. Evidently, Ellie had avoided stamps when she arrived and they had no effect on her. "Ya. I assume you were a woman on Earth?"

"I look as I did on Earth except this yellow. I miss my hair," Ellie said as she pulled her hair down to see it.

"Very beautiful. I bet you were a girly girl. Weren't you?" Melody teased to try and get her to stop fixating on her ghostly form. It was nice that Melody didn't have to sign as she finished throwing away the last piece of fluff on the floor. She was glad Ellie could hear. "What color was it?"

"Yes. So what? I took care of my hair. It was a lovely auburn," she told Melody with a radiant and golden smile. She twirled her hair in her fingers. "I bet you were the kind of guy who... nope I've got nothing. Was never interested in them anyway."

Melody chuckled. She imagined Marvin hitting on the woman in some bar only for him to get turned down and he wouldn't take the hint. He'd buy her a drink before his dick realized that it wouldn't see any action with the woman. The image brought tears to her eyes and it was the most she'd laughed since coming to Heaven.

"What? What's so funny?" Ellie asked with a disappointed look like she was not in on the joke.

Melody told her what she had seen in her head and the golden woman laughed just as much.

Eventually, they both caught their breath and Melody finished the room.

"It will have to go without a bed for a bit. You'll have to find a new bedroom. Hopefully, one close to mine," Melody said with a flirting smirk.

"Maybe," Ellie winked.

"There you are, maid. Maze needs some love," Mistress Ida Cross said without looking up from whatever engrossing paperwork she was reading.

It probably contained some secret nonsense about her sister, or some garbage like that. Melody ignored the papers and cleared her throat.

Mistress Ida looked up to find Melody standing beside a ghost that she hadn't seen for a long time. Melody was reluctant to ask how long, but looked at the still naked ghost.

"Crepes. Forgot clothing."

Ellie looked down at her body and then shrugged. "The bitch has seen it all before," she signed. Melody translated her.

Melody winced at the flavors that erupted in her mouth. It wasn't terrible as it was the only curse word she had said that day.

"Sorry," Ellie said.

"Again with the hand motions. I don't have time for this," Mistress griped. She stood from her desk. A tall and empowered woman that looked down upon the duo.

Melody didn't like that statement directed at Ellie, as if it were her fault she was stuck like this, and it made her skin boil more than any lightning. It made her red with anger.

"Fudge you, Mistress Cross. Locking away Ellie and probably even forgetting about her." She pointed at her tall mistress with an angry finger.

"Why do you even bother calling her your mistress?" Ellie asked and her eyes shined with a curiosity she could only assume affected her own eyes in the same way. A fiery question that needed to be answered.

Unfortunately for Ellie, Melody shrugged. She signed back, "I'm a hopeless romantic."

"You probably want me to be some evil woman. I just don't like humans. You know why I don't like humans, so why do you expect more?" Mistress Ida asked. She had her head half turned. This did two things, it concealed half her face, and made Melody feel like the woman thought she was on the losing side of whatever argument was coming. It also made Melody feel as though her mistress wanted to simply ignore both the humans standing in front of her desk.

"She has issues with humans. I'll explain later," Melody signed after Ellie looked confused.

"I know she does," Ellie signed back. Her hands going fast with rage that it was hard for Melody to keep up. "I arrived shortly after the war and shortly before the palace staff started to get taken. It's no excuse to lock me away."

Melody frowned at that new information.

"So you understand her?" Mistress Cross asked. She was near the point of looking away from both of them. Her eyes fell on anything other than the two humans in front of her. While asking her question she was staring at her desk.

"Ya. It's just sign language. Does everyone in Heaven not know it, or did you even bother to understand Ellie? Apparently, she had someone here, but as soon as they were taken away, you..."

The mistress sat back down with her head in her hand. "I'M SORRY! You're not just a tool, Melody." She looked like she had been holding back feelings of guilt for some time and Melody only hoped all the time she spent avoiding the woman helped fuel that fire. However, the sudden spilling of feelings from the mistress made Melody's stomach twist up into knots.

"I'm sorry that I spied on your conversation. I really thought we had a connection, Mistress," Melody choked out. She had been holding those feelings back like waves hitting a wall and the damn just burst. "I thought you trusted me and I could trust you. Then you called me maid and it felt like I had died again. I want to help you. I want to help save your sister."

Mistress Idalynn removed her head from her hands to look at Melody. Tears were flowing down her cheeks and it was a weird thing to see the woman doing. She gave her mistress a small nod.

"I'm Melody and this is Ellie. We're people just like you with our own problems and desires. We aren't tools and we can't be locked away to be forgotten," Melody lectured.

The human walked up to the celestial who was still sitting in her chair at her desk. Tears spilled from her face and she avoided eye contact with Melody. Even though Idalynn was sitting, she still managed to be eye level with the maid. Her height was something Melody often took note of.

She lifted her mistress's chin with a delicate hand and gazed into her wine red eyes asking, "can you trust me, Mistress?"

Her mistress nodded and matched Melody's stare with reassuring eyes that glowed with the confidence of a woman who had climbed their most recent hurdle.

"Can you trust me with your story and your vision? Can you stop being so secretive?" Melody asked, wanting more. She desired full trust from this woman, this celestial, because it was her life now and she had finally decided on staying. "You need comforted. You need it bad."

"Yes, Melody. I can do that. Just... it's hard and don't expect me to share all my burdens."

"At least some of them," Melody said as convincingly as she could. She let go of her mistress's chin and tucked a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. "Now you owe someone an apology and it isn't me."

"Ellie, I'm sorry that I threw you away because you were worthless to me," Mistress Ida said flatly.

"Hey!" Melody called out the cold behavior stepping back from the woman. Her mistress eyed her worriedly.

"It was wrong locking you away and I hope you can forgive me for the years you spent alone," Mistress Idalynn murmured guiltily, looking at Ellie as much as she could.

Then she switched her gaze straight back to Melody as if asking if she did it right and if she was forgiven. Melody mouthed a 'thank you', but gestured to her to look back at Ellie.

Ellie looked deep in thought. Her shoulders looked heavy and during several moments of staring she went between calm to wanting to scream, but she held herself back.

"It was years," she signed and Melody translated. "Years of being alone in that tiny bedroom. Years of torture. I left most of the details out when talking with Melody, but it felt like I was in Hell and that I'd always be locked away. I'm not sure I can forgive you like her."

Ellie paused, giving Melody a second to stare at her mistress who looked guilty. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes no longer had that reassurance or any confidence at all. She looked defeated and was desperately paying attention. Mistress Ida briefly caught eye contact with Melody before Melody looked back at Ellie.

"I can't forgive you and I can't work for you, but Heaven is weird and this is the only place I feel safe. However, I will never sleep in one of those staff bedrooms again. Never. I expect a room that shows how guilty you truly feel," Ellie finished and then stared at Melody.

Melody looked at her mistress who looked like a sinner in Hell about to experience their thousandth dousing in hellish flames. There was a pensiveness that Melody had as of yet not seen on the woman's face. She only wished she could see whatever was going through her mind.

"You, maybe even Melody, can have a room on the fifth floor. Pick any except mine. None have any inhabitants and it will be nice having someone nearby. You can stay as long as you want and you won't have to be my maid," she said, and looked at Melody with sadness.

Melody tried her best to decipher why the woman had a sad and worried look. Her mistress bit her lip and avoided eye contact as Melody thought about what was wrong. Then it clicked. "I'll still be your maid, Mistress," Melody said almost too gleefully.

Her thoughts dwelled on every unfinished room that needed cleaning and while she was at it she'd find every secret the palace had to offer.

Mistress Idalynn visibly brightened and did the smallest grin of contained joy that Melody had ever seen. The corners of her mouth barely flitted up.

Melody shot a glance at Ellie who just rolled her eyes, but gave Melody a silent wink like they were sharing an inside joke. "Good luck, 'maid,'" she signed.

"Thank you, Melody," her mistress said quietly, like it was a prayer.