Just your everyday waitress from Hell {Ask}

[Eva Rombar]

“But lady, it’s real leather! Can’t you feel the difference? I don’t sell that fake crap that you see on the other street corners. You see this crease? That means that it’s genuine crocodile leather. I can give you a good price!”

The voice practically echoed in the busy street in which she stood, and the owner looked hopefully into her face as he practically smooshed a pair of gloves against her eyeballs. They were definitely nice looking gloves, but given that she’d used to skin animals to make her own clothing, she knew a pair of good gloves…and those were definitely knock offs.

But try telling that to the street salesman. She did her best to stand strong against his insisting, even started to walk away. He just HAD to go and say that he was using the money for the gloves he sold to buy his daughter a birthday present. He just HAD to go and say that.

Great, there went this week’s paycheck. Well, at least she had plenty of gloves for the winter time!

With a martyred sigh, Eva trudged down the muggy street with a plastic bag full of gloves. She’d had just enough money in her wallet to be able to pay for that sparkly pair of shoes she’d seen in the shop window near the café, but it was still a dream for now. But that was alright, wasn’t it? She did like to have goals, dreams.

They were hard to find back in her husband’s domain. It seemed that everything she didn’t have in the world of demons became precious…especially now that she was free.

Wandering down the busy street, she moved with the crowd, relishing in the normalcy of the movement. For the past…Gods, she didn’t know how long now, she’d been living in the darkest, vilest piece of demon-run Hell in the universe, married to the King of Everything Evil.

Sagaen had rose up from the earth like some kind of biblical devil, and had terrorized her people for months before he decreed that he would accept only a virgin sacrifice for his leaving. Her father had forbidden any from throwing themselves to the demon, but in the end, she had known deep in her gut that he would never stop, until he got what he wanted. So, in the dead of night, she gave herself to him.

And had been paying for it ever since.

With a happy chime, the door to the Half-N-Half Café opened and she was greeted with the hazy smell of coffee. Ever since she’d escaped her husband’s world two months ago, she’d been doing her best to live quietly in this new society above. She kept herself embedded in the human part of the world, keeping her head down and making her way. As long as she drew no attention to herself, she just might have a few years of peace, before she was finally found.

Ah, years without having to look at Sagaen’s ugly face. Freedom from his voice, his touch, the little room beneath his bed…

“Eva!” A familiar voice jolted her from her reverie, and she smiled at the older woman behind the cashier’s counter. Harriet, her boss and the café’s self appointed ‘Mama,’ gave her a little wave. “You on today? Great; we’re gonna need the help, now that Becca’s out sick with the flu.”

"That's what I'm here for! Super Eva, to the rescue!" With a chirpy salute that she’d learned from the picture box in her apartment, Eva just grinned and headed over to the kitchen. After exchanging colorful sandals for sneakers and donning her apron, she went to work.

She did so love this world, with all of its simplicity.
And her dreams of a pair of shiny, crystal-adorned sandals…

[dalen]

“How does a mortal man deal with clothes like this?”

Grumbling under his breath, Dalen gave an annoyed glance to the little black piece of cloth that insisted to sway into the wind instead of staying in its due place. The seller had called that infuriating thing a tie, but all it did was to hang around his neck and give him the impression it was going to suffocate him if given the chance.

As if human homes weren’t suffocating already.

Finally, he got tired of fidgeting and fighting a losing battle against the offensive piece of cloth and ripped it off his neck, tossing it to the ground and proceeding to unbutton the top button of the shirt what allowed him to breathe easier.

“Finally my neck is free from this tyrannical oppression!” he grumbled again.

This place was run by madmen, this had to be the only feasible explanation to such a willing torture some of this humans put themselves through.

Where were the green mountains? The flowing pristine river in which he would be able to quench his thirst? The little strain of water that flowed on the streets bellow didn’t seem pristine or refreshing.

But just across the street, he saw through a large glass window people who seemed to be merrily drinking and chatting, safe from the burning sun that touched the streets outside. And that was the place he wanted to be, so he done like that man had told him and waited for that strange contraption overhead with the drawing of a walking man to glow green before crossing to the other side.

He’d been told that those roaring metal beasts were not exactly beasts, but means of transportations.

What did mortal men had against horses?

And soon he was crossing the threshold into the place of drinking and merriment when a sudden wave of cool air from inside refreshed him. Dalen had never heard of air conditioning, so he took this as one example of magnificent example of mortal magic. He should find a wizard on this place to teach him to replicate this amazing feat.

Sliding on one of the booths in the corner, he rested for a moment on one of the seats, waiting for one of the tavern’s servants to approach him.

[Eva Rombar]

With a deep breath, Eva took in the relaxing aroma of coffee and eggs cooking in the background. Harriet was chatting with a few customers in front, the cooks were doing their thing in the back, and her fellow waitresses were milling about their tables. With a few minutes to spare as her orders were made, she was able to stand back and take in the homey atmosphere of the café.

It had been by chance that she’d managed to score a job in the tiny place. After stumbling in, in her second week of freedom, she’d slid into a booth and hugged the plastic menu to her chest. She’d managed to stay away from her husband’s men, had exchanged some of the jewels she’d stolen for the paper money that was used in the world, and found a nice ‘apartment’ in which she could stay. She really didn’t have to work, but when she’d heard the older woman complaining about a lack of a waitress, she’d practically jumped at the chance.

She was probably the only woman working there who actually was excited to get up in the morning and get in. She was also probably the only woman who donated her tips to the local children’s center…but then again, none of these women had had to live chained up for the past few centuries. She saw working as a kind of…rebellion against the royal she was supposed to be.

Smiling to herself, she watched as the room slowly began to fill up with the usual suspects; truckers, locals, businessmen and families. She waved as a little girl presented her jelly-tainted hands and nodded in hello at the familiar faces. Slowly, as if she were unwrapping a present, she allowed her gift to unfold…

And listened to the mental voices of the patrons around her. Some were thinking about what was for dinner, others were making plans about the rest of the day. The quiet drone was comforting, as well as the knowledge that every mind within earshot was blessedly, beautifully human.

…She really had to learn to stop counting her chickens so early, didn’t she? Right when she began to close up her gift and return to normal, that happy chime on the front door sounded, and a very uncomfortable looking man walked in.

Uncomfortable and not human. Not human one little, tiny bit.

Gripping the coffee pot in her hand, Eva froze, staring at the back of the stranger’s head. He, of course, had chosen her table to sit at, and she panicked. Was he one of her husband’s men? Had she been found? Her breath caught as she imagined herself being dragged down to that disgusting room and her disgusting husband.

“Eva, are you alright?” Harriet’s voice cut through her whirling mind, bringing her back to reality. “You aren’t getting sick too, are you?”

With a mental shake, she managed a soft ‘no.’ Get a hold of yourself, girl, she told herself, forcing her feet to start moving. If the man were one of her husband’s cronies, he’d have made a scene by now. He was probably just an ‘other’ looking for some coffee. So, go serve him, darnnit!

After taking a deep, calming breath, she stuck a happy smile onto her face and stopped at his table, coffee pot in her hand.
“Hello, and welcome to Half-N-Half,” She said, relieved that her voice was even. “What can I get for you this morning, sir?”

[dalen]

Looking through the huge glass window, Dalen’s eyes searched the world outside. Everyone seemed to be in such a hurry, desperate to be somewhere else and for someone who was immortal, it was hard to believe why humans would be always as if they needed to be in five places at once. Then again, when he contemplated how short their life span was…maybe they were trying to overcompensate it?

The Fae warrior himself had chosen a simpler life since his beloved mortal wife had died. Laying down his sword, he no longer had the strength and will to continue fighting when the most important thing in the realms for him was no more. Instead he had retreated to the farm they had spent their happy years in and took comfort in cultivating the land. The wind there seemed to carry her laugh in it and brought some comfort to him.

Never would he return to the land of men.

But with the king and queen missing, he’d take upon himself the task of searching for them. His allegiance to the fair queen wouldn’t be forgotten. Unfortunately, this quest so far hadn’t revealed any leads.

His reverie was cut short when a woman approached him and he turned from her reflection in the window and turned to gaze upon her face. A smile came upon his own features, she had a unique beauty for a mortal, not that he’d be inclined to take another mortal woman while his memories still haunted him, but he was more than capable of recognizing beauty.

The pot she had in her hands smelled invitingly, so he gave a nod to her question.

“I will have some of this you hold in your hands and something to quench my hunger.”

So yeah, he didn’t exactly know what menus were.

[Eva Rombar]

Well, wasn’t he the handsome fella? Despite her misgivings about his being there, Eva couldn’t help but notice a few things about the man, as she reached across the table to pull his coffee cup toward her. Talk about a nice smile…and oh, she would just kill for eyes that blue. For a minute there, her hand had floated up to her face as if she were about to poke her eyeballs into submission, but she managed to catch herself before she went blind.

Yeah, this was why she liked to be around the humans of the current world. There was just some unspoken rule amongst all immortals, that everyone of their ilk had to be enchantingly beautiful. And she’d once thought that the Gods were completely corrupted…

Tipping the coffee into the man’s cup, she did her best to pretend that he was just another customer. Her ‘bad guy-dar’ wasn’t going off like crazy, which was definitely an upside and though her conscience stated that it was obscenely rude, she took a tiny peek into his mind, just to make sure. She wasn’t a fan of going all out with the mind reading, but over the years, she’d found it a necessary evil when it came to dealing with other people.

She used it a lot, while back down in that other domain, as a means to judge who meant her harm, and who didn’t. She was relieved to see that this one was just a passerby, and breathed a mental sigh of relief, instantly shutting down her gift.

This time, her smile was genuine as she slid his cup toward him. “Well, I think about everything in there can manage that,” She said, glancing down at the menu in front of him. “We have a really good selection for the mornings; scrambled eggs, pancakes, French toast…personally, I’d recommend the waffle with fruit. Gives you a bit of sweet to get you going, y’know?”

Practically beaming, she waved at yet another regular customer over her shoulder, then turned her attention back to the man. Something about him practically screamed ‘I’m new to this world!’ and she felt the strange urge to help him. But given the fact that he probably saw her as a normal waitress, and she needed to keep her head down…well, giving herself away probably wasn’t the best idea on the planet.

[dalen]

The rich aroma of the black swirl of whatever she was pouring into the cup before him had Dalen inhaling deeply and eager to try it. His deceased mortal wife had told him of the foods of her realm that she missed, but he himself had never tasted them. He’d say to her that sometime he would shift through the planes and try it, but time notion wasn’t the same for an immortal than it was to a mortal. What had been a lifetime for her had been a too short of a time that left him forever feeling like something was amiss.

His hands moved through the little book her eyes motioned him to, flipping it open he saw only a fill slips of paper in there and frowned slightly. Curious. When he’d walk into a tavern in his realm, the servant would tell him of his choices, or in some cases just bring him what was there if it wasn’t a matter of choice.

“Waffle and fruit seems to be a nice choice”

What the hell was a waffle?

Giving the woman a smile to hide his unfamiliarity with what he had just added, he reached for the cup before him and took a sip from the brew.

“Oh that is good,” he raised a brow, “is that what you call hot chocolate?”

So much for hiding his unfamiliarity with this realm. But Dalen hadn’t been trained to deal with humans, the only passing by his realm while on a task for the Seelie Queen had him meeting the mortal woman that would be his wife. She would return with him to the mortal realm and never look back.

The disappearance of the queen and king were the only event that could have caused the warrior to cross through the realm boundaries once more into this place.

[Eva Rombar]

Ah, very good, he wasn’t as new to the world as she’d thought. Eva was relieved when she nodded and quickly scribbled down the order, setting the pot of coffee on the edge of the table. Her ‘other world’ alarm was going off like crazy, given his exotic looks and the way he kept staring out the window like what he saw was fascinating…but if he knew what a waffle with fruit was, he was in the clear!

And she could go back to being the inconsequential ‘human’ for a little while longer. She really didn’t need any kind of attention, and given her penchant for feeling the ungodly urge to help every person she felt needed—

Poo, scratch that. Had he just called coffee, hot chocolate? And cue her Samaritan instincts to kick in, in five…four…three…

Tucking the little order pad into her apron, she hesitated for a moment- just walk away, her common sense practically screamed…but she just couldn’t, despite her better judgment- before sliding into the booth across from him. She glanced behind the man, relieved that Harriet was still talking to a friend, then turned back to him.

“I’m sorry, this must be terribly rude…but are you from around here, honey?” She made sure that there was a significant emphasis on the ‘here’ part of her question. Man, she really should mind her own business, but like with the glove-man on the street, she just couldn’t help herself.

But darn, maybe the guy wouldn’t understand her meaning…would he? He wasn’t normal, but maybe he couldn’t sense others like she could. Darn, how could she ask without spooking him, or making others think she was crazy? Then again, if she scared him off and he left…

Oh dangit, that wouldn’t work either. She’d feel so guilty that she’d probably chase after him. Foo!

“I mean…from around these parts? I’m not. I’ve been living somewhere much more…um…ashy. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

[dalen]

Bringing the mug back to his lips, Dalen sipped from the rich dark brew and closed his eyes for just a moment as he savored the taste. It was no wonder his wife used to say that from the things she missed most of her realm was something called chocolate. She never left him to go back, but she told him things about this realm, even some that were difficult for him to grasp about without ever experiencing it.

That liquid however and that taste, it gave him the impression it was some sort of bond of his wife to this place he was now discovering even if he still felt uneasy for being there, it wasn’t were he belonged.

But Brogin would live another day without him, his faithful mount had a keen mind and there were none who would dare harm him for fear of his rider. Even after all those years that Dalen had laid his sword down, his ability with a blade was still legendary.

The voice of the woman intruded his thought and caused him to open his eyes and place the mug back into the table. A faint smile departed his lips and he meditated on her words for a moment before replying to her.

“Am I this obvious? What gave it away? The fact that I’m not wearing that infuriating piece of cloth humans call a tie?”

And then he leaned forward in curiosity.

“Ashy? I don’t believe I’m acquainted with an ashy realm.”

[Eva Rombar]

Oh sheeze, she was right! He didn’t even know what a tie was! Inwardly, Eva heaved a sigh as those darn Samaritan instincts immediately started to kick in. Really now, she wasn’t this guy’s mommy, and she wasn’t his bosom buddy, so why did she care? She had herself to keep safe, her fifteen-times great granddaughter to look after and some hungry people to feed. She didn’t have time for all of this!

And yet, none of that mattered, really, because she just couldn’t help herself. It was like…helping people were crack, and she was addicted like crazy. Was that a bad thing? Being addicted to helping people? Oh, Dr. Phil, here she came…

“Oh no, not everyone wears ties around here, especially not in the summer time.” Pointing at the menu under his hand, she shrugged. “It was actually your not reading the menu…and not knowing what your drink was. It’s actually called coffee. Hot chocolate is a bit sweeter and just all around better. I could make you a cup if you’d like, so you could tell the difference.”

Beaming, she scooted a bit closer so that the people around them couldn’t hear. Word would definitely get out with these lovingly loose lipped people, who seemed to live for gossip. She could just see it now; ‘Why, Henrietta, I just heard the darndest thing! That nice waitress over at the Half’N’Half was talking about other worlds! How strange is that?’

Though, she did kind of look like a two year old trying to whisper a secret. She just hoped that her boss kept on talking with that customer up there. At his question, she let loose a nervous cough and fidgeted a bit. She really did hate lying to people, but she still wasn’t quite sure if he was just an average stranger to New Orleans. What if he were waiting for her to admit that she’d run away? Oh no, Eva Rombar was NOT that gullible!

…Okay, so maybe she was, but she wasn’t about to be caught up in that trick.
“It’s just your average otherworldly realm,” She said with a slightly wave of her hand. “But back to you; how long have you been here? Do you need help navigating around here? Do you have enough money? Seems like everything runs on that paper stuff nowadays.”

[dalen]

This woman had just captured his interest. Was she not from the realm of man either? Dalen felt himself as an outsider, a strange in a strange place. And while his eyes caught sight of many wonders, he was having a hard time to adjust and mix in with the locals.

Like the time he discovered he wasn’t supposed to use his magic in public or the passersby would believe him to be some kind of entertainer in exchange of riches. He was a warrior and a proud one, he wasn’t there for entertainment, he had a mission to fulfill and the sooner he accomplished it and left this realm, the better. It pained his heart, the memories it brought him. Sure it had been a much different place those centuries ago, but still it was her realm…HER land.

And ah, chocolate. Her eyes sparkled when she mentioned it. He regretted never crossing over to get her that accursed thing. How selfish had he been! But perhaps experiencing it, he would get to better understand the woman he loved so much.

“I will accept that offer of this hot chocolate. Valerie loved it so much…”

With the sound of that name ringing in his ears, his voice silenced and he once again looked out the window, as if hoping to see her out there again, to see her smiling.

But quickly he changed the subject.

“And it is a good thing I can go without ties. The one that sold me it made it seem like it was an obligation for a man to wear it, but I don’t trust the damned thing to not strangle me when I’m not looking. I haven’t been here long, and I have no papers, but instead gold coins to pay for my expenses.”

Then as the idea that she being too from another realm, she might be able to shed some light in his quest.
“I’m on a search for the missing queen and king of the Fae realm. Have you heard anything off their disappearance? I heard their disappearance might be tied to events happening on this realm.”

[Eva Rombar]

Valerie? Was he meeting someone in this world? Eva’s face practically split in two with the sudden ‘awww’ moment, a smile sliding onto her lips. Oh gah, was he in love with someone, and were they meeting there? In the café? When she was working? Oh, how romantic! She could finally see a real, live love story, outside of television! With those undertones in his voice, he was so obviously head over heels for this ‘Valerie’ woman, and her heart melted at the thought. What would it be like to be loved like that?

Her husband’s face popped up in her mind and she shivered. Anything that wasn’t HER love life would probably be heaven. But oh, good for him! To fall in love with a native of this world, and so obviously want to learn about its customs to please her—

Wait…had he said ‘loved?’ As in past tense? Her happy expression faded slightly as he quickly changed the subject, and whatever romantic feelers she had immediately turned into the undying urge to hug him. Oh no, love unrequited! He changed the conversation so fast, that she just knew there was something painful behind that reverent voice when he said her name. Gah, would it be wrong to hug him? He wasn’t from this world, so all of that ‘personal space’ nonsense might not fly…oh poo, best not to chance it.

The last thing she needed was to drudge up human authorities, if he freaked out. Yeesh, people and their dislike of close, physical contact outside of the bedroom; they were more like her husband’s men than they thought.

“Yes, unfortunately, the salespeople in these world are quite…tenacious when they want to be.” She agreed ruefully, remembering the many pairs of gloves she’d purchased just that morning. At his mention of gold coins, she shook her head with a grin. “Oh, don’t worry about having to pay; I can definitely cover you. Those gold coins are worth a lot here, so don’t take them out unless you really have to,” She paused, tapping a finger against her bottom lip. “You know, I could help you exchange some of them for the paper money that’s used here, if you want. I don’t get off work for another couple of hours, but if you come back, I can take you to a really nice person who helped me when I first came here.”

Beaming, she waved at another couple regulars who walked in, before turning back to him. Scrunching up her nose in thought, she slowly shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t know of any Fae King and Queen. I’ve only just come back to this world for a short time, and I haven’t heard anything about their going missing.” Instantly concerned, she reached forward to pat his hand. “Were you close to them? I’m sorry if your friends have disappeared. I’m sure you’ll find them soon.”

[dalen]

Another sip for this thing called coffee had the hot dark brew slipping down his throat. He could get used to it. He should be used to it, brought his Valerie back to this realm and allowed her to have all those things she missed. Deep down he regretted being so selfish, but he was a fae and what was time for one such as he? Humans lives were so unbearable short that it took him time to realize his wife was aging.

Dalen had searched every corner of the fae realm and beyond, trying to stop her aging, to find some magical way of making her as lasting as him. Even considered draining his life and giving it to her. But Valerie wouldn’t have any of that, she had made him promise he wouldn’t do such a thing, and even that it killed him inside slowly, he accepted it and stayed with her to the bitter end.

To lose her…that was the reason he dreaded this realm so much, for the memories it brought to his mind.

But Dalen Ahriman was a warrior and a powerful wizard on his own right, he wouldn’t pity himself. He mourned, true. But still life went on, and he had a quest to undertake. A vow of allegiance to uphold.

He eyed the woman once more and offered a smile.
“The queen has my admiration and the king my respect. Long ago I vowed my loyalty to the white queen and it is my duty to do everything in my power to find them and return them to their rightful places. I thank you for your generous offer, any help you may given me on my quest is welcome. I will return later after I have his…waffle and fruit and hot chocolate you mentioned.”

[Eva Rombar]

Okay, so she had to remember that men didn’t like hugging, unless it was accompanied by a bit of nookie. So, when he got that faraway, haunted look on his face, she had to grip the table to keep from sliding over there and hugging the living daylights out of him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t find her hand-patting annoying.

…Especially when it went on for more than a minute. And retracting the hand now. He was a man, and men liked to deal with their pain in stalwart silence. Just think of Gladiator! Or Batman! They never got hugs.

But oh, she wanted to hug him! Really, really wanted to hug him!

With a mental shake, she forced herself to return to the problem at hand. So maybe showing the guy to a bank was simple enough, but exchanging gold doubloons- she just knew it was something strange like that- was going to attract all kinds of attention from the human authorities. She’d have to go contact that nice lady down on Bourbon for the man who’d helped her the first time she’d crawled up out of hell and into the world. He’d seemed to exchange jewels for green paper pretty easily, so maybe he’d have no problems with this man’s money. And speaking of…

“Well, your King and Queen were blessed to have someone as loyal as you are watching their backs,” She said, catching herself before she could go pat his hand again. Yeesh, she should just get one of those fuzzy, yapping animals to take out all these warm feelings on before someone got the wrong idea about her. “I’m sure you’ll find them soon. I’ll go get you that waffle, and I should be done with my shift in about…three hours, if you’d like to come back.”

Sliding out of the booth, she scooped up the coffee pot and gave him a warm smile. “I’m Eva, by the way. If you don’t see me, I’m probably just cleaning up in the kitchen, so feel free to ask for me. Now, to quest for hot choco!”

With a dramatic ‘tally ho,’ she moved off into the kitchen to relay her order. The next few hours went by relatively quickly, and she fell into the familiar movements with ease. The stranger’s waffles, fruit and hot cocoa was delivered, her customers were taken care of, and as parents chatted with other patrons, she played some impromptu patty-cake with a few of the younger kids. She was quickly picking up on these children’s games; next time, she would DEFINITELY win that cat’s cradle game!

“Thanks so much for covering this morning, Evvie,” Harriet offered her a smile four hours later, while she pulled out the heaping bag of gloves from behind the counter. “But now that Lucy and Brigit showed up, I think we’re covered until tonight. You wouldn’t be able to pull another night shift, would you?”

Evan scrunched up her nose in thought, then shook her head sadly. “Unfortunately, no. I don’t know how my night’s going to be, and I’m helping out a friend this afternoon. But, if you really need me—“

Harriet waved her hand with a huff. “Feh, forget it! You go have a life and I’ll call one of the other girls in to cover tonight. God knows I’m paying you half of what we earn in overtime!”

With a laugh, she gave the staff and customers a little wave before hustling out the door.