ATIA WAS NOT EXPECTING TO BE CALLED INTO THE GRANDMASTER'S SPECIAL ROOM. He never called it his throne room, as he didn't think it had enough pizzazz, and he wasn't the king of Sakaar, he was the Grandmaster, so the Grandmaster had a special seat in his special room. Atia noticed that he had many special things, and if those special things made him happy, no one on Sakaar had any right to judge.

"Master," she greeted, pausing in front of him before coming to rest at his feet, looking up at him, "You requested to see me?"

"Yes, my little flower," he said, reaching out to twirl a finger around a lock of her hair, laughing as it bounced right back when he released it, "There-there is a special visitor coming today, and I thought, 'well, might as well call my favorite servant here because you always do such a good job.'"

She blinked, taken aback by his words. "Fav-favorite servant?"

The Grandmaster looked genuinely confused by her question, laughing awkwardly as he glanced towards Topaz who gave him her usual blank expression and raised eyebrow. He turned back to Atia, still laughing slightly.

"Well-well, of course, you are," he said, lightly stroking the bottom of her chin, "You're the only one who hasn't left after all this time."

Atia frowned, mulling over his words; hadn't left. She didn't think any servant of the Grandmaster could leave, and could hardly fathom why any would want to. She was thrown even more off balance with this news, and coupled with his statement of her being his 'favorite servant,' she was having trouble remaining focused.

"What's wrong?" the Grandmaster asked, tapping the point between her furrowed eyebrows, "Don't do that, it doesn't look good, no you'll get all wrinkly like me. Though of course you could moisturize, after all, I'm still rather dashing."

She smiled at that, nodding in agreement, and he smiled, cooing as he patted her cheek, telling her that he liked her smiling much better. She nodded in understanding, rising to her feet and moving to stand on one side of his chair, opposite Topaz who gave her an unreadable look.

"Are you sure it's smart for her to be here?" Topaz asked, not bothering to lower her voice, "She doesn't seem the type who should be with the trash."

The Grandmaster frowned, looking up between Topaz and Atia, shaking his head. "What? What do you mean 'trash,' there isn't any—are you talking about our guest who has been lovely enough to deliver on her promise of new contenders?"

"Since when does she warn us in advance?" Topaz asked, raising an eyebrow, and Atia leaned against the Grandmaster's chair, wondering why she was even needed at the current time.

"Because there are a lot of them and she's trying to make it efficient for us," he explained, waving her question aside, "And I asked her to wait a day so Atia could be here."

Topaz groaned, rolling her eyes and Atia tilted her head as the Grandmaster went on to explain that as ruler of Sakaar he had his duties, and even if they seemed incredibly biased and rather unwarranted, well, he knew best, after all, and he could do with a little more excitement around the place anyhow.

"Atia doesn't mind," he argued, looking over towards his servant who nodded, looking to Topaz.

"I don't mind," she affirmed, wondering just what she was agreeing to in the first place.

Conversation turned to Sakaar as a whole, Topaz talking about insurgents and uprisings, the Grandmaster not caring much as he waved his hand, telling her to take care of it the way they usually did. Atia raised her eyebrow at that, never hearing anything about uprisings in all her time being a servant.

"What uprisings?" she asked, unable to stop herself as she placed a hand on the Grandmaster's shoulder.

He put his hand over her own, patting it fondly as he shook his head, tutting. "Oh, don't worry yourself about it, it's just some people aren't too happy with how things are running, there's nothing to worry about."

"Why are they unhappy?" she asked, genuinely confused as to how someone could be unhappy with the way the Grandmaster was leading; he loved everyone on Sakaar, she couldn't fathom people who didn't feel the same.

"Oh, who knows," he hummed, reaching up to tap her chin, "Now, why don't you get me a drink, I'm sure our special guest will be here soon."

Atia nodded and rushed off to get him a goblet, exiting the room to head to the kitchens, passing by other servants who nodded towards her before going about their usual business. It was strange now to look at them, to know what they whispered of her and how they were, somehow, correct.

Apparently, she did, in a way, have the Grandmaster's favor.

But it was no reason of her own self, she reasoned, he did say that the only reason why he favored her was because she had stayed the longest. Any other servant could easily surpass her soon enough, and they would soon become the favorite. The idea saddened her, however, because she couldn't imagine leaving the Grandmaster, she had no reason to, no desire to.

Shaking off her thoughts, she focused at the task at hand, filling the large gold and royal blue goblet to the brim with his favorite drink—one of his many, really—racing back to the special room, not wanting him to grow impatient with her.

By the time she made it back, she stopped right in her tracks, biting her lip as she stared at the group of seated individuals currently placed in front of the Grandmaster, guards right behind him. She seemed to have arrived just in time, however, as the Grandmaster motioned for her to come forward with a large smile, taking the goblet from her hands.

"They're just about to wake up," he whispered with delight, motioning towards the person behind his special chair, "Now-now, here's the special guest we were talking about."

Atia stepped around the Grandmaster to see, her eyes widening as she caught sight of Scrapper-142 who was standing there with a self-satisfied smirk which only seemed to grow at the sight of her. Atia ducked her head, smiling at the ground before raising her head to the other girl who winked.

The two had met some time before, so long ago that she could scarcely remember it now. It seemed that Scrapper-142 was always there, first selling parts and interesting looking trinkets to the Grandmaster, later stepping in with contenders and lost individuals. Atia never knew where she found them, as some newcomers found their way into normal society, but it was always interesting to see what new things she brought in, the Scrapper always glad to receive her units before sauntering off to a place Atia could only imagine.

"Atia," the Grandmaster said, realizing the two had yet to speak, "Why-why don't you get her a drink while-while I introduce myself to our newcomers? You can go with her." He said the last part to the other woman who simply shrugged, nodding.

"I could never turn away a chance a free drink. Lead the way," she said, addressing the last line to Atia, walking off, but not before turning to cast Topaz a smug smile, the older woman giving her a glare in return.

"Don't think she likes me very much," Scrapper-142 drawled, walking down the hall, Atia having to scurry to keep up with her long, uncaring strides.

"She tends to be unhappy with most, I don't think it's you," Atia said softly, and her companion simply snorted, not bothering to give a response.

The two continued in silence to the kitchens, stepping into the empty room, Atia sifting around through the alcohol while Scrapper-142 jumped up onto the counter, dirty boots kicking against the cabinets as she leaned back against her hands, watching Atia move about with mind interest.

"What did you say your name was again?" she asked, moving to lean forward, elbows propped up against her thighs, and Atia glanced over.

"Atia," she replied, smiling as she handed over a goblet filled with amber colored liquid, "What is your name?"

"Scrapper-142," the other woman replied easily before draining the entire goblet with one smooth sip.

Atia blinked at her, eyes wide, taking the goblet and moving to refill it, unsure of what else she should do; she hadn't been expecting that. "That can't be your real name, it's just a title."

"My real name doesn't matter, she's long gone now," she sighed, shaking her head as she took the goblet and drained it once more, handing it back with a short, "Thanks."

"Do you usually drink?" Atia found herself asking, refilling the goblet for a third time, unsure if she should still be doing this, or whether she should just give her the whole bottle.

"Whenever I can," she replied, smiling as she took the goblet again, only to pause, catching Atia's expression, "Do you have something you want to say?"

The servant shook her head furiously, turning her attention the ground as she felt her cheeks flare up, her entire body curling inwards as she mentally berated herself for upsetting one of the Grandmaster's favorite Scrappers.

"I wouldn't mind if you did," the Scrapper continued, Atia nearly snapping her neck as she looked up to stare at her, the other woman smirking as she slowly sipped from the goblet, her gaze never wavering.

"What?" Atia breathed, unable to help herself.

Jumping off the table and finishing off her drink, the Scrapper handed it back to her with a nod. "If you're really thinking about it, you should say it. No use keeping it to yourself. Thanks for the drinks."

With that, she left, sauntering out of the kitchen without another word, barely sparing a glance as she rounded the corner, giving her one last smile before disappearing without a trace.

Atia stared for a moment, unsure of what had just transpired and, more importantly, why she was having such a hard time breathing. Shaking her head, she made her way back to the Grandmaster's special room, unable to help herself from looking around, hoping to catch another glimpse of the Scrapper, but to no avail.

As she stepped back into the room, the Grandmaster had just finished explaining everything to the newcomers, sighing as he made his way back to his special chair, declaring that he was not in the mood to party, which he stated as if he were currently dying the cruelest, most horrible death.

"Master?" she said softly, moving to kneel by his head, which was dangling off the edge of the chair, and he immediately smiled, perking up at the sight of her.

"My-my dear, did-did you have fun with your special guest?" he asked, propping his fists under his chin, "Did you girls have your fun little girl talk, spend time together?"

"Um..." she said softly, unsure how to respond, "I think so? She's very..."

"Special," the Grandmaster finished, reaching out to pat her head, "I know, she's a lot to take in, but she's truly something. I-I think the two of you will-will get along just fine."

Atia paused, thinking back to the strange Scrapper with a small shrug, giving the Grandmaster a shaky smile.

"Let's hope so."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 06.23.18 )

So they meet again! This really wasn't anything special, but I think it fitted them quite nicely, so we'll just see where this goes from here!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!