Ground Zero

Once again, it was like Annie blinked, and she was back in the Deathlands. This time, though, she wasn't alone- and it wasn't a poor girl begging for help. It was a woman in her mid-20s who looked furious.

That's all Annie could see before the first attack.

The woman lunged forward and slashed a knife at Annie's neck, a strike Annie barely ducked away from. Just as she found her footing, the woman was already trying to stab at Annie's chest. Light on her feet, Annie just managed to pivot and twirl out of the way. Despite the danger, Annie couldn't help but feel a sense of joy as she danced around the attack. This wasn't just a product of her newfound youth, this was an old memory. Her body was moving faster than ever, her reflexes sharp as she remembered the old brawls she got into with her brothers. A smirk danced across her face, old habits reawakening rapidly.

She didn't get time to think about it as the woman tried for another attack. This time, it was a reckless blow. Annie pushed her arm out of the way to redirect the attack, a move she had only seen in movies, and caught a glimpse of this person's face. Behind the dark hair were eyes that seemed to glow with an unnatural energy, deep red and filled with hatred. The scowl on her face burned with a rage that Annie didn't understand.

"Who are you?!" Annie shouted, finally having the time to say something.

"Lilin," the woman responded, "now DIE!"

The woman tried for another attack, Annie able to dodge it effortlessly thanks to the warning from Lilin's words. It was almost hilarious how quickly she'd met both of the people Aramasa had named. The very first two people she encountered were the two she was looking for. It was a fortunate coincidence, but she would certainly have preferred to not have a life threatened with each new person she met. 

Lilin growled as she swung again and again, hitting nothing but empty air each time. She had promised herself exactly one minute to kill this girl, and it had been almost a quarter of that by now. If she couldn't even land a hit by then, she'd have to live with the frustration that she was wrong. Slash after slash, swing after swing, nothing. This wench wasn't even dodging like she knew how to fight, she looked like she was dancing, dammit! 

"Goodness, dear, you're quite a scare! Would you mind putting the knife down for a moment?"

Every word out of this idiot's mouth was pissing Lilin off more and more. She wanted the knife gone? Alright, no more knife. Lilin threw her weapon straight at Annie, charging forward as it cut through the air. Annie managed to side-step the projectile, but she couldn't respond fast enough to the tackle aimed at her waist. Her arrogance was punished almost immediately, being slammed into the ground as Lilin's full bodyweight crashed into her.

The moment they were on the ground, Lilin raised an arm. Perfect, there was no way out of this blow! She went to punch her directly in the face-

Only for her to realize she had just reached the 60 second mark. 

Annie's head was spinning, unable to process things. She had gotten far too cocky, even her new body wasn't able to keep up with that. But she didn't feel the impact she expected. Had she died?
As her vision slowly returned, Annie saw that Lilin was now standing to the side. She looked quite nonplussed, an expression that offered Annie no answers as to why she had suddenly stopped attacking. She slowly got up, pleasantly surprised by how fast the pain was fading, and spoke up.

"Why did you stop?"

Lilin looked over with a grin. "What, do you still want more?"

"No, just... I thought you were trying to kill me?"

"I was. But you lived long enough. I can't deny that you'll be more useful than the last girl."

Annie scratched her head. "More useful than the last girl?"

Lilin groaned. "Ugh, why do you need me to explain?... Look, you were summoned by the Demon King to be his new maid because the last one was a total failure. Now, you're going to follow me, and that's the end of that. If you don't, I kill you. If that doesn't make enough sense, I'll just kill you and be done with it."

Annie nodded slowly. She didn't feel this was the time to ask questions, nor the time to talk. She stood up, seeing Lilin beginning to walk. She followed without a word and let her thoughts run. This was Lilin, the woman she would be working with and who was originally supposed to help the hero defeat the Demon King. Was Charlie the girl before Annie, or was that just a coincidence? Whatever the deal was, Annie didn't need to figure that out now.

After a few minutes of walking, Annie started to feel a bit less threatened. Not saying anything or trying anything seems to have pacified Lilin for now, so she took the moment to try and introduce herself.

"By the way, my name's Annie Smith."

Lilin scoffed. "Was hoping you wouldn't say anything. Whatever."

Annie rolled her eyes, already a bit sick of Lilin's attitude. This would be a challenge to work with, to say the least. Annie couldn't help but wonder why Lilin was a maid if she treated people like this. Her attitude was far more befitting of a spoiled princess, or a genocidal general, not a maid. That painted quite a picture of the Demon King, if this was his closest servant.

"Ugh, this is too slow!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Lilin turned and grabbed Annie by the arms and leapt into the air. One moment, Annie was terrified of falling. The next, air rushed past her face so fast that it blinded her. They were... Flying!?