Grette has a minion!

Cat the Mollycuddle

"Fish!" Grette shrieked as the little trinket she'd been fiddling with for the past hour and a half exploded in her hands with a small bang, leaving a tiny flame suspended on the metal stick she used to hold the trinket up to her magnifying glass. "Fish, another one just blew up on me!"

A small boy skittered out from underneath a table, nearly knocking Grette over in the process. Frankly, it was a surprise he'd heard her at all, considering the whir of clock-work and the tick-tock of the fully made time pieces crowding the room.

"F'real, ma'am?" He sighed, snuffing the little flame out with the sleeve of his coat. "'nother one?"

"Don't you take that tone with me," Grette said, whirling on him and smacking at the air above his head with her hand. "Ah! You aren't taller yet!"

"Not yet, ma'am," Fisher laughed at his mistress. He was lucky to apprentice under such a talented clock-maker, even if she did swat at him and parts of her studio exploded. It wasn't too often, though. He didn't mind putting out the little flames at all. Plus, Grette had never made anything big explode, nor had she beaten him for real as he'd heard other masters oft did. "I put the fire out for ya, ma'am. Anythin' else?"

"Go back to work, Fish. Mister Chambers will be in for his piece in the afternoon, and you know how he likes them well polished," Grette commanded.

--

Grette was the best clock-maker in the town, and she damn well knew it. She was blind, but she had a gift for making her way around the tiny shop filled with so much furniture her customers often had to stand right by the door until Fish could bring them their piece.

She was working on a piece for a particular Mister Chambers, who had ordered something very special for his awful wife. It was a gorgeous piece, simply beautiful.

"The silver's all polished?" Grette asked Fish, gesturing in the opposite direction of him. He was the only thing she was not constantly aware of in the shop. Fish moved quietly and without her approval, but he did his work quickly and easily, so Grette was pleased. "And it's set to the proper time - it's three fifteen, Fish."

"Yes'm!" he called from beneath her right arm. "'Tis perfect!"

"As always," she said proudly, taking the time piece from him and hooking a slender silver chain onto it as a final touch. Grette whirled on her heel, grabbing a tiny red box from high up on a shelf behind her and delicately placing the piece inside. "Beautiful," she stated, as if she could see the slender silver watch nestled carefully inside.

--

An hour later, Mister Chambers produced the gift for his wife.

An hour and a half later, Missus Chambers' beautiful silver pocket watch exploded right against her breast and Mister Chambers was finally rid of the horrid woman.