Alice frowned a little when the Mistress mentioned the shortcut.  It normally wasn't so bad, but she had forgotten to grab any of her tools or weapons before coming here, which meant that this little trip would be very... annoying.<br/><br/>She soon had other problems to worry about, however.  She looked at herself quickly when Karinka mentioned inspections, and went pale with fear when she noticed the state of her clothes.  Sure, she had gotten dressed in a hurry and things weren't completely tidy, but she thought she would pass inspection, until she noticed the grease stains.  Maybe Mistress won't notice them either, she thought.<br/><br/>Of course, no, she wasn't that lucky.  "Y- yes, Mistress, it's grease... I was working late and didn't notice some had gotten onto my apron..." she said in a weak voice.  She would have lowered her head and stared at the floor too, if the Mistress wasn't so close to her, but she didn't try to back away at all.  She knew better than that.