(Ok, let's pretend this text here comes just before the paragraph that starts with finally)<br/>Different scenes played incoherently in Alice's head.  She imagined what she would have to do to remain from showing how flustered she is when she greets her master.  Then, a thought struck her.<em>Why are you so worked up about this?</em>Indeed, this was simply another duty for her to perform, just as other servants had... just as her parents had...<br/>She couldn't reconcile with herself.<em>This is just another service to perform... don't think of what he might do if you make a mistake, just go in there and do it.</em>In truth, Alice couldn't make sense of any of her feelings.  She tried to at least figure out the most prominent one, there was embarrassment, there was fear, there was...<br/>What<em>is</em>that last feeling?  Something swirled in Alice's stomach as she approached the door.  She imagined the noise of her heels had forewarned her arrival.<br/>She took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the door lightly, and once more to make sure she was heard.  She prepared herself...