Onward to the Castle!

[Goldie]

Fenway pulled the horses to a halt as they neared the palace gates which were closed, an extra precaution after a full blown siege.  With a wave and a shout, the knight hailed the soldiers manning the gate which were immediately raised after the armband he wore flared as a signal that he was who he said he was.

Pressing his heals into the horses flank they continued into the walls and he dismounted.  Handing the reigns to a waiting page, he walked back to Nellija and offered his help, if she needed it of course.

The ride back to the palace had been pretty much uneventful.  A few traveling villagers asked how the castle fared after the attack and he informed them that they had triumphed.  He tried not to stop for long periods of time when he was questioned, afraid that the woman he was trying to get back to the castle would fall again and get more injured than she currently was.  It was lucky that she hadn't broken her neck the first time!  It was safe to say she probably wouldn't have been lucky twice!  Especially if her luck was anything like his.  He had heard that some soldiers had escaped without even a scratch from multiple battles, where as he couldn't remember even ONE where he hadn't been injured to the point of needing a healer.

"I'll have a servant show you to a spare room." he informed Nellija with a curteous smile, still ready to help her from her horse if she needed it.

[Goldie]

The young servant girl hurried out into the courtyard and looked around, trying to locate the woman she had been instructed to assist and was immediately drawn to a woman she had never seen before.  She looked out of place, in her orange-gold dress where every one else was in dirty tunics and breeches, and in her case, a dress that was covered in a mix of ashes from the fires in the infirmary and flour from the kitchens.  Upon seeing this beautiful Adelan Lady, the younger girl was suddenly very conscious about her unkempt appearance.

"M'lady?" she said with a shy curtsey, her countryside accent shining through, "M'lord Fenway asked me to escort ye to yer chambers."  She paused and looked up at her and then swiftly away, completely in awe of this woman's beauty, "He said that ye'll be needin' some rest after yer journey.  If you'll follow me....."  With another polite curtsey as she had been taught to do before nobles she turned away and headed for the castle, glancing over her shoulders to see if she was following.

[Anonymous]

Nellija was slow to dismount the horse and quietly sighed as her feet hit the ground. Her legs ached and she felt light-headed, yet her entire body seemed so heavy when she took a step. Nellija was thirsty and needed rest, but despite all of that she was still reluctant to accept any help from anyone in the castle. She had to get home... Who knows what Quinn might do? What he might be feeding Owen with. What truths he might let slip.

Nellija slowly followed the servant, up a passageway of stairs and down a few halls to where she assumed most of the castle's guests resided in their stay in Serendipity. Nellija felt very much conscious of her dusty clothing and her horrible appearance when she entered the finely kept room.

"Thank you," Nellija said to the servant, as if quietly and politely dismissing the girl from her presence. Nellija wanted to get into a clean set of clothes and wash up and most importantly, she wanted to sleep. But, since the only thing available at the moment was a glass of water on a table and a bed, Nellija decided to tend to her physical well being rather than her physical appearance.

Elegantly drinking back the glass of water--making her fatigue seem minute--Nellija wandered over to the large bed and laid down, bringing her knees up close to her chest as well as her arms. It took her no time to fall asleep and even as she laid there, in an elegant yet dusty dress, she looked almost angelic. There was always a certain aura which followed Nellija and kept her beautiful despite the odds.

[Anonymous]

Quensi silently entered the room where the lady slept, his footfalls carefully calculated so as not to wake her.  Over one arm  he carried a simple yet elegant dress that had been freshly cleaned and aired, and with the other arm he balanced clean towels and other implements of bathing such as soap and washcloths.  

The dress he gently laid over the back of a chair, and the towels and cloths he put in the chair's seat; as for the little metal pail of soap and soft scrubbing brushes, this he was about to place on the floor beside the chair, except that  one end of the half-circle pail handle came loose, causing pail and contents to clatter to the stone floor with not a little racket before he could react and catch them.  Quensi bit his lower lip, a nervous and mortified look on his face as he knelt to pick up the scattered bathing paraphernalia.  

He was really going to get it this time, he thought.  The overseer of the domestic help had warned him not to disturb the newly arrived guest, and Quensi was certain the noise was plenty loud enough to awaken her.  His shoulders still ached from the last whipping, the result of something not even Quensi's fault; a lot of things ended up that way, it seemed.  He was always taking the blame for even what was obviously the carelessness of someone else in the household, and when it actually was his fault, he never escaped the consequences, even for minor misdeeds.  But he didn't dare speak of it to anyone; it wasn't his place to complain, after all.

Maybe the lady wouldn't wake up, Quensi thought.  Or, since there was little chance of that happening, maybe she wouldn't report him.

[Anonymous]

The sudden noise was more than enough to wake Nellija who had become a very light sleeper over the years. She immediately sat up and drew her legs tightly inward to her chest, wrapping her arms around the tops of her knees. Her first instinct was that the man in her room was Quinn, thus she reached for the first available utensil as her defence but there were none to be found from where she sat on the bed.

"Who are you?" Nellija said, her voice was audibly shaky. For a few moments she'd forgotten that she was not at home in her Adelan estate, but was actually inside of Serendipity Castle because of a mishap in the village and the stubbornness of a castle guard. Well, she referred to it was stubbornness, but in reality it was a good deed done on Fenway's part.

Nellija had not even noticed the new things that were now in her room--aside from the man. She let her glance overlook the man to the dress now set on a chair and the soap on the floor. Her mind was trying to rationalize his presence in her room, but her heart was pounding so fast and heavily she truly had no time to think or be rational. Nellija just sat where she was, her glance returning to the man she had yet to know was Quensi.

[OOC: Oooh! Me and Goldie have a guest in our humble thread ;) w00t!]

[Anonymous]

Quensi quickly got to his feet when he saw that the lady had been startled awake by his clumsiness.  He bowed low and said, "Forgive me for disturbing your rest, my lady; it was not my intent."  Indicating the things he had brought into the room, he said, "Would you wish me to leave you to your rest, or would you prefer that I draw water for your bath?"  As he noticed her apparent distress at the presence of a man in the room, he took a step or two back and bowed again, saying, "I am called Quensi, my lady, and I am a servant of the household.  You need not fear for your virtue, for I haven't the least intent--or capability--of endangering it."

[Goldie]

ooc: Decided to bring my newly made servant into this thread considering Fenway is on his way to the dungeon (so...he's a bit slow....it's been two weeks and he's still running down stairs...ah well ^^;; )

ic:

The servant girl hurried up the stairs of the guest tower, holding her skirts up so she wouldn't trip as she sped to her new destination.  The woman in charge of the clothing for this newly arrived Noble Woman had forgotten to give Quensi fresh under garments and had been quick to ask Arinen to run them up as well as give the orders to mend and clean the clothes that the Noble had arrived in.

Arinen had a very convenient way of cleaning clothes, especially delicate gowns that would take hours to wash by hand, she could have them finished in a few minutes.  With her strange magic she was able to control the individual threads that were woven into any fabric and make them resist odor, dirt, and stains so that they would simply shake off the dirt and simply leave a pile of dust and sweat on the floor to be cleaned up in minutes with a damp towel.  She was even able to smooth out garments without even touching an iron to them.

Reaching the doorway she was surprised to see that it had already been opened and that the Lady was awake.  Stopping in the doorway she surpressed a nervous shudder.  How she hated when others saw her...looked at her deformity, the fire scars that covered half of her face....they were her curse and she wished to live with them in the silence of the weaving room.

Taking a breath she bowed her head allowing her long dark brown-red tresses to fall across her face, hiding everything from both the Lady and Quensi.

"M'Lady" she murmured with a timid curtsey, "Ah'm sorry t'have t'bother ye."  Turning to Quensi she kept her head down and showed him the undergarments that were draped over her hand, "Mistress forgot t'give ye these"  she told him, her voice almost inaudiable as she laid them gently across the gown that he had brought up.

"M'Lady" she said, once again turning and curtseying to the Noble Woman, "After ye are cleaned and changed Ah can take yer gown for mending and cleaning.  "twill be returned to ye very quickly."  Arinen kept her eyes to the ground and did not notice the uncomfortable aura that eminated from the Lady due to Quensi's presence, nor did she know that nature of their conversation.

[Anonymous]

Quensi said nothing as Arinen set down what she had brought; it was not his place to speak again until the Lady asked something of him.  He waited for Nellija to either instruct him as to her wishes concerning the bath--or to voice her displeasure at his disturbance of her rest.

[Anonymous]

Nellija's heart calmed and her heartbeats fell back into a soothing, calm rhythm. She let her legs slide to the edge of the bed and slowly stood up to look at the two castle servants who were in the room she would be resting in. They seemed honest enough with the purest of intentions and... Well, Nellija had always had a soft spot for servants and commoners even if she could not show it all the time. It was not hard to forget how easily she could have been just like them, or could still be.

The thought was unnerving. She had forgotten that she would have to be home soon and if Quinn was gone, she'd have an even longer journey ahead of her.

"A bath sounds wonderful," Nellija said in a gentle, calm voice; her voice as almost angelic. It was soft, sweet yet still powerful--as any Lady should be. But there was something more to Nellija, something of natural beauty and something that could never be taught.

Giving up her dress? Would they not see the blood, then? The scars had bled, she was sure of it. She could still feel them healing and attaching to the fabric in some areas. Then again, she could not risk wearing it as it was, and her washing ability as hardly anything to talk about! Well, if it was only a servant seeing it... and no one from Adela to know who she was... it would be fine, right?

"Sure, I can give it to you once my bath is drawn," Nellija said with a smile. She couldn't help but feel more at ease with these two. It was more pleasant than being uptight and worrying over who might see her scars and inquire about them. She was running out of excuses when she could not hide them...

[OOC: Sorry it took so long! Meep!]

[Anonymous]

Quensi smiled and bowed again.  Indicating the smaller adjoining room, he said, "We do have a few of the more modern conveniences.  There is a pump connected to the kitchen fires, and one that is not.  How--warm would you prefer the waters, my lady?"

[Anonymous]

"Hot enough," Nellija replied. She liked her baths to be hot enough to really sink into her muscles and let the heat ease the tension. Aside from that, she knew that the hot ater stung her wounds, but also knew that it helped clean them out better. The pain from the rather hot water on her new wounds was nothing compared to the actual wounds themselves.

But alas! They did not know that she bore these scars, or for what reason she did. Water that is more on the hot side was simply better to relax muscles.

"Thank you," Nellija added.

[Anonymous]

"Of course, my lady," Quensi replied, bowing once again and going into the adjoining room.  He pumped the water as quickly as possible, testing it by dipping his hand into the tub every so often.  As the tub filled, Quensi added some lightly fragranced oils he had taken from a shelf nearby.  He hoped they would be soothing to the lady's weary frame.   When the water felt as close as he could estimate to the lady's specifications, he went back into the main room and picked up the washcloths and towels and clean dress, as well as the other items he had brought, carrying them to the adjoining room to put upon a chair for the lady to use easily.  He went back into the main room and bowed.  "The bath is ready, my lady.  I will stand guard for you outside the door until you are dressed.  You need but call for me if I am needed.   If you will, Arinen will remain with you until you are undressed, so that she may take care of cleaning your present clothing."

[Anonymous]

[OOC: Sorry for the wait. I was away for a bit, and then a lack of muse plagued me. But I hope it has returned. ^__^ Thanks a lot for waiting, though! I appreciate it muchly!]

Nellija nodded. She could not help be feel a little more light hearted because of the amiable composure of these two servants who had entered her room. Lady of Adela or not, Nellija felt that all beings were equal, but were instead called upon to undergo different occupations and do different things. Yes, in society certain occupations were looked upon with more pride than others, but without the 'lower' occupations, many things would not get done. It was easy for those higher up in the social chain to forget this simple detail, but Nellija did not. It was hard to forget that she could easily be where they were and, although she was a Lady of Adela, she still felt as though she were a prisoner of her home country and, in a powerful way, she was.

"Thank you," Nellija said as she walked past Quensi with a grace that seemed unimaginable with concern to her current state of health.

With the door closed behind her, she let her sleeves slip off her shoulders, but she encountered some difficulty as the dress began to slide down her back. Some blood had dried against the fabric, but with a small tug, the fabric released the scab and slid to her ankles. She rested the dress upon a table and removed her jewellery, which she places beside it, as well as any other article of clothing she wore beneath the dress. She pinned back her hair and slowly entered the hot water. The smells of the sea salts and herbs tingled at her senses, but helped calm her. Her skin absorbed the water, herbs and salts with hunger, but her wounds ached at the touch. She knew it was good for them, but the pain would not go away--not until she got accustomed to it and it faded from her memory.

"You can take the dress to clean," Nellija said in a calm, soothing, yet audible voice once she was submerged in the water with just the tips of her shoulders and her head above the water.

[Anonymous]

Quensi stationed himself just to one side of the door to the adjoining room, standing guard and also keeping at the ready should the lady need him to get anything for her.  He was grateful for her silence.  Not many of high rank cared to show 'the help' such kindness.  It was a breath of fresh air after how he was usually regarded.  As he waited, he kept glancing about to see if there were any signs of danger, any intruders to the room.  The palace had an excellent guard detail, but still he took up his duty as well as he possibly could.

[Anonymous]

(Hope i'm not intruding. ;) )

Outside the caste, the galliant Centaur finally made pace to the gates, unsuringly, he stopped and examined the build, much of which had been repaired recently - or was still in the process of reconstruction.
He glanced at the battlements, counting in his head quickly as he did so, then turned his attention once again at the main gate, waiting to see what would happen for him to access the mighty stronghold of seendipity.
He stood just off the side of the main path that was laid before the gates, small flags marked the ranges of arrows and such, two groups of six were poked along the path, very few trees were near the castle - another defensive reason.
Since Jonas was already within range of getting shot, beared no weapons nor any body language to recon or attack, he waited for a guard to notice his prescence - he might resort to shouting up to the guards later..

Shortly after, he decided this was a bad idea, castles were confined - cramped and had but a single escape route.. He slowly raised himself, climbing from a standard horse resting position and moved off, not sure where he was headed next..