Head full of Rocks

[XIII]

Night had only just settled in as the last rays of sunlight slid underneath the horizon. Through the halls of the house of Acualian echoed an unnaturally loud knocking sound. The sound's origin, though difficult to tell by how far it carried due to its volume, could be traced back to a side entrance of the house. One usually used by servants. On the other side of the relatively simplistic door, standing in the coolness of the night air, was a ghost. At least, she could be mistaken for a ghost. Her white skin almost glowing against the black night behind her, and her eyes actually glowing their soft golden color, one could almost believe Belafay a spirit. But her dust covered feet and her knee length sleeveless brown dress were stark additions to her reality in the physical world.

Belafay was still as a statue, a thick leather bound ledger book in her small hands. Tied around her waist was a rope as thick as a man's arm, to which was attached a large old cart filled with shipment crates by the dozens. Each crate looked to weigh several hundred pounds, and by the tracks that led up to the house, Belafay herself had carried it there. Not that this would be unusual for the Acualian House. She had delivered shipments of goods to them before, though not in a long while. Tapping her thumb against the ledger, she smiled pleasantly and waited for someone to open the door. She was behind schedule due to one of her tires breaking earlier that day, and she hated being late. Her being late tended to make people upset. And she did not want anyone upset with her.

[Anonymous]

"Um... s-sir?"

Rei looked up from the clutter on his dress to see a nubile young woman in a nightgown. "Yes?" Ye asked, giving her his full attention. She blushed, a bit wary of him. The whole town knew that he was a lech. The whole town also knew that the house girls were safe from his affections, but that didn't mean she wasn't wary. She was too new to even know that many of the maids working at House Acualian were good friends with him.

"Um... there's someone at the door..."

"Let the guard deal with them."

"N-no... the servant door."

"Hm. Did we expect any deliveries today?"

"Y-yes... but it never arrived... the other maids gave up, and thought it'd come tomorrow. They figured that no one would come at night, when it gets so cold... I'm the only one awake, because they had me scrubbing pots and pans, but I'm not... I'm not supposed to answer it, because I'm so new and inexperienced..."

Now that Rei was out of the books, he could hear the strange knocking reverberating through the house. "Doryx is out, is he not? I suppose... I guess I'll get it." With a groan, he got to his feet and stretched his arms and legs, cramped from sitting for so long. One leg had fallen asleep, and he had to limp to the door. The maid giggled, and he ignored her as he navigated the stairs, corridors and such to the kitchen, where the rythmic knocking could be heard. He opened the door to find a pale woman standing in the cold, not in the least bit dressed for it. Loooking over her shoulder, he could see the carts. Did she pull them here? he wondered. She would have to be very strong or very magical to have done so, he knew.

"Welcome to the House of Acualian, milady. Please, come in. It must be cold out there. If you will allow me to assist with your deliveries, I can wrap this up and get you a warm bedroom to spend the night in. I am Rei. What packages might these be, milady?" He motion to the maid who had trailed behind him for the ledger sitting on a kitchen shelf, besides the recipe books. She handed him that, and a pen dipped in ink, as he awaited the womans words.

[[OOC: Sorry I took so long!]]

[XIII]

Belafay put on her best smile as the door opened and she stiffened her posture to look more professional. Her large wonder-filled eyes and her bare clothes counteracted this, making her seem a child trying to be an adult. She seemed to ignore Rei's initial greeting to her and thumbed through her leather book, looking for a specific page. When she found it, she cleared her throat and spoke, whispering the presupposed dialogue under her breath and then juxtaposing her own words instead. "Good day my Lord, I am a courier having been sent by [strike:h4a31ysn]Suchandsuchabrick[/strike:h4a31ysn] Trading Company. I am here to deliver the parcels your House have requested through our services." "Hi, I'm Belafay. I can't pronounce the name of my employer, so I'll just show you his seal." And so she did, thrusting the page of the ledger unceremoniously into Rei's face. While she allowed him to examine the seal, which would be familiar to him from past deliveries, she continued, "I would have gotten the delivery here sooner, but one of the wheels on my cart broke when I had trouble stopping at the bottom of a hill. I had no tools and the farm nearby would not lend me any, so I had to fix it by myself. Anyhow, please don't tell Lord Whats-his-name, because he'd get real mad at me. And when he's real mad, he hits me with maces and axes and sometimes swords."

Pulling the ledger page back away from Rei's face, Belafay got really quiet for a moment, as though she were remembering something, which she was. Her face scrunched up in discomfort and she gave a resolute nod. "I don't like getting broken. Anyway, where would you like me to put your packages sir?" And then her face was back to its pleasant smile, a small bit of rosy color filling her cheeks and adding a kind of subtle warmth to her white features.

[OoC: It's fine.]

[Anonymous]

Rei was shocked. Simply... shocked.

First off, she completely ignored him and didn't answer his questions. Then, after spouting some nonsense, she said she'd had to fix the cart herself, which was rude of the farmer. He would have to speak to him about his hospitality; he had an idea of who it was. And on top of that, she was being abused by a lord?!

He didn't know what to say.

"Um..."

He scratched his head. "I won't tell this lord of yours. Come inside, Lady Belafy.  Um... what exactly did you bring me?" He shivered in the cold air. How cold she stand it? Ah, her cheeks were getting ruddy. From the cold, no doubt.

[XIII]

"Oh..." Belafay blinked several times, apparently realizing the she was being spoken to. She shuffled her feet a little as she collected the thoughts that buzzed around her head. An answer to the young man's question first. "I actually don't know. I'm not allowed to view the shipments or their accompanying documents. Which reminds me..." Digging into the ledger, she produced an envelope sealed with wax bearing the same symbol as her employer's crest. Handing the letter to Rei, she smiled, "He did say that it was your House's usual shipment though, if that means anything to you."

With a glance back at her cart and then a deep bow and a smile, Belafay accepted Rei's offer for a place to sleep. "Thank you sir, I'd very much like to come inside. My employer isn't expecting me back until sometime tomorrow anyway, and walking these roads in the dark wouldn't be very easy." She nodded as if the fact that she would have walked all the way back to Serendipity that same night if she had nowhere to stay were completely obvious. Then Belafay stepped inside, letting the ropes she had wrapped around her body fall away. Turning to Rei slightly, she gave a smile and a bow, then crossed her arms in front of her, waiting to be led to where she would stay.

[Anonymous]

Rei quickly snapped open the letter and read it quickly. He wasn't privy to everything that went on in the House; after all, he was only a ward. But everything seemed to be in order, and both the steward and the master was out, leaving him in charge, if somewhat precariously. He waved at the maid.

"Lindsay, please get some of the off- watch guards to bring these in, while I lead Lady Belafy to her rooms. Please, follow me, milady." He beckoned Belafy with a bow, missing the look of surprise on the maid's face when she realized that he actually knew her name.

Rei kept glancing back as he led the way, as if he was simply making sure that she followed, but actually admiring her. She was very beautiful in his eyes. Exquisite, even. When he at last reached her rooms, , he bowed her through. It was a three room apartment, and finely decorated.

"You may stay here for tonight, milady. If you don't think me impertinant... don't go back to your emloyer. He sounds cruel. Stay here with me, instead. I can offer you many kindnesses... that he could not." He took a step closer. "Don't go back..."

[XIII]

Belafay tilted her head and blinked, very clearly confused by Rei's advances.  Then she smiled that sweet, innocent smile and shook her head lightly. "Thank you very much for the offer sir, but my employer really isn't as cruel as I might make him out to be. He gives me precious gems to eat and personally oversees my weekly sand scrub. He hits me very rarely, far less than he used to. I suppose i'm more punctual than I used to be, so I don't make him as angry. He only hits me though because he knows I can handle it. I typically don't even feel it when my knees get shattered or my face gets cracked. That's one of the benefits of being made of marble."

Stepping lightly into the room, Belafay glanced around and took in the sights. It was a fairly large room with beautiful adornments. She hardly seemed to notice the quality of her lodgings however, as she turned around and bowed politely to Rei, "Thank you again sir for your hospitality. If there is anything that I can do to repay your kindness, you need only to ask."