"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
~~Thomas Edison~~
~~Thomas Edison~~
[img]/gallery/image ... ge_id=3066[/img]
2nd Saun, 716
Faith had been bought, just a few trials ago, by Tristan Venora. Of course, to the young woman in question, although she knew his name, he was Master. So, they had spent a few trials just learning about the new rules and so on. At first, she had been so busy learning about him and his routine that she had not had time to do more than just tidy around here. They had discussed Jamal's rules and which ones he was keeping, which ones she should ignore and those he was replacing them with.
But this trial, she was Cleaning The House. Because Master had left for the trial to do something, and because she was desperate to. He had obviously lived alone for a long time and, frankly, Faith was horrified. It was a misty morning and Faith sat on the chair in the dining area and she considered carefully. She had been told that this rain was not likely to last so, the first thing that she did was went out and collected the water buckets she had placed in the garden yesterday, replacing them with new ones for this morning. It wasn't raining yet, but the mist was low and Faith looked around, it all seemed very spooky, as though sounds were muted and eerie and as she considered the strange shadows which in clear skies would be normal, she smiled. As the suns took their hold on the trial, the mist would lift, she knew, but Faith could not deny that she loved the damp misty feeling of this moment. However, she did not have time for such frivolity and she had a lot to do.
Over the last few trials she had been able to clear away all of the obvious rubbish that had been left lying around. But this morning she had changed into her working dress and she knew that it was going to take all of her skill and determination to make this place fit for Master. She started by lighting the fire, so that she could heat up the water and, to combat the heat from that a little, she flung open all the windows. As soon as she did that, she tutted at the state of the curtains. Had these *ever* been washed? She really didn't think so and she gave a brief prayer of thanks to Famula for her opportunity to serve Master here.
So, first things first. She took down the curtains, stripped the bed, got the tablecloth from the drawer (and pulled a face because it had been put back in there having been used!) and set about washing them. Scrubbing them, in fact. She'd bought some caustic soda, salt and cleaning goods from the market when she had been out to buy food for Master's meals. And it was a good thing, she considered, because this place needed it. While they were soaking away the grime, Faith got the heavy bristled brush and the softer sponge and she started to scrub. Starting with the walls, which she cleaned with the sponge and then moving to the floor, where she knelt on all fours and scrubbed for a good three breaks without stopping, she scrubbed until the infrastructure, the walls and floor and ceiling were all spotless. Then, because time was ticking on, she hung the linens out to dry and got to work at the stove for a while. She had made a rich and unctuous stock the trial before from the bones and remains of the chicken. That was going to be the base for the soup she was making today. Master had said that he wouldn't want much, a light meal (the heat was enough to make anyone not want to eat much) so she had asked if soup was acceptable.
The bread that she had made in the middle of the night had proved and so she popped that into the oven whilst the soup cooked on the stove top. That meant that Master would come home to freshly baked bread and a flavoursome and filling chicken soup, full of vegetables. He had seemed pleased by that and so she made sure that she put in the herbs from the market, flavouring it with rosemary and a little bit of thyme. Salt, of course, and even some pepper because Master had connections and was a noble lord who deserved nothing less. But then, once the soup was cooking and the bread baking, she got back to the cleaning.
Taking stock, she considered what was completed. Walls, floors, ceilings done. Curtains, nets, bedding and tablecloths washed and clean. She put the smoothing iron into the hot embers of the fire and spent a break ironing all of them, making sure that all was as it needed to be. Then, she re-hung the curtains (having cleaned the poles and washed the windows of course), made Master's bed (having emptied underneath it before cleaning the floors. There was an item of underwear that seemed to be nearly the same age as her. She put it in the laundry and thought of it no more) and put the tablecloth on the table. All in all, it was a good trial's work, but it was only the beginning. Since Master was no where near yet, she knew that there was more that she could do. For the dutiful young woman it was not a matter of whether she would, it was a question of what she prioritised.
So, she made her way back to Master's bedroom. His bed was clean and made (and she knew for a fact that if she didn't make it, it didn't get made) and she had put his clothes, ironed and washed, away in his wardrobe. WIth clean wallks, floor and ceiling and emptied of the arcs of rubbish in here, Faith considered that it was almost close to habitable. But, she decided, she could do better. So, she got a vase and some fresh flowers from the garden and she put them on the window sill. Then, she got the stuff together to make some candles which were scented and pleasant smelling for him, musky and manly as a smell, she thought, so she used some cedarwood. That would be something that she could do after she had been branded, she considered. She was to be branded in a few trials, Master wanted her to be obviously the property of house Venora. She knew that she would not be functioning at her maximum for the few trials after that, because of the pain, so she planned to do things which were less heavy but still helpful. Candlemaking was a perfect thing to reserve for then. Next to his bed, on the cabinet there, she put a pitcher of water and one of wine ( as she had every trial since he bought her) and she looked around the room. Tomorrow, she was going to paint, she had decided, but today, this room would do. It was better than it had been, that much was certain.
Then, into the living room. Here, she put a vase of fresh flowers on to the middle of the low table and another in the windowsill. She looked critically at the couch and decided that she would get some scraps of material from work and make patchwork cushion covers for here, bright and light. Maybe re-cover the stool for his feet, too, she considered, smiling as she remembered his reaction to her telling him that she had been used as a stool more than once. But now, into the dining area she went and she put down the tablecloth, lay the table ready for when Master came home (for just him. Sometimes he required her to keep him company, but she never presumed - in fact she was still coming to terms with being allowed to eat what he did, when he did and with utensils) with the cutlery, crockery and glass in the right place. Another pitcher of water and one of wine, so that he had a choice.
That was everything that she could do for this trial, she knew. Tomorrow, she was going to paint the place because cleaning the walls had simply highlighted the peeling paint in places. So, that meant that she had a few questions for Master which she would ask him this evening. But for the moment she took herself off to get changed into her good black dress, do her hair and apply a little make up ready for when Master returned home.
Faith had been bought, just a few trials ago, by Tristan Venora. Of course, to the young woman in question, although she knew his name, he was Master. So, they had spent a few trials just learning about the new rules and so on. At first, she had been so busy learning about him and his routine that she had not had time to do more than just tidy around here. They had discussed Jamal's rules and which ones he was keeping, which ones she should ignore and those he was replacing them with.
But this trial, she was Cleaning The House. Because Master had left for the trial to do something, and because she was desperate to. He had obviously lived alone for a long time and, frankly, Faith was horrified. It was a misty morning and Faith sat on the chair in the dining area and she considered carefully. She had been told that this rain was not likely to last so, the first thing that she did was went out and collected the water buckets she had placed in the garden yesterday, replacing them with new ones for this morning. It wasn't raining yet, but the mist was low and Faith looked around, it all seemed very spooky, as though sounds were muted and eerie and as she considered the strange shadows which in clear skies would be normal, she smiled. As the suns took their hold on the trial, the mist would lift, she knew, but Faith could not deny that she loved the damp misty feeling of this moment. However, she did not have time for such frivolity and she had a lot to do.
Over the last few trials she had been able to clear away all of the obvious rubbish that had been left lying around. But this morning she had changed into her working dress and she knew that it was going to take all of her skill and determination to make this place fit for Master. She started by lighting the fire, so that she could heat up the water and, to combat the heat from that a little, she flung open all the windows. As soon as she did that, she tutted at the state of the curtains. Had these *ever* been washed? She really didn't think so and she gave a brief prayer of thanks to Famula for her opportunity to serve Master here.
So, first things first. She took down the curtains, stripped the bed, got the tablecloth from the drawer (and pulled a face because it had been put back in there having been used!) and set about washing them. Scrubbing them, in fact. She'd bought some caustic soda, salt and cleaning goods from the market when she had been out to buy food for Master's meals. And it was a good thing, she considered, because this place needed it. While they were soaking away the grime, Faith got the heavy bristled brush and the softer sponge and she started to scrub. Starting with the walls, which she cleaned with the sponge and then moving to the floor, where she knelt on all fours and scrubbed for a good three breaks without stopping, she scrubbed until the infrastructure, the walls and floor and ceiling were all spotless. Then, because time was ticking on, she hung the linens out to dry and got to work at the stove for a while. She had made a rich and unctuous stock the trial before from the bones and remains of the chicken. That was going to be the base for the soup she was making today. Master had said that he wouldn't want much, a light meal (the heat was enough to make anyone not want to eat much) so she had asked if soup was acceptable.
The bread that she had made in the middle of the night had proved and so she popped that into the oven whilst the soup cooked on the stove top. That meant that Master would come home to freshly baked bread and a flavoursome and filling chicken soup, full of vegetables. He had seemed pleased by that and so she made sure that she put in the herbs from the market, flavouring it with rosemary and a little bit of thyme. Salt, of course, and even some pepper because Master had connections and was a noble lord who deserved nothing less. But then, once the soup was cooking and the bread baking, she got back to the cleaning.
Taking stock, she considered what was completed. Walls, floors, ceilings done. Curtains, nets, bedding and tablecloths washed and clean. She put the smoothing iron into the hot embers of the fire and spent a break ironing all of them, making sure that all was as it needed to be. Then, she re-hung the curtains (having cleaned the poles and washed the windows of course), made Master's bed (having emptied underneath it before cleaning the floors. There was an item of underwear that seemed to be nearly the same age as her. She put it in the laundry and thought of it no more) and put the tablecloth on the table. All in all, it was a good trial's work, but it was only the beginning. Since Master was no where near yet, she knew that there was more that she could do. For the dutiful young woman it was not a matter of whether she would, it was a question of what she prioritised.
So, she made her way back to Master's bedroom. His bed was clean and made (and she knew for a fact that if she didn't make it, it didn't get made) and she had put his clothes, ironed and washed, away in his wardrobe. WIth clean wallks, floor and ceiling and emptied of the arcs of rubbish in here, Faith considered that it was almost close to habitable. But, she decided, she could do better. So, she got a vase and some fresh flowers from the garden and she put them on the window sill. Then, she got the stuff together to make some candles which were scented and pleasant smelling for him, musky and manly as a smell, she thought, so she used some cedarwood. That would be something that she could do after she had been branded, she considered. She was to be branded in a few trials, Master wanted her to be obviously the property of house Venora. She knew that she would not be functioning at her maximum for the few trials after that, because of the pain, so she planned to do things which were less heavy but still helpful. Candlemaking was a perfect thing to reserve for then. Next to his bed, on the cabinet there, she put a pitcher of water and one of wine ( as she had every trial since he bought her) and she looked around the room. Tomorrow, she was going to paint, she had decided, but today, this room would do. It was better than it had been, that much was certain.
Then, into the living room. Here, she put a vase of fresh flowers on to the middle of the low table and another in the windowsill. She looked critically at the couch and decided that she would get some scraps of material from work and make patchwork cushion covers for here, bright and light. Maybe re-cover the stool for his feet, too, she considered, smiling as she remembered his reaction to her telling him that she had been used as a stool more than once. But now, into the dining area she went and she put down the tablecloth, lay the table ready for when Master came home (for just him. Sometimes he required her to keep him company, but she never presumed - in fact she was still coming to terms with being allowed to eat what he did, when he did and with utensils) with the cutlery, crockery and glass in the right place. Another pitcher of water and one of wine, so that he had a choice.
That was everything that she could do for this trial, she knew. Tomorrow, she was going to paint the place because cleaning the walls had simply highlighted the peeling paint in places. So, that meant that she had a few questions for Master which she would ask him this evening. But for the moment she took herself off to get changed into her good black dress, do her hair and apply a little make up ready for when Master returned home.
