Working for the King's Champion
Cara's stomach growled loudly in the Great Hall. She cursed herself, the King, and, more importantly, Mrs. Losanne. The King's Midwinter Banquet was this evening and Cara had been up last night beating the tapestries to remove any dust. Consequently, she'd woken up late and Mrs. Losanne had assigned her to cleaning the flagstones of the Great Hall. She'd missed breakfast, she was wet, and she wasn't nearly done. Cara cursed again, shivering. Of course they don't turn the heat on until the nobles get here, she thought angrily.
When the water in Cara's bucket turned black, she got up and stretched, surveying the floor. Not bad, she thought to herself as she saw she was nearly done. She grabbed her bucket and –
Something slammed into her. Cara fell to the floor and drenched herself and another servant in water. "Watch where you're going!" She yelled at the mud-covered urchin.
The mud-covered urchin got up and as she brushed herself off Cara realized she wasn't an urchin after all. The figure straightened up until she loomed over Cara. It was Keladry of Mindelan, come back from her morning glaive practice. Cara sank into a deep, pleading curtsy. "Forgive me, my lady. I didn't see that it was you," she quivered
At that moment Cara saw the only thing that could make the situation worse: Mrs. Losanne. "And what is going on here?" Mrs. Losanne's eyes widened as she saw Keladry. "Your ladyship, I'm so sorry. I'll send up someone straight away to wash your clothes. And be assured that Cara will learn this lesson on her hide." Mrs. Losanne curtsied again and turned to Cara. "Go to the laundries and send someone up to get my Lady of Mindelin's clothes. Oh, and don't bother coming to meals today."
Kel's face remained blank, but her brow furrowed slightly as she saw how Mrs. Losanne was treating Cara. Cara looked down and meekly replied with a "yes, ma'am." Kel opened her mouth. "Actually, Mrs. Losanne, I will change right away. Cara can come with me and collect my things."
"Very good, my lady," replied Mrs. Losanne, and she was off.
Kel began walking towards the kitchen staircase, on the way to her small knight's chambers. Cara followed behind at a respectful distance. When Kel got to her room, she beckoned Cara in and moved behind a dressing screen to change. Cara looked around in awe, wishing she had her own room with a fireplace, thick curtains to keep out the drafts, and more than one set of clothes. And this is for a third-year knight, she thought. Cara had spent her life in the calamity of the servant's kitchens and cleaning the palace's oft-frequented rooms such as the Ballroom and the Theatre. She had never been in the nobility's private chambers or even in the nobles' dining room.
Kel came out from behind the dressing screen and noticed Cara's wide eyes and shivering stance. She gestured towards a stool by the fire, "warm up," she implored.
"Oh, I couldn't, your ladyship, not in your presence," Cara stammered, embarrassed to even be asked.
"At least stand closer to it then," Kel said, taking a seat by the fire herself. Cara gratefully took a step forward. "Cara, does Mrs. Losanne whip you often?" She asked directly.
"Only when I deserve it, my lady, and I surely do for ruining your clothing," Cara answered, surprised. In truth, her back still burned from the beating she'd received two days ago.
At this Kel frowned and studied Cara more closely. "You have blood on the back of your shirt."
. "Yes, my lady, but I haven't another," Cara explained, torn between wanting to leave this uncomfortable conversation and wanting to stay by the fire. Kel saw the stains, holes, and patches in a shirt that should have been discarded years ago.
"Cara, may I see your back?" Kel asked gently, worried. Cara knew not to disobey a noble and hesitantly lifted up the back of her shirt. Kel gasped at the ribbons of red running across Cara and the scars from past whippings. She studied Cara even more closely and saw her skinny frame and hungry look. She decided to take action. "Tobe," Kel called.
"Yes, m'lady?" Tobe said as he appeared in the adjoining door. Cara noticed his country accent though her eyes fixated on the roll he was holding.
"Go find Lady Alanna. Ask her to come to my rooms and to be discrete about it." Kel asked distractedly.
"O'Course, m'lady," Tobe answered, and trotted off. Mithros! Thought Cara, what does she want with the King's Champion?
Tobe returned in minutes with Alanna, who was apparently not a morning person. She arrived with her hair mussed and held a hand up to cover her yawn as she came in. "What's this about, Kel?" she asked sleepily.
"I think that Cara needs some healing." Kel gestured towards Cara and Alanna came over to her. "Mithros!" Alanna exclaimed before she'd even touched Cara, her Gift sensing Cara's cuts and bruises before she even saw them. "And who, exactly, is Cara?"
How could I have forgotten my place? Cara berated herself. She curtsied to Alanna. "I am a palace scullery maid, your ladyship. And I'm okay, really."
Alanna snorted. "Humph. And who did all this to you?"
Cara looked down. "Mainly the head kitchen maid, your ladyship, Mrs. Losanne."
Alanna looked surprised; how could Jon's palace by run by people who would do such horrible things? "What about your parents?" She asked, unwilling to believe that a girl's parents would stand for them to be treated this way.
"I haven't any, your ladyship," Cara replied. "My mam died when I was 5 and I never knew who was my da."
That explains a lot, Alanna thought. Out loud she said "Kel, I would love to help but I've been up in the infirmary all night and my Gift is nearly tapped. Tobe, go get Neal out of what ever book he's hiding in and tell him to come here." Tobe was off again. Kel lent Cara one of her homespun tunics to wear while her clothes dried. Cara looked a child, dwarfed in a tunic that was too tall and too big for her, but it was better than nothing. All three women looked at the fire worriedly. Mrs. Losanne is going to kill me for taking so long, Cara thought.
Neal suddenly burst into the room, "I was reading Shang poetry, and it took me ages to find! Midwinter is the only time I get off my horse, rest my sore and tired body and -"
"Neal! Be quiet! How did all my training as a knightmaster come undone so quickly?" Alanna said grumpily. "I need your Gift. We've a servant here who's in bad shape and mine's been used up."
Neal glared at Alanna and Kel before walking over to Cara. He let his hands hover over her back and he stepped back as if physically threatened. "What happened to you?" He gasped. "You have deep cuts and bruises, scars and more scars." He turned to Alanna, "My lady, you'd best get comfortable, this will take a while."
"Please, I'm fine your lordship, don't waste your energy," Cara pleaded, embarrassed at all the attention. "I'm just here for her ladyship's clothes to go to the laundry."
Kel, Alanna, and Neal exchanged a look. Alanna shrugged as if to take charge and looked at Cara, "We're going to try to avoid sending you back to the laundry or the kitchens, Cara. Now I order you as King's Champion to sit down and let Neal heal you." Cara did so; she knew she couldn't disobey a direct order, especially not from the King's Champion. She felt Neal's Gift flow into her. The healing was painful, but not nearly as bad as Mrs. Losanne's leather whip cracking down on her back.
Neal mumbled curses throughout the healing, old injuries were more difficult to heal than new. "What are we going to do?" He asked finally. "Can we appeal to the King?"
Alanna frowned. "No. He has a code of honour where he doesn't interfere with peasant's business, just as they don't interfere with his. There's a reason he and George lived peacefully in the same city together for years."
"Maybe he would change his mind," Kel suggested. "He did with Lalasa."
Alanna considered this. "You have to approach the King in the right way," she said, "not an easy task. I'd have to think about what to say"
"We can't send her back to the servant's quarters," Kel said quietly but firmly. "And I haven't the money for another servant." She looked regretfully at Cara and then up at Neal.
Neal spoke grimly as he healed Cara. "I would, Kel, you know I would. But the courtiers would talk. I can't have a personal female servant, it'll ruin both our reputations."
Cara was feeling exhausted but she also knew she had to speak up. "Please, nobody has to look after me," she tried again.
Alanna ignored her, "I have been finding it difficult without someone to clean my armour and bring me scones," she said, taking a dig a Neal. He shook his head ruefully, knowing not to talk back to his former knightmaster. "I could use a maid."