Vaati marched through the castle town, a giant grin on his face. At the sight of him, villagers grabbed their children and hid in the shadows. The wind mage stopped in the middle of the town square. He waited until there was complete silence before he spoke. A small crowd of brave villagers gathered around the sorcerer.
"I am in need of a servant!" Vaati declared.
Silence.
"Did you not see what I did to the princess? She's a bloody statue! Anyone of you could be next. Give me a servant, or else!" Vaati boomed.
There seemed to be a disturbance in the crowd. A girl's voice screamed "No! I don't want to go!" Then a man's voice said "I'm too poor to feed you anyway." After that, a teen about the age of 15 or 16 was pushed out of the crowd and onto the ground in front of Vaati. She stared up at him fearfully, tears welling up in her dark green eyes.
"Well, you will have to do, I suppose." Vaati sighed. The girl slowly stood up, and brushed herself off. The sorcerer held out his hand, and the girl took it. Then, at the snap of the mage's fingers, they teleported to his palace.
When the two arrived at the castle, Vaati immediatly started barking orders at his new slave.
"The floors in my thrown room need to be washed, there's rags and a basin in the kitchen. After that, you can clean all of the windows." Vaati said.
The girl started towards the kitchen, so she could begin the floors.
"Wait!" He yelled. "I need something to address you by, what is your name?"
"Tally." She replied meekly.
"Speak up child!" Vaati yelled.
"TALLY!" she yelled back.
Vaati smiled to himself. a feisty one. He thought.
Tally made her way into the kitchen, to look for cleaning supplies. She spied a basin in the corner of the room. She picked it up and put it in the sink. As the basin filled, she started her search for rags. Tally opened every cupboard. In each one, there were a few plates and forks scattered around. Occasionally a rag, which she snagged.
By the time the basin was finished filling, Tally had collected four rags. She carried the heavy porcelain bowl into the thrown room and set it down gently. She scrubbed and scrubbed the filthy floors until her knees ached horribly. When she tried to stand up, she almost fell over because her legs had gone numb. Vaati, who was sitting in his thrown reading a book, watched her as she struggled to stand up.
Tally went back into the kitchen and dumped out the dirty water in the sink. She then filled it up again and went back into the thrown room. By the time she returned, Vaati was gone. It was a good thing that the windows weren't too high. She was able to clean them with ease and didn't mind doing it much. At least she was able to see outside. As she worked, she thought of her father giving her away. Parents were supposed to protect their children, not protect themselves with their children. What a ridiculous situation that she had some how wound up in.
When Tally finally finished the windows in the thrown room, it must have been 6:00 or 6:30 pm. She was about to put the cleaning supplies away when she heard a fairly familiar voice behind her. She spun around. Vaati was buttoning up his cloak.
"I am going out. I won't be long, but when I return, I would like tea ready." The wind mage told her. Tally nodded and made her way into the kitchen to make tea.
The tea kettle was already on the counter and the tea bags right next to it. No tea cups though.
"Hmmm..." Tally hummed as she searched the cupboards once more. She soon came across a little china Teacup with purple designs on it. As she pulled it out, it slipped out of her fingers and fell to the floor. She gasped and picked it up. The side of cup was chipped and she cursed under her breath. She could just imagine what Vaati would do when he found out that she had chipped his beautiful little teacup.
Tally sighed as she placed the cup on the counter. The kettle whistled as it started to boil. She took it off of the burner and poured the extremely hot water into the chipped cup. She then dropped a teabag inside and stirred it around with a spoon. since Vaati had no milk or cream, (let alone an ice box) she would just leave it a bit to cool down. Around this time, if she were at home, Tally would be having supper and tea herself. She was not hungry though.
Tally heard Vaati open and slam the door.
Not wanting him to get mad at her for keeping him waiting, Tally rushed into the sorcerer's thrown room. By this time, Vaati was already seated in his thrown. Tally handed him his teacup nervously. Vaati took the cup and noticed the chip. He looked up at Tally, who's eyes were glued to the floor.
"Did you chip this?" He asked.
"Umm... well, I was taking it out of the cupboard and I accidentally dropped it. I am so sorry." Tally cringed, waiting for the sorcerer to start screaming.
"I never liked this cup anyway." he said, and took a sip.
Tally sighed of relief.
"Well, um is there anything else you would like me to do tonight?"
Vaati thought for a moment.
"I suppose you have done enough work for tonight, but be up early tomorrow for more chores." He waved his hand dismissing her.
She didn't move.
"What is it Tally?" Vaati snapped.
"Where should I sleep?"
Vaati sighed and started to pull something out of his cloak pocket. He took out a silver skeleton key and tossed it at Tally, who caught it.
"Go upstairs and turn left. The second door on the right is yours." He said. "Now leave me be."
Tally obeyed and started up the stairs to her room. She unlocked the second door on the right. When she opened the door, she was greeted with a musty scent. She examined the room. A small cot sat in the right corner. A purple quilt lay on the bed. This guy sure does love purple. She thought to herself. Next to the bed, there was a night table with a (Surprise, surprise) purple lamp on it. On the other side of the room there was a dresser and desk.
Tally took off her dress. She did not have a night gown, so sleeping in her bloomers and camisole would have to do. She crawled under the covers and puled the purple quilt up to her chin. The bed was surprisingly soft. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.