A banging on my door wakes me up in the middle of the night. I groan and roll over, twisting the covers around me even more. My hand finds a bottle and I bring it to my lips, a few drips of wine leaking into my mouth. I lick my teeth, ignoring the pounding. However, I quickly stand up when Jarl Balgruuf screams, "Irileth! Wake up and get out here!". I stumble around my cluttered room, quickly put on my armor, and rush outside. The Jarl is standing there in his finest robes, his arms crossed. I straighten my red hair and ask my employer, "Yes? What is it? Has another dragon attacked?". The man shakes his head and simply commands, "Follow me.".
He turns and walks away, but I stand still for a few seconds before I realize I'm suppose to follow him. I rush after him and am led into the great hall, everyone gathered around one table. The Jarl motions at the crowd and tells me, "Go look for yourself.". I push through the crowd and see the head maid lying upon the table. It's already clear Fianna is dead, but I check for a pulse before shaking my head. I look at Fianna's apprentice and question her, "How did this happen?". Gerda nervously answers me, "I just found her in her bed. The healer said she died of age.". I sigh and command everyone, "Break it up, there's nothing to see here! Someone wheel this body down to the graves!". Everyone quickly disbands, aware of what I can do.
I turn to return to my room, but the Jarl's hand on my shoulder stops me. He takes me off to the side and tells me, "We need another maid. Gerda is decent at her job, but Fianna did most of the work. We need another maid desperately.". I brush off his hand and assure him, "We'll find one eventually, but a maid isn't the most important job in all of Skyrim.". Balgruuf looks sheepish as he explains, "I might have invited Maven Black-Briar and Idgrod Ravencrone for a feast.". I grind my teeth and manage to ask, "When?". The man I'm sworn to protect shuffles his feet and answers, "Two days from now.". I sigh and tell him, "I'll find a maid tomorrow.".
He coughs and says, "We need one today. Tomorrow is when the maids will need to cook, clean, and get the extra bedchambers ready. We also need to work out the pay.". I groan and assure him, "I'll find one tomorrow, it'll be fine.". I hear a bit of his commanding tone creep into his voice as he threatens, "If you don't find a maid today, then I'll go out and scour the city tomorrow. By myself. Alone.". I feel worry gnaw at my insides. "Okay, I'll go find you a damned maid.". The man smirks and says, "Find a pretty Nord woman if you can.". I roll my eyes. "I'll find one who's good enough for the job. I don't give a shit if you can enjoy ogling it or not.". The Jarl sighs and goes back to his job, leaving me to go find a maid. I shake my head and leave Dragonsreach, my hunt started.
Dovahkiin POV:
Hulda calls me down from my room. It's roughly two in the morning, but I've learned to awaken to the woman's call. She gave me Saadia's old job after the Redguard disappeared, so the least I can do is come when she calls. The inn is abandoned besides the bullheaded bard who calls this place his house, a bearded man in iron armor who never goes home, and a Dunmer I've never seen before sitting at the bar. Hulda waves me over and tells me, "Go get our finest wine from the cellar. Be quick, I have your monthly pay ready for when you get back.". I nod and rush to do as my employer commands.
The cellar is full of bottles of alcohol and nothing else, but some liquid has still managed to leak onto the floor. I make sure not to step in any deep puddles, I don't want my silver-blue fur to become sticky with beer. I manage to find a bottle of wine that looks suitable for my needs. The blue bottle reflects my sea green eyes perfectly, so that's the main reason I'm drawn to it. I grab the wine and rush back to Hulda, handing her the alcohol. The woman thanks me, then digs around in her pocket. She tosses me some gold and hands the wine to the Dunmer. I thank the woman and turn to leave, but Hulda grabs me and drags me to stand beside her. She grabs my jaw and slightly moves my head back and forth as she tells the Dunmer, "Look at this!".
The elf's eye flicker up to look at me, then flicker back down at the bar. She sips her wine and tells Hudla, "I see her. A Khajiit. You only find them everywhere.". Hulda sighs and explains, "There's something special about this one!". The Dunmer scoffs. My employer's smile falters and she pushes me away. "Go on. Go to bed.". I nod and go back to my room, but my curiosity gets the better of me. I sneak out the second door, go around back, and climb into the guest's room. It's abandoned, so I'm easily able to crawl out onto the balcony. I lie flat on my stomach so I'm not seen, and even go the extra mile of hiding under the table.
The bard isn't playing, so I can hear everything the two women say. Thankfully, it doesn't sound like I've missed any of their conversation. The Dunmer sighs and tells my employer, "Okay, I'm done with my wine. Now, tell me what makes this Khajiit so 'special'.". Hulda easily tells the woman, "She cleans the place better and quicker than Saadia ever could, and she always does it without a single complaint. But the best thing is she doesn't know how gold works! She can't even count to two!". The elf scoffs and tells her, "Impossible. Everyone knows how money works.". Hulda laughs and explains, "She was raised on some godforsaken farm over near Hegathe in Hammerfell. Her parents always traded for things, they never had a single coin in all their lives!".
Embarrassment floods me as I silently admit what the woman has said is true. I don't have a single clue how money works. For all I know my pay could be extremely poor or extremely good. Hulda answers my thoughts by continuing, "Her pay is shit and she still thanks me! All I have to do is feed her and let her use Saadia's old room. The bread is just what's left over from the night before, so I'm practically doing nothing to keep her.". The Dunmer still sounds skeptical as she questions, "What about her worker's receipts? Surely she could read those and realize her expenses are more than her pay.".
Hulda chuckles. "She can't read or write! It's like having a workhorse that can do everything around the inn. Watch.". I hear the breaking of glass and Hulda tells the Dunmer, "I'll call her down to clean up a mess, and then she'll thank me for letting her work for me.". She screams my name and I quickly scrabble back into the room, jump down to the ground, and run around to the front. I come in the second door and rush to the main part of the inn. Hulda looks a little displeased and tells me, "Be faster next time.". I nod and grab a rag from my barkeep clothes and kneel beside the spilled wine, wiping up the liquid. I put the rag back in my pocket and carefully pick up the broken glass. When the mess is clean I throw the glass away, then go outside to ring out my rag.
When I return Hulda once again calls me over. She yanks me to her and pats my shoulder, telling the Dunmer, "Look at her! Such a diligent little worker!". The Dunmer's eyes light up and she asks, "Can you cook?". I nod and the Dunmer follows up, "What exactly can you cook?". I shrug. "I can cook almost anything if you give me the items needed.". The elf smirks and stands before offering, "How would you like a job as a maid up at Dragonsreach?". Before I can answer Hulda in snarling, "Hey, you can't take my damned worker! She's ten times as good as Saadia!".
The Dunmer rolls her eyes and tells my employer, "Yes I can. If she agrees, then she'll get a place up in Dragonsreach.". She turns back to me. "You'd get any food you can cook, and we have every ingredient you can imagine. You would also get a larger room, but you'd have to share it with the other maid. Not to mention, your pay would be 1,200 gold a month. That's over two hundred times what Hulda is paying you.". I shuffle my feet and awkwardly ask, "Is that a lot of money?". The Dunmer chews on the side of her mouth before answering, "It's a decent amount, but not a lot. You certainly couldn't live off it. But we're providing you food and shelter.". I shuffle my feet again and accept, "I'll take the job, but I want to change one thing.". The Dunmer cocks her head and goes, "Oh?".
I nod and tell her, "I want to be taught numbers, how to read, how to write, and how to count. Can someone teach me those? You can take it out of my pay if you need to.". The Dunmer sighs, considers it, and answers, "I'll have to teach you, and I'm not a good teacher. But I'm the only one who knows how to do all of those, and has the free time. If you're willing to allow me to teach you, then you have a deal.". I nod and the woman smiles. "Congratulations. Come on, we need to get back to Dragonsreach. Tomorrow you'll need to prepare for visiting Jarls, so you'll have a lot of work to do. It's best if you get some sleep before then.".
I simply nod in response. Hulda huffs and grumbles, "Fine. Take the damned woman, I'll ask Ysolda if she wants the job.". The Dunmer chuckles, then tells me, "Go gather your things and we'll go. By the way, my name is Irlileth.". I introduce myself before saying, "I don't have any belongings.". The Dunmer nods in understanding, then turns and begins walking away. I quickly follow her, happy to be away from Hulda. I'm certain the woman was taking advantage of me. Irileth still might take advantage of me, but at least I wouldn't know it. I briefly remember my mother saying that ignorance is bliss. I suppose she was right. Irileth takes me up to the seat of the Jarl, briefly holding the door open for me.
She guides me right past the royally decorated great hall and into the servant's quarters, then down to the lowest room. Another woman is already asleep in the room, but the bed opposite her is empty. Irileth pats me on the back and tells me, "I'll come down for you in the morning. Try to sleep till them, the Jarl doesn't need any tired servants.". I nod and climb into my new bed, snuggling down in the blankets as the Dunmer closes the door. I sigh and close my eyes, already worrying about tomorrow.