Just a little filler ficlet while I work on some requests :) enjoy! Orana was such a lovely character :3
Happy Working Song (Enchanted) – Orana
Orana looked around, sighing. Mistress Hawke had had her friends over for dinner in the mansion last night, and of course, it had ended in far too much ale and wine being consumed and far too much diamondback being played. Even Mistress' dog had seemed to join in. And, naturally, Mistress had gone out with them this morning – the elf lady with the pretty tattoos (Orana did like her, almost as much as she liked Mistress Hawke), the small hairy man who always told jokes, and the tall blonde man who scared Orana a little. It was too much for a lady like Mistress to be up all night, then go out fighting all day.
The place was a mess. There were tankards all over the place, there were puddles of things Orana didn't like to think of in corners, and Mistress' bathroom was abominable. Orana was sure that the funny dark lady with no trousers had spent a good deal of time in there, but she wasn't sure what she had been doing. Bodahn and his boy, Sandal – they were lovely, making Orana feel at home and one of the family – were also surveying the chaos. Mistress would want the place nice and clean and tidy for when she came back, thought Orana. She might be bringing the strange, tattooed man again. She felt sure that she knew him from somewhere.
"All right everyone," announced Orana, clapping her hands. "Time to tidy things up!"
Humming to herself, she charged into the mess, looking back to see Bodahn wringing his hands in reluctance, and Sandal smiling distantly. "Come my little friends, as we all sing a happy little working song!" she trilled, pointing to the pile of sacks in her cleaning supplies. "Merry little voices clear and strong! Come and roll your sleeves up, so to speak, and pitch in, cleaning muck up in the kitchen as we sing along!"
Sandal followed her, holding a sack open as she tossed bits of rubbish into it. Bodahn sighed, and collected a few rags and soap before heading upstairs. Orana could only imagine what delights he would face in Mistress' bathroom.
"And you'll trill a cheery tune in the tub as we scrub a stubborn mildew stain," she called, cheerfully. "Lug a hairball from the shower drain, to the gay refrain of a happy working song!"
She danced around, picking up pieces of meat and bones and old playing cards. "We'll keep singing without fail, otherwise we'd spoil it," she sang. Singing always made her chores better. "Hosing down the garbage pail, and scrubbing up the toilet!"
She twirled Sandal, and he laughed loudly. Orana smiled as she began polishing the surfaces with a rag. "How we all enjoy letting loose with a little 'la-da-da-dum-da', while we're shaking out the duster! It's such fun to hum a happy working song!"
A small voice drifted from upstairs, and from Sandal. "Oo-ooh!" whooped the dwarves, enjoying themselves as much as Orana.
"A happy working song!" she repeated, merrily.
She sighed as she opened the large windows, leaning out and inhaling the fresh Hightown air, and its faint scent of perfumed flowers. "Oh, how strange a place to be, now Mistress employs me – my heart is sighing," she mused, thinking back to her time in Tevinter and shuddering. This place was much better. "Still, as long as I am here, I guess a new experience could be worth trying – hey! Keep drying!" she giggled as she saw Bodahn leaning on the bannister, catching his breath.
"You could do a lot when you got such a happy little tune to hum," she advised him, twirling past, flicking dust from the pictures as she went. "While you're sponging up the soapy scum! We adore each filthy chore that we determine – so friends even though you're dwarven, we're a happy working throng!"
Sandal was humming along with her as Bodahn whistled to himself. The boy was busy cleaning the floors downstairs, and his father was polishing the surfaces. Orana pranced into Mistress' room, shaking her head at the undershirts and leather armour straps dotted around. Picking them up with the grace only a well-trained servant could have, she smiled. "Singing as we fetch the soap filled box, or the smelly shirts and the stinky socks!" she sang, taking the pile of clothes downstairs to wash. "Sing along! If you cannot sing then hum along," she giggled to Bodahn, whose singing was rather less tuneful than her own. "As we're finishing our happy working song!"
That was that – all the work was done, and the house was beautifully tidy and sparkling clean, just the way Mistress – and Orana – liked it. She sat down on a stool, wiping her brow and surveying her work as the two dwarves collapsed beside her.
"Ah...wasn't this fun?" she asked, happily.
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Up Next: The Templars should be wary of Uldred's friends on the other side.
