Yeah, no Christine at the party. ;) Here she is-

Christine hadn't expected more visitors until a few days after Christmas celebrations, but here he was.

Past years had taught her to expect a sudden income of visitors during the weeks before Christmas celebrations, a break while they all visited their families and friends, and then another onslaught the month after that as people returned home.

Merchant, Lord, Baron, Christine took them all. Giving them comfortable and clean rooms. She was the most respected inn keeper, and this brought her customers. Fair rates, good food and knowledge that your rings wouldn't disappear overnight.

Lady Valerius wouldn't approve of her small castle being turned into an inn, but her mind was addled with age, she was too ill to notice.

It was the only way Christine could have made a living, with the crops failing again and again, and the sickness that had killed half the calves in their herd. She'd first gotten the idea when three noble families had come to her, asking to stay the night. The local inn was small and dirty, full of thieves. It was not a fit place to stay.

And so Christine had pooled what little savings she had left and began to charge for a night. A silver coin per person, gold if they had a horse. They had only been open for two years but their reputation had spread, and now they received steady business most of the year.

This gave Christine the money to fix the deteriorating parts of the castle and to make sure that every servant had a portion of cheese next to their bowls of porridge.

That man's arrival had been a surprise. She had been depending on the gap between the two rush times to scrub down the whole castle and wash the bedclothes besides. Poor Mary had just given birth (To a healthy strong boy, despite it coming month early.) and was still too weak to work, so they were short a hand and behind schedule when he came riding in.

So when Christine was instructing their two stable boys where to move the hay so they could clean the loft, she was rather shocked to see him sitting there on his horse.

His clothes weren't very noble, simple browns and greens that anyone could have worn. But he held himself up in his saddle, his confidence in himself gave his noble blood away, as did the sword at his side. The hilt of it made of gold.

She might have thought him a thief who had murdered a Duke if it weren't for the mask.

Because of the many people that stayed and went, Christine knew of the Duke Erik. The man who wore a mask to hide his face, the man who had as much land as the King, and was as rich as him, and yet was loyal. Yes, she knew him. So she had pointed vaguely where the hay was to go and grasped one of the stable boys by the ear to bring him with her to greet the man.

She came up to the Duke and curtsied, keeping her voice light and pleasant. "Do you require anything my Lord?" The stable boy next to her hastily bowed.

The Duke surveyed them both through his mask. Christine looked up into his eyes, blinking in surprise when she saw they were a golden hue, like a cats. He looked fist at her, then the boy next to her. He dismounted, handing the reigns of his horse to the stable boy.

"I was told this was the only respectable place to house in for a night." He said. Christine nodded, looking up to him. He was very tall, at least a hand or so taller than herself.

"That is correct." She replied. "It would be a gold coin for the night's stay."

He hesitated. "The inn would take it for less." He warned.

Christine held out her hand and let her eyes sparkle at him, she was used to this argument. "Ah, but we include all meals, and we store, curry and feed your horse as well. And if you want a bath, we can give it to you, free of charge. If you want your saddle cleaned, we will clean it for you and leave the leather shining besides."

The man reached up to touch his head with a gloved hand, Christine followed it to see his black hair dusted brown by dirt. "Very well." He said, he reached into a pocket by his side, pulled out a coin and dropped it into her hand. It was done with such ease that she knew he was used to giving away money. He looked about the courtyard, people were running every which way, cleaning, carrying and shouting. "You seem busy."

"We're cleaning the castle." Christine explained, gesturing for Andre to take the Duke's bag. "There's usually a lull in customers during the holidays, we were taking advantage of it. We weren't expected customers until a few days from now, but we have a good clean room ready for you." She added.

He nodded. "And my room?"

"Follow me."

She guided him up the stairs to their finest and largest room. (That thankfully, had already been purged of the dirt that had come with their many visitors and their things replaced.) Andre followed behind them with the Duke's satchel.

Christine wondered as they walked why he was traveling alone. He must be very confident in his skills to do so, most Duke's traveled in groups. But then- she glanced at his plain worker clothing. Perhaps that was why he was dressed so poorly, so that none would rob him for his ransom.

She led him to one of the towers, and opened the door. It was a two room suite, and had once been Lord Valerous's, but it was their finest room now.

"You've got an entrance room and a bedroom." Chrisitne explained. He stepped inside, too late, Christine realized the wood pile for the fire was empty. "Andre, drop off the Lord's bag and get him some wood for a fire, it get's cold at night."

Andre followed her orders, after he left Christine continued into her well recited piece. "We have breakfast in the dining hall at dawn, as it is most convenient for travelers. But we'll bring your meals up any time you like. If you would like a bath, let us know and we can draw and heat the water for you. If you have any needs, simply let us know."

For some reason he found this funny, giving a harsh sort of laugh. "I doubt you could give me what I truly need." He said, but he shrugged his shoulders back. "But I appreciate the offer, thank you."

She curtsied to his back and turned away back down the hallway. As she made her way down the stairs Andre came staggering up with a armful of wood. He grinned at her. "How much did you charge?"

"A gold coin, same as usual." Christine said crisply.

He frowned. "Hey, he could afford to give away more, he's the richest man in France!"

Christine shook her head. "If we did that, we couldn't hold our trustworthy reputation."

"Ain't nothin wrong for charging more for the better room."

Christine laughed. "You can ask him then. I'm going back to work."


She spent the rest of the afternoon guiding the cleaning and keeping Mary in bed. She insisted that she was well enough to work, but Christine knew better. Her husband, Victor, told her that she would only be allowed to walk the mile to church the next day to have their child blessed and she would need the rest.

Lady Valerius wasn't feeling well, she claimed, she had decided to spend the day in bed. Christine paid her a visit when she had a breath to spare. After dark, everyone went inside the eat. A delicious thick stew was being fed, Christine took a bowl and went upstairs to her office.

Even with the added income of the visitors, Christine was careful to manage nearly every copper that they spent. They couldn't afford to waste money if everyone was to eat. But she hadn't opened her books in weeks, it needed badly to done.

As she opened her book keeping books, she thought of the ease in which The Duke had handed over the coin. What would it be like to have so much money you need never pour over books before every purchase? Christine sat back in her chair, then grasped her bowl to eat from it for a few moments.

Her mind stayed on the Duke. His eyes... She chewed on a piece of meat thoughtfully. She'd never seen anyone with yellow eyes before, and she'd seen many people.

Though she was originally from Sweden, when her mother died her father had sold their small and joined a preforming group. They had wandered with them near everywhere, she'd met someone with violet eyes, and one with the clearest blue eyes that seemed to shine in their own right. But never the yellow gold that his had. She wondered if he'd had them since birth, or maybe something turned them that color. She'd heard of an illness that turned the whites of your eyes yellow, but not the pupils themselves.

She set down her bowl, sat back and lit a candle, setting to work.

An hour had passed, likely more before her concentration was broken again. A gold coin was tossed onto her desk, dancing across the page she was writing on. Startled, she looked up and saw the yellow eyes of the duke peering through his mask at her.

"Did Andre convince you to pay more for the room?" Christine asked, she picked up the coin and held it out to him. "You don't have to truly, I'm the one if charge here. One gold coin."

He chuckled, it's richness filling Christine the hot soup she had been eating. "It's for tomorrow. It's the Lord's day, I shan't be traveling."

Her hand stayed were it was, Christine smiled faintly.

"We don't charge for Sundays."

"Then it's a gift." He informed her, before bowing slightly and turning to leave.

Christine looked at where he stood for a moment, momentarily stunned. She laughed softly, before turning her pages to mark the additional income.