A Rafael Interlude
When Rafael woke up in the middle of the night to answer the call of nature, he found that in his sleep he had not been turned into a violently mutilated, bleeding corpse. None of the sticky bodily fluids on him were blood, and he carefully but hurriedly disentangled himself from Maria—thankfully he'd slipped out at some point—lest he add one more fluid to the mix.
Quietly, he pulled open the drawer of the night table, pulling out a prism stone that glowed with a dim, red light and padded quietly to the bathroom. The prism stones in there had already gone dark, needing to be laid out in sunlight again, and he didn't feel like rummaging for the firestarters. Rafael moved currently until he found the right vessel to relieve himself in.
That done, he washed his hands with some water in a bucket remaining from their bath, then decided he might as well wash himself a little. Rafael quietly scooped up some water with the dipper, pouring it on himself, careful not to get the floor too wet in case—
Rafael nearly slipped as he felt a wet cloth begin wiping the back of his legs, and he turned, stumbling backwards into the wall in surprise. "Maria!" he said, keeping his voice low so as not to wake—
In the light of his prism stone, the smooth, round-topped outline of a curtain of dark hair was clearly not Maria. Through the narrow part in her hair, her only visible eye was only a single red glint of reflected light, Sadako managed to loom over him despite being shorter. The fact she was as naked as he wasn't helping, and in her hand she gripped a… wet washcloth?
"Help you, Rafael-dono?" the maid said, holding up the washcloth, seemingly unbothered by her attire. Was there a knife hidden in the cloth…?
For a moment, there was silence, and Rafael realized she'd asked him a question. "N-no, I'm fine, Sadako," he said hastily. He had an absurd urge to cover himself, even though it was far too late. "Um, why don't you go back to sleep?"
Sadako just stood there, her head slowly tilting sideways. "Rafael-dono," she said slowly. "Afraid of I?" Her tone sounded confused, tinged with slow realization.
Rafael hesitated, then decided to walk through the fogwall. "You love Maria," he said.
"H—Yes…?" she said slowly.
"But I'm her fiancé," he said. "Why wouldn't I be afraid of you trying to get rid of me?"
Her head tilted the other way, and the part in her hair opened slightly. Her single eye was… confused? "Maria-dono love Rafael-dono," she said. "Rafael-dono make Maria-dono happy. Sadako want Maria-dono happy. So no rid."
That… that… what?! "What?" he managed to keep from exclaiming. "But… we love the same woman! Why aren't you trying to… to… you know, get Maria alone together or keep her away from me?"
The snort that followed was filled with such derision that Sadako's hair actually blew out for a moment. "Katarina-chan bad example. Not about Sadako want. Want Maria-sama happy. Rafael-dono make Maria-dono happy. Sadako happy."
For a moment, Rafael stared at her. His mouth gaped as he processed what she was saying. Katarina, a bad example?
The key slotted into place, turning the lock of the door of thought, allowing it to open. "The people who love Katarina are a bad example," he said reproachfully, his face falling into his hand. Now that he said it out loud… "Of course they are."
Sadako nodded, head tilted as she hummed thoughtfully. "Not Alan-Oji or Nicol-bishii," she allowed. "Mary-sama, Sophia-sama, Keith-sama, San-banme-no-Oji…" She shook her head, sighing in clear exasperation.
For a moment, their eyes met, and they shared a connection, an understanding and agreement: Katarina was surrounded by a bunch of horny idiots, with a questionable exception for Alan and Nicol.
Slowly, Sadako held up the washcloth, and Rafael saw it was just a washcloth. Still, she unfolded it to show it was empty. Then she carefully folded it and held it out to him. Hesitantly, Rafael took it.
One hand reached up and patted him gently on the cheek. It smelled of Maria and what Rafael suspected was her, a musky scent that he'd become very familiar with…
"Good night, Rafael-dono," she said gently. She stepped back, folded her hands in front of her in almost a parody of modesty, and gave him a bow before turning to walk back into the bedroom.
Rafael stood there, waiting for the paperwork to get smaller, before he finally went back to getting some of the stickiness of him. His cheek felt hot, as if it was still being touched…
When Rafael went back to bed, Sadako was once more curled up again Maria's side, one arm over his fiancée's belly. Maria's hand a sleepily come to rest on Sadako's head, lying motionless on her hair. Carefully, Rafael slid back onto the bed. Maria murmured, and without opening her eyes moved so she was pressed up against his chest, head on his shoulder, a warm weigh against him. As Maria moved, Sadako shuffled after her, until she was once more curled up next to Maria. Sadako's hand pressed against Rafael's side, warm and soft and suddenly strangely intimate…
He fell asleep trying to convince himself the pile of paperwork was only because of Maria.
"Hey, Maria?" Rafael asked over breakfast. "Are you happy?"
Maria paused, blinking as she tried to parse the question.
She looked around the dining hall. Children were eating and talking to each other cheerfully, as were her older wards-except-not-officially. The wide open windows let in sunlight and showed part of her estates, which were a patchwork of fields, manufactories and other buildings. To her left, her mother and Anne were eating, clearly holding hands under the table. Sadako stood at her side, having already eaten earlier.
No screaming. No please for mercy, no debauched revelry that left people dead. No beasts, no nightmares. No enemies, and only a single prey to slaughter.
Rafael was still waiting for her answer.
Maria smiled. "Yes Rafael, I'm happy."
Rafael nodded as if relieved, his hand sliding towards her over the table. Her hand met his, their fingers twining together.
It was an awkward way to eat breakfast, but Maria intended to get as much practice in it as she could.
After breakfast, and Maria suppressing the urge to ask Rafael of a brief entanglement before he left, Rafael left for the Ministry and Maria continued her day.
She and the other ladies of the Workshop had decided that while they had to minimize the activities of the workshops, they couldn't be shut down entirely. Even with new commissions set to be temporarily suspended in the weeks leading up to the official start of the International Assembly, there were still the commissions they had accepted before then, which would need nightflowers. The production of the weapons for the crown could not be suspended, not and still manage to meet their target quotas. Still, they would be able to at least reduce the amounts of powder being manufactured in the Nightflower Workshop for the time being, and suspend deliveries for it as well. The coal and iron would have to continue though, and there would need to be someone in charge should there be an emergency…
Sighing, Maria set off to do something difficult.
"Yes my lady, I can handle dealing with deliveries and any incidentals while you are gone," Ghirardeli said, her steward looking completely unflappable.
"Thank you," Maria said, nodding. "It shouldn't be for too long. I shall return after the end of the International Assembly."
"I quite understand, my lady," her steward said. "If one who is not compromised is what you seek, may I be so bold as to make a suggestion?"
"You may," Maria said.
"It is my understanding that there are some educated women among your wards who are… seeking greater intellectual challenge as they proceed to learn our land's landguage, writing and numbers," Ghirdeli said delicately. "Perhaps, as with your personal maid, they would be willing to assist you for sufficient compensation?"
Maria frowned, but… she supposed she had set a precedent in allowing Sadako to apply to be her maid. And it should be all right if she compensated them properly… "I will speak to Chiharu and consider it," Maria said. "I thank you for the suggestion."
Well, she supposed if they were looking for an intellectual challenge… but she'd compensate them properly, as someone doing that sort of work should receive! She won't have it be said she was taking advantage of the women she saved by having them work for her at less that what their work was worth!
Chiharu nodded as Maria finished explaining. "Ghirardeli-jii is correct, Lady Maria-dono. Some women have been seeking for things to occupy themselves, though they have not spoken of it for fear of sounding ungrateful. However, if you wish, I could spread word you are seeking women who have experience in managing a household's affairs or perhaps a shop's accounts and see who is interested?"
"That would be appreciated, Chiharu-chan," Maria nodded. "If there are any applicants, inform them that I am willing to meet with them… ah, tomorrow at dinner, and will ask one of the children to be along if they need a translator."
After all, there couldn't be that many women who would want to try doing account management in a languge they weren't well-versed in, could there?
