the Leathermines

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The rain continued for several days, forcing those working on repairing the roofs and outer shelters to do so in the cold and wet.  The carpenters took as many people as they could to help with the work and it was done in two days.  One accident involving a beam and an arm stopped work for several hours, but there was no loss of life and the work continued.

Unaccustomed to actually working in their own households, five of the nobles found it refreshing and novel to put in work.  Blisters formed on some hands, sore backs and arms for some.  The one noble who did not work alongside the household was told not to after it was found that he was inept and unable to perform any sort of manual labour.  He had always thought that he had a way with a saw, but when he slipped and had to have Lucaris bandage him up, he was banned from the woodshop.  Pots and pans burned his arms as he tried to show Orgia his nonexistent skills in her kitchens, more bandages and a ban from the kitchen soon followed.  He finally just sat and talked to anyone who would come near, even that soon causing friction with the nature of his droning.

The nobles, including Dreng, still did not understand how the household kept running without the layers of caste they were used to.  The King would pull Laun to the side and try to point out ways that she should be doing things, traditional ways, and ask when she would release men to go back out with him.  Laun would listen to him, smile and thank him for his time and wisdom and then ask him to help with another menial job.  Most mornings, the nobles were not even up before Laun would stand and ask her people what should be done for the day.  They understood more when Dreng dragged them out of the apartments they were in one morning and saw the meeting.

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The nooning meal had been drawn out as people came in, ate and left to go back to their jobs of the day.  As the benches and tables were brought back into the Great Hall from Lady Hellon’s Hill, the formality of the room became more pronounced.  The chatelaine did not entirely approve.

She had been able to leave the kitchens for about an hour and take a nap, well deserved she thought.  The boar was stuck on a spit over the main hearth, it’s hide already skinned, scraped and being salted for tanning later.  The sundries that were to go with it were minor compared to the hassle it had been to get the spit up again.

Orgia swore under her breath at the raiders that had come into her kitchen and broken many of the things she needed to keep the household fed.  This was just the last one they had found, and having been interrupted by the wardsman in the middle of the night at the King’s approach had just driven the point deeper in her heart.

The kitchens were not her only domain.  She ran the whole house.  Had for years.  But no true noble household was run without great kitchens.  She was feeling too old to start collecting more of the things that had made her kitchen the envy of all but the King’s.  But she still had the King to feed.  At least that night, they were to feast.

As she had woken from her nap, an arrangement of the tables occurred to her that might satisfy the King and his men and still allow the freedom that she had seen grow in the household. »Read More

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It was as if a test had been created by their Lady.  The men and women training together to protect the household were sent to find and watch her.  They were told not to disturb her, not to approach her.  If possible, not to let her know they were there at all.

It took time to go through the land and see where she had been.  It took a little more time and they found her sitting next to a stream thick with ancient ash from the dead volcano.  To get there, places they did not know existed were passed, little nooks and crannies in the land and woods.  Bushes ripe with berries, an old apple orchard and a husk of a building long since burned were now known.  Deep ditches and natural pitfalls were discovered and marked for later investigation.

The silent signals that had started with the dancers were used to pass information back through the teams that had found her, and back to the others who were still searching.  Information was passed, strengthening the training they were giving each other.

Laun’s need to be alone had been useful, if not to her, then to the household.

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The smell of fresh bread mingled with a lingering burnt boar’s hair scent in the Great Hall.  The waking members of the household took advantage of the kitchens having been working through the storm.  Talents had been found over the last fortnight in people as the household shifted and settled, including one young wardsman who had a talent to bake the most delicious breads.  He had woken with the others at the quiet alarm.  When he knew the keep was secure, he had been at Orgia’s side starting on the makings of a feast in the middle of the night.  He was tired and wished to lie down to sleep, but he waited for the other members of the household to gather for morning meal.

It was not the earliest the household had ever gathered, but the excitement the night before had many sleeping lightly.  Groups formed in the Great Hall, some for companionship, some for information.  Geralk was at one of the tables with his lists, pages stacked and sorted.  Several of the servants were seated with him discussing the supplies they had been able to find or produce the day before.  The Dance Master had a blanket pulled around him as he paced out some footsteps with several of the household, dancers and wardsmen together.  Bundles of wood were hauled in on backs and stacked at the ends of the Great Hall as the fires were coaxed back into life.  Ashes were scooped into metal buckets and taken back into the kitchens where animal fat was being rendered down for cooking, soaps and candles.  One of the nobles was awake and warming his hands on the mug of tea that had appeared there, Pillar carefully looking at the scrapes he had not attended to the night before.  Lucaris was still asleep on the other side of the nobles, the apprentice she had taken sitting up and rubbing her eyes one place further down on the hard floor.

Laun had gone to the privy and then outside to see what damage had been done in the night.  From what she could see, part of one side of the tower roof was off and had landed on top of a wagon in the inner courtyard.  The smithy was indeed damaged, though she was not sure, other than a wall and roof pole, what may be needed.  She stepped around shards of wood in the muddy ground and saw part of a chain caught in the mud.  She pulled it out and found it was part of a necklace.  She recognized it as one of her Lady’s giftings from her Lord.  Laun kept it in her hand and went on looking at the damage she could see until her feet were completely coated with mud.

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The morning light that came through the window made streaks across the bedding, lighting faces and hands that were not covered.  Laun was becoming aware that she was looking at a strand of brown hair lying across her own hand, but not from her own head.  She moved slightly to see who it was and a familiar arm clasped her to him.  A warm, soft breath was at the back of her neck, sending tremors down her back.  She involuntarily took in a breath and found she was arching away from the man at her back.  He stirred and she found that more than his arm seemed insistent.

Edgar had taken his place sometime in the night, Fount rolling over to make room.  Disa was already up and Laun had a small concern as the situation that morning seemed to have changed from others.  The walk in the night at the Inn had tempted her, but she recognized it was a need to feel comfort and warmth right then.  Now that comfort and safety seemed to have settled around her, the temptation was there again.

There was still a voice that told her that it was not the right time.  She needed to know her own intentions, not just his.  The future was still uncertain.

Laun had another shiver go down her back, making her push back into Edgar and the hardness that was held in check with his breeches.  His arm held her tighter and she could feel his face moving slightly at the nape of her neck.  The feelings she had go through her were wonderful and terrifying.  A part of her mind stepped back and thought of the reactions she had seen in some of the men she had danced for in the last few years.  A sigh escaped with the next shiver and she understood some of what she must have done to the men, nobles and servants alike, when she danced.

Edgar’s hand came up her body and cupped her breast.  Another reaction went through her as he brushed her nipple.  His warm hand sent more shivers down her body and she knew she had to wake him.   It was pleasant and she now wished it to continue, but she wanted them both to be awake.  Laun almost felt like she was taking advantage of her swornman as he lay behind her.

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The work that the household had ahead was not particularly hard or uncommon, just much more than most summers.  From the hold dug into the woods, the household was working on putting the castle to rights, the tilled land was checked and animals that had not been killed were found and corralled.  The household staff cleaned and sorted.  The wardsmen were training each other, the Dance Master helping by the request of Edgar.  Repairs were done as needed to windows and gates and other things damaged by the raid.  Food was gathered, some processed for the larder, some for the day’s meals.

The household was running better every day.  And each night, more people moved back into the castle after the common meal.  Laun was not one of them.

During the day, Laun would help where she could.  She helped to process rabbits as they came into the summer kitchen one day, the skins going into vats of boiled oak leaves as the meat was cooked and smoked.  The day of washing all the linens and clothes they could, ropes hung between trees to provide enough drying space, used up everybody’s backs and shoulders.  Orgia gleaned what she could from the trampled enclosed gardens and sent the kitchen staff out into the woods and fields to find more resources.  A day of clearing out more farmers’ huts was a low day, but needed as a few of the servants asked if they could go back to the land, become the farmers for the household.  The fruit that was gathered and the honey that was scraped to make ciders and meads for the winter scented the hands and clothes of everyone for several days after.

Noon meal would be under the trees of the outdoor Great Hall each day.  The plans that were discussed were open to all, ideas were exchanged, but Laun found that she was the one to yea or nay for the household.  She found council with most every one of her people on at least one subject.  They would eat, talk and then continue with that day’s needs.

And each night, Laun would sleep under the stars, surrounded by others on the same sleeping mat.  More of the household paired up and within two weeks, the day activities on Lady Hellon’s Hill became split from the night activities.  More of the bedding was brought back into the keep and castle with the people to sleep on them.  The summer dryness was good for sleeping at night, but the dryness also concerned those who watched the skies and the fields. »Read More

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It was the base body that brought Laun around late in the afternoon.  Her stomach remembered being fed the day before, but not enough and was painfully empty.  Her bladder, on the other hand, had not been emptied for most of a day and was stretched to the point where she had a red hot stab of pain as she turned in her sleep.

She woke with a start.

The woman kneeling at the side of the bed looked up from her prayer and called out.  “She’s awake!”

The door opened and several people came in.  Laun still felt the despair that had tried to consume her.  But it was low, in the background and the concern on the faces around her made it push further down into her mind.

“Before you all start with whatever you need to do, I need- ah!”  Laun held her crotch and curled up again.  The pain of her full bladder made it’s self fully known.

Disa caught on and shooed the rest of the people out of the small room.  A chamberpot was still under the bed and Laun was helped to release the pain that was shooting through her lower body.  It was not the most dignified action, but the cessation of the pain was one of the most pleasurable things that Laun remembered ever happening.  Not that she wanted to do it again any time soon as the spasms that followed were almost as painful as the full bladder had been.

Disa was prepared to cover and take the very full chamberpot out of the room, after she tried to tuck Laun back under the covers, but Laun shook her head.  “I am not an invalid.  I need to face what I couldn’t yesterday.”

Laun stood and opened the door.  “Show me.”

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The grim task of clearing out the farmer’s huts was not taken lightly as it was a taste of what they were to find in the keep a day away.  Several women, a man and several children were found gutted and left to rot where they had fallen.  The smell should have told them what had happened inside the structures, but the dog lying across the door, guarding the bodies was what caught Edgar’s attention.

The loyal animal had been there for the week and was both happy to have water and wanted to guard his people from these strangers.  The need to slake his thirst won and the wardsmen were able to see the extent of the massacre.

A wide grave was dug for the family they found and they were put in as reverently as possible.  A toy still loosely clutched in a child’s hand was put beside the small form as it was laid to rest with it’s playmate.  The dog laid down next to the grave and continued to guard.

The smell of the summer-rotting corpses was going to linger in those structures for a while, so the wardmen hung a black strip of fabric on the outside of each hut and traveled on.  Two more slaughters were found and taken care of before Edgar found a place he thought would be suitable for the household to camp for the night.

He had almost thrown up when he had first seen the bodies.  For many summers, he had been one of the wards that went out looking for the animals that had run after being shot in the hunt.  Most of the time, it just took some time to follow the blood trail to the body.  Sometimes, the animal was still alive and had to be given mercy.  But on occasion, the animal slipped by and died not to be found for several days.

This was worse.  They had been farmers-people.  The savagery of the kills haunted Edgar as he directed the people with him how to set up to receive the others of the household.  The bloody coup was not just at the top of the Kingdom of the Midlands.  It had reached down and disemboweled those who worked the land, too.  He wished that he had his Lord’s voice to council him, or could send a missive to his father.  Neither were possible, now.

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Edgar was right about the timing for the next day.  Dawn came lazily in the Inn.  The first people up and active being the ones used to pre-dawn activities and who could not sleep any further.  There was a low mist on the ground in the weak light and the dew hardly moistened the dry grasses.  A line of men past the wagons pissing into the bushes was both amusing and concerning to Marie as she looked out her small second story window.  That many people needing to relieve themselves was going to become a flood of problems, in more ways than one.  The chamber pots they had were not going to be enough for the women she had in her bed behind her.  The Innkeeper was surprised at herself for not thinking of it the night before.

The rotund and cheerful form of Marie came out of the Inn towards the group seated by the revived fire.  She held a plater of mugs and day old bread.  The mugs with a warmed cider was appreciatively taken by all awake around the morning fire.

Marie waited for a moment before saying, “Now, I need several of you to dig a privy.”  The small girl holding the shovel came from behind Marie’s bulk and tried to hold out the tool that was almost as big as she was. There were grumbles and chuckles and two of the men, and one of the women, took up the challenge.  A patch near the bushes with a sapling was chosen and within a few minutes, a useable hole was dug, a stave was pushed into the ground and a modesty cloth was draped between the sapling and stave.

Marie went back into the Inn to attend to the mass of potcakes she intended to make.  “Bethany, remember when I brought over those potcakes to your mistress?”  The little girl nodded.  “I’ll show you how you can make them.  All right?”  The tired little girl nodded and followed the directions that Marie gave her.

The smell of food and hot cider and tea woke many more people from their sleep.  The thick curtains were drawn back to let the morning light in, making those who really did not want to awaken do so anyway.  Orgia cursed her bad knee under her breath as she stood from the mat she had been sharing with some of the dancers.  Without missing a step, she pulled back the curtain, tied her apron back on and went to help the Innkeepers feed the household of Salam-Dir.  Disa was also awake, but felt she needed to keep an eye on her mistress, as Lady Laun had slipped out in the middle of the night without her being aware.  Until it was too late.

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Night was again upon the Kingdom of the Midlands.  Markle put out the black banner at the front of the Inn to show that they were not accepting any more guests, and instructed the Salam-Dir wardsman who was standing guard how to use the defenses built into the walls.  Marie borrowed servants from several of the private houses in the crossroads to continuously cook and clean and launder as needed, pulling the thick curtains down over the windows when it became brighter inside than out.

The night had come, calm and sleep were over most of the people in the Inn.  Several hours passed and the sounds of travelers outside on the road died to nothing but night birds and cats searching for the same unwary mice.  Markle could not keep his eyes open any longer and tapped on the shoulder of one of the older wardsmen.  They exchanged places near the front of the Inn’s common room and Markle fell asleep leaning against the wall, not in his bed.  Several of the Salam-Dir servants were in the bed he and Marie shared most nights.  There were people stacked inside and out, the wardsmen keeping watch, something he only remembered from when he was a very young lad.  As Markle fell into dreams of the last war upon the land, several were kept awake at the prospect of the one now on them.

The sleeping drought that Laun had been given had worn off and she was lying among the sleeping forms of many of the dancers of the household.  They had not been obvious about it, but they had become her maids in waiting, her small court.  Disa led them, Orgia acting as Laun’s hands to direct the remaining household.  There was comfort in the breathing and snores around Laun.  It was more comforting that Disa had asked Marie to continue with her new Lady and that Marie had not just accepted that request but had quipped that she had expected no less.

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