Page 41 of Tiger's Trek
Reaching her hand out from beneath her warm blanket, she gripped the handle of the mug and lifted the rim to her lips. Her hand shook as if the cup was the heaviest of swords. Still, she managed to drain the contents and then slipped her hand beneath her covers again. The air was so very cold that Veru couldn’t imagine how it could have become so cold again so quickly.
“Are... are you warm enough, Yuga?”
“I’ll be fine until the morning,” she replied. “Go back to sleep now, young one. You’ve much to do tomorrow.”
“Yes,” Veru replied sleepily. “Much to do in the morning.”
* * *
The old woman nudged Veru awake the next day when dawn lit the small, dirty window. “I’ve put some soup on the table. It’s cold now, but that shouldn’t bother you much, I should think.”
Yawning, Veru stretched and replied, “No. That’s—that’s fine. I appreciate your hospitality.”
Yuga harrumphed and bustled about the cottage collecting various items and placing them in her large stone bowl.
Sitting up, Veru asked, “Are you going somewhere?”
“Need some supplies. That man of yours is likely to sleep most of today and through the night. How are your feet feeling? Better now?”
Pushing aside the heavy blankets and the heavier cat, Veru stood up, feeling wobbly at first, but then, after taking a few steps and wriggling her toes, she pronounced that her feet felt incredible, better than they’d felt in ages.
“Good,” Yuga said with a wide grin. “Good. That’ll make your work go much more smoothly.”
“My work?” Veru asked. “Of course I’m happy to help. What do you need me to do while you’re gone?”
“Oh, not much, dear, not much. I’ll just need you to clean the cottage while I’m gone. Wash the pots and pans, scrub the floor, clean the windows, that sort of thing.”
Veru took a look around the dark little room and couldn’t help but notice how chimney smoke covered most of the walls, and now that daylight had pushed its way into the house, it was quite easy to see the stains and crumbs that littered every surface. Veru guessed the woman’s inability to see would make it very difficult to keep things tidy.
“Your man brought a bucket of water in last night, and there’s some old lye soap and brushes in the cabinet below the sink by the window. And if you get to it, there’s a bag of washing and mending by the door.”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Veru steeled herself for the long day of domestic labor that lay ahead of her. It wasn’t that she hated work. She’d certainly spent many a long hour training and sweating through tunic after tunic. And their mother was very keen on making sure they showed not only knowledge of but great appreciation for the work done by their servants.
Veru knew the difference between various linens and fabrics, what types of soaps removed stains the best, how to hire the best cooks, what foods should and shouldn’t taste like, the proper ways beds should be made up for guests, and much, much more. She’d even personally overseen the staff and training from time to time to make certain she was well-versed in how to run the palace.
But that didn’t mean she enjoyed that type of work. Truthfully, if she had to choose, she’d much rather work in the stables or build homes. She wasn’t afraid of manual labor, but there was something about the types of work considered traditionally “women’s” that made Veru feel very uncomfortable.
Perhaps it had something to do with the way men viewed the maidservants. They were ogled often, and that was even despite their mother’s frequent attempts to pass laws protecting them and the changes made to their uniforms. It was as if men just couldn’t help themselves. It was often unattached women who worked in those positions, and men somehow saw them as fair game.
Veru always wanted to distance herself as much as possible from such tasks so as not to give men even more opportunities than they already took with her person. Not that many did. They wouldn’t dare. But still, she could always feel their eyes on her, and that was almost as bad.
Smiling distractedly, Veru nodded and said, “I’ll do my best. Have a nice day.”
“Oh, it will be more than a day,” the old woman said gleefully. “Which is good for you. You’ll need a while to get all I expect of you done.”
“All you expect?” Veru frowned.
“That’s right. If the house is properly cleaned, I’ll bring back a present. It’ll be something the two of you could really use. I’ll have you know I’m highly picky when it comes to cleaning though. I don’t give gifts lightly. You’ll have to make it worth my time.”
“I see. And if Idon’tmeet your expectations?”
The old woman grinned, and it frightened Veru, which wasn’t something that happened often.
“Well now, if you don’t finish... then I suppose you’ll owe me something. That sounds fair, doesn’t it? I am letting the two of you stay here free, after all.”
She began whistling and added a few more items to the pot. When she was done, she opened the door and said, “Oh, and I left a few bones for Maxsim by the fire.”
“Bones?”
