The Woman in the Garden

Chapter III. Unhallowed

The chamber pots smelled of roses and tangerines after Leanne had scrubbed them, and when that was done she scrubbed her hands as vigorously. Her fingers were shriveled like raisins from the water, and they felt a layer's worth of skin lighter, and so did the rest of her, in a sense. It was time to roughen these hands up again, she thought, and spent the next couple of hours pushing the mill. The wheat would be enough for a small household as theirs, and they would have fresh bread for whenever the prince arrived. It felt as if there were a parasite within her when she thought of that prince coming here. He would take Shani away from her. It was an ugly truth, one that the parasite hungered for, and drank away her insides whenever she tried to face it. It hurt like the pain that came when she bled every month, like how she imagined it would be to bear a child, but unlike with childbirth there was no bright future to hope for here. She could not imagine what her life would be after Shani married, and only hope that she might be allowed to serve at her new home, wherever that may be.

She found Shani's mother in her personal study. Ah'zuli was poring over a ledger. Leanne couldn't recall the last time she had seen the woman with her hair in any sort of messy state, but her beauty was still as profound.

"Leanne, darling, how much grain have we ready for the kitchen?" She did not look up when she spoke, only dipped a red and purple quill into an inkwell.

"About ten pounds, I should say, Madam."

"Excellent." She scribbled a note in the book. The only sound in the room was the scratching on paper, and Leanne thought she could hear Ah'zuli breathing. "Gods preserve me, now that we have more time before the prince's arrival, I am noticing more and more things that we should do to prepare. And it's clear that Renoa was planning her little escapade well in advance of her disappearance: there are half a dozen chores I entrusted to her since over a week ago, none of them done in their entirety."

"I've cleaned the spare chamber pots, milady, and those used this morning."

This seemed to placate her well enough. "Wonderful. That should free you up for some time on the mill..."

"I've already worked the mill today. We had eight pounds yesterday."

"My goodness, you've been busy. That explains the pungent stench, I suppose. Go and wash up girl, you've earned it." As Leanne was turning to leave, Ah'zuli added, "actually, run a bath for both yourself and my daughter. Shaniera didn't bathe yesterday and she's been practicing her dancing all morning, so I can only imagine she stinks as much as you. And do make sure the girl scrubs thoroughly. I want her to keep herself at her freshest each day, in case that damn boy decides to spring himself upon us early."

It was all Leanne could do to mumble an affirmation before she hurried from the room, her face red-hot. She bathed Shani on occasion, but it was rare to be ordered to bathe herself at the same time. Then again, it was an abnormally hot day for late Hearthfire, so a bit of sweat was to be expected, and it was always best to conserve fresh water wherever possible.

That gave her an idea. And she was loving it more every second.

"Hey, sweaty. Time for a bath." Leanne leaned on the doorframe of the dancing room's entrance. It was a haven of sky-blue walls and marble columns, decorated with murals of painted vines, exotic birds, and wildflowers. A massive mirror hung on the opposite wall, and adjacent to that a set of windows, altogether almost as large, were open to let in the soft breeze to fight back the warm humidity. Shani was seated on the floor, her legs stretched out to either side of her. She wore a blue outfit of light, flowing silk that covered her arms, legs, and chest, but left her shoulders and stomach exposed. Leanne tried to seem casual with the orders she was bringing, but seeing Shani in her revealing dancing garb was enough to bring the blush back.