Queensmen

Chapter 35

~A Little Bit Of Sewing~

Oris was roused from a dreamless slumber by the feel of soft fingers digging into the aching skin of her feet. She vaguely remembered kicking off her shoes the moment she had landed on the bed but had no recollection of ever closing her eyes. It seemed that she had been too tired to remember falling asleep in the first place.

She yawned and stretched her arms above her head before twisting her body so she was laying on her back.

Finally, her eyelids snapped opened, her eyelashes fluttering slightly as she took in the beige ceiling of the room she had to learn to start calling home. She let her mind paint it in the colors she wanted, giving life to what would be once she had enough coin to accomplish it.

For a long moment, she just laid unmoving, letting the new warmth of the room swaddle her. Then she sat up, fixing her gaze of the blushing girl who had been massaging her feet just seconds ago.

"I just... This servant —"

Oris laughed. Her shoulders shook furiously as the soft sounds left her lips. She only stopped when sharp pains appeared in her gut, reminding her off the hunger she had forgotten through rest.

When had she eaten last? It was days now, though she was sure that in her unconscious state, attempts to feed her had been made.

Living as a stable boy, she had faced the prospect of starvation bravely but life in Asharath had softened her a little too much. In her own humble opinion, she was prettiest when her stomach was full and meat filled the gap between her flesh and bone.

"My feet are quite soft, aren't they?" Oris tried a light, coy, and maybe—just maybe—seductive voice for a change. She was practicing for when she would truly need to sound breathless and who better to practice on than her young and nubile maid?

Seline looked like a child caught stealing beef from their mother's pot. Her cheeks were pink from embarrassment and her eyes were wide with panic.

Oris had to rely on years of discipline to hold herself from laughing again. It wouldn't do well to let the girl think she was being mocked.

Seline had only been doing her duty, so there was no chance for chastisement. What humored Oris was the fact that maid had looked like she was enjoying herself.

In a way, she could understand.

Her feet were the only part of her body she took extra care of, they were also the only part she was truly proud of—her hair came in close second. Before she had been a queen, she had been her village's best dancer. On more than one occasion, she had been called to dance for the gods and ask for blessings during rituals.

The highlight of her career had been when in the middle of a rain dance thick into of a summer afternoon, the clouds had darkened and lightning had started to snake between them. By the end of the dance, her ceremonial robes had been drenched by the showers of the year's first rain.

From then on, the villagers called her god-touched. She might have ended up being chosen as an apprentice for a shaman had she stayed. Maybe she would have been a high priestess by now, but that was just the envious child in her talking.

"Mistress, this servant only wanted to help ease your pain," Seline said after having seemingly regained her composure.

"You ran away quite fast in the hallway, I hope nothing is the matter?"

"No... Nothing." The maid got to her feet and bowed her head, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. "This servant simply needed to attend to matters before the sun began to dim."