by Matt Heppe
A door down the hall opened and a young woman strolled in their direction. “Jenae, please summon the Maiden Maret,” Celena commanded. She turned to Hadde as the girl retreated. “The squires are also not to speak unless spoken to.”
Hadde glanced at the two stone-faced squires. They ignored her and stared straight ahead. "I guess this means there is more than one Waltas in Salador."
"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Celena asked.
“It is nothing," Hadde replied.
Another door had opened and a second young woman hurried toward them, to Hadde she appeared sixteen or so, with dark hair worn loose and a pretty, oval face. “Hadde of Landomere,” Celena said, “this is Maret. She will show you to your chamber.”
Maret bent her knees and used her fingers to spread the sides of her dress. “At your service, Lady Hadde.”
“I’m glad to meet you, Maret,” Hadde replied.
“I’ve business to attend to,” Celena said. “See to the lady’s needs, Maret.”
“I will, Madam.”
As the older woman turned Hadde said, “Lady Celena, I’ve traveled here to see the king. How might I find him?”
“His Majesty is aware of your arrival. He will call for you when he’s ready to see you.”
“My task is very important.”
“I’m certain that it is.” She nodded to Hadde and departed.
“Please follow me, my lady,” Maret said. She led Hadde down the Maiden Hall. They passed several chambers and were almost at the end of the hall when Maret turned and opened a door. She stood aside and motioned for Hadde to enter the room. As Hadde walked in, Maret followed, closing the door behind her.
The chamber, nearly as large as Hadde’s cottage, contained a chest, a chair, and another piece of furniture with a curtain around it. The chair sat near a small fireplace with a barely flickering fire. A screen hid one corner of the room.
The far wall caught Hadde’s attention. She put down her gear and walked to it. “What’s this?”
“The window?”
“I know it’s a window,” Hadde said, perplexed. “But what is this?” She reached out and touched the cool, smooth substance. She could see through it to the courtyard far below. There she saw people moving, but they were all wavy. “It’s like ice, but it can’t be. It’s too warm in this room.”
“Do you mean the glass?”
“Glass?” Hadde tapped on it with her fingernail. “It’s wonderful.”
Maret pulled a lever and part of the window opened.
“Like a shutter,” Hadde said. She looked outside. Despite the growing dark, she still saw people milling in the courtyard.
Snow swirled into the room and Maret pulled the window closed. “Many of the maidens’ fathers don’t have glass on their manors. My father does, but he’s an important East Teren earl.”
“This isn’t your home?”
“No, my parents sent me here to learn to be a lady and to find a husband.”
“How long have you been away from home?” Hadde asked as she warmed herself in front of the fireplace.
“Two years.”
“I cannot imagine that.” Hadde knelt by the hearth. A steaming kettle hung over the fire. “How old are you, Maret?”
“I’m fifteen, Lady.” The girl was as tall as Hadde, and in the light of the room Hadde saw Maret had large brown eyes. In fact, all all the Saladorans had larger eyes than the Landomeri. And their eyes were nothing like the grays, blues, and greens of her people.
“I'm twenty-one.” Hadde said. “Fifteen seems so long ago. So much has happened.” She took off her cloak and was about to lay it on the chair when she heard Maret gasp behind her. Hadde spun and saw Maret staring at her with wide eyes.
After a startled moment the girl looked away. “Lady! What are you wearing?”
Hadde sighed. “A tunic, breechcloth, and leggings. This is what we wear in my land.”
“But I can see your legs! They’re like men’s clothes, but… worse.”
“In my land, this is how all women dress. And, please, Maret, I’ve just spent over a week traveling with three Saladoran men who gave me nothing but misery. Could it be different between us?”
“Yes, Lady. I’m sorry. It’s just… so strange.”
Hadde shrugged. “In summer we wear even less. But what I would most like is to get out of these clothes and into something warm and dry.”
“We have a hot bath prepared for you. We knew you were coming.”
Hadde glanced around the room. “Where?”
“I’ll show you. Please come with me, my lady.” Maret started for the door, but stopped when she saw Hadde glance at her bow and pack. “You won’t need those.”
“I don’t want to lose them. I—”
“We are just going a few doors down. Don’t worry, there’s no place safer than the Maiden Hall.”
It was hard not to trust Maret. But how could she trust any Saladoran at all? She felt alone and trapped in the giant castle. Her hand grazed the antler handle of her hunting knife as she followed Maret out the door.
“Before I bathe I need to ask where one finds…” This was going to be difficult. She had no doubt she was about to offend the young girl again. “Where does one find…”
“Oh,” Maret said knowingly and pointed to a door. “The bath is the next door down. I’ll wait for you there, my lady.”
“Thank you.”
A low stone bench and a wooden seat with a hole cut in it sat in the small room. A basket filled with dried flowers and herbs couldn’t mask the smell that told her she was in the correct place. Another basket held a generous supply of flaxen tow. A small window had been left cracked open. It made the room very cold, but Hadde had a feeling she was better off with it open.
***
“Where—” Hadde started as she entered the bathing room. Maret wasn't alone. An elderly woman in a drab brown dress knelt by a huge stone tub set into the wall. She pushed a log into a brightly burning fire in an oven under the tub and shut the door. The woman stood and pulled a folding screen partially in front of the tub before Maret waved her away.
“Thank you,” Hadde said. The woman bowed and silently exited the room.
“This looks wonderful, Maret.” The air was warm and moist with steam. Ice encrusted the room’s single window.
“I had them make it extra hot, my lady. Your journey must have been difficult with the snow. What were you going to ask?”
“What?”
“When you came in. You started to ask something.”
“Oh, yes. In the privy…where does it go?”
“Where does what go?”
“It,” Hadde said. “You know.”
“Urk.” Maret swallowed. “I… well… I’ve no idea.”
“But the shaft must fill up if it does not go somewhere.”
Maret gasped, “A lady does not speak of such things.”
Hadde laughed. She didn’t want to think about being on the receiving end of that shaft. She looked at poor Maret, who had flushed red.
Glancing at the tub, Hadde said, “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this.” She stripped off layers of clothing as fast as possible. Maret squealed and turned to face a corner of the room.
“Lady,” she said, “the screen is there for your privacy.”
“That’s all right,” Hadde replied. “I don’t need any.”
“We, um, don’t expose our bodies to one another.”
“Another difference between our lands.” Wearing only the Spiridus Token and a smile of satisfaction, Hadde walked behind the screen, strode up a few steps and lowered herself into the hot water. It was wonderful. She sank until only her head were exposed. The tub was ridiculously large.
“Lady Hadde, you really… well, you really don’t mind if someone sees you naked?”
“Why would I? We often bathe naked in the stream near our village. Or even if we’re not bathing and it’s really hot, we might wear on
ly our breechcloths.”
Maret laughed. “Lady Celena would be so scandalized. I would love to see her expression.”
“So do it.” Hadde swished the water in the tub and sighed. It was perfect.
“What would people say?”
“They would say there goes a pretty naked girl running down the hallway.”
“Oh, no they wouldn’t! They would call me mad. Or worse.”
“But they would be wrong. So why would you care?” Hadde dunked her head. She came up sputtering. “This is beyond wonderful. Almost too hot, can you imagine? Do you get to do this often?”
"Once a week in summer. Less often now. Would the lady like me to call a nurse to help her bathe?”
“A nurse? No, I don’t need any help. And, Maret, why do you call me ‘lady’?”
“Because, you are a lady.”
“But the Saladoran men I traveled with treated me terribly. They didn’t call me lady.”
“I don’t know why, my lady. I was simply told you were a foreign lady from Landomere and that I was to see to your needs. You were assigned to the Maiden Hall, so you must be of noble birth.”
Hadde thought better of pursuing the conversation further. She wondered what they would do to her if they discovered the truth.
“Lady, shall I have your clothes sent to be cleaned and mended?”
“That would be nice of you, but I’ll do it if it’s a bother,” Hadde replied. “And Maret, would you simply call me Hadde?”
“Yes, Lady Hadde.”
“No, just Hadde. It’s the custom of my land. We don’t use titles before our names.”
“I shall do as you ask, Hadde.”
She heard the girl shuffling behind the curtain as she gathered Hadde’s clothing. A small tray next to the tub held a scrub brush, a comb, and a small decorated ceramic pot with a spout.
“What is in the pot?” Hadde asked.
“Scented oil. Pour a handful into the tub with you.”
Hadde picked up the pot and put her nose to the spout. “It smells of flowers.” She poured some into the water. “Do you know when I’ll meet the king?”
“Lady Celena didn’t mention it, but there will be a reception in two days. Perhaps then. I’m certain he will see you before the Festival of Spring.”
“Two days? That long?” She could hardly bear the thought of being so close to the king only to be delayed for another two days.
“Yes, the king will receive petitioners in the morning and the festival will take place that evening. But if he does not see you then, you might wait two weeks or more.”
“I had hoped to go home much sooner than that.”
“It’s for the Steward of the Court to decide when a petitioner sees the king. Shall I have some food brought up?”
“What? Thank you, yes.”
“I’ll summon a servant. I’ll return soon.”
Smiling, Hadde relaxed deeper into the water. Her little tub back home was nothing compared to this. A wave of homesickness swept over her as she thought about her parents and their little cottage in Long Meadow. “I’ll be home soon.”
A short time later the door opened. “Let me have those clothes,” Maret said from behind the screen. “And take those to be cleaned and mended. And bring a lantern, it’s getting dark.”
“Yes, Maiden,” a frail voice responded. The door opened and closed again.
Hadde was surprised at the authority with which Maret ordered people about. Even the tone of her voice changed. Always pleasant and light with Hadde, her voice hardened when she spoke to the workers. Their age seemed irrelevant; no respect was shown to them.
“Maret, who was that you were talking to?”
“Just a servant.”
“What’s her name?”
“Her name? I don’t know. She’s new. Oh, and there is food waiting for you….”
“Ahhh, I’ll be right out. I’m starving.”
“Wait!” Maret called. A linen towel appeared over the top of the screen.
Hadde stepped out of the tub and dried herself. “Would you pass my clothes?” she asked.
A white chemise and red dress showed up where the towel had been.
“What’s this?” Hadde asked. “These aren’t mine. My spare clothes are in my pack.”
“I sent them to be cleaned as well. The red dress is one of mine. You and I are close to the same size.”
Hadde wrapped the towel around herself and took the dress from the screen. “I’ve seen dresses during my journey here. They’re very strange.”
“You’ve never worn one?”
“No.” Hadde pulled the white shirt over her head. “This shirt, I’ve never worn anything so nice. The linen is so fine.”
“It isn’t that special.”
Hadde took the dress and held it up for inspection. “I suppose I won't be doing much hunting."
“Why would a lady do such?”
“To provide for her people.”
“Those things are not for a lady to do. A lady manages her household and entertains her husband.”
“Not in Landomere. How do you put this on?” Hadde fumbled with the dress. The only light came from a sputtering wall candle and the firebox heating the tub.
Hadde stepped out from behind the screen.
“Where is that—ack! You’re naked, Lady!” Maret turned away.
“No, look. I’m wearing the shirt. It’s very fine, thank you.”
“Your legs, and well, it’s much too revealing.”
“You can only see my calves.” She could see how embarrassed the girl was but couldn’t understand why. She slid the dress over her head, but the waist was too narrow for her shoulders and she became stuck. “Um… I need help.”
“Oh!” Maret giggled despite her embarrassment. “You have to untie the drawstrings.”
Hadde laughed at the absurdity of her predicament. She felt Maret’s hands as she tugged and pulled. Eventually Hadde’s head popped out the top of the dress.
Maret smiled at her. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“Now my hands are stuck.”
Maret helped Hadde’s hands through the cuffs. “These aren’t like the sleeves on the dresses I saw at manors we passed through on the way here,” Hadde said. “Those women wore sleeves that were so long they had to cut holes in them to get their hands out. These just cover part of your hand and have a hole for your thumb.”
“They were wearing dagged sleeves.” Maret rolled her eyes. “Nobody has worn those for two or three years. Country nobles are always out of fashion.”
Hadde slipped the lanyard that held her thumb ring over her wrist. “What is that? Maret asked. “Is it jewelery?”
“No, just my thumb ring. It is for archery.” Hadde held it up for Maret to see. “You use it to draw your bow. This one is tortoise shell.”
Maret giggled. “You won’t need that here.”
“I can’t help it,” Hadde said. “I always wear it.”
Maret shrugged. “People will think it odd. Here, let me help with your collar.” She reached for the buttons at Hadde’s neck and said, “What’s this? It’s beautiful!”
Hadde put the necklace back under her collar.
“What? No!” Maret exclaimed. “It’s a beautiful piece. You must show it off. Let me do it.”
“I was worried about… well, I was fearful of thieves. I thought I should keep it hidden.”
“Oh, that might be true in the lower quarters of the city, or in a town, but not within the Great Keep. You’re perfectly safe here.” Maret buttoned Hadde’s collar. “There. Once we do your hair you’ll look like a princess. You are very pretty."
“I... ah,” Hadde started, surprised at the sudden complement. “Thank—”
A knock at the door interrupted her. The housekeeper stepped through and handed Maret a brass lantern. “Is there anything else I can bring you, Maiden?”
“There is food in Lady Hadde’s chamber? And the fire has been stoked
?”
“There is, Maiden.”
“You may go.”
“Wait, what is your name?” Hadde asked.
“They call me Gran.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of us, Gran.”
“You are welcome, my lady.” A touch of a smile crossed her face, and bowing her head, she backed through the door.
Maret sighed. “Shall we eat now?”
“Yes, let’s.” Hadde smoothed the dress as she followed Maret out the door. “My parents would laugh until the sun came up if they saw me in this. How absurd.”
Maret’s back stiffened as she walked. “I’m sorry, but I had nothing finer to offer you.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. This is beautiful. The fabric and color are wonderful, much richer than anything we have in my village.” The flowing skirt felt awkward around her legs. She stepped on the hem of the dress and nearly tripped when she turned around. "Thank you for loaning it to me. I’ll return it as soon as I can.”
“It fits you perfectly," Maret said as they entered Hadde's chamber. "Keep it until the tailors can make you some dresses.”
“It fits? I feel like I can hardly breathe!” Hadde undid three buttons at her neck. “It fits so closely to my waist and ribs. Ooh, that looks delicious,” Hadde said, spying a tray of food by the fire.
“There’s beef stew, cheese, bread, and mulled wine. Let’s sit and eat.”
Hadde and Maret sat on padded stools next to the fire. An engraved wooden chest served as a table for their meal. “Thank you for the food, it looks wonderful.”
“Go ahead, Hadde. Eat,” Maret said as she stuck an iron poker into the fire.
The bread was crusty, light, and sweet; the cheese salty and strong; the stew rich and flavorful; the wine warm and spiced. Hadde had never tasted more delicious food in her life, even if the wine was a bit strong. For a time she didn’t attempt to speak. Maret contented herself with a bit of bread and cheese. After a time she took the hot poker and used it to heat their wine.