Slipping

[Faith Augustin]

She helped Lady Elyna with the tea, encouraging her "It's sweet, it will help you to have more energy, stop Ser Krome from fussing, yes?" she said with soft voice and concern in her eyes, but she smiled an apology to said Ser Krome, lest he think she was serious. If Lady Elyna could drink a little something, that would be good. The Lady's assertion that Faith was a good medic caused the young slave to smile, but she was surprised in truth because she did not know that Lady Elyna had told Ser Krome about the brand cut into her leg. But still, that was their business and Faith kept quiet about it. "I have many secrets to washing clothes, Lady Elyna, I will share them all with you" she assured the woman and, when Ser Krome left the room, Faith just appeared to be tidying around, fussing a little here and tidying there as the Lady was used to, humming a gentle tune all the time. Slow and regular and gentle that tune was and should, she hoped, help Lady Elyna fall asleep.

When she exited the room, Ser Krome was there and he spoke of feeding Lady Elyna meat to help build her strength. Faith frowned in thought and nodded her head "I understand Ser Krome, but if I may suggest somthing?" she asked and when he nodded she continued "Meat is hard to digest. It is hearty. That might be offputting to her right now, for all that she needs it. I can disguise it in light foods, tiny bites and so on. But I need to be able to grind it. I can and will do it by hand and I promise you it will be ground as well as is possible with mortal hands, but there are equipments which can help. A grinder, where I put the meat in the top and turn a handle, which then grinds it for me, like a cheese grater, but with an attachment to grind it more or less finely. If that is within your budget it will be more efficient than I am and more effective. If it is not, I can ask my Master and I am sure he will buy it for me and I can have it here until Lady Elyna no longer needs it, or I can go to where I work and use theirs" Her silver eyes were most earnest as she tried to think of solutions. "But in the meantime, I assure you that I will do my best. It would help if you could tell me her tastes, or more specifically her favourite things and what she dislikes"

Faith's head was thinking that right now Lady Elyna lacked the energy to do much of anything and so she was envisioning a two-pronged attack in terms of food. "I am going to make a soup which is so full of goodness that even just sips will help her. I will add herbs which aid healing also. Then I will make light pastries, small bites and so on that she can nibble on" She moved with determined footsteps and started pulling ingredients out of the cupboards.

And then, he asked that question about his son. She stopped, standing stock still at the kitchen counter with her back to him and an increasing number of ingredients and pieces of equipment in front of her. When she spoke, it was as though she had not heard him. "There are more ingredients in town, which I was not strong enough to carry. I can go and get them but I can not do that and cook. Is there someone else you can send or ask to go?" she wondered. Then, she looked down at the vegetables and she started to chop with the sort of precision and skill which told a lot of her experience as a cook. "I was confused by Lord Krome, in honesty" she said in a soft voice which grew stronger as she continued to address his question, focusing entirely on the parsnip which she was peeling. "Because he was a monster" She shook her head slightly, dropping the peeled vegetable into a bowl with water and picking up the next "And yet, when the zombies attacked he gave her back her sword. She had a knife which she gave to me because I was swatting at them with a frypan." She glanced at Malcolm and smiled a slight smile, shaking her head before returning her attention to the job at hand. "I believe he knew that what he did was wrong, when I was there with her he tempered his actions and he would not have done so had he believed he was in the right." Another parsnip found its way into the bowl and she turned her attention to a carrot. But then, she stopped and she turned to look at Malcolm. She did not want to say what she said next, but it was what she had to in order to answer the question asked of her.

"I was born a slave. I have been owned all my life, I have endured training that many, most, would consider torture and a complete stripping of my identity to rebuild me as an individual in servitude. I have been owned by a man who looked at me the way that your son looked at Lady Elyna, Ser Krome and he was the most cruel man I have ever met. He owned me body and soul and your son wanted to own her the same way. He wanted her to choose him." Coming from someone with her life experience, it was saying a lot. WIth a calm she did not feel, she turned back to the carrot and resumed her slicing.

"He was on the side of Velijorn Burhan and Zvezdana Venora and the way that they treated the King when they believed him a slave told the whole story. I am sorry, Ser Krome, I would rather not speak anything which might hurt your feelings" just a slight under exaggeration there, she considered with a more than moderate share of irony "But I am duty bound to speak the truth and I truly wish you had not asked"

[Malcolm]

The man stood, a statue of serenity to gaze upon, while inside his blood boiled like the water in the cauldron over the fireplace. There came no word of protest from Malcolm, nor looks of disdain, but for the first time in his life, he had been tempted to put a slave in her place. Perhaps that made him no better than the man she had just described to him.
Malcolm looked down at the baby in his arms, if anything in this world would see inner peace restored, it was her. “Elyna is not a child,” he said without looking at the raven haired woman, “nor would I have you treat her as such. Meat and vegetables, no pasties, no cakes,” he set his rule and chose not to comment on anything else.
For a long time he stood in silence in front of the fireplace while Faith worked in the kitchen. The days would start getting shorter and colder now that the season was slowly coming to an end. He hadn't returned Elsie to her cradle, but knew it would probably be best to start building some strong routines for the baby straight away. There was a big difference between sleeping wrapped up in her father's arms, and being set down in the cot by herself.
Once or twice Malcolm found himself glancing in Faith’s direction. While he was thankful for the woman and the friendship Elyna had clearly struck with her, he couldn't help but feel that she had stripped the jobs from him he had taken on to try and mend the gap between himself and Elyna. Cooking, cleaning, these were both chores he didn't mind doing. He would have no reason to be in the house anymore other than to bath and eat. While he knew it was ridiculous to resent the slave, a small part of him had in the break or so that passed before he spoke to her again.
“We have chickens. Elyna doesn't mind eggs for breakfast. I like to cook them in a hot pan with spinach, tomato, and a little cheese when we have it.” Elsie started crying then and the man rocked her for a while before he realised it was going to take more than his gentle coaxing to get her back to sleep. “Excuse me, Faith.”
He had been fine, ready to do some work in the barn and exercise the horses, but suddenly felt tired. Malcolm put it down to standing on his feet so long in front of the fireplace. He returned to Elyna’s bedroom and woke her with gentle tone before passing Elsie over. It was then he noticed the tea he had left to go cold, and drank some of that, hoping it would wake him up. The mortalborn blinked and rubbed his face. He sat back against the dresser and closed his eyes, felt himself nod forwards and hid a yawn behind his hand.
“Are you all right if I step out? I can barely keep my eyes open.”

[Elyna]

The woman had managed a few gulps of tea before falling into a deep deep sleep. Curled up beneath heavy blankets she managed to rest. The gentle murmur of voices from the other room had been a comfort. Noises similar to what she was used to in the barracks, the place that head felt most like home before she had lived with Malcolm. The Mortalborn returned and she stretched out, arms above her head before she sat up. Somewhat refreshed, she also took another gulp of the cold tea Faith had left behind. She peered around the man at the door left ajar.
Elise settled into the crook of her arm and the woman smiled down at her daughter, “hey…hey you,” she bent. Touching her nose against the babies. The little face screwed up and Elyna held back a grin. Besotted and completely in love she’d half forgotten that Malcolm remained. Fingers closed around the fastening of her shirt and pulled it loose. He spoke and broke her reverie and the woman looked up. She took a deep breath and adjusted her clothing so that the baby could nurse. Settling back against the pillows she let out a slow sigh out again. This was getting easier. The nap of a few hours had left her feeling a little more energised.
“It’s cold in the barn,” Ely murmured as Malcolm straightened up. She lifted her gaze to his, searching his expression. Though the curtain remained open it had turned dark outside, “you don’t like to be cold…” Perhaps it was because she was so tired, or because he also looked drained and exhausted. What had they been talking about before Faith had arrived? She pushed her free arm across her forehead. Her head still ached, but it was less. Something she was happy to attribute to the tea Faith had provided.
“You stayed with me the day Elsie was born. Mal, why don’t you sleep here? You’d be more comfortable…Elsie sleeps better when you’re here,” she was clutching at straws and she knew it, “I’d feel safer.”

[Faith Augustin]

He did not respond to what she said about his son, as was completely his right to do. He looked at her with the sort of calm impassiveness which she thought probably hid a lot behind it and she stood, awaiting whatever judgement he chose in terms of her words. He would not be the first man to ask her a question and then hit out for the truth of her answer, nor would he be the last, she was sure, if he chose to do it. But he did not, rather he said nothing. Faith did not respond to that in any way, it was not her place to do so and she would never purposely overstep her boundaries. It could not be an easy thing to hear and, as much as her words telling him that she wished he had not asked were true, she could not begin to imagine how it must make him feel.

However, when he told her that he wanted meat and vegetables, not pastries or cakes, she nodded and a quietly spoken "As you command, Ser Krome was her only reply. There was no intention from her to treat Lady Elyna as a child, but if he saw it as such then he did and she would do as instructed. In truth, perhaps she should not have put forward her opinion and she considered that perhaps living with her Master and her time with Lady Elyna had made her more forward. Also, of course, her opinion of the man who spoke to her had been that he saw slaves as people but, standing there in the kitchen as he commanded her on what she should cook, she wondered if perhaps her opinions of him had been built more in her head than based in reality.

Silence sat then as she got on with what she was doing, a break or so where she continued to prepare vegetables. Her silence, as always, was her self defense and she tried to ensure that she did not add to the situation she had created by answering his question honestly. She nodded her head when he spoke of what Lady Elyna liked, or didn't mind, for breakfast. He explained how he liked to cook them for her and Faith replied with a quiet "Thank you, Ser Krome" mentally noting that tending to the chickens was a job and wondering whether him saying that he liked to cook them meant he was going to cook breakfast or she was. She did not ask, she would wait and see in the morning, she determined. The baby started to cry and he excused himself; Faith dropped a curtsy as he left and could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief as the door to Lady Elyna's bedroom closed. However, she continued to work as much and as efficiently as she could, going out and tending the chickens (she assumed that they needed to be in a clean place, but she had never tended them before) and getting the meal ready for that evening for them. Meat and vegetables Lord Krome had commanded and so she prepared that, a chicken stuffed with a rich sage bread stuffing, wrapped in ham and slowly roasted with small chunks of potatoes cooked with rosemary and a selection of carrots, parsnips and peas all served with a rich red wine and rosemary gravy. She did not disturb the couple and just kept herself busy the best ways she knew how to.

[Rumour]

Name: Elyna

Knowledge:
Elsie: Daughter
Faith: Has some medical skill
Psychology: The strength of a parent’s love for their child
Psychology: The importance of trust
Strength: Lift only what you can carry and then slowly add more weight
Childcare: How to wrap a baby

Loot: Please deduct 50gn for the cost of food, as per Faith's post.
Injuries: N/A (though it seems Elyna already has a case of chronic fatigue)
Fame: N/A

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

- - -

Name: Malcolm

Knowledge:
Elsie: Daughter
Faith: Has some medical skill
Faith: Believes Marcus Krome is a monster
Faith: Helpful, but a bit of a pest
Psychology: The strength of a parent’s love for their child
Psychology: The importance of trust
Deception: How to lie by omission
Discipline: Tactics for maintaining control of your emotions
Childcare: How to wrap a baby

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: +1 good deed for supporting Elyna in her time of need

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

- - -

Name: Faith

Knowledge:
Location: Malcolm & Elyna’s Home
Elsie: Malcolm & Elyna’s Daughter
Mithril: Malcolm and Elyna’s Horse
Malcolm: May not be the man you expected
Malcolm’s Orders: Cook Elyna meat and vegetables; no pastries, no cakes
Strength: Spread out the weight to make it easier to carry
Endurance: The importance of calm, even breaths
Storytelling: It’s important to know when to stop talking
Cooking (Recipe): Stuffed chicken wrapped in ham

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

- - -

Comments: Not a very knowledge-heavy thread, but a very important one in terms of restoring the broken relationship between Malcolm and Elyna. I always enjoy their interactions, and am so heartbroken for Elyna. The pain that she is suffering through was so well-written.

I also loved that Faith made an appearance, as I think the relationship between her and Malcolm is really fascinating to see. I enjoy that she is getting on Mal's nerves despite the best of intentions, and I also appreciate that Mal is becoming less godly and more human in her mind. Really lovely story, you three! I look forward to more threads with your characters in future.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thanks!