Jamal had given her a task, sending her to the book store with a list. She had, unsurprisingly, books that she had to buy, but he had told her that she could spend some time there if she wished it. That was a pleasure to the young girl who made her way to the bookstore. As she always did, Faith made her way there carefully, avoiding notice and doing her best to not be seen or to stand out in the crowd. Her trials of being allowed out in the city were still new, so she got lost along the way at least twice, but both times she found interesting things, so that was not a bother at all.
And then, at last, there in front of her was the book shop. Faith brethed in, in excitement. She would have to be careful, be clear to not show her emotions, to be careful with what she said. Jamal was showing a lot of faith in her by allowing her out of the funerary shop. So, she checked that she was as presentable as she could be. Her black trousers were ripped at the side, her black strapless top was ill fitting and her shoes too tight. But both she and her clothes were clean, her long hair was brushed and she pushed it back to ensure that, as instructed, both her slave brands were showing. Then she entered the shop and waited, quiet and still, until the woman behind the counter was ready and spoke to her. Then the girl spoke in a quiet voice, well suited to libraries, bookshops and funerary customs. "I am Faith and my owner has instructed me to come here. May I be served, please?" she asked. Some places wouldn't serve slaves, she knew, so she asked that first and waited to see what her reception would be.
Last edited by Faith Augustin Champion on Sat Aug 13, 2016 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total. word count: 317
It was a typical trial, various repeat customers visiting the shop to see what new items had been bought in to trade. A few purchases had been made, but generally they were window shopping and wasting her time. So Alys remained near the back of the shop, arms lent on the counter and scanning through a large volume of Rynmerian history. Quick blue eyes skimmed the text for useful information and a deft hand jotted notes on a carefully collected pile of papers.
Golden hair slipped over bare shoulders and she lifted her gaze as someone entered the shop, greeted them with a cursory look and returned to her work. The customer had no money and therefore she didn’t require Aly’s time. Two more customers bustled out, calling thanks for their purchases and Alys looked up, waved, smiled and returned to her work. No matter the amount that she tried to keep the tiny shop clean, it was always covered in dust. Light flooded through sparkling windows and cast rainbows in the constant dust clouds that spun.
"I am Faith and my owner has instructed me to come here. May I be served, please?"
Alys paused in her studies, rolled her eyes before she collected her expression and looked up with a warm smile, “certainly, Faith.”
The owners daughter straightened up from behind the desk, and looked down at the smaller, dark hair woman, “how can I be of assistance?” If she had to listen to another person telling her they were here for a book well…why else would you walk into a bookstore?
The woman in the book store was like light to Faith's dark, she considered. Beautiful straw-blonde hair, good clothes and a lightness to her that was almost the antithesis of the slave-girl's appearance. She was clean, of course, and her hair well brushed and so on, but her clothes were old and ill fitting, and all black. Jamal gave them to her and she wore them, so they were what they were, but Faith looked at Alys (though of course she did not know her name) and she saw someone who was her polar opposite. Faith didn't feel envy for her, not at all, but she did look and wonder; what must her life be like? Was she free of care or wracked with her own issues? Probably the latter, after all, but still, it was interesting to dream.
"I am.. forgive me, mistress, my owner has a list here, of tomes that he would like to know the prices of" she said, her quiet voice betraying the fact that she felt a little overawed by being here. "But he instructed me that many shop owners do not want slaves touching their merchandise, so I was to ask before I touched anything." she said, handing over a carefully folded parchment from her pocket. It had a list of ten books, about death, funerary customs and the Immortals. "I am happy to seek out the prices myself if you are happy for me to touch the books and be amongst the other shoppers?" she asked. She waited then to see what the woman would say; she knew that by doing this she was opening herself up and making herself vulnerable, but she had been instructed to be clear and Jamal had told her that many places did not like slaves mingling with their customers, so she had to be explicit.
There was more that the young woman had to ask, at her owner's instruction, but for now she simply waited to see what the answer was. That would reveal, of course, more about the woman behind the counter than how she looked. It would tell what kind of person she was, but that to Faith was simply how it was.
Alys raised a perfectly aligned eyebrow and studied the woman before her. She wouldn’t turn business away because it had been offered via a third party. Silently she extended a hand take the list from the slave and ran a cursory gaze over it. If the woman had chosen to, she could have simply written the prices in the margin of the paper and returned it, saving the slave the bother. But she’d noticed a flash of interest towards the books themselves and so passed the list back. The girl had also seem suitably impressed by her appearance. Alys lost nothing in letting her spend some time searching and maybe discovering something more interesting amongst the shelves. More suitable to a young woman than the miserable looking books that lined the list. She dusted her hands together and returned to her work.
“Feel free to search, we have all but one of the books available,” she gestured with a small hand towards a stack of shelves in the corner. Alys knew full well that all of the books were in the shop somehow, but wondered if finding all but one, the woman would stop. A smile pulled at her features as she kept a watchful eye on the movement of the slave. It was a game she enjoyed playing. Testing the perseverance of her customers. In the end, she could simply provide the price to her. So she watched, fascinated by the careful deliberate movements and lost interest in the history book spread open beneath her chin.
She had little fear that the slave would steal from her. The young woman wouldn’t get two paces from the door before running into a less than savoury character. Only idiots stole from Alys Vidan.
"Thank you, mistress" she said, quietly, taking the list back and smiling at Alys with a genuinely grateful expression on her face. She knew herself well enough to know that she would not like it had she not been allowed to search the books herself, so she was genuinely pleased to be allowed that independence. Certainly she was fascinated by the books and the prospect of spending some time looking through the titles and maybe even learning something as she did so was delightful to her. She nodded her head slightly and glanced towards where Alys had gestured, nodding her head. It did not even occur to Faith that she should ask which of the books they did not stock, that was hers to find out after all.
So, with careful and precise movement, she folded the list in half and then moved over to where Alys had directed her. There, she knelt on the floor next to the pile of books and started at the top one, carefully reading it's name. If it was one of the ten books, she would put it to one side. If it was something that was interesting to her, though, she stopped for a moment and ran her hand down the spine of it, almost wistfully. She wanted to be able to sit and read, to learn. But she had to do this, so she got on with finding the books. She didn't stop at all except one, she decided that she would continue to look because it seemed strange that the one that they did not have just happened to be the last one on her list. So, she looked and then, when she had all ten, she inspected each one individually, noting down the price. Then, she returned to the woman behind the counter. "Excuse me, mistress. My owner wishes to know if this is the best or only price or if you would be prepared to barter down. If you would consider a lower price which is competative with other sellers in the city, he would be prepared to negotiate a mutually beneficial deal between you and him" Of course, just what he'd negotiate she did not say, but she waited to see what the lady behind the counter thought of the proposal in the first place.
It was a casual flick of delicate fingers that dismissed the slave in search of the books. The girl took her time, as Alys had suspected. Pouring through the different texts, efficient but certainly making the most of the opportunity to study the books out of reach. There was something almost loving about the touches and looks she gave the spines of the tomes, something Alys could appreciate. After all, the blonde loved books. Hopefully, in an act of kindness, she had gained a token of loyalty in return. However, she wasn’t foolish enough to discount the bond between slave and master. It still made sense to build friendships in unlikely places.
Her attention was quick to return to her own work, until disturbed once more. Looking up she listened, head tilted to one side. Well, she thought, presumptuous master.
“I’m sure your Master knows that our prices are already competitive to those of other traders, and that he won’t find a better quality of book. Otherwise he would not have sent you here,” there was a thread of steel in her tone. She wasn’t one to be walked over, or taken lightly. It would be important, the impression the slave returned. She wouldn’t be seen as weak, ignorant or a bad sales person.
She drummed fingertips on the countertop, eyes narrowed in thought. But a deal in future? That could be profitable, especially as she intended to start a business of her own and without the assorted junk that littered many of the shelves of her Father’s shop. Books and books alone.
“I can give you three silver off the price in total, would it be enough to tempt the taste of your Master, do you think?”
"My owner did not just send me here, Mistress" she explained, quietly. She replayed the conversation in her mind and she decided that she had never said that she had been ordered to come here only, that was an assumption made by the woman behind the counter. Faith understood that such assumptions happened, but she was happy that any misunderstanding was not because of a miscommunication on her part. "He has instructed me to visit as many book stores as possible to ascertain the cost and the potential for negotiation, discount and reciprocal relationships" she explained. If she noticed the steely tone of Alys' voice, she didn't show that she'd done so. Or maybe, in truth, it was the fact that Jamal's opinion was far more important to her ~ she was much more concerned with not irritating him rather than with not irritating Alys, self preservation being what it was.
But then the woman behind the counter offered a discount and Faith smiled as Alys asked her if it would hold Jamal's interest."I don't know, Mistress, but I will be sure to convey it to him. Thank you, Mistress, for your time. May I ask, would you be interested in a more long term exchange of goods, or a mutual relationship between businesses?"[/b] she asked, ready to make sure to note down what the answer was. Jamal was interested in finding out who wanted what and who was prepared to work together. There was no guarantee that he would do so, but she had to give him the information that he had asked for, no more than that.
And then, something outside of what she had been ordered to do came into her mind and Faith asked. "And, mistress, if I was here whilst being granted some time off, would I be allowed to come back here, mistress, and look at the books?" she asked, and she could not help but show the hopefulness on her face.
“Well that is disappointing,” Alys admitted, eyes narrowing slightly. A foolish assumption on her part, hopeful that the books would be purchased. She ran a pale finger over the worktop as she looked the raven-haired beauty over again. Now there was a woman who did not expose her skin too much to the sun.
“I would be willing to enter into a negotiation with your Master, hopefully to the benefit of both of our interests. As it is, I hope to established a trade in books within the next season and long standing customers could expect a generous relationship,” Alys brightened and offered another smile, teeth flashing as she straightened and smoothed down the lines of her dress, “convey this in your message to your Master if you wish.”
The final question was a surprise, but not unwelcome. The petite blonde lifted a slender shoulder in a shrug of indifference. The girl had taste, to want to spend her free time in study, or pouring lovingly over a good book. In another life, she could have been a girl after the widows own heart. There was something sacred in the appreciation of a good book and a thirst for knowledge.
"I will pass that message on to my owner, Mistress" she said, quietly. "I believe that he would offer you me and my services to you for a period of time, in exchange for a regular discount, if it would be of interest to you. Also, of course, he would be willing to enter a relationship of reciprocal advertising" she said, with a smile. After all, Jamal had instructed her and she knew what was expected.
The slave listened carefully to what Alys said, and she would be sure to pass on her words as close to exactly as she could. If she was in any way bothered by fundamentally using herself as a bargaining tool, she did not seem it. She wasn't, of course, because she was just far too well trained for such to even be a thought in her head. She was a commodity and if Jamal chose to use her in that fashion, then that was how it was.
"Thank you, mistress" she said and her silver-grey eyes lit with delight when Alys said that she could come back here. It was a genuine pleasure to be around books and such and, if she was here regularly then she could report back to Jamal about the woman's customers and so on. Any sort of knowledge like that was a useful thing for her owner, and that meant that it was her job to seek it out as much as possible.
But then, unless there was anything that Alys wished to say, she exited the shop and would pass on the woman's message to Jamal.
shall we leave this here and then start up again next season if you want with business arrangements intact?
Skills
Collaboration 5/5
Structure 5/5
Story 5/5 Basic Knowledge
Location: Aly’s Bookstore Specific Knowledge
Research: How to Search for Tomes in a Bookstore
Alys: Opposite of Faith
Alys: Open to Bartering
Negotiation: Better to Irritate a Shop Owner than Jamal Rewards/Injuries
N/A Fame
N/A
Alys
Skills
Collaboration 5/5
Structure 5/5
Story 5/5 Basic Knowledge
Location: Aly’s Bookstore Specific Knowledge
Faith: Slave
Faith: Quiet
Faith’s Master: Presumptuous and Forward
Negotiation:Offering a Discount can lead to Friendships Rewards/Injuries
N/A Fame
N/A
Remarks
:
A nice short read. First time I’ve read any slave interactions that weren’t specifically with their master, so that was cool to see. I like how you write the attitude of Faith- it seems very demure and reserved.
I’m sure you guys can handle the business arrangements, and as Faith didn’t actually buy the books there is no Loot for this thread.
Faith:
► Show Spoiler
I noticed a couple of sentences that just seemed a little awkward as I read them. I’m sure you just didn’t notice, but for example in your third post you said “She nodded her head slightly and glanced towards where Alys had gestured, nodding her head.”
It’s a minor thing, but something that would help it flow a bit better. Finally, in the 4th post there are two that are left unformatted- might just want to take a look at those.
