• PM To Join • [Venora] Serving The House (Zvezdana)

[Faith Augustin]

15 Saun, 716

Faith knew that Master was from a wealthy noble family. She knew that his family were one of the oldest and most noble families with a rich and wonderous history. She knew this because he had told her and because she had read as much as she could on the subject. She felt it was all part and parcel of her duty in order to be the best slave that she could be to make sure that she was as aware of his family, his family's place in history and their place in society as she could. Then, of course, there was the reading up on etiquette necessary for a noble family. Bizarrely, she hadn't yet found a book which taught her how to be a good slave to them ~ no one seemed to be bothered to write one.

However, just being here, amongst Master's family meant that she had learnt a lot from the other slaves and the servants. She had been able to get a number of lessons (not all of them pleasant or helpful) from the resident slaves and servants, and that had very much helped. So, she was functioning better than she had been, but in truth Faith was completely unprepared for the realities of nobles and how they lived. She had been completely amazed and totally overwhelmed. Also, she had been surprised at the amount of observation and scrutiny that she was under, it was a new thing to her and she had found it strange and unnerving at first. But now, she had been there a few trials and she knew what she had to do and what she could and should do also - and more or less when.

However, as the early evening light changed, not getting dark of course because of the season, but as it did, the UnderButler who was in charge of her had come into the small kitchen where Faith was working. He snapped his fingers at her (she had been told that this meant 'follow') and then walked out. She dutifully moved behind him and he stopped, then looked at her, critically. He turned her around, adjusted her hair, her dress and made sure that the Venora brand was prominent, tutted at the fact that she had any other brands visible at all (it seemed to be a personal affront to him) and then nodded. Faith was pale and thin, her skin milk white which made her brand even more visible. She had long black hair that was tied back neatly out of the way and she wore a black dress. She was short, barely five foot five and her appearance was more waif-like than anything else, but she would have to do, the UnderButler decided.

"You are to go to Lady Venora's room and assist her. Now" he said. Faith knew where that was because she had been part of the crew that cleaned the rooms, so she went and knocked, twice and quietly (as she had learnt she was supposed to do) on the door. She did not just walk in, for that would be rude, but waited until she was bade to enter. When she was, she stepped in and closed the door carefully behind her before turning and dropping a low curtsy "How may I serve you, Lady Venora?" she asked, softly, as she had been instructed was the correct thing to say. Her silver grey eyes were kept down, looking at the floor and not making eye contact as it was not her place to do so.

[Zvezdana Venora]

Zvezdana had arrived at Fort Venora with her escort late yesterday evening. Her mother and father, thankfully, had already gone to bed and she was able to sneak up to her room without question. She had a servant fetch her a snack and went to bed without much else. Today, she had woken with a terrible headache, the feeling of dirt all over her body, and mild loathing at the information she had learned yesterday when she met with Vivian. That information was tucked away until she could work through it with Veljorn. The current king had some debts to pay.

To help deal with some of the other, more manageable issues, she had summoned some of the regular house slaves to draw her a bath. The bathroom that was attached to her room had not been used in some time. She first had them clean out the tub to ensure that the dust and residues were removed. Then hot water was brought up to fill it. Several trips later, it was hot enough and deep enough for her to get in. It was filled with elixirs and smelling salts to make her skin soft from the journey. Veljorn would appreciate a bathed wife when he joined her here in a few days. Then, they left her to her brooding for some time.

The water had already started to turn cold when she heard a polite knock on her door. It is about time…

“Come in.”

Her back was towards the servant, so she did not even notice the courtesy or proper etiquette the girl offered. Critiques probably would have been had, out loud or in her head if she had seen it. Zvezdana could not help but always question a person’s mannerism. The words however made her react well enough. Her hand flopped over the edge of the tub, bubble dripping down the stem of her wine glass as she picked it up.

“You are late. I don’t know who taught you, but servants are supposed to arrive before the water gets cold. Lucky for you, I have already bathed myself,” Zvezdana growled, standing up. Bubbles dribbled down the small of her back, the smooth curve of her buttox, and dipped into the crevice between her legs. Long, black hair was heavy with water as she stepped over the edge of the tub and turned to face her new pincushion.

“Well, come dry me off,” Zvezdana hissed, finishing her glass of wine and placing it next to the carafe of wine that had been brought up for her. There were some grapes, bread, and cheese fresh from the kitchen for her breakfast. They lay untouched on a silver platter. Zvezdana picked up the towel that hung next to the tray, stepping out of the bathroom onto the lush rug. Droplets of water rolled down her perky breasts and jumped off the tips as they bounced. Zvezdana threw the towel at the woman, noticing that she was new. How long had she been gone? Had they turned over the last trained help?

“Once you have done that simple task, I suggest you fetch a robe out of that closet. It will probably take you some time to brush my hair and figure out what I shall wear since no one has laid it out for you. What good are you all if you can’t serve the future Queen correctly.”

Someone was going to be in trouble.

[Faith Augustin]

15 Saun, 716

Well, Faith considered as Lady Venora stood up in the bath, it was true when Master said that all Venora's had soft and beautiful skin."Yes, Lady Venora" she said, softly as she stepped forward and caught the towel. She set about drying the future Queen carefully and gently but as effectively as she could. She did not blink an eye at the nakedness of her; for such an innocent young woman Faith had seen a lot of naked people. Of course, she considered, as she first wrapped up Lady Venora's hair in a towel and then began to pat her down, she had seen a lot of naked dead people. She had washed and dried them to, so she was as careful and thorough with every part of Zvezdana's body as she was with every other part. When she was done she wrapped the towel around Lady Venora and dropped another curtsey "I will get your robe, Lady Venora" she said softly.

Somewhere during that time she had refilled the wine glass, also. To the correct level that she had been shown, as Master tended to like his glass filled to the top. That had horrified the staff here and she had quickly learnt the correct way to do it.

She fetched the robe quickly, holding it open for Lady Venora to step into, wrapping it around her and kneeling in front of her to do it up. At no point did she make eye contact, for she thought that it was unlikely to go down well. Master had warned her, many trials ago, that he did not treat her like most nobles treated their slaves and Faith was learning that lesson here well. Once Lady Venora was settled in front of her dressing table, Faith brought her wine and the food to her, that she might partake of them whilst Faith got her clothes ready.

"May I begin, Lady Venora?" she asked, having gathered the hair brush and so on, ready to begin the process of drying and brushing the Lady Venora's hair. She looked at the range of oils and so on carefully arranged on the dressing table and she wondered whether she was supposed to be oiling the woman down or putting something in her hair or something. However, she did not know so she got about the process of carefully drying Lady Venora's hair and curling it slightly as she did, twisting it carefully in place and working to not tug at it (never to tug at it!)

In truth, her skills at this were not great and, although she was used to dressing corpses in preparation for their final journey, this was the first living woman that she had served in this way and, trust her luck, it was Lady Venora. Still, she did her best although almost certainly she was missing out things that Lady Venora was used to having happen. She did not speak, just focused on her work and did it as quickly and as effectively as she could.

[Zvezdana Venora]

The woman was meticulous, Zvezdana would grant her that. The towel sucked up all the droplets happily. The pressure was welcome against her skin. It was not so soft as to tickle her, and it was not hard to leave red marks against her milk white skin. It was the right amount of pressure. The woman had experience with bodies. Zvezdana appreciated. She had reduced servants to tears before for ruining the relaxation of her bath by drying her off to aggressively. Others had been accidentally smacked or kicked when Zvezdana had a violent reaction to soft rubs, especially her underarms and inguinal area. That always got her.

Zvezdana slipped her arms into the offered robe, pulled it around her as she slipped onto the cushion of the vanity in front of her. She had watched the servant refill her glass without asking. She was docked a performance point for not immediately handing it to her. The platter and glass were brought to her shoulder after she sat down. Zvezdana popped a grape into her mouth, washing it down with a sip of wine. She nodded her head to grant the girl permission to begin. The comb was pulled gently through her dark hair. For a moment, she was transported back to her youth when her mother actually paid attention to her daughter. As a doll, she was dressed up and prettied so she could be shown to the other nobles of the court. The dresses progressively became less pink and ribbony as she grew up and filled out. Her mother began to pawn off her hair care and clothing choices to the servants. Zvezdana progressively became forgotten.

The future Queen took another polite sip of wine. This girl was quiet and calm, unlike many of the other slaves. Whenever she received a servant to her service, they were nervous. They dropped things and stuttered uncontrollably. This one was either too new to know how dangerous Zvezdana’s temper could be, or she was not a true Venoran house slave.

“Tell me, what is your name girl? You are not the normal breed of lady my mother hires.” She expected the girl to answer and fall silent again, but would welcome further conversation. “Tell me about yourself. I could do with some conversation."

[Faith Augustin]

15 Saun, 716

Had she been aware of Zvezdana's musings about her lack of nerves, Faith would have been amazed that the Lady Venora considered her calm. She was worried that she was doing a hundred things wrong, not doing others and all sorts of things. She would have told her in quite clear tones that she was terrified that she would pick out the wrong dress or that she might forget something vital. But of course, instead of that, the young slave got on with her job. As an undertaker she had always treated the bodies as though they were alive and so her brushing of Zvezdana's hair was gentle but firm.

"My name is Faith, Lady Venora." she said, and indeed she fell silent again until prompted to tell Lady Venora about herself? Oh, by Famula what was she supposed to say. She ran through what Master had told her about nobles, specifically the nobles in his family. "I am owned by Lord Tristan Venora, my Master. He bought me last season, Lady Venora" she said, her voice soft and quiet. When she spoke her voice and tone seemed more suited to a library than anything else. "Before that I was owned by an undertaker. He bought me from the slave school in Athart where I had resided since birth, being trained" she considered that the Lady Venora had asked for conversation and what she had done was give her a list, so she continued "Have you ever visited Athart, Lady Venora? I am told that the architecture is like nowhere else on Idalos" would that work, she wondered, and she kept glancing to make sure that Lady Venora had food and wine, whilst she worked on her hair. She had beautiful hair, there was no doubting it, and a lot of it. Thankfully, Faith had a lot of hair, too, so she was more confident than she would have been.

Keep the glass topped up, make sure that she had everything to hand and work on her hair. Those were Faith's clear priorities. Answer any questions quickly, and make sensible choices in terms of clothes.

[Zvezdana Venora]

Zvezdana closed her eyes partially, savoring the feel of the brush running through her hair. Faith. It was kind of a lovely name for a servant girl. Along the lines to be considered for noble girl's name. Her own name was very exotic. Most had regal names. Her mother had preferred strange names for her younger children. Alistair was probably the most normal whereas Andraska and Zvezdana were unique. Faith would probably fall along the lines of common in nature, but it still sounded regal to her. Especially if the noble family had name their daughter and were considered a highly religious family. Now that would have been an appropriate name.

So, her cousin had decided to dabble in the art of owning servants and slaves had he. Well, he had picked a decent one to start. First impressions meant a lot to most people, and Faith seemed to be the perfect example of a servant. She attempted to predict the needs of the one she was serving - in this case by filling the glass with wine for Zvezdana - and kept mostly silent unless questioned. Those were values that were highly sought after in this society. Her history of being an undertaker's servant explains her gentleness with her body. Granted, it was a peculiar way to learn how to treat the body, as the living were far different than the dead. If Zvezdana had focused on it further, she could have potentially creeped herself out enough to the point of sending Faith away.

“I have not been anywhere outside of Rynmere. I have traveled through the various lands on this island, from coast to coast. Yet, the sea is my boundaries. I am sure the world outside of Rynmere has its own delicacies and peculiarities. Maybe one day I will find time to venture out to this unseen world," Zvezdana stated openly, sipping her wine politely. "Is my cousin good to you? I have not seen Tristan in a long time. I must make efforts to see him if he is here at Sabaissant. It would be good to catch up with your master."

She knew very little of her extended family other than they shared blood and a surname. She vaguely recalled that her cousins were artsier than Willow's children. Then again, they were so far down the line of succession they were allowed more freedoms to do as they liked. Alistair had responsibilities as first in line and Zvezdana was expected to marry well and raise her status, which she had done so far. Without her parents help, she might have added. Andras was too busy doing the Immortals knew what, which left her cousins with freedom to choose their destiny.

"I think I would like the red dress today. You can set that out when you are done drying my hair."

[Faith Augustin]

As Lady Venora closed her eyes, Faith worked and did not speak, making sure that her hair brushing was the best it could be. Had she any idea that Lady Venora thought her name appropriate, she might have told her that it was the name her owner Jamal had given her when he brought her to Andaris. In Athart, the owners had given her a different name every trial at least and she was not allowed to refer to herself by her first name, instead always referring to herself as 'this slave'. There were those who thought that this should be the way that all slaves were treated, of course, but now was not the time to consider such. Instead, she concentrated on brushing Lady Venora's hair and making sure that her plate and glass were always appropriately stocked.

Lady Venora had not travelled outside of Rynmere, but even that travel sounded exotic to the young slave, to have gone from coast to coast here. What might seem restricted to some people sounded widely travelled to Faith, and so she considered that everything was really a matter of perception and perspective.

"Master is most kind. I am honoured to serve him both as an individual and as a member of this house" she responded and her words sounded (and indeed were) entirely genuine. Her life had changed completely since Master had bought her and Faith was grateful for him in more ways than she had words for. As for Lady Venora visiting with him or not, Faith did not comment for it was not hers to comment on ~ to do so would be to improper and so she remained silent and continued to work on Lady Venora's hair.

"As you command, Lady Venora" were her spoken words to the directive about the red dress. Faith didn't add that she could kiss her just for having given her that directive, she thought that perhaps Lady Venora wouldn't appreciate the sentiment. She was older that Master and she was one of the children of the first in line to the duchy, Faith knew, so that meant that there was more pressure on Lady Venora to conform to expectations than perhaps there had been for Master. However, having finished her hair to the best of her ability, Faith dropped a curtsy, made sure that her wine and food was full and moved to get the dress for Lady Venora. She would require underwear, the underdress and all that went with it, of course and so Faith brought them out, laid them on the bed as she did for Master each morning and then assumed that the answer to the question "do you want any help with that" would be a resounding yes and possibly a physical moment of clarity, so she merely took the first item of undergarment and spoke quietly "Are you ready for me to dress you, Lady Venora?".

If she was, that was what Faith would do. How strange, she considered that yet again her undertaking experience would stand her in good stead and despite never having been put into half of these flimsy and complex things, she had dressed more than enough corpses who had.

[Zvezdana Venora]

Very few slaves would have openly said they enjoyed their service to the house. Tristan must be caring for Faith quite well to have convinced her of her opinion. Zvezdana would have to compliment him and her training. He had done quite well. She set her goblet of wine to the side, and when Faith went to refill it, she smiled. She certainly was the best servant that had serviced her in some time. Keeping her goblet full was quite an achievement very few understood. It might have been a secret path to her good graces.

She popped a few more Venoran grapes into her mouth and watch Faith absently as she went about her work pulling out the garment. Her mind drifted to her plans for the rest of the afternoon. Veljorn would not be joining her for a trial or two more. In her musings, she found herself getting up and going to the window while Faith finished pulling out her outfit. Her gaze ran from the bright blue sky to the trees, to a small group sitting. She raised an eyebrow as she recognized the gentleman sitting down to tea.

“Yes, I actually have somewhere to be shortly. Once you have finished dressing me, you may be excused,” Zvezdana started, slipping out of her robe as she approached Faith. She remained still, stepping into the garments as Faith offered holes to step into. The queen remained still as Faith went about lacing everything up. Finally she slipped into the knee-high boots that were offered to her. Hair was dry, her dress was perfect, and she was clean from days of traveling on horseback. She felt like she could join civilized society once more. Just before Faith backed up from her completed task, Zvezdana reached down and grabbed her gently by the chin, guiding her gaze upwards.

Their gazes met, and Zvezdana found the girl’s eyes to be a peculiar shade. Spooky. Her features were sharp and soft, and she had beautiful cheek bones. She could certainly pass for nobility if dressed correctly. Tristan had picked a beautiful specimen. “You have done good today. You are dismissed.”

Zvezdana did no more than that, letting go of her and stepping over to her vanity to pick up her jewelry. She draped the silver torque necklace about her thin neck and placed the silver earrings in. With one final look in the mirror and a gentle swipe of her eyebrows, she felt her appearance was perfect. She did not even give Faith another look as she swept out the door.

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Last post from me, feel free to post and put it in the queue. Or I can.

[Griffin]

Faith

Story 5/5
Collaboration 5/5
Structure 5/5
Fame
Knowledge

Venora: Wealthy nobles
Venora: Soft & Beautiful skin
Nobles: Not like other people
Endurance: Living under scrutiny
Zvezdana: Tristans cousin
Zvezdana: A Venora
Zvezdana: Curt
Zvezdana: Exacting
Zvezdana: Future Queen?
Zvezdana’s naked form
Zvezdana: Never left Rynmere
Etiquette: Correct wine pouring
Tristan: Likes too much wine?
Endurance: Maintaining a calm appearance
Cosmetics: Dressing Hair
Location: Zvezdana’s rooms in Sabaissant.

Zvezdana

Story 5/5
Collaboration 5/5
Structure 5/5
Fame
Knowledge
Travel: Makes you feel tired and dirty
Slaves: usually reactive, not pro-active
Faith: Has seen you naked
Faith: Slave
Faith: Attentive
Faith: Quiet
Faith: Meticulous
Faith: Tristan’s Slave
Faith: Slave from birth
Faith: Born and raised in Athart
Athart: Famous for architecture
Mother: Treated you like a doll.
Observation: Paying attention to the details
Faith: A common name, appropriate for a slave
Faith: Former undertaker
Tristan: A kind master
Faith: Spooky eyes

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Notes:

Thank you for the thread - sorry it took me so long to finish grading. I enjoyed the story that was woven between the two and how much character can be gleaned from such simple interaction. We learnt a little more about Zvez's temper, she is definitely not one to cross! Faith remained her dutiful and diligent self throughout which is very well done - considering it could be quite restrictive to remain so close to her character, but you carry it off well. It's lovely to sneak a look back already and see how far both Ladies have come in the space of a season!

Any questions please drop me a PM!