Ru woke when a cold drop of water fell onto his shoulder. He swatted at it rolled over, and promptly fell off the bed with a startled yelp. Fuck. He just laid on the floor, taking in the world and trying to catalog what he knew. He was an idiot, but that was always true. It was early morning, there was a towel tangled between his legs, his neck was wet, and his shoulder hurt. Not the worst way he'd ever woken up but it definitely made the top 10 list.
"Oh! Are you alright?!" Ariana asked with genuine concern.
Ru pushed himself off the ground, rubbing his shoulder with an annoyed expression. A light blush painted itself across his face. How stupid did you have to be to fall of your own bed? "I'm fine. Just a little embarrassed." He noticed that Ariana's hair was wet and wondered if she'd taken a shower. "Did you take a shower? If so, sorry. I stole most of the towels." He gestured at his makeshift blankets.
"It's fine." she said, offering a hand to help him back up.
Ru took her hand, hopping back up to his feet. Would bringing up the whole thing from last night be weird? Hopefully not because he decided to give it a try. What was the worse that could happen? "Hey, are you okay? Last night was pretty tough."
"What d'you mean?" she asked groggily. Aria didn't feel so well… and suddenly, it all came back. "Oh. That. I'm fine now, thanks." Ariana said.
"Okay, cool. Is there anything you wanna do today?" Ru would work on his laws, but he didn't have anything to write in and starting things from scratch was a pretty involved process. It took hours per law to figure out the best way to implement them. The things he'd been doing in the carriage and at the manor was little in comparison. Figuring out the best wording and scratching out a couple drafts or brief ideas for new laws.
"No, not really. But I've been meaning to make certain arrangements. I'll be needing a personal maid to attend to my needs, but I don't trust any of yours. I'll be wanting to bring someone from my kingdom over, if that's alright. I know they won't object, they were my handmaiden for quite a while." Ariana said slowly.
"I'll need to check their credentials and screen them, but I'm sure arrangements can be made. Getting them a position might take a few days, though." Ru shrugged. Ariana didn't seem the type to need any help, but who was he to question her? If a handmaiden was what she needed to feel comfortable, a handmaiden she would get.
"Oh, don't worry, she can come over and start right away. She's worked for me for years, I honestly don't see the point of any riff raff or fuss." Ariana said nonchalantly, waving a casual hand to the side.
Ru felt a brief pang of envy. Ariana lived a life free of policy constraints and layers of red tape. It must be nice. "It's standard procedure to screen new servant. Kind of a security thing. We've had too many assassination attempts to let her through quickly."
"Hmm. Fair enough." Ariana said, slumping down onto the bed moodily.
"Can you tell me about your handmaiden? I might be able to get her pushed through if I feel safe having her in the house." A recommendation from the prince could get her the job in a few hours, maybe less if Ru really poured on the admiration. If this mystery girl would get Ariana out of his hair, he was fine with her.
"Well, she's skilled in cooking, and isn't too shabby in cleaning either. All the essential skills for a maid. She's also trained in combat, so she could work well as a bodyguard, and is very skilled in sewing, as she worked as a seamstress for a little while. I've known her my whole life, and she's pretty much the only Shade I know that hasn't actually killed anyone except-" Elise. Ariana felt a pang of guilt rise in her chest. "Never mind. Her record is pretty clean, so I think she'd be fine, honestly. Chill out."
Ru rolled his eyes. If Ariana was accustomed to violence, that was her problem. Where he was from assassinations actually raised some alarm and precautions were taken to prevent them from happening again. He ran through the customary questions, hoping he could get this over with. "Do you find her trustworthy? Is she prone to violence? Does she have a history of murder or assault?"
"Yes, no, and no." Ariana answered.
(Sorry I responded so late, had an attack. I'm fine now, lying down, I'll be fine.)
(It's fine. Take all the time you need to reply. Do what you need to feel better.)
Whew. She wasn't like a majority of Ariana's beastly race. That was a huge relief to Ru. He already felt on edge with one angry, edgy shade around. Having more than that would just stress him out. "Has she shown any signs of mental instability or recurring illness?"
"No, surprisingly. Well, bad allergies, I guess, but that's nothing special." Ariana said. "Ah, there's one little thing you might want to know, though." she said tentatively.
Whatever it was, the girl seemed to have a good record. As long as she wouldn't be unstable, get violent, or become a threat to anyone, she would be perfectly fine. Ru didn't know if anything could change the fact that she was a good fit. "What is it? She seems pretty much golden right now."
"Well, she…. isn't really…. typical. She lacks…. well, the Gift." Ariana said, gesturing to her tattoos. "Normally children like that are killed at birth to save disgrace, but, erm… well, she is a sorceress, and a gifted one at that, but…. well, it's hard to explain. I don't think I quite can." she said, flustered.
Ru shrugged. "That doesn't really matter. I understand that having the gift is important but my family and I don't pay much mind to magical ability. Will she need any extra accommodations?"
"No, just the standard for handmaidens, whatever it is that you have here." Ariana said casually. "Although, I'd like for her room to be close by mine, in case I need assistance."
"Sounds good. Do you want to get her set up at the palace and have her stay there or bring her over here so she can accommodate herself to everything?" That was the last pressing question Ru had to ask. He ordered a servant to grab him a pen and some paper and began writing the letter, waiting for Ariana's response.
"I think having her accommodate herself would be lovely." Ariana agreed. "She can absolutely come here."
"Wonderful. I'm writing up the letter now. What names does she go by? And.. can you give a description? It'll make finding her easier." He scratched down the basic information needed. His wife was seeking a handmaiden, whom she spoke highly about. He trusted her word and by all accounts, the handmaiden sounded lovely. It would be very important to him if she came over as soon as possible. Her name was…
"Rosanna Oakshaven. She's not that difficult to find. Currently living in the country area, but you'll probably be able to locate her easily." Aria said. She didn't think it would be too big of a problem, and to see Rosie again, she would move mountains. Fortunately, no mountains needed moving in her case, merely some paperwork.
Her name was Rosanna Oakshaven and she was living out in the country. She shouldn't be difficult to locate. Ru set down his pen with a grin, rolling up the letter and passing it off to the servant who had been waiting in the corner of the room. "All done. She should be over within the day."
"Fantastic. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off doing things." Ariana said, walking off.
"Have fun!" Ru picked up his towels off the floor and folded them. No need to dirty up the room when he'd be living here for the next few days. He ordered the servant to bring him a new notebook before he put the towels away. As he worked, he wondered when Ariana would be doing. Hopefully not trying to read. The library was full of law books and boring history tomes now.
Aria walked outside into the fresh snow, and waited. She would get to see her again. Rosie. Ariana hoped that she wouldn't take it too badly, her…. wild night with Cerulean.
Rosanna swept her messy blond hair out of her eyes. The work was hard, but at least she had work. There were several assassins hired to kill her, in secret if only for posterity's sake. They had found out about her and…. nevermind. But a man was walking up the road, and he looked suspicious. She let an albino lion with elegant, golden wings form beside her. The beast practically radiated light. "Aspen, find out who that guy is, alright? Don't hurt him, just… you know the drill." she ordered. The lion seemed to nod, and pounced off in his direction. After pinning the man down, Rosanna walked up, pitchfork at the ready if needed. The man was dressed in the neighboring kingdom's colors…. "At ease, buddy. Sorry, can't be too cautious." she said, helping the messenger up. "I-I have a message from the High Prince Cerulean Dristi." the messenger stuttered. "Well? What is it?" Rosie sighed. "Well, his royal highness requests a handmaiden for his wife… y-you, miss." the messenger told Rosanna. This stunned the woman. "O-of course!" she said quickly. It couldn't be… yet it was. And they'd be safe too, as long as nobody else discovered them. "How soon shall I leave?" Rosanna asked quickly. "Well, now, miss, the carriage is waiting." the messenger said, he gestured to a carriage. "I'll pack my bags, give me five minutes." Rosie said, rushing off to the house.
"What's taking her so long?" Ariana mumbled after two hours. She was worried. Had something happened?
The following keyboard controls are supported across Notebook.ai. All keyboard controls are disabled when editing a document or notebook page.