an estate sale

[namesthesky]

Damn the old lady. Damn her into whatever creative torments have ever been invented for priests to wish on their theological opponents, all simultaneously, for ever and always, let it be done.

Aya is quite aware that she'd revise this opinion if her opinions had any power over the fate of the old lady. Since they do not, she will stand here and silently call down curses.

She was supposed to be willed to herself. She had plans. She was going to sleep in the temple attic and work for the post office and save up enough to go to Carthapane. She was pretty sure she could be enrolled in a college by twenty-five, doing something useful by thirty - she was undecided pending her more formal education between illegal human export and working within the system for debt relief or purchase-to-manumit programs -

And now she'll just count herself lucky if she gets bought by someone with loose enough security that she can flee over the border without falling into a magic, attempt to teach herself Tsopixi, and do - she doesn't have a plan after that, now. Her plan went up in smoke when the old lady's will was read and she was left to the idiot grandson and the idiot grandson traded her to a reseller for enough to cover his bad investments. She can't go work for the post office with marked heel and no papers.

And she is keenly aware that she is sixteen going on seventeen, which is a much different situation than she faced when she was on the block a decade ago being advertised for her literacy, assessed for her ability to take dictation.

She shifts position. The chain between her collar and the wall jangles. She watches people going by, browsing, reading the sign posted in front of her.

"Ayabel" - 125 seo
16 yrs, healthy
Reads & writes (Esevi, some Ancient Sudre)
10 yrs housegirl experience, previously farming
No history of rebelliousness

Yeah. No history of rebelliousness, because the old lady was old and coming up on the end of her life, the old lady let her read books and left her enough free time to think and draw, the old lady was going to will her to herself and then she could get started on her life.

This history won't last long, Aya doesn't think.

Most especially if anyone looks at the second line and brings her home for the obvious thing.

Comments

[anotherbreeze]

"All right."

He extinguishes the lantern, which doesn't substantially affect the light levels where they're standing - the attic has a large glass window just behind them, which is letting in enough morning light to illuminate all but the most crowded corners. And he goes back down the ladder, and leaves the lantern there, and leads Aya along the back ways to the kitchen.

'Back ways' prove to be a series of bare, narrow hallways leading to a set of bare, narrow stairs from which they emerge into the hallway that runs between kitchen and servants' quarters. The door to the kitchen is open, and emitting pleasing smells. Hal smiles.

[namesthesky]

Aya memorizes the route. "Thank you, my lord."

Is he ever going to tell her to drop the "my lord"? The old lady only wanted to be called "mistress" in front of company. She supposes it doesn't matter that much.

[anotherbreeze]

He turns his grin in her direction.

"I'm gonna see what's cooking and get a snack. If you don't want anything you can go back to my rooms, if you think you can find the way back all right."

[namesthesky]

"Yes, my lord." She had breakfast recently enough, and feels assured enough of her near-future access to food, that she dips a little curtsey and goes back up the stairs. She has the way memorized, all right, and finds the room assigned to her.

The lizard gets two sets of wings to take down her new information - she takes her time with them. She puts the drawing somewhere visible (she doesn't want to be seen to hide things) but out of the way.

[anotherbreeze]

He returns a little while later, pokes his head in her door to say "You can read the books if you want," and disappears into his room.

[namesthesky]

Well, that's nice. This is all looking very nice. If she's being boiled like the proverbial frog, she'll deal with that when she starts feeling scalded.

She inspects the bookshelves.

[anotherbreeze]

The selection is wide-ranging and disorganized, which seems to be something of a theme in Hal's life. If she wants a treatise on outdated military fortifications, volumes of popular poetry from every province in the country, or a collection of recipes for simple rural food, she's covered. There's even an epic poem in Ancient Sudre, sitting on a bottom shelf looking like it hasn't been touched in several years.

[namesthesky]

Aya reads each of the titles, then goes for a poetry collection to start with. She takes it into her room to read, but leaves the door open.

[anotherbreeze]

That seems to be it from him for now; his door doesn't open again anytime in the next several hours.

[namesthesky]

In those several hours, Aya:

- finishes the poems

- goes and gets lunch from the kitchens, and a nonperishable to keep in her room for snacking with fewer stairs in the way

- draws an embroidered bird with an extremely elaborate set of tails that dominate most of its page

- selects another volume (one of the history books) to read, and begins reading it, also in her room with the door open.

[anotherbreeze]

He emerges when she's well into the book, and glances into her room to see what she's up to.

[namesthesky]

Aya looks up from the history book. "My lord?" she inquires.

[anotherbreeze]

"You don't actually have to call me that," he says. "Well, other people might care about it when they can hear you, my father would, but I don't. Anyway, I'm going to get something to eat. Do you want me to bring you something back?"

[namesthesky]

"What would you prefer to be called?" asks Aya. "And..." She really has no idea what to make of the second thing and tilts her head quizzically.

[anotherbreeze]

"I don't care," he says. "Whatever you want, or nothing."

[namesthesky]

"All right. And... I'm not sure why you're offering to bring me food."

[anotherbreeze]

He shrugs. "Because you might be hungry and it's a long way to the kitchen and I'm already going?"

[namesthesky]

"You could also send me to bring you food," she points out gingerly.

[anotherbreeze]

"Yeah," he says, "but I'm not."

[namesthesky]

"...May I ask why?" She almost adds 'my lord', then catches herself and trails off instead.

[anotherbreeze]

"Because - I got a person for my birthday," he says, frustrated. "And I don't know what to do with you. I don't want to do anything with you except leave you alone to do what you want, but I can't free you because you don't belong to me, on paper you're still Father's - he's like that with everything, Mother doesn't even own her own maid. And I don't know you, I don't know what you'd be doing if you weren't doing this, I don't know if you like it here, I don't really expect to find out, but I'm not going to send you to get my lunch when I'm perfectly capable of getting it myself and anytime I ever ask you to do something I can't know if you want to do it or if you just feel like you have to because you're my birthday present. So I'm just - going - to - not."

He covers his face with his hands and adds, somewhat muffled, "Sorry about the ranting."

[namesthesky]

"...it's fine," says Aya, blinking. "So... you aren't planning on giving me any... chores to do at any point? This isn't just a settling-in period?"

(Where "chores" is a stand-in both for conventional work and for - the obvious thing, but she isn't about to suggest it.)

[anotherbreeze]

"No," he says, dropping his hands, "yeah. This is it, this is what you get. So do you want something from the kitchen or not?"

[namesthesky]

"...Some... of... whatever you're having," says Aya, "if you don't mind?"

[anotherbreeze]

"All right," he says, and off he goes.