Just Another Day
It was first the sound of the little red truffet chirping on the balcony of the maid dormitories that stirred Siv from her slumber. Her brain revolted at the thought of getting off her fluffy bedroll. Her naked body had sunk deep into the comfy fibers, snuggling her skin while she had her face buried into her cylindrical pillow.
The truffet called out again, and this time its voice was mixed with the soft chiming of the morning bells singing out, causing the rest of the maids to begin to stir. Siv lifted her head and forced her eyes open, the gentle morning sunlight dancing across the wooden floors. The room was about a thousand square feet without walls. Four other balconies lined the wall facing east. Though it might have looked haphazard, there were bunk beds, mats, bed rolls, and little tables and chairs set up in clusters for each order of maids. On the north wall was the line of shower heads and a raised marble step to keep the water in for the showers, and the opposite wall had a line of cabinets and tables for breakfast.
Siv herself was an Estate maid of the 3rd order for House Avernell, and even being pretty ranked, she was still expected to sleep with the rest of the maids. Only the Head maids of the order received their own private room. Siv started awake again at the thought of Head Estate Maid Abiva and groaned, knowing that there was no going back to sleep.
It was the breeze through the open balcony doors that stirred the satin curtains that made the Estate maid shiver. Her front half pressed down in the warm comfort of the bed roll was warm, but her bare back and butt were covered in dew that had settled from the previous night thanks to the proximity. The variation in temperature caused her to shiver again and force herself up, so her entire form was cold.
“Wake up, sleepy head,” Xion said as she walked up to where Siv was on all fours, her body locking up and protesting the cold ache of the morning.
“Go away, Xion,” Siv whined, stretching like a cat and trying to force her back muscles to relax. “Abiva had me working in the woods all day moving fallen branches.”
Xion, the newest addition to the Estate maids having recently earned her 10th order position as an Estate maid, giggled and offered a baked bread roll toward the other woman. The delicious aroma of fresh bread and spiced meat hit Siv like one of the branches she hadn’t paid attention to.
“I got you a kevet, but if you want more you gonna have to race Nizzie,” Xion said with a smirk.
The mention of the troublesome little Harvester of the 6th Order with straw-colored pigtails made the other woman jump up, ignoring the popping of her joints and the ache in her back.
“If that little pain in the butt cheek eats all the eflen again, I’m going to spike her tymor oil with drakul sand,” Siv growled, shoving the flaky meat pastry into her mouth and thinking where she could find the extremely itchy powder left over from a common burrowing insect on the planet Victory.
Grabbing her discarded zizuut wrap from where she had dropped it the night before and tossing it in the little hamper by the head of her bedroll, Siv rummaged through her unorganized foot locker for a clean tvekel while Xion used a cloth from her own pocket to wipe the dew from her friend’s back.
Grabbing the long, flowing dress of blue with a triumphant sound, she finished the rest of her meal and marched past the other maids as they prepared for the day. Some were still rummaging for clothes while others were already dressed, at their little tables in meeting or finishing a morning meal together. There were still a few asleep, more than likely on their day off the schedule. Siv counted in her head and she still had at least four more before her three days off. Dropping her clothes in a neat pile on the benches outside the shower space, she found her cubby, depressed her finger so the DNA sequencer recognized her and retrieved her soaps and creams. She only took a few paces to the nearest shower head, depressed the activate, and then waved her hand in front of the sensor. Immediately, a strong downpour of hot water arced out of the large shower head, drenching her and washing away the morning dew and cold.
She began to scrub, glancing only once at the clock to see she still had thirty minutes and that Nizzie hadn’t eaten all the food yet.
The advantage of the large shower head was that the spray allowed room for more than one. Before she had come to the Estate, Siv had been a private person, but now she didn’t care. So when a young man stepped into the shower head beside her, she shifted only slightly to give him more room.
“Good morning, Colleague Siv,” the tall man with dusky skin said. His hair was shaved close to the side but still dark and curly on the top. Siv recognized the voice of Grel, one of the Harvesters from Nizzie’s group.
“Colleague Grel,” the estate maid responded, glancing over to confirm she had been right. Her eyes met his dark ones, and he gave a friendly smile as he scrubbed at his head. His chiseled chest and lean arms told her that he was a technician and was probably part of the construction battalion. With over two hundred and fifty maids in this massive room, it was common to recognize each other but that was about it.
Siv made sure not to allow her eyes to roam any lower than his stomach. She did not need that on her mind all day.
“Have your assignments?”
The estate maid shook her head, causing the two-tone blond and lavender hair to bounce around wetly. “Head Maid Abiva assigns them in the morning for my cohort. I’m just hoping I’m not back in the woods. I think I got bit a few times by those stupid tiktiks.”
“Head Maid Vandir wants me to lead the construction team for the rest of the week,” he said, turning away to grab his soap before continuing. “The eastern landing pad needs reinforced after the autumn storms last year. He doesn’t want to wait too long and give the concrete time to harden.”
“Sounds wise,” Siv said, not understanding a single thing about construction. How to properly set the table when dealing with multiple houses was easy, but understanding all the building terms was not.
“There’s a new play in town,” Grel said, his voice cautious. “At the communal theater in Belentine. Head Vandir gave me two passes. Would you be interested in attending with me?”
Siv started just slightly, not expecting this handsome worker to ask her for her company for the evening. Having been so focused on mastering her 5th order duties had limited the number of friends.
“I appreciate it, Grel, but my duties do not allow me to pursue the satin ribbon,” she responded, trying to be gentle. He looked confused for only a moment, his red from the water becoming redder.
“I beg forgiveness of the 5th order maid,” he said quickly, dropping in to the placation used when one thought offense was made. “I only mean as comrades. My cohort prefers nights in the woods or on the river, and I prefer more cultured and simpler fairs. Maid Xion suggested you may be interested in historical drama plays, and I am already pursuing the ribbon with another maid, so I shall not seek anything more than your company.”
Siv glanced at the giant wall clock and noted she had fifteen minutes left and Nizzie was making her way towards the last few pastries.
“How about a tentative yes?” Siv offered, quickly washing off the last of the soap on her body. “I will need to ask Head Abiva if I may leave the premise with your pass. She has had me running extra duties this week.”
“Meet up at lunch in the cafeteria?” he offered. “You can let me know then if she’s alright with it?”
“Sure,” Siv said, half focused on her and more focused on the fact that Nizzie was about to earn the Tarkul sand.
Toweling off haphazardly, throwing on the dress so that it covered her and draped across her breasts, and then cinching the belt around her waist, she quickly strode towards the woman in pigtails who had her short top on and work bottoms on.
“Touch that last eflen, Nizzie, and I’ll stuff jaklaws in your bedroll!” Siv bellowed.
Nizzie squeaked and fled. In triumph, Siv scooped up the last and bit into it with happiness.