"So let me summarize," Lord Rowan sat in his big chair in the great hall the next day.
It was about supper.
"You were attacked by a group of powerless near the lake in the east?"
The badly beaten elder man, that stood in front of him nodded.
Clearly, he was not a man of status but it was one of the Lord's serfs that had come to seek help.
Cuts and scrapes littered the small man's body whose hair was grey and whose clothes were splattered in blood.
"Yes, my Lord," he raised both of his palms, "they said that the land didn't belong to any Lord and that it was theirs." Despite looking hurt he seemed very lively while speaking.
"And why were you by the lake if you're from Mare?"
"I was traveling to visit my daughter, and, and," the man frantically gestured to his belt, "they took my gold."
Something seemed off to Lord Rowan. He turned to Dagaric, who was standing behind him, waiting for orders.
"Call the doctor and get this man treated," he paused as the Bailiff went to leave, "and prepare my men."
"Yes, my Lord," Dagaric said.
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Mariann tried to keep it together while filling the chamber pots of the manor into a bucket only to carry it to the moat around the castle and emptying it into the water.
The smell of urine and excrements stung her eyes as she cussed the job the housekeeper ordered her to do.
Nauseated she turned to walk back through the gardens of the manor, where Laria was told to work today. Mariann waved at her friend who was shortly waved back before returning to gathering foliage.
Mariann thought it to be unnecessary to have the servants and Laria work in a garden when it was so cold that the trees didn't have any leaves left and the ground was frozen over, but she was not willing to argue with the housekeeper.
Looking down at the bucket in her hand and scrunched her nose as she walked to the side entrance of the servant's quarters. She would have preferred gathering foliage during the winter any day compared to her task no matter how pointless it was.
Having washed up after the dirty work she was careful not to get her sleeves wet.
Earlier that day Mariann, Laria, and Alec had all received new clothing, making them look exactly like the other maids and servants.
She wore a long, white undergarment that was cut at her shoulders and cleavage. Its fabric was thick keeping her warm. Her outer clothing now consisted of a black short-sleeved dress which was strung together in the front tightly, making her waist look thinner.
Although uncomfortable Mariann was glad to be out of her ripped clothes from before. She had a strong sense that Lord Rowan had something to do with the change of clothes.
She headed to the kitchen to speak to the housekeeper when two fully armored knights stopped her in the halls.
"You!" One of them said in a demanding voice, spreading his arm out to block her patch.
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A LORD'S WEAKNESS
الخيال (فانتازيا)Fear controlled her as she looked up at the tall Lord, focusing on his neck, not to look him in the eyes. "Let him rest for a moment," she asked pleadingly nodding towards Henry. The enslaved man wanted to argue that he wouldn't be causing trouble...
