Chapter 3: Routine

Food was brought by a man with no teeth who merely grunted. He was a huge ox of a man who smelled foul and had the vacant look of a monster. The tray was set on the bed while I cowered in the corner of the room. He left, and the scraping sound of the bar once again locked the door.

I ate. The food surprised me, it was tasty and fresh. There was nothing more to do, I paced the floor waiting. Finally I used the chamber pot and crawled into bed, exhausted and slept.

The morning dawned cold and white, at least what I could see of it through the slit of a window I had. I again used the chamber pot but quickly dove under the covers again. The floor was ice.

A maid entered the room.

"I have clean cloths for you." She said in the way of greeting. The Chiurgeon must have told everyone I was bleeding. "and fresh water for you to wash." I heard the doors bar scrap locked as she entered. She busied herself around the room, making a fire, sweeping and straighting what little there was.

"Can you tell me anything? Where am I? Who holds me? Have they contacted my father yet? Anything?"

She shook her head but whispered, "They won't be contacting your father." She placed fresh towels out.

"Let me have your gown, it needs to be washed." She said much louder.

"My gown? What shall I wear?" I asked holding the covers to my chin.

"Your chemise for now. Come on." She urged me to the edge of the bed where she began to unfasten the gown. "I'll keep a fire going for you and I will be back here several times today."

"Just stay quiet and wait, your courses have bought you the gift of time." she whispered so low I could barely hear her.

Without my gown the room was even more chilled. She tapped on the door and it opened silently. A fresh chamber pot was brought in and the other handed out.

"Is there anything you will need?" The maid asked formally at the door.

I thought rapidly.

"Ah, a chair, to sit by the fire, perhaps a book?"

"A book, you can read? Very well I will see what is allowed." A short bow and she was gone.

A chair was brought, with an extra blanket. A thick book. And she was gone again.

I curled up in the chair with the blanket around my shoulders and opened the book. It was hard to read my mind wandered back to what she had said. They weren't going to contact my father. What then did they intend to do? And who held me? Why? With these questions dancing in my thoughts I was not able to read. Instead I stared into the fire lost in questions.

A few hours went by and the maid returned.

"Anything you require?" She asked making up the bed.

"Answers only. What is your name?" I asked following her around the room.

"My name?" She asked back, shocked that anyone would bother to ask.

"You are all I have for company, surely you can give me your name?"

"You can call me Mary."

Mary fluffed up the pillows on the bed until they were fat and almost round before dropping them back on the mattress.

"Mary what is going to happen?" I whispered.

"Your courses, when... ?" She let the question hang in the air.

"Not long." I frowned and knew why ever my courses were protecting me, that protection was to be short. "Tomorrow, I fear, will be the end."

"Tomorrow then." Mary said with a nod. "May hap he will grant one more day but after that..."

We both heard the doors bar scrap upwards.

"Dinner will be brought on my next visit, anything else?" Mary asked formally, bowing as she backed towards the door.