Emily Papermaker

I looked at the girl walking next to me. She was a few years younger than I was. She was wearing her black hair in a braid. Her dress was very heavily embroidered, much like Martha's dresses. She didn't have the same sneer on her face that Martha always wore. She was actually staring at me as we walked down the hall.

"I have never heard of a serf who saved a noble to become a Freeman." She said in awe.

I bristled a little bit at that, and I don't even know why. Maybe it was because I was used to the way Amos treated me. He was worried for me, but he didn't seem the least surprised that I had helped to kill the assassin. It was almost like he believed I could do anything.

"Well, now you have," I said, a little sharper than I should have when dealing with a noble. I wanted to kick myself. I couldn't speak with a baron's daughter this way. She could have me beaten. This was all Amos's fault. I was about to apologize when Ashlyn said something else.

"It is so weird that you are a Freeman and a servant. All of our servants are peasants."

"Actually, I am not a servant. I am a Papermaker." I said, with pride in my voice. Ugh, why did I say that? It wasn't a big deal to a noble what I was.

"What is a papermaker?" she asked in surprise, "It sounds strange."

"Paper is something you write on. Like parchment or papyrus."

"Really! And you make it! Why don't we have paper." She rambled.

"Do you want to see some?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yes."

We walked through the great hall, where they were setting everything up for the evening meal. Navigating around the people in the kitchen, we went to the back storage room, where the extra paper was stored. I opened the small box, pulled out a sheet, and handed it to her. She held it up and looked at it.

"How do you make it?"

I beamed with satisfaction at her interest, but I bit my tongue. "You will have to ask Lord Amos. He asked me not to tell anyone."

"Not only did you save a noble's life, but you also are entrusted with the secrets of your Lord!" Her eyes went wide. "Are you his lover?"

I immediately turned bright red. "What? I-I, why would you say that?"

"We had a traveling minstrel come to our manor one time. He told a story of a girl who once saved the life of a Baron's son, and he fell in love with her. She became his lover. I really didn't understand why everybody liked the story, but in the end, the baron killed both of them because of the shame his son brought on the family. You are lucky Lord Amos's father is dead."

"Wait, we aren't lovers." I almost shouted. Oh no, everyone in the kitchen probably heard that.

"But you like him, right? Father said freemen and peasants turn red when they like someone, but nobles are more dignified and don't show their emotions openly. He gets really mad when Mother does. I don't really like anyone, so I am not worried. But Father said if I find someone handsome, I should never show it; otherwise, they will try and take advantage of my foolishness. Do you find Lord Amos handsome?" She said excitedly.

I tried not to blush, but my face felt hot, "Well, yes, but, um, that doesn't mean…" Ugh, I wish this girl was a peasant so I could tell her to shut up.

"Don't worry if I get married to Lord Amos; you can be his mistress, and we can be best friends. I saw that in a play at the capital last year. It was a really funny play. But I didn't understand all the jokes."

I felt like a cold bucket of water had been dumped on my head.

"Wh-what do you mean, married?"

"I didn't know until just before you came in. They were discussing about how they were worried about Amos not giving them Aaron and-"

"Wait, what do you mean, give them, Aaron?"

Ashlyn let out a dramatic sigh as if she were trying to explain something to a child. "That's why they came. They need Aaron to be the heir, and so they came to ask what Lord Amos wanted in exchange. Mother and Father were arguing, and Father won. If Amos insists I marry him in exchange for Aaron, then that is what will happen."

I felt a little dizzy, and my heart started beating rapidly. Ashlyn continued to drone on, but it was just buzzing in my ears.

Exchange Aaron for- for this girl? Marry her, he couldn't.

"Hey, are you OK?" Ashlyn shouted.

"Does Amos know about this? Aaron, I mean." I wanted to shake the answer out of her.

"Well, of course, that is why he invited us."

I thought for a moment and then shook my head. Amos had no clue. I know Amos. There is no way he would have let these people anywhere near Aaron if he thought they were going to try and take him away.

"Hey, I saw a picture in the great room. I want to look at it." She said, completely changing the subject.

Amos

"How was the tour of the manor with Emily?" I asked Ashlyn as we sat at the table, eating salted pork and a vegetable stew.

Her eyes sparkled in delight as she said, "It was a wonderful day, Lord Amos."

"Please call me Amos or Cousin Amos. We are practically related. What was your favorite thing you did?"

She scrunched up her face for a second and said, "Everything, My—I mean Amos. We looked at paintings. That one is my favorite in here," she said, pointing out a picture of a waterfall flowing into a lake. The lake was crystal clear, and you could see the myriad of fish in it. There was a white sand beach with two palm trees across the lake. It was called a hidden lake due to the high cliffs and mountains that surrounded it.

"My favorite, though, is the Lone Sa- Sakura. Did I say that right?"

"Yes, very good."

"Oh, and Emily showed me how to make paper airplanes. They are so fun. Amos, can you draw a picture of me like you did of Emily?"

"That is quite enough, Ashlyn. Lord Bicman is a busy man and does not have time to deal with such things." Lord Tine said.

"It is quite all right. Painting and drawing is my passion. It should not take too long to draw her. And please call me Amos. We are family."

"As you wish, and you may call me Klint and Lady Tine, Marie."

"Excellent. Actually, I would love to paint all of you together with Aaron."

Ashlyn gave a small pout, but it quickly changed to a smile when I said, "Don't worry, Ashlyn, I will draw a picture of just you. Now, onto the next thing. After discussing things with my steward, we decided that we would be ready to leave within the week. He believes that that will put us in Vaspar just in time for the winter festivities to start. I am sending a letter down to one of my contacts there to see if I can get some outfits made. If you would like, he can carry a message to your friend to inform him of our coming."

"That would be an excellent plan," Klint said. "If you don't mind, it has been a while since I had a moment to relax. How is the hunting around here?"

“The most common animals to hunt around here are stags and boars. At least, that was my father's preferred quarry. We do have hounds that I hear are very good at their jobs."

"You say this as if you do not hunt yourself," Klint said in surprise.

"Unfortunately, my father refused to take me hunting, hence my proficiency with art. Now that I have the freedom to do as I please, I am in the process of learning the appropriate skills."

I loved the fact that I could blame all my faults on Amos's dead father. It made things so much easier.

"I am beginning to understand some of your behaviors when we first met. You must accompany me on some hunts while I am here. I will help you so that when you are with others of our status, you can be more welcomed."

"Your offer is greatly appreciated. I almost fear leaving my barony due to my inadequate education." I said.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

We chatted for a while longer before I told them that I needed to catch up on correspondence.

I went to my study and tried not to think about losing Aaron. I looked over the report on the construction projects and the estimated concrete production. My next project for the manor was to expand it with concrete walls. I had wanted the Manor to look as impressive as possible for when my visitors came, but now I was wondering if I should waste the concrete.

Benjamin would probably tell me to push forward with the idea. Appearances were everything to nobles, so I had to do things to keep up with them now that I was trying to get trade moving in this direction. Was this that whole, spend money to make money thing? Fortunately, we were only saving 20% of the concrete for this project.

We had to turn the soil after the harvest and plant the winter wheat and beans in the fields. The fields that had wheat planted would be left fallow, and the others we would plant with the wheat and winter vegetables. We will be plowing more fields this fall to get ready for a larger crop next year. We will also start experimenting with the guano next year.

It was too bad the reaper hadn't worked. But that was the nature of progress.

Once we had the trip hammer and large water-powered bellow, we could start experimenting with the blast furnace or puddling furnace. A puddling furnace would be initially easier, but why waste the effort if we could just skip to the blast furnace? Building it would also require a lot of brick. In the end, though, we would be able to produce a large quantity of iron. Once we are able to balance the carbon level, steel would be next.

My thoughts kept turning back to Aaron as I tried to distract myself. I wanted to just wallow in pity, but I knew that was the worst thing I could do when depressed. It was a fine balance between allowing myself to grieve versus not allowing myself to spiral into depression.

There was a knock at the door, and I looked up from my doodling, which I enjoyed doing when I was thinking.

"Come in," I said.

Emily came in, and she didn't look well.

"You OK, Em?" I said in concern.

She was hesitant to speak at first, but after waiting for a minute, it all came out in a rush, "Lady Ashlyn said they came to take Aaron away. And— Um…" She turned red and stopped talking.

"I know," I said with a sigh. "We have already discussed it."

"But you aren't, are you?" She pleaded.

"Em. He isn't safe here. None of us are. I wish I could stop the attempts on our lives from happening, but this is an opportunity to keep him safe. They also have the law on their side. His father was supposed to give the Baron of Tine his second son. Because I am now the baron instead of him, the courts would side with the baron in taking him away."

I saw tears well up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Em. There isn't anything I can do. It is hard for me, too. I just have to remind myself that I can still visit, and they promised that they would visit with him. Tell you what, when I go visit, you can come too."

There was a long pause while she tried to get her emotions under control.

"What about the—the other thing."

"Uh, the other thing?"

She turned slightly pink. "You know, the other thing she said."

I rolled my eyes. "Em, how am I supposed to know the other thing she said?"

Now, she became a little angry. "About you and her getting married."

I paused for a moment to process what she was saying, "She said she was going to marry me?"

For the first time, I seriously thought about the image of me marrying a little kid. The vision I came up with in my head made me laugh. As I was laughing, Emily started turning red with anger. "Don't make fun of me. That is what she said."

When I finally calmed down, I said, "I wasn't laughing at you; I was laughing at the image of me marrying a little kid. Don't worry, Em, I am not going to marry some kid who hasn't even lost all her baby fat. Besides, if I am trying to keep people from being in danger, why would I marry someone."

She looked relieved, and I didn't blame her. I had no idea how that little kid would treat my servants if I married her. Well, actually, I am sure that Em and the rest of my people would warn me if I did something stupid like try and marry a jerk.

I knew that her anger was probably more due to her crush on me, but that was an issue I did not want to touch. I had tried to pretend I was imagining it at first but I had to admit it's probably what was going on. I couldn't bring myself to discuss it with her. I didn't want things to be awkward for her.

"But seriously, Em, we will try to see Aaron as often as we can," I promised.

"OK, I'm sorry about everything. I wish there were something else we could do."

"Me too, Emily. Thanks for caring." I said, trying not to think about it.

We both stood there for an awkward moment before Emily headed for the door. "You're a good person, Amos. Aaron is lucky to have you," she said as she left.

"Thanks, Em," I said softly enough that I doubted she heard.

I sighed and decided it was time to write another short story—well, write down a story that I stole from Earth. I wonder if I could start a magical school fad like what happened at the turn of the century. I certainly wasn't going to touch vampires or werewolves. I needed a printing press.

The problem was that I only had a general idea of how the printing press worked: carve out blocks, put them in a frame, and press paper on them. Oh, and I also had no time to work on it, nor did I have anyone else to do it. My carpenters were all busy, and so were the smiths. I might die before I get the darn thing invented.

I wrote the story of a boy with a really long name who fell into a well. I loved that book as a kid, and my niece always loved it when I read it to her. Right now, I would give anything to see my family. Family was the best.

Dang, I was going to miss that kid.

By the time I finished the text and a couple of the pictures, the light was starting to fade. I would have an early morning if I went out hunting, and I didn't want to waste lamp oil, so I headed to bed.

**************

The next morning, I was up before the sun rose over the mountains. One thing I loved about this place was the fresh scent of crisp air in the morning. We headed to the forest west of Bicman. The game we were hunting for was rabbits, pheasants, or deer. Fortunately, I wasn't expected to hit anything. Actually, I was told not to try on this hunt. They wanted me to observe and say nothing, so I didn't scare the game. It was the type of thing noble children would learn when they were first taken out.

I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I learned a few hand gestures to communicate and practiced walking quietly through the woods. Lord Tine said he actually preferred to hunt with dogs, but this was good practice for me. We found several trails, and I was shown some of the hunters' snares. By the end of the day, I was still pretty clumsy, but I managed not to scare away all the game.

One thing that impressed Lord Tine was the stirrups and horseshoes. He was very impressed with my ingenuity and, like everyone else, could not figure out why someone hadn't invented them before.

We took a tour of Bicman in the afternoon, and he got to see the farmers in the field with the new plows. I had thought about hiding it from him, but this was one of those inventions that I wasn't expecting to make money on, so I didn't try to steer him away from the fields.

In fact, I decided to specifically show it to him. This would improve his barony, and that would, in turn, help Aaron. I wanted Aaron's barony to succeed just as much as I wanted my own to. If the kingdom became wealthy, maybe it would prevent more wars. I wasn't sure, but I thought that perhaps the reason why there were so many wars in ancient times was because everyone wanted more land. If we could support the same number of people with less land, would that help relieve some of the need for expansion? I wish I had paid more attention in history class.

I wasn't naive enough to think it would fix all problems. It may even do the exact opposite. Some people just wanted power over others. But maybe it would. All I could do was hope.

I explained to Klint how the plow increased the yields of my crops and promised to send him home with the designs. He was fascinated with the idea and ended up with the horseshoe, the collar, and the plow. I would make sure he had no clue about anything that I thought could give us an economic advantage, such as the trip hammer and sawmill.

Well, technically, everything could give me an economic advantage if I were in the right location. But it was more about factoring in shipping costs and time.

That evening, I introduced him to the bathhouse. The water was moved from the river through a concrete channel to the bathhouse. The pool itself was made of concrete, but the walls were made of wood. I would have liked to make it like the Romans by heating it from underneath, but we didn't have the know-how to build it. A project for down the road. We filtered the water through a few Iron grates and then through a mesh cloth. Children of the village cleaned out the filters every day.

The good thing about the river water being anywhere between freezing and cold was that nobody soaked for too long on most days. Braziers with charcoal were lit during the hours of use. The pool wasn't huge, but it was enough to fit a couple of families in at a time.

Washcloths and towels were provided on the first visit, and the family was responsible for washing them. Additional towels could be purchased.

Eventually, we would need to create a tax on amenities maintenance, but for right now, I was footing the bill. I couldn't wait until we had more people doing less labor-intensive jobs, and then I could create gyms and scam people into yearly subscriptions.

The baron was fascinated by the idea but thought it was a waste to make it public. He felt I should have reserved this type of thing for nobles and those with status. In return, I explained my feelings on cleanliness and how I felt that I would see an increase in work performance from people.

We continued to hunt every morning for the next five days. I got my first kill on the fourth day. A huge rabbit that hopped right into my line of sight. It was a lucky shot, but we cooked it for the celebration that night.

On the evening of the fifth day, the survey team that I had sent to the coast came back. They laid out a map of locations where they thought we could break through the ridge on the shore and create a canal. The main river that flooded the marsh would be redirected into the cove through the canal. The canal would flow into the cove north of Cove Village, and we could create offshoots to irrigate the land to the south once the marsh had dried out.

Fortunately, the canal's length would be relatively short, about the same distance as Bicman to Melnon. That means that if we had enough people working, we might be able to build the whole canal within a year.

This would only drain the northern portion of the marsh. Later, as we expanded, other rivers and streams south of the first river would be rerouted. So far, it didn't look like Aquaducts would be needed, but that might change as we expanded.

Draves and the other members of what I considered my council questioned why I even bothered with this as a priority. For me, it was paranoia. I was afraid that the nobles would decide to do something stupid, and we would have to flee. So, I decided I wanted a location near the coast. My plan was for a fort of sorts up in the mountain area where I could put a few water wheels and build it into a village. I could put a sawmill there and float wood down to the coast in order to build ships. It was going to be awesome. The road to get to it would be hidden. And its location is well fortified. I mean, who wouldn't want a secret base?

We planned to build a Pootba plantation and sugar factory in the drained marshes. Once we proved a sound business model and started making money, we could hire more soldiers. I would become the Sugar Baron.

The project would start as soon as the road from Melnon to Bicman was widened, as well as making the trail to Cove Village into a road. Then, we would move the road crew from road building to fort building. It would initially be made of wood and stone, but after the canal was built, I wanted a keep built out of concrete and, later, a wall large enough to encompass a town. Like I said, it was going to be awesome.