Chapter 5 Going To Be A Long Day,

Isaac and Lenna arose to the sound of soft knocking on their door. Isaac looked around blearily at the large room. It was the first time he had woken up in that particular space. He and Lenna had just spent their first night in their new home and were already making plans to leave on an adventure. Looking around the large bedroom, it was decently empty. There was a desk with a strange box on it that seemed to be made of a dozen different woods at the same time. There was a large closet that was almost completely empty. There was also a pair of armor stands with Isaac and Lenna’s armor on them. On either side of their generous but not massive bed, there was a nightstand with lanterns that ignited with a simple tap and glasses of water. Other than those few simple things, their room was bare. “Would you like breakfast in bed or in the dining room?” Margaret’s voice came just loud enough to hear through the door.

“The dining room is fine, we’ll be down in a-” Isaac’s voice was cut off as Margaret opened the door and walked inside. “-moment.” He finished. Isaac and Lenna’s lower halves were thankfully covered with a blanket but unfortunately Lenna’s top half was not.

“Pardon me.” Margaret said as she entered without a care in the world and tapped the metal plate next to the doorframe to light the lanterns in the room. She walked over to the side of the closet with Lenna’s clothes and opened it. “Under armor or street clothes today, my Lady?” She questioned.

“Street clothes.” Lenna answered with a yawn. Apparently she didn’t mind Margaret’s intrusion in the slightest.

“Casual or are we meeting with his or her grace today?” Margaret questioned further.

“Casual.” Lenna replied and sat up.

“Uh, Lenna?” Isaac spoke to get her attention.

“Yes.” She said and turned to look at him.

“You are naked.” He reminded her.

“I am aware.” Lenna replied.

“With someone else in the room.” Isaac reminded her further.

“I am aware of that as well.” Lenna told him. “Is this not part of Margaret’s duties?” She questioned him.

“I was not aware that it was.” Isaac said simply.

“She said that she was a lady-in-waiting to a noblewoman before.” Lenna reminded him. “I assumed when she entered that this was a part of her duties.”

“It was not outlined in the contract directly, no, my Lady.” Margaret cut in as she approached, with a fresh set of a long sleeved shirt and pants, and stopped in front of her. “Though I assure you that I am more than capable of handling this much.”

“Thank you.” Lenna told the woman and got out of bed. Margaret immediately started helping her get dressed as if she knew every move Lenna was going to make before she even made it.

Isaac, for his part, was not going to let another woman see him naked, let alone dress him, so he pulled his spare undergarments out of his Inventory and slid them on while maintaining his dignity with the blanket. After that he got up and approached the closet to get his own clothes and replace the ones he had just removed from his Inventory.

“My Lord, if you would have waited, I would have assisted you.” Margaret told him as she finished up with Lenna.

“I would prefer it if you didn’t.” Isaac replied honestly. “I have never been waited on like that and I would prefer if my wife was the only one to see me, exposed.”

“Ah, I see, my apologies. I wrongfully assumed that as a lord you were used to a servant dressing you in the morning.” Margaret said with a curtsy. “I will wait until I am cleared to enter in the future.” She assured him and then turned back to Lenna. “A simple braid, ponytail, crown?” She asked Lenna and pulled out the desk chair for the paladin to sit. “We still have not received the vanity I see.”

“A high ponytail is fine, thank you.” Lenna replied and took the offered seat. “I believe we forgot to place that order. Would you be able to do that later?”

“Yes, my Lady. Should I do it right away or after my other duties are fulfilled?” Margaret requested for clarification.

“Anytime before closing time is fine.” Lenna replied and sat perfectly still as Margaret combed through her knotted hair.

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“Oh dear, when was the last time someone else did your hair?” Margaret questioned. “There are so many knots.”

“Yesterday.” Lenna replied. “It is always a mess in the morning.”

“I see.” Was Margaret’s simple reply. It was clear that she was inferring another reason as to why Lenna’s hair was such a mess.

“You seem really comfortable with this.” Isaac commented as he finished dressing himself. “Was this how it was in Contantis for you?”

“Yes.” Lenna replied. “I learned very early on that if I rejected an assigned, an assigned slave, they would be put to death under the assumption that they had done something to offend me.” She explained. “The best I could do was tell them that just one was enough because she was that amazing at her job. That meant that there would only ever be one woman held in captivity for my sake.”

“That is very kind of you.” Margaret spoke barely louder than a whisper as she worked.

“No, it was not.” Lenna stated. “I could have brought on more girls at regular intervals and tasked them with easy busy work. That would have given them a comfortable enough place to live, serviceable food, and easy work. I just, I just couldn’t stomach the chains any longer than necessary.”

Margaret rested her hand consolingly on Lenna’s shoulder for a moment before she went back to doing her hair. “You were kind to whoever was lucky enough to be assigned to you, that is all that matters.” Margaret told her mistress comfortingly. “I know slavery is outlawed here, but it is not where I come from.” She explained. “It is not extremely common but there are still slaves and none of them are ever treated very well. It speaks volumes of your character that you were kind to even one slave let alone however many served you during your lifetime.”

Lenna stayed silent after Margaret’s words but Isaac did not. “She’s right.” He told her. “One day, when we are strong enough, and have enough allies to do it, we will go and empty Contantis of all of its involuntary inhabitants. Today is not that day though, today is the day that we get our future’s seen by Aria and we begin packing for our trip.”

Lenna took a deep breath and then sighed it out. “Yes. Larger problems require larger amounts of force than we currently have available.” She agreed. “Margaret, what is for breakfast?” She asked with a sniff.

“Biscuits, goose eggs, and duck fried in pig fat. It is served with oranges and a mixed fruit juice that arrived from an orchard near Sapphirestone. I am unaware of their recipe.” Margaret explained. “I hope it is to your liking, Madeline is making it now.”

“She can cook?” Isaac wondered.

“Yes, my Lord.” Margaret replied. “It was necessary with how few staff members are here for more than one person to be able to cook. I left breakfast in her more than capable hands in order to assist my Lady and, if you wished, yourself.”

“I see.” Isaac replied. “I believe we will be leaving the manor in good hands while we are away.”

“Thank you for saying s-” Margaret’s voice abruptly stopped as she heard a creak in the floorboards just outside of the bedroom. “Who is there? Mar, is that you?”

“Shit, I knew I should have come alone.” A familiar voice to Isaac and Lenna but not to Margaret swore quietly. Margaret took a step back and reached into her apron for something immediately upon hearing the voice.

“It’s fine, Margaret.” Isaac told her. “James, you had better not have tracked dirt in here or I’ll let Margaret take you out back.”

“I, uh, it’s not a lot. I’ll help clean up, I promise.” James replied.

“Ugh, take off your damn shoes.” Lenny swore at his brother and then rounded the corner to stand in the doorway. “Hey boss, lady boss.” He greeted them both with a nod. “Sneaking in here is hard, even without any alarm enchantments. You live in too busy of a neighborhood for a midday break-in.”

“That is kind of the point.” Isaac replied. “What’s up?”

“Well, we noticed your new indentured servants and thought we could give them some advice, you know, as former indentured servants of yours.” Lenny replied with a grin before it vanished from his face at the sound of James toppling to the floor while he tried to take his boots off. “Miss?” Lenny asked the woman who looked like she still was not sure if she should be brandishing a knife at him or not.

“Margaret.” She told him curtly.

“Miss Margaret, I will not stop you if you decide to beat my brother half to death for his transgressions against you. I am sure that it took you and your daughters many hours to clean this massive house.” Lenny told her with an exaggerated bow and then stepped into the room and out of the doorway.

Margaret sighed and relaxed enough to go back to tying Lenna’s hair up into a high ponytail. “We will see, after our Lord and Lady have their breakfast, if there is any dirt left uncleaned by then, I will have him lick the rest off of the floor.” She told him.

“You are as generous as you are beautiful.” Lenny replied and rose.

“Lenny.” Isaac spoke.

“Yes, boss?” Lenny asked.

“Stop flirting with Margaret and tell me what brought you into my bedroom.” Isaac told him.

“Yes, boss.” Lenny replied with a nod. “I was wondering if I could tag along with you.”

“No.” Isaac replied simply.

“See, I told you he would say no.” James’ voice came from the hallway.

“Mom, who is this strange man in the hallway?” Martha’s voice immediately followed.

Isaac’s palm met his forehead. “If it was just you, Lenny, my mood would not have been negatively impacted.”

Lenny gulped. “I, uh, well, now that that is out of the way and I have been entirely shot down before I could even get off the ground, James and I have an offer for the three lovely ladies looking after your manor.” Lenny spilled out before he could get forcibly removed from the premises.

“Oh?” Lenna wondered. “It had better be good, I am not going to save you from him.”

“Yes.” Lenny immediately replied. “We wanted to give you,” Lenny began with a nod towards Margaret. “a way to contact us if anyone gave you any trouble while the bosses were away. I know this is a horrible third impression but-”

“Third?” Margaret questioned.

“Yes, we were disguised as servants at the wedding and we met at the auction.” Lenny explained and pulled his mask out of his Bottomless Bag at his hip. It was then that Martha peaked her head around the corner. The little girl’s eyes widened at the sight of the mask. “Oh, hello.” He said to the little one.

“Will you be joining us for breakfast, mister Phantom?” She asked him with large round eyes.

Isaac sighed. “He has been bad so he is only allowed to eat whatever is left after all five of us have eaten.” He told the little maid.

Martha gasped. “What did you do?” She asked in a loud whisper and then looked down the hall at the other man who had finally managed to take his boots off and stuff them into his bag.

“I brought my clumsy brother along through the roof entrance instead of coming alone.” Lenny told her sadly.

“I am not clumsy. Do you know how hard it is to take boots off while standing up and not being flexible enough to touch your toes?” James questioned indignantly.

Isaac sighed again. “Martha, can you please bring James a pair of slippers and something to clean up all the dirt he tracked in.” He requested of her.

“Yes, my Lord.” Martha said with a bow and hurried off to fulfill her orders.

“This is going to be a long day, isn’t it?” Isaac wondered.

“Based on how it has started, yes.” Lenna agreed.