Baudouin hadn’t particularly expected there to be much happening today. Castellan of Acre Castle he might be, but there was seldom little to do right now despite the ongoing crusade that the kingdom was a part of. Well, that wasn’t completely true. There was just seldom little to do right now that wasn’t part of his usual routine.
From keeping the castle guard ready and alert, to having to cycle men to patrol the county, to handling all the administrative duties of the county itself while his friend was off being a leader in the crusade. It was a position he hadn’t been certain he was capable of handling a scant ten years ago when he had been appointed there by his friend and technical King of Jerusalem, Jean of Brienne.
Nowadays though, he had grown used to making do with the bare minimum in terms of funds and presenting things in a way that made it seem like they weren’t one bad month away from being unable to pay people if he didn’t begin to dig into his own pockets.
He’d do it again if he had to, though a third time he just wouldn’t be able to muster even half the bezant he’d need to pay everyone. He was well off considering everything, but he wasn’t that well off.
Nonetheless, he had grown used to many of the different aspects of being a Castellan. So it was quite the surprise when while he was running some of the younger guards through some basic training that a runner from the castle arrived in the training grounds looking for him.
He was certain that the man garbed in the customary tunic of a servant was one of the castle’s cooks who doubled up a runner when urgent messages had to be delivered in lieu of the traditional page. Not by preference though, the few nobles who had boys of age for this type of thing just weren’t willing to send them over right now. Especially when Jean wouldn’t even be here to handle their apprenticeship.
He motioned for the men training underneath his watch to stop and though confused, they all did so without a complaint. He mentally made a note to try and get this group a small reward for their discipline at some point while he turned to properly give his attention to the runner.
With the comfort of experience to guide him, his voice came out smooth and steady. “Take a moment to breathe, then speak. What’s happened that needs my attention?”
The runner for their part only took a moment to catch their breath before they began to speak. “Castellan Baudouin, your presence is requested for an emergency meeting in the drawing room between you, Seneschal Aimery, Steward Hugues, and head chambermaid Camille. It’s over an important matter that’s recently come to light and needs to be discussed immediately Sir.”
A gathering of the three main men who held down the fort while Jean was away and the head chambermaid over an important matter? Considering the other two wouldn’t have even thought to involve the woman if they had called it and he could account quite well for himself that he hadn’t called it, that meant she had to have done so. Talk about a bold move from her, though knowing what he did about her that probably just spoke to the seriousness of the situation.
Perhaps it was a little too bold. He’d have to wait until the meeting concluded to know for certain if she had or hadn’t overstepped. He personally hoped she hadn’t. The woman was crude yet spoke truth and seldom played games with her work and livelihood.
He couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow at the man still though. It was good practice to at least ask what was going on before heading over. “Alright. Did whoever rounded you up to let me know tell you what this emergency meeting was about?”
The man gave him a nod. “They didn’t tell me what exactly had happened, but…” The man lowered his voice to a near whisper. “It somehow involves the young queen.”
Baudouin’s gaze immediately hardened. He had thought he had already dealt with the storm that had assailed her last month, so he didn’t much appreciate that apparently this month wasn’t going to be any simpler for him in protecting the girl who was both the queen of his new country and his friend's daughter. That, and how the servant turned runner had thought him whispering those words would keep his well-trained guards from overhearing what he said.
He’d have to nip those rumors in the bud if he didn’t want whatever rumor mill in the castle that had likely already formed to spread to all of his men. He’d just have to accept the men in the castle were likely already consumed by said rumor mill.
“I’ll be there then.” Baudouin gave the runner a simple nod before dismissing them, to which they bowed and obediently ran back towards the castle. He then turned towards his men on the training grounds who were doing their best to pretend like they hadn’t caught wind of what had been said.
He just snorted. Like he didn’t already know that they caught it from the moment it was whispered. He let his voice ring out across the training grounds. “Continue practicing on your own and consider this a challenge for you to display your initiative in training. And I don’t want to hear that you’ve all begun to gossip about what’s going on like you're one of the servants unless you are wanting to double your duties for the day. Do you understand me?”
A chorus of ‘yes sirs’ answered him and he nodded in satisfaction. That’d at least stop them from spreading it around themselves for a day, maybe two if he were lucky. He knew better than to expect his words to completely stop them so he didn’t expect it, but not having to deal with them spreading the news to the rest of the guard before he could even get a handle on what was happening this time around would have to do.
One thing was for certain as he began to make his way towards the castle’s drawing room. Today had just gotten a lot more interesting. And interesting as he’d found was rarely a sign of good tidings.
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Before today, I had never really thought about what I’d do if I suddenly didn’t have access to modern day technology. Oh sure I had considered it, but that was with the same sort of consideration I gave to what I’d do if the zombie apocalypse came about. In other words, I hadn’t even considered the possibility seriously.
As it turns out, suddenly being forced to go cold turkey on everything that had just become another facet of the world to me was not a fun experience in the slightest. Especially now that I didn’t have anything to preoccupy myself with during this free time I found myself with.
I knew I didn’t have my phone anymore, but I couldn’t help myself from reaching for what didn’t exist to browse the internet at my leisure by tapping on a screen a few times to reach something online in order to satisfy my boredom. I didn't have a computer or console that I could turn on to play whatever it is I was feeling like that day for hours on end after I finished with work for the day. I didn’t even have a TV I could turn on and watch mindlessly, and I despised doing that.
All I had now were ethereal parchments I could stare at all day long, Isabella’s toys that I wasn’t quite desperate enough just yet to try and play with, and my mind to work with. To top it all off, watching the Sun was the only real way I had to tell time right now. Which was easier said than done when Isabella’s room was positioned to catch the rays of dawn instead of for a view of the sunset.
At least Isabella’s memories let me know that dinner would be coming by much more quickly than it normally would since it actually happened at midday in this time period, as well as being a much more communal affair. Which was strange to me, but I guess the difference between a lunch and dinner hadn’t developed yet, like so many other modern day concepts.
There was really only one conclusion to how I was feeling from the lack of things to do. I was bored beyond belief right now, exaggerated greatly by the foreign yet not feelings that tugged at me demanding me to either learn something or find something fun to do.
For the first while after I had finished experimenting with my ethereal parchment summoning powers and decided that learning how to fight wouldn’t be a bad idea, I had done some basic exercises that I could remember.
It was certainly awkward doing so in a dress long enough where if I wasn’t careful, I could easily find myself falling flat on my face onto the castle’s stonework. It didn’t help in the slightest that Isabella wasn’t exactly fit due to her lifestyle.
Within her memories I could easily find many different examples of when she’d just run around for the fun of it like the child she was. The only examples of her doing some actual purposeful exercise I could find were the few times she had been taken for some horseback riding lessons which were sparse indeed.
Now that I was thinking about it though, that was another thing I could do to branch out and one I’d always been semi-interested in doing even if I had never gotten around to actually trying it.
Digressing from that, it did mean it only took a short while before I began to grow winded and was forced to stop and take a rest unless I wanted to explain why exactly I was sweaty and exhausted before dinner.
From there I had briefly considered leaving the room before Camille came to get me. Then I shuddered when I remembered how I had last seen her. I really didn’t want to test her right now.
And that all led me to what I was currently doing. Inspecting Isabella’s wardrobe so I knew what to expect from what I had to wear outside of her memories and what I was currently garbed in.
It wasn’t particularly something I wanted to do, but it was either that or have time to dwell on things. The choice was pretty obvious when I organized it within my head like that.
I couldn’t help but stare at the contents of Isabella’s wardrobe. Or really, the chest she thought of within her memories as a portable wardrobe that I had thought was just a weird quirk of them all being shoved into me. It turned out, no, when her memories referred to her wardrobe as a portable wardrobe, they meant it.
Apparently wardrobes in this era were either rooms dedicated towards the storage of clothes, or portable ones that were just glorified chests that held clothes. Another thing to get used to.
The clothes within were mostly what I expected them to be unfortunately, being filled with a range of different dresses and gowns. All made out of silk which I was pretty certain was a crazy display of wealth for the time. Especially since Isabella was still eight and would outgrow these. There were also a number of different pointed shoes within it that Isabella had known as turn shoes with fun little inscriptions on them that I, of course, couldn’t read.
It helped a bit that it was all way more comfortable than I ever thought these types of clothes could be because they were made out of silk and the shoes a softer leather.
The clothing that wasn't what I expected were the unique undergarments of the times which… honestly, I didn’t know if that was better or worse for my psyche.
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So when I heard a familiar set of powerful knocks on the door, a palpable sense of relief flowed through me even if her voice still sounded slightly strangled. “Young lady, it is time for dinner.”
I let the wardrobe chest fall shut in front of me and called back to the head chambermaid as best I could with Isabella’s soft voice. “I’ll be out in just a moment, Camille!”
True to my word, it only took me a moment to shake off the minor fugue that had overcome me before opening the doors to the chamber, revealing Camille standing politely behind it. The stern woman looked like she had composed herself for the most part, though there was a tenseness to her now that hadn’t been there when I had first seen her today.
I did feel a bit bad about being a part of the cause of it, what with the revelations I’d given her and everyone else who she ended up informing about it. Not too bad though, considering that if I hadn’t said something about attendants that led to the situation it likely would’ve only made it worse when it did come to light.
The woman gestured with her hand to follow and began to walk off without another word. I had to walk a little faster than was comfortable since I was still so short compared to any adult or teenager right now, but I managed.
It wasn’t like it was a far walk with there only being a few more narrow passages between Isabella’s chamber and the great hall. It wasn’t long at all until I started to hear the bustle of people through the walls and before I knew it, we had entered the great hall.
The many tables within it had been covered by cloth, on which dozens of different dishes in pewter bowls were laid upon. The servants and guards here both took from it with their hands and in a few rare cases, spoons or knives, to place upon a trencher bread to act as a plate as they ate together like it was a much more organized buffet. Isabella’s memories helpfully supplied that this was quite normal and just how the ‘lesser’ folk ate as they took a greater prominence in my mind so I could more easily pull from them.
I didn’t particularly mind this here, not when I would be so out of my depth otherwise.
For those of higher station or hierarchy within the castle, there was a much fancier table set up with its own contents laid out much more neatly. Personal plates and utensils made out of silver were set aside purposefully for each seat. Already, there were three other men sitting down at the table who had already begun to eat their own fill. Each one was someone I recognized from Isabella’s life.
The Castellan, the Castle Steward, and the Seneschal. The table did have room for much more, but those were the only three present in the castle who could eat at this table.
Camille led me to the head of the table where I found myself automatically greeting them with a small curtsey before I sat in the seat where Isabella’s father would normally be if they weren’t off crusading. Without a word, Camille picked up one of many nearby basins filled with water before offering it to me. For a second I stared at it confused before Isabella’s memories once more provided me with the context for what was happening.
This was just standard etiquette before eating for everyone. The linen hand towel the strangely quiet woman handed me afterwards to further clean them wasn’t something everyone used, but still something I made use of while my mind was doing its best to come to terms with how my original view of how people in the Middle Ages were with hygiene was shattered. Both by what I was seeing and by Isabella’s memories piling on more and more details since the girl herself had cared quite a bit about it.
Huh. Wasn’t that a pleasant surprise.
The much less pleasant surprise were the ways I noticed the three different men’s eyes gleamed after I arrived, each of them in different ways.
The Castellan who Isabella had known as Baudouin was an older man garbed in a gambeson and leather like he hadn’t bothered or gotten a chance to change out of it. He was probably the man she had seen the least of, though he had always been friendly when she had met him. Today however, the man had a sort of annoyed resignation on his face, though said annoyance within his brown eyes was directed much more towards the other two men.
Comparatively, the Castle Steward was a much more youthful man by the name of Hugues. His semi-long brown hair hadn’t begun to gray yet and he was wearing a tunic with gold colored embroidery around its collar. The man was smirking lightly like me arriving was the signal for the start of something that I couldn’t begin to guess at right now, his blue eyes filled with hints of triumph.
Finally, the Seneschal was a man who I thought was in between their ages that went by Aimery. He too wore a tunic like the Castle Steward did, though it a much more plain brown one. The man’s hazel orbs kept flitting between me and Camille, though revealed little else beyond that other than a sort of anticipation.
All in all, I was already hating the way this dinner was feeling. Like that time I had been brought into a meeting with a bunch of different leadership figures within a company who all had planned out what was going to happen during it ages ago. Only this time, I was technically above all of them instead of being underneath all of them. The jury was still out on whether office politics would be worse than whatever was happening here.
The Castellan was the first of them to greet me, bowing his head deeply in the process. “Your Grace, it is once again good to see you healthy and hale.”
The Castle Steward was next, though his bow was much lighter. “It is indeed a blessing after that scare, Your Grace.”
It was simultaneously strange yet not with how formal they were being with me. Camille really had set my expectations to be quite a bit different, though even she seemed to be following the newfound formalness by just staying silently by my side for the moment.
The Seneschal finished with his own bow mimicking the height of the Stewards and his eyes never failing to dart to Camille who stood straight off to the side of me with a still face, making no move of her own to take a seat or grab anything to eat. “Me and Hugues even ensured the cooks made you your favourite this time, Your Grace.” The man gestured towards a covered silver pot on the table.
As if he had spoken a command, Camille picked it up before setting it down in front of me before I could think to reach for it or try and remember what Isabella’s favourite food was, taking the lid off in the process.
Instantly, the savory tang of a rabbit stew was released into the air, flying straight into my nose. I could already feel my mouth watering while I leaned forward to get a better view of it. I could spot the rich rabbit meat floating in a broth infused with both its flavors and the flavors of the array of different vegetables floating within it. I could just about taste it with how tantalizingly close it was.
The small voice in the back of my head trying to convince me that a simple pizza was actually my favourite food instead of this masterpiece was swiftly silenced, though that would be a good second.
The thought did pull me back to reality slightly though and through sheer force of will, I managed to bring my head back up to the others at the table instead of just grabbing my spoon and beginning to devour it immediately.
It took me a second to dredge up some of Isabella’s memories on etiquette, but I eventually did manage to find the words I think I was supposed to say in response to this. “The gesture is much appreciated from the both of you.”
Both them and the Castellan were for some reason surprised when I said that. And from the corner of my eye, I could spot a hint of surprise on Camille’s even face. I wondered why while I did my best to simultaneously dig into the rabbit stew with a spoon while keeping some semblance of manners.
The stew tasted as wonderful as it looked and I couldn’t help but wonder how I had never had it before when it was my favourite. I paused for a second at that thought before mentally shrugging and continuing to eat. I’m sure it’d hit me at some point why it felt like something was off with what had just gone through my mind.
While I did my best to politely consume the stew, the men at the table did recover from their surprise before continuing with their own meals and making small talk amongst each other. Right, wasn’t there some sort of scheme happening here that I didn't know nearly enough about?
For a moment the idea hit me that said scheme could be to poison me, but nothing did taste off from the familiar meal. Not to mention I knew from Isabella’s boundless questions in the past that there was supposed to be a food taster who went over every meal in the kitchens who should’ve already made sure that wasn’t the case.
Still, I forced myself to slow down after that and to actually pay attention to what they were saying, though still enjoying the savory meal. Not long after, a shift seemed to happen in their conversation and still standing Camille seemed to tense just a little bit more once it occurred.
“Your Grace, do you mind if we have your attention for a moment to discuss an important matter?” Began the Castle Steward. “We promise, it won’t be long before you can enjoy your meal again.”
I glanced upwards at them, inadvertently pouting slightly while I stopped eating. I then wiped that pout away as best I could with a polite smile when I noticed I was doing it. What was I, a child?
“What is it?” I asked in the soft voice of Isabella while my mind did its best to assert I should be better than to pout since my mind was very much not that of a child’s.
The slight smirk from before returning to the man’s face began to set off alarm bells within my head before he even spoke. “Well Yolanda, we had a little meeting before dinner and we discussed quite a few things during it. One of them being your request about getting someone to teach you how to read. You see, there might be a problem with making that happen unfortunately.”
I felt myself begin to grow increasingly wary. From the way he was talking like he was speaking to a child, which I suppose he kinda was, to the way it seemed like he was trying to guide me along like a horse to water with what he was saying. It all just screamed to me that something was off. Not to mention I thought that meeting Camille had mentioned getting with them all was going to be about the whole no personal attendant thing. What was he playing at?
I did my best to hide the wariness though, for the moment playing into his view of the innocent Isabella that he could easily do this with. “There is? Why is that?”
The Castle Steward’s smirk grew just a little. “Well, it just isn’t in the budget to hire someone to teach you that right now, which means we don’t have the bezant to pay them without unfairly taking it from others.” He clarified like I wouldn’t understand him if he didn’t. “Buuuut, me and Aimery have talked about it and we think we found the perfect solution that will free up the bezant for it so you can learn how to read and that the budget won’t be exceeded.”
The man gestured towards the Seneschal and the man took that as his cue to speak. “Indeed we have Yolanda. And not only that, but it punishes the one who failed you the most by failing to take notice of your former personal attendant's disappearance a whole month ago while still being merciful as to respect her years of service.”
The Seneschal paused before continuing, as if he was letting me in on a great secret. “We simply help her remember what the duties of a chambermaid are by letting her experience them all once again and docking her pay for the duration of this. A simple yet merciful solution, is it not? We just need you to agree as Baudouin seems insistent that your father would not agree and since he is not here right now, you’re the one to ask in his stead since you’d know what he’d want. And while we initially wanted a harsher punishment, we know you to be a kind girl who wouldn’t want to punish someone that badly, so we came up with this instead.”
He finished his words about them being merciful and how they were planning around Isabella’s kindness with a vicious look towards Camille who still didn’t so much as twitch during this.
For a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder why did it have to come back to me wanting to learn how to read. Why couldn’t that of all things be simple. That and just how much bullshit was actually being spewed at me right now.
Seriously, why was I now being treated like I actually had authority in this matter specifically? Did I have authority or not?
I suppose it didn’t matter, because they were obviously fixing for me to agree with them and to sack Camille who I thought was doing fine for the most part. Isabella had done quite a bit of lying before I came along about what was going on with her attendants after all so it wasn’t really her the head chambermaid's fault she missed it.
There was an obvious argument to just agree with them without a second thought. Get a tutor for reading like I wanted all at the cost of a woman who Isabella hadn’t liked very much in the first place. However, I liked her and while she was familiar only because of Isabella’s memories, she was still someone kinda familiar in a sea of unfamiliarity. Plus, I could get behind her more casual mannerisms despite me being royalty and didn't entirely understand why they wanted her gone in the first place other than it was supposedly as a punishment for failing me when I didn't personally think she failed me.
That and I wasn’t in the business of greenlighting decisions with consequences I didn’t know enough to understand the scope of.
But I couldn’t just say no either. Not only would that probably cause this bump in the road to learning how to read to become a hill, it probably wouldn’t actually stop them from pushing for this in the first place. This might’ve been in the past, but people weren’t any more stupid here than they could be in the present. Chances were, they had plans on how to tackle this if I said no too.
I hated politics and schemes, but I guess I was going to just have to figure out a good way to handle this. I was supposedly a queen now after all. Better to learn how to handle this now rather than later.