The next day, Saint Charloss demanded they go to the auction house to buy a new slave girl. He sounded very enthusiastic about the whole affair, but refused to get up himself to go to the showers and get ready. Beth had to call on two other slaves' help to get him out of his bed and into the luxurious marble and pearl bathroom ten feet from his bed.
He then made Beth spend ten minutes finding the exact temperature he wanted the water to be, scolding her when it became too hot for his liking. When he undressed, she quickly looked away in horror, refusing to burn such a terrible image into her head. Luckily, he entered the bath quickly and without Beth being scarred for life.
"I want bubbles!" He shouted, and so she rummaged through the cupboard until she located the bottle of soapy liquid and dumped some of it into the water. He splashes it around, forming larger and larger bubbles until most of his body was covered in them.
Beth silently retreated from the room, closing the doors behind her. She herself hadn't even started getting ready, though she really didn't want to go in the first place. She had no choice though.
She stalked over to the dresser, pulling out Charloss' clothes for the day and lay them on the bed. Satisfied that he would be awhile before he needed anything else, she stalked to the back of the room set away in the corner. There, a tiny door faced her.
Opening it up revealed the tiny broom closet that was her room. There was just enough space to fit a small bed and a dresser with one drawer. She couldn't even stand up all the way because the ceiling was so low. Crouching in front of the drawer, she opened it and searched inside for something to wear.
'Not that I have much to wear anyway...' She thought. All her belongings fit in that single drawer and it wasn't even full.
Dressing quickly, she had just pulled the black vest over her uniform when she heard her name being called. Well, sort of her name.
"Slave girl! Come here!" With a sigh, she went to see what it was.
Back in the bathroom, Saint Charloss looked a little like an oversized baby smothered in a mountain of bubbles. An ugly, oversized baby. He looked less than pleased as the foam almost touched the ceiling and there was no room to move with encountering it.
"You put in too much soap! Look at the mess!" He waved his hands through the delicate bubbles, thrashing through the blanket that surrounded him. Beth hadn't put more than was necessary for a normal bubble bath, but obviously the Noble had agitated the mix so much it had produced way more than he had wanted. Nonetheless, she bowed her head.
"I apologize, my Lord. I should have known better than to add too much. Please forgive me." While her head was down, his hand pushed her to the ground. Blindly flailing behind her to stop her fall, Beth struck her hand against the corner of the counter. The counters were lined in shiny metal to give it more aesthetic appeal, but in this spot it had started to wear away and was a little sharp.
With a tiny cry, Beth yanked her hand back at the sharp slice that marked her palm. Holding it up, she inspected the less-than-clean line that now was leaking blood. It stung horribly and she held it against her chest.
"Where's my towel?" Saint Charloss inquired, and Beth sniffed once to suck up the pain. Rising slowly to her feet she retrieved a towel and helped the World Noble out of the bath. Thankfully, she didn't get a look at anything below his chest.
Once he was dried off, she dressed him in his usual white outfit with the helmet space. Personally, Beth thought it looked absolutely ridiculous. Not that she would ever say it aloud.
She was careful not to get her blood on any of the clothes or brush it against anything. Once, it hit her thigh and she had to refrain from whimpering in pain. But she kept silent.
All the while, Saint Charloss was jabbering on and on about the sweet cakes he'd eaten that morning in bed when the kitchen staff had brought him breakfast. Beth was thoroughly sick of the little pastries by the end of his morning routine.
"Is there anything else you require, my Lord?" She asked after he'd been dressed and cleaned. He sat for a moment in thought before grinning.
"Go tell my sister to hurry up so we can leave!" With that he shooed Beth out the door and shut it behind her. With a sigh, she walked in the direction of Saint Shalulia''s room.
For as little World Nobles there actually were, their room were very dispersed about the palace. The halls could go on forever sometimes and it was very easy to get lost. But Beth knew the palace like the back of her hand and she went straight to the hallway of the female Noble.
"Are you dolts!? Who puts pearl jewelry with the sterling silver ones? It's common knowledge that pearls lose their shine when next to silver!" Shalulia's witchy voice was easy to hear far down the hallway to her room and Beth prepared herself for a long lecture on her approach.
"And where is my suit? It should be cleaned and polished by now! Lazy slaves!" Something hit the wall with a loud bang and a moment later it shattered on the floor. Taking a deep breath, Beth knocked timidly on the door.
"Enter!" The shrieky voice called, and Beth unlatched the door.
Inside, the same luxurious white walls and exotic tapestries decorated the room, but it was entirely feminine in nature. A large vanity took up one whole wall, adorned with crystals and lights and large mirrors. Makeup and fine jewelry littered it's top.
The entrance to the bathroom was on the adjacent wall, and opposite that was a large bed layered with wild animal print comforters of all kinds. Zebras, leopards, tigers, and even some Beth had never seen before. At Beth's entrance, Shalulia, still dressed in her night gown, turned from the sobbing servant boy and glared in her direction.
"What could you possibly want!?" She yelled, heavily breathing in and out as she controlled her temper. Well, at least tried to.
"M-my Lord Charloss...wishes to know...how much longer my Lady...will be?" She asked hesitantly. World Nobles generally left the slaves of other Nobles alone, but with Shalulia you just never knew. She had a quick temper sometimes.
At the mention of her brother's name, she sobered up and patted down her night gown. "Tell him I will be ready shortly. Don't forget to pack us a lunch, lest we eat the food of those commoners." At the word 'commoners' she visibly shuddered, disgusted at even the mere mention of them. Beth bowed low.
"Yes, my Lady. It will be done at once." She backed out of the room, closing the door as she went. As soon as it was closed the slightly muffled shouts began again.
"Get to it! My brother expects me ready to leave now and I'm still not dressed! Maybe while I'm at the auction house I should buy your replacement!"
'At least I'm not her slave...'
After relaying the message to Saint Charloss, who was too busy eating his leftover breakfast to acknowledge her appearance, Beth slipped down to the kitchen to prepare a packed lunch. The kitchen staff were busy preparing for the palace midday meal and it was difficult to get all the ingredients and items she needed to make the small sandwiches and fruit tarts. Just as a precaution she packed more sweet cakes. They were last of the batch and she hoped that the chefs would make more before they returned.
Using one of the large baskets used for traveling affairs, she packed all the food and stuff for tea and lemonade inside and closed it shut. Getting back out was much more difficult, thanks to the large basket she had to haul outside as well. Many times she bumped elbows or knocked over pans by accident, earning her dirty glances from the kitchen staff.
Along the way down the hall, she glanced out the window and spotted the golden carriage that would take them to the city below. Going back to Charloss' room, she informed him that the carriage was ready and waiting outside. Immediately he jumped from his chair and out the door, leaving a very breathless Beth to catch up behind him.
'This basket is heavier than I thought. Maybe I should've packed less food...' She thought as she shifted her grip on the basket once more.
Downstairs, Shalulia met them at the front doors to the palace. The male slave, rubbing his eyes free of any moisture, hung back a step or two holding an umbrella for his master. Shalulia's white suit was cleaned and pressed, polished until it shined, and smelled of roses and vanilla. Charloss did not smell quite as nice.
"Brother, what kind of slave are you hoping to buy?" Shalulia asked, stepping up into the carriage with a hand from the driver. Charloss ignored the hand and tried jumping inside the carriage full front, wiggling his lower half vigorously until he squeezed inside.
"Some pretty girl who's skinny! She has to be able to cook too!" The carriage settled finally, and the two World Nobles talked inside. The driver looked a little shaken at the not-so-graceful display. Beth gave him a sympathetic smile and stuffed the food in the back.
She and the male slave joined the driver in the front seat, squinting their eyes in the harsh sun. The driver whistled and the two horses in front plotted slowly down the glistening road to the city. They rode in silence, not even glancing at one another for fear of the World Nobles hearing their words and getting angry.
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