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and tormentor, Gwen was given a rushed tour of the female half of the barracks
and was shown the dank, cold room in the basement where she would store her
minimal possessions (consisting of two sets of clothing, the pair of boots that did
not fit, and a blanket) and sleep on a thin pallet along with the rest of the
servants. Then she was given a small brush and a bucket of muddy water and told
to scrub the entire floor of the vast dining room until the head cook in the
kitchens was satisfied that it was clean.
The barracks of the female soldiers were in a large building carved from
the hills atop which sat the former Home of the Elements, just beside the massive
set of stairs that led up to that looming tower. The barracks of the male soldiers
were contained in a building that mirrored the female barracks and was carved
out of the hills on the opposite side of those stairs. The kitchen complex that both
buildings shared had been built beneath the steps, between the two buildings;
chimneys ran up through the stone, their smoke and steam finding egress through
fancifully carved statues and shapes on the low walls that flanked the stairs. The
multi-storied buildings had formerly served as the headquarters for the ruling
Council and government of the Valley. Those buildings had been converted for
military use and now housed dining halls, large chambers containing beds for the
common soldiers, large public baths for the soldiers, training rooms for
exercising and sparring, the examination rooms, servants quarters, and semi-
private quarters which the commanders shared in pairs on the top floors.
Gwen would come to be familiar with almost every room of the female
barracks building, particularly in regard to which rooms were the hardest to
clean, and how long a walk it was from the top floor quarters to the laundry room
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adjoining the servant s quarters in the basement. But on that first day she became
familiar mainly with the floor of the dining room, which she scrubbed and
scrubbed, then scrubbed some more, all to little effect considering the muddiness
of the water and the lack of soap.
A couple of hours after she had started, lines of soldiers began to file into
the dining hall and take seats on the wooden benches at the long tables. She
reasoned it must be time for the midday meal, and that must also mean it was
time for her to take a break. She straightened from her work, lifted her bucket,
and was about to look for someone who could tell her what she could eat and
where, when her Lord was suddenly standing over her.
What do you think you are doing, princess? the auburn-haired soldier
asked. You are not finished. This floor looks worse than when you started.
That s because you gave me dirty water to clean it with, she thought, but
she said, I was just going to see if I might be able to have a small bite to eat
before I continue. Lord. Had she added the title in time? She must have, for she
could still breathe.
The soldier-woman affected a look of exaggerated surprise. Eat? Before
you have finished this task? The princess thinks quite highly of herself, does she
now? You will be fed before you sleep tonight.
Gwen clenched her fists, not sure whether she wanted to scream or cry; it
felt as if her stomach was consuming itself! Yes, Lord. I will just stand aside so
I do not disturb the meal&
Are you still avoiding your task? her Lord replied. You will
continue, princess, until you are finished. Understood?
Gwen looked around her as groups of the soldiers took turns standing
and walking to the kitchen entrance for their food, their muddy boots leaving
tracks and clumps on the stone floor. Understood, Lord, she said, sighing.
She knelt, returning to her futile task. The soldiers made no efforts to
avoid walking where she scrubbed, and in fact she was quite certain they
intentionally walked where she scrubbed.
Gwen watched her tormentor walk away and dared not even glare for
fear that the woman would sense it and give her cause to regret it. All she could
do was scrub furiously at the rough stone of the floor beneath the disdainful
glances of the passing soldiers.
*
Gwen spent most of her first day in her pointless attempts to clean the
floor of the dining hall. The interminable and impossible task continued until
finally, about an hour after the evening meal, her Lord came to relieve her of
the duty, stating that since Gwen seemed incapable of properly carrying it out,
perhaps a small servant child could do it instead. Gwen was given a few scraps of
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day old bread, some broth, and plenty of water, and then sent to her pallet in the
servant s quarters to think on how she could better perform her duties.
Gwen, sitting on her lumpy pallet of sparsely padded burlap, was left in a
veritable maelstrom of emotions following this incident. The sheer futility, the
nature of the chore that was designed for failure, the woman acting as if it were
Gwen s inability that was at fault& Gwen tried to tell herself that she knew she
was in the right and that it was just that soldier-woman trying to get to her, trying
to humiliate her, and that it did not really matter, that it was not worth getting
angry about&
But she was so angry! She was angry and frustrated and there was not a
thing she could do or say about it! She wanted to scream, to demand her freedom,
to&
She lay on her side on her pallet, clutching her thin, too-small blanket
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