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"My Lady, the scout has reported spotting Lord Paul on his way back here." [url=https://i.imgur.com/wYf9sOC.jpg]Darma[/url], Olivia's handmaiden whispered as she ran a brush through the young woman's blonde hair. Of all her attendants, the Count's daughter liked her the best and brought her along with her everywhere she went. The handmaiden tended to everything Olivia needed from fixing her hair to helping her dress up to making sure she attended her lesson with her tutors every day. She also loved listening to news and gossips and relaying it to her mistress whether she wanted to hear them or not. The particular news she had now was sure to perk the young blonde up.

[url=http://i.imgur.com/fgvDLLU.jpg?3]Olivia[/url], the Count's youngest and most favored child felt her heart skip a beat in excitement upon hearing her handmaiden's news. She had been wondering and hoping for Paul Cranston's return for years, in the hopes of sharing with him the same close relationship she had with his older brother...or maybe a bit more. Truth be told, she has had a crush on the young heir ever since she had encountered him several years ago. But he never paid her any attention perhaps because she had been too young then to be of interest to him. She wondered how he would react to seeing her all grown up now. It was something she had time and again discussed with Darma but would never breach the subject with her father or anyone else in the family for that matter. If they knew that she had been nurturing her childhood infatuation all these years, she knew that she'd never hear the end of it. Paul was, after all, a relative and fantasizing about him the way she had been doing was in all sense inappropriate. [color=tan]"Where did you hear that news from?"[/color] she asked, interest coloring her tone.

Darma grinned, leaned forward and lowered her voice. There was no sense letting anyone know that she exerted extra effort to listen to everything especially the things she's not meant to hear. "I heard the scout relaying his report to your father, milady," she gestured towards the Count who was indeed in the company of a man she can only assume to be the scout. She made a quick glance at Darma, wondering how she had picked up the news when they were a bit far from hearing distance of her father. [color=tan]"How did you...?"[/color] she started then raised her hand to negate what she had begun to ask. She shook her head and chuckled. [color=tan]"Never mind. I will content myself to be forever amazed by your news gathering ability."[/color] And with excitement shining in her eyes, she turned her whole body towards the dark haired handmaiden. [color=tan]"Did you hear when he'll arrive? Do you think I am dressed properly to greet him?"[/color] It had been years since she had set foot in the Duke's castle and it was fortuitous that Paul came home on her very first day back. She looked down at the [url=https://i.imgur.com/zJLho1z.jpg]white and gold gown[/url] she was wearing.

"I'm afraid there has been no talk about when he'll be setting foot in the castle. We can only hope that it will be soon," Darma said with a not of disappointment in her voice. She looked at the dress of her young mistress and nodded her head. "Of course you are, milady. You always look beautiful no matter what you wear," Darma complemented sincerely. She was loyal and devoted to Olivia and treated her as she would treat her own flesh and blood. It was the least she could do to express her gratitude. She had lost her family when she was younger and would have stayed in the streets begging for food if young Olivia hadn't passed by and saw her. The Count's daughter had automatically insisted that her father take the hungry girl with them. Her doting father had agreed albeit a little reluctantly and ever since then, Darma had stayed by her side and served her loyally. "And with my skills at fixing your hair, Lord Paul will not be able to help and stare at no one but you."

The two girls giggled but was stopped abruptly by the Count's booming voice.

"[i]Every[/i] one ... [i]out![/i]"

Olivia looked over to her father and found him staring at her, meaning for her to leave as well. She would have complained and insisted on staying if not for Darma taking her hand. "Come, milady. There is no use staying here when your father is in one of his moods. I'll make you tea and finish braiding your hair in the garden."

Olivia looked at Darma and nodded. She stood up and looked back at her father briefly. The Count had served the Duke's family for as long as she could remember, even acting as regent to the Duchy in their absence. He had also time and again reiterated that he had all intentions of turning over the power once Paul returned. Although she sometimes glimpsed her father's lust for power, she firmly believed in his words, believing in his goodness. The obvious unrest her father was displaying, however, was making her suspect him a little, the same way she had suspected him when she saw that he had raised the banner of Ryrstone in place of Westrock. She turned and made her way to the door.

At the door, she turned back to look at her father, just in time to see him engage the Captain of the Guards in private conversation. Thinking that she'd ask him about it at a later time, she turned and exited the room.

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[url=http://i.imgur.com/sWuLhNV.jpg?1]Sophia[/url] sighed as she looked at the five silver coins in her hand. She had just spent an entire night pinned beneath the sweaty, flabby body of the tax collector, listening to him grunt and groan as he pounded into her. While she detested him, he paid good money and that made tolerating him easier. She pocketed the coins. There had been a time when he paid twice as much to let him use her body but times were hard or so he said. But money was money, no matter how small the amount and doing sexual favors earned her a lot more of it than she ever did doing odd jobs around town. If it helped put food on the table, she couldn't really complain. She looked up as she heard a door swing open.

A middle aged woman carrying a basket full of freshly baked bread came out of the house right across where Sophia was standing. She watched as the woman's husband, still wearing an apron powdered with flour press a kiss to her forehead. He reminded her to take care on her way, bid her farewell and then disappeared back into the house, closing the door behind him. A happy couple.

Or so it seems. 

As soon as the woman had walked a good distance away from the house, the door slowly swung open. The man peered out, looked around and when he was sure that no one was looking, gestured for Sophia to come in. 

A few hours later, sore but satisfied with the sound of coins chinking in her pocket, the young brunette discreetly walked out of the house with a loaf of bread wrapped in a white cloth in her hand. She looked up at the sky. Although it was still dark, the sun would rise soon, signalling the end of her clandestine meetings with those that needed her special services. She made her way back to the small hut she called home to feed her sisters and for a change of clothes. When the sun peeked on the horizon, she'd have to look for a job again no matter how tired she was. No rest for the needy.

She laid the loaf of bread on the table along with a small piece of goat cheese she found tucked in with the bread. She had, apparently, pleasured the baker enough for him to add a little extra bonus. She made a mental note to exert extra effort for him the next time he availed of her services to ensure his generosity. She walked over to her bed and laid down on it, meaning to rest her weary body for a few minutes.

"Sophia, are you not feeling well?"

The voice of her younger sister jarred Sophia awake. Realizing that she had fallen asleep, she immediately sat up. She looked at the 17 year old girl who was staring intently at her. [color=lightgreen]"I'm fine, Anna,"[/color] she said as she stood up and peered out the small window by the bed. The sun was already high up in the sky. She sighed. All jobs that paid well would have been taken by now. 

"Vanessa is still sick and she threw up what she ate again," the younger girl informed her. 

Sophia reached into her pocket and pulled out the coins she had worked her body ragged for. [color=lightgreen]"Here. Go into town and buy medicine for her. Make sure she eats after."[/color] She instructed as she placed all the coins she had earned into Anna's open palm. She gave her sister what she hoped was a cheerful smile. [color=lightgreen]"I got paid extra for the job I did last night. This will buy us food for the whole week."[/color]

Anna nodded and then looked down at the silver pieces in her hand. "Sophia, I'm old enough to help out now. So is Isabella. If you teach us how to do the job you're doing, we can earn enough for all of us."

[color=lightgreen]"No!"[/color] Sophia exclaimed, horrified at the thought of her two younger siblings selling their bodies in exchange for a small amount of money. Better her than them. [color=lightgreen]"I...I mean, the fields would need tending. When we're able to sell the grains we've harvested, we'll be able to make a little bit more money. I'll be able to support us til then,"[/color] she hastily added. It would've been good if it were all true. But even if they made a bit of money from their harvest, more than half of it would be collected for tax. She reached out and patted the girl's cheek. [color=lightgreen]"Don't worry. I'll find a way to earn more,"[/color] 

An hour later, Sophia walked back in town, looking for the tax collector. The man's sexual appetite was second to none and she was sure he'd readily agree to let her into his bed again tonight.