Once they reached the servant’s quarters, Penelope was quick to spot Matilda speaking with a man. He didn’t appear to be a servant though as he was dressed in a different type of uniform. The knight blinked. [i]Is he the physician?[/i] He looked rather young to be a physician in her opinion. The older servant glanced past him to spot the two as they entered the room. “There they are.” She grumbled. “I hope you showed her everything, it took you long enough to at least.” “I did!” Dotty said unfazed by Matilda’s tone. Penelope walked up to join the other two with Dotty, now getting a better look at the man that stood there. He was around average height, just a little taller than Penelope, with a darker complexion and short, well kept hair. “Farah, this is-“ “Henley.” The man interrupted. He looked over at Matilda and gave a soft smirk. “I’d like to introduce myself, Matilda.” The older servant gave a huff and waved her hand dismissively. He looked back to Penelope and offered a smile. “I’m the physician’s apprentice. Matilda got me because she was worried about some injury you have?” “Oh..” Penelope mumbled a bit surprised that the head servant had gone to such trouble. It wasn’t like the wound was fresh after all. “Yeah, I-I have a cut from a couple days ago but, it’s really nothing to worry about.” “No offense, but I’ll be the judge of that.” Henley chuckled though there was a sternness to his voice. He stepped back by the desk that was in the room and pulled out the chair for her. His supplies sat on the desk in a small bag. “Here sit down and I’ll give it a look.” Penelope moved to reluctantly sit down in the chair and let the apprentice check over her wound while Matilda and Dotty stood off to the side discussing what would come next for Penelope. “Well, it’s healing well.. Looks like you’ve had a bit of practice with dealing with wounds.” He mused as he rewrapped her injury. Penelope gave a small shrug at his comment. “So she’s fit to work then?” Matilda questioned crossing her arms. [i]Ahh so that’s why she got him...[/i] Penelope thought with some amusement. “Yes Matilda, but I don’t think she should do any heavy lifting or such. it might reopen.” He told her as he began to gather his things to leave. “Good enough.” Matilda mused before shifting her gaze to Penelope as the physician said his farewell. “We’ll give you shelter in exchange for work so don’t expect to be slacking off. Dotty will show you to your room and then you’ll accompany her with her work for today.” “Ok. Thank you, ma’am.” Penelope said politely. She got up and moved to join Dotty once again as the servant showed her to where she would be staying. They walked along a long hallway of rooms until they finally reached one that was almost at the very end. Dotty opened the door to reveal a quaint little room with two beds and two small dressers. “You’ll be rooming with a woman named Cora. She’s usually not around very much though... She likes to keep busy. Anyways, that side’s all yours! Oh and Matilda wanted me to make sure you start wearing this.” She held up a solid white band and moved to wrap it around Penelope’s arm. Penelope noticed that Dotty was wearing a white band around her arm as well. “There’s also a dress in there for you.. It’s not as nice as the one your wearing though but it’s all we could spare.” Dotty added kindly. “Thank you. I’ll have to try it out tomorrow.” Penelope said with a small nod. The two left the room and headed out to begin the chores Dotty had been given for the day. It seemed most of it was cleaning and Penelope worried she wouldn’t be able to get into the kitchen as easily as she had once hoped. [i]I’ve still got quite a bit of time before they begin preparing dinner... I’ll figure something out..[/i] She thought to herself as they walked. Ahead, she noticed a guard had entered the castle, likely a switch of shifts. “Oh hey Emeric!” Dotty greeted the guard with clear joy as they drew closer. Penelope was quick to realize that it was the other guard she had come across at the gates. He turned at the sound of her voice and smiled. “Hi Dotty. Still showing her around?” He asked as he stepped over to them. “Kinda! We finished going over the castle and now Matilda’s got us cleaning up the floors down here.” As the two continued to talk, Penelope couldn’t help but notice a certain closeness between them despite the differences in social class. Perhaps there wasn’t such strictness in how nobles acted around commoners? However, he was the first guard Dotty had even bothered to address. Penelope eyed the servant girl and knight as they talked, barely paying attention to their conversation as she noted how they acted towards each other. “Alright well, I better get going. I have to go take Merrick off of his shift. See ya later.” Emeric waved goodbye then headed up the staircase. “Bye!” Dotty said giving a small wave in return. She gave a soft sigh and smiled to herself before turning to continue on to start her work. “You two seem close.” Penelope commented after a brief silence. Dotty flushed at her words, giving Penelope the answer she was looking for. “Oh well-well he’s a good friend of mine." “He seems nice.” “He is..” Dotty trailed off for a moment. “Ah anyways! Time to start sweeping!” She announced as she pulled out a broom from the supply closet they had reached. Penelope smiled a little in amusement. ---- As the day dragged on, Penelope found herself thankful she hadn’t ended up as a servant. Though the work wasn’t as rigorous compared to the training of a knight, it was also incredibly dull and time consuming. It took most of the day to clean the floors, first sweeping, then mopping and then drying them. Dotty was good company though. Penelope nearly felt bad for having to use her for their raid, however, it was necessary if she wanted their mission to go well. The sun was slowly beginning to descend now and the two sat outside near the garden, taking a break from the long day of work. Penelope looked up at the sky as she leaned back on the palms of her hands. [i]Not much longer now... I’ll have to get in the kitchen soon...[/i] She thought to herself, glancing over her shoulder towards the castle’s main entrance. As she did, she noticed another servant girl walking out, looking particularly excited about something. “Hi Lily!” Dotty greeted the servant as she drew closer. Lily paused and looked over at them giving a small wave. “Hi Dotty.” Lily said with less friendliness. “Sorry I don’t have much time to talk! I’m off to the Running Bear Tavern.” “Oooooh.” Dotty mused with a knowing look. She grinned at Lily and waved. “Have fun! And be safe!” Lily waved goodbye and continued on her way out of the gates. Dotty smirked and leaned over to Penelope as she watched Lily go. “She’s meeting some man.” She told her with a wink, having caught on to Penelope’s confusion about the situation. “Ahh.... Do you know who it is?” Penelope chuckled. Dotty shook her head. “No clue. She doesn’t share much with me... Or any of the ‘lower’ servants.” “Lower?” “Yeah.. She’s the queen’s attendant. Sometimes they’re more stuffy than the nobles themselves!” Dotty said. She shrugged and then moved to stand up. “We should probably get back inside. Matilda might need us for something else.. Especially with dinner rolling around soon.” “It must be a big production huh?” Penelope stood up and stretched her shoulders. “Definitely!” Penelope paused. “Maybe we can stop by the kitchen when they start preparing for dinner? I-If Matilda doesn’t have us busy with something else that is.” Dotty looked over at Penelope and smirked a little. “I guess you really do like cooking, Farah.” She giggled. “Sure I’ll see if Matilda will let us. Come on let’s go.” Penelope bit down a grin of victory as Dotty agreed to try to help her get in the kitchen. The plan was going smoothly and as long as Matilda agreed, she wouldn’t have much trouble slipping the henbane into the food. She glanced up at the sky, wondering how Crow was faring now that the time was drawing closer.