“Miss?”
She started awake. The first thing she realised was that her body was exceptionally stiff. Sore and terrible she had aches all over, as if the entire night had been spent cramped in a wooden coffin.
It was not far from the truth. She was still on the window seat, crouched there and curled into an odd position. Groans came from her beak as she was forced to face the challenges of sleeping there. Opening her eyes and looking around she found Agathe, the housemaid looking at her.
Quickly she sat up, but was too fast. Instantly she regretted it and her eyes screwed shut with pain.
“Ahhh,” she groaned, leaning back.
Agathe paused, blinking a few times in confusion. “Are you … okay?”
Stare peeked open one eye to see the elf gazing at her confused. The kenku took a moment to think, then thought that telling Agathe that she had been ordered by Vitruvion to sleep the night on the window sill while he used her bed would open herself up the sort of questions she would rather not answer right now. She looked over to the bed and was quite happy to see Vitruvion was not there.
“Yeah I'm fine, just stiff,” Stare nodded, “I fell asleep … reading.” She gestured at the table near her, which was basically always covered in a book or two.
“I see …” Agathe said, although she looked unconvinced. “Um … well, yes. We are having trouble with the breakfast Miss. Druss said not to disturb you but … well.”
Stare grunted and was already getting to her feet. She gestured for Agathe to go on as she stumbled painfully over to her cabinet. “What's the issue I can help with?”
“Eggs, Miss Stare. Maester Rafael loves them - must have them. The chickens … well it seems they got attacked in the night. Them and a fair few others in the estates around.”
Stare blinked. Then muttered under her breath. The things she did for people in this life. But this was her life now. Grabbing a finer tunic and a neat belt she strode into her bathroom and began quickly changing.
“What's the time and is that the only issue?”
Agathe nodded and spoke louder to get her voice through the door of the en suite. “It is six of the morning hour Miss. And yes, your suggestion to get Marjie has assisted greatly. We have no other problems.”
Stare groaned quietly, so that only she could hear. Six o'clock. It meant she had barely had four hours of sleep, but there was no possibility of avoiding that. Apparently Maester Rafael liked eggs so much that he could cause chaos to get them. She sighed as she looked at herself in the looking glass, seeing the bedraggled and tired kenku, but this was it. She had no other choice in her life.
It was eggs or her own bacon. Smoothing down her feathers as best as she could in that limited time Stare grabbed the door and strode out to meet Agathe. The maid smiled at her briefly, and Stare nodded. There were no words, only a mutual understanding as the two of them walked to solve the problems of the nobility.
