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Writers: Paula, Yvonne
Date Posted: 19th May 2006

Characters: Mariss, Zelanka
Description: Mariss searches out Zelanka on her own in an effort to prove herself to _someone_
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 11, day 4 of Turn 3

Mariss bit her lip, suddenly intimidated by the slight looking woman who a helpful young drudge had pointed out as the Headwoman. She was in a strange Hold and her last attempt to be useful had been rudely rebuffed. But still... her father wouldn't be pleased if she shirked her duties because she was _frightened_. **But shards, I'm tired of being scared,** she thought. Scared of the dark, of being alone and rebuffed... **She's a woman. Maybe she won't be so bad.** Mariss took a deep breath and held her lists a little tighter. She straightened her skirts, marched over to the woman and cleared her throat before she could lose her nerve. "Excuse me. Are you Headwoman Zelanka?"

Zelanka turned to look. "Yes, I am. Who would you be, dear?" she answered and asked. She didn't recognize the young woman, so she must be one of the newcomers for Amethyst Cliff Hold. "My name is Mariss. I'm Steward Cyrek's daughter," she said quietly.
"Might I have a moment of your time?"

"Of course you can have," Zelanka answered warmly. She was curious to hear what she had in her mind.

"Thank you." Mariss took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "I know this is an odd request, and I know that with so many of us coming in on such short notice, not everything can be... accounted for. But I was wondering if it was possible to move Pirja and her husband Malc out to a cot? Pirja isn't one to complain but she suffers from terrible insomnia and she's having an awful time trying to sleep in the Infirmary..."

"Who's Pirja and Malc? I'm sorry, with so many refugees... I can't remember all. But I'm sure a cot or private room can be arranged, if healer's clear them." Mariss smiled. "Pirja would appreciate it. And I understand how difficult it must be to try to keep track of so many strangers. If you need help, though, I'm more than willing to assist. I often help-
helped Headwoman Vivvi. And help my father."

"You know, I do need more staff. The hold's population is doubled suddenly and me and my staff are stretched pretty thin," Zelanka said thoughtfully. "If you father allows it, I would be more than happy to add you to my staff, if you pass a little test," she smiled.

"A _temporary_ addition to your staff. I still have thing that I must take care of for my father, and from the sounds of it, I'd be most helpful as a liaison between the populations of Amethyst Cliff Hold and Amber Hills. But I can pass any test you care to set me."

"I often have young women in my staff, learning useful skills while they wait to get married," Zelanka told with a kind smile. "And you can bet I'm going to use you as liaison. Sounds like you know Amethyst Cliff's people very well. As for the test, can you do accounts?" Mariss smiled. Too easy. "At Amethyst Cliff I worked more often as my father's helper than Vivvi's. I can do accounts as well as any Understeward."

"Good," Zelanka said. Most of the young women in her staff didn't know accounts and didn't even want to learn them. She fetched a large book from the shelf and placed it front of Mariss. Then she handed her a large pile of random notes written on various papers, scrap hides and even on piece of cloth. "Since the earthquake, nobody has got the time to keep the records properly. All these...," She patted the note-pile, "should be entered into the book. I'm using the standard book-keeping by double entry." If Mariss was as good as she said, that should be familiar to her and the task simple. Mariss nodded. Boring and time consuming, but certainly not difficult. "Is there some place out of the way where I can work?"

"Certainly, there's few empty offices. I show you into a one," she picked up her keyring. It was big and heavy, with large number of keys. "We used to have much more staff, before the plagues." "You were hit pretty hard here, weren't you," Mariss said quietly.

"Yes, very badly. I was only survivor of my family," Zelanka answered. She handed one of the keys to the young woman. "Now, let me show you where the office is." "Thank you," Mariss said, relieved that they'd managed to skirt the topic of death, that Zelanka hadn't laughed at her, and that she'd finally be able to do something useful.

Last updated on the May 19th 2006

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