The very next morning Kitty found herself in one of the guest rooms, taking the dirty sheets and blankets off the bed and dropping them in a braided basket while the sound of a song she was humming gently bounced off of the walls and tiled ceiling. She made sure the clean blanket covered the entire mattress which was filled with straw, feathers and horsehair, and tucked it under tightly so it couldn’t come out when someone got into the bed. The setup wasn’t that different from beds in her own ‘world’, but Diga had insisted on an extensive instruction right before each went to work. Next came the top sheet on which she put the duvet cover, and made sure the covers were hanging over equally. She peeked at the instructions laying on the pedestal next to the bed. Now came the coverlet, and after that, she needed to place the three pillows shams and three normal pillows -she fluffled previously- on top of the bed. Kitty arched a brow and looked between the bed and the instructions. Why three pillows? The bed was rather large but…
Then, it dawned on her. She blushed heavily and quickly made sure the bed was okay before dashing out the room, the basket filled with laundry under her arm. She hurried down the stairs and moved to the back of the building where she delivered the goods to a rather bulky woman who gave Kitty a sour look. She had an unpleasant odor about her and for a moment Kitty wondered if she was really a woman.
“The previous maid was much faster,” she grumbled, lifting the heavy basket from Kitty’s hands without effort,” Ya better be learning quick or we soon won need ya anymore.”
“Uhm… hi. Oh, I’m sorry, I had to make sure I followed all the instructions,” Kitty replied softly,” I’m… I’m Kitty.”
“Yeye, I know yer name, lil kitten. Name’s Martha, and I expect ya to finish yer round half an hour earlier than t’day.”
Kitty blinked, her lips parting to say something in her own defense, but when she saw Martha arched a brow at her, she changed her mind about that. Instead she nodded,” Very well, I’ll bring all the laundry down first before I go back making the beds.”
“That’s a good kitten, and really I don give a feck how ye do yer job. Just make sure I can do mine. Now out!”
“Yes ma’am!” Kitty suppressed a salute and was just glad to get out of that place to inhale normally again. Phewww, what was that smell? It was a miracle clean laundry came back so fresh!
Kitty crossed the taproom while removing the white lacy apron and which she hung on the wall. She looked around. It wasn’t bad at all. Each forenoon she would take care off the beds. In return she received food, a roof over her head and a few coins. This meant during the afternoons and evenings she was free to explore the city and perhaps find a lead to her family. That last thing wasn’t really obvious as all she had was the memory of a few dreams. A… small street, with a certain building. Well there were plenty of those around here and it was far from certain the dream had anything to do with her past or even with the city of Neverwinter. But… for now she would stay for a while, and this was really good enough. All she had to do was making sure she didn’t defy Martha and she simply would have to endure their short moments of contact.
The white haired girl stepped out of the inn and downed the alley leading towards a main street. She began slowly ambling through the southern part of the city. Inside this walled city, any space seemed used to best advantage, resulting in often rather narrow alleys and streets where only little light and air reached the cobblestones. Though some were really charming and could even please this forest girl. Kitty passed a leather worker’s shop where a few men were producing girdles and belts, and setting standards of workmanship and quality. The bakery right next to it was obviously a family business. She saw the man behind the counter kissing the woman on the cheek before rubbing a young boy’s hair who was fetching more bread.
Kitty strolled along narrow and winding streets, and only had to move a few times to the side for horse drawn carts piled high with goods to trade or deliver. Along each street -narrow or not- were a few little shops. A nicely smelling candle and flower shop, a merchant selling trinkets and fake yet beautifully handmade jewelry, and there was even a place to get your hair cut. At the corner of a small square she found a blacksmith and clothing shop which both got subject of her comprehensive attention.
Two hours later and fiddling with her new scarf, Kitty was standing not far from a large, unusual building on top of a cliff that overlooked the Sea of Swords and the Neverwinter River. The building -with walls constructed from stone and wood- had a giant dome as main roof made of an material which reminded her of metal. Two round windows in it ensured there would be a lot of light inside. After ascending a broad slighty bended stairs, an avenue bordered with columns, pillars and a few statues led towards the entrance. A structure that looked like some sort of pavilion and which was attached to the main building, clearly served as some sort of reception.
One of the two city guards standing guard and who were almost dying of boredom noticed the white haired girl sauntering along the avenue. He poked his comrade and motioned with his chin to take a look at the young woman.
“That… girl...” he rumbled.
The other man turned his gaze to the girl and furrowed a brow,” Mmhh” And with that he started to make his way towards Kitty.
“Ho, miss!”
Kitty looked over and saw the guard approaching. He was rather short and despite the shiny armour, she could see he was rather muscular with square shoulders. He had black, close cropped hair and his face would have looked handsome if it weren’t for his nose which looked as if it had been broken several times in the past.
“Hello... “
“State your name, occupation and business in this city, miss.” he inquired with a stern voice.
“Huh?? Ummh, oh. Hi. I’m Kitty and uhm… oh occupation? I only arrived here yesterday and work at the Golden Apple. Right now I’m just exploring the city a bit.”
The man furrowed another brow and sideglanced at his companion who had also approached them. Then he looked back at Kitty, his eyes intense and examining the girl’s face thoroughly.
“The Golden Apple heh? So, your boss is...” his voice faded, his head tilting.
To Kitty it felt as if she was being interrogated, yet she filled him in politely,” That would be miss Diga, sir.”
The guard scratched his beard and glanced at his companion again,” Hmff. Very well, I will verify this later.”
Kitty frowned and wondered if all new faces in the city were treated like this. As if every newcomer could be some sort of potential troublemaker or criminal. But instead she nodded and asked while pointing at the building behind him,” May I ask what this place is?”
The man glanced over his shoulder. ”That is the Hall of Justice, miss. Hmmff, a temple dedicated to Lord Tyr,” he said, frowning at her.
“Oh, I see. Can I enter it?”
“Hmm, today it’s exceptionally off limits. Lord N…”
But before he could continue he was poked by the other guard who slightly shook his head at him.
The one who was speaking to Kitty, cleared his throat,” Hmmff, very well, carry on miss and come back another day.” He saluted and turned his back on her only to walk back to the entrance.
Kitty blinked…
