Ruined Sheets and Greener Grass

Writers: Arale, Len
Date Posted: 12th July 2012

Characters: Arzel, Halah
Description: Arzel accidently runs into Halah and gets embroiled in a difficult discussion.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 8, day 12 of Turn 6

Arzel was in a bit of a hurry. He wanted to get back to the Hall
before it got much later. He shouldn't have been surprised then when
he turned a corner and collided with a woman, knocking both of them
and everything she was carrying to the floor. Because, that was the
way these things often seemed to go.

Halah sat on the ground, cutting a rather comical figure. All the
clean sheets she had worked so hard on were scattered about in various
stages of disarray. Her headscarf was askew and she looked shunned.
She was about to say a retort when she saw his knots. Instead the
chubby young girl asked timidly, "sir?"

"Are you alright?" Arzel sighed, looking at the mess. This was what
came from hurrying, he supposed. He looked the young woman over and
she seemed ok, besides being a bit disheveled from the collision.
"Nothing broken?"

"Just my pride," she muttered under her breath as two Holder ladies
laughed behind their handscarves at her. Standing up, she took stock
of her morning's work ruined.

The journeyman frowned in disapproval at the tittering ladies before
reaching to begin picking up the strewn sheets. "Well, I apologize. I
should have been paying better attention. You'd think as often as I've
yelled at apprentices about hurrying in hallways, I would know better
myself," he continued with a wry grin.

"Sir, you don't have to do that.". Bending down she quickly scooped up
the sheets he had gathered up. "I'm sure you've more important things
to do than help some silly drudge."

"And I'm sure that you had more important things to do than to have
your sheets ruined by a Journeyman in a rush." He continued picking up
the sheets closest to him, doing his best to shake them free of any
dust they might have picked up on the floor before draping them over
his arm. He didn't know if they'd need to be rewashed or just
refolded. He hoped he hadn't set the poor thing back too far in her
chores though.

"Well..." She blushed and took the sheets. "It must be wonderful to
learn and not be trapped in a life of drudgery."

Arzel blinked, not sure where that had come from and feeling a bit
uncomfortable. He wanted to be able to say that everyone had options
and a life of drudgery wasn't a given for anyone. However, he knew
that it wasn't true. He didn't know this woman, but the very fact that
she was female meant her options were regretfully limited. It was
something he did not agree with, but what could he do about it? "I
suppose. Though, I'm sure there's trade-offs either way."

"Oh? How's that?" Her sheets safely folded under her arms, she cast
him a curious glance.

"Well," he paused in thought, not really expecting to have to explain
the statement. But still.. "For one thing, I imagine you're mostly
only responsible for yourself. Some days it would be quite nice to
have nothing to worry about but my own work."

"True, but then again you are in the position of worring about your
own work. And since you've chosen to be a crafter I assume you're
talking about work you love. All I ever have to worry about are other
people's things. I never get the chance to worry about my own.". She
frowned thoughtfully and glanced down at the ruined sheets. Luckily
the Headwoman was kind, she wouldn't punish her for this.

He shrugged, again not sure what exactly he was meant to do about it.
It wasn't exactly fair that one might be forced into work they didn't
care for, but life wasn't always fair. No matter what his own views
were, he had no say in the grand scheme of things. "Still, being
responsible for other people's things isn't the same as being
responsible for other people and the work they do. I imagine everyone
could find faults with their lots in life. The trick is to look for
the good instead. Anyway, I am sorry about your sheets."

"Me too," she said vaguely. Already her overworked mind was plotting
how to get these sheets rewashed and get her afternoon chores done as
well. It meant she wouldn't have time to stop for lunch, but if she
put her mind to it, it could be done.

"I'd best be off then," he felt awkward leaving, but if he wanted to
get back to the Hall before it got dark, he would need to hurry. He
also couldn't help but feel badly about the dirtied sheets and he had
a feeling the conversation did not go well. But then, that was mostly
his own fault. Who wanted to hear platitudes from someone who ran them
down in a corridor? Offering the young woman a small smile of apology,
Arzel continued on his way.

Last updated on the July 17th 2012

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Ruined Sheets and Greener Grass