Chapter Text
Many castles had many people moving all at once, hurried feet dashing to and fro- a seemingly endless stream of work constantly being done by rotating shifts of laborers. Generally, even just one member of the nobility might require an entire team of servants to attend to their daily needs. But at Castle Calypse, given the fact that the only person of a higher class in the castle was usually Riftan- who preferred to take care of himself, it was rare that there was much to do for the multitude of servants who had been hired at the fiefs establishment. Because of this, many workers who would usually be up to their ears in domestic tasks worked outside.
For the first time in the castle's history, however, a true aristocrat was in residence of the castle- though few people knew she was the daughter of the most powerful duke in the land. Not only was she of high birth, but she was a woman- the news of which sent excited rumblings throughout the female staff of the castle. Many openly speculated about who might become a part of her team. The maids were in for an unfortunate realization that she seemed to be a wallflower, having not left her room since arriving. She also barely requested anything, and her only attendant, Rudis had almost as few interactions with the enigma as the rest of them.
The original rumors of her being Lord Calypse's fiancée or lover quickly died down as no one had seen the two of them interact since her arrival a week ago. He was just as busy before, running to and fro across the castle and town, and her door remained firmly shut. If it hadn't been for the increased cleaning efforts around the guest wing, her doorstep might have started to become dusty.
Alone in her chambers, the lady in question was just as confused as the rest of them and was beginning to stew in her anxiety.
Knock Knock Knock
Maximillian's head of fiery red hair poked out from behind the curtain hiding the window alcove she had settled in for most of the day, and as she shifted her body to get down from the nook, her joints popped back into place audibly, a testament to how long she’d been sitting there.
Hobbling across the room, she caught her reflection in the aged mirror of the vanity and fixed her hair and dress, pinching her cheeks to appear more healthy- though her thin frame and sallow skin likely implied otherwise.
‘Everyone is so respectful here. No one used to knock before entering my chambers back at ho- at the Croix castle.’ She thought to herself, as she reached the door, hesitating behind it hoping the person had left.
She jumped as the person knocked again, and swallowing her apprehension, she pulled the door open. She breathed a sigh of relief at seeing it was just Rudis, carrying a basket in her arms.
“Oh! My lady, there’s no need for you to get up to open the door. You can just tell me to enter.” She said affectionately, tipping her head to the side slightly.
“O-Oh yes! I’ll remember t-that for next time..” Maxi said, trailing off and clasping her hands awkwardly in front of herself.
“Well don’t mind me- I’m just here to collect your laundry and change your linens, I’ll be out of here soon”. She said and walked over to the bed to start cleaning.
Making small talk to fill the air Rudis remarked, “Normally we collect the laundry now since most people are out of their chambers around midday. Oh- not that there's anything wrong with you still being in here!” She said hastily after seeing Maximillian’s expression crumple slightly from the corner of her eye. Making quick work of the linens and dirty clothes, she began to spread the new sheets onto the large mattress with difficulty.
“H-here..” Rudis’s eyes widened at the sight of Maximillian grasping the other corner of the sheet to help, and together the two women remade the bed. Bowing slightly, Rudis turned to leave and had just stepped out into the hallway when she heard Maximillian's voice call after her.
“Did I forget anything, My lady?” Rudis asked, stepping back into the room, and closing the door as Maximillian beckoned her to.
“I f-feel like I should b-be doing something d-different w-with my time, b-but I don't know w-what it w-would be. A-And I d-don't want to overs-step any boundaries.” Maximilian confessed, looking pointedly at Rudis’s shoes.
“R-Riftan- he hasn’t c-called-for me s-since I got here, a-a-and I feel I-I-m expected to be d-doing something b-besides r-reading and s-sleeping, but I d-don’t have a place h-here or-or a job, and I k-know t-this is my f-fault for r-running away i-in the first place, b-but…”
As she rambled, Rudis’s eye caught a flicker of movement in her peripheral vision, and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the hulking figure awkwardly standing in the doorway dripping with rain, one fist raised to knock. Meeting Rudis’s eyes and seemingly snapping out of a daze, he suddenly shot back into the darkness, and his steps could be heard fading into the distance and down the stairs.
Turning back to Maximillian, it was clear she hadn’t even seen him, so absorbed in her anxiety, and she was staring at Rudis, confused.
“I-Is s-something wrong?” Maximilian asked, and craned her head to the side to examine the small puddle of water slowly spreading across the floor with some measure of confusion.
“Absolutely nothing! I apologize for your discomfort my lady, I’ll.. I’ll see what I can do to help with your situation!” Rudis quickly responded curtsying and making a hasty retreat in case the Lord was waiting for her to leave the room.
“I’m sure we can find something for you to do, but for right now you should feel comfortable reading and lounging. I'm sure his lordship will contact you very…very soon!”
With those words, Rudis walked out of the room as fast as etiquette would allow, traversing quickly through the servant tunnels and emerging in the laundry room. She submerged the linens in a deep basin and reached for the jar of wood ash on a shelf. As she scrubbed away at the clothes, she resolved herself to ask around the staff for ways to ease Maximillian’s troubles.
Earlier...
Pouring rain beat down onto the practice arena, turning the soil into sticky mud that clung to the armored shoes of the knights hauling in the last of the training equipment into the safety of the storage room. Once the door was closed, the sodden knights trekked their way to the armory where they began removing their armor and putting away their equipment.
Riftan stood at the end of the hall, methodically wiping down his cuirass, buffing out the smudges from its reflective surface when a snippet of a conversation caught his attention.
“-barely left the room.”
“-maybe she’s just disinterested?”
“She must be getting bored up in there, what do noblewomen do anyway?”
“Sit pretty and wait to turn of marriageable age I’d assume?.”
Ignoring the pointed looks shot his way, Riftan finished cleaning his armor, and stood up, preparing to leave.
“Captain! Wait for a second!” Someone called out, and Riftan turned, already expecting the deluge of questions about the situation he hadn’t figured out yet.
“Is Lady Croix okay?”
“Yeah, has she come down with something? She was traveling for a long time after all.”
Slightly surprised at their concern, Riftan cleared his throat, thinking hard of the few interactions he’d had with her assigned maid since her arrival.
“She’s fine. I know little more than the rest of you do.” He said plainly.
“But she hasn’t left her room at all, right?”
“You’d think she’d at least want a tour of the grounds or something yknow?”
“Captain, you did offer to show her around right?”
Blanching slightly, Riftan frowned, shifting his weight as he pondered how bad of an idea it would be to ask his men for advice.
“I should have offered to show her around?” He asked tentatively, internally tensing at the aghast expressions on the faces of his men.
“Of course!”
“You can’t just leave her alone like that in a big place like this!”
“Well..” Riftan started, “I thought she’d..decide to go out on her own. I mean she’s free to explore as she wishes around the castle!” He said defensively.
“Did you tell her that? Visited her at all?”
“Have you spoken to her at all since her arrival?”
“Well no, but-”
“No wonder she’s locked herself up then huh?”
“You should go invite her to dine with us tonight!”
Amid the triage of voices jumping in with their two cents, Riftan made up his mind.
“Alright! Alright I get it, I should have talked to her sooner, I’ll.. what did you suggest again?”
“Invite her to take her dinner in the hall with us!”
“I’ll ask her to dinner tonight.”
‘And talk to her about the rumor’ he thought, unfamiliar anxiety sweeping through his system and lighting up his nerves.
Amid the boyish hoots and hollers of encouragement, Riftan raced his way up to the castle, taking each step two at a time. Smoothing his wet hair back as he rounded the corner to her room, his nerves faded as the excitement of seeing her again bloomed. Noticing her door was slightly open, he pushed the wood aside gently, raising a fist to knock on the door.
“-hasn’t c-called-for me s-since I got here, a-a-and I feel I-I-m expected to be d-doing something b-besides r-reading and s-sleeping, but I d-don’t have a place h-here or-or a job, and I k-know t-this is my f-fault for r-running away i-in the first place, b-but i d-don't k-know if it’s okay f-for me t-to just l-laze about..”
As he stood there, regret coursing through his veins, the maid he’d assigned to her- Rudis turned slightly and locked eyes with him, surprised when she registered his presence. Mentally cursing, he stepped back quickly, taking off back around the corner as fast and quietly as possible, fleeing like a child caught eavesdropping.
He quickly approached the door to his quarters, and once inside his shoes were quickly tossed to the side, and his shoulder cloak unclasped. Wincing at the amount of water he’d tracked through the castle in his haste, he stuck his head out of the door and hailed a passing maid. Normally he’d bathe in the knights' quarters, but today he didn’t want to go back and be harassed for his cowardice.
The tub was brought in quickly and filled with water. The servants flitted away before he could utter a thank you, and he stripped, sinking into the warm water with barely a sigh of relief, not giving himself a chance to relax as he immediately began scrubbing at his sweat-stained body with a cake of soap, watching the water swirl around him.
Later...
Rays of sunlight shone through the windows, broken up by droplets of water slowly meandering their way down the surface of the glass. The light scattered across the hallway illuminated the walls through which Maximillian walked through, her hair and dress freshly changed. The full skirt of her dark blue dress swept the tops of her feet, and the top of her chest swelled against the restrictive neckline of the gown with each anxious breath she took.
Taking careful steps down a flight of curved stairs, she approached the main hallway of the castle and balked at the sight of so many people already seated in the dining hall, the massive arch of the entryway full of people talking and laughing with each other.
Hearing voices behind her, she quickly hid behind a curtain and watched as a group of girls- including Rudis made their way to the dining hall, socializing with ease she could never have.
‘It was never this merry back home… is it a holiday?’ She wondered as she stared at the plates of food being brought out, heaping platters of hot food meats, and bread, being served to everyone equally, regardless of status.
“Maximilian?”
Maxi shrieked as a familiar voice echoed right behind her, and spun around to face the person, getting her feet and dress tangled up in the curtain. Her upper body pitched forward, and she instinctively tried to put her hands out before her to stop her fall, panicking further when she realized both her arms were bound. A strong arm reached out to stabilize her, but the force at which they attempted to hoist her back on her feet ended up ripping the curtain straight off of the rod and sending her tumbling into them, yelping as she face-planted onto their chest.
She and Riftan stared at each other for a few moments, eyes wide before she unexpectedly felt laughter bubble up somewhere deep in her chest and she giggled, causing Riftan to follow suit with a smile.
Together, they unwound her from the heavy material, and once she was released, she moved back to a more appropriate distance, her laughter tapering off as her face grew red with embarrassment.
“I.. apologize for scaring you Maximillian, I didn’t mean to,” Riftan said apologetically, giving a slight bow, and folded the length of fabric that had once been the curtain quickly before placing it on the floor for someone to fix.
“It’s o-okay, I s-shouldn't have been h-hiding!” She quickly said, waving her hands in front of her as if to wave away his apology.
She watched as Riftan swept his gaze to the packed dining hall and then back to her. With a sympathetic smile, he held out his arm and gestured for her to take it.
“I understand the castle can be overwhelming at times... Would you like to have supper in my office instead of the main hall?” Cheeks warming further at his courtesy, she nodded, taking his arm as gracefully as she could.
She tried not to appear too nosy as they walked to a wing she hadn’t been to before, but couldn't help curiously staring into open doors and at the old decorations lining the walls- likely belonging to the previous owners of the castle.
Eventually, they reached a large wooden door flanked by two guards laughing and chatting with each other. Nodding to the men who straightened as soon as they saw him, Riftan gently moved her inside and said something quietly to one of the guards. Closing the door he turned to face her, and looked at his office with a look of consternation.
'Damn Ruth always leaving my office a mess..' he thought to himself as Maximillian looked around for a place to sit.
“You can sit here, let me just clear it off," He said and began to clean off a deep red couch covered in papers and familiar-looking tomes. Once she was seated, he moved all the objects off of the low table, finally seating himself opposite her in a much less comfortable chair than she was on. Frowning, she opened her mouth to say something when a knock at the door revealed itself to be the guard from earlier and a maid who was carrying a few small plates of food.
The food was placed on the table, and Maximilian thanked the two quietly. Riftan began uncovering the food, and without thinking, she asked
“W-Why are you sitting there? It’s much more comf-fortable over here.”, patting the large space next to her to prove her words.
The maid and knight who had just been about to leave the room paused, just as Riftan’s expression changed indecipherably, with a dash of pink atop his cheekbones. Unaware of what she had said, Maximilian just looked confused at the knight and maid who upon feeling her gaze quickly left, leaving the pair alone in the room.
Clearing his throat, Riftan took the domes off the plates and wathced as steam billowed out from the plates full of grilled meat and fish, with thick slabs of bread- even some fruit much to Maximillians' surprise.
Forgetting all about seating arrangements, Maximillian gratefully accepted the plate she was handed-her cold hands warming under the plate, and they ate in harmony, each person not realizing how hungry they were until the food was put in front of their faces.
“Maximillian.”
Caught at a bad time, her mouth was still very much full of food, and she quickly shot up her hand to cover her mouth as she chewed quickly, averting her eyes from Riftan’s gaze. Once she finished swallowing, he leaned forward in his chair, clasping his large hands together.
“I’m sorry.” He started and looked away from her to fixate on a spot somewhere behind her head. “I realize that I shouldn’t have left you alone once we arrived. Truthfully, I didn’t know what to do- and I should have had a better plan before taking you away from your home.”
As he spoke, Maximillian felt her heart pick up and a lump in her throat form, her temples becoming warm as moisture began to film over her eyes. She clenched the fabric of her dress, thinking back to all those times her maid would yank her hair to the point of bruising, never offering kind words to offset the pain she was inducing. All the ways Rosetta stole any attention from her, never once offering any sympathies for her position as the unfavored child. No one ever apologized to her, no matter how heinous or disrespectful they were to her, and no one ever sympathized with anything she had been or was going through.
The tears she had been trying to hold back fell unbidden from her wet eyelashes and plopped silently onto her plate.
“Please... D-don't apologize. I will forever be in your debt for the kindness and h-hospitality you’ve offered me. The… the only thing t-that brings me conc-cern is that so far I have d-done nothing to repay you or your knights in any way.”
“You-”
“I have very f-few skills despite my upb-bringing, but I s-still wish to be of s-service if at l-least to pay for my r-room and board here.” Hiccuping slightly as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress, she chuckled and joked, “The m-maids all here l-look so happy, I’d l-love to help t-them with their w-work…”
“I’d never let you work as a mere maid Maxi. Truthfully, I don’t expect you to do anything and you shouldn't feel obligated to. It would be a disgrace to the entire fief if we weren't able to support just one extra person.. especially one who eats so little.” He says, motioning for her to continue eating, her plate still almost as full as she had received it. Once she’d gotten farther into her meal and swallowed what was in her mouth, he spoke again, trying to change the subject.
“I’ve heard you’ve been reading a lot since you got here. Is that something you enjoy?”
“Yes! I nev-ver thanked you for letting me use y-your library! The b-books are quite interesting, even if I don’t understand everything!” She said, face brightening.
“And you have so m-many books on things I-I’d never be able to l-learn at home; I’ve been reading a l-lot about governance and trade management!”
Watching Maximillian emote with such unfiltered excitement, her eyes glittering with joy he barely caught onto what she was saying, and once he did, he frowned, confusion cluttering his thought process.
‘She wasn’t educated in basic household management? Considering how different her etiquette is from every other noblewoman I've met, I’m guessing she hasn't been given much of any instruction on how to do much of anything. Was the Duke planning to never marry her off or something?’
Catching the tail-end of a question, he responded, “No, I never formally learned anything like that either when I was first given this territory, I just.. figured it out along with Ruth.”
“T-that must have been difficult.” She sympathized, her soft yet interested voice melting away the last of his reservations.
“Well, since you have an interest in the workings of a territory, and you don’t have much else to do, you could help me with some of the easier work I do so you can learn yourself. After all, I’m not sure how accurate those books are considering their age.”
He was about to say that she could take her time to decide and that it wasn’t a requirement when she practically shouted her agreement.
“Yes! I w-would love to! Thank y-you f-for letting me l-learn from you!”
Stars practically formed and exploded in her eyes at his words, and Riftan found himself taken aback at her enthusiasm to learn. In that aspect.. she reminded him of himself.
…
“Thank y-you for e-escorting me back R-Rif..” Maximilian trailed off as she realized very belatedly that they had been neglecting any use of honorifics or titles when addressing each other this entire time. Somehow, it was more embarrassing than him seeing her naked back at the inn, and with a flush shooting up her neck she spun back to face him.
“I apologize L-Lord Calypse for not addressing y-you prop-perly all this t-time! My m-manners have been severely lacking!”
Riftan visibly faltered at her use of a title, and after a moment's hesitation bowed to her apologetically.
“Max- Lady Maximillian, you do not need to apologize, I will be more diligent in using proper titles and manners going forward... Though I wouldn’t mind if we don't use them at all. Considering how far removed we are from proper behavior already.” Raising himself from his bow, he opened her door and turned to step away once she was safely inside.
A tug on his sleeve brought his attention back to Maximillian who was mostly hidden behind the door, only the top of her reddened forehead showing from behind the wood.
“T-Thank you for helping me.” She whispered as a mouse, before releasing his arm and gently closing the door.
An uncharacteristic grin on his face, he returned to his office and sat down at his desk, beginning to put aside the easiest forms and contracts for her to look at tomorrow. His gaze kept slipping from the rough parchment in his ink-stained hands to the place where she had sat, and it was only until the candle had nearly burned to its stump that he realized he forgot to tell her about the marriage rumor.