The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is a attempt to write a complete (and very rough) draft of a novel by writing for fifteen minutes each day. I have taken a timed writing from one of the daily prompts done in 2021, cleaned it up a little and used it as my jumping off point into a story. Each day I will take the last line of the story written the day before and use it as my sentence starter and write for fifteen minutes, growing the story as the year progresses.
Day 93: It was costly to pay to use such a luxury.
It was costly to pay to use such a luxury. And those who could afford it only did so on a few occasions. To be seen visiting the bath house was to be envied your status and wealth. To be seen using it too often was a sign of boastfulness.
‘But I could use this regularly,’ Anya marveled. Her hand traced the edges of the now cool device, her fingertips barely brushing the surface. The sheer marvel of it momentarily knocked all other thoughts from her mind. Anya shook her head and pulled her hand back.
‘If they are trying to convince me to stay, this is a good way to do it,’ she decided.
Anya tore her eyes away from the device and saw a wooden box. She opened it. Inside there was a vial of what looked like oil, a small block of soap, a scrub brush and another smaller box that when inspected , contained scented soap flakes.
“Rose,” Anya thought. She closed the box. There was nothing more to see in the bathing chamber so Anya returned to the bedroom. She placed her satchel and bag containing her in progress lace on the floor next to the bed and walked back to the sitting room. As she walked she slipped the key the matron gave her into her pocket so she would have both hands free.
The sitting room hadn’t changed. It was still two comfortable looking chairs placed by the fire and what looked like a hidden door off to the side. Now that she knew what the chamber proper held, she stepped over to the wall to investigate. She placed her hand against the wall and tried to recall how the others opened. She pressed one side and slowly the panel creaked open. It was fixed in the center and as though a pole ran through the center of the panel. The panel simply turned on’ it’s central pole and turned into a door way.
Anya looked inside. It looked like a study, nearly identical to the others she found previously. It had a fireplace built into the back of the one in her more public room. There were two chairs placed before it. There were shelves lined with books, maps pinned to the wall and a work table containing various sized glassware pieces. It looked just as dusty as the other two rooms she was in and deciding it was edging close to the mid-day meal, Anya decided not to investigate too much further. There were windows letting in light enough to sue during the day and lamps for night time use.
It was clear however that when the rooms were prepared for her, no one prepared this back study. ‘I wonder if they thought I wouldn’t notice it,’ Anya thought as she swung the panel shut. As it was unaccustomed to moving it squealed in protest before clicking back into place. She turned to look at the rest of the room. While the furnishings were somewhat sparse and lacking personal touches, everything was scrupulously clean. There was no sign of dust or of cobwebs anywhere. Anya frowned as she wandered back through the rooms.
‘If I were cleaning them, I would have cleaned the study too,’ She thought. Even if she didn’t expect the study to be used Anya knew she would have to clean it or feel like the task was only half completed.
Ten til Midnight 