Morning all and welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Here I take the start of a story idea and work on it for fifteen minutes a day. I started with an old writing prompt that interested me, cleaned it up a bit to fit the basic outline of the story I want to write and then set aside fifteen minutes each week day to see it grow. Each morning’s writing starts with the last sentence of the day before. And so now we have the story of Kasca…
Day 119: As expected there were several needing to get to work early who took the opportunity to stop by.
As expected there were several needing to get to work early who took the opportunity to stop by. Kasca could see the relief on many faces at her early opening hours and she decided that once she figured out her restocking schedule she would post the market day and morning hors on the front window so that those who needed her services before they headed off to work would know her availability.
There were waves of people today. She saw the early risers and then there was a lull in foot traffic. As she used the time to work in the back with the door to the front of the shop propped open, Kasca thought she might have gotten through a lot of the built up emergencies.
There were a few patrons who entered the shop after the morning rush ended. They came in small groups and were mostly women. She could tell from their clothing that they were from wealthier neighborhoods. Their clothing told her that much easily.
She soon discovered there was a ritual to their visits. They perused her shelves and chatted among themselves for the first part of their time in her shop. They circled looking at the pre made liniments and creams. They scanned the shelves and looked into the display counters. Then once they made a full circuit one of their number would be sent as an emissary to speak with her.
The emissary would then ask about some form of beauty treatment. A lotion to cure blemishes or soften skin. Oils to be added to the bath or rubbed into the skin to produce more delicate scents than the more obtrusive perfumes. They wanted herb stuffed pillows for sweet sleep and rinses to make their hair glossy.
Kasca spoke to them all and in some cases had a version of what they wanted. She often had to take the item her predecessor made back into the workroom to tailor it to the specific request with her magic before selling it to the customer.
Only one of them would buy the product and the group would leave. Kasca had the suspicion that the item would be tried and if it met standards, the others would then return for purchases of their own.
‘Testing the waters,’ she thought.
Kasca didn’t mind, in fact it was expected. She made a note of the items requested and added a notation as to how many were in the group. She knew her creations would work. It increased the likelihood that others would return and she would need to have supplies prepared.
As the morning waned and people began taking their lunch, Kasca had a different sort of visitor. These were predominantly men and they were almost always alone. They seemed to be a mix of classes but none of them were the laborers she saw early in the morning. These were clerks and office staff, professional men such as magistrates and solicitors. There were even a few who looked to be on the lower end of the noble classes.
They were the kind of Lords with titles but no land to back the titles up. They always looked as though they were trying to imitate their solicitors and clerks and not draw attention to their class. There was no perusing of the shelves for these men. They walked into the shop and came directly to her to ask for what they needed.
