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 137: He sneered slightly as he took it delicately from her, using only his fingertips.
He sneered slightly as he took it delicately from her, using only his fingertips. Kasca didn’t particularly care what he thought as long as he delivered the message. She suspected the messenger wanted her to return with him, but she turned her back on him and went back to work. He had the information he needed to return for the remedy needed. If the lord wanted something individually tailored, he or the afflicted member of his house would have to come here. She didn’t have the time to go there.
Half an hour later, the messenger returned and after reading the missive, Kasca made certain to send the requested medication. The coins were cleansed and placed in the till. Kasca then got back to work. She suspected that she would have to answer for some insult at a later date, but a more and more infected flooded in, she decided she would deal with the Lord’s injured pride later.
‘Who knows, he might be reasonable,’ she added to herself. She doubted it was true. She found most people in power weren’t reasonable when it came to their own personal wants, but at the moment she could do little else.
Her new team dealt with the customers. Darien was quite good with them once he had a system in place. She suspected he was much more accustomed to dealing with paper than people but he adapted well. Franac and Mardon, kept order simply by being there. Their presence was difficult to ignore and as the Blood Death made people very tired, no one felt like tangling with the guards.
There also seemed to be little reason from their perspective. Kasca worked to make certain they had plenty of remedy and her staff was not denying anyone. Kasca thought that a long as no one was refused and they didn’t run out of the remedy they would be fine.
The day blurred into a wave of constant motion. When Kasca finally took a short break it was only to send a runner to the market to request new supplies as she was running low. Then it was back into the workroom.
As Darein became more adept at spotting the signs, there were fewer instances when he needed her in the front of the shop. Those with regular and non deadly ailments were staying home. Kasca thought that many of their households already stocked up on the premade remedies, but suspected others didn’t want to become infected if they weren’t already.
She couldn’t blame them.
Most of the time when Darien called her to the front, it involved a patient of high status who felt disinclined to deal with a mere clerk. She could understand Darien’s reticence. If he was to stay as her shop assistant she knew they would have a talk about that, as it was, she knew he wouldn’t stay. Darien was only here for the crisis and then he would be sent back to his position in the magistrate’s office. She was certain that if he slighted people here, they would remember there and she knew it was in his best interest to defer to her without complaint.
She regretted the time she had to stop working, even if she understood it.
Even though she was in constant motion, Kasca realized something about herself as she worked. She liked having Darien there. She was better dealing with people than he was, but it was not her favorite thing. She would prefer to work in the back and only attend to those needing her to assess their treatment needs.
