I asked “How about we see what they sent along with you?” I motioned to the chests 

she looked confused “none of those are mine my whole dowry was woven into that dress the gold threat the jewels all of it there is a small kingdoms fortune in that dress well and those awful heavy shoes.” she looked so confused by how fast her life had changed but wasn’t crying so I took that as a win. “I’m really cold but I only see one bed how do we do this?”

I felt vary relived that I had already divulged my issue so she would know how inappropriate sharing a bed would be but at the same time what else was our option it was already late and getting hard to see. “oh um I, i do not really know, this room is made in the bedrock so sleeping on the floor is not on option, it pulls your heat straight from you, it’s quit dangerous.” I franticly looked around my room for another bed that I knew was not their.

seeing my sudden great discomfort she offered “I’m not from this far north even if I slept in the bed I would not sleep for the cold, I am vary poor at making heat so may hap I should just stay up the night moving and let you sleep then when the day is warm I may use the bed you have already warmed?”

“I feel as though I should argue but I see no other option? hear let me find you more layers I am not from this far north either so I do not have much we will explore the chest tomorrow when their is light to help. I bundled her up in every wool layer she could fit in our proportions were distinctly opposite but she stoped shivering and got a little color back in her cheeks, I unwrapped my tea gown and hung it up on the corner of the book shelf and went to bed as I always did but it was very difficult to sleep as the queen who frustratingly had still not told me her name had started slowly crying again. “I’m sorry but if you cant tell me you name please give me another way to address you?”

she whimpered with all the worlds pathetic fatigue “you my call me Lynda.”

“Thank you, Lynda. is their anything you need or that I can do for you, or do you just need to cry for a bit?” didn’t Linda mean beauty well that was fitting.

“I, I think I just need the cry, their is so much and yet here so little, how can there be any future?”

 the thought hit me like an oak tree had fallen on my spirit. oh no now I had another person I had to keep entertained how on earth was I going to keep her sane? I was barely living the only thing I had to work with was what precious little was in the cell. What ever hopefully blessings were in the chests and the dress, oh yes the dress that may work “well tomorrow is going to be a big day your first job here is to take apart every seam of that dress. Every peal, gem and bobble you need to carefully methodically remove then focus of your ire on disassemble every part of it. so that you have some peace and then we can use what is left to make a better future for you here.”  

she kept crying but not a desperately, now she seem like there was something to keep going for. so completely worn out by the most exciting and exhausting day I had had in over three years I fell asleep looking forward to the mystery chests tomorrow.

I woke confused by the dark curtain over my eyes I didn’t have black fabric anywhere in my cell I turned my hard over into two perfect beasts! I have breasts they are barely noticeable and fine just they way they are, I can ware fashionable garments without the added wait or agony of such heavy things but my gowns never looked as filled as Daisy or Lynda! I just stared for a long time, too long of a time what was so enchanting about breasts like I said I have them why would I be spellbound by the same thing but bigger rounder tan and soft?

I managed to get my whits together and removed myself from the bed. Not only had she slept on the bed she had slept in the bed under the covers with me! This was Very inappropriate and I would have to put a stop to it… but she really looked like she needed the sleep. so I went to a window watched the solders and followed along with the dills excessing help put my mind back together. I by now expert and not making a sound, moved the dressing screen to the creek bowl and quickly bathed and dressed for the day I pulled in the breakfast trays and laid out my listening rug and reset all the little thing to help me hear the mess. It was usually quiet but a few of the soldiers made some comments about not liking letting a lady let a lone a queen cry her self to sleep. the commander quickly put an end to that saying a queen could get away with such a command but normal folk like them got sent to the worst font line as prisons were empty now and their weren’t enough solder to keep such bad battlefields.

Once the mess breakfast was over I opened my eyes to see Lynda looking at me oddly “whatever are you doing on the floor?”  she questioned 

Now I felt some sense of guilt for all the eavesdropping I did on the daily, I blushed a little “the only way to pick up any news is to listen when they have their meals, if we are to loud they will learn not to talk so loud them selves and we will lose any information at all.”

she looked shocked then jumped out of bed and kneeled beside me to look out the try flap “I don’t here anything?”

Breakfast is over lunch is at high noon. Eat now then we have a lot of cleaning to get that blood and smell out of here. keeping this cell clean was hard with one person with two it will be impossible. I would like to not live in stink.”

“it’s not human blood, he commanded I be covered in pig blood for being such a pig to him.” she puckered her face bitter at the memory 

I turned and looked at her sour expression “what could have possessed him!”

“I do not know… the marriage was arranged years ago, before our bites even. then suddenly we had a distance ceremony at home and I was married to some one I have never met. It took weeks to get there, hours to get dressed I was sown into the dress at every layer and then the fist thing my husband say to me is to undress completely in front of the whole court?” 

I sat and gave her my full attention she seem genuinely confused by all of it. this sounded very strange indeed. 

“I though I had misunderstood. I am fluent in your language and have been taught many of your customs but I am completely caught lost by what happed, the dress was made to hold all of that gold and so sewing it to me was the only option. I could not have removed it if my life had depended on it! what was the point why had this happen? Is this some custom for your queen to go bare before your court, what a terrible custom!”

“No that is most certainly not a custom. nakedness between the sexes has very strict rules here. so that is most irregular. was he perhaps offended by the decadence of your dress?” i was guessing having no day how things had turned out like this.

“It was the only way to get the fortune here safely.” she walked over to the soaking garment and started to try and pull it out  

I joined her and showed her how to clean the under garments while I worked on the heaver outer garments. we worked and cleaned for a while talking over different theories oh how things had gone so wrong for her.