"A female doctor?" Lysandra asked, confused.
Women weren't even allowed to pursue a study anything further than basic knowledge and basic skills, like reading and writing. Let alone study medical science. Male doctors were also the only exception to the rule of seeing a woman's body before or after marriage.
Tara just confirmed the doctor being female with a short nod. "Yes for your comfort, Milady."
"Right uhm, a meal. What do you have up here in the North? Would a stew be too much to ask?" Lysandra worried. Unsure if any food or crops would even be able to grow out here in the cold.
Tara seemed to ponder for a moment. "Well we did have a look at some of the cooking books we still had with Capital recipes. We found one for sweet toast with honey, something they call a full breakfast, so eggs, bacon, sausage, some porridge and fresh orange juice. Of course there is stew, it's hardy and easy, but please Milady, feel free to request whatever you feel like eating. I'm sure I can convince the chefs to prepare anything you request." Tara remained polite while giving Lysandra options to choose from.
Toast with honey? That's what grandfather used to have for breakfast and everyone called him delusional for thinking that was a proper meal. "Some porridge would be just fine, thank you." Lysandra was a bit hesitant, porridge would be fine as it was a simple meal.
The maid helped her off the floor where Lysandra had still been sitting this whole time. Bringing Lysandra back to her bed to rest. "Ah yes at once, Milady, perhaps some fruit on the side?" Tara didn't stay to hear the response and instead hurried off to get the doctor and the requested porridge, possibly cutting up some fruit on the side as well.
Meanwhile the doctor entered. She had short hair and wore typical doctor garbs. Her name was Helan as she introduced herself before checking Lysandra's vitals. She also looked at some of the small wounds Lysandra had incurred whilst riding for as long as she had. "Alright Milady, I will give you some supplements to get your energy levels up again. Please rest as best you can and call me if you need anything." The doctor then bowed her head and left with a small smile on her face.
It was as the doctor was leaving that Tara re-entered the room. She was holding a tray with the porridge, some cut up red fruits, as well as a pot of tea along with a generous sized teacup.
The maid gently placed the tray on Lysandra's bedside table. "I-I have taken the liberty of selecting one of our more floral teas, Milady, it's light and goes well with the porridge and fruits." She poured a cup of tea for Lysandra and an aroma reminiscent of the most expensive tea in the capital filled the room. It was complex yet light, the smell wasn't overpowering, it could even be considered soothing.
"Would you like me to set up the bed table?" Tara needed no answer and quickly put a small bed table over Lysandra's knees, serving her the porridge, fruits and very nice smelling tea. "Do you take your tea with anything in it Milady?"
Confused might have been an understatement with how Lysandra felt, the stories about the North had been nothing more than vile. Savages that drank sewage water, waste lands for days and the only food they'd have were wild boars they slaughtered. Yet here she sat in a comfortable bed having crawled back under the covers a little as she felt cold, a tray on her bed with breakfast that looked like it would have been served for any noble back home.
"Sugar? Do you have any sugar?" she questioned. Tara nodded and quickly added a few spoons to both the tea and the porridge.
Looking at the porridge Lysandra played with her spoon a little before holding up a bite to her mouth, it smelled alright. Porridge like any other bowl she had ever had. What if it was made of something disgusting only to look like porridge. Shaking her head of these toughs her stomach rumbled as she took a bite.
Hot! Oh crap, waving her hand at her mouth trying to cool down. "Ah–" she gasped and swallowed it down "That– that was warmer than I expected" she spoke and realised it actually tasted pretty good. Quickly blowing on the next spoon before taking a bite she finished her bowl rather quickly, her stomach craved for substance.
Tara quickly caught on that Lysandra finished her bowl fast and insisted on getting another serving. Lysandra was left alone in her room to rest. She had wanted to visit Daisy, but Tara had informed her that her maid was still resting on the doctor's orders. Daisy's wound was being taken care of but would require additional time to heal. Having grabbed one of her books at one point as Lysandra sat in her room, having crawled up under the sheets, she spent the rest of her day reading until she dozed off. Tara had taken care of her meals and there was always something on Lysandra's bedside table to eat and drink.
Without intending it, Lysandra had become comfortable and slept through the night. Breakfast was already standing on her bedside table when she woke. The same bowl of porridge and tea just like the morning before.
Lysandra groaned out of boredom putting her book down some hours later. Sure, her book was entertaining but she had had enough. Crawling out of the bed, she walked to the wardrobe grabbing a dress. Maybe she could go and visit Daisy? If not, check on Shadow. Having dressed herself, not something she was unfamiliar with since her mother taught both Ambra and her to be independent. Don't rely on your maid to get dressed. You should be able to do it yourself, you're not a child. She could hear the line in her mothers tone of voice.
Lysandra's room had an ensuite bathroom, so she could freshen up with ease. Her legs were still a tad sore. Walking up to the door of her room, she opened it up to peek outside. A dark hallway was all she saw. What a surprise. And a– she could feel her eyes doubling in size realising there was a man standing right outside her door. A breathing being, she wasn't even too sure whether he was a human, but he surely wasn't some statue. The man in uniform looked at her, his gaze cold and piercing. It was like his gaze went right through her soul. She could feel a shiver rushing down her spine. The man in uniform was holding a weapon in his hand that looked like it could cut her head off with a simple swing. With the man still staring her down, Lysandra slammed the door shut. Her heart in her throat. Being out of the man's sight she allowed herself to release a breath, she hadn't known she was holding.
Stepping back into her room, Lysandra could feel herself breakout in a cold sweat. Fuck, fuck, fuck, her mind repeated several times trying to comprehend why there was a guard outside her door. He stood there and looked like he would kill her the second she stepped outside. Walking backwards until she hit the edge of the bedside she dropped down on the mattress feeling defeated. Now what was she supposed to do, sit here in her room until the Duke would call for her? Peering over her shoulder she got up and walked to the window.
The white snow had covered the land. It was still snowing even now. She noticed how many guards were stationed at each post: four of them at the main gate, another two at the smaller gate that seemed to be led to the side of the estate. It wasn't quite clear where the smaller gate was going as the view was blocked by the side of the building sticking out. Looking over towards the forest she saw several guards patrolling the edge. It was quite far out, so she couldn't exactly see how many guards were on duty but she could make out that there were at least two groups walking to the left whilst another two were heading to the right.
There was no way Lysandra would ever be able to make it back to the edge of the forest unnoticed, going through the forest would be impossible without a guide. Lysandra gulped nervously at the idea of what would happen if one of those canines would catch her. She'd be shredded to pieces until she'd bleed out, remembering the beast's teeth covered in blood and black goop– shaking her head.
Returning to her bed Lysandra crawled back under the sheets, not really caring for the fact that she was dressed. The fireplace in her room was still burning steadily, however the drop in temperature in combination with the snow wasn't something she was used to. Grabbing her book once more, she just decided to continue reading, hoping that whenever Tara, her new maid, arrived, she could possibly ask about Daisy.
Tara would return to the room during what Lysandra could only assume was lunch. The maid made a strange remark as she was serving lunch. "Ah and since you've been eating well, the Duke will have dinner with you, Milady." It didn't sound like a request at all, instead it felt like an order. Losing her appetite in a split second Lysandra could only nod at Tara. "Ah I see." Her voice was soft and she sounded less than excited.
"Great, what sort of dress would you like me to pull for you, Milady?"
The wardrobe suddenly felt like a daunting task, but she needed to wear something that would impress the duke. After all, Lysandra needed to live in order to make sure her parents wouldn't get killed by the Emperor himself. At least until the wedding was official. The only thing she could think of was the dress her father had gotten her for her birthday last year.
She walked over to her wardrobe, opening the doors. A wine red strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline trimmed with a golden outline, sleeves that exploded in ruffles from her elbows out all the way down to the ground. Several layers of gold fabric that in empirical standards would be considered the highest of fashion made up the sleeves. Inconvenient was an understatement but the more layers to a dress the higher ones ranking in the social hierarchy after all. Fabrics like this cost a fortune. On top of all of that, the dress was covered with hand embroidered golden flowers with a finishing red bow at her lower back. That was what she decided to wear.
Tara was walking in front of Lysandra. They made their way down the hallway in the outrageous dress. Tara had done Lysandra's hair too for good measure. Her hair was loosely braided. The braid was adorned with a few fake red roses that came with the dress. Lysandra had forgotten how heavy this dress was. She had not worn anything like it since she had left for the North. It has been only six weeks since the letter from the Emperor first arrived, but it felt like a lifetime ago.
They came to a halt at two large imposing doors. The doors were opened by a guard each and the dining room came into view. The interior was much like the rest of the estate Lysandra had seen so far. Blue draperies covered the windows with a cord hanging down from each, presumably to open them. Were they ever opened at all? Three chandeliers hung just above a long dinner table. The table seemed to be made of a type of dark wood that Lysandra didn't recognize. The table sucked any light that was present out of the room. It even overshadowed the three chandeliers. As Lysandra looked up she was met with the sight of a fully painted ceiling. There was no time to admire any of it as it was time for dinner to be served.