The Education of Kala Leukos, iii: The Family Fortune
Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 11:12 pm
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Several days later...
"My lady," interrupted the servant. Kala looked up from her book and her tea, her morning fruit and cheese to break her fast, in time to see the hint of a bow. House Leukos didn't stand too much on formality when at home. Their staff were all respectful, but they didn't make them grovel. In any case, they were serving the House, the Mountain, and their community, not fawning slavishly over individual members. Kala, too, would be a servant to House, Mountain, and community. It was only that their roles were different.
"Yes, Olec? Good morning."
"Good morning, my lady." The man was the age her father would be if he were still alive, she realized. He smiled benevolently upon her, perhaps seeing his own children in her. She smiled in return. "Documents for you. One from the Academy's Office of the Bursar, one from M. Bryony, and one from home." He set them down on the table near her plate so she could take them up or leave them by until she was done with her morning repast as it suited her.
"Oh, thank you. Homework begins before classes it seems," she said ruefully, though her little moue quickly brightened. "Do you like apples or pears? What we have in the kitchen right now, they are delicious. You really should try some while we have them."
"The sweeter apples, not the bitterer," he replied. "Pears are always good. Thank you, my lady. I will." They nodded amiably to each other and he went off to pursue his other duties and she put an old primary of Kaus' between the pages of her book to mark her spot. She popped a cube of cheese into her mouth and then took up the letter opener to see what there was to be seen. Scanning told her: a receipt for tuition; a tentative itemized budget for a party in early winter; a letter from Mother. Kaus shuffled in, hair tousled and eyes sleepy, his breakfast on a plate, its edge held against his chest until he collapsed in his chair.
If it wouldn't rankle, she would have wondered allowed whether he had another growth spurt left in him with how much rest his body still needed.
"I'll do the maths," she said with a soft sigh, passing the letter in his direction. "I'm more awake than you are."
"Ahhhh—" he yawned, almost cracking his jaw like some kind of mammalian serpent, "—all right. I'll read the lecture on duty, then." And then the room fell into a comfortable silence broken only by the rustle of paper and the quiet consumption of food. She wondered idly what it would be like when they were both married and raising families, whether their respective spouses would embrace their bond as fully as they did. Neither of them tried to worry about how it could go wrong; they had known for a long time that it would be strange and unusual for whomever they added to the fold, but it would be just another thing they tackled together.
For the time being, however, this was their new normal.
"I don't even know how many friends we will have by this time," she fretted, mostly to herself.
"I mean, I will most assuredly have plenty."
"Ass."
"Shrew."
"My lady," interrupted the servant. Kala looked up from her book and her tea, her morning fruit and cheese to break her fast, in time to see the hint of a bow. House Leukos didn't stand too much on formality when at home. Their staff were all respectful, but they didn't make them grovel. In any case, they were serving the House, the Mountain, and their community, not fawning slavishly over individual members. Kala, too, would be a servant to House, Mountain, and community. It was only that their roles were different.
"Yes, Olec? Good morning."
"Good morning, my lady." The man was the age her father would be if he were still alive, she realized. He smiled benevolently upon her, perhaps seeing his own children in her. She smiled in return. "Documents for you. One from the Academy's Office of the Bursar, one from M. Bryony, and one from home." He set them down on the table near her plate so she could take them up or leave them by until she was done with her morning repast as it suited her.
"Oh, thank you. Homework begins before classes it seems," she said ruefully, though her little moue quickly brightened. "Do you like apples or pears? What we have in the kitchen right now, they are delicious. You really should try some while we have them."
"The sweeter apples, not the bitterer," he replied. "Pears are always good. Thank you, my lady. I will." They nodded amiably to each other and he went off to pursue his other duties and she put an old primary of Kaus' between the pages of her book to mark her spot. She popped a cube of cheese into her mouth and then took up the letter opener to see what there was to be seen. Scanning told her: a receipt for tuition; a tentative itemized budget for a party in early winter; a letter from Mother. Kaus shuffled in, hair tousled and eyes sleepy, his breakfast on a plate, its edge held against his chest until he collapsed in his chair.
If it wouldn't rankle, she would have wondered allowed whether he had another growth spurt left in him with how much rest his body still needed.
"I'll do the maths," she said with a soft sigh, passing the letter in his direction. "I'm more awake than you are."
"Ahhhh—" he yawned, almost cracking his jaw like some kind of mammalian serpent, "—all right. I'll read the lecture on duty, then." And then the room fell into a comfortable silence broken only by the rustle of paper and the quiet consumption of food. She wondered idly what it would be like when they were both married and raising families, whether their respective spouses would embrace their bond as fully as they did. Neither of them tried to worry about how it could go wrong; they had known for a long time that it would be strange and unusual for whomever they added to the fold, but it would be just another thing they tackled together.
For the time being, however, this was their new normal.
"I don't even know how many friends we will have by this time," she fretted, mostly to herself.
"I mean, I will most assuredly have plenty."
"Ass."
"Shrew."
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