Really Good Cider

Writers: AL, Noola
Date Posted: 22nd February 2010

Characters: Sallita, Zathris
Description: Sallita's boring day is livened up by a visit from the Lord Holder.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 7, day 10 of Turn 5
Notes: Mentioned: Zandreu

Zathris

It was a tiresomely slow day so far and Sallita was bored. There were only a
few regulars in the Tavern and no one new or interesting at all. Sallita
eyed one gaunt, greying man in particular. He came in every day and as usual
with him, it was barely midday and he was already well into his cups. She'd
lay down good marks he'd find himself escorted out by one of the lads, kept
on for just that purpose before the sun set. It wouldn't be the first time.

On the one hand, Sallita was glad it was slow, as the other woman who served
the day shift hadn't come in. The woman's little boy had come instead with
the message that his mother wasn't well. She had listened in as the boy was
questioned about just exactly what was wrong with her coworker. The boy
hadn't been very forthcoming and had been sent on his way with a warning
that his mother best be in the next day. Sallita wondered if the woman was
sick at all. She'd seen the other woman in the company of one particular
guard from the Hold on more than one occasion. Something might be going on
there...

A shout from the kitchen distracted Sallita from her musings and alerted her
to go pick up the food order to take out to one of the few tables. As she
made her way towards the kitchen, she heard the doors open and caught sight
of a new patron entering out of the corner of her eye. She didn't pay him
much mind, her attention already on making sure the cooks got the order
right and balancing three plates to carry out. There were plenty of empty
tables after all, he could seat himself until she got over to him to take
his drink and food order.

"Hello there." Zathris gave the young woman a smile as she approached his
table. "A bit of cider if you would please, and warm at that. It's quite
cold out there." Yet Zathris had made the trek to the Tavern despite the
cold. Funny how when one got into a routine, one was loathe to change it.
He cast off his jacket and hung it over the back of his chair. "Other than
that, steak, not too rare, but I still want some red, tubers, and
fingerroots."

Sallita felt her face burning a bit. She'd been quite surprised after
delivering the plates to turn and discover that the new patron was none
other than the Lord Holder. If she'd realized she'd have made an effort to
see him to a decent table. He'd chosen a good one himself, of course, but
still. One just didn't let a Lord Holder seat himself! She memorized his
order, making a mental note to inform the cooks to be particularly careful
with this order. "Right away, m'Lord"

"Thank you..." He paused, eyebrows raised as Zathris waited for the girl to
give her name. He smiled, hoping to calm her for she looked a bit nervous
when she realised who he was.

"Sallita, m'Lord." She offered the Lord Holder a nervously bright smile and
then left to give the cooks the order and collect a pitcher of hot cider.
Her smile turned into a wry grin while she worked. Imagine, just a few
moments ago, she was bored and wishing someone interesting would come in and
here she was serving the Lord Holder. It wasn't that she'd never seen him
here before, but this was the first time she'd ever waited on him herself.
Taking a quick moment to smooth her apron, Sallita made her way back to
Zathris's table with the cider.

"Ah, thank you Sallita." Zathris took the cider and lifted it in a thankful
salute. "Not too busy tonight eh?" His gaze darted around at the few people
sparsely sprinkled throughout the Tavern. They would look at him when they
thought he wasn't paying attention but as soon as he returned the gaze, they
tried to pretend they hadn't. Benaroy hadn't visited the Tavern much that
Zathris knew of, so he supposed it was rather odd to them that he should do
so.

"No sir, it's been fairly dull today, so far," His good-natured efforts at
small talk set her at ease immediately and she really wished that something
interesting would have happened she could tell the man about. The best part
of working in the Tavern was the occasional juicy bit of gossip she gleaned
and shared. Of course, what sort of thing would a Lord Holder find
intriguing? Sallita imagined sharing her suspicions about her coworker's
dalliances with the Lord Holder and couldn't help a small grin at how
ridiculous an idea it was. She couldn't completely avoid a bit of gossip,
however. "Won't be for long, will it? With the Gather coming up and all.
This place'll be busy then, I wager."

"That it will be, I'm sure. We'll have plenty of people coming in and
staying who might wish for something other than what the Hold itself has to
offer." It was only natural, of course. There was just something about
getting out of the Hold, even if it wasn't very far out. "I shall probably
avoid this place then. Too crowded for me."

Sallita couldn't help the grin, "Won't the Hold be just as crowded, m'Lord?"

"Ah, but it's bigger and there are more places to hide." Zathris was
familiar enough with the Hold he could find those places if need be.
Of course, he could always hide in his quarters, pretend he wasn't
there. Pretend with Benani. That could have it's benefits.

Imagining a Lord Holder tucking himself into some nook or cranny to
avoid a passing crowd tickled Sallita and she laughed. She shook her
head, "I'll go check on your food, m'Lord, it should be about ready
now. If you'll pardon me?"

"Of course, of course, carry on! Don't mind me." He grinned and took
another swig of his cider before setting it down. Ah, Zathris could
hear it now, the aunties talking about how he joked with a servant
girl at the Tavern. It would probably spur some other rumours as
well. It was a good thing none of them were true and Benani had a
cool head on her shoulders for such things.

Sallita noticed a few eyes following her as she made her way toward
the kitchen, stopping along the way to pick up an empty plate. It was
a bit of a new experience to be the subject of speculative looks and
whispers. Usually no one paid any attention to her at all. It was kind
of fun! She couldn't wait to tell her mother about chatting with the
Lord Holder either. She'd known getting a job at the Tavern would be
lead to interesting things and, while sometimes it was dull and
exhausting, sometimes she was proven exactly right.

She dropped the empty plate off by the sinks and went to check on the
Lord Holder's food order. It was, in fact, nearly done. They were just
plating up now. "Be sure to make it look nice! That's Lord Zathris'
plate your setting there, not a farmhand." Once the plate was ready,
she collected it and, stopping by the bar for a bottle of good red and
a glass, she headed back to the Lord Holder's table.

"Red wine eh? No more cider available?" Zathris took a moment to
appreciate the food upon the plate before he picked up his fork. His
stomach rumbled but he ignored it for a moment more. "Smells good.
Oh, is Zandreu around?"

"No, m'Lord. He isn't. And I can get you some more cider, if you
prefer, of course."

"No, that's all right." Zathris waved his hand dismissively. He
didn't want to drink _too_ much, especially in the middle of the day.
"Though Zandreu does make a good cider. I might order some to take
back with me." It would keep long enough. "You're fairly new here,
aren't you, Sallita?"

"A while now, m'Lord. This is the first time I've had the honor of
waiting on you myself though." Sallita made a mental note to make sure
to get a pitcher of the best cider ready for the Lord Holder before he
finished eating.

"Well I appreciate the service. It's always friendly here." Zathris
grinned and then leaned forward, "Make sure you get some cider for
yourself after your shift if you haven't tried it yourself already.
It's good stuff."

Sallita returned the grin and nodded that she would do so. She had, of
course, had the cider often, and it was pretty good as far as cider
went. She wouldn't dare mention the fact that it wasn't her favorite
drink in the world to the Lord Holder who seemed to enjoy it so much,
however. "I best be checking on that lot over there m'Lord," she
gestured toward the one full table across the tavern. She could see
from here a few empty glasses. "You enjoy your meal and do let me know
if there's anything else you need while you're here."

"Thank you Sallita, and it has been nice chatting with you." However
short a chat it was. Zathris grinned and began to work more on his
food. Ah yes, cider to go. Not that the hold didn't get good cider,
but there was just something about the way Zandreu made it that sat
well with Zathris.

Last updated on the February 28th 2010

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Really Good Cider