We went to the refectory, got a table and waited for Miss Tessa to start assigning new duties.

“Our maids-in-training will be under Iralalith’s care from now.” Miss Tessa gave us a smile.

A few moments later a maid appeared at our table.

She was short and slim. Her wavy chestnut hair fell down to her hips and her brilliant green eyes seemed to glow. Her ears were long and pointed. She wore the usual maid attire. The elven maid.

“I’m Iralalith.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Good morning, Miss Iralalith!” We jumped to our feet.

“Wait by the stairs after breakfast. I going to pick you up.”

“Yes, Miss Iralalith!”

She nodded and sat down at another table. We sat down again and had our breakfast. After we were done we walked to the stairs to a spot where we didn’t get in the way of others. The staircase was crowded after a meal.

After a while I saw Iralalith approaching from the door to hall.

She nodded to the staircase. We nodded and started to climb up the staircase.

“Stop!” Iralalith ordered as we reached the first floor.

She passed and opened the door into a large kitchen. Several people were busy preparing food. We turned left and followed an open path by the wall to the next door. There was another door in the wall we were facing while crossing the room. A chubby man with an apron glared daggers at us.

The next room was large and the floor was covered by wooden panels. A large, set table dominated the room. There were two other doors. On the center of the right wall and another in the left wall. There was a staircase at the far left corner of the room.

Iralalith followed the wall to the left.

“The door in this direction leads to the ballroom.” She pointed to the right.

“As well as the other door from the kitchen.”

She opened the door and we entered a short narrow hallway into another large chamber. There was a hallway straight onward, narrowing down at the back, ending in a door. At left side were two door and wide hallway. In the opposite wall were three doors and a large stone protrusion with passage leading to a circular staircase.

Iralalith turned right. This part of the wall was a section of a circle. We entered the passage and passed five more doors.

The staircase ended in a door. Iralalith knocked at the door and opened it a few moments later.

“Hello!” she sang and went outside.

We came out on a large circular stone platform with crenellations. The staircase was at the north side of the platform. I could see the ocean at a distance. There was a pointed roof with shingles on a wooden truss over the platform, but there were no walls.

Two guards were patrolling at the crenellations.

“Good morning, Miss Iralalith! Good morning girls.” The older guard stopped and turned in our direction.

“Good morning. I wanted to the girls to have a look at scenery.” Iralalith stepped up to the crenellations.

“Enjoy the view!” He continued patrolling.

“Take your time.” Iralalith looked south at the Claws.

“Yes, Miss Iralalith!” We stepped up to the crenelations.

Below us was a steep, rocky hillside sloping down to the coast. I could see a schooner sailing eastward while getting distance from the coast. There was no land to the north. I walked westward, followed by the others, and two jetties came into view. They sealed up a small bay, leaving only a small passage to enter the bay.

“We can hit the entrance of the harbor with our catapults!” The guard who talked with Miss Iralalith stopped by us.

“It’s for defense?” I looked at the guard, slightly blushing.

“Yes!”

“Who would attack the town?”

“Ahhh. You’re not from around here? Are you?”

I shook my head.

“Well. First there are the sea devils. They live offshore ever since.”

“Sea devils?”

“They are a kind of humanoid fish. They use magic and are fierce fighters. Those scales are hard to cut! Fortunately they don’t come out while the suns are up. But in the night, you don’t want to be offshore! They eat anything they get!”

“Ewww!”

“They used to raid the land at night, but after we finished our coast fortification in the great war, they mostly gave up pestering us ashore. Ships should reach a harbor before sunset, though.” The guard shook his head.

The guard started to patrol the tower again. After a few steps I could see the town. A large wide wall connected the outer bailey of the castle with the town. It was quite sloped, but I could see people walking up and down that way.

Looking to the south there were The Claws visible at the horizon, the terrain looked like forest near the mountains, but in the vicinity there were fields and pasture separated by hedges and with some smaller woods between them. Just below was the inner bailey with the outer bailey north of it. A winded road ran from the town up to the castle. The town was not that large. I don’t even know the name of the town. Sooner or later I needed some pointers about geography.

“The castle is impressive!” I waited for the talkative guard to pass by.

“It’s a well defended place. Nearly impossible to conquer!” He smiled at me.

“Was it built in the great war?” Milly smiled at the guard.

“Most of the castles were built in the great war. At least they were reinforced.” He looked in the distance.

“How long ago was this war?” We followed him as he started to patrol the crenellations again.

“You parents didn’t tell you much about history.” he looked over the crenellations.

“They’re long dead.” I looked at my feet drooping.

“Oh. Sorry gal! The great war was with Arhithrea. They failed to conquer the northern kingdoms for a long time, because the mountain passes were easy to defend. They decided to attack with a fleet around Cape Vorsh from the west and captured some smaller towns and the capital of Austerre. All people of the north allied and retrieved the smaller towns after a few months of siege. We fortified these places and repelled many attacks thereafter. The warships had to cope with the sea devils without the smaller harbors, and so the situation in the capital of Austerre worsened for the conquerors. We laid siege to the city and slowly we wore them down as the sea devils hit the warships harder than in the beginning of the war. Probably they simply came in greater numbers. After a while the support convoys arrived were too damaged to sail back and there was not material to repair the ships properly. After three years the Arithreans were forced to surrender. They tried to attack with a larger fleet three years later but our improved coastal fortifications and the valor of our army send them back home. They were struggling with the sea devils as well all the time and it was told they lost half of their fleet! This was just over hundred years ago.”

“It’s time to move on gals!” Iralalith clapped her hands.

Quickly we walked over to her.

She walked down the stairs again, passed the first door, stopped at the second and opened the sturdy door with a key.

We entered a large, well furnished room. The windows were small and barred. The room took over a half of the tower and there was a door to the other half.

“You going to learn how to clean a room proper now. The rooms up in the donjon aren’t used most of the time, thus it’s a good place for you to learn without interference of a noble who wants to have a properly cleaned chamber.”

Iralalith opened the door to the next room. It was a vast bedroom with a four-poster bed.

“These rooms are for the family in times of war. In peaceful times they are used for guests not meant to leave.” She smiled.

She opened a small locker hidden behind a panel. There was a full set of cleaning utensils.

“The floor is actually a sink, where you can empty the your buckets.”

She turned around with a smile.

“Fresh water can be found at the first floor. Take the buckets!”

“Yes, Miss Iralalith!”

We followed her down to first floor.

“These are all bathrooms. Take the door to the right for water. It is the least used room. Should anybody enter to use the facility you have to leave and wait until the room is free again.”

“Yes, Miss Iralalith!”

We filled our buckets at a tap and carried them the spiral staircase.

“Now start! I expect you to clean this up until lunch.” Miss Iralalith smiled.

“Expect punishment if it’s not properly cleaned up!”

She went to the door.

“I’ll lock you in, knock if there is something. I’m on the floor above. I’m going to check your progress after I’m done upstairs.”

She closed the door and we heard the lock turning.

“Well, let’s start!” Milly took charge.

We started in the bedroom. How long didn’t they clean this room? After half an hour Iralalith came back and started check what we’re doing. She changed from one of us to the other, and she made me quite nervous.

After a while she stood next to me while I was busy cleaning the floor.

“Lilly!”

“Yes, Miss Iralalith!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Cleaning the floor, Miss Iralalith.”

She squatted next to me and had a white rag in her hand, sweeping over the floor I had cleaned a while ago. There was a stain on the previously clean rag.

“This, Lilly, is not clean!”

I blushed.

“Sorry, Miss Iralalith!”

“Get up, Lilly!” Miss Iralalith got up and gave me a menacing glare.

I got up and turned to Miss Iralalith, looking on the floor.

“You’re in for punishment, and after that I expect you to clean that mess again.”

“Yes, Miss Iralalith!”

“Now, turn around and put your hands on your knees!”

I turned my back to her and lowered my upper body and put my hands on my knees.

She put something hard between my legs and pushed my legs shoulder wide apart.

Shit. I grit my teeth.

Iralalith laughed melodically standing somewhere directly behind me.

“Keep working if you don’t want to be punished as well.”

“Yes, Miss Iralalith!” They started cleaning the room again.

Slowly I started sweating.

Then my dress was flapped up, exposing my butt. I blushed even more.

A few moments passed without anything happening.

Then something soft started tickling right between my ass cheeks! I jumped!

“Don’t move! Back in position!”

Quickly I put my hands on my knees and she exposed my butt again.

She started to tickle around my butt and down my legs. Only short light touches. I managed to stay in the stance she told me for a while. The ticking started to get longer and finally I couldn’t keep my butt in position.

“Stay down!”

A few moments later I started squeaking an giggling as she assaulted me between my thighs, slowly moving upward. I started to buck but she hold the hem of my dress up and relentlessly tickled my ass cheeks.

Finally I fell on my knees to escape the tickling. A I rolled on my back a few moments later Miss Iralalith pulled the hem of my dress up and started to tickle me down below with her feather duster.

I completely lost my self control and started to wildly flail about. I never hit her once and finally I laid down on the floor panting, unable to move a limb for some time.

After a while I regained my wind.

“Now clean the floor her again. We do this again until all is clean!”

I scrambled to my feet and cleaned the part of the floor again.

“Caroline!”

“Yes, M-Miss Iralalith?”

“Do you think the floor here is clean?”

“I think so, Miss Iralalith!”

“Get up and hands on your knees!”

“Noooo! Please!”

“You want some extra?”

Caroline got to her feet and got in to the same position as I was before. A minute later after squeaking and laughing her lungs out she laid panting on the floor.

She did it with all of us, but she stopped as we started to work thoroughly. Caroline and I got the most of her attention. We didn’t finish the room till lunch.

“You continue until all is done!”

Thus lunchtime passed. Miss Iralalith left us now and then, finding some dirt in areas we cleaned after she returned and used her feather duster with great skill and passion to send us to the floor panting.

Eventually we had finished the room. I was hungry and totally exhausted.

“This room is finished. I will complain to Miss Tessa, that you didn’t finish your work in time.”

“Tomorrow you will clean the room on the floor below. Now out, you may eat a bit now. We don’t want you to to be too weak for Miss Tessa’s attention tonight!”

We left the room and walked down the stairs. I felt some muscle aching from the squealing and laughing. I don’t know if beating or tickling is worse. At least we were able to continue our tasks after the punishment. And it looked like this was avoidable. We would have to deal with Miss Tessa in the evening though.

We climbed the stairs down to the first floor, crossed the dining room and the kitchen and started to climb up to the second floor again, using the circular staircase outside the donjon. We entered a wide hallway. To the right was a passage leading in a room with ten tables with benches. The hallway turned to the left after a few meters.

We turned around the corner. The hallway had a door to the left, followed by a narrow hallway and a further door.

“The first door is my room!” Miss Iralalith passed the first door and turned left into the narrow passage.

“The next door is the bathroom for the servants on this floor.”

We entered a small kitchen. A cauldron hung over a fireplace, which was steaming a bit.

“Get yourselves some plates and cutlery and take what you want from the basket over there. We’re going to eat in the room with the tables.” Miss Iralalith opened a locker and got a stack of plates.

In the basket were leftovers from lunch, but not the usual stew. I think it was from the kitchen for the nobles. We warmed up some of the food on the oven and went back to the room with the tables with full plates.

“This is the ready room. There has always to be someone here. The bells are for the various guest rooms, which are on this floor. Most of the time the suites are empty, but for festivities it gets quite busy here.”

There are several bells of different sizes hanging at the wall with some string attached. Probably a setup like in the mansion in Soltan, only bigger.

“After you’ve cleaned up the chambers in the dungeon, you will be mostly on this floor for your normal work. There is much to keep clean here.”

After a delicious and filling meal Miss Iralalith led us down to Miss Tessa’s office.

“They didn’t finish their work in time, Miss Tessa.”

“Any other complaints?”

“Nothing noteworthy, I keep them in check.” Miss Iralalith gave us a wide smile.

“Okay. Get ready for extra training tonight!”

She waved us out and we stopped outside in the hall.

Dinner was being prepared.

“I’m full. When I eat more now I won’t survive the training later.” I rubbed my belly.

“Good idea. Let’s head for our room until the training starts.” Milly started to walk to our room

“We come as well. Tilly and Caroline followed suit.

“I don’t understand how you’re able to stand thus long when she tickles you” Milly looked at me with a pout.

“I’m just stubborn. It doesn’t help in the end though.” I smiled back.

“Stubborn it is!” Milly and Tilly nodded.

“The tickling is evil.” Caroline groaned.

“We have to focus on good work, then we only have training sessions in the evening!” I fetched my nightgown from the locker and put it in the pocket of my apron. The pockets not bulging was a nice feature. I wonder if there are real storage items. Miss Tessa’s apron would classify. It was absurd what she keeps in those pockets.

Eventually the back door to our room opened and training started. Miss Tessa was going all out again. After a while we started some martial arts training for a while. It started with learning some simple techniques and ended in sparring bouts.

Milly, Tilly and Caroline sparred together. Two paired up while one of them had a break, while I was steamrolled by Miss Tessa without much of a break.. She was quick and had much experience. I suffered many bruises this evening but occasionally I was able to get in a serious hit as well. I had to adapt more being the weaker one in a bout. It was bad in conjunction with her longer arm, but I had some experience with my opponents having more reach than me.

After the bath at the end we all fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows, regardless of all the bruises..