Light leaked into the halls of the fine estate, exposing dust particles upset from their resting place on the furniture and floors. With the strokes of a broom and a duster, more dust was displaced and miniscule filth was corralled into a pile. When the grit was assembled into a considerable mound, a pan was placed onto the floor and the mess swept into it. Deposited into a trash bin, the young man, named June, stowed his broom and pan, breathed a sigh, and plunked himself into an armchair.
"Finally, aaaall done. How are you doing with the dusting, Elime?" June was a young man, 24 years in age and wearing it well. His skin had a peach hue, and was sun kissed in select places. He was principally petite in build, reaching only 5'4" in height with his hips being his only wide point, his rear generous in pliability. On his ring finger, he wore a silver ring with a sapphire set into it. He craned his neck to see the nearby maid, his blonde, shoulder length locks twisting behind his head.
"Almost finished Mr. Stetz, just getting the dust off a few more shelves!" the girl maid, who was in her older teen years, was indeed feathering the shelves gracefully, sometimes standing up on her toes to reach the highest ones. Her maid outfit was simple and utilitarian, devoid of frills or lace. She had a black bowl cut framing her ebony skin, along with rounded prescription glasses. "There we go, finished!" She adjusted her glasses and placed her hands on her hips, proud of her work.
June pulled himself out of the seat, and came into the neighboring room where Elima had finished her work. He looked immediately pleased; clasping his hands together, he chirped "Oh, wonderful, Elime! You did great work here! Here, let me get you your payment." June walked into a nearby room, searching for his coin pouch.
Elime was happy to receive such praise. "Thank you again for the job, Mr. Stetz. It's nice to have all the funds I can get to spend at the festival."
June walked back into the room, pouch in hand. "I should be thanking you, you came on such short notice!" Pulling the pouch open, he plucked out several coins and held them out in his fist. "Here, 40 Novas."
Elime held out her hand in open palm, and June let the coins fall out of his hand into hers. "Perfect, thank you kindly Mr. Stetz." She then pocketed the coins and went to pack away her cleaning tools. As Elime stooped down over her bag, she asked "So why exactly did you need the house cleaned so soon? There's the festival and parade going on and all, and I figured you'd be the type to attend."
June giggled a little and answered, "Me and my wife are going out for the festivities, yes. The thing is that we're actually hosting a party for my wife's military friends and their significant others after the parade, and I want to make sure the estate is as orderly as possible for the night."
Elime had a glimmer in her eye, surprised with the answer. "Oooh, fancy meeting of the armed forces? Discussing all sorts of secret operations?"
June giggled again, and waved his hand in a politely dismissive manner. "Oh no, Mahaud said that it's usually just a bunch of old pals talking about the good old days over drinks and hors d'oeuvres. I would hope they wouldn't just be disclosing secrets in the open like that."
Hoisting up her bag, Elime extended her hand out to June and said, "Well either way, I wish you all the best with the party!"
June shook her hand and smiled cordially, "Thank you Elime, hope you enjoy the festival!"
Opening the door with her free hand, she began to step out, "I will, thank you again for the work, Mr. Stetz! Goodbye!"
As she stepped out and began on her way, June held the door open himself and waved farewell, "Yes, yes, have a nice day Elime! Buh-bye!" As their waving ended and Elime turned to depart out of the small courtyard and onto the road, June closed the door and retired back onto the armchair. Spying the grandfather clock across the room and getting a read of the time, June contemplated to himself. "Hmm... I should have an hour or two to myself before I need to start freshening up. Just a quick power nap..." The young lad cozied himself into his chair, and closed his eyes.
A lone, horse-drawn vehicle was travelling down a road within the capital, the gravel it tread replacing the usual cobble in the inner city. It was something between a carriage and a stagecoach; it was pulled by two horses, held three upholstered benches, one being for the driver up front, and had a roof with a compartment for luggage. The driver was comfortable in her seat, reclined with the reins in both of her hands. She was dressed in a white button up dress shirt, a sharp black vest with blue tie, along with black dress pants and boots.
Mahaud was the woman's name, and she was a well built woman, 36 years of age. She had a caramel skin tone, with black hair and green eyes. She would be rather imposing if not for her relaxed mannerisms; she stood 6'5" tall, and weighed a little over 220 pounds. A lot of that weight was from muscle, with a little being pudge from her role in the military transitioning from field work to desk work, as well as her share of recreational drinking. Her black hair was a small mop upon her head; while curly and out of line, her bangs and such scarcely hid her forehead and ears. On her ring finger, she wore a silver ring with a sapphire set into it.
As her horses trotted down the road, her estate came into view. For the term "estate", it was a modest establishment, but was still rather impressive compared to other homesteads. The path leading up to it from the road was a similar cobble one would have within the city, and it was walled all the way around, the property being about one hectare in area. Through the wide gates of the wall, the cobble path led up to a circular courtyard that laid in front of the house and had a fountain in its middle, big enough to provide a horse a bath. Surrounding the courtyard was a nicely composed garden, which June enjoyed tending to during his spare time. There was also a collection of outside furniture along with tables, as well as a stable built for sheltering horses and carriages alike. The couple were rather avid party hosters.
Opening up the carriage, Mahaud picked up two crates up off the floor of the cabin, one stacked on top of the other. There were plenty of other of the crates to carry in, but Mahaud wanted to be careful with the cargo. They were cases of various alcohols, from rums to fine wines. She had gone into town to stock up for the party, and she wasn't about to drop one and waste her money and time.
As she budged open the door with her elbow, she called into the house, "Honeeey, i'm back!" She walked all the way into the kitchen, and deposited the two crates into the pantry. She paced back to the front door, which had the staircase for the second floor right next to it. "Honey, I got the-- ohh, wow."
June was gliding down the stairs, dressed in one of his more sophisticated, impressive dresses. It was a grey, knee length slip dress, hugging his chest and waist but more loosely surrounding his knees. He also was adorned with a maroon silk scarf, limply wreathed around his neck, and had dark red court shoes that clicked on the staircase as he waltzed down. His face was modestly fashioned with makeup; bright red lipstick, some soft, pink blush, with some eyeliner and mascara complementing the green of his eyes.
"You look gorgeous, baby." After June reached the bottom of the staircase, Mahaud wrapped her arms around his waist, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You really are just..." she gently brushed a lock of June's hair off to the side of his face, to drink in more of the refreshing sight before her. "Stunning."
