Rumors Spread Quickly

Writers: Avery, Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 13th April 2019

Characters: Enamra, Jylanya, Hatilda, Lesani, Temni
Description: Drudges spread rumors and attack
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 10, day 20 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Thayde

Enamra

Jylanya

---

The moment she walked into the kitchens, she heard utter silence.
Enamra glanced up at the assembled drudge's, feeling their eyes upon
her, but it wasn't like it usually was. Sure, they'd talked about
her when she was pregnant, but they'd never just gone quiet before.
Uncomfortable, she turned away to head to her assigned duties, the
dishes. The moment her back was turned, she heard the whispers and
giggles begin.

Lesani elbowed Hatilda. "Hey, who've you been in the furs with lately?"

Hatilda snickered, not bothering to lower her voice."Me? _I'm_
waiting. Unlike _some_ girls. How soon do you think it'll be before
Enamra's fat with a baby again? Do you think she'll give this one away
too?"

Enamra immediately stiffened and went still, her stomach knotting into
tight coils of anxiety. Swallowing hard, she turned to look at the
group of drudges now clustered behind her. "What?"

Tenmi joined Hatilda in tittering. "Well, you already gave it up once,
so you'll keep giving it up, right?"

Enamra flushed a bright red in both embarrassment and humiliation. "I
didn't...no!"

"She already did!" Hatilda nudged Lesani back and looked over at
Tenmi. "With Master _Thayde_. I hear he goes to her room every night."

Enamra sputtered, her hands gripping the sink until her knuckles
whitened. "That's not true! He's teaching me!"

"I bet he's teaching you _something_," Lesani said. "Something about
furs and men."

"Doesn't she know that already?" Tenmi said.

"Just to read, that's all..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes
flicked back and forth between them. Her eyes stung with the
beginnings of tears, but they didn't spill over. "Stop it."

"Of course she does. Hista said she caught them last night. Master
Thayde was bedding her like some tavern girl." Hatilda sneered. "I
wonder if her sisters are going to be the same. I bet they were in
the room too!"

"Shut up!" Enamra's hands clenched into fists. "That didn't happen!
It's not true!"

Lesani also couldn't read. She had been taught in classes, but words
just jumbled themselves together when she looked at them too long. She
could look at her assignment lists and that was about it. So if she
snorted too loudly, and her tongue was too sharp, well, it certainly
wasn't because she was projecting. "Why else would a Master be
interested in a girl like you?"

"Because she gives it up! Why else?" Hatilda replied with scorn. As a
tear leaked down Enamra's face, Hatilda mocked her by rubbing her
eyes with her fists and baby talk. "The twuth hurts. Poor baby."

"Stop it! Stop it!" Enamra's voice rose and for the first time since
she was a child, she felt a rise in her temper. She was tired of the
their meanness and their constant picking on her. With a surge, she
lunged forward, gripped Hatilda's hair and yanked. "Shut up!"

"Or what, you'll - " Lesani taunted, right before Enamra lunged. "Hey,
she actually did something!" she gasped.

"Don't just stand there," Tenmi said, jumping forward to grab and yank
at Enamra's hair. If there was gonna be a fight, she wanted in on it.

Hatilda shrieked in shock; the yank hadn't been really been painful,
but it angered and surprised her. She began slapping at Enamra, trying
to get her hair free. "Let me go, you whore!"

Enamra's fingers gripped in Hatilda's hair tighter, refusing to let
go. As her own braid was grabbed, she squealed in pain and freed one
hand to blindly slap at Tenmi.

Jylanya had heard the beginnings of the fracas from down the hall in
her office but when it turned to squeals she shoved her chair back and
practically flew into the kitchen. "Stop it this instant," she
roared. "This is a Hall not a tavern."

Still struggling with both drudges, Enamra released Hatilda after the
yell, but even after being released, Hatilda didn't hesitate to land a
sharp slap to Enamra's cheek that quickly reddened. She backed away
quickly enough, heaving breaths and scurried to stand near her other
companions.

Jylanya reached out and slapped Hatilda with a resounding smack. "When
_I_ say you're done, you're done. Go to my office now." She glared at
all the girls in the room. It wasn't as if she was unaware of the
women and their attitudes. "All of you, she pointed to the door and
the direction of her office."

"But _she_ started it," started Tenmi.

Lesani didn't protest. She just shut her mouth and nodded at the Headwoman.

Last updated on the May 3rd 2019

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