Unsurprisingly, I had to preemptively pay a penance before enjoying my night off. Nothing good came without the bad. Ahead of the our lord and lady leaving, Samuel earned himself a fist to the jaw. I didn't know what he did and I didn't care. He had probably deserved it for all the respect he paid me when we crossed paths. And yet, when Bab struggled to drag his dramatic ass into my kitchen, I helped her along and cleaned him up. Patres was distinctly absent from this opera, letting the women bloody their hands alone.

      Scrubbing crusted red from my nail beds, I quietly begged my lord and lady to stay the weekend. I had been waiting for a break for almost a fortnight and all I wanted was to sleep in. They were at a friend's for dinner, which meant party. Even if they returned late tonight, they would simply fall into bed drunk and high, leaving me to sleep at least until noon. The other help could conjure up their own breakfasts.

      Finally upstairs in my room, I read and drank. My solitude was sullied when I began to hear rustling of something below my window. I did my best to ignore it. Only when it became a cry and a crash did I go investigate. I got on my boots and armed myself with a kitchen cleaver. It sounded like the raccoons had forced their way into the compost again and I wondered if racoon stew any good.

     Hefting my knife and candlestick raised, I descended from my room to the back door of the kitchen. Something was scuffling around on the back porch and it was big. I didn't want to scare it away so I was careful to open the door without a sound. The smell of half rotten food was strong. Just what I had suspected.

     My eyes were locked onto the spot I knew the bin of compost sat so was unsurprised when I immediately saw spilled dirt and carrot tops. My eyes followed the mound of compost up to the tail of a raccoon. I was calculating my next move, slowly pushing into the night and looking for the racoon's head. The animal was sprawled on the ground, looked like it was sleeping, but parts of it were dark and shining. Then something moved behind it.

     Hidden by the shadows of a roof post a dark figure slumped. I had been so focused on the ground I hadn't noticed an entire person barely 20 feet away. I froze, my heart shooting up into my throat and every nerve twisting itself into a knot.

     The figure stumbled and fell on a knee. Now the light of my candle illuminated a young woman splattered with blood. She held ashen hands in front of her face to hide it. I jumped, making the light waver, and took a step away. I watched her, determining if she was danger or in danger before acting. She had to drop her hands to catch herself as she coughed and lost her balance.

     "Are you okay? What happened?" I hissed, braving a step forward.

     "I uh..." the woman's voice was quiet and wavering, "I got scared off the street by some men and well-" She stopped to push herself up, holding onto the post for support. Her head stayed lowered so I couldn't get a look at who she was. "I guess I scared this raccoon and we had a scuffle."

     I took another step forward, worried about her injuries, but she recoiled. I retreated.

     "I'm so sorry to intrude on your property" she continued, "I'll see myself away."

     I finally lowered my cleaver, placing it on a nearby planter with the candle so both hands were free. "Please don't," I said as loud as I dared, "please. I can't send you into the night like this. You said yourself it's not safe. And what if you caught something nasty from that animal?" I only stopped because the woman was staring, she hadn't even attempted to turn around and I was rambling.

     "Please," I huffed, "my lord and lady are out 'til morning and I'm the only one on this side of the house." She was rooted in place but at least she was showing her face now. I felt like I needed to offer something more alluring than her bodily safety. "I can make just about anything you want to eat."

     That did it. The stranger nodded and took a wobbling step away from the wooden post. I saw what was coming and grabbed her before she could fall. Unsteady, the woman paused at the door. Reconsidering?

     "Please come inside," I begged, "it's really no problem." She held my eyes for a moment then took a step past the threshold.

     Arm in arm, we went through the kitchen and up the stairs to my bedroom above. I set her to stripping her soiled clothes while I acquired water, towels, and alcohol. When I returned, she hadn't moved from where I had left her awkwardly standing. As soon as I closed the door, she spoke.

     "I'm Rosaria."

     I gasped an 'oh'. "Ivy," I said, pressing my free hand to my heart, "I completely forgot to introduce myself, apologies." I approached with the cloth and jug and placed them on my vanity beside a small basin. I pointed Rosaria to the wardrobe for clothes and promised to help bandage her wounds. Then I asked the pivotal question, what to eat?

     Rosaria looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you have liver or beans?"

     I thought it was an odd request but acquiesced. I could whip something up. In the kitchen, I tried to be quick and quiet. I was paranoid someone would notice my late night escapades and snitch, even isolated as I was.

     With two bowls of liver and peas sauteed quick in butter, I went back upstairs. I admit it smelled so good when I began to cook I had to make enough for two. Inside, Rosaria was already clean as well she could without a bath and dressed in a massive and worn tunic. She sat on the edge of the one chair in the room, rolling a sleeve hem between her fingers. She jumped when I spoke. I apologized for startling her but she relaxed quickly when I handed her the liver and peas.

     The way she ate made my heart hurt. Rosaria curled around her bowl, taking quick bites and looking like a stray dog. I set my own food down to make the room more accommodating, I didn't care if it was cold by the time I got to it. While my guest chewed fervently, I went around lighting candles. Then I gathered a second set of a bedding and a sleeping mat so Rosaria could have the undersized bed to herself. Finally, I put away everything loose and out of place away. I appreciated the transformation briefly before turning back to my food. I sat down with it and noticed Rosaria eying me.

     I took a few bites then offered her the bowl. "Do you want to finish it?"

     She did. I let her finish and then insisted on bandaging her wounds. Rosaria was still shy but allowed me to look at her arms which had sustained the most damage. I could also see cuts across her face, some freshly bleeding. We sat side by side on the bed, her arm in my lap as I dragged an alcohol soaked rag over open wounds. She didn't react to the stinging, her arms were so cold I wondered if she actually felt it. Even her blood was sluggish, oozing up into massive droplets and clinging there instead of draining out thin and easy. I worried she was afflicted by some disease, animal borne or otherwise. From afar she was normal, but up close even her breathing was slow as the rest of her.

     I only had to bandage a gash on one arm. The rest of the injuries were shallow scratches so they are only needed to be cleaned. To me, it didn't look like her injuries were caused by raccoon teeth and claws but a single sharp edge. I had enough experience putting blade to flesh to recognize the way a sharp edge split skin and muscle. But i wasn't a physician so there was only so much I could do.

     "You look much better," I told her. I dropped my hand from her face, finishing cleaning dry blood from a scab on the crest of her cheek. Rosaria was staring at me. Up close and personal I hadn't noticed how closely she had been watching me. But now I saw a glint of something excited in her pupils. Exhaustion was clearer still.

     "Would you stay the night?" I asked, eyes pleading. "I want to clean your clothes anyway, I can't send you out covered in blood."

     Rosaria mumbled her assent, eyelids drifting together as her body realized it was allowed to stay. I squeezed her knee briefly and told her to go to sleep while I cleaned up. I had to remove the dishes and soiled towels before scrubbing her shirt and linen trousers in the basin. The water had to be replaced twice to rinse away all the blood. I didn't realize how much there had been.

     When I finally went to blowing out candles, the night was deep. My bones ached with fatigue. Rosaria had fallen asleep herself, but she had taken to the floor instead of the bed. I almost woke her to move but decided it was kinder to let her rest. The last candle extinguished, I changed into a nightgown in the dark before sliding under the covers. I spent a while listening to the very slow and steady rhythm of Rosaria's breathe. When I dreamed later, it was of the ocean.

     Rosaria's leaving in the early morning light woke me. I was careful not to open my eyes much, pretending to be asleep. She was gracelessly pulling on her still damp clothes, struggling as her pants stuck to her skin. When she removed the borrowed tunic to replace it, I almost sat up at what I saw. There was a massive and gnarly scar the full length of her torso, staring just below her belly button and ending in a curved line above her left breast. What had happened to her?

     I kept still and let Rosaria leave unquestioned. When she closed my door behind her, I counted to ten then went to the window. In the growing morning sun, I was dismayed by the color of her skin. There was as a hint of the warmth her medium shade complexion once had as deep pink around her joints, but otherwise she was grey. She disappeared beyond the hedges that defined the property but my thoughts stayed with her. Such a strange night. I tried to continue to sleep but could only think about the weight of the scar Rosaria carried.