She was mildly taken aback when no one called. If they had not summoned her to see to his needs, who would do it? Surely not the kitchen staff? She was the only serving girl that she knew of. She was almost disappointed. This would have been the first duty that offered any intrigue for her.<br/><br/>Casting aside these thoughts, she resumed cleaning. There were pots to scrub, dishes to wash, floors to sweep and food to package and put away. She'd finished much of her chores already, but there was always more to be done. She resumed her humming, occasionally vocalizing with words. The tunes were always simple, mostly traditional folk songs, but she lent graceful additions to the simple melodies.<br/><br/>Her hair, a deep auburn color that most mistook for brown, was tied back into a bun, hidden under the cloth that she always kept wrapped around her head. Her frame was thin, frail looking, but as she stooped to heft a sack of grain that looked to be as big as she was, it became clear that her size did not indicate her strength. She settled the sack of grain in the pantry with a thump and emerged into the kitchen once more to peer around the room.<br/><br/>Her piercing eyes combed around the room critically, searching for anything she might have missed. There was nothing left to be done, so far as she could see. She'd finished slightly early this day, and had a bit of time before she would need to start on the laundry. She crossed the room and her humming picked up in pace to match her excitement.<br/><br/>When she heard the voice behind her, she jumped, startled. Whirling to face the hall entrance, she gaped. It was him. The man she'd been thinking about all week. She'd been so curious as to what he would look like, as she'd only caught a brief glimpse of him when they brought him in. She'd been right to be curious about him. He was... she detoured her thoughts before they headed into dangerous territory, focusing instead on the basic facts. He was clad all in black, barefooted, and his eyes blazed with anger. Those eyes... they were so incredibly... No. Dangerous ground.<br/><br/>Her hesitation never showed on her face. Instead of giving a hint to her inner struggles, she smiled warmly and curtsied to him submissively. After nodding her head to him, she kept her gaze slightly lowered and answered in a humble tone.<br/><br/>"Oh! Milord! You have my deepest apologies! You needn't have troubled yourself to come all this way for assistance. I would have been honored to see to you at your convenience! I am merely a servant in this household, but what I have is yours to request should it please you. Can I prepare a meal for you? You have been through a truly great ordeal, milord... I should hate to let you go hungry."<br/><br/>She felt unprepared. It was similar to showing up for school as a child without a slate pencil or writing board. She had no clear idea of what this place was, what they did here, why he'd been brought here... or anything, really. She did as she was told, clean what needed to be cleaned, and generally made every effort to keep her nose out of things. Until this moment, it had always served her well. Now, however, she simply felt ignorant.<br/><br/>Why should he need to leave so desperately that he would come to her?<span style="font-style: italic">Her,</span>of all people. What was he running from? Or perhaps he was running back to something? Either way, it would be foolish of her to disobey what she knew would be forbidden and run off to help this man escape. She had no idea if he was trustworthy, or safe to be around.<br/><br/>She had only her instinct, and this told her to stall,  until she learned more. Stalling was something she was an expert in. If she played her cards right, he wouldn't even know that she was doing so.