Chapter 34: Chapter 34 – She Was Consulted

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"Who knows how to sew?" Aila asked in the morning. Shaala smiled, which surprised her a bit.

"I do, Master." Shaala said. Aila pursed her lips.

"This will be a lot of work, but you can't overwork yourself." Aila pulled a chair towards herself, and sat in front of Shaala. "You're still recovering, and not healthy yet. Your first duty is to take care of your health. After that, you can take care of the clothes. Whoever has the worst clothes, those are the ones you replace. Once everyone has a full set, bottoms, shirt, under garments, then you can sew a second set. After that, window coverings, and door coverings so that we can reduce drafts over winter. I'll see if Rirn can get quilts for us to stay warm this winter. We'll have lots of firewood." She pointed at a pile of fabric.

"Use the rolls to make clothes. Use the better quality for under garments. The tools are there as well. Thimbles, scissors, needles, thread. If you need anything to make it easier, tell me." Aila said, and watched as Shaala bit her bottom lip. "What do you need?"

"A table and seat would make it easier. Something where I can cut the fabric off the roll. Maybe a sharp blade?" Shaala said, but lowered her eyes fearfully. "I don't need a sharp blade!" Aila smiled.

"Shaala, I don't think you would use it against me. I'll get you what you need to make your work easier. Let me see. Where would a good place to work be?" Aila pursed her lips. "I don't want you to be too warm, or get cold."

"Come on." Aila stood up and held out her hand. "Come on, Shaala. Let's go look for a good place where you can work in comfort." Shaala's lips began to tremble, and her eyes watered.

"Once the place is decided, I'll make the tables, and go get you a good blade from Toril. Maybe he can make something where the rolls are mounted, and you can cut right off the rolls. Yeah, I think he would enjoy making something like that."  Aila was unaware of how her thoughts were affecting her people.  They were not used to being considered as they had spent most of their lives as a slave.  Slaves were property, not people.

Not long after, they chose a room off the main living room, with a wall shared with the kitchen. That allowed the heat from the kitchen to radiate into the room during the winter. Aila looked around, and pursed her lips.

"There is no fireplace in here. I'll have to get you a charcoal heater so you won't get cold in the winter." Shaala bit her trembling lips, and tried to calm herself. Her master had not changed since she was purchased, not even a little bit. It's only been two days, but she really hoped her master would never change.

"Okay, let me see. Do you want to stand at the table, or sit?" Aila asked. Shaala frowned slightly. "This is for your comfort while working. If you like to stand, I have to make it comfortable for you to stand. If you want to sit, or do a combination of both, it may become more difficult to do." Shaala looked at the room, and started to consider the questions seriously. Up to this point, she expected Aila to tell her what was right. She never expected that she would be consulted.

"Um, master, is it okay to sit? It can be hard on the feet to stand on stone all day." Shaala said, and watched Aila nod.

"Yep, that's possible. I may not be able to make a rolling chair for a while, but a simple chair should be easy enough. Stay here, and decide where the table should go, and where you might need some lamps." Aila said to Shaala and walked out. Shaala was left behind, her mouth hanging open as a result.

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"A rolling chair? She would make one for me? Even the patriarch of the Inaris clan doesn't have one, and neither does the Magistrate!  " If Shaala had said that to Aila, she would have made one immediately, and refined the design over time.

In several minutes, Aila returned with several thick planks, and began to form the seat and seat back. She used a simple armed chair design that was similar to an old wooden office chair she remembered her father had at one time. A metal spindle on top of a four legged base. On drafting stools, these legs would just be simple legs, but on office chairs, they were fitted with wheels for mobility and convenience.

Aila made a thick spindle that would handle stress, and since it was ironwood, it would last for a long time. She made the leg base, which was simply two boards on their edge, crossed over each other in the center, and fused together at the lap joint. She fused a six inch post to that crossed board, and bored a hole for the spindle post. She took two six inch square posts, bored holes in the middle, and ran an ironwood rod down through the middle.  Part of the rod came out one end of a block four inches, so it could be seated on top of the leg assembly.  She put another block on top of the rod, and fused it there, so it could act as a collar. She fit the spindle onto the legs, and put the chair seat and back on top of that.

"Okay, now the wooden seat should be fused to the spindle collar on top, but rotate freely on the bottom. Shaala, sit down. I want to see where the weaknesses are, and what has to be altered to fit you properly." Aila looked up and saw Shaala's face. "Shaala? Is something wrong?"

"Master! This is the work of a master craftsman! It is too good for the likes of me!" Shaala said. "Even the Magistrate, or the patriarch of the Inaris clan would not have something so fine!" Aila smiled as Shaala sounded so upset, as though what she did was a waste.  To Aila, her servants deserved to be treated well.

"I'm glad you like it. Don't you feel that a servant of someone like me deserves something like this? I've killed stone bears, iron tusked boars, and a river python. I've killed two black panthers, deep in the forest." Shaala began to tremble. "My servants deserve higher quality things than them." Shaala closed her eyes.

"Master, you're going to spoil us." She slowly and carefully sat down.

"Hm, it looks like the edges are too sharp, and too far forward. I'll need to shape it a little. Stay seated. I'll shape it while you sit." Shaala murmured as the chair was shaped to her body, became firm, and well balanced while she sat in it. "There, how does it feel now?"

"Like it was made for me, Master." Shaala said.

"It is made for you. It is your personal chair." Aila could see the woman's happiness, and smiled. "When I can design proper wheels, you'll be able to push yourself back from the table more easily. Until then, if you use your feet, you can feel that the chair will turn to the left or to the right." Shaala did as she said, and nodded quickly.

"This is to make it comfortable while you work. Now, let me make the table so it's adjusted to you."

 

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