02-17-2017, 03:02 PM
Carmelita's appearance brought a little smile to Malon's face. She took a look at the badge, not able to make much sense of it but figured that it was some sort of symbol, just like the Triforce on her belt.
"Before you go..." she said quickly, before Carmelita could withdraw. "There's a few things in the kitchen. Sedative herbs that I could... include into the dinner of the men, to make them fall asleep. They have different food than the slaves, I should be able to arrange..."
"To make our escape easier?" Carmelita asked when Malon struggled a little. When she recieved a nod for an answer, she put the badge away again. "Keep them ready then, but don't lace anything until I've set everything up and notified you. Does the Silver Hand know about the herbs?"
"They've seen them... but I think they mistake them for spices."
"Try hiding them anyway. You never know when someone knowledgeable might see them." Malon wondered if Carmelita had anyone specific in mind when she said that.
She was about to say something else when footsteps could be heard, echoing through the cave, and a sharp female voice ordered the guard at the entrance to the holding area for the hostages to hand over the keys. Carmelita looked back, then put a finger on her lips and with an apologetic look disappeared again, seconds before a woman turned the corner. She wore better clothes than most of the common bandits, including solid leather boots and gloves, which made Malon think that she had to be someone better than the average Silver Hand thug. Carmelita, who had moved out of the way, recognized her as Snake, one of the vice-leaders of the Silver Hand. Her fake name was owed to a strange condition that covered her left cheek, all the way down to her neck and up to her forehead, with something very reminiscent of scales, and discolored her left eyeball from white to a sickly yellow and orange, which both disfigured her horribly and made her look intimidating. She looked around a bit, then when her eyes fell on Malon and Sera she strutted over, the keys on the keychain in her hand clinking against each other. "Your name", she said in a sharp tone - the sort that tolerated no disobediance.
"S-Sera..."
"... Malon..."
Snake tossed the keychain into Malon's lap. "Open your footlock." She eyed Sera for a moment, then added: "And hers too."
It was not the right time for questions, although Sera cowered. No surprise, after the experience she'd just had... Malon knew not what had happened, but she had an ill suspicion. With shaking hands she opened first her own lock, then Sera's, and stood up to hand the keychain back.
"You two move out. To the kitchen." When Sera clung to Malon, Snake grunted at her. "I'm not going to eat you, girl. Now move, pronto!"
Malon obliged but put an arm around her friend as they walked. It was more symbolic and meant to reassure than really protecting her, but what was she to do? Snake handed back the keys as they passed the guard then once they were in the kitchen used a key hidden on her person to unlock one of the doors that Malon could only presume were storage rooms. She hadn't been allowed to go in there. When Snake stepped aside, she revealed that it was indeed a storage area, except that what was held inside was breathtaking: barrels of wine, shelves bending under the weight of cured meat and sausage rings suspended on large meathooks, boxes with labels that Malon couldn't read in the dark, smaller strongboxes that she recognized as containers for exotic spices, sacks of flour and rice... all on a wooden floor to keep them safe from humidity, funghi and such. This was far superior in quality than any of the ingredients she had gotten to use thus far.
"Impressed? You should be. That's my personal stock", said Snake as she lit a torch. In the flickering light of the flame her disfigured face looked even scarier. "And I bet that you're wondering why I brought you here." She stepped closer and put a hand under Malon's chin to force her to look up, into her eyes. "I've heard some good things about you... and your recent meals proved me right. Soy and lentil meat... it takes some guts to try that one." When Malon's eyes widened with shock, Snake laughed. "Oh, don't worry, that secret is safe with me. Although if you try to decieve me again, you won't have those guts for much longer. Anycase, it takes a good cook to make fake meat and make it taste as close to the real thing as what you did. And a good cook is what I want."
Snake turned on her heels, causing her brown hair to flutter around as she stepped into the storage room and emerged seconds later with a piece of meat sausage. She divided it in the middle and handed one piece to Sera, the other to Malon. While they both stared at their pieces, unsure of what to do, the woman spoke again: "Those other girls, they're hopeless - the lot of them. They're more likely to cut themselves with a kitchen knife than to properly peel an onion. I tried getting them to cook properly but I had to give up... so now, I'm placing my hopes on you." She pointed at Malon with her finger. In the torchlight the numerous scars and dirty skin was further accentuated. "I'm promoting you to my personal chef, and this friend of yours will be your aide. Your sous-chef. You'll still be in charge of the regular three meals, but on top of that I want you to cook for me. Using the things from my stock room, of course."
"Because... because the food we make for everyone isn't good enough?" asked Malon.
"Of course not. The ingredients that we loot from every other farmer or traveling merchant are a dime a dozen, they taste disgusting. They're for the thugs. I want proper food, that's why I've placed aside my share of the loot. Meanwhile, you two can stop staring at the meat in your hands and start eating."
Malon and Sera began doing so almost on the spot, savoring every bite. After the bland gruel and potatoes they were given almost daily, the meat felt like a veritable explosion of flavour on their tongues. Snake continued her speech meanwhile:
"If you can keep me satisfied and don't abuse the trust I'm putting on you, there'll be rewards. What you're chewing on is but a sample..." She looked at Sera. "For instance, we might not lock the cuff around your ankles for the night so she can sleep more comfortably. Or I might let you distribute an occasional extra ladle of rations or a jug of wine for the other prisoners."
Sera raised a hand and when Snake looked at her questioningly said: “I can’t cook at all though. For being Malon’s... uhm, her sous-chef.”
“You’ll just have to haul items, stir pots and whatever physical labour you can instead”, Snake replied with a shrug.
Malon rubbed her hands together to rub the fat from the meat sausage into her skin. "But... that would just get taken by the guardsmen, Miss. The wine, I mean."
"Hah. They WOULD do that, wouldn't they. But if you work your little brains for a second, you'll realize that I've thought of that long ago." She reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out two pieces of cloth. Both were dark wine-red, with a sort of flame pattern on one side and one long strand on either side which presumably was to tie the cloth around something, like the waist. Bandanas. "These are worn only by people who respond to me and Scar, and nobody else. They show who you two belong to... and they show that to put a finger on you or your work means incurring my anger. Don't let it get to your little heads, though."
Malon frowned as she tied the bandana around her forehead then helped Sera with putting hers around her arm. As she tugged on the knot behind her head she felt a strange force passing her... her body felt like it was reacting to the promises that Snake was making to her. Safety from the thugs... proper food, and the chance to improve life for the others. And above all, a chance to cook properly. Because if there was one thing Malon liked as much as farming, it was cooking.
Snake closed the door to the kitchen and propped a chair against it that she then sat on. "As your first order and to prove that you're worth your salt, you'll make a dish. Soy and beans aren't bad, but I feel like having real meat. Two hours, you can use all ingredients that you like. And be warned that if you fail I just might slip to Scar that the hamburgers tasted odd."
"Don't worry, Miss... I won't disappoint you." She went into the store room to examine what she had to work with. Rice, vegetables... not in the freshest state. Oil, vinegar, grape wine, a few assortments of dried meat... spices of all kinds, herbs and other condiments... very good. She instructed Sera to set up one of the stoves with charcoal and filled a cooking pot with water for later, then got to work. She felt something change inside her as she wore that bandana... it was making her feel different. Safe? No... powerful, rather. It was power borrowed from someone who she hated, but it was power she could wield. It was in HER hands. "Miss, if I may... the knives we are allowed to use are too blunted to properly cut the good meat with. I have some cooking utensils in my backpack, but that was taken away. Could I possibly have it back just for the duration of cooking this meal?"
Snake looked her over, then shrugged. "It's just knives. If you tried to come at me with them I'd have you skewered with my sword long before that." She left the room and Malon could hear her bossing some thug around who soon returned with Malon's backpack, with the sickles and everything. Snake then came back in, carrying the pack in a hand, but took the sickles away first before handing it to Malon. "You can lock it into the storage room between cooking times. I hope for your friend's sake that you won't take advantage of my trust."
"I won't." Malon reached into the pack and pulled out her wooden coffer that contained the three knives her mother had once gifted her, before having passed. She had named them strangely: 'Nakiri', 'Santoku' and 'Yanagi-Ba', but Malon knew all three names. They were nicely sharpened, too... now this she could use to work.
With a broad grin on her face she began to slice a piece of dried meat from the storage room, instructed Sera to pour rice into the hot water and to put a pan on the stove. She cut an onion, vegetables and herbs to add flavour and prepared some spices, salt and pepper. Better not ask where those were from, especially the spices... their quality implied that someone with very refined tastes was out a lot of money, possibly even their life, for them to be here today. But as she worked her mind became more and more focused on the surface before her, the knife in her hands and the ingredients she was handling. Now was her chance to make a difference without sneaking it through the backdoor. She could establish herself as someone important to this woman... perhaps even to Scar. Chop, chop, chop... the meat was ready. Into the pan with the onions. Maybe she would be able to work her way into a position where she had some movement freedom, where she could use her skills to barter for better food for the other prisoners. She put the meat into the pan and readied a spatula to push the onions to the side once they were mildly browned. Of course, this all would just be until Carmelita was able to set up their escape. If she had a foot in the door by then she could maybe, possibly use it to make things easier. She could conceal especially strong sedative herbs in the meals of Snake and anyone else that she was ordered to serve. Flip, flip... the meat was nicely crispy on that side, time for the other one. Or perhaps if she was tasked with delivering the dishes personally she would know more of the cavern’s layout and be able to help Carmelita with escorting the other hostages into the daylight. Sera, please help me with pouring out the water from the rice... right, she just needed to ensure that Snake thought of them as indispensable.
When she emerged from her thought process she realized that there was a large bowl with rice, two smaller ones with meat and vegetables respectively and one yet smaller one holding a portion of rice with the meat and vegetables on top - that was the ration that she presented to Snake. “Here you go, Miss. Enjoy.”
Snake knocked the door with her sword’s hilt and one of the thugs walked in. “Just a precaution”, she noted before starting to eat with her fingers. Obviously. If they had poisoned the meal and she fell over that thug would ensure that neither of them left the room alive. But, the precaution proved unnecessary. Snake continued to eat until the bowl was empty and her cheeks blushed to a rosy shade from the spices that Malon had added. For a moment she almost looked beautiful, with the bowl hiding her scaled cheek and her eyes closed to better savour the taste. When she put the bowl down she gave a deep, relaxed sigh and let the taste linger for almost a minute before opening her eyes again. “You two may eat the leftovers”, she said as she pointed the bowls out. “When you’re done eating Cobra will escort you back to your rooms.” With that she got up and left the room as Malon took off her bandana and tied it around her wrist instead. Sera seemed unable to believe her luck as the thug, who Malon noted had a piece of cloth with a pattern like hers woven onto his chestpiece, helped himself to a serving and backed to the door, leaving Malon and her to eat the large surplus she had cooked up.
Half an hour later, they were done eating, cleaning and making a few rations for the other hostages, packed into paper bags, and Malon had slid the backpack under the door to the storage room where it would be safe until next time. The thug, Cobra, stopped to chatter with the guardsman at the entrance and left Malon and Sera to return to their beds without locking them up. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to make an escape even so, but it felt good to not have the cold metal around one’s ankle. Malon smiled a bit as she laid back. She would have to inform Carmelita at the next chance, and finish their conversation.
"Before you go..." she said quickly, before Carmelita could withdraw. "There's a few things in the kitchen. Sedative herbs that I could... include into the dinner of the men, to make them fall asleep. They have different food than the slaves, I should be able to arrange..."
"To make our escape easier?" Carmelita asked when Malon struggled a little. When she recieved a nod for an answer, she put the badge away again. "Keep them ready then, but don't lace anything until I've set everything up and notified you. Does the Silver Hand know about the herbs?"
"They've seen them... but I think they mistake them for spices."
"Try hiding them anyway. You never know when someone knowledgeable might see them." Malon wondered if Carmelita had anyone specific in mind when she said that.
She was about to say something else when footsteps could be heard, echoing through the cave, and a sharp female voice ordered the guard at the entrance to the holding area for the hostages to hand over the keys. Carmelita looked back, then put a finger on her lips and with an apologetic look disappeared again, seconds before a woman turned the corner. She wore better clothes than most of the common bandits, including solid leather boots and gloves, which made Malon think that she had to be someone better than the average Silver Hand thug. Carmelita, who had moved out of the way, recognized her as Snake, one of the vice-leaders of the Silver Hand. Her fake name was owed to a strange condition that covered her left cheek, all the way down to her neck and up to her forehead, with something very reminiscent of scales, and discolored her left eyeball from white to a sickly yellow and orange, which both disfigured her horribly and made her look intimidating. She looked around a bit, then when her eyes fell on Malon and Sera she strutted over, the keys on the keychain in her hand clinking against each other. "Your name", she said in a sharp tone - the sort that tolerated no disobediance.
"S-Sera..."
"... Malon..."
Snake tossed the keychain into Malon's lap. "Open your footlock." She eyed Sera for a moment, then added: "And hers too."
It was not the right time for questions, although Sera cowered. No surprise, after the experience she'd just had... Malon knew not what had happened, but she had an ill suspicion. With shaking hands she opened first her own lock, then Sera's, and stood up to hand the keychain back.
"You two move out. To the kitchen." When Sera clung to Malon, Snake grunted at her. "I'm not going to eat you, girl. Now move, pronto!"
Malon obliged but put an arm around her friend as they walked. It was more symbolic and meant to reassure than really protecting her, but what was she to do? Snake handed back the keys as they passed the guard then once they were in the kitchen used a key hidden on her person to unlock one of the doors that Malon could only presume were storage rooms. She hadn't been allowed to go in there. When Snake stepped aside, she revealed that it was indeed a storage area, except that what was held inside was breathtaking: barrels of wine, shelves bending under the weight of cured meat and sausage rings suspended on large meathooks, boxes with labels that Malon couldn't read in the dark, smaller strongboxes that she recognized as containers for exotic spices, sacks of flour and rice... all on a wooden floor to keep them safe from humidity, funghi and such. This was far superior in quality than any of the ingredients she had gotten to use thus far.
"Impressed? You should be. That's my personal stock", said Snake as she lit a torch. In the flickering light of the flame her disfigured face looked even scarier. "And I bet that you're wondering why I brought you here." She stepped closer and put a hand under Malon's chin to force her to look up, into her eyes. "I've heard some good things about you... and your recent meals proved me right. Soy and lentil meat... it takes some guts to try that one." When Malon's eyes widened with shock, Snake laughed. "Oh, don't worry, that secret is safe with me. Although if you try to decieve me again, you won't have those guts for much longer. Anycase, it takes a good cook to make fake meat and make it taste as close to the real thing as what you did. And a good cook is what I want."
Snake turned on her heels, causing her brown hair to flutter around as she stepped into the storage room and emerged seconds later with a piece of meat sausage. She divided it in the middle and handed one piece to Sera, the other to Malon. While they both stared at their pieces, unsure of what to do, the woman spoke again: "Those other girls, they're hopeless - the lot of them. They're more likely to cut themselves with a kitchen knife than to properly peel an onion. I tried getting them to cook properly but I had to give up... so now, I'm placing my hopes on you." She pointed at Malon with her finger. In the torchlight the numerous scars and dirty skin was further accentuated. "I'm promoting you to my personal chef, and this friend of yours will be your aide. Your sous-chef. You'll still be in charge of the regular three meals, but on top of that I want you to cook for me. Using the things from my stock room, of course."
"Because... because the food we make for everyone isn't good enough?" asked Malon.
"Of course not. The ingredients that we loot from every other farmer or traveling merchant are a dime a dozen, they taste disgusting. They're for the thugs. I want proper food, that's why I've placed aside my share of the loot. Meanwhile, you two can stop staring at the meat in your hands and start eating."
Malon and Sera began doing so almost on the spot, savoring every bite. After the bland gruel and potatoes they were given almost daily, the meat felt like a veritable explosion of flavour on their tongues. Snake continued her speech meanwhile:
"If you can keep me satisfied and don't abuse the trust I'm putting on you, there'll be rewards. What you're chewing on is but a sample..." She looked at Sera. "For instance, we might not lock the cuff around your ankles for the night so she can sleep more comfortably. Or I might let you distribute an occasional extra ladle of rations or a jug of wine for the other prisoners."
Sera raised a hand and when Snake looked at her questioningly said: “I can’t cook at all though. For being Malon’s... uhm, her sous-chef.”
“You’ll just have to haul items, stir pots and whatever physical labour you can instead”, Snake replied with a shrug.
Malon rubbed her hands together to rub the fat from the meat sausage into her skin. "But... that would just get taken by the guardsmen, Miss. The wine, I mean."
"Hah. They WOULD do that, wouldn't they. But if you work your little brains for a second, you'll realize that I've thought of that long ago." She reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out two pieces of cloth. Both were dark wine-red, with a sort of flame pattern on one side and one long strand on either side which presumably was to tie the cloth around something, like the waist. Bandanas. "These are worn only by people who respond to me and Scar, and nobody else. They show who you two belong to... and they show that to put a finger on you or your work means incurring my anger. Don't let it get to your little heads, though."
Malon frowned as she tied the bandana around her forehead then helped Sera with putting hers around her arm. As she tugged on the knot behind her head she felt a strange force passing her... her body felt like it was reacting to the promises that Snake was making to her. Safety from the thugs... proper food, and the chance to improve life for the others. And above all, a chance to cook properly. Because if there was one thing Malon liked as much as farming, it was cooking.
Snake closed the door to the kitchen and propped a chair against it that she then sat on. "As your first order and to prove that you're worth your salt, you'll make a dish. Soy and beans aren't bad, but I feel like having real meat. Two hours, you can use all ingredients that you like. And be warned that if you fail I just might slip to Scar that the hamburgers tasted odd."
"Don't worry, Miss... I won't disappoint you." She went into the store room to examine what she had to work with. Rice, vegetables... not in the freshest state. Oil, vinegar, grape wine, a few assortments of dried meat... spices of all kinds, herbs and other condiments... very good. She instructed Sera to set up one of the stoves with charcoal and filled a cooking pot with water for later, then got to work. She felt something change inside her as she wore that bandana... it was making her feel different. Safe? No... powerful, rather. It was power borrowed from someone who she hated, but it was power she could wield. It was in HER hands. "Miss, if I may... the knives we are allowed to use are too blunted to properly cut the good meat with. I have some cooking utensils in my backpack, but that was taken away. Could I possibly have it back just for the duration of cooking this meal?"
Snake looked her over, then shrugged. "It's just knives. If you tried to come at me with them I'd have you skewered with my sword long before that." She left the room and Malon could hear her bossing some thug around who soon returned with Malon's backpack, with the sickles and everything. Snake then came back in, carrying the pack in a hand, but took the sickles away first before handing it to Malon. "You can lock it into the storage room between cooking times. I hope for your friend's sake that you won't take advantage of my trust."
"I won't." Malon reached into the pack and pulled out her wooden coffer that contained the three knives her mother had once gifted her, before having passed. She had named them strangely: 'Nakiri', 'Santoku' and 'Yanagi-Ba', but Malon knew all three names. They were nicely sharpened, too... now this she could use to work.
With a broad grin on her face she began to slice a piece of dried meat from the storage room, instructed Sera to pour rice into the hot water and to put a pan on the stove. She cut an onion, vegetables and herbs to add flavour and prepared some spices, salt and pepper. Better not ask where those were from, especially the spices... their quality implied that someone with very refined tastes was out a lot of money, possibly even their life, for them to be here today. But as she worked her mind became more and more focused on the surface before her, the knife in her hands and the ingredients she was handling. Now was her chance to make a difference without sneaking it through the backdoor. She could establish herself as someone important to this woman... perhaps even to Scar. Chop, chop, chop... the meat was ready. Into the pan with the onions. Maybe she would be able to work her way into a position where she had some movement freedom, where she could use her skills to barter for better food for the other prisoners. She put the meat into the pan and readied a spatula to push the onions to the side once they were mildly browned. Of course, this all would just be until Carmelita was able to set up their escape. If she had a foot in the door by then she could maybe, possibly use it to make things easier. She could conceal especially strong sedative herbs in the meals of Snake and anyone else that she was ordered to serve. Flip, flip... the meat was nicely crispy on that side, time for the other one. Or perhaps if she was tasked with delivering the dishes personally she would know more of the cavern’s layout and be able to help Carmelita with escorting the other hostages into the daylight. Sera, please help me with pouring out the water from the rice... right, she just needed to ensure that Snake thought of them as indispensable.
When she emerged from her thought process she realized that there was a large bowl with rice, two smaller ones with meat and vegetables respectively and one yet smaller one holding a portion of rice with the meat and vegetables on top - that was the ration that she presented to Snake. “Here you go, Miss. Enjoy.”
Snake knocked the door with her sword’s hilt and one of the thugs walked in. “Just a precaution”, she noted before starting to eat with her fingers. Obviously. If they had poisoned the meal and she fell over that thug would ensure that neither of them left the room alive. But, the precaution proved unnecessary. Snake continued to eat until the bowl was empty and her cheeks blushed to a rosy shade from the spices that Malon had added. For a moment she almost looked beautiful, with the bowl hiding her scaled cheek and her eyes closed to better savour the taste. When she put the bowl down she gave a deep, relaxed sigh and let the taste linger for almost a minute before opening her eyes again. “You two may eat the leftovers”, she said as she pointed the bowls out. “When you’re done eating Cobra will escort you back to your rooms.” With that she got up and left the room as Malon took off her bandana and tied it around her wrist instead. Sera seemed unable to believe her luck as the thug, who Malon noted had a piece of cloth with a pattern like hers woven onto his chestpiece, helped himself to a serving and backed to the door, leaving Malon and her to eat the large surplus she had cooked up.
Half an hour later, they were done eating, cleaning and making a few rations for the other hostages, packed into paper bags, and Malon had slid the backpack under the door to the storage room where it would be safe until next time. The thug, Cobra, stopped to chatter with the guardsman at the entrance and left Malon and Sera to return to their beds without locking them up. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to make an escape even so, but it felt good to not have the cold metal around one’s ankle. Malon smiled a bit as she laid back. She would have to inform Carmelita at the next chance, and finish their conversation.
Quote:Reference picture for Malon's knives:
http://i.imgur.com/dbykivQ.jpg
Santoku = multi-purpose knife
Nakiri = Mainly for vegetables
Yanagi-Ba = Mainly for fish and sushi