[Black Diamond Cosmetics] Welcome ...Home?

by **Shayna** on September 22nd, 2013, 7:26 pm

Shayna makes slow stretch before she begins her work again. Her plain serviceable skirts beginning to show her time in the dirt, but being expressly crafted for this sort of work it would be easy enough for Shayna to clean in the evenings. Though her hands and her skirts showed the muddy work, the slave is unconsciously diligent in keeping the mud from her face or her hair, as if it was something she had honed into pure habit.

A sneer twists Shayna's mouth slightly when Katherine spoke of Iora, though she kept the comment Iora is not meant to do much but look pretty and vapid wisely-perhaps- stayed locked in her mind. She didn't respond to Katherine's teasing, though a sharp intake of breath is given at her suggestion that she could make Shayna beautiful. As a very young girl, Shayna might have wished to be beautiful, but as the instructions furthered in her slavery she realized that she had an advantage that beautiful slaves did not have, though many might not think it an advantage. Shayna's own birth woman was prime example of why Shayna did not wish to be beautiful.

During a pause, Shayna murmured non-noncommittally "If that is what you wish Mistress Kathrine," in a dutiful, but yet again habitual. Her fingers continue to pull, and tug, sometimes coaxing stubborn weeds out. At this rate it will take weeks to put this garden back together.

Yet, at the last question, Shayna once more raises, sitting back on her legs with her hands laid gently in her already-dirtied skirts. "Beauty can open doors in many avenues Mistress Katherine." She begins, though she was instructed in giving an honest answer, that does not mean she does not value her hide low enough to give a brutally honest answer. "I did not have a ma, I had a birth woman. I barely knew her name, and I can't ever remember seeing her."

As she speaks, the words are calm and lilting, there are no emotion in the words, for Shayna had learned long ago that one never displayed weakness or fear in front of free people. "From all accounts she was a rare beauty. She was a pleasure slave who serviced many high ranking members in Kenash." This next part was the tricky part, the part that Shayna had to be careful not to show her own emotion but also not to inadvertently insult the beautiful. "However, Mistress Katherine, Beauty fades. When the woman who birthed me was used up, she was sent out to the breeding pens. Why? Because she only relied on her beauty, and not her mind. Instead of making a place for herself in her Master's life, she squandered her youth enjoying the pampered life of a courtesan." A dry smile is given, and Shayna shakes her head with a knowing look before she bent once more to her task of weeding.

"Beauty is only a opening asset, it is the mind that is behind the beauty that enables it to be a tool." A shrug is given, even though her fingers do not miss a beat in her work. "Honestly Mistress Katherine, I hope that you are smart enough to not pin all your...needs on a matter of beauty. I hope that you will find that a empty mind behind a pretty face is a liability if that pretty face can not follow simple instructions." Shayna tosses the handful of weeds into a single pile once more, looking up at Mistress Katherine, "I expect that Mistress Katherine will be smart in what she sets about for me to do. I am not beautiful, no, but that just means I do not attract attention. That can be ...important in some ..dealings."

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by **Katherine Morealis** on October 22nd, 2013, 9:55 am

“Very well said, and you make a good point.” She remarked, quite surprisingly meaning her words this time. To her surprise, Katherine realized that she quite enjoyed talking like this with another person, even if said person was a slave. It was rare to find someone willing to have such an exchange with her without visibly showing their desire to keep their heads secured safely on their shoulders. “You underestimate me though, bringing me to the level of your birth woman. You speak of beauty from the vantage point of a slave, from the very bottom of the caste, yet I am a member of a Dynasty, and I speak from what I see from the very top. I cannot blame you for the roots of your birth, though, and so the mistake is on me for asking you such on such a subjective topic.

“Beauty does not last forever, yes, but it is one of the most important things in a city so immersed in its lies and appearances. There is no room for the unsightly in Kenash. This is more true for us people of noble birth. What is ugly is hidden behind a beautiful facade, and all that horrible stench is masked by the sweetest of perfumes one can buy with gold. You see, no man would want an ugly woman to be seen by his side, much more bear his children. No one would want to buy from a dirty peddler, but people clamor to brag about buying from an extravagant high-end shop. You may deny the importance of beauty, but how many do you think share your line of thought? Even if it’s not really needed to live, they still clamor to be beautiful. Humans really are such wretched creatures, no?” There was a hint of disgust in Katherine’s tone despite her effort to keep her face nonchalant. Her hands were balled into a fist by her side, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

A short period of silence passed before Katherine resumed speaking. Unlike earlier, her tone was casual and joking, as if she was talking with an acquaintance rather than a dirty slave. “You don’t have to worry your self about being stuck with a superficial, idiot of a master though. You’ll find I’m as intelligent as I am proud and beautiful. See, I even capitalized on society’s need to be desirable. For a price, I will make a person look and feel beautiful, and help make that beauty last as long as possible.” Katherine smirked smugly as she pushed herself out of her chair. When she clapped her hands, there was not a hint left of her earlier jaunting self.

“It’s getting late. Dispose of what you have weeded and stop your work for now. The sun’s setting and there’s still much to do after this. I’m going home, and you are coming with me to your new quarters at Blacksugar Plantation. I expect you to be finished by the time I’m done closing the shop.” She ordered pointedly, gave one last glance at her newly-bought slave, and went back inside to organize her accounts for the next day.

by **Shayna** on October 22nd, 2013, 8:43 pm

The young slave did not stop her work the entire time the other was talking, though her ears were trained on her Mistress' words. Long ago did Shayna give up on the notion of being beautiful, seeing the uglier side of that coin. However it seemed her new Mistress placed great weight on it, though perhaps not the entire weight. If there was a tiny jab of pain because of her shortcomings Shayna paid it no mind, well at least not much mind though outwardly there is no sign of a worry over her plain appearance.

She noted the strain in Katherine's voice, though she missed the fisted hands, and stored that little note about her Mistress as well. All the information she could store would do nothing but help her. Shayna felt that it was a rhetoric question, as to whether humans were wretched creatures or no so she remained silent on that issue but responded to the rest with what she hoped was a meek and pliable voice though possibly just a little hint of disgust in her own voice at the thought of being painted and masked. As if that in itself was just a testament to the low quality of appearance nature had left her. "Of course Mistress Katherine. You know best about what society wants and desires. I am sure that if beauty is what is needed, you would be the person to go to."

She nods but still does not look up from her gardening as the other woman gives her final instructions, waiting until she heard the door of the shop open and close before raising her head and a hand to wipe at a single tear trail that even she was surprised to find on her cheek. This, of course, smeared a line of dirt across her face but for once she didn't mind the added dirt. Gathering up the weeds, the slave stands to her full five foot even height the limp weeds held tightly against her as she moves toward the compost pile in the back where someone had evidently tried to dispose of previous weeding attempts.

Once this is done she too claps her hands together to rid them of the loose dirt, and then brushes her skirts to try and rid them as well before turning back to walk to the back door of the shop. There she stands, not entering nor knocking, simply waiting.

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by **Katherine Morealis** on October 31st, 2013, 4:31 pm

The door closed with a definite click, and Katherine Morealis found herself leaning longer against it than she would have, if she even ever did, when she's feeling more like herself. "Disgusting." She spewed vehemently through gritted teeth. "That's really so disgusting." The words escaped from her trembling lips, weaker this time, and her chest rose and fell like the turbulent waves of the Suvan in the stormy seasons.

Not many a chimes passed when her hollow laughter echoed faintly in the empty shop. Katherine shook her pretty head, her face slowly obscured by a lustrous curtain of cinammon locks. "Hah... you'd be laughing your arrogant head off if you knew how much you've affected me, even after all these years." She stared at the wall opposite her, at the shelves of colorful jars containing an assortment of face products, but not really seeing it. No, her mind had travelled a few years in the past, to a time when her mind was occupied by simpler pleasures, and when she was still ignorant of many, many things. "You must be glad you have had your revenge now, are you not?" She muttered bitterly, and a certain face flashed in the back of her mind, eliciting a miserable chuckle from her.

But it would not do to moan about the past now. Imagine what would happen if one were to chance upon her at that particular moment. Surely, they would laugh at seeing her in one of her weak moments, in seeing a chink in her perfect armor, however small that chink may be. No, it would not do at all. She is Katherine Morealis. As a lady coming from the House of Morealis, she can't be anything but perfect.

She unconsciously flicked her tongue over her lips and was surprised by the salty tang that she caught there. Why, she was crying! It would be really, truly horrible if someone saw her like this. Her hands automatically flew to her face and wiped those unbidden tears with the back of her hands. And then warily, she glanced over her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the garden. There was not a soul in sight. That new slave, Shayna, must be disposing of the weeds she had uprooted just as her mistress had instructed. Iora is not in sight either; she must still be watering the herbs at the back. She's taking too long, Katherine thought absently.

Shrugging, Katherine strode towards the counter and, upon realising that she ordered her chair outside earlier, frowned. Not that she needed to sit down to organize her files behind the counter. However, there's something stately in doing one's work while seated comfortably on a handsome chair. Complaining under her breath about the absence of her seat, she proceeded on sorting through her accounts which were neatly piled on one side of the desk behind the counter.

Holding the paper in front of her, she scanned the details written neatly on its smooth surface. "Two orders of special cold face cream for one rich Mrs. Ascher due... in three days." She placed the order slip neatly in the designated pigeonhole in front of her. The same was done for the next order slip taken from the pile; it was set down on top of the first one she had tucked away. Katherine was very particular of having her things as systematized as possible. Some of her friends had teased her about it, saying she was being too fussy about the simplest of things such as these. She didn't mind though. Look at her business and look at theirs; she was, as they had termed it, 'raking in' more money than they are capable of doing. She found them too disorderly and too listless to do any actual work.

She continued separating the papers accordingly until a knock demanded her attention. Lifting her eyes to the door, she saw the ever smiling Iora, waiting dutifully behind the patio door. There was Shayna too, more reticent with the task of waiting on her mistress. Iora took her lady's nod as consent and so she let herself in.

"Get my chair back inside here but clean the feet first before you set it down on the floor of the shop. And be quick about it. I don't like servants who dawdle too much." Katherine ordered curtly and sent the young girl away again, not before seeing the frightened look on Iora's face. Katherine smirked inwardly. Hopefully that will douse the wild fire inside the Inarta, even for a bit. She placed the last of the papers inside a brown folder. Those files will need to be reviewed closely by her later tonight.

After she had sorted out her paperwork, Katherine grabbed her purse and took out out a small piece of clean cloth and blotted her face gently. She usually doesn't do this when touching up as her skin doesn't oil easily like those of other women, but she did happen to cry earlier and, unfortunately, her light makeup had already run down her face and needed some cleaning up.

Wiping her face clean, she next removed her powder case from her purse and applied the white, snow-like powder with a small brush, in careful sweeping motions, all over her face. Next up was her eyeliner, which have been smeared by her tears moments ago. She tilted her head back a bit and lightly stretched the skin outside of her eyes with her left hand. Raising her eyebrows a bit, she poised her hands to draw on the edge of her lids.

Unlike her mother, Katherine was not yet as experienced in putting makeup on herself. She particularly hated eyeliners. Her eyes were not quite used to the pressure yet, and many a time she found she had drawn the lines wrong. To avoid that, Katherine drew dotted lines on her upper lid, directly above her lashes. Her hands were shaking a bit, but she managed to connect the dots with short, brief strokes until her line looked even enough. She made sure it tapered slightly from the corner of her outer eye. Ending it with a blunt, rounded dot would make her look ridiculous.

Katherine repeated this on her other eye, not stopping even when she saw, from the corner of her eyes, her young servant return the chair in its place behind the desk. Katherine started working on her lower eyelids as well, starting from the outer corner of her eyes towards about half of her lower lid. Satisfied with her work, she proceeded in flicking some of the rouge on her cheeks with her fingertips, and finally she dabbed some lipstick on to add some color to her lips.

She was a naturally good looking woman, and applying only the very basics during a retouch was already enough to make Katherine even prettier. Her products were returned inside her purse and, along with the folder of important files, grabbed by Katherine as she prepared to go. After securing the door and drawing the blinds on the windows, she exited through the patio door and went past Shayna, letting out an order for her to follow. "Wipe your face clean, don't shame me by looking like a filthy field slave." She pointedly added.

Iora was to watch the place when her mistress was away, and often she volunteers to sleep at the place on days she was saving money on inns. Like today. The young Inarta was only given quick reminders as the two had already gone through this countless of times already, and soon Katherine was walking along the streets of the Eastern bank of Kenash with her new slave close behind her.

A frown crept on her face at the thought of being seen by others with Shayna. As a Morealis, it is her responsibility to dress her personal slave in presentable clothes. It would have to be dealt with as soon as possible if they were to travel together every day.

The walk to the Eastern bank was short, and soon they found themselves by the river. While the two were waiting for a boat to take them back to Blacksugar plantation, a peddler came by and offered Katherine a freshly made candied apples from his push cart. Having a thing for food, Katherine bought one and sampled the sweet as soon as the vendor had left. Instead of liking it though, she groaned. It was too caramelly for her taste.

Katherine condescendingly shoved it towards her unwitting slave. "Take it. I don't want it anymore." She carped, and when a passenger-less boat stopped in front of them she stepped in it with some alacrity. After instructing the boatman as to their destination, she crossed her legs to the side and opened the folder on her lap to read her documents in relative silence.

Receipt-2 SM from ledger for candied apples. The price was only an estimate, so by all means, please correct me if you think that the price is off.

by **Shayna** on October 31st, 2013, 5:27 pm

Shayna stands quietly by the back door, she doesn't keep track of the ticks that she stood there, it wasn't for her to question how long her Mistress took. If she grew weary, bored, or annoyed she did not let it show on her impassive face. When her Mistress finally exits once more, Shayna does observe quietly that the makeup did not have the slightly faded look as it had earlier. It wasn't a large change but it was one, so the ever mindful slave stored the information away in her mind.

Her legs moved quickly to keep up with the taller Morealis woman, but she did not complain, though she had to bite back a retort to her remark about her face and dirt. She used a sleeve of her dress to wipe across her face, using the process to hide her features fearing that the annoyed retort that so eagerly danced on her tongue might show on her face. It was a testament to the long day Shayna had that she had to use such an old slaver's trick to hide one's thoughts. Normally she is much better at presenting a respectfully placid face no matter her moods.

However the retort that of course she looked like a filthy field slave, she had been on her knees the afternoon in dirt. Wiping her face would not erase the dirt on her skirts, and while her hands were relatively clean -in part thanks to her skirts- there was dirt in the creases that would not be rid until she could wash.

For all that Shayna was well trained and practiced in the art of pleasing others, Katherine was still her first Mistress that was not the person who bred her. So the nerves of the day, and the stress of learning a new person's expectations wore on the slave, and she knew that what she had gleaned so far was nothing but the tip of the iceberg. If she ever wanted to be more then simply a garden slave, she was going to have to learn Mistress Katherine's desires, fears, wishes and what she loathes. A slave that can always deliver what their master or mistress needed or wanted was the slave that went places.

So lost in her thoughts that she was surprised when the sticky treat was pressed into her hand, and instinctively she grabs it, leaving caramel on her fingers but also a bit of dirt caught under her nails managed to deposit on the apple itself. The white of the fruit showing where Mistress Katherine had bitten into it as Shayna lets a surprised look flint across her face before it is recomposed into a semblance of normality, though her hand still held the caramel apple gingerly. Already she could feel the candy sticking to her fingers, but she was unsure of what to do with it.

She had never had a treat such as this, food for slaves on the breeding farms were specially designed to provide nutrition for healthy slaves..not for enjoyment. Sweets were definitely not considered a healthy meal, nor was it considered something for the slave's best interest either. What is a slave if they have rotten teeth or if they begin to get heavier, or if they didn't have the strength from proper nutrition but a suck on their owner's pocket book.

She also didn't want to toss it on the ground, if Mistress Katherine wanted to toss it out she could have done it herself, and Shayna hardly thought that she was simply giving her the apple to give her a treat. For long moments she pulled one way or the other, even as the boat slowly traversed the waters. Finally she turns the apple so that the white of the fruit was on the opposite side, and trying to find a spot that her hands that needed washing had not touched before taking a little nibble. The first thing she noticed was the cloying sweetness, coating her tongue and her face pulls into a grimace, the taste of the apple was so overwhelmed that Shayna was almost certain that the treat was nothing but a cube of sugar.

Looking surreptitiously Shayna looks toward her mistress, noting the folder and her Katherine's seeming pre-occupation, she moves her hand over the side of the boat, and let the apple fall into the water. She then leans over the side just a little to let her hand glide into the water, washing the stickiness from her fingers.

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by **Katherine Morealis** on November 1st, 2013, 9:23 am

Her eyes ran through the words on the page, very much taken by the things that needed to be done inside the shop.

After skimming through the sheets in her hands, she realized that the first matter that was to be dealt with was of course the grooming of her personal slave. The girl needed to be at least presentable for customers who would happen to steal a glance of her working at the gardens. Her fingers absentmindedly tapped the inside of the folder as she worked her schedule in her mind for the following days. She had an outing planned with someone tomorrow afternoon, and she was to meet with a seamstress the day after tomorrow to help her plan her costumes for the balls and the parties she plans to attend for the season.

The mistress' blue eyes were shifted from the folder of papers towards Shayna the slave girl. Her eyes were narrowed at the slave's slight frame, as if to scrutinize her just as she did bells earlier during the day when she was just choosing which girl to buy. Shayna's hair was alright, she guessed. The groomers at the hall did some passable work in keeping her tresses simple and personable. But her clothes, Katherine remarked to herself, as she did moments ago, are not fit for toiling in the soil. She could easily borrow a manor slave's uniform from her family with just a few words to her father, but Katherine really didn't want people to make that kind of connection. I own this slave, Katherine Morealis thought stubbornly, and I will dress her with money straight out from my own pocket.

Making the point inside her mind, she settled on squeezing in a quick shopping trip before she meet with the seamstress on the day after the next. A simple, sleeveless cotton blouse and a matching modest skirt will do for the time being. Perhaps a gardening apron to reasonably keep the dirt off from the clothes. She would keep from investing on the slave for now until she finds the girl doing the work that her master had paid for her to do.

Ticking her slave's clothes off from her mental list, she next thought of the tools she had back at her garden. She remembered she had some tools she use for her herbal lab. The thing with Katherine, however, is she is not of a disposition to constantly let other people handle her belongings. And so when the thought or lending the slave her items crossed her mind, she immediately resolved to just buy the girl her own tool kit. It would probably improve the amount of work done by Shayna in a frame of time, she reasoned.

Many, many chimes had passed yet Katherine continued on like this, silently mulling over what she was to do for the following days then ticking it off from the list. The slave who was sitting close by was not regarded at all, until the boatsman announced that they had arrived at Blacksugar plantation. She handed the man a few coins for his service and then sharply called Shayna to attention.

"We are now at my family's lands, the Morealis family's pride. And over there," Katherine pointed proudly with her chin at a large mansion looming over the highest point of the gentle rolling terrain. "That is Blacksugar mansion, and you are standing on its grounds."

She turned to the slave with a smug smile on her face. "Do you remember what I had instructed you earlier? You are to wait for me right at this spot every morning. I had already told you of the consequences if you fail to follow my instructions, and for your own sake, I hope you remember them well."

Katherine turned on her heels and made the short hike up the small hill, expecting the small slave to be following close behind. When they had reached the foot of the grand stairs leading to the majestic front doors of the large house, a uniformed middle aged woman was silently waiting for the young mistress' arrival. The woman, a manor slave who had been working in service of the Morealis for as long as all the other slaves can remember, walked with measured steps towards Katherine. A quick, amused glance was thrown at Shayna, as she was definitely a new face in the plantation.

"My lady, your father has ordered for you to meet him in his laboratory. He wanted to see you as soon as you come home. There is something that he wants to tell you personally and asked that it cannot be delayed." The woman's tone was polite and professional, just like how the Morealis want their slaves to be.

Katherine made a face at receiving the sudden news, arms crossing petulantly over her chest. She did not understand at first why her father would call for her in this manner, but she thought that whatever it is he wanted to convey must indeed be of great importance if he called for her like this. After a moment's deliberation, she addressed the older slave with a begrudging tone and said, "I have made previous arrangements with this slave. But if it is as you say and my father's adamant about this, I want you to bring her to her new quarters in my stead. But before that, show her around the garden first so that she will have an idea of the work I expect her to do."

She eyed Shayna pointedly, reminding her to behave herself well, and then nodded to the manor slave who bowed deferentially in response. Satisfied, Katherine strode up the stairs with the self-satisfied air of someone who owned such an impressive place, and disappeared behind the large front doors, leaving trifle worries regarding her new purchase behind her, at least for the day.

by **Shayna** on November 1st, 2013, 3:12 pm

The boat landing went smoothly, and Shayna followed her mistress out of the boat. She grimaced at the awkward gawkiness that was exhibited because of the unused to sway of the boat as she balanced one leg on to the docks and pulled herself from the boat. She despised when she was not smooth and competent in any endeavor, even one that she had never tried before. However she knew that it would come with time and practice. She had only glanced at the grounds when Katherine had pointed them out in the boat, but now that she was standing on them she took the time to take in the expanse. Her green eyes did see the beauty and majesty of the place, but she was not one to be enamored by such trappings. Instead she noted the upkeep on the grounds, noted movement made by anyone slave or freeborn. Her future on this plantation would be set by how she conducted herself, and she intended on finding all clues as to how slaves with this particularly family interacted with their owners.

"Yes Mistress Katherine. I will be waiting right here for you every morning." Her words were quiet, with the appropriate amount of respectful obedience though she struggled and hoped to have succeeded to keep the slight hint of annoyance from her voice. She must remind herself that unlike in the breeding farm where her service was proven worthy, she had not proved herself reliable yet. It had been a while since someone felt the need to repeat instructions to Shayna.

Her short legs move rapidly to keep up with the taller woman, but Shayna does not allow her movements look any more flustered then they had to, and she did keep her face poised in the frozen mask of blankness. When Katherine stopped, Shayna stopped just a few steps behind her. Instead of standing with her gaze tilted downward, she lifted her chin to watch the older slave carefully, appraising her value and the threat-level to Shayna herself. She seemed well trained, she certainly said the right words, and she did not have any signs of thought other then what she was suppose to be doing in the moment. However Shayna knew that this was easy to effect, does she not play the same part herself?

She does not speak, but she does give a deferential nod toward her Mistress when she -again- reminded her to behave herself. Though when she moves behind the house slave, a cold look is focused on the back of the older slave.

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by **Poppy** on November 7th, 2013, 12:29 am

...because you've EARNED it!

Shayna :

Katherine :

Notes :

Please PM me with any questions, comments, or concerns!