First Lessons (A Medieval Tale #1)

Chapter 1 part 6

She turned to study the furniture. The wardrobes were huge, pink monstrosities. And who thought it was a good idea to make a table out of heavy marble? It was impossible to move, and if it fell over it would put a hole in the floor. The chairs looked like they had been carved from whole pieces of pine.

One of the chairs looked more like a wooden chest that someone had nailed an uncomfortable back to before covering the whole thing in fabric—pink fabric, covered with ugly gold roses.

She hated this kind of stuff.

The pink canopy over her head needed to be shaken out before the dust completely obscured its gold roses.

Aliya plucked up her courage and looked down at her bed. The bedspread was an expensive brocade, but it was filthy—and pink. It was obviously handmade. The sheets were pink silk. They were dirty and stank. Aliya gritted her teeth and pulled the sheets to the side. She had to have a look at herself. She was dirty; she smelled bad; and she was covered in fat like a big, pink whale. Offhand, she figured she weighed 260-270 pounds. She almost cried; it was the worst reincarnation imaginable. She took a deep breath. I can deal with this. I'll just watch what I eat and start exercising.

The floorboards outside her door creaked. Aliya pulled the bedspread back over her body Just as three men came in dragging a large metal washtub. When they let it down, it hit the floor with a boom that made Aliya jump. The men went out and returned ten minutes later with buckets of boiling water, which they poured into the washtub. After emptying three buckets of boiling water and three buckets of cold water, they put two more buckets of hot water on the floor by the tub. Aliya watched their preparations in surprise.

The youngest of the three men looked to be eighteen. The oldest of them was way past fifty. The third looked to be about thirty-five or forty, no more. All of them were wearing tunics and strange leggings that had once been white. The tunics were pink. Of course. The two older men had beards, and the youngest was working hard to grow out some hairs on his chin. Their heads were uncovered, but they had sprinkled them with some kind of powder. Their hair was tied back with dirty pink ribbons. On their feet, they wore felt shoes that had apparently been designed to make the wearer look dumpy.

They looked awful. She wondered if all the men in this world dressed like that.

Aliya noticed that none of their clothes had buttons. The tunics closed with ties. Her nanny's dress was the same way. She wondered if buttons had yet to be invented. If not, she would have to invent them and get the patent...if they had patents in this world. And if they didn't, she would find a partner and open a button-making workshop.

Stop. My mind is wandering too far. I need to stay in the here and now, at least until I've had my bath.

The men left, and her nanny came back to her bedside. "Let's get up, Lily, dear."

Aliya tried to stand. She almost groaned in pain. Every muscle and cell of her body was in agony. She gritted her teeth. She was used to standing for hours at a time and knew how to deal with pain.

Her nanny helped her up. It became clear that the woman intended to put her into the bath in her nightgown. Aliya stared at her. "Nanny, I won't wear this nightgown again. Help me take it off and have someone wash it. Then tell me if I have a clean one I can wear."

"You do, but Lily..."

"I'm begging you, Nanny! I feel so awful. Do you want me to trip on this nightgown and fall again?"

Her nanny was horrified. She helped Aliya get the disgusting sack over her head.

Aliya almost broke down in tears when she saw the rolls of fat on her body, but she kept it together.

"If only I had a mirror," she mumbled.

"You ordered one, remember? Let me help you, my pretty butterfly."

Aliya nodded. Her nanny led her to one of the wardrobes and opened the door. Aliya gasped. The wardrobe held a full-length mirror, which was just a sheet of polished metal, and Aliya could finally see what had happened to her.

She had to admit that she had her good points as well as her bad ones. While her legs, hips, and butt were very large, and her waist was obscured by four rolls of fat, she had small, high breasts and a long neck (even if it was partially hidden behind three chins). Her hands were elegant, and her legs were well proportioned. All she needed to do was lose about a hundred pounds.

Aliya was also pleased to see that she had a heavy braid of hair that fell almost to her knees instead of the rat's tail she was used to. It must be all the organic food you eat in a place like this. She studied her face and liked it. Large cheeks got in the way, but her eyes were big and green. Her nose wasn't hooked or turned up; it was just a plain, straight nose. Her ears were fine, too. Best of all, she didn't see any acne, warts or other spots on her smooth skin. Thank goodness, she didn't see any of the pits left by smallpox, either. There was just a small birthmark at the corner of her lip. Her teeth were all there, and she could tell that her wisdom teeth hadn't come in yet.

So, she had a good foundation, and everything else could be fixed. While she was getting in shape, she'd have time to assimilate. Aliya thought of herself as a pragmatist. She wouldn't try to change everything around her all at once. Why bother, when all I really want is a convenient, easygoing lifestyle?

She would start at the beginning by finding out what was going on in the outside world. Aliya turned to her nanny and flashed her a babyish smile. "Come help me wash and tell me all the things that happened while I was ill."

The old woman smiled broadly. "Whatever you want, Lily."

The clever schemer hiding behind Lily's eyes grinned; she knew exactly what she wanted.

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