Rough Beginnings {bryony!}

[liralen sabriel wren]

*I don't wanna be adored. Don't wanna be first in line;;
`` Or make myself heard. I'd like to bring a little light,,
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Liralen stood in the living room of an unfamiliar apartment. She had spent all morning walking back and forth from her home to this one, too scared to go inside. For an hour she had stood in the courtyard of the apartment complex, staring at the door, feeling like she was going to throw up. Finally, her mother had come home from work and seen that Lira had still not taken her luggage to her new home. She packed her daughters luggage into the car and went to meet her. Together they trudged up the stairs with all of her belongings. For ten minutes, Lira stood outside the door, holding the cold key in her hand, crying. Her mother did what she could to comfort her, but in the end she had to get home. So they unlocked the door, brought everything inside, and then she left.

And now here she was. The apartment wasn’t actually that cramped. If it weren’t for the fact that things were thrown around and piled up everywhere, it would probably be a decent size. Lira looked around at the mess, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. For some reason, she had always pictured her master to be male; a tall, business-like man who was off working all day and expected dinner on the table every night. She imagined that he would marry early and she would become a nanny to his children, a confidant to his wife. But looking around at the clothes strewn about on the floor, it was clear that whoever lived here was a young woman. A young woman who did not know the meaning of clean.

With a sigh, Liralen looked down at her clothes. She had on an old dress that had once been her mothers. It was worn and thin, but the faded floral pattern made her feel better and a little less far away from home. Fingers shaking a little, she kneeled down next to one of her suitcases and pulled out at warm brown knit sweater. Pulling it on, she tried to decide what to do while waiting for her master to come home. What can I do to show her that I’m going to be a fantastic servant… A small smile formed on her lips, I’ll just clean up! Delighted that she had come up with something to do, Lira began to clean furiously.

Lira spent a good three hours on the living room and kitchen. She carefully folded clothes, separating the clean from the dirty. Next she found the detergent and put the dirty clothes in the wash, being sure to spot treat stains. She organized the clean clothes by type and put them in a overstuffed basket outside what appeared to be the bedroom door—she wasn’t comfortable going in there without having even meet her master first. Next she got out one of her oldest and least worn t-shirts and ripped it into two rags; one she got wet with just a touch of water (there were no cleaning supplies to be found) and the other she kept dry. Lira diligently scrubbed every surface, focusing on sticky spots until everything shined. By that time, the clothes were done, so she folded them and put them with the rest. Spotting unopened letters lying around, she gathered them all into one pile and then sorted them into obvious categories; personal mail, junk mail, magazines, and bills. Grabbing a small dish from the kitchen, she put in it all the loose change lying around. Finally, she attacked the unbelievably large amount of dirty dishes in the kitchen. By this point, her dress was covered in dust and he knees were bruising from kneeling on the ground. As she washed the dishes, her hands got dried out from the soap and pruned from the water.

Just as Liralen was drying the last glass, she heard a key turning in the lock. Immediate terror entered her system—her palms began to sweat, her heart began to race, and she could feel her knees go weak. Not paying enough attention to the glass, she yelped in shock as it slipped out of her clammy hand and shattered on the kitchen floor. Her heart stopped, as she stared at it in horror as the front door closed. Shaking like a leaf, she looked up at her new master. “I am s-s-so s-s-orry! I was just t-trying to help, I swear!”

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[/b] [/color]complete
words; 838
notes; Best I could pound out, hope it's not too bad.
credits; made by xxmizzbry from caution 2.0
lyrics; from Keane's Hamburg Song[/size]
[/ul][/ul][/ul][/font]

[bryony rose richardson]

its not about your make up or how you try to shape up
to these tiresome paper dreams
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Bryony sipped her coffee leisurely as she watched the world go by through the window next to her. The coffee house, one her favourite haunts was warm, loud and seemed a world away from the blustery weather outside. It was a true autumn day, cold and crisp with a biting wind which seemed to find its way inside even the warmest of clothes. Still, Bryony loved the fall and for all its coldness and wind, it had always been her favourite season. Something about the colours just spoke to her, the deep reds, and warm browns… She would never get tired of it. Taking another sip at her drink and feeling the warm liquid travelling down her, she glanced at the large clock on the wall behind her and started. She’d been out for almost five hours! Bryony supposed she shouldn’t be that surprised, this wasn’t the first time she’d let time run away from her, but when she’d set out this morning, it had only been to kill time for an hour or two. She started again when she remembered the reason why she had planned to be back early; her servant was arriving this afternoon!

Swearing under her breath and quickly downing the rest of her drink, Bryony made her way towards the exit. She shivered as the cold air hit her as she left the protection of the coffee house and started to head towards home. Luckily her apartment wasn’t far from here. She fished blindly in her brown, off the shoulder bag for her iPod and, finding it, shoved the buds into her ears and clicked the play button. As familiar music filled her head, Bryony let her mind focus on the matter of her servant arriving alone in her apartment. She really had meant to be there! What kind of first impression was that? Not bothering to be home to meet them? God, they probably thought she was a bitch.

Bryony didn’t really know what she was going to do with a servant around the place. It would probably mean that she’d have to get a job and start making money because the small amount that she had left in the bank wouldn’t support two people for very long. That wasn’t a bad thing though, sometimes you needed a bit of a push to get going, and it was true that she hadn’t thought about her future a lot since leaving school. If it was up to her, she would probably just laze around in Starbucks for her whole life. There was another thing though; she liked her apartment a bit messy. It was the only way she could find things and besides, perfectly tidy rooms were just depressing. Although, the dirty dishes pile by the sink just kept getting bigger…

Bryony quickened her pace, her bag bumping by her hip. She was wearing jeans (surprise, surprise) and her favourite pair of shoes, the retro all-stars she’d found on a stall at the bazaar and fell in love with at once. With that, she had on a brightly coloured t-shirt hidden beneath a long brown coat that reached her thighs and a thick woollen scarf. Her auburn hair was thrown up in a messy bun, and ensemble was completed by a pair of bright pink fingerless gloves which matched the scarf. She had dressed with the weather in mind today, her chief priority being warmth, but had still made an effort to look presentable.

Reaching her apartment building, she dashed inside and waited impatiently for the lift to come. Giving up, Bryony yanked open the door to the stairwell and took them two at a time (her flat was only on the second floor). When she reached the correct story, she walked quickly down the hallway and stopped at her door, pulling the buds out of her ears and rummaging in her bag for her keys. Despite herself, Bryony was quite excited to meet her servant and she found her palms sweating slightly in apprehension. Finally she found the key and unlocked the door. This was it…

Bryony stepped inside and stopped dead, letting the door swing shut behind her. Her disbelieving eyes took in the state of her living room. But was it her living room? Could she have come into the wrong apartment by accident? No. There was her sofa, her deep red rug, her pictures hanging on the walls… But, it looked empty! Where was all her stuff?

A big heap of clothes stood organised and in a basket outside her bedroom door. There were several piles of letters that looked to be sorted into sensible categories on the coffee table. A dish stood next to them, filled with coins and loose change. The place looked clean and tidy. Bryony deflated. How would she ever be able to find anything again?

Suddenly, and before she could fully comprehend what had happened, her attention was diverted and she looked up to see a girl of around her age shaking like a leaf in the kitchen. There was what looked like a shattered glass at her feet. “I am s-s-so s-s-sorry! I was just t-trying to help, I swear!” Blinking, Bryony closed her open mouth and surveyed the huge pile of dishes behind the girl. They were clean dishes.

“Oh. Er, don’t worry. I'm sure there's a brush round here somewhere.” Bryony was recovering from her shock now, and she smiled weakly at her new servant. “Did you do all that?” She said, gesturing towards the living room. “I mean, did you put everything away?” Bryony surveyed the obviously terrified girl and wondered how long had she been cleaning. It must have taken a while if she'd managed to get all of the living room done, her clothes AND the dishes.

Bryony opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, suddenly feeling very awkward and self consious. This girl had probably spent hours cleaning up for her, she'd arrived to an empty apartment and had probably recieved a letter not long ago telling her that she had to serve another person for the rest of her life. "Um.. Sorry I wasn't here earlier, I meant to be, really, but I completely lost track of time... sorry" The girl cursed mentally as she apologised for the second time, but she couldn't help it. What had happenned to her? "I'm Bryony, by the way,"

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NOTES !?;; Wow, I wasn't expecting this to be so long xD don't expect them all to be...
STATUS !?;; finished
TAGGED !?;; Lira
WORDS !?;; 1092 xD
CREDIT !?;; JADE !? and THEYAA @ caution 2.0

[liralen sabriel wren]

*I don't wanna be adored. Don't wanna be first in line;;
`` Or make myself heard. I'd like to bring a little light,,
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Liralen looked at her new master, registering immediately the look of disbelief on her face. Uncertainty overtook her fear: what had she been thinking? She had no idea if her master would actually want her cleaning or not. Or where she would want things, or if she could touch her mail. Perhaps she was making a terrible impression. She stared down at the glass all around her feet, trying desperately to reel in her emotions. The last thing she wanted was for her master to think she was flighty or weak. “Oh. Er, don’t worry. I’m sure there’s a brush around here somewhere. Did you do all that? I mean, did you put everything away?”

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth, still not looking up. “Umm, yeah. I thought maybe you would like to come home to a clean apartment. I just wanted to help. I hope you’re not upset.” She brought her arms up to wrap them around herself. "Um.. Sorry I wasn't here earlier, I meant to be, really, but I completely lost track of time... sorry" Lira snapped her head up to stare at her in disbelief. “No, you don’t have to apologize. I don’t mind at all. I’d hate to think that I interrupted any of your plans.” She stepped over the glass and closer to the other girl. It was startling how beautiful her master was. Lira was completely taken aback by her auburn hair and perfect face. She could tell that the other girl was the type who had confidence, and could handle attention. Nothing like Liralen.

"I'm Bryony, by the way,"She stepped over the glass and closer to the front door. She looked back down at the floor, “I’m Liralen. Liralen Wren. It’s very nice to meet you.” She looked around the apartment. “You have a very beautiful apartment. I’m very grateful to you for letting me live here.” She ran a hand through her hair, thinking of how awful she must look. “I hope I can help you in whatever you need. I’m a pretty good cook, and I can clean and organize. If you need someone to help you schedule, or to write things for you, I can do that too.” She gave Bryony a shaky smile.

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[/b] [/color]done
words; 379. Clearly I don’t plan on writing as much either. :-P
notes; I’d say this is going fairly well, eh
credits; made by xxmizzbry from caution 2.0
lyrics; from Keane’s Hamburg Song[/size]
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[bryony rose richardson]

its not about your make up or how you try to shape up
to these tiresome paper dreams
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Bryony had often wondered what her life would have been like if she had had an ‘S’ marked on her wrist instead of an ‘M’. She wondered, if she’d been told go and live in another person’s home and clean for them and basically do as they told her to, would she be able to do it? She thought not. True, she kept herself to herself, but didn’t think she could stand someone telling her what to do and when to do it, all day. She certainly, she couldn’t do what Lira had just done; tidy an apartment belonging to some one she’d never met for hours. That was just the person she was – lazy, and rather uncaring. Maybe if she had been a servant then she would be more willing to please people. Maybe not. Who knows? Bryony unbuttoned her coat, unwrapped her scarf and hung both on a peg by the door. She slung her bag onto the sofa, and her gloves soon followed. “I’m not upset that you cleaned up, just surprised,” She smiled, “It was a bit of a shock.”

Truth be told, Bryony hadn’t been expecting her servant to start before she’d even arrived. She planned on talking to them a bit first, so she could tell them that she liked things a bit messy and disorganised. Obviously now it was too late, but she didn’t mind that much. In fact, she was rather stunned that the girl had thought of her, and chosen to face the huge mess which was her flat without even being asked. She didn’t really know what to make of it.

“I’m Liralen. Liralen Wren. It’s very nice to meet you. You have a very beautiful apartment. I’m very grateful to you for letting me live here.”

At this, Bryony’s eyebrows rose. She liked her little, two bed roomed home, but it was a long way from like to beautiful. She’d moved in only a few months before, and had decorated with large, warm furniture in earthy colours. In the space of a few months the place had also filled with various bits of clutter and decoration that she’d picked up. Her mother had said that she ‘liked to make a place her own’, as Bryony had banned her from tidying in her old room back at Alec’s house; which basically meant that she liked everywhere to be messy.

“I hope I can help you in whatever you need. I’m a pretty good cook, and I can clean and organize. If you need someone to help you schedule, or to write things for you, I can do that too.”

Bryony met the girl’s eye and smiled back at her. “Well that’s good to know. I’m pretty disorganised generally as I’m sure you can already tell. Maybe you can help.” But I doubt it, she added in her head. Smiling, she saw Lira run a hand through her thick, brown hair, it was obviously a self-conscious movement, but Bryony thought that she looked fine. Very nice, in fact. She had a petite figure and seemed to be very delicate, with a pretty face and a slim body. What was there to not to like?

Suddenly, Bryony spotted Liralen’s luggage by the door. “I don’t know if you’ve been in the bedrooms? But I’ll show yours quickly.” She led the short way to spare room and opened the door with a flourish. “Voila!” Inside of the room, most of the space was taken up by a double bed and a wardrobe. There were a few shelves on the wall, and a lamp on a bedside table. “Sorry it’s a bit small, but it’s the only one left,” She said in an explanatory tone. “I hope you like it.”

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[/center]

NOTES !?;; bleh, sorry it's so rubbish x.x
STATUS !?;; finished
TAGGED !?;; Lira
WORDS !?;; 628
CREDIT !?;; JADE !? and THEYAA @ caution 2.0

[liralen sabriel wren]

*I don't wanna be adored. Don't wanna be first in line;;
`` Or make myself heard. I'd like to bring a little light,,
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Lira watched her master carefully, trying to decide whether or not she believed that the other girl was okay with her cleaning up. How could she have been so thoughtless? Had it been the other way, she certainly would have been frustrated; imagine coming into your home, where you expect to be most comfortable, and find that someone has moved around all of your possessions! Liralen had essentially violated her personal space without having even met her. Realizing that it was too late to fix anything, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and watched Bryony make herself comfortable. Lira had to bite back from noting that Bryony’s bag had probably been on the floor in restraunts, or of subways floors, or taxicabs—nothing that had been any of those places should be placed on clean sofas where people sat. Lira decided to just ignore it, not wanting to upset Bryony further.

Liralen had meant it when she said that the apartment was beautiful: she loved old buildings, and this one was quite old. She loved the creaky wooden floors and whitewash doors. She thought that Bryony was so brave to fill it with clutter and make it her own. Lira, knowing that she would always live with a master, would never have to worry about having her own home. She thought that if she did, however, she would probably decorate it very practically and safely.

“I don’t know if you’ve been in the bedrooms? But I’ll show yours quickly.”

[/i]

Lira shook her head mutely, and followed her master into the spare bedroom. She smiled a little upon seeing it; the plain furniture blank walls were a bit more her style. She breathed in and silently acknowledged that this was her new home; her new beginning.

“Sorry it’s a bit small, but it’s the only one left. I hope you like it.”[/i]

Lira looked down shyly, staring at her light green flats. “It’s wonderful,” she replied earnestly. She felt a little relived to be honest—she was nervous that the room was going to be as cluttered and colorful as the rest of the exocentric apartment. The thin girl walked quickly back out into the living room and began to roll her luggage into her new room, talking over her shoulder as she did. “Well, it’s starting to get late. Perhaps we could talk about what types of things it is that you would like for me to do? And you can tell me more about yourself? I’d like to know what it is that you’re interested in, and what type of job you have. That sort of thing.”

Putting the last suitcase at the end of the bed, she stood up straight and shook her hair out of her face. “That is unless you have other things to do…”

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[/b] [/color]done
words; 471
notes; sorry this took 100years to produce
credits; made by xxmizzbry from caution 2.0
lyrics; from Keane’s Hamburg Song[/size]
[/ul][/ul][/ul][/font]

[bryony rose richardson]

it's not about your make up or how you try to shape up
to these tiresome paper dreams
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Staring at the bare white walls, Bryony wondered if she should have made some effort to decorate the room, and make Lira feel a bit more welcome. She’d left the room bare so that the girl could decorate herself, but still she wondered if she ought to have put some character into it. Maybe some paint on the walls or a few decorations… But her servant seemed happy with the way that she’d left it, and they could always get some paint and decorate it later. At least then it would be a colour that Liralen liked. She was just about to say this, when Lira beat her to it and said:

“Well, it’s starting to get late. Perhaps we could talk about what types of things it is that you would like for me to do? And you can tell me more about yourself? I’d like to know what it is that you’re interested in, and what type of job you have. That sort of thing.”

At these words Bryony froze. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to get to know her servant; of course she did. They were going to be living together for the foreseeable future, so really there wasn’t a question of whether she was going to or not. No, it was mainly about the job thing. Bryony didn’t really want Lira to know that she’d been basically bumming around on her (foster) parent's money for the past few months. She didn’t want her servant to see her as some lazy slob, although considering this, Bryony supposed that she probably already did. She had just cleaned her apartment after all.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want a job. She did, and she’d been meaning to get one for ages. It was just that had never got round to it, there was always something else that she needed to do, and finding employment had slipped to the bottom of her list. Plus the fact that she had no idea what she wanted to do. She wouldn’t know where to start. Maybe that was something Lira could help her with…

“That is unless you have other things to do…”

Bryony looked up and saw that her servant had finished stowing her luggage. “Um, no. As far as I know I haven’t got anything on.” She accompanied her words with a bright smile and turned towards the direction of the living room, gesturing for the other girl to follow her. If they were going to talk properly they might as well be comfortable. She sat down on the sofa, dumping her bag on the floor to make room for Liralen.

“Well…” Bryony began, smiling self consciously and wondering what on earth she could say which wouldn’t make her sound like a big headed prick. “My last name is Richardson. Bryony Rose Richardson. I usually like to keep things a little messy… I’ve lived here for a few months now, but I used to live with my mom,” she paused here, wondering whether to say it; she wasn’t usually a spill-it-all-to-everyone kind of girl, but she decided that she would. It wasn't like it was some big secret or something... “…and her master out in suburbia.” Here Bryony found that her mouth ran away with her and babbled on. Maybe to distract attention from her earlier satement, "Um, I don't have a job right now, but I was hoping you could help me look for one? I mean, I'm not sure what exactly what I want to do but I think you could help..." She trailed off into silence.

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[/center]

NOTES !?;; slightly better than the last :) and don't worry RL can WAY too hectic sometimes xP
STATUS !?;; finished
TAGGED !?;; Lira
WORDS !?;; 564
CREDIT !?;; JADE !? and THEYAA @ caution 2.0