Who Is Mistral Dawn?

Mistral Dawn is a thirty-something gal who has lived on both coasts of the US but somehow never in the middle. She currently resides in the Southeast US with her kitty cats (please spay or neuter! :-)) where she works as a hospital drudge and attends graduate school. Taken By The Huntsman is her first effort at writing fiction and if it is well received she has ideas for several more novels and short-stories in this series. Please feel free to visit her on FaceBook or drop her a line at mistralkdawn@gmail.com

Friday, September 1, 2017

Now, That's A House! ;-)

Hey Everyone!! :-)

I'm starting to do my Fall cleaning, and it put me in mind of this passage from Taken By The Huntsman. I'm really glad I don't have to organize and clean anything this large. ;-)

Excerpt from Taken By The Huntsman:
Cassie paid closer attention this time and tried to memorize all of the twists and turns but she lost track about halfway there. She sighed in exasperation. “How long did it take you to learn your way around this place, Maeve?”

Maeve looked over her shoulder in surprise. “I’m not sure, dearie, it was several hundred years ago. And at the first, I was only allowed in the lower levels. The newer staff is confined to the scullery, stables, and servants’ quarters. It takes years before someone is trusted enough to start working upstairs.”

Cassie blinked. It hit her how little she knew about the type of household in which she found herself. It seemed as if it might be more like a small city than a house. “How many people work here?”

“Well, that depends, dearie. Do you mean here in the house or do you mean in personal service to the master?”

Cassie thought about that, she hadn’t realized there was a distinction. “Either. Both, I guess.”

“Well, if you mean here in the house, then there are about 500 staff members and their families. If you mean total for all of the house and grounds, including security, then several thousand. Though, you’d have to ask Arthfael for a more accurate estimate. He’s the master’s steward and overseer when the master is not about. If you mean in personal service to the master, then I’m not sure even Arthfael would know. You’d likely need to ask the master himself, though I’m sure he’d tell you. They’re all your people now too, you know?”

Cassie was starting to feel dizzy. She was supposed to be responsible for thousands of people? And why did all these people serve the Erlking? Did they have a choice? Why did he need people beyond those he employed to care for his house and grounds to be beholden to him?