Hey Everyone!! 😊
Congratulations on once again making it to Friday!! To celebrate, I thought it might be fun to take a little peek at what the Fae are up to. Enjoy... 😉
“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?
“Yes, thank you, he told me that I'm the mistress of his property now,” she replied to Maeve. “Why does he have people working for him who don’t work in the house or on the grounds?”
“Well, dearie, he needs things to supply the castle, doesn’t he? He allows some people to use his lands to grow crops in exchange for a share of their harvest every year. He owns the land that the nearest town is on, and he allows the shopkeepers to use it in exchange for supplying him with the goods he needs. He also offers all those people protection, which is no small thing here in Fairie, dearie. And, of course, there are the members of the Hunt; they’re all his people too.
“So all of those people want to serve him?”
“Well not all, dearie, there are a few who are about because they are being punished by the Hunt. But you won’t meet any of them here in the castle; he doesn’t allow criminals to work in his fortress.”
Cassie thought about all of that. It all sounded similar to the feudal system that used to exist in Europe. Was that a good method of government, she wondered? As she considered the matter, she had to conclude that it was probably as good a system as the people running it. Just like any other political structure. How "good" was the Erlking? Maeve certainly seemed happy enough.
“Do you like working for the Erlking, Maeve?”
Maeve looked at her new mistress in amazement. “Why, yes, dearie, of course! If I didn’t, I’d leave, wouldn’t I?”
“So you are allowed to leave if you want to?”
Maeve started to regard Cassie with some wariness. She couldn’t think of anything she had done to give offense to the human female, why was she implying that Maeve should leave? “Of course, mistress. But I love my job in the master’s household, and I don’t want to leave. Have I done something to make you think me unworthy of my position?”
Cassie realized Maeve thought she was threatening to fire her and she instantly felt sorry. She wasn’t used to having authority over other people, and she hadn’t thought how Maeve might interpret her questions. “No Maeve, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that I thought you should leave, I only wondered if you were being forced to stay here against your will. I don’t have any intention of firing anyone who wants to be here.”
Maeve looked at Cassie a moment longer and then patted her arm. “No harm done, then. The master wouldn’t keep me here if I didn’t want to stay. The Erlking is a good master. He isn’t given to beating his servants in fits of anger, he treats his people fairly, and when someone belongs to the Erlking other Fae do not threaten them. In all the years I’ve served here, I’ve never seen the master dismiss or discipline a person who didn’t deserve it.”
Cassie thought about that. The idea that an employer could beat an employee just because they were angry disturbed her. But, then, didn’t similar things happen in some of the places she had worked? Oh, none of her bosses had ever physically assaulted her, but some of their verbal assaults were nearly as hard to bear. And how many companies thought nothing of exposing their employees to danger and failing to protect, or even warn, them? Many bosses routinely harassed, bullied, browbeat, and otherwise abused their employees. And even though employees could theoretically leave, many people felt trapped because they needed employment to survive.
And, even though she personally had never been physically assaulted by one of her employers, she had certainly heard plenty of stories from her coworkers. Some bosses seemed to feel they had the right to touch their employees however, wherever, and whenever they pleased. And to fire any employee who had the temerity to object. Yes, theoretically there were legal protections in place for such abuses. But many employees, especially those in the lower-income strata as she had been, had neither the time nor the resources to pursue such avenues.
The laws always seemed to be structured to protect those with money against those without. And finding the "proof" that the courts wanted wasn’t always possible. What was an employee supposed to do? Tell their boss, "Wait just one moment before you grope me, so I can set up some recording equipment?" And, of course, anyone who dared to complain about, or expose, a dangerous situation would instantly become a target for reprisal. Cassie knew there were laws that ostensibly prevented such retaliation; she also knew there were plenty of ways for employers to get around such laws. No, the Fae's system might not be perfect, but neither was the one she was used to.
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