Welcome to Gaia! ::

"It is just down this hall,"Serena directed, pointing down the hall that lead to the sitting room.

((Rei, I don't tihnk you can sign up for classes until you are a miako))
"They should be in the hall closet, near the kitchen and the maid's quarters,"Serena explained.

Serena looked around and saw another pair of shoes in the hall. She figured they must belong to the okiya mother.

Serena walked to the sitting room and looked around.
"Very nice job, Sakura. Now I think the floor could do with a nice mopping,"Serena suggested.

Dea smiles at Tsukasa.
"Cuuld you please take care of my bedroom?"Serena asked Tsukasa.

"It would be my pleasure, Serena-san." Tsukasa bowed and took the mop, buck and dust rag. Swiftly and softly she made her way to Serena's bedroom. After opening the door and sliping into the room, the small girl began at once on the chore of cleaning Serena's room.

(Tres/san - 3)

Mizu pulled herself away from the facinating discovery that the okiya mother had arrived, and noticed that other maids seemed to be working busily. Blushing with embarrassment at not noticing that Serena-sama had returned, she made a small bow to the geisha.

"Gomen nasai Serena-sama, I hadn't noticed your return...is there anything I could do as well?" she asked.

Mizu tried her best to smile at the girl beside Serena-sama, most likely a maid like herself, feeling a little shy and awkward, and wondering if she had made a bad first impression as a maid who didn't do her job to the other girl.

((Eighteen))

"Hai Serena-sama!" Mizu replied, her cheeks flushed with pleased color as she hurried to do the geisha's bidding. Collecting laundry from all the okiya's inhabitants, she piled them into a large, wicker basket and took them to the well.

((do we have a well? well we do now! ^-^; wink )

Drawing water into a large tub, she tipped all the lighter colored clothes in, adding soap and scrubbing out stains and things using a rough washboard. Her fingers were soon numb with cold, but she had often had her hands submerged in ice water before her shamisen practice, so it did not hinder her overly much. Finally done scrubbing, she poured out the soapy water and drew fresh water from the well, pouring it over the clothing before tucking up her work kimono and slipping out of her zori and tabi into the tub. Laughing cheerfully, she began to dance, her motions serving to wash the clothes.

Finally, she stepped out of the chilly water, ignoring the fact that her feet were red with cold, and wrung the lighter laundry out before hanging each article on the laundry lines and repeating the process with the darker hued laundry.

((Nineteen))