Tuesday, 8pm.
Arrago let out a pleased grunt. It had taken him two days, but he’d successfully organized all of the letters, papers, and ledgers in Lady Bethany’s storage room. Some of the letters were dated six months before. Had her previous aides even tried to help her, or had her abrupt manners left them cowering under the desk?
Well, he was determined to be the best aide she’d ever known. Not only had she given him a position at the Temple—a dream come true!—but she’d also agreed to sponsor him to be an apprentice for the next training class. She’d teach him everything he needed. In exchange, he’d help organize her life.
He’d thought he’d gotten the better part of the deal, though the looks of pity all day did quell some of his enthusiasm. But he wasn’t afraid of her. He’d lived in a monastery with dozens of celibate men. He could handle one high-strung half-elf.
He’d not seen her since the morning when she came to warn him she’d rarely be in her study. No doubt she would be busy. He could only imagine how much work the Lady Champion would have to do. As he glanced at the mountain of paperwork on her desk, he guessed: a lot.
He pulled out a sheet of paper from Bethany’s desk drawer and wrote:
Lady Bethany,
I’ve organized all of the papers in your office. This is how I’ll lay out everything from now on. The basket tied with blue ribbon contains all outstanding correspondence. Some of these letters are months old and require your response. I have organized them by importance to maximize your time. I can write the replies on your behalf if you include notes for each. We can go over them tomorrow at our meeting, if you wish.
The three stacks tied with red ribbon all require your signature. Some of those are for pay increases for regulars and servants, so I’ve placed those on the tops of the piles. The fastest way to deal with those is to skim them and sign.
The pile in the middle of your desk that’s taking up the bulk of your workspace is what I need signed and/or responded to by the end of the week. They need to be done as quickly as you can.
When you’re done, simply move the items to my desk and I’ll deal with sending them to messengers. If it’s confidential, please put it in the basket with the green ribbon.
I trust this new system works for you.
Arrago
***
Tuesday, 11pm
Bethany stumbled into her office to grab the bottle of wine she’d left on her desk. She yawned into the back of her hand. She’d been running training drills with some of the apprentice knights and was sore all over. All she wanted to do was have a couple of glasses of wine, read a book, and pass out for several hours.
The candlelight reflected off several neat stacks of paper. She did a double take, thinking she’d walked into the wrong office. No, it was her’s. The opened bottle of wine was still in its same spot, though it was besieged by the paper enemy.
Arrago had dealt with some of the paperwork while they were in the office together, but this...She thought he was just going to dump the baskets somewhere out of sight. Instead, he’d labeled everything. There were neat piles and boxes and baskets in every corner. Arrago had taken every single bundle and parcel in her study and had organized it. Like some kind of organizing machine. Rebecca, her last aide, hadn’t even managed to get through the new stuff, let alone pull out all of the outstanding letters.
She read his note, which was written in a neat hand. It was obvious he’d been educated by elven monks; she’d been, too. At least she’d hired someone who could keep up with the snobbery of the other aides.
She snorted at the idea of getting most of this done by the end of the week. This was her busiest time of the year. She knew she wouldn’t be free until the afternoon, so she decided to leave Arrago his own message. She flipped the sheet of paper over and wrote:
Arrago – end of the week? You do realize the week is half over, right? How in Apexia’s name did you even manage to sort all of this mess?
And ribbons? Seriously? We’re using ribbons?
Bethany
***
Wednesday, 5am
Three letters. The woman had signed three letters for him. At this rate, it would take her the next decade to catch up on this work. At least she’d signed three of the documents approving a pay increase for the personal servants of three senior knights.
Arrago snorted when he read Bethany’s chicken scratches. For a woman supposedly raised by the clergy, she had atrocious penmanship. He was from the backwaters of Taftlin and even he could manage proper cursive writing. No wonder it took her so long to finish her paperwork, if that was how she wrote.
He sat in her chair for a moment, pondering how best to reply. From what Lord Kiner had told him, Lady Bethany’s previous aides were genuinely scared of her. Perhaps she was the type who didn’t like people cowering around her. She’d want someone with a little backbone who, while not disrespecting her, could stand up to her.
Lady Bethany,
Yes, we’re using ribbons. I had to devise a system that would help us get past this initial mountain of work. If you can suggest a better system, I’ll happily implement it.
Also, where did you put the work you did yesterday? I only found three letters on my desk when I arrived this morning. I’d ask when you get in, but I have a meeting with the other senior staff’s aides to discuss how best to organize the workload we are sharing. Would you like to meet for dinner to discuss this? If so, I’ll be in the initiate’s dining hall at three this afternoon.
Arrago
***
Wednesday, 4pm
Bethany poked her head into the office. Arrago wasn’t there. Crap. She’d been rushing around the temple for almost two hours trying to make his dinner meeting and yet she’d missed him.
That’s what she got for not leaving a note asking him to wait, but she thought she’d be back in time to talk to him. No such luck. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Shit, she was going to be late for her meeting with Allric. She had an all-nighter to pull and, at the current rate, was not going to have any time to catch a nap.
Bethany dug around her desk with one hand for some paper while using the other to flap the neck of her tunic in a failed attempt to cool herself.
Arrago – I looked for you. You weren’t there. Next time, eat in the blasted staff wing with the other aides so that I don’t have to walk to the other side of the temple, only to discover you are not there, and now I’ve lost hours in which I could have been signing your stupid letters.
I’m eating breakfast at six in the senior staff’s dining hall, assuming I’m still awake. Come by. Use soap.
The stupid ribbons are fine.
You’re lucky you got three letters out of me. I had a guard evaluation last night and another tonight. I haven’t slept in over a day.
Bethany
***
Thursday, 5pm
Arrago was disappointed, but not surprised, that he didn’t see Bethany after their breakfast together. She was probably sleeping off the double shifts she was pulling. He’d not even considered that Bethany would take such an active role in training. He’d just assumed she’d push paper around all day and wave a sword on occasion.
But Bethany was a working knight. The others were, too, but he’d discovered that Bethany took on work from Jovan and Allric. She loved training and evaluating. He’d heard from Jovan’s assistant that Bethany sometimes took guard duty! Guard duty! Why in Apexia’s name would the third in command of the elven forces take guard duty? She must really miss that life.
What’s more, she’d stayed up to meet him for breakfast. She was barely conscious, but she answered his questions through her yawns. A couple of times she even nodded off while he spoke and he had to repeat himself. Once, he had to poke her forearm to wake her up. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so guilty.
Arrago put the leather-bound book on Bethany’s desk. He hoped she’d like his new idea. First, a little sucking up. He opened the cover and wrote on the first blank page:
Lady Bethany,
I didn’t properly thank you for the meeting this morning. I had no notion of how busy your schedule truly is. I am even more grateful that you’ve taken my training. I will do everything I can to make your office work smoother. My goal is to make your paperwork as easy as possible.
I was thinking after breakfast that we are often not in the study together. Instead of random notes back and forth, let’s use this ledger instead. It will save on paper usage, and if we need to look back on a response, it will be in the book. Provided you don’t throw out the book, we don’t have to worry about losing previous notes.
If you see this before training practice tonight, let’s meet in your study for breakfast tomorrow. I’ll bring the food. You bring the ink. Let’s get you caught up with at least three months’ work.
Arrago