Eliyah could hardly read the letters, squinting at the sign she sighed and entered.
Her vision was a blur as the new glasses she ordered had been incorrectly fitted, the lenses were concave rather than convex which gave her abnormally devastating sight.
She explained this to the storekeeper, an ordeal that was made more difficult by her having entered the broom store by accident.
The glassmaker, as the shopkeep explained was next door, advice she took personally as she left exceptionally irritated.
Having to repeat herself was a tiring affair, but as luck would have it, it paid dividends.
The glassmaker explained that they had mixed up their order, “ Sorry my lady, the local lord is named Black; you can imagine my embarrassment. His sight is not what it once was.”
Eliyah understood the dilemma, she was prone to putting letters too close together for some commoners to read.
Her scrawl was cursively elegant but often gave others trouble when attempting to decipher the contents, which suited her fine as most of her letters were personal.
After explaining his mistake the shopkeep asked if Eliyah could do him a courtesy.
“Please deliver those there glasses in your possession to Lord Black, I will make it worth your while.”
While she was nobility, a little spending money would go a long way, she thought.
Savings of her own wouldn’t be frowned upon, and Eliyah hated relying on her parents for Yul they often withheld.

Accepting the job, Eliyah departed promptly.
Waiting for the appropriate time to find a carriage, she held the lord’s glass’ case in her hands patiently, and after a short time, she arrived at the lord’s estate.
The guards were curious as to her business in Aries Garse and made jokes about her poor sight, “…the woman needs new glasses, she’s in the wrong province and at the wrong castle.”
Clearing her throat Eliyah reintroduced herself and re-elaborated her task, the reason she was at the Black castle was not to be the short end of their jokes.
“Sorry to bother you; I am Lady Eliyah Lyran; of the Blake Family, these glasses are for your Lord, Simon Black, there was a mix-up in delivery.”
All the while squinting, she was entirely certain that there were probably not the staff members she should be talking down to.
“Alright, alright Lady Blake; we know who you are.”
Even in the bright sun of the day, she could ascertain that they were armed, and their demeanour was abhorrent thus far.
She didn’t speak with them long, and after a few moments of her waiting, her dim vision had gathered that the gate had been open for quite some time.
Unsure of where to seek the Lord, she asked the closest person; who happened to be a broomstick leant against the wall, where she may inquire.
After receiving a silent but affirmative answer she continued to slowly grope around the dark corridors of the very Black castle.

After what seemed like a mortal age, she eventually bumped into Lord Black, who was blindly wandering the halls as well.
She recognised him in the dim light as he too was bereft of sight and cursing about running into things in his castle.
Introducing herself she handed over his glasses, which she had taken special care not to break.
He fumbled with them for a second before pulling a second pair out of his pocket, which he handed over to Eliyah.
“Hello Lord Black, I am Lady Blake; and very sorry, but your glasses were delivered to me instead of you.”
Lord Black spoke, plainly relieved by the situation and the forthcoming nature of the recipient of his glasses.
“Thank you young lady, I had the servants dim the lights so they could learn a bit of empathy. I suppose that these must be your’s then?”
Eliyah nodded her head appreciatively, gleefully putting on her glasses and looking around at her environment she thanked him a second time.
“Again, I apologise as I must be brief, thank you once more for returning my glasses.”
With a wave she hurried out of the castle and past the guards whose faces she memorised as she left, departing for the glassmaker’s store Eliyah began to whistle.
The tune was steady and morose, perfectly on pitch in some places, while faltering in others.
Internally criticising herself for extroversion, she meekly smiled, no one in particular as her witness to a job well done.

Upon her arrival by carriage Eliyah breached the premise’s threshold, the shopkeeper was elated by the sight of Eliyah’s proper glasses being returned to her.
Smiling sweetly as she noticed a letter signed by Lord Blake on the bench, Eliyah questioned how it had made it here before she had.
The shopkeeper informed her that it had arrived with her carriage driver.
Curiosity exchanging itself with satiety; all questions answered, she began to once more depart.
The glassmaker stopped her, offering her a free lens adjustment the next time she came in.
He also paid her a nearly salacious amount of Yul for the delivery of the glasses, Eliyah couldn’t quite believe her eyes when she counted the Yul.
Very little effort paid very well apparently; at least it seemed like a lot, as she had never managed her finances herself.
After leaving the glassmaker’s, she boarded the carriage, which had waited for her to return.
Small talk on the way home was made all the more minuscule as a priority they had sat in silence the whole trip, yet the silence was comforting in a surreal fashion as Eliyah was able to enjoy the sights of Aries Garse on the way home.
The country side had its own unique charms, although she had qualms about the lifestyle as a choice, poignantly asserting to herself that hard work was not what she was suited for.

Enjoying a cup of tea she sat down compiling her report; taxes overdue, and expenses that needed to be paid.
Given that she had been spending other people’s money up until this point; being impressed by what was left over, she recounted the yul and put the letter of mark in her purse.
If she ever gossiped she would be able to talk about her day, but, as it were; she did not.
Eliyah resigned to finish compiling the distinct information that she would require to let the archivist know exactly how much she had spent, and how much she had been paid.
Taxes were; after all, certain in life.
She pondered how she would die, certainly delivering glasses was not the way the lord envisioned it to be, at least for today.
Finishing her letter to the Archivist, she wiped the nib of her quill on a cloth and stowed it away where it was usually kept.
“A place for everything and everything in its place.”
She spoke softly to herself, taking care not to be overly manic about the order and placement of her belongings.
Throwing herself into bed Eliyah relaxed on the comfy feather filled blanket that was spread from corner to corner.
Before the sun set she was happily sleeping, worn out from a rigorous days work wandering around the kingdom.
If she dreamt it was not remembered, however, she awoke feeling refreshed and well rested.
Her breakfast was not large, in fact it was rather mediocre in quantity; however refined the garnish, but the food was exceptional.

Word Count: 1,253

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