Gravity

Dany's grip strength was failing, the sandstone was winning this particular fight, and all she could do was brace herself for what came next. She closed her eyes, praying silently, then, finally, the last of her strength was spent, and she fell from the side of the roof.

She expected she would injure herself, maybe even severely. What she hadn't expected was for her fall to be cushioned by a large canopy about halfway between the roof and the street. She opened her eyes just as she hit it, and the momentum she'd built up was enough for the canopy to first bend to accomodate her weight, then spring back into place, flinging her back up into the air.

Dany was trying and failing not to panic, her arms flailed wildly as she tried to break this renewed fall with something, anything. Just as gravity began to impose its will on her again, she saw an open window, and reached out, twisting her body so she might reach it. The gambit was, fortunately, successful. She grabbed onto the window ledge and, with all her might, scrambled up and through it.

Landing on floor — actual, solid floor — again, she stayed there for a moment or two to catch her breath. The place she had managed to get into seemed quiet enough, but then Dany heard a clattering downstairs, and what sounded like footsteps on stairs. "Fuck," She whispered, rushing to her feet and over to the door of the anteroom she'd landed in. Cracking the door open and peering through, she saw a hallway beyond it, a row of doors on alternating sides, and the beginnings of a staircase at the end of it. Sure enough, a slow, shuffling set of footsteps were gradually getting louder, coming from the direction of the stairs.

She closed the door a little more , so that she couldn't be seen, and continued to peek through the gap in the doorway. After a couple of seconds, an old man appeared at the top of the stairs, with him he carried a cane, which he brandished before him, tapping the floor in a rhythmic, repeating pattern. Blind, she noted. Then...she could make it out, possibly sneak right past him without being seen or noticed at all. Dany watched as he slowly made his way down the hall toward her, and decided that, given his size and the width of the space, she could very well tip-toe right past him and get down the stairs undetected.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. She knew she could do this, already she had accomplished so much. Everyone in this city knew her name, and the great deeds attached to it. She could get past one blind old man, there was no question of it, clothes or no clothes. Dany cracked the door open, careful not to let it make any sound, and stepped lightly out into the hall. The old man was still tapping away, gradually covering more ground and closing the gap between them.

Dany waited a moment, then crept forward, scared to even breathe, lest the old man hear. When she was almost right in front of him, she turned sideways and flattened herself as well as she was able to against the wall, trying not to react as the cold stone behind her sent chills from her arse cheeks all the way up her back. She sidled onwards, and the old man's cane passed her without brushing against her. She sidled again, and the man himself went right on by her without noticing a thing.

She exhaled slowly, then stepped away from the wall and started creeping forward toward the stairs. Just her luck that the second step she took landed on a loose floorboard, which creaked loudly enough that it seemed almost to echo throughout the house. "Hm?" The old man turned, tapping his cane louder and more insistently in response to the noise. Dany cursed under her breath.

"Who's there?" He said, frowning. "Is that the new serving girl? Hm? If it's some thief or thug I'll...I'll call the guards! I'll shout out for help! Everyone knows old Penareq around here! They'll come quickly!"

Dany saw very few ways out of this situation, particularly ones that allowed her to keep some semblance of her ever more damaged dignity. She elected to take a chance. "Yes," She answered in a cool, pleasant tone, as if she weren't the ruler of this city, caught sneaking nude through the house of a stranger. "I...I am the new serving girl," She gritted her teeth a little as she said the words.

Penareq seemed to relax. "Oh, oh good. I was worried for a moment; you know, people sometimes think they can take advantage."

"I know just what you mean," Dany replied. "I really, really do."

"Well, did Hezerit tell you everything, and give you your uniform?"

"Uniform?" Dany was taken aback. "Um...I'm afraid he didn't."

Penareq tutted. "Just like Hezerit, you know him, so forgetful these days!"

"Isn't he just?" Dany tried her best sickly sweet smile, before remembering he wouldn't be able to see it anyway. "Will the uniform be a problem?"

Penareq waved a hand. "No, no. I have a spare, you see, it's technically a...what do you call it? A hand-you-down? It was my previous serving girl's, before she...left my service."

Dany wondered what exactly could cause a young woman to leave the service of a blind man, surely performing the duties of a maid in this Penareq's home would be trivial? One could cut corners to one's heart's content, it wasn't as if he'd ever be able to tell.

"Come with me," Penareq beckoned for her to follow, then set off in the direction he had already been going in, opening a door and going through it. Dany followed him inside, where a small, undecorated bedroom awaited. He tapped around a little, then made a satisfied noise and used his stick to push a large door — set into the stone wall — aside. Dany peered into it. It was a wardrobe of sorts, though only one article of clothing resided in it.

Penareq gestured to it. "Take it, it's yours now." Dany thanked him and, taking care not to brush up against him, picked it up and brought it forth. The sight of it made her feel a little queasy. To call it a uniform would be an overstatement, really, calling it an article of clothing would be an overstatement.

The uniform in truth bore more resemblance to a nightgown, though even then the comparison was imperfect. The thing was light blue, made of a very, very sheer material, such that she could almost see right through it even as she held it up to the light. In terms of length, it was incredibly, indecently short. Dany supposed it might have fit a smaller woman better, but she was not that woman. She eyed it dubiously, then looked at Penareq, who looked as if he was waiting patiently for something.

"Might I change...alone?" Dany asked.

"I see no reason to," Penareq responded. "I am a man with no sight, after all...and I am paying you for your time, hm?"

Dany glared at him. "Of course," She said. "I'll put it on right now." Dany wanted nothing less than to put on this degrading bit of cloth, but the alternative right now was quite literally nothing, and as such even the flimsiest, most degrading bit of cloth was technically better than that. She lifted the uniform up over her head and pulled it on.

She turned back to Penareq. "Is there some sort of mirror I might use to check if I've put it on right?"

"Of course," He said, gesturing to a full-length mirror on the other side of the bed she had failed to notice until now. Getting to it, Dany noted, would require navigating the tight space between the wardrobe and the end of the bed. A task that looked to be quite difficult indeed when there was someone already standing there. She imagined herself squeezing past him, either her front or back facing him, feeling a noticeable mound rising in his trousers as she brushed against him.

Instead, quick as a flash, she scrambled onto and over the bed, reaching the other side of it that way instead. Penareq turned at the sound of squeaking bed springs, looking terribly disappointed. Dany went up to the mirror and looked into it, inspecting the outfit in it.

Just as she'd feared, the hem of it barely reached the bottom of her arse, the result was that whenever she moved, the material began to ride up like a curtain revealing a troupe of Mummers on stage, exposing her backside for anyone who could see to...see. The same was true of the front, excessive movement would reveal her trimmed vulva to even the most unobservant individual in short order. She tugged at the bottom of the outfit irritably, then turned back to Penareq, who was, rather unexpectedly, standing right behind her.