Gloria Oliver by Cross-Eyed Dragon Troubles

definitely appeared to be a chore he would have approved of—it would breed patience and improve her character and strength. But what about her poor arms? She was suddenly intensely grateful her room wasn’t on the fourth floor.
    Glancing over at the tub with disdain, she wondered if she couldn’t live with only a half-filled tub. She reached out to touch the water and then quickly pulled her hand back, her fingertips throbbing with pain.
    It was hot! She sucked on her abused digits and stared at the water. It wasn’t this hot before. She wouldn’t be able to take a bath in that. She pouted a moment as she realized this, too, was probably done on purpose. It’d definitely stop anyone from being tempted to only do half a job. Her father’s robust laugh rang through her mind again.
    With a heavy sigh, she picked up her buckets and headed for the door.
    Taking frequent breaks to ease the strain on her arms, it was almost noon before she was able to reach her floor with the last set of buckets. As she came to her door, she found someone there waiting for her.
    “Hello. Are you Talia?”
    She nodded quickly, not sure if she’d ever seen the longhaired, sweet-faced woman before. “Yes, ma’am, that’s me.”
    “My name is Helyn. I will be your teacher for your first year.” The tall woman took a step toward her.
    “Here, let me help you with those.”
    Talia gratefully let the teacher take one of her buckets, and they both stepped into the room. With deft expertise, Helyn tipped her bucket over the side of the tub and poured the water in with a minimum of splashing.
    “Three more students will be arriving this week, so five days from now, we’ll be starting classes.” She smiled. It was a pretty smile. “I wanted to make sure I got to meet all of you before then. And if it would be all right, I thought those of us who’re here would meet after lunch so I can show you where our classroom will be and what you’ll need to bring to class.”
    The prospect of classes beginning appealed to Talia. She’d gotten a little restless the last day or so, with nothing definite to do. “That would be fine.”
    Helyn’s smile grew even wider. It made her face glow. “Wonderful! After lunch then, I’ll wait for all of you at the garden’s exit.” She moved toward the door. “I’m really looking forward to our class. See you.”
    She left, giving Talia a delicate wave as she did so.
    Lunch was as informal as breakfast and consisted of different types of breads, smoked meats, cheeses, and fruit. As she sat with Mandee and Yllin, Talia took her time as she ate, not wanting to antagonize her aching arm muscles more than she’d done already. They would never be the same again.
    “So, did you get your tub filled yet?” A hint of amusement danced in Mandee’s eyes.
    She glanced at her friend, wondering if her discomfort was so obvious. “Yes, I just finished a little while ago.”
    “Bet your arms are sore.” Yllin commented between bites.
    Mandee smiled in sympathy. “We overdid it our first time, too. Yllin here thought her arms were going to fall off.”
    “Did not,” Yllin replied indignantly.
    “I’ll bring by some salve later that will help. I won’t be needing it, since we finally came up with a system that works without killing us. It does take longer, but…”
    Talia noticed the amused look was back in Mandee’s eyes, and though she was doing exactly what the girl wanted her to do, she didn’t care as long as it’d be able to help her from straining her arms like this again. “What do you do?”
    “It’s quite simple really,” Mandee watched her intently as she spoke. “We just make sure to only make one trip an hour. It makes all the difference.”
    “Oh.” She felt like an idiot. It never occurred to her, yet it made perfect sense. Mandee and Yllin both laughed at the dumbfounded expression on her face.
    “It sounds simple, and you want to kick yourself once you realize you can do it this