(Untitled)

[nisa_polat]

Who: Nisa Polat + Open
What: Nisa is already bored of her day to day routine.
Where: Nisa and her brother's food stall
When: November 13th, mid morning (though she'll be there until the evening)

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[hilla_maid]

The greengrocer’s delivery boy had not showed up at the castle that morning and the cook was in despair. The meal that had been planned for the midday could not be prepared. Instead, they had to resort to serving a hastily revised menu. As soon as she could be spared from her duties, the cook sent Hilla to visit the grocer to see what the problem was.

Hilla didn’t often walk in this part of town, so she wasn’t overly surprised to see a new food stall. At first glance it didn’t seem to be any different than the others; selling ready-made food to busy customers. But the people running it were different, she noted. They were not of English origin.

She didn’t mean to stop and stare but the exotic look of the couple had her intrigued. Hilla was across the street from them and she didn’t hear what was being said, but the woman was clearly unamused at the man who apparently just wanted to play his lute. Even after the man had left with parcels in his hands, Hilla stayed and observed the woman organizing the display of foods.

((ooc: Do Nisa and her brother speak English or Arabic to each other? As I didn’t know, I thought it best to say Hilla didn’t hear them properly))

[nisa_polat]

Nisa had seen the woman in the corner of her eye. She figured the female was only passing through, it was a market after all. People strolled. Maybe the sight of two people clearly not from the area just caught her attention. It wouldn't be the first time. However the woman stayed. Nisa looked at her for a moment, an old assessment trick that she caught immediately and went back to work. It was tough having to remind yourself that not everyone was to be figured out.

The young woman started cursing herself for letting Nazar go make deliveries. Granted, the people on their route preferred him, most people did. He was a natural flirt and he had a way of making everyone feel important. If he were in her position, the young man would have flagged the woman down and loaded her with samples. Nisa didn't know the first thing about a good sales attitude.

Finally, deciding that she needed to say something, Nisa waved awkwardly. "Were you interested in trying anything?" she called out, unsure of how loud she needed to be in order for the woman to hear her. Nisa didn't like raising her voice too much but she supposed that she needed to be in order to be heard.

((ooc: They do usually speak English but Nisa at times finds it easier to speak in Persian. I will make sure to write when she is speaking in Persian if she does.)

[hilla_maid]

With the way she had been staring, Hilla couldn’t blame the seller for eventually calling out to her. She couldn't very well pretend she hadn’t heard the woman, so she shook her head.

"Oh, no!" Hilla called back. Then she decided to step closer so that she didn’t need to raise her voice over the other people passing by.

"I don’t even have any money. Sorry." She looked at the foodstuffs and thought herself lucky for already having had her meal; otherwise it would have been torture to be here. She smiled a little. "Smells good. Shouldn’t be too hard to sell those, I think."

[nisa_polat]

Nisa watched as the other woman neared her stall. Apparently she wasn't interested or at least if she was, she couldn't do anything about it. The Polat girl smiled in response and figured that perhaps she should take a page out of her brother's book.

"Well," she started, cutting up a portion of meat she'd prepared. It was bigger than the usual 'test' piece. She put it on her knife and put it up, signalling that the woman was to take it. "If you try it and like it, you'll tell others, yes? And then they'll come looking."

It was good in theory, if she liked what she tasted, she'd tell her friends and the stall could get more business than it would had the 'word' not been spread. "Just don't go saying it was free," she said with a slight smile.

[hilla_maid]

Hilla reached out to take the offered sample. The opportunity to taste different foods was one of the best things about coming to market. Many of the merchants knew her, which meant that they also knew she hardly ever had money to buy goods for herself. Neither did her friends. However, as she worked at the castle - close to important people - handing out samples to her made sense. But of course this foreign woman didn’t know that yet.

The meat was delicious, there was no denying it. She chewed it slowly. It was seasoned with spices that weren’t used at the castle kitchen very often. "Mmmm, tastes good, too. And no, I won’t say that, but I think they’ll guess anyway that you only gave a piece to try."

The woman reminded Hilla of the Saracen outlaw in Robin’s gang. A strange thing that she’d met two such women in Nottingham now, when there had not been others before.

"You’re from the Holy Land, aren’t you?" she asked.

[nisa_polat]

The young woman was glad to see that her food was well received. It was also ironic that something basic that she'd learned to prepare when she was ten seemed to get the attention of the folks in Nottingham. Nisa was not a natural born chef. If she were back in Turkey, the natives wouldn't stop. Perhaps for her mother but not for Nisa. Nisa's natural talents did not lend themselves to cooking. When she prepared meat it was by the book. Still, the spices were different to the English and that was what she relied upon.

When the woman at her stall asked Nisa if she was from the Holy Land, Nisa wondered how much she could explain. Or rather, how much the woman really wanted to hear. Nisa was a fairly private person but as she looked at the young woman, she did not feel as though she should be worried about her privacy. A curious mind wasn't always a dangerous one "I am from Turkey, but I lived in a place called Amasya. It's..."

Nisa held up her hand, "This is Turkey," she pointed to a spot between the middle and the top of her hand, "This would be where I am from." She was sure her home was not mentioned around the town. It wasn't one of the cities that were directly effected by the Crusades.

Feeling like she should move the conversation along in a pleasant way, Nisa asked, "And you, have you lived here your whole life?" It came out awkward. Nisa never did have a flair for public relations. At least she was trying.

[hilla_maid]

The answer wasn’t quite what Hilla had hoped for and neither was the way the woman pointed at her hand. But she understood that it was difficult to try to explain the location of something that was so far away. She’d heard the name Turkey mentioned before in relation to the Crusades, but what or where it was exactly was unknown to her.

"Turkey and the Holy Land. . . are they the same thing or not? I’ve always just lived here and don’t know much about foreign lands. I don’t mean here in town, but in this county, Nottinghamshire." She wasn’t being apologetic about it. Few common people had the chance to travel and for those who did, it was often because they had no other choice to live a decent life.

"I hope you like it here, you and... was that man your husband? It's probably different from what you’re used to."

[nisa_polat]

Nisa thought about the question posed, "I suppose to you all it is the same, isn't it?" How could she really describe everything to this girl who clearly knew no better. "Part of it is called the Holy Land, yes. Where I am from? No." Nisa struggled to properly explain the situation. She had only been on one side for years, and even then her focus was more on traitors rather than the Holy Land itself. "The Holy Land is made up of a few places, but my home is not part of it. The Holy Land is only a part of my country and... others."

Nisa was thankful when the young woman changed the topic. Although part of the statement made her hold back a cringe. "No, no. That was my brother," she said slowly though she wanted to get it out as quickly as possible. "It's very different but not in a bad way. I do like it though I've not seen as much as I would like to." Nisa could hear herself stretch the truth. The fact of the matter was that she still longed to leave and go elsewhere. England was alright, so far she'd not been trapped amidst some peril but it wasn't home, and she doubted it ever would be.

[hilla_maid]

"I see. So Holy Land is... many places. And you lived close to one of them. Hmmh." Hilla was curious to know more, but this wasn’t the time or the place to get into a deep conversation. And the woman might not have been willing to tell anyway. If she wanted to know more about the Holy Land, she was pretty sure a priest would tell her. They were experts on all things holy, after all.

"Oh, sorry I mistook him as your husband. It’s good to have family around, especially in a new place. I know I really missed my parents when I moved to town and they still lived in the country. Now they are here too, thankfully."

Hilla didn’t know if the woman cared for her chattering at all. She seemed rather reserved. Besides, Hilla couldn't buy anything so she was basically just wasting the woman's time. Perhaps it was best to leave and let her take care of the business. Looking at the foods again she still said, "Were you in Nottingham last month when we had a big fair? It’s just... there was a man who sold spices and other exotic things. You might have liked them."

[nisa_polat]

"Yes," Nisa nodded with a small smile. She was no teacher but it was sort of nice to have someone be able to grasp what you were saying. Nisa didn't really know enough to help the woman any further. The Turk could tell her about Amasya, that much she could but Nisa was never really one to just start talking about herself in any capacity. Usually it had to be beaten and then dragged out of her. "I do not have a map or else I could better explain."

While the woman didn't need to feel sorry for mistaking Nazar as Nisa's husband, the thought would make any sibling cringe. Seeing as she was not asked why both she and her brother had both gone to Nottingham, Nisa wasn't going to bring it up. The story was not one that had properly been told and for good reason. Instead she said, "You take care of your parents?" Nisa had only once thought about the time when she would have to take care of her parents. They were far too stubborn to let her and frankly, Nisa couldn't imagine how she'd be able to. "Does that happen a lot here?" She asked, curious as to what was customary.

Nisa nodded when the young woman asked about the fair. "I was unable to go but my brother he went and got a few things. They were not too bad, though I must say, they were taking advantage of some of the people who did not know much about spices."

[hilla_maid]

A map? No, Hilla wasn’t sure a map would help her understand better, but she didn’t want to say so. She had seen a map only once in her life and while she could sort of get the meaning of it, it was still quite strange how towns and countries could be fit on a single piece of parchment. "It doesn’t matter," she replied.

"Do I take care of my parents? I help them whenever I can, but... funny, I’ve never really thought of it that way. They’ve always looked after me and taught me what’s right and what’s wrong. I couldn’t teach them such things but I can help with housework. Well, I only do that when I’m not working at the castle. I have a job there, you see. I don’t live at home anymore. I think everybody tries to help their parents if they can. Or almost everybody." As long as her parents were alive, Hilla couldn’t imagine living too far away from them.

"There are all sorts of sellers at fairs, that’s true. Not everybody tries to trick you, of course, but it’s best to keep your wits about it and not believe every tempting offer." It was easy to ignore temptations when one didn’t have money, though. Hilla had been lucky herself; the little panda figurine had cost her for just one copper coin because the seller knew Allan. "Too bad you couldn’t see the fair yourself. Maybe next time, then? If you’re still here, that is."

[nisa_polat]

"That's a very nice thing to do," Nisa said, referring to the fact that the young woman took care of her parents. Her word choice almost made the foreigner feel bad for not taking care of her parents, but then again, her mother and father were still capable of running around and doing things on their own. Not to mention the fact that she was now far, far away. Perhaps later she could get her parents and take them elsewhere when they could no longer properly take care of themselves but she didn't really want to consider all of the possibilities, not while she was standing in front of someone.

"You work at the castle?" she asked, her interest caught. "What is it that you do?" Nisa didn't want to make any assumptions; after all, she didn't know enough about the culture to really predict what job the young woman held.

The fair sounded a lot like the types of fairs she had in her country. It would have been nice to see how Nottingham did one. "I think I should, it would be interesting," Nisa replied. "And I will make sure no one gets fooled or else," she added with a small smile. Her attempts at jokes didn't always go down a storm but that's what people did in conversations, right?

[hilla_maid]

"Yes I do, in the kitchen. It’s not the best job to have, I guess, but I've learned all sorts of skills there and it's better than nothing. I like baking and mixing spices and eating everything we make. To be honest, I think cooking is tedious at times, but somebody has to do it, right? The best part about living in the castle is friends; there’s always someone to talk to. But it’s really hard to find a place to be alone if I want to."

Hilla frowned at the last comment. She hadn’t expected to hear something like that. From a man, perhaps, but not from this woman who wasn’t even all that strongly-built. Did she believe she could go and tell someone 'don’t fool me or else'?

"I don’t think very many women here would say that," Hilla said cautiously. "If you acted like you wanted to start a fight, you’d get in trouble pretty fast. Or laughed at, at least. Perhaps you didn’t really mean that?"

[nisa_polat]

Nisa smiled as her company professed that cooking was tedious. She nodded in response. "My mother, she was the natural cook. I - I cook because it pays. She is the person who will just make things until she cannot. You want for nothing around her." Nisa wasn't sure if she would like living in the castle or if it would be too much for her. If being around others was the only redeeming part, Nisa wouldn't care. Hearing that it was hard to be alone, the young woman knew she wouldn't like castle life. She needed her time alone. "Do you get to leave whenever you like? When you are not working I mean."

Hearing the other woman's cautious words of advice, Nisa started to backpedal. Oh, conversations were so confusing. Weren't you supposed to joke to be personable and likable? She wished she could go back to not caring. She wanted to just hide in the shadows again; it was so much simpler.

"That was a joke. You know, between you and me?" It was a joke but frankly Nisa didn't know that she would be able to hold back if she saw that people were being taken advantage of by some two bit spice merchant. It was a testament to how different of a world she was living in.

[hilla_maid]

"What would you like to do then, if you didn’t have this food stall? You said earlier something about wanting to see more than Nottingham. Do you want to just travel around and do odd jobs here and there? I know some people like that. I wouldn’t, so I’m happy I don’t have to." Hilla was starting to feel a bit more comfortable talking to the woman. Maybe she wasn’t so different from the English after all.

"I can leave the castle whenever I’m not working, but if it’s been a long and hard day, I don’t feel like going anywhere. On those days, me and other maids just sit in front of the fire and talk before going to bed." She laughed quietly. "Sometimes we do that even if it’s not been a hard day. But often we wander about in town and meet other friends. I don’t always go in a group, though. I like to take walks alone, too.

Hilla got the impression the woman wanted to take back her words a little. Well, maybe the comment hadn’t been all that bad. Hilla really didn’t want the other to regret it; she’d rather change the topic. "Oh, alright. I understand you didn’t mean anything by it. But, what about you, have you already made any friends here?"

[nisa_polat]

What did Nisa want to do? She couldn't do what she'd been doing before but running a stall was not her ideal way to spend her days. She nodded, "Travel, maybe not odd jobs. I'd like to have a proper job that just requires me to travel. I'm not sure what type of job that would be - which I suppose is part of my problem."

It seemed like a sort of club, the woman and the others she worked with. Nisa had worked closely with other women but there was never a true sense of camaraderie that there seemed to be among the women in the castle's staff. "So, you enjoy yourself then?" It seemed sort of strange to imagine maids actually having a good time. Nisa had always predicted them to be miserable, they served other people for what she'd always thought was a low wage.

Nisa had meant something by her comment, but naturally playing it off was best in situations such as meeting a new person. She was grateful for the change of subject. "A few," Nisa began to feel as though the maid was feeling sorry for her. Perhaps it was her own projections dealing with the fact that she despised pity but she started to feel as though the other young woman thought she might be lonely. "I have the people who I know names of, the ones that buy from me - they are not close friends but I know somethings about them and then I have two - I suppose you say real friends." Nisa stopped and shrugged, "I am here most days, I'm going to have more," she stopped, making sure she was picking out the right word, "acquaintances I think."