"If you knew you wouldn't want me here." Ila said, her eyes flicking to the handkerchief on her arm. "You wouldn't want me around your daughter."

"Sileas chooses her own friends. And my friends come from many varied walks of life," Brie said, pushing the apron back toward her. "I also don't judge people."

"Are you sure you can't find someone else who has more experience with cooking?" Ila asked in a thick voice.

"I couldn't begin to know who to ask. And you and Aislyn have an agreement which I will honor. I don't want to have to explain to her why you left."

Ila slowly put the apron back on. She carefully adjusted the handkerchief tired around her arm to hide the tattoo.

Brie's attention returned to the chopping. Luckily she had managed to not chop off a finger while she had been talking to Ila.

Ila hoped Brighid would not regret this. She began putting chopped vegetables into a pot of water.

Tirto strode into the kitchen, followed by Cort a couple other angry looking men and women. He pointed at Ila. "How dare you be in this kitchen touching the food our families eat? I found out what you are- you're a whore! What's worse is you've been whoring in here! It makes me sick!"

"What- I've never done anything in here-" Ila stammered.

"Shut up!" Tirto turned on Brighid. "Why do you let a whore in this kitchen? Do you know what she's been doing in here when you're not around? I overheard a couple knights talking about how they go see a Crimson Dove whore in this kitchen when everyone else is in bed. I told those knights they were cads to make up stories about what was probably a nice girl. They told me it was true and that all the whores from the Crimson Dove have these red dove tattoos on their arms. I still didn't want to believe it until she came on to me! I'm a married man with children! I pushed her off, but I know she's not a nice girl and I saw that tattoo. I see she's hiding it now under that rag but she's a whore."

Ila wanted to melt into the floor, she wanted to run, she wanted to hide. But she couldn't really do any of those things. She shook.

"First off, Mrs. Gerthrim or I are always in this kitchen so I know that to be an utter fabrication. Secondly, a person's past does not matter when someone is trying to make a fresh start. Every single person in this keep has made mistakes in their past," Brighid said. "There is not one person who can claim they have never done something that they should not. Every single one of you has a fireplace in your rooms. If anything matters to you about the food other than the taste and it filling your belly, I suggest you hie yourself to Portside for supplies and cook for yourselves. You are certainly welcome to do so. Mrs. Gerthrim and I were doing this to make things easier on everyone. Those who don't appreciate it can just take a step back."

Sileas had just stepped into the kitchen from her room, Oscar in tow, in time to hear the arrogant man screaming at Ila and her mother. Sileas bristled. She walked over to stand by her mother. "How many of you lay claim to your wives before you spoke your wedding vows? If you did so, that makes your wife a whore also."

"Being a whore isn't a mistake- It's a decision!" One woman, Mrs Cort shouted, she picked up a wooden spoon and ran up to Ila, intent on beating her face with it. "Filthy whore! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Ila was ashamed of herself, but she raised her arms to protect her face from the spoon. The woman struck so hard the handle broke against Ila's arm. The woman threw the broken handle aside with an enraged scream and tore at Ila with her nails, tearing off the handkerchief and revealing the red dove tattoo.

"Go back to the brothel where you belong and out of our kitchen!" Mrs Cort shrieked and rounded on Brighid. "Maybe you and Mrs Gerthrim shouldn't be running this kitchen at all if you let whores in." She sneered at Sileas. "At least we're married how many of your betrotheds did you go to bed with and not wed? How many bastards did you leave behind while visiting your grandparents? Who aren't your grandparents at all because your mother was such a whore when she was young she couldn't have babies. Did your last betrothed put another one in you before he died- or ran away?"

"Stop!" Ila clutched her arm. Mrs Cort had very long nails and those scratches drew blood. "Leave them alone. They didn't know about me- okay? I wasn't doing anything bad here, I was just trying to learn how to be a baker. I-I deceived Mrs Gerthrim and Mrs Spenser into thinking I was a decent girl. I'll leave the kitchen."

"Damned right you're leaving the kitchen. Whores don't belong in kitchens." Ila could feel Tirto gloating. "Mrs Spenser and Mrs Gerthrim don't make the rules around here. Lord Thornblade and most of his men wouldn't want a whore in here."

Sileas drew her sword and stepped in front of Ila, her blade resting against the woman's neck. "One more move and it will be your last. If I had any children, they would be with me and well loved and blessings. You people are the ones who deserve having the pockets picked and worse. Too self absorbed to notice. Judgmental bitches all. Every last one of you. Get out of this kitchen and fend for yourselves. Ila, you are going nowhere."

Shawn stepped in to the kitchen. "STOP! Every one out of this kitchen except those who belong here. NOW!"

Ila hunched her shoulders and moved to leave the kitchen.

"Stay put, Ila. Don't allow judgmental harpies and bastards to push you around. You are free to do as you please now. If you want to work in the kitchen, work in the kitchen. They are bigots and hypocrites. Lower than low."

"Whores don't belong in the kitchen." Tirto sniffed. "Everyone I've talked to agrees with me."

In reply to Sileas (msg # 745):

Ila felt sick but stayed put. Tirto had already pulled together one angry mob, how many others had he told about her? It was beginning to look like the tower was the way to go.

"Why, because they don't know how to cook? That's the biggest pile of horse dung I've ever heard. I have no care of who prepares my food as long as it's hot, tasty and filling. I've seen everyone of you march yourselves to chapel on Sunday mornings. Did you miss the part of the Bible telling you not to judge?"

"You might care if you knew she was whoring herself in this very kitchen where the food is prepared." Tirto said.

"I never did any of that here." Ila said, wishing the floor would open and swallow her so she could be away from all this.

"There's nothing in the Good Book about letting whores cook." Mrs Cort said. "But there is plenty about stoning them."

"And I told you, either Mrs. Gerthrim or I have been in this kitchen at all times Nothing improper happened in this kitchen."

Sileas slipped her arm around Ila. "Come with me." She started leading her down toward her own rooms to get her away from these horrendous people.

In reply to Ila (msg # 749):

A muscle in Shawn's jaw clenched.  "There will no stoning. All of you need to stop judging everyone else. Everyone in this keep, everyone who survived the raid...we all need one another. We need to support and care for one another, not attack them."

"It probably happened at night, while you were asleep." Tirto argued.

Ila closed her eyes and hoped this would end soon. She jumped slightly when Sileas put an arm around her. She did not know where Sileas was taking her, but at least she was getting away.

In reply to Shawn Spenser (msg # 752):

"She probably has diseases!" Mrs Cort snapped. "We didn't survive the raid to get some whore's disease in our food."

In reply to Mrs Cort (msg # 754):

Shawn sighed. Retirement couldn't come fast enough. "Well I don't see any of you offering to help in the kitchen. One person can't do it alone."

In reply to Ila (msg # 753):

----To Sileas's Secret Rooms