Ash and Coal

Chapter 5

Past

Ira bit her lip as her wrinkled fingers skimmed the edge of the grease sodden gold edged cutlery. She had taken on the dreaded hot water duty once again despite her own misgivings and was bearing the brunt of her money minded decision.

The bubbling water hissed as Ira dipped a plate to rid of all the oil. Try as she must her vulnerable fingers could not escape from the heat. Each extra coin promised to her felt like it was lash of a whip on her sensitive skin. The matron had tutted each time Ira had displayed her discolouring fingers but had doubled down that soon enough her skin would be too tough to break anymore.

The braided girl scrubbed the plate dry with a clean cloth strapped to her waist and placed the gold rimmed plate in the appropriate pile carefully. Even a minute chip on the delicate porcelain would ensure she lost her daily wages.

The servant girl’s brows furrowed as she felt the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. She swivelled around expecting no one but her assertions were proven incorrect. Leiv was standing silently in the empty green tiled kitchen.

“What are you staring at?” Ira asked, tempering her soaring heart. Even the merest glimpse of him made her heart dance. The girl did everything in her power to halt any hint of a smile. Her foolishness had gone on long enough.

“You,” Leiv answered, softly. The gravity in his voice made Ira shiver. She put the dirty plate down, knowing her nerves would make her hands shake.

“Don’t you have anything else to do? The palace is abuzz with the visiting Royals,” Ira said careful to keep her voice even.

“I don’t give a fig about the visiting Royals. If you thought our King was wretched you should see their attitude. Disturbing,” The boy answered. His lip curled with disgust and Ira turned towards the boy leaving any pretence that she was still busy.

“Then I shall feel very sorry for the Princess. She deserves a better husband. The maids attending to the visiting Prince tell me he is very uncouth.”

“You don’t have to be sorry for her. I believe the Princess shan’t be shackled for long. The world isn’t going to be the same,” Leiv replied, his voice cloudy and fraught with emotion. Ira bit her lip again as she noticed the new emotions swirling in his pretty green eyes.

“What’s wrong? You look different,” Ira realised the reason was because her friend wasn’t smiling. His face altered considerably without his trademark smile and the mischief in his eyes. 

“Everything, nothing,” Leiv’s soft words made no sense. He crossed the distance between them until he came to a halt in front of Ira. The girl’s back hit the marble counter, leaving no room for escape.

“You’re beginning to worry me,” The braided girl replied. She wished she was bold enough to place a hand on his stiff shoulder and ask him what troubled him but her hands remained strained at her side. 

“Would you think of me if it all goes awry?” Leiv asked with a sort of madness she’d never seen before. He leaned in closer until Ira could see the depth of his troubled, green eyes. Flecks of gold swirled in the rich colours of his gaze and Ira lost all track of the conversation.

“I cannot make head or tails of your incomprehensible speech,” Ira said, finally. She tried to tear her gaze away but found her eyes trapped in his. She swallowed, finding her lips very very dry.

“Would you close your eyes and see me when I’m gone,” The boy whispered in a breathless way making Ira shudder. His hair danced softly with the slight tilt of his angular face.