The Stains of the Crown

Chapter Fifteen

Smut Warning.

Christmas starts at three in the morning with Delilah and I in the kitchen. Her and I had decided to give all the servants the entire day off so they could spend the holiday with their families. Which meant we were responsible for all of the cooking and cleaning.

"No, let's start the roast now. That way it'll be done before dinner." I roll my eyes.

"They're all going to be up in two hours. We need to get started on breakfast."

"The roast will be easy. I just need that glass pot and some spices." I huff, but hand her the pot. She plugs it into the wall before dumping the meat unceremoniously into it. She adds spices I wasn't aware existed before adding a bit of water. She sets the lid on the top of the pot before washing her hands. She flicks the water at me, a huge grin on her face. "We should make muffins. And cookies. That way, they can snack throughout the day."

"Okay, but what are we going to do for actual breakfast?" She hums, looking around the kitchen.

"We could do pancakes, sausage, and french toast?"

"What about for lunch? Do lunch specific meals even exist?" She laughs, brushing past me to grab the flour.

"We could do hoagies."

"Those weird sandwiches with like, long buns?" She laughs again, nodding. "What do you think the royals would do if we just set out the stuff to make them?" I ask, snickering. She laughs.

"Probably have heart attacks." I laugh.

"I don't think it would be quite that bad. But now I think we have to do it, just as a fun little experiment," I say deviously. She cackles.

"Absolutely. Now, let's do the muffins first. I don't want the breakfast to get cold before they get up." I nod. I barely finish the first batch before a cloud of white powder explodes in my face. Delilah cackles as I turn towards her.

"You bitch," I laugh, throwing my own handful of flour into her hair. We end up getting into a full blown war with the ingredients. At least until the door opens, revealing a shocked queen.

"What have you two done to my kitchen?" She asks, looking around at all the damage. Delilah and I both duck our heads in shame.

"I'm sorry, we'll clean it up." She chuckles, shaking her head.

"What did you two do with my servants?"

"We gave them the day off so they could be with their families." She smiles softly.

"That was very sweet of you both. Now, let's get to work. Everyone else will be getting up soon." She gets started cooking the sausages and the pancakes. I work on the french toast while Delilah makes more muffins.

"How did you learn to cook?" I ask as the queen flips a perfect pancake. She gets a wistful smile.

"Aiden taught me one day. He'd learned from his cook, and when I came to live with him, she showed me a few tricks. Before I became the queen, I spent most of my time in here."

"Where were you living before?" Delilah asks, mixing the muffins.

"I was the princess of the Apreya Kingdom."

"Did you have any siblings?"

"Yes. I had an older brother who became King. He passed on a few years ago, and his son took over."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Delilah says. The queen gives her a soft smile before going back to her cooking.

We finish with just enough time to clean the kitchen. Jovi walks in as I'm putting the mop away.