The Dragon Princess and the Cook

Chapter 15 - To Cook For a Castle

Morning came much sooner than Tren would have liked. He woke as soon as he felt the warm light of the sun against his eyelids, breaking out into a drowsy yawn and stretching his aching muscles. Considering just how much of the night Tren and Talla had spent awake, it was little surprise that the first thing the young human wanted to do upon waking up was fall back asleep again. Despite the growing urge to rest his eyes a few seconds longer, a pressing thought in the back of his mind pushed the boy onwards. With a hint of reluctance, he prised his eyes open, surprised to see that he still had Princess Willow's ribbons wrapped around his hands. With a slight blush, he removed the thin strips of fair fabric and carefully pocketed them. For long enough, Tren could not recall why he wouldn't allow himself the luxury of a few more minutes in bed. He stepped out onto the cold wooden floor and let his eyes adjust to the light that flooded into the small room.
The surroundings that awaited Tren baffled him greatly for a moment or two, then the events of the day before filled his mind, and the strange chambers he stood in became a tad more familiar.
He perched himself on the windowsill next to his bed and put a hand against the glass. It was as cold as ice, with a layer of moisture blurring and distorting the view outside. Tren slowly brought his palm back, smiling as he noticed the handprint he had left behind. The snow had fallen long and heavily the day before, and it would likely be many days before the people of Vastadia had seen the last of it. The fluffy flakes of frozen water had built up at the bottom of the diamond-paned window, making it difficult to see out of the conventional way, though Tren was never put off that easily...
With a gentle tug, he opened the window wide, letting a frigid breeze flow into the room. The air outside was freezing, so cold that even Tren could not stand it for long. He promptly fastened his coat before leaning precariously out of the window to greet the new day.
Even with the morning sun casting its rays over the lands, there was still an impressive number of snowflakes delicately flitting about in the pale blue skies. The landscape below had transformed over the course of the night. Where once were pastures of green and golden brown, now there was only a thick sheet of wet snow, twinkling in the sunlight. Guards and groundskeepers in the courtyard far beneath Tren's window were busy shovelling the icy slush away from the brickwork and paths, while children on the outer edges of the city were tossing snowballs and playing fervently together. Beyond that, the mountains rose up, tall and proud upon the edge of the horizon, with patches of pure white strewn across their rocky, barren expanse.

As Tren watched the picturesque landscape in awe, a flock of eastern laylings passed over the castle, making their way towards the Wastelands in the southeast. A couple of dragons followed after them, gliding effortlessly through the chilled air with their silver armour glinting as the sun caught it. Tren guessed that the throng of winged beings were planning to search the spoiled lands for signs of Bersar and the Harrowmen. Chances were, he'd hear some tale of how they had fared before the day was done.
The young man glanced upwards as the dragons passed overhead, watching in wonder as the sun shone through their wings. Once the marvellous beings of the air had passed, something else caught Tren's attention... Above him was the periphery of a tiled ledge that the boy was almost certain he could reach. He wondered whether anyone would mind or even notice if he climbed up onto the roof of the castle. The view was already spectacular from where Tren stood. He could hardly imagine what he would be able to see from some of the highest points of the citadel. But before he could consider any further, a bell rang out among the courtyard. It was a beautiful yet unusual note that reverberated off the castle's walls, announcing to the world in a grand fashion that midmorning had arrived.
The young man gasped, finally remembering why he had forced himself awake. He'd promised Yenpha that he would meet her in the kitchens, by midmorning at the latest! The dragon cook already had her doubts. What would she think if he couldn't even be bothered to honour her request?
Closing the window with a gentle thud, Tren hastily slipped his shoes on, hoisted his backpack over his shoulder, and made for the door. He looked back into his room for a second, glad to see that his rushing hadn't woken Talla. Even the cheerful ringing of the nearby belfry did not seem to have roused her from her slumber. The young peregrine was still sleeping soundly upon her wooden perch and would likely not wake for another hour or two.
Satisfied, Tren hurried on down the hallway, hearing movement in a few of the other rooms as he passed. The boy followed the corridor right to its end, then turned a corner and rushed down a flight of smooth stone steps. He had already descended down half of the stairwell before realising something important. He hadn't a clue where the castle kitchens were or which path would lead him to them... With a groan, he hurried on his way, figuring it best to work out a solution elsewhere.
Unlike the last time Tren had been rushed along the passageways of the Elvainian castle, he found as he reached the bottom of the stairs, that there were many individuals busily going about the place, each with their own little tasks to see to. In the light, there were countless details to the corridors and hallways that had been hidden during the night. It was as though the entire citadel had become a hive of activity and colour.
A group of elven ladies went about the hall, their delicate gowns of striking colours sweeping along the floor as they took old bouquets of drooping flowers and replaced them with some fresh ones. Tren set about asking one of them where the kitchens were, and after a moment or two, he was well on his way, repeating the directions he'd been given at regular intervals, just in case he should find himself lost. As he ran on towards the kitchens, the young man came across a variety of curious beings. There were birds of many different feathers, fluttering overhead as they dusted and polished the carvings that adorned the higher parts of the castle, and a disgruntled looking dwarf who was sweeping the feathers and wolven fur from the rug that ran along ahead of him. There were even several guards striding past on their way to some position or other. Dragons mostly, with the exception of some elves and a gryphon or two.
Much to Tren's discomfort, there were distinctly very few of his own kind about the castle. He saw an old groundskeeper working through the snow outside and a young woman helping some of the elves with their work. But otherwise, the place seemed entirely free from humankind...
Before long, the young man arrived at his destination, reaching out apprehensively for the doorknob to the castle's cookery.
The kitchens of Vastadia's grand citadel were positioned in the southeast corner on the ground floor. They were directly beside the southern hall, which Tren would later learn was the dining chambers, one of the most illustrious rooms in the castle. There were exclusive passages between the kitchens and the southern hall, specially for bringing food across to the king and his guests. It even had a section of the courtyard all to itself, with a well to gather water and some gardens with healthy green herbs growing, despite the snow that surrounded them.
Carefully, Tren twisted the brass knob and pushed the door open. Of all the kitchens the young human had worked in during his time as a hired cook, none could have ever hoped to compare to the quarters that lay before him.