Like A Fairytale

Chapter 34

Flo

"Yes... I know." Alby stood in front of her aunt with her head bowed. "I didn't think about it."

The head servant snorted indignantly. "You should know better. HE can't know. It would have been your job to point out to him that he is not allowed to enter THIS garden. Instead, you lead him inside. What if the clones had seen him? We may have spoiled their tea."

Flo stood at a sink and cleaned the finest plates with gilded rims. He smiled softly. The dish soap formed funny, shimmering soap bubbles. He felt sorry for Alby. The words of the head servant could not hurt him.

In the kitchen, it smelled of soup and freshly baked bread.

No one said anything.

Everyone listened to the argument between the aunt and niece.

"The tea?" The girl stamped her foot energetically. "Why should he spoil their tea! By the way, Flo can hear you."

"Alby", warned the head servant.

"No! He has purple hair. And? Not six eyes or some grotesque mutation. And even if... Purple hair! I'd like to have his hair. His curls are so pretty", she continued to rant.

Her aunt only sighed. "They are. Very pretty." She looked at Flo for a moment. "But Alby. You can't say something like that. With purple hair, you couldn't become the head servant. There are rules. And these are strict! Our rulers did not enact the laws without reason! They don't want mutants in their gardens."

An elderly man dried the plates that Flo handed him. The man was around 70 years old, thin, and worn out. But his eyes were alert and full of energy. With a mischievous grin, he scurried through Flo's hair. "Do you hear that? Our grouch of a head servant likes your hair."

"Hm." Flo nodded and popped a soap bubble. "But the rulers apparently don't. Not that this should be important to me... However, it is quite ... nice... to hear a compliment."

"I think little Alby has her eyes on you!" The old man laughed.

"No. She declared me her best friend", Flo contradicted, amused.

"Friendship can become more!" The man winked at him.

"Sure. Unless you're gay", Flo explained.

"Ah. Well, then probably not. But the good Alby now has someone with whom she can drool after attractive guys together." Laughing, the old man ruffled through his hair again. "Your name is Flo? When the argument is over, I'll introduce you to everyone. That simply doesn't work with this bickering."

"I don't drool after guys..." Flo raised his eyebrows. In the background, he still heard Alby and her aunt arguing. Loud and clear. "And I've already been introduced to everyone. Nevertheless. Thank you."

"But not to everyone personally! How many names do you already know?"

"Not yours." In fact, he only knew the name of the chef. Ella. She was 30 years old, slim, and always composed. Next to Alby and Flo, she was the youngest in the kitchen. She had briefly shown Flo around the kitchen before putting him at the sink.

"Ah. Yes..." The old man laughed. "Alix. Alix Storm. I used to be a chef. Now I'm just helping out. At 73, I'm too old for all the hustle and bustle. I dry off, wipe... And I keep an eye on our good Ella. She has only been here for a few months. Sometimes she asks me for recipes."

"You were a chef?" Flo asked curiously.

"Yes. However! What did you do before?"

"I sold junk. Spare parts and stuff like that. I repaired electrics..." Flo shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing special. But I was happy enough."

"And what brings you here then? With your pretty curls, which Alby would like to have herself?"

"Burgstadt was attacked." He grimaced.

"Oh." Alix nodded. "I've heard about it. What Level do you come from? Level 4? There are 6 levels, if I remember correctly. The fourth... Surely you're from there, aren't you?"

"No." Flo shook his head. "Level 3."

„3? Is this not the Level for the poor? How do you get here?"

"I'd like to know that too." The head servant suddenly stood behind them, with a pouting Alby in tow. "Level 3! A mutation. This has never happened before!"

"Aunt!" hissed Alby.

"I know, I know." Aisling Willow smiled at Flo. "I don't mean that as discrimination. It's just a fact."

He nodded. "Okay?"

"That's a misrebal apology!" Alby grumbled sullenly. The head servant ignored the comment. Instead, she pushed Alby next to Flo, to the second sink, to help him do the dishes. Then the head servant walked out of the room with dignity.

"See you. Settle in well", she said to Flo briefly, then the door closed behind her.

"She doesn't mean it badly," Alby apologized. "She's just... She."

"Sure." Flo put a few plates in the clean water for her. "I heard you drool after guys?"

"WHAT?" Indignantly, the plate she had just picked up fell into the water. The dishes clinked loudly, attracting the attention of the other kitchen staff. "Who says that? Drooling?"

Flo pointed to Alix, who was sneaking away.

As soon as Aisling Willow was gone, little conversations, admonitions from the chefs, and laughter filled the kitchen.

Flo liked it here. As promised, Alix introduced him to the others. But there was not much time to chat. A lot of cooking to be done and dirty dishes, pots, and pans constantly found their way to the sinks.

When Flo returned to his room in the evening, he fell into his bed. With the last of his strength, he filled Silverpaw's food and water bowls, cleaned the litter box, put on his pyjamas, and pulled the blanket over his head.

The staff was well taken care of. Alby had taken him to the canteen. Here, there were two hot meals to choose from and a small salad bar. The food was simple, but better than anything Flo had ever had.

Ella gave him a bag full of cookies. A welcome gift. She had baked the cookies on the side in all the chaos. And they had all decorated together. While still working.

Flo liked the kitchen staff. There were a total of ten cooks with different tasks and one trainee. Karelle. She was 31 and had previously worked as a chambermaid. Now she wanted to become a cook. And since she was Ella's best friend from childhood, she immediately made it possible for her to get this chance. The two came from the same city. Not one of the capitals, but a small town next to a lake whose water glowed reddish. Both were from a good family. While Karelle's family got her this job as a chambermaid in the seat of government through a relative, when she was just 18, Ella began her career as a cook. Now, after more than ten years of failed marriage, the friends were reunited.

From Alix, Flo knew that Ella took the job as head chef immediately after the divorce. He said that she had even left her child with her ex-husband for this job. According to the rumors! There was a lot of gossip in the kitchen, and Karelle and Alix made it their business to bring him up to the same level as everyone else. Until Ella threw a tea towel at the two.

Sighing, Flo closed his eyes. He was full.

Really full.

This feeling was not foreign to him, but on Level 3, there was rarely an opportunity to really get a full tummy. And never before had so many strangers welcomed him into their group in one day.

As he fell asleep slowly, exhausted and contented, the wolfcat crawled under the blanket and curled up in his arms.

(c: sasi)