Cadha (#wattys2016)

"Why Does This Always Happen To Me?"

As the afternoon's luncheon grew nearer the kitchen grew busier.  The amount of food we had to prepare within the next 2 hours was incomprehensible.  Margaret walked around inspecting our work, but she never had to really do anything.  I was growing tired again from the long morning and needed a break.

I stopped to rest for small moment after I finished chopping the goose, which I had plucked, washed, and scrubbed, and sat down on the low wooden table, I was working at.  I'm not sure how he timed it so well, but the moment I sat down on the table, Master Dunbar came into the kitchen for the second time that day.  I had no idea that he had come into the room and was surprised when I heard his voice calling me out again.

"Cadha!" he yelled in a most angry tone.  I slowly turned to look at him and saw his face filled with something like impatience and extreme anger.  I'd never seen him this mad before, but I guess he had endured enough stress today and I was the last straw.

"Come here," he yelled across the room like a man calling his dog to his side. In many respects I was like a dog to him.  I quickly walked across the room, but kept my head held up; I wasn't going to let go of what dignity I still possessed.  I came right up to him and stood there waiting for him to sentence my punishment, but he just stood there staring at the top of my head.

I waited for about 30 second before I looked up cautiously.  As soon as I looked him in the eye he pronounced, "I have decided your punishment."  It had taken him long enough to come up with my punishment that I knew it would be horrid.

"While the rest of the servants of my household are free to come and attend to announcement down at the town square before the luncheon," he continued.  "You will stay here and finish all the preparations for the luncheon afterwards."

My mouth dropped open in shock of what I had just heard. I had never expected something so impossible and I almost couldn't believe what he had just asked me to do.  "Yes sir, I will do my best," I said.

"And if you don't do your best, you will be responsible for anything left undone. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Well then, I believe that I shall start your punishment right now. The rest of you servants are dismissed until the luncheon starts," he said.  He stood there and watched as the rest of the servant left the kitchen.

Many of the kitchen girls sent me looks of pity and sorrow through their faces, but a few of the them looked at me smugly; among those few was Margaret.  Why did they hate me so much? I was so new here but I already seemed to have more enemies than normal.

When the last of the kitchen hands had left the room, Dunbar turned to me and said, "I will go and tell the rest of the household that they too are dismissed, immediately.  Then you can start your work sooner."

Then he swept through the doorway with a malicious smile on his face.  What could I have possibly done to make him despise me so much? As I looked around the large kitchen I felt despair creep into my soul.  The enormity of the task overwhelmed me. I would never be able to complete even a portion of the work that needed to be done before the luncheon.  It was a hopeless cause.

I sank to the ground in a heap and began to cry.  I hadn't been this alone in years, so I finally let all the pent up emotion come out through my tears.  "This just isn't fair," I sobbed out to myself.  "Why does everything bad always happen to me?"

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AN: sorry this was kinda short, but it was a good stopping point for the next chapter.

I will keep on trying to upload a chapter every Tuesday so please be patient. Writing a whole chapter takes a while and a lot of brain power.

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Have a wonderful day everyone!!!

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