Runaway Princess

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Here is the kitchen. Cook will show you where your sleeping quarters are, and what the specifics of the job are.” The guard said coldly. I wonder what his problem was?

I slowly stepped into the rush of pots, pans, people, spices, and who knows what flying everywhere. “Move girl!” someone pushed me to the side, a large platter was carefully balanced on their shoulder. I stumbled, crashing into a large stack of dirty dishes, sending plates crashing to the floor. I cringed. An angry lady with a stained apron stomped towards me. I ducked my head, not making eye contact probably wouldn’t help my situation any.

“Do you know what you just did girl?!” the lady shouted at me.

“I, uh, I apologize ma’am! It was an accident.” I hoped she wouldn’t punish me too severely. My eyes were pointed at the floor when I felt the sting of her hand on the side of my head.

“Watch where you’re going next time girl. I let you off easy this time.” Tears where forming in the corners of my eyes. I quickly blinked them away.

“Y-yes ma’am.” I stuttered, my voice wavering.

“Good.” She said. “I’m cook. And this is my kitchen. If you break any of my rules, I will kick you out on your sorry behind without a second thought. There’s only one room that doesn’t have the maximum number of girls. That will be you shall live.

Cook made me follow her as she ran up flights of stairs, down long hallways, and through secret passages to get to the servants’ quarters.

The rooms weren’t lavish. Nothing like my old bedroom for sure. My old bedroom had the finest silk bed sheets in the kingdom, over stuffed quail feather mattresses, and hand spun quilts. These rooms had coarse sheets, scratchy, wool blankets, and the beds creaked whenever I tossed or turned. The important thing was that I had somewhere to sleep.

As I was carefully stashing my sack with the gowns under my mattress, I heard a familiar voice outside the door.

“Do I know you? You seem somewhat familiar?” Jasmin asked from the doorway. I smiled as she walked into the room. “So… this is where we’ll be living.” She said, silently surveying the room.

“A-are w-we roommates?” I asked quietly.

“Where else would you or I sleep?” she asked jokingly. I gave her a sheepish smile. Having Jasmin as a roommate would be a lot easier than having to room with a stranger. Jasmin was still technically a stranger, but somehow I knew I could trust her. We both finished unpacking what little belongings we had as someone knocked on the door, announcing it was dinner time.

“Wouldn’t want to miss dinner on the first day now would we?” Jasmin asked, linking our arms together as we walked out of the room and joined the other palace staff in the hurry to food.

The palace staffs’ dining hall was huge. The massive wooden tables had been covered in filthy muslin, and long wooden benches were placed underneath the tables. There was a line that stretched all the way around the room for food. Cook was handing out plates filled with oily potatoes chunks, gravy with leftover meat from what I assumed was the royals’ dinners, a slice of stale-ish bread, and a scoop of pudding with dried fruit. It wasn’t that bad really. I didn’t end up finishing my food, so I handed it to Jasmin who shoveled the food down her throat. I made a face at her and she laughed.

Once she had swallowed she said with a sad smile, “I never got food like this at home. We never seemed to have enough food to fill our stomachs.” I felt guilty. Of course she would not have had enough food at home! She was poor! I had been a princess all my life, I had never experienced the ache of an empty belly.

Jasmin had finished eating, and we were promptly sent off to the washroom. I carefully cleaned my face, never once taking off my head wrap. Jasmin looked at me oddly when I didn’t wash my hair, but she just shook her head and kept to her own business.  

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Dun dun dun…. I’m sorry for not updating!