Maid For You

Chapter 31

It was quiet and still as I made my way to the kitchen that night. As soon as I entered, the aroma of spices and meat filled my nostrils.

"It smells delicious!" I complimented Chef Jonathan.
Jonathan whipped around and beamed. "I was worried you weren't going to come."
"Well, you were really vague on what time I should be here, and you didn't answer my text."
"Oh, you texted me? Sorry! I forgot to turn my phone on!" He apologized.

"No worries. I'm here now." I took a seat at a bar stool and took in a big whiff of the air. "What are you making?"

"Quail."

"Quail?" I rose my eyebrows. "Sounds fancy!"

"It tastes a lot like chicken." He shrugged.

"We eat a lot of beef back home," I said.

"Ah, that's right. Isn't cattle Embryia's biggest export?"

"It sure is. And we have all kinds of dishes revolving around beef," I answered.

"Hmm. Seems rather dull," Jonathan admitted.

"Maybe so," I laughed. "But we do make a mean hamburger jumble."

"What on earth is that?!"

"It's pretty good is all I'll tell you. I'll have to make it for you sometime."

"Ah, I look forward to the debut of Chef Cassie." He grinned. "So, while the quail finishes cooking, I have to ask: why were you out of uniform at dinner?"

"Well, now you're going to have to listen to my long story, which will undoubtedly be overdramatized." I gave an exaggerated sigh.

"I'd love to hear it."

And so I told Jonathan the story of how I was pushed into a pool by a bunch of stupid noble women, and as I did so memories of Prince Coleman and his rudeness came to the surface of my mind and I felt myself becoming upset about it all over again. Sure, he offered me a shower, but he still shouldn't have said such rude things to me!

I swear, working for him is a rollercoaster of emotions.

As my story of the noble women came to a close, we feasted on the two small quails, and called our short rendezvous to a close.

"I have to finish cleaning up here, but you should head to bed," Jonathan told me.
"Alright. And thanks for the quail! I've never had it before!"

"Of course. Until next time, Miss Cassie."

I stepped out of the kitchen and headed back to my room, but only after a minute or two I spotted a familiar figure, tall and broad.

Prince Coleman's eyes widened at the sight of me. "Cassie? What are you doing here?"

"I was grabbing a snack from the kitchen...you?"

"I was able to do the same. Usually the head chef is up late."

Though patches of moonlight shone in through the windows, the darkened silence of the castle had quieted our normally aggressive encounters.

"Prince Coleman?" I broke the awkward silence.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think I'm helpless?" His comment at the pool party had bothered me all day.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"You said today you had never met someone so helpless." I stood a little taller. "Is that true?"
He didn't say anything for a moment, until finally a soft, "No."

Though he stood ten feet away, the quiet of the night somehow made me feel more comfortable to ask the following question. "Then...why did you say that?" It came out weaker than I had wanted it to. It was not a strong, forceful demand for an answer, but a timid, almost hurt sounding question.