The Mystery of The Body Thief

Chapter Three

Drawing of Lady Annabelle by @Moone_DaFoxie

Horatio headed to the kitchen, where Ophelia had said he worked...since he didn't really remember much else.

He knocked on the door, it was opened by a blonde haired lady.

"Oh there you are," she said. "I'm glad to see you are back. Now get working!"

"Yes ma'am." Horatio said, as she shooed him off.

"I need you to make His Majesty's breakfast...Now!!" she said.

Horatio nodded. "What does he want?" he asked.

"His usual!" hollered the cook, over the noise of the kitchen.

What was Lord Oberon's usual? Before he could ask the cook, there was a loud noise of breaking glass.

"Look what you have done!!" he heard the cook scream.

Horatio sighed, maybe at least he could try to make it...yet, he realized he didn't know how, it was like all his skills were taken away from him. He tried to remember, anything about cooking, or a recipe, but he couldn't remember anything. All he could remember was Annabelle. Why was Annabelle stuck in his mind? Why? She was the only thing he could remember before he fell into a coma...

"What are you doing?" asked the cook, in her stern voice.

"Why aren't you cooking!?"

Horatio turned around, "I am sorry miss, but I...I don't remember how to do it."

"How can you not remember?!! Being in a coma is not a excuse to stop cooking or working for Lord Oberon!" she screeched.

"Well...You see—" He began.

"Hmph." she grunted. "If you can't remember, that doesn't mean I will let you off the job..." she said.

He noticed she was making her hands into fists, He had heard of servants getting their ears boxed, and he hoped he wasn't going to have it happen to him. He gulped.

"...But, for now how about you serve wine to Lord Oberon, and The Duke and The Lady, for they are visiting the kingdom on important business."

Horatio nodded. She handed him a pitcher of wine, and stared at him though her blue eyes as if saying, don't mess up.

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Horatio opened the door of the royal dinning room. It was beautiful with a crystal chandelier and paintings on the walls of the royal family. The largest painting in the center was of Lord Oberon and his Queen. The Lord had bright red hair and beautiful gray eyes, while the Queen had brown hair and brown eyes. They looked so happy together. And in the center was their daughter with her flowing red locks and beautiful smile.

Horatio took his eyes off the painting, and tried to focus on what was at hand. If he messed anything up, he would have to deal with an angry cook. He quietly walked up to the table and began pouring wine into Lord Oberon's goblet, making sure he didn't spill anything.

"...It is quite disturbing to be able to talk to your daughter one day, then...not be able to talk to her the next." he overheard the lord say. He was trembling and almost burst into tears.

Horatio then moved on to the Duke's goblet...

"I can't say I know how it feels to have that happen, since I have no children." he heard the Duke chuckle a very soft chuckle. "But...try to be happy. You will get through it..."

Suddenly there was a shriek. Horatio lost his grip on the pitcher. Thankfully he caught it before it could hit the ground and shatter into a million pieces.

"Look what you have done!" he heard the Duke holler.

The Duke stood up from the table showing Horatio his now ruined robe, which had a big wine stain on it. The Duke grabbed his cup, and splashed his wine all over Horatio. There was a gasp from Lord Oberon and the Lady. Horatio felt the wine dripping down his back and forehead, he tasted the bitter taste of the wine as it fell into his mouth.

"Please..." he heard the Lord begin. "Excuse the boy...you see he just woke up from a coma."

The Duke crossed his arms, "Fine...but next time, don't overfill my wine like you did." He stared at Horatio through his angry eyes.

Lord Oberon stood up from his chair, and walked up to Horatio and whispered in his ear, "You can go change. Also, you don't need to tell the cook about what happened."

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Horatio ran down the stairs towards the servant's quarters. It took him a little while to find them, though, since no one had really told them where they were located. He finally found spare clothes and a jacket, which servants, who didn't work in the kitchen, tended to wear. The jacket was dark blue and had elvish designs embroidered on it. He didn't worry considering that probably wasn't going work in the kitchen (anytime soon).

Horatio grabbed some buckets and went outside of the castle, and filled them with water. He knew he couldn't take a bath like royalty could (at least not a fancy one...plus he didn't have the time). He could at least clean the wine from his face, hands, and hair with the water he brought into the room. He splashed his face with the water, it felt cold but good in a refreshing way. He sighed, as he dried himself off. He quickly took his hair out of its ponytail, which all servants had (where as royalty tended to have their hair in complex little braids). He picked up the brush and tried to brush the sticky wine out of his hair. He finally managed to get it out, put his hair back in the ponytail, which he tied tightly.

Why did he have to forget how to cook? Surely, he knew it somewhere in his mind. And he was such a fool to overfill the Duke's cup! Why did he have to listen to their conversation anyway? And why did he listen to it at all? He sighed, and changed his wine splattered shirt to a clean one, and then put on a nice clean blue jacket. He stared at himself in the mirror, the new outfit looked alright, yet he had an unsettled feeling. He had woken up from a coma at the wrong time, he felt, in the middle of a crisis for Lady Annabelle, a person he didn't know yet, but had a weird feeling for. Had he loved her? If he had, he knew it wouldn't have been able to marry her, for he was a servant and she was...a princess, a very beautiful one indeed. Oh...if only he knew why he had fallen into a coma, if only...