Charmed

Chapter Five

The kitchen was bustling with busy workers when I slipped in for breakfast the next morning. Lisa had already eaten and was furiously stirring a pot of something that smelt amazing over the stove. Nancy smiled at me and squeezed my shoulder as she handed me a bowl of porridge.

"What's going on?" I asked Nancy as I quickly ate my meal. I'd figured that eating quickly and sleeping a little later was better than waking up earlier to just be waiting around to go and wake Darius.

"It's the Queen's birthday tomorrow," she told me, "and she's decided that she wants to have a masquerade ball. Which for her and the nobles means a wonderful, joyous time, but for me means a hell of a lot of cooking."

I chuckled. "I'll help once I've finished my work today."

"Don't be ridiculous." Nancy waved her wooden spoon in the air as she scolded me. "You work for the prince and he works you tirelessly. You don't need to help. Now go and wake him up."

I shovelled the last of my food into my mouth and downed my glass of water before standing from the table and picking up the tray containing Darius' porridge and bread. I caught Lisa's eye before I left the kitchen just to find her glaring at me.

Admittedly, Darius had been relenting the amount of chores that I had to do recently, while Lisa's list of jobs seemed to be getting longer every day. Clearly she didn't believe me when I told her that nothing was happening between Darius and me other than a friendship.

I didn't knock on Darius' chamber door once I reached it, not expecting him to be awake yet. I placed his tray on his table and paused in surprise. What I hadn't expected to find was Darius' chamber empty, and it almost threw me out of focus. Normally I would wake him up with a cheery voice that I knew he hated, which he would tell me, which would make me laugh.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, moving around the room as if Darius was still here. I threw open the curtains, allowing the cold winter sun to shine through the large windows. As I peered onto the dewy fields, I spotted Darius completely alone. He was brandishing a sword in his right hand, attacking a scarecrow-looking thing.

After i covered his breakfast so that he could eat it when he returned to his chamber, I hurried down the steps and back to my chamber. I took my cloak from the hook on the back of the door, slipping it around my shoulders before rushing out to join Darius in the field. 

He didn't hear me coming up behind him and jumped about ten feet into the air when I arrived. I couldn't help the laughter that snorted out of me. Darius just rolled his eyes and waited for me to calm down.

"You know, I don't think you've ever been up so early," I told him. My arms were crossed underneath my cloak in a futile attempt to keep me warm.

He chuckled, but his eyes didn't hold the amusement that they usually did. Something was clearly on his mind. "What's life without a few surprises, huh Gwen?"

I smiled at the damp ground before looking back to him as he swung the sword a couple of times, hitting the scarecrow directly in the neck. I jumped and placed my hand over my own neck, imagining the sword hitting me there. "Everything okay?"

He sighed and turned around, sweat beaming on his forehead. "My father told me that I have to go to another kingdom tomorrow to ensure a peace treaty is going to be enforced. Some of our patrol guards were killed the other week, although we aren't sure by who."

I felt slightly saddened at the news that he'd be gone from the castle. "Oh. How long will you be gone? You can just leave me a list of chores to do on top of the current ones, just in case you need anything extra done."