The Lost Princess

Chapter Two

Giselle and I went out into the dining hall and made sure everything was ready. We unstacked chairs and placed them around all the tables. Giselle lit the candles in the chandlers above the tables. I lit the candles that were on the tables. Giselle and I quickly stocked the servers' station with extra silverware, menus, napkins, and cleaning supplies. We placed wrapped silverware on each of the tables.

Giselle looked around the room. "I think everything looks good."

"Well, let's open the doors," I said smiling at Giselle.

"Wait," Giselle said grabbing my arm. She leaned in close and whispered, "We have to put some of the tips in the cash register."

"I thought she said it was okay," I whispered.

"Yeah, but she's not telling us the whole truth," Giselle said. "We normally barely have enough for normal rent.  There is no way we have anywhere close to double the rent."

"Okay, tips go in the cash register, but we can't say anything to Aunt Rosalie," I whispered.

"Of course," Giselle smiled. "She would never allow it.  We might also need to get additional money."

"What?  How?"

"We may have to steal," Giselle whispered.

"But..."

"Ivy, we don't have a choice."

"Okay, but only from the wealthy," I said.

Giselle and I quickly unlocked the front door and opened the doors. We shoved small blocks to wood underneath the two front doors to keep them open. The warm, salty breeze blew into the restaurant.

I greeted the first guests and showed them to their table. Guests quickly filled every table and chair. Giselle and I quickly took food and drink orders. Jakob helped deliver the food and bus the tables. He also washed the dishes as he went. Aunt Rosalie stayed in the kitchen preparing the plates of food to be served to the guests.

Most of the guests were people that were visiting for the Zenith Celebration. King Maddox likes to celebrate the Zenith in Kenora where his reign began. Twelve years ago, King Davidson was holding a birthday party for Princess Riyah in their vacation castle in Kenora. King Maddox decided it was the perfect opportunity to attack King Davidson. The perfect opportunity to attack the nobles that supported King Davidson. People that follow King Maddox come to Kenora every year to celebrate with him.

A group of soldiers walked in and sat down at one of my tables. The five soldiers were wearing their uniforms. One of the soldiers was older and wore shiny medals on his jacket. I walked over to the table of soldiers. "Hello, my name is Ivy. I'll be your server. What can I get for you?"

"I'll take you," one of the younger soldiers said touching my arm.

I tried to put on a smile, but I'm sure I looked mad. "I'm so sorry, Sir, that's not on the menu tonight."

"That's too bad," the soldier said placing his hand on the small of my back.

"We'll have a round of your best ale," the older soldier with all the medals pinned to his uniform said.

"Right away, Sir," I said. I quickly turned on my heels and hurried over to the bar area. I poured the ale into the large, glass mugs. Then I quickly hurried back to the soldiers. "Here you go," I said as I handed each of them their ale making sure I kept my distance from the soldier that ordered me for dinner. "Anything else I can get for you?"