The Witch's Retribution

Chapter 23

Xan avoided Liam's bemused gaze as the servant straightened up the wardrobe, impatiently waiting for the kitchens to finish preparing the prince's supper. If he arrived too early, the cooks would glare at him the entire time. At least here, he was making himself useful. Well, he would be if he wasn't straightening the same clothes over and over again.

"Is something the matter, Sire?" Xan asked, finally giving up any pretenses of work and turning to face the prince.

Liam sat back in his chair, his arms crossed and eyebrows raised. "You tell me, Xan. You seem unusually distracted today."

"I-It's nothing. I just had so much work to do today."

"Yes, I'm sure washing clothes must exhaust you."

"That's not all I did." Xan muttered although he supposed walking up and down the corridors didn't quite count as work. "I should go fetch your supper."

Xan escaped before Liam could respond. He dodged other servants, careful not to run into anyone this time, before he arrived at the kitchen door. He pushed it open and immediately met with the harsh glare of the lead cook, Agatha. She was a portly woman with a permanent scowl and graying hair that barely reached her ears. The only gentle thing about her were her hazel eyes which hinted at a much kinder woman underneath her constant severity.

"Don't even think about thieving any of those dumplings." She wielded her wooden spoon like a weapon.

Xan held up his hands. "I'm only here for the prince's supper, I swear."

She pointed the spoon at a silver tray laden with meat, fruits, and a couple of those forbidden dumplings that Edith had already liberated from the kitchens earlier. She turned her back with one last suspicious glance. He smiled until she was no longer paying attention to him then reached for the waiting tray. He balanced it on one arm and used his other hand to pluck a couple of gingerbread cookies off a nearby plate.

He stuffed both cookies in his mouth, gulping them down before he returned to Liam's chambers. He nearly dropped the tray before placing it on the table before the prince. "Anything else, Sire?" Xan asked with a far too innocent smile as he poured more wine into Liam's goblet.

"You're free to go, Xan." Liam said with an amused smile. "Enjoy your date."

Xan fumbled with the jug and only barely managed not to drop it. "M-my what?"

"You're not the only servant who likes to talk."

Xan huffed. "Oh, they all love to gossip far too much." He glanced at the open window, the sun sinking low in the sky. "Right. I should probably go."

"Yes, Xan, please go. Wouldn't want to keep your date waiting, would you?"

"Goodnight, Sire." Xan left the chambers, barely catching Liam biding him goodnight as well.

He briefly thought of changing clothes, maybe finding something a little nicer, but he didn't want to be late. Edith wouldn't care what he wore anyway. He hurried down the winding corridors and outside into the courtyard. Servants still milled about, none in any real hurry, as they finished what little of their duties remained, and the knights on guard looked as bored as always. They each gave a little nod to Xan as he passed. If he had been any other servant, they probably would have overlooked him completely.

He entered the gates that led into town, pausing long enough to take a deep breath. Unless he was running errands for Eldon, he rarely ventured into town. He never had any need to.

Edith lived on the far edge of town, as far away from the castle as one could be, in a small house with her parents and three younger sisters. Before he reached her house, he stopped some distance away at the decrepit house he had once shared with his own parents. The roof had already begun to sink in on itself, and the door hung loosely on its hinges. He almost wanted to enter it, but knowing his luck, the entire place would come down on his head.