Page 67 of The Princess's Pet

“Does our Princess know you’re walking about the castle?” She smiled a little mischievously as if she had caught me misbehaving.

“My Mistress gave me permission to explore the castle,” I told her nodding and her eyes widened slightly but she smiled back at me. “I’m looking for someone, a classmate, we were at Sanguis Academy together. Edward, about my age, taller than me, black hair. Do you know where I might find him?”

She smiled widely at me, showing she had a few teeth missing. “That would be my grandbaby,” she said proudly. “He should be in the kitchens right about now preparing lunch. Follow me. What’s your name sweetheart?”

“Percy Flores,” I told her. “What can I call you?”

“Everyone calls me old May on account that young May is my daughter.” She laughed and took hold of my elbow. “I hope my Edward has made a good impression on a young lady like yourself.”

“Oh yes, Edward is very polite,” I told her. “A bit too proper maybe,” I added as an afterthought. She laughed loudly smacking my arm.

“That would be Edward. He’s been obsessed with becoming a perfect gentleman since he was a boy. Think’s it’ll get him Greg’s job one day. Ach, maybe it will,” she told me.

“Greg?” I asked her.

“Head Servant Gregory. Surely, you’ve met him? The Princess is his favourite Royal, has been since she was a little lass.”

“Yes, I’ve met him but we’ve never spoken.”

We arrived at an open door to a large and bustling kitchen. “Edward, honey, young Percy is here for you,” old May shouted.

Edward popped his head up from behind a counter, flour smeared on his face, wearing a blue stripy apron and his hair a mess.

“Hi, Percy,” he called over the bustle of pots and pans and people shouting.

“Don’t just stand there, son, go ask Marge if you can take off early,” old May commanded Edward and he nodded smiling wide, the first time I’d seen him smile truly, and made off hurriedly across the large room to a woman. They spoke for a moment and the woman turned towards the open door and looked at me before waving her hand dismissively at Edward.

Edward ran untying his apron as he did so towards the door and hung it on a hook before he turned to us.

“Hi Grams. Hi Percy. What can I do for you?” he asked properly.

“I wondered if you were able to spend some time with me this afternoon. I’m exploring the castle and wanted a friendly face tohelp me. Also, thanks for last night, you know keeping my cup full,” I told him.

“It would be a pleasure, Percy.” He turned to old May. “I’ll see you for dinner Grams.” And he wrapped old May up in a hug, kissing her cheek.

“You two don’t go getting in any kind of trouble now,” she warned as she turned and walked into the kitchen.

“Is there anywhere you’d like to see?” Edward asked as we walked.

“I don’t know the castle very well. I saw the greenhouse yesterday and learned the servant corridors a little,” I explained.

“I could show you the servant quarters. I know you stay with the Princess, but the servant quarters have a lot to offer that you might enjoy at some point,” he said leading me downstairs to an exit.

“What’s on offer?” I asked curiously.

“We have a lounge room, a games room, a swimming pool, a gym, and a spa. We even have Loki.”

“What is a Loki?” I asked smiling at his enthusiasm, he seemed far less guarded than at the Academy.

“Loki is our resident mouse catcher. He’s a giant black fluffy cat. Doesn’t really do a great job at the mouse catching. But he’s perfect for cuddles,” Edward explained.

He led me through a courtyard and down a path that led away from the greenhouse and the castle, towards a manor type building on the Castle grounds.

“Some of us have rooms in the castle, like head servant Gregory. Most of us stay here. Everything cool is on the ground floor, I stay on the 2ndfloor. The door here is never locked andsomeone is always up. You’re more than welcome to come by any time you fancy using the facilities,” he explained as we walked through the front doors that were wedged open.

“I’ll show you the games room first. It’s my favourite,” he said walking a little faster and waving me along to follow.

The inside of the manor was all polished wood and gleaming floors. Edward walked towards another open door and into a large room. There was a pool table, a foosball table, and another table that had board games stacked high on one side, and a group of servants loudly playing a game of some sort together.

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