Page 115 of Enchanted Kingdom
“On one condition,” I told him.
His eyebrows went up. “Okay, okay. I’m listening.”
I had kept quiet as I worked, but I knew now that this man named Maurice was, in fact, the head chef in charge of the lunch and evening meals for the royal family. “You let me come bake on occasion. Allow me to help.”
His face twisted and for the first time in four hours of barking orders and jesting people, his voice went soft. “Why would you wish for that?”
I felt tears sting my eyes and I wasn’t sure I could put into words what I felt. “Because it helps me. To remember who I am. To remember where I came from. That I am not an object, not a shiny vase. That I am a damn fine baker and nothing anyone ever says will take that from me.”
He reached for my hand to shake it, and when he did, he tapped twice on my wrist with his pointer finger.
I tried not to gasp in surprise.
“You may return whenever you’d like. However often you’d like, Tiny.” He winked at me. “But I won’t go easy on ya, doll. So be sure to bring your fire with ya.”
I closed my eyes grateful that I had found yet another friend in this damned castle.
He clapped his hands together and marched over to a pot over the giant stove. “But you do not leave my kitchens a mess, okay?”
I smirked. “Okay.”
We were on the last stairwell on the way back up to Keir’s rooms when Owen said softly, “You are not an object. You are not a shiny vase. And you are a whole hell of a lot more than a damn fine baker.”
The tears that had been lying in wait all day couldn’t help themselves apparently, because within the next four stairs, one squeaked out. “Thank you, Owen.”
“I’m sorry that’s how you feel. It pisses me off that’s how you feel.”
I let out a deep sigh. “I’m beginning to wonder if that’s how the king made the queen feel her entire reign.” I stole a look at him. “When all of this is over, will that be how our new queen feels too?”
That had us both quiet in thought. Would I truly want to be with Keir at the end of all this if that was the path laid out for me? If all I’d ever be is locked away and then paraded in fancy gowns?
I took a deep breath. The time in the kitchens had helped me relax a bit. I was going to take a long bath, read a little, and try to get some sleep. My trip to Nerede this week wasn’t happening, but maybe I could go to the kitchens again before the week was over.
“Wanna play some cards?” Owen asked me as Keir’s door came into view.
“You play?”
He shrugged. “A little.”
“Is this you trying to downplay your skills, so I go easy on you?”
He whispered, “I’ll never tell.”
I laughed as he opened the door to Keir’s wing for me.
I took a step into the sitting room and stopped in my tracks. Both brothers were dressed for their evening meal with their father and however many women from their harems, but both were standing there. As if waiting.
“Where were you?” Keir asked as he took a relieved breath.
“The kitchens,” I stated.
He looked up at the ceiling. “Oh thank gods.”
Owen looked from one to the other. “I was with her the whole time. I told you both I was going to get her some fresh air. So I did.”
Prince Krewan gestured with a hand. “You didn’t say you would be gone the entire day. We... we assumed the worst.”
“We didn’t plan on it,” Owen said more harshly. “She wanted to help the kitchen staff, so we were down there for a while.”
