3. Evanee
Evanee
Days often blurred together.
Since I arrived, it’s been nothing but sleep, eat—if I’m lucky—work, repeat.
Except for the times I tried to escape. However, despite the relief in my back from the lashings, I stopped my attempts.
Every time Cressida messed with my markings, I just knew she was building a thicker wall between me and my memories.
I wouldn’t risk them being gone permanently.
I couldn’t live without the hope of getting them back.
There’s a dream I’d had over and over, of beautiful mountains that don’t exist in this realm.
I knew because I asked Micah about them.
The mountains rose high in the sky, and the sun glinted off their snow-capped peaks.
Below them stretched a field of purple flowers as far as the eye could see.
Mixed with the floral aroma was the crisp scent of cedar and wild mint—nothing like the stale air in this region.
Micah had said the only mountain ranges here were in the northern part of the realm, where the Fae King lived, and that they were rugged and icy.
I didn’t know why, but when he had told me that, I was severely disappointed.
Then I realized, it was because hope had blossomed in my chest that it might have been a memory.
In my dreams, I had felt like I was home.
Too bad it had been a dream.
Today I was sent to the kitchens. It wasn't a common chore for our lot, but we were occasionally assigned when there was an event or the staff was short.
The kitchens were my least favorite place to be.
The castle always made my skin crawl. Granted, it smelled amazing compared to my usual surroundings.
The older Fae bustled around barking orders to the younger kitchen maids, but still managed to keep it light and fun. I snorted as I watched them—Blanche should take some damn notes. Maybe she would’ve been kinder if she were human, more empathetic, too.
The kitchen wasn’t large, but it did have plenty of counter space for them to stack the heaps of food they were preparing.
Apple pies and little cakes topped with edible flowers covered every inch of the wooden counter space.
The bright desserts stood out against the bubbling pot of venison stew and vegetables.
“Is something happening today?” I asked the head cook, Astrid.
Like Micah, she tolerated me better than the other staff did. Overall, I think I rubbed most of the Fae the wrong way.
“We received word late last night that a group of the king’s soldiers will be arriving today,” she breathed as she kneaded a lump of dough with ferocity.
“I’ve had to work all night to prepare this meal.
And did all of my staff show when I needed them?
NO!” She punched the dough and then put her hands on her hips, blowing a stray clump of gray hair off her forehead.
“It’s been a very long morning, and I still have a lot to do. ”
“Where do you need me?” I asked, folding some clean dishcloths lying beside her.
As I reached for more, one of the kitchen maids took a not-so-subtle step away from me with a sneer.
I rolled my eyes and flipped her off while Astrid’s back was turned, which sent the maid scurrying off with an offended scowl.
Astrid brushed the flour from her apron before fighting the dough once more.
“I need you to go and help Sarah with the dishes. Of course, the dishes from last night’s meal didn’t get washed like they were supposed to.
I guess Waylon doesn’t think we have enough to do in the morning, so he was kind enough to leave it all piled in a heap.
” She threw the dough down with a thunk.
“And the blasted sink is backed up again, so they’ll have to be washed in the tin outside.”
I nodded, quickly folded the remaining towels—which earned a small, exasperated smile from Astrid—then turned and headed for the side door.
Hidden within a wall of bricks sat a large tub of water and a petite woman, a little older than me, sitting there with her skirts hitched up, legs braced on either side.
Her auburn braids swung side to side as she scrubbed the plate in her hand.
Sure enough, there on the ground lay a large stack of dirty dishes. Ugh.
“Hey, Sarah. Astrid said to help you.” I flipped an empty bucket over and sat across from her.
She looked me up and down, nose wrinkling.
“I guess you’ll do,” she huffed, setting her dish in a clean pile before looking up at me.
“This is just ridiculous. Astrid won’t let me use the sink inside because she says it’s backed up.
But you want to know what I saw? She was using it!
” She glowered at the kitchen, clucking her tongue.
“The old bat just wants us all to suffer because she has a lot to do.” Sarah’s mocking tone made me cast a glance back at the door.
She had already turned her attention back to the pile.
“Plus, it’s only the Queen here, and this—” she gestured dramatically at the tub—“is the number of dishes we have? It’s not even like the few ladies she keeps around here eat much anyway!
Have you seen them eat? Well, I have, and I’m pretty sure they eat a leaf of lettuce, and that’s it.
Not to mention this isn’t even my job. Blair was supposed to finish this yesterday.
I swear you lot are going to be the death of me,” she hissed.
Sarah was human like me. She’d grown up here as so many other human children had, though she was more comfortable around the Fae than most. She adapted to life here a hell of a lot better than I ever would.
According to her, she impressed Astrid with her knowledge of Fae culture and her culinary skills, so they allowed her to work here permanently.
While we may both be human, there wasn’t exactly a friendship between us.
When she talked to me, it was only when no one else was around, and it wasn’t out of kindness or a feeling of friendship.
No, she just really enjoyed gossiping and showing off her knowledge.
I knew better than to let my guard down with her.
“I don’t even know why they have you out there with those girls.
They’re a bunch of delinquents sold here by their lowlife parents who couldn’t afford their debts.
I know you came here from somewhere else, and there’s some mystery about your family, blah, blah, blah, but you don’t seem the type to be stuck out there.
” She grabbed another dish. I followed suit.
“My family also sold me to pay their debts. So it looks like I’m right at home,” I replied, barely containing my snark, as I strenuously scrubbed a platter. She raised a brow.
“Well, when you first arrived, I just assumed you’d be stationed in the castle. The Queen only allows the most beautiful Fae to work inside. And in the past, if a human were beautiful enough, then they too would get the honor to work over there.” I fought a scoff at that odious view.
“Then one day, Queen Valentina changed her mind, just like that,” she snapped her fingers, eyes grave, “and it all changed—no more humans, only two ladies’ maids and the Witch. You’re certainly almost as beautiful as the Fae. If not more. You would have definitely ended up in the castle.”
The plate slipped from my hands, clattering to the ground.
“Watch it,” she barked.
I muttered an apology, picked it up, and washed it again. I should be flattered she compared me to the Fae; my face scrunched instead.
“Don’t be so dramatic. I meant that as a compliment,” she scowled. I kept my head down, my lips pressed together. Keep your mouth shut and head down, I chanted.
“I swear, she used to treat it like a game.” She continued, flicking suds everywhere.
“To find the prettiest of beings and collect them so that her entire staff here would be beautiful. Never really finished that goal though, did she?” Sarah looked to me for an answer, sighing at my silence.
“Conceited. That’s what she is. Conceited and bored. I think she needs a male—”
“Sarah,” my gaze instantly snapped to her, “be careful. You never know who’s listening.” I scanned the area before I settled back into my task.
Sarah may not be my friend, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see her punished for making a foolish comment like that out in the open. Besides, I would undoubtedly be punished alongside her, and I had no intention of having a date with Cressida in the dungeons again.
Sarah talked openly whenever we worked together. If she were in a good mood, she’d educate me on the different realms, the history of monarchs, and the past wars, like the one that eradicated the Gargoyles in the Western Realm.
“If you mean the Witch bitch, then who cares?” she retorted. Her gaze drifted to my exposed wrists and the patterns of ink.
“We both know that bitch is powerful and has spies everywhere.” I tugged my sleeves down with a pointed look at her. She cleared her throat, shifting her focus back to the chore at hand.
One Witch Sister presided over each realm.
That’s what Sarah had told me. Cressida was here in the Eastern Realm, Samara in the Northern Realm, Griselda in the Southern Realm, and then the missing Witch, Aniah, in the Western Realm.
While lesser Witches lived throughout our world, the Four Sisters were the most powerful.
Each Sister’s magic maintained a critical aspect of balance between the kingdoms, from mediating for clashing rulers to advising them.
Their powers were meant to preserve harmony and enforce order among the beings, promoting equality between the lands.
Cressida was the most powerful of the Four.
All of the Sisters were recognizable by their inked skin and fire-like eyes.
I’d only heard stories of the two remaining Sisters and that they didn’t have nearly as many tattoos as Cressida.
Each tattoo on their skin came from a curse they’d cast. No one has casted as many as Cressida.