CHAPTER 4
The bandage tormented me, and I could not look away from it while I polished the stack of cutlery beside me. The throbbing had subsided a little, but it burned like the deepest pits of hell. Between this and my throbbing head, I was in for a long day.
“Avyn?” a shrill voice said from behind, causing me to startle and drop the fork I was working on.
The prettiest woman stood in front of me, an annoyed look on her face, staring at the fork that I had dropped. She looked to be around my age, but had to be a couple of years older since she was already in service. She motioned to the fork with her slender, clean hand, “Are you going to get that?”
“Sorry,” I murmured and bent down to pick up the fork, causing a shot of pain to swarm to my head.
“Hurry up!” She tapped her foot on the marble floor and put her hands on her hips, causing her blonde hair to bounce and lie perfectly across her ample chest.
She reminded me of a porcelain doll that a small child would play with.
Her hair was perfect, not a strand out of place, and her skin was too smooth to be real.
“Mrs. Prast sent me to get you. You are coming with me for dinner service and need to do exactly what I say. I don’t know why she is bothering to put you on service this early; you’re going to mess up being this fresh out of The Academy. ”
“I had the same amount of training as you did, and you seem to be doing just fine.” The words flew out of my mouth before my brain could even begin to acknowledge what I had said.
She shot me a look that told me I had fucked up.
Not even one day in this place, and my smart mouth had already betrayed me.
“I have been here a year already and have excelled at everything I do. Why do you think Mrs. Prast is trusting me to teach you?” But she continued before I could reply.
“I’ve seen what The Academy has to offer nowadays, and if your service matches your appearance,” she looked me up and down, “you won’t last long. ”
Who the fuck did she think she was? Bitch. The pile of cutlery I was working on rattled and tumbled to the ground. She walked away laughing, and I had no choice but to follow her before I lost her in the maze of halls.
The rest of the afternoon passed slowly as, whom I have learned is called Jane, lectured me on proper etiquette for dinner service.
My head was being drowned in pain as I fought back the headache from before and the new one from all the information she was spewing.
Finally, Jane decided to take a break and told me to keep polishing the silverware until dinner.
While I was polishing the endless number of utensils, I was replaying everything she had told me about service, and the fact that she had also intentionally let it slip that they needed a new servant girl because the last one had spilled wine on the Queen while pouring her glass.
The servant was immediately removed, and Jane made a joke about spilled wine meaning spilled blood.
She was obviously trying to intimidate me, so I brushed it off with an ‘oh, really’, not giving her the satisfaction of scaring me.
As I was polishing the last knife, Jane beckoned for me to join her.
We waited against the wall of the dining room for the royal family to come.
The dining table was long and still had the characteristics of a tree.
The edges were lined with bark, while knots and holes graced the wood's grain; at least sixteen people could sit at this table comfortably.
My thoughts drifted back to our small table in our cabin, where my mother and I shared any meals that we could afford; the legs were unbalanced and moving, and we were lucky not to spill our drinks, let alone have them fall off the table.
It was gouged with notches and splashed with paint stains, but each marking was a memory left behind.
“You are going to be on wine service.” A cunning smile crept onto Jane’s lips, knowing that she had just told me the story of the last servant girl who spilled wine.
“Perfect.” I joyfully replied while flashing her a smile that matched my tone.
I had only known her for a couple of hours, and she was already planning my demise.
It was cutthroat here, just like at the academy, where the other ladies always tried to get in Madam's good books. The wine bottles were gathered across the room on a smaller table, like the dining table, but much taller. I made my way over to where they were and stood up straight with my hands crossed in front of me, awaiting the royal family to enter the room. I had only heard whisperings of the royal family, but from what I had gathered, they are all people you do not want to mess with. Strong, powerful people. They have controlled Drycartha for hundreds of years, and their bloodline was strong, leading them to make only strategic matches for their children and future generations. Even though their offspring weren’t even alive, they would set pre-determined matches to deter others from challenging them.
Which was smart, eliminating the threat before it became a real problem, maybe I should take a lesson out of their rule book. I glanced at Jane and stifled a laugh.
A bell chimed, notifying us that the royal family was about to enter the room.
Two finely dressed men opened the doors to the dining room, and a tall, slender woman walked through.
She was gorgeous, and I could not tear my eyes away from her.
She must be Queen Leyala. I had heard stories of her beauty, but they did not do her justice.
Long, straight brown hair flowed down her back as she gracefully crossed the room and stood in front of her chair.
Her face was void of any emotion, and her eyes stared blankly ahead towards the door.
Finally, the King entered the room, and her lips didn’t even twitch in recognition of his presence.
King Rozin was slightly taller than Queen Leyala and had a bulky stature.
His hair was a mix of salt and pepper, slicked neatly against his head.
His eyes scanned the room as he made his way to his chair; each intimidating step echoed off the walls.
The two of them made up the most powerful couple in Drycartha, and seeing them in person solidified the rumors.
Coldness radiated off them; not an ounce of warmth could be felt between them.
If awkward silence had a temperature, it was well below freezing in here.
I felt a slight nudge on my side as another servant girl had returned from the table and was motioning for me to go and fill their wine glasses.
I picked up the wine bottle, my hands trembling from either nerves or the pain of having metal spikes shoved into one of them, and made my way towards them.
I poured the King’s glass first, just like Jane and the endless amount of wine pouring classes I had at The Academy had taught me, and made my way to the Queen.
Holding my breath, I tried to calm my shaking hands.
I slowly poured, making sure not to spill a drop.
The queen, unbothered by me, glanced at the cup to see what was taking so long, when her eyes met with my bandaged hand.
She looked from my hand to my body, and finally, my face.
Her eyes were as grey as a stormy day, and her lips lifted into a snarl.
Shit. I immediately lowered my gaze, finished pouring her wine, and returned to my spot against the wall.
“I see we have a new servant in our midst. I thought we discussed keeping our standards high for the party?” She said, her voice was low, monotone, dead.
“We did, and I chose otherwise. Mrs. Prast requested at least one more since so many have left.” The King added extra emphasis on the last word, not bothering to look at her. “I told her I would only allow one new addition, and it was up to her what area she would like for them to serve in.”
The disapproval on the queen’s face could be seen from across the room; I was almost impressed that she could even move her face without thawing it first. The King raised his hand, signaling to the others to bring in dinner.
Copious amounts of food flowed into the room and filled the long table, more than enough to feed the King and Queen; it could probably feed a village, my village…
a hollow feeling opened inside me at the thought of some of the families there going without food tonight.
The smell was enchanting as it wafted over to me, carried on the wind blowing through the open windows.
My stomach rumbled in response, and I realized I had not eaten today.
I closed my eyes and willed it to stop making noise, just as I was nudged again by the other servant girl.
Time for a refill. I grabbed the bottle and approached the table.
The Queen was staring daggers at me, but I was able to keep my mouth shut.
I poured the wine into their glasses; at least my hands had stopped trembling, and I made a quick getaway back to my spot on the wall.
Not many people could intimidate me, but Queen Leyala? She sent shivers down my spine.
The King and Queen spent the rest of the meal in silence, and the atmosphere changed as soon as they left the room.
There was so much leftover food, and my stomach grumbled in response; I had to fight the urge to reach out and take some.
The other servants entered and began clearing the dishes and the remaining food from the table.
I grabbed the empty bottles of wine, and I followed the other servants back to the kitchen.
Instead of throwing the food away, they continued past the kitchen and set it on a small table in the common room for us.
I was famished and went to grab a piece of bread, but my hand was quickly slapped away.
I hissed at the impact and was instantly reminded why it was wrapped in a bandage.
Jane stood there, arms crossed. “You need to wait. The senior servants go first and so on. You’re last.” My stomach responded for me. “Too bad. You can wait.” And she walked away, shoving a bread roll into her mouth.
“Bitch.” I muttered under my breath, and she turned to look at me, but I smiled and waved, and she continued on her way.
I kept busy helping the other servants wash the dishes until it was finally my turn to eat.
When I got back to the table, there was hardly anything left, except for the piece of bread I had reached for earlier.
I grabbed it and devoured it, hoping it would fill my stomach until the next time food was available.
This wasn’t the first time I would go to bed hungry, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Mrs. Prast walked into the room. “What are you still doing up, girl?”
“I was waiting for my turn to eat,” I said back while swallowing the last bite of bread.
“Your turn? You can eat when the food hits the table. There is no designated order we eat in. We’re so busy that we eat when we can. Now off to bed, we have a busy day tomorrow.” She said, as my hatred for Jane grew.
“Yes, ma’am. Do you mind if I ask why tomorrow is busy?” I asked as I dusted the crumbs off the front of my dress.
“I’d advise you not to ask too many questions around here, but the Prince returns, and there is a party at night for his homecoming. Now, off to bed!” Her eyes were wide, eyebrows raised as she pointed at me with her long, weathered finger.
Curled up in my bed, I went over the mental notes I took of the day.
A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
My last morning at The Academy, I went to my new home, met the king and queen, and learned that Jane was a complete bitch.
I could already sense that she would try to make my life a living hell here, but I wouldn’t let that happen.
Exhaustion washed over me, and my eyelids became heavy.
My head was still throbbing, and I hoped that a good night's sleep would help it go away.
I continued going over the day until I drifted off to sleep.