|
|
Post by King Uther Pendragon on Nov 29, 2008 13:09:06 GMT
Smoky, hot and busy. The kitchens rarely stop working, producing delicious meals and feasts fit for, well... a king. |
|
|
|
Post by Lady Gillianne Auvray on Sept 28, 2009 18:05:04 GMT
It was Gillianne's first day as a maid in the Castle and she was already exhausted. After being given an extensive tour of the miriad of rooms, and the wide grounds, she had spent the morning cleaning beautiful rooms of the nobility, that were vacant. She rewashed clean sheets, polished unused silver and lifted the dust off all of the furniture to ensure it was in perfect condition should it need to be used at last minute. It all seemed very pointless.
Now she had returned a few hours after midday to the kitchen, to assist in the clearing up of the King and his Courts' luncheon plates. Gill was set to work scraping the remains into the bins, that were later taken out to feed the castle swine.
It was a repetitive task, but Gill enjoyed it, she was situated by a window and found the clatter of plates somewhat therapeutic as she stared out across the grounds immersed in her own thoughts. I wonder where I'll stay tonight she mused, scraping a half eaten chicken carcass into the bin.
|
|
|
|
Post by Henry Renold on Sept 30, 2009 13:56:22 GMT
Henry tiptoed to the kitchen door, listening out for footsteps or any other signs that someone was around. So far it had been fairly easy to sneak into the castle. He had used the servants door, and the few who had passed him had just assumed he was a stable hand.
Now he pressed his ear to the door, trying to determine whether there was anyone inside. He couldn't hear anything so carefully he pushed the door open and slid inside. Directly in front of him was a counter, piled high with plates and other crockery, and it blocked him from the rest of the room. He thanked God silently, he could hear now that someone was on the other side of that counter but luckily he was well hidden.
Although he only had access to a small part of the kitchen, there was plenty of food for him to help himself to, including several large vats of soup, used to feed the army on cold mornings like this one. He ladelled a large helping into a bowl he had taken from the counter and set it down while he grabbed as many apples as he could fit into his pockets and hands. That would do for now.
Heading back to the door, Henry couldn't help but feel satisfied with his treasures, but as he struggled to get the door open again, the apple in his hands went flying. Most just rolled harmlessly under the work surfaces, but one sailed straight into a towering pile of plates.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lady Gillianne Auvray on Sept 30, 2009 16:14:45 GMT
Gill stared dreamily out of the window watching the clouds drift by. She had been scraping the same plate for good few minutes now. Looking down, she pulled a face; the pewter dish had been scratched quite badly. Looking around in a comically shifty manner, she dropped the plate into the bin of rubbish, then leapt back to where she was standing, satisfied no one had seen her. Her first day and she was already destroying the King's best crockery!
As she walked towards the counter stacked high with dirty dishes, they suddenly all came toppling towards her with an almighty crashing sound. Gill had no time to move out of the way. As an impulsive reaction she yelped loudly, covering her face with her hands as the dishes and chalices smashed and clattered around her feet.
Wincing, she peeked through a gap in her fingers. An apple rolled to a stop by her foot. Silence.
"What the...!" she spoke out loud as she walked around the other side of the counter to the storeroom.
"You!?"
She directed the surprised question to the figure standing in the doorway. It was the man from the inn. She noted the food in his clutches. Correction: the thief from the inn. She heard the voices of the other servants and guards hurrying to the kitchens, evidently roused by the racket and her scream.
Reacting quickly she ran over to Henry and grabbed him, pulling him behind several large sacks of flour. She still owed him.
"Trust me." she mouthed, pressing him into a crouching position, then running back to her station at the sink just as the entourage of suspicious servants burst into the kitchen, demanding to know what was going on.
Gill smiled feebly, "I am so sorry! Err, it's my first day?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Henry Renold on Oct 2, 2009 19:31:04 GMT
Henry stood facing the door as everything behind him turned to chaos. As the tower of crockery crashed to the floor there was a piercing yell. Henry turned and watched as the figure in the kitchen was suddenly revealed. It was the girl he had met in the slums.
He stood with his back to the door now, mouth wide open in shock and he let the last few apples he had in his hands drop to the floor too.
"You!?" She asked increduously. He still couldnt speak.
The next thing he knew, she was dragging him behind some giant sacks of flour as the sound of footsteps started to get louder.
He suddenly realised what she was going to do and he cursed under his breath. She was going to take the blame and put her job in jeopardy for him. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. He had thought the girl was a noble until now, and it turned out she wasn't at all, but she was still higher up the foodchain than he was, so he wasn't about to become her best friend any time soon.
He sidled further behind the flour sacks as the footsteps finally reached the door. He was malnourished and breathed in all sorts of fumes from the tanneries and blacksmiths in the slums which left his lungs in a terrible state and his breathing was loud. He just hoped no one would hear.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lady Gillianne Auvray on Oct 3, 2009 23:01:19 GMT
Gill crouched down and picked up the plates as she received a harsh telling off by several kitchen hands. As she stacked the plates in the crook of her arm she couldn't help but throw a side glance to the storeroom; perhaps it was because she knew he was there, but she swore she could hear Henry breathing.
She rattled the plates as she carried them to the sink, and spoke unnecessarily loudly:
"Again, I'm so so sorry, I'll have these cleared up in no time- no, no it's fine, I'll do it by myself. I just suddenly felt light headed and dropped the lot!"
The last kitchen hand left the room, and no sooner had they gone, Gill stormed into storeroom where Henry was hidden.
Standing above him she demanded angrily: "Just what do you think you're doing?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Henry Renold on Oct 4, 2009 21:53:50 GMT
Henry stared blankly at the girl as she demanded to know what he was doing.
He couldn't have told you how many thieves and criminals he had fought in the slums in the last 5 years, nor how many times he himself had started a fight. But faced with this angry woman, he melted.
"I, uh" He stuttered going red. "I'm sorry, I was just-"
Then his emotions changed. Why should he tell her he was sorry for trying to keep himself alive. Couldnt she see the way his clothes hung off of him? He cursed and stood up, brushing the dust from his trousers.
"I dont need to answer to you." He glared as he spoke, hoping to give the girl a warning, although he wasnt convinced she would take it as one. "What i do is my business and i could have handled that situation on my own." He walked past her to the door and pulled it open.
"But thanks." He stepped outside and lent against the wall.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lady Gillianne Auvray on Oct 5, 2009 18:59:57 GMT
Gill watched him leave with an open mouth, surprised at the boys sudden changes in mood. He was so confusing. So, different. She walked to the door, not quite leaving the kitchen, and leant her head on the door frame watching him...
"So you could have handled that situation on your own, really?" her words weren't spoken harshly, but she inteneded them to have effect. "And how's that?" she didn't give him a chance to answer before continuing in a matter of fact way:
"You'd have fought your way through the kitchen staff? The palace guards? Me? Killing people? Just to escape with a handful of apples? They grow on trees for free y'know..."
She sighed, speaking softly now, "I could do with some help cleaning up in here." Her eyes finally left him as she turned back inside.
|
|
|
|
Post by Henry Renold on Oct 5, 2009 20:00:53 GMT
"I wouldn't have killed anyone..." He sighed, his voice barely a whisper. He didn't think she had even heard him.
He watched as she turned back into the kitchen and he was torn. Should he go now while he had the chance? Or should he do what nearly every part of him except his heart told him not to, and go help her clean up?
"Have you ever tried breaking into the royal orchard?" He said, marching back into the kitchen and grabbing a mop. The soup was still all over the floor and he began to clean it up with not a word more.
He tried to keep his gaze down, not wanting to catch her eye and feel ashamed at the way she looked at him. He just didn't know what to say.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lady Gillianne Auvray on Oct 6, 2009 0:01:01 GMT
Gill really hadn't expected the boy to follow her back inside. But she let the corners of her mouth tug into a smile as she saw him walk in and grab a mop. As they worked in silence for a while, Gill kept trying to catch his eye, engage him in conversation, but he remained firmly engaged in his work. Depositing a large stack of plates into the sink, Gill turned and leaned back where she was, eyeing Henry.
"I don't need to break into the Orchard..." she decided to answer his earlier rhetorical question for want of something to talk about. "...I have free access as a maid. I picked those apples you we're munching on earlier this morning. They were meant for Arthur's cider."
As she spoke, she walked over to him, and took the mop from his hands. Leaning on it, she asked:
"I have the rest of the afternoon off, we could go there now?"
She didn't know what made her say it... she didn't even know this boy's name! He was a thief. He'd almost made her lose her job! But he'd also saved her life. Gill couldn't tell whether it was the adrenaline from the earlier shock or not, but her heart was still hammering inside her chest.
|
|
|
|
Post by Henry Renold on Oct 6, 2009 19:57:49 GMT
"It's alright for some, " Henry muttered before looking up and meeting the girls eyes, she walked over and casually took the mop from his hands, leaning on it and staring at him. He took a few steps back, looking at the floor again and brushing his hands nervously against his sides.
He was suddenly aware of his moth-eaten tunic and threadbare slacks. It wasn't an attractive look, especially with the way they hung off of his thin frame, but why should he worry about impressing her? She would never understand his lifestyle or "work" even if she was a servant.
He shook the thoughts out of his head, he didn't like her. Hell, he didnt know her. He stood up straight and forced himself to look into her eyes.
"You want to go to the orchard? With me?" He wasn't quite sure if she meant so he could steal some fruit, or just for a walk, but he figured he would agree and see what happened.
"Sure. Lead the way" He said quietly, but with a slight increase in confidence. He was trying to be normal, but what was normal to a low?
|
|
