The kitchen was buzzing quietly with the sounds of boiling water and simmering soups, but it wasn’t yet clattering and roaring with the clamor caused by busy chefs trying to get dinner ready on time. Jahrra sighed sleepily, detecting the subtle flavors of fresh herbs and spices hanging in the warm air.
A few minutes later Mrs. Addie returned with two younger women, one skinny and sickly looking, the other tall and plump with smallish eyes. Both women looked worn down, but they had kind faces and managed to cheerfully lead Jahrra through one of the two doors near the gargantuan wash basin.
Jahrra stepped easily into the other room, realizing instantly that it was the living quarters for the house servants. She counted a dozen or so rows of beds with only curtains to give privacy, and just one large window on the far end of the room. Under the window there was an area with a tub for bathing and washing up. Jahrra stood grazing her eyes over the walls, floor and ceiling while the women hauled in hot water, soap, towels and spare clothes. Once the tub was filled, they left Jahrra to soak in the steaming, fragrant water.
“But my clothes, what’ll I do with them?” she asked sullenly before the servants left.
“Don’t worry lass, we’ll put ‘em to soak. Maybe they’ll be all well after all,” said the thin woman, smiling warmly.
After she was dry and bandaged, Jahrra returned to the kitchen to find Gieaun and Scede sitting below the great window next to the staircase leading up to the second floor. The window was recessed into the wall with a wide ledge, perfect for cooling an army of pies or providing a nice place to sit and take a break from kitchen work.
The window looked out over the creek and although it wasn’t constructed of the beautiful tiny, diamond-paned glass of the upper level of the house, it was still majestic in its simple design. The walls on either side of it were draped in garlands of holly, ivy, pine branches and mistletoe and trimmed with delicate gold ribbon. Jahrra smiled at the sight, grateful to be in this wonderful place and not upstairs.
Gieaun and Scede were sitting on cushions that someone had acquired for them and were now watching the creek run by. Once they caught sight of Jahrra, however, they immediately jumped up from their relaxed position and nearly crushed her lungs with their hugs.
Once settled, Jahrra informed them of what really happened at the top of the waterfall. Gieaun had to help her hold Scede back when he tried to march up the stairs in search of Eydeth.
“I’ll kill him!” he breathed.
Shortly after Jahrra assured her friends she would be fine, the young servant who’d helped her earlier came out of one of the rooms beside the basin carrying a bundle of blankets.
“I know they aren’t much, but with the fire from the ovens they should keep you warm.”
He grinned and dropped the bundle on top of them, causing them to laugh for the first time that day.
“Now,” he continued with a sly grin, “I’ve got to go check on the guests right now, but later I hope to see you three drinking cocoa and cream and listening to the tales and music of these fine people down here.”
He winked and left them just as the kitchen grew busy with life. There were many servants, young and old, men and women, of all shapes and sizes, but all Nesnan from the looks of it. There were five chefs and bakers, two men and three women, who prepared and cooked the food. The meat that had already been roasting when the three friends first arrived was now being removed from the spits and cut and placed on ornate dishes. Soups and stews were ladled out, fresh baked bread sliced and buttered, fruits and vegetables roasted and sugared. Puddings, pies and cakes were put into the ovens or arranged beautifully on plates.
The clanking and scuffling of utensils and feet upon the worn stone floor filled the air and blended with the hum of voices and the minute crackle of the oven fires. Jahrra’s mouth began watering as the aroma of roasting meat and vegetables, creamy soups and baking pastries spread throughout the room. She leaned into her soft pillow with a contented sigh and wrapped the thick quilt more tightly around her. Her leg was feeling much better now that she had soaked it in the hot water, and the steaming tea that one of the kitchen workers handed her was easing the pain in her head. The only discomfort the three friends felt was their growing hunger, made worse by the tantalizing aromas of the feast.
After several minutes, Jahrra’s rescuer returned from upstairs quite flustered, almost overlooking the three children he’d left on the windowsill.
“Oh, forgive me,” he said once he finally noticed them. “Some of those high society types can be quite frustrating. Sing and dance for them indeed!”
The children giggled into their blankets and the young man soon forgot the rude guests.
“I’m terribly sorry, I never introduced myself,” he said lightly once the children recovered from their amusement. “I’m called Lahnehn, and you three are?”
Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede introduced themselves in turn, shaking hands and smiling.
“Pleased to meet you all,” Lahnehn remarked. “Now, I can only assume that you’re growing quite hungry?”
They all nodded vigorously and Lahnehn invited them to join him in making a plate from the food on the tables. Along the way, he introduced them to the many servants and cooks, all of whom were delighted to have such young visitors in the kitchens. Once the four had their food they returned to the windowsill to watch the twilight sky turn inky blue. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede sat back onto their cushions and Lahnehn pulled up a stool.
“So, where do you three come from?” he asked as they began to eat their meal of roast turkey, herbed potatoes, wild berry casserole and spiced apple cider.
“We come from the Great Sloping Hill to the south, but we go to school in Aldehren,” Scede replied around a mouthful of stuffing.
“Ah, and this is how you became classmates of my young masters then?” Lahnehn commented with arched eyebrows, “How do you like school?”
“It’s horrible,” replied Jahrra truthfully. “I’d much rather learn all my lessons from Master Hroombra.”
“Master Hroombra? I’ve never heard of a teacher by that name.” Lahnehn stabbed at a few chunks of golden potatoes with his fork, and then turned his head back to Jahrra, waiting for her answer.
“He’s my guardian,” Jahrra replied, then added confidently, “he’s a great dragon who knows everything there is to know.”
Lahnehn looked up quickly, choking somewhat on his food. “A dragon? Here in the southern part of Oescienne? I’ve never seen such a thing!”
The look on his face was a mixture of delight and surprise.
“Do you travel south of the Raenyan Valley often?” Jahrra queried rather casually.
“Nay, once or twice a year I’ll travel into Aldehren or to the coast, but that’s as far as I go. I mainly stay here or visit Kiniahn Kroi.”
“Well,” interjected Jahrra rather pertly, “Master Hroombra rarely travels also. He can no longer fly and walks slowly, so he mainly stays at the Castle Guard Ruin where I live.”
Jahrra lost her gumption when she suddenly remembered why she was in the kitchen in the first place and not up in the main part of the house. She’d let Hroombra down, and her dread and guilt suddenly returned at the memory.
Lahnehn sensed a change in her demeanor and tried to continue the conversation casually. “You live with a dragon? That must be quite interesting. What’s he like?”
“He’s kind, and is patient with me when I make mistakes. He’ll not be happy with what I did today,” Jahrra answered sadly, suddenly uninterested in her dinner.