/ The young maiden held the child warmly in her arms, as if her arms were an impenetrable shield of love and care. The two of them had formed an unbreakable bond and an unlikely friendship.
'I promise to always protect you,' the maiden whispered in the girl's ear.
The child giggled softly, cuddling more into her arms. The maiden close her eyes with a sweet smile, kissed the girl's head, and rocked side to side, hoping to lull the girl to sleep. \\
Ginger frantically went back and forth between checking the pies in the oven, stirring the batter for potential brownies, frosting a cake, rolling the dough for gingerbread cookies, AND checking to see if the water was boiling so she could put the potatoes in!
Henry smirked watching her. He silently walked in and touched her shoulder making her jump in surprise. She looked at him, letting out a sigh, and placed a hand on her ever beating heart. "Henry, don't do that, especially near an open oven and hot stove," she kindly scolded.
"Sorry Ginger, but you really shouldn't overwork yourself. Don't you ever take a break?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" She raised her brow.
"You know what I mean," he smirked. "What do you do besides cook?"
Ginger blinked. What DID she do? It never occurred to her before. "Umm...lots of things."
The boy smiled knowingly, and even tilted his head for emphasis. "Like what?"
Her lip twitched, and her cheeks were growing really rosy. "...Things."
"Riiiight," he grinned, hoisting his backpack securely over his shoulder, heading upstairs.
Ginger stood there puzzling. SHe tried to think. There had to have been something she did besides cook. Let's see...eat...breath...blink...sleep...dream...well, it was a start, but that wasn't what Henry meant. He was referring to a word that was basically a foreign dish which nobody liked: 'Fun.'
She sighed, then gasped: The pies were burning!
/ 'Sorry, my Queen,' the maiden-chef said, waving away the smokescreen coming from the oven.
'Clumsy vermin,' the Queen snapped, 'don't let it happen again or it will mean your head!'
The ginger-haired maid lowered her head. 'Yes'm, I understand.'
The door slammed with a vengeance.
The girl knelt to the floor, picking up the charcoal remains of what used to be an apple pie.
'Vi,' came a still, small voice.
It was the child; knowing that brought a smile to her face. 'Hello little one,'
'Vi, I'm sorry for the way my mom acted,' she said, wrapping her arms around the woman's neck.
'Oh, sweetie, you don't have to be sorry.'
'But I do.'
'Shhh, dear. It's fine. I can handle whatever your mother dishes out,' Violet reassured.
'But Vi, all mother is going to do is work you to death, or find a reason to cut off your head.' The girl grasped Violet's shoulders, looking at her seriously. 'Vi, you've gota chance to do something with your life. Have fun for once. You can do something other than cook.'
Violet stroked the girl's cheek with the back of her hand as gently as a feather. 'Honey, I have fun when I cook.'
'But you could do so much more.'
'Little one, my place is here with you. I'm not just the cook, I'm your protector; your caretaker; your best friend. I will never leave you.' \\