Chapter 2
Arriving four minutes late from the beginning of supper, Elenna rushed into the house's kitchen door and wiped away the rocks that stuck to her dress. She put an apron on over her dress and said hurried hellos to her fellow cooks.
Piling platters and trays upon her arms, she gracefully glided into the dining hall where three women sat. Insibella shot daggers at Elenna as she arranged the feast around the much to large table. She set down the tray with three wine glasses that sloshed slightly with the movement.
While Elenna laid out the food, she wondered what Justin was doing. Butterflies flourished in her flabbergasted stomach and she looked at the turkey longingly. She realized that she hadn't eaten in ages.
The sound of ceramic breaking awoke her thoughts. Crystelle and Mellena were fighting over the salad again. Every night, they have to be tamed from their vegetarian diet.
"Cindergirl!" The commanding break in voice came from Insibella. "Pick the tray up! How many times must I tell you to divide the salad to three parts?"
"I don't know-," stuttered Elenna as she moved towards the shattered plate. "I'm sorry."
"Your apologizes are unacceptable. Crystelle and Mellena have very delicate skin. I can not have them scratched!" Insibella elegantly grabbed tongs and put a healthy portion of white meat on her plate. She followed the bird with spinach, garlic potatoes, and the sliced mangoes delivered from a strange farm in Central Asia.
Elenna remembered her last meal of a boiled egg and some mutton gristle. The small meal was quite a feast for a girl of her size and position of the house. Just looking at the table-fulls of delicacies made her nervous of her manners. She was terribly frightened that at any moment her facade would crack and she would lunge at the meal.
She twisted her plain dress around her hands as she waited to be summoned by the Duchess or the daughters.
Yes her father was the Duke of Beshte. The man that never seemed to break his hold on money and never seemed to break his heart full of good nature and philanthropist striving eyes. He saw everyone as equals and wanted them to know they were welcome in the large estate that was his home.
But upon the insistence of the King, my father married a royal cousin who had twins upon another marriage. The true nature of the woman was quite concealed until her husband died of a heart attack in his quarters late at night.
At once the frail girl was put to work and her daughters were presented to the court as the Duke's daughters and soon, Elenna faded into dust and dirt. The girl that once had been the sweetest of heart turned from relationships to a shy, delicate girl. The girl of 19 years had her red lips in a constant connected line and had her cheeks emotionless at all cost.
Her once well kept and neatly cut golden mane overgrown in a dull, old twine ribbon. Her once glowing eyes were faded with worry and saddness and her beautiful gowns have been worn and replaced by the sisters raiding her very own house.
"Elenna," The foul voice of Insibella shrieked as if the girl were a hundred miles away. The girl stepped forward slowly. "Tonight you must go pick up the parchment from the printers. I will send you the servant's carriage. If one wrinkle appears upon the sheets, you will have no meals for three days. You must also pick up the girl's receipt for the lace-."
"Lace?" Crystelle giggled as if the word was a joke. "What for, Mother?"
Insibella cleared her throat as if she had been waiting for her daughter to gain a mind. Then she looked from side to side as if she was waiting for an audience to silence. She stared at her daughters and at the walls. Then at Elenna.
"Go get started on the chores, Elenna." The stern woman dismissed her stepdaughter. Whatever it was, she obviously didn't want Elenna to know. Looking at her feet, she made her way into the kitchen but paused at the door to listen.
She heard mumbles and the chink of metal on the fine crystal glasses. Elenna cringed at the noise of her father's favorite glasses being struck. Then she heard a sentence that silenced the girls and Elenna herself. The prince is holding a ball to find his betrothed.
With a gasp, the girl moved from the door with wonderful dreams dancing in her head towards the door. The Prince is having a ball!
With a wild rush, she grabbed her dark blue shawl from the wooden box and ran out towards the blacksmith shed.