Chapter ten Louis spies Kate
Kate was fast asleep in her big bed, in her nightgown dreaming about the farm and her guardians. She could smell the farm air as she slept, and could feel the sun coming down on her skin. As she tossed and turned, a little maid woman opened her door and tip toed in towards her bed. She came up to where her head was, and tapped on her shoulder. It took a second for her to wake, but when she did, she didn't expect to see a total stranger standing over her. "Ah!" She cried, covering herself with her blankets. The maid replied frantically to calm her. "My dear, my dear, please do not yell, the king has sent me to wake you for breakfast." Kate rubbed her eyes, and slowly processed what was said to her. Then she looked at her window and saw the sun had barely come up. "But, what time is it?" She asked, trying to adjust her eyes to the bright lamp lights. "It is five," the maid replied, pulling the covers off of Kate. "Five? Why does he eat at five?" She asked. "Usually, the king likes to eat at nine, but today, he wanted to have a nice private meal with you in his breakfast room." The maid replied. "Breakfast room?" Asked Kate with an eyebrow raised. "Yes, he has a dining room for dinner, a breakfast room for breakfast and a lunch room for lunch." The maid replied, while giving Kate a robe to put on.
She took the robe, and instead of putting it on, she placed it over herself as a coverlet to sleep more. The maid saw her and scurried back over quickly. She yanked the robe off of her finding her fast asleep again. "My dear," she said softly, "please awaken and prepare to meet the king, for you must be dressed and ready for breakfast." Kate's eyes fluttered open again, able to see the maid yanking the robe off of her, and reaching down for her hand. She pulled her up and made her stand to her feet. She barely kept herself from stumbling. Once she got her balance and was more awake, she noticed the maid in her armoire yanking out all her clothing. She gasped and began to say frantically, "hey! What re you doing to my clothing!" "You cannot wear farmer girl clothing at breakfast, let alone in the castle. I have provided you with the proper type of clothing dear, that you must from now on." The maid replied, throwing her clothing into a huge pile. "They will be taken to a place for disposal, look in the armoire for the new dresses I have for you, and be sure to pick out the proper outfit. The maid shut the armoire doors, and hurried out the door with Kate's old clothing in her hands.
She slowly walked over to the armoire, and opened the doors. The dresses she saw where very fancy, and finely detailed, and had beautiful qualities. But there was one problem with them, they where way to big! The dresses she was used to wearing where the ones made for working, those with the short skirts, and had a little bit more of the style she liked. Fancy ball gown like dresses are far to heavy to wear everyday, especially during the hot Summer months. But the king cared more about the look of a woman, than how comfortable it would be for her, or any of the women who served him in his kingdom. She gazed intently at the dresses unable to select one appropriate for breakfast. She had no idea what would be acceptable, and what wouldn't be. "I don't know," she said aloud. A knock was heard at the door, and it was one of the three maids the king sent to help her bathe and dress. "Miss, are you ready to be washed and dressed?" She cried through the closed door. "Yes, let me grab a dress to wear," she quickly replied. She stared at the dresses for another second, and selected a red dress with gold trimmings.
It wasn't as thick as the other dresses, which was a good thing since it was early Spring, and it had some nice golden detailing to it making it look very elegant at the same time. "I guess this is good enough," she pulled it off the hanger, and hurried out the door to prepare for her first day as a royal assistant.
The maids didn't make her bath very comfortable. They made her bathe in colder water that morning, and she had to use some bad soap that gave her a rash on her back. Overall, the experience was horrible for her! Even the farm had some warmer water since they took care to warm it a bit. Hotter water is better to bathe in than cold for more than one reason. One, it was more comfortable, and two, the hotter water helps to wash away harmful germs and bacteria much better than cold water. The maids helped her to dress, and really admired her choice of style for her first day as a royal assistant to the king. They got her hair fixed in it's usual way, except they placed a crown like head piece on her hair. It laid on her hair not really pointing up like a regular crown, it was almost like draping a necklace on your head and having the jewel hanging down on your forehead. She loved the way they got her set for the day, but it was gonna be impossible and uncomfortable for that matter, to get around to do anything. As she gazed at herself in the big mirror, she said to the maid that was helping her get into some hard to strap shoes on in a concerned tone, "do I have to wear things like this all the time?" "But of course dear!" She replied. "You must be in royal uniform all day to please the king, it is a palace you know. Whether you are royal or not, you must dress to show respect for where you are and who you are."
Kate looked at herself in the mirror, and had a hard time seeing herself through all that glamor. Sure, she could see her face and knew it was her, but she couldn't SEE herself anymore. The woman she knew wasn't someone who wore dresses all day and had maids do things for her. This was going to be harder for her to get used to than she thought. "I suppose, I'll just have to adjust," she said softly, almost sadly. "That's more like it now," the maid replied with a smile. "Now, come with me, and I will take you to breakfast." She took Kate by the hand and hurried her out the door.
The king sat still in his breakfast room awaiting Kate to arrive. He was wearing his best robes and garments for her arrival. The door opened and in came the maid and Kate. His eyes sparkled seeing her in the dress he had hoped she would wear. His eyes where than focused on her face. The beautiful headpiece, her make up like a royal matriarch, and her hair flowing down in curls and twists. He almost caught himself drooling. He got up and walked over to greet her. He took her hand in his and kissed it softly on the top of it. She couldn't help but feel nervous and have the sensation of panicking butterflies in her stomach. His mischievous eyes and looked up at her's as he stood back up. They didn't leave her gaze for a moment. "My dear," he said softly. "You look like a queen, did you dress yourself this morning?" She gulped and tried to keep herself from blushing. "I did," she replied quickly. He could tell she was nervous, and that's what he wanted. He stuck a hand out as a gesture for her to take it. She took it and he led her back to the big overfilled table.
What she saw made her gasp in horror. The table was filled with so much food, it would take hours upon hours to finish it, not to mention an army to assist them. There was far to much there for one person, or two, there was enough there for at least thirty dinner guests: There was three different kinds of bread rolls, mashed potato's, three different kinds of pasta, leg of lamb, four different kinds of salad, five different kinds of soup, there was even a whole roasted pig!
"My goodness," was all she could put into words. Nothing she had ever seen before. It was no wonder Paris was starving, the king not only withheld food from the nation for himself, he also wasted it! So much of it could have been given to the starving people. The amount he kept was enough to last the villages three days without having to go out and buy more!
As she stared at the table, the king assumed she was amazed at the meal he had prepared for her, so he went over and pulled her chair out. "Please sit, for we have much to discuss my lady." He said, making a gesture with his hand to sit down. She went over to the table and sat down. She was on one end and he was on the other. The servers came in and began to serve them their food. As they filled her plate (well, plates) with food, she felt sick to her stomach. "I can't eat this food! It all belongs to the people! I'm no better than him if I do!" She thought. This compelled her even more to get him to change. No doubt, she was gonna start working on him today. The servers finished and the king ordered them to leave, along with the guards he had standing by. Once alone, the king grinned and said softly, "does this impress you my dear? For it has all been done for you," Her eyes widened as she replied, "this, entire meal,... was made for me?" The king nodded. "Yes, and I know you will like the many flavors you have probably have never been able to try. Please, eat with me and let us talk." She looked down at her plate and saw that it was full of almost everything they had at the table. Her heart said no, but her stomach protested. She hadn't eatin' in two days. She skipped dinner last night and went straight to bed, knowing she could wait until morning, but she wasn't expecting this to happen.
She saw the king was watching her and awaiting for her to take the first bite. He may have been handsome and charming since she had gotten there, but she knew how mean and some times violent he was if things didn't go his way, she feared what he might do if she didn't eat, for he knew she hadn't eatin' all night. Out of fear, she figured she better eat and keep herself alive and well, so she could fight for Paris. She placed her fork over some of the pasta and ate it. What guilt she felt! It was not only withheld food that made thousands of people die and suffer, it was also... Delicious! "Oh my gosh this is amazing!" She thought. Her facial expression was enough to tell the king she was very surprised and happy. "Well, I see you like the special cheese pasta, it is my favorite as well my dear," he said softly. His voice echoed throughout the room, making it sound so smooth and cool. You wouldn't ever know he was a cruel and heartless man from the way he spoke. She stopped eating and took a moment to reply, "Sire, it is very good, but I must bring up something to you, you might find that it will help you to get a wife." His ears where opened by this. He himself stopped eating and made sure to pay attention to her. "And what might that be my dear?" He asked. "Well," she began to say choosing her words carefully. "I know you enjoy these amazing dishes to dine on in your palace, and no doubt a royal queen would also, but, women are very attracted to men who know how to get things done." The king was fascinated by her words. 'Get the job done', how? Any number of things could be the answer.
She could see he was trying to figure out what she was saying to him. "What do you mean my dear?" He asked. "I am saying this my lord, women who wish to be taken by a man, want one who can do a job well and make sure all is taken care of." She paused a moment to carefully think about her next chosen word, then continued with her discourse. "What I know I like, is a man who loves to help others and also love them. I think some changes need to be done in order for you to obtain a queen." The king thought hard for a moment about what she had just said, then he replied in a much louder tone, "are you saying, that I must change the way I run the kingdom?" She gulped more air down, and prepared herself to run for the door if he got angry with her. "Yes, I am." She replied boldly. She waited for his reply, and instead of the yelling and complaining she expected, she got a much more unusual answer from him. "My dear lady, I am willing to make these changes if it helps, please do not hold back what the first change should be, and I will consider a new way rule in it's place." "What?" She thought. "He did not just tell me it was okay, that's unheard of!"
She cleared her throat, and began to explain to him what she felt needed to change. "Sire, the first thing I think needs to be helped immediately, is the fresh food supply for the kingdom. The people are rioting because you haven't given them food that is edible. I know this because I used to be one of those people before you came and took me from my home. I know what a struggle it is to feed a large family, I also came from one, we have to wait months for our crops to grow, and even then we must sell it to you by law." "So, you want me to give them fresher food?" Asked the king with an eyebrow raised. "Yes," she replied bluntly. He stared at her for a moment thinking to himself for a moment. She was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with the way he was staring at her, she was wondering what he was thinking ti himself. "I'm dead," she thought, with fear brewing up inside. He clapped his hands together and replied, "well my dear, you sure have some strong opinions for your age, I am glad to see how concerned you are for the kingdom, almost the concern a queen would have. Let me think about how to arrange different policies if this is something that you feel needs to change." No words could explain how amazed she was at hearing that. "Really?" She replied. "Of course, why don't we eat up, and after we are done, why don't I show you the garden. It has many beautiful flowers growing in it." She smiled and replied with more joy, "alright, let's eat!" The guilt of eating the food left her after he had said he would arrange new orders for the kingdom. They both sat and ate happily together until they where both stuffed full.