Revelry and Fealty
By Saltwater Romance


Chapter Four


I groaned as the morning sun greeted me with its rays like a punch to the face. I just wanted to burrow further into these blankets. There was nothing more that I wanted to do than to just stay in my room. I sleepily opened an eye and grimaced. Last night, I had gone to bed with a small hope that maybe I would be able to wake up back in my shared apartment with Hotaru.

That hope was quashed. I guess I'll be stuck here in this land of heathens for a while longer; at least, until I can figure out a way out of this mess. But, without the scientific mind and logical deduction of my closest friend, I could feel my heart sinking. She was always the brains of the operation; I just followed my creativity. The chances of me being able to do anything kept lowering and lowering the more I thought about it.

No matter. I steeled my nerves. I'll figure out a way!

Then, thinking about the day before, the color from my face drained. I could already tell that when I wasn't dodging those weird attempts of possession from Natsume, I would be dodging death from the hands of Kokoro.

Now, I really wanted to stay in the safety of my room.

I snorted. Some safety.

If Kokoro really wanted to, he could come barging in like the night before and slay me.

I gritted my teeth in determination.

I wouldn't back down without a fight; I was no coward.

I deftly plaited my hair and tied it off with some small elastic band I found at the bottom of my purse. I dabbed on some of my concealer and put a few swipes of mascara on—the only makeup that I packed in case of touch ups before meeting Hotaru for drinks. If a girl was going to march to her death, she might as well feel pretty doing so.

I finally mustered the courage to leave the room.

Now, the only problem with fulfilling the duties of a chatelaine is finding out what exactly those duties were. I thought back to Yuu and his sweet offer to help. Man, if only I knew where to find him to ask for assistance. Smirking, I thought back to Kokoro's threat from yesterday; I'm just going to assume that going door to door looking for Yuu would look suspicious.

And between a pocket knife and a sword, the sword will always win unless I suddenly became a ninja overnight.

After wandering down the halls, I came across some of the maids who were cleaning. Well, that was better than aimlessly looking for someone who may or may not still be in the castle. Plus, I needed to take caution because Kokoro was on the prowl for my mistakes, no matter how insignificant. I could feel it in my bones. Taking a deep breath, I asked if they needed any help.

They shared a look of puzzlement amongst themselves before shrugging as if saying, 'Eh. What's the harm?' Amused, they showed me how to tie up my sleeves for the housework. Glad that I tied up my hair, I got down to the floor to start scrubbing it with a cloth. Ugh. To think that I used to think that mopping was a chore!

If I ever made it back, I would kiss my Swifter in gratitude.

Even though I was wishing that I was doing anything but this laborious task, I had to keep reminding myself that it was either this or be at the mercy of Natsume. I shuddered. It wasn't that he liked me or even lusted for me; I would know. It was more like I was a novelty doll that he wanted, but couldn't have. I didn't even want to begin to imagine what it would be like if I gave him a sense of proprietorship.

"What do you think you are doing?" a deep voice bellowed from down the hall. Footsteps hurried over to where I was working.

Yes, my dear evil stepmother? Should I not be cleaning the floor? My peace disturbed, I squinted up at my number one enemy with a scowl, "You have eyes. What do you think?"

"I think that you're doing it all wrong," he hauled me roughly to my feet.

"Excuse me?" I blinked and furrowed my brows in disdain. I meet Natsume wrong. I address them wrong. And now I was doing chores wrong? What kind of nitpicky son of a—

"You tied up your sleeves all wrong," he started to chastise me while adjusting my attire to his liking, "They look sloppy, and they're just drooping down. You're going to drag them all across the floor, and before you know it, you'll get wet and catch a cold."

He finished retying my sleeves with a flourish. He then removed the wet cloth from my grasp and shook it in front of my face, "And you're gripping this all wrong too. It's too tight! Your skin will chap."

Now, I was amazed.

I'm pretty sure that an alien had abducted him because this was not the Kokoro that I know. Expressing worry? About me? And about my hands? I had to walk away from him to gaze up at the sky.

"Don't you walk away from me!" he was by my side within seconds.

"Nothing," I murmured in wonderment.

"Nothing?"

"I can't see any gumdrops falling from the sky," I breathed out, staring at him wide-eyed, "I'm not dreaming."

"Of course you're not dreaming," he frowned, his liquid gold eyes peered into mine, worriedly, "Why would you even think that you were dreaming?"

"Because," I kept staring, "Because of all the things you could do, you're treating me like a human being. And not just that! You're… You're being nice!"

He rolled his eyes and dragged me back to my bucket, "I'll leave you to your work."

He tossed the rag, and it hit me square in the face. Ew.

Turning around to walk off, he paused mid step before gruffly threatening, "Don't try anything funny because I will hear about it. And I'll be the last face that you see."

I snorted.

Nope. Not an alien. That was 100 percent Kokoro Yome. He probably suffered from a mild case of multiple personality disorder.

I went back to finishing my task.

Hours had passed by the time I finished the corridor that I was assigned. Wiping my brow, I sighed in content. I finished it! The floor had gleamed and sparkled; I don't half-ass anything.

Running into one of the maids who directed me previously, she showed me where to leave the cleaning supplies and directed me to the kitchen. Yum. I could tell by the way that the cooks were rushing about that it was almost time to break for lunch. I went up to the one who looked most in charge and asked if they needed assistance.

That was how I found myself with a knife, cutting the vegetables julienne.

How I wished for a mandolin.

There were few recipes that I knew how to make by heart, but to be perfectly candid, Hotaru did most of the cooking when we made home cooked meals; I absolutely hated cutting vegetables by hand.

Sighing, I tried to get into the rhythm of slicing the food.

"What are you doing now?" that stupid voice inquired obnoxiously.

"I swear to God, I'm not afraid to put you in today's meal," I raised the knife, pointing it to him, "Don't you know better than to sneak up on someone with a knife?"

Ignoring me, he made the same stupid comment from before, "You're doing it all wrong."

Mockingly, I swept my arm towards the vegetables, "Please. Be my guest."

He took the knife from my hand.

Slowly, he demonstrated how to make even cuts and some tricks to make it go quicker. He made quick and efficient strokes into the vegetables. I hated to admit it, but he was decent in the kitchen.

"You got it?" he turned to me after his thorough instruction.

"Yeah."

"Ohhoho. Fancy seeing the Kokoro Yome in the kitchen," the head cook came from behind us with a wolfish smile, "I challenge you to a rematch!"

"Bring it," Kokoro's eyes crinkled up into a genuine smile. For some odd reason, at the sight of his sunny smile, I felt a bit lightheaded and my heart skipping a beat; I chalked it up to not having a proper meal in over 24 hours.

The staff crowded around the two men. Beside each of them was a pile of okra.

"Ready… Set…. Go!" the referee cried out, excitedly.

They both started to chop the green vegetable deftly, the blade moving so fast that it was a blur. It felt like I was watching the Food Network. Beads of sweat dotted Kokoro's brow as he concentrated. I heard feminine cheers urging Kokoro to victory, while the male staff egged on the head cook.

"You can't lose to that ladies' man! Show him your stuff!"

"Don't let us down, Chef!"

"Aaaaand!" the referee announced, cutting through the boisterous cheers, "What a close race! But Chef is the winner, defending his title! Who can't he beat?! Wooo! Chef! Chef! Chef! Chef!"

All around, the staff chanted 'Chef! Chef! Chef!'

The two men grinned and shook hands.

"Wow," Kokoro let out an appreciative whistle and wiped his brow, "Now I know why Natsume appointed you as the head chef. Great skills!"

"You're not too shabby," the chef grinned, "For a moment there, I was actually worried."

"Well," Kokoro gave him a light bow, "I leave the kitchen in your capable hands."

The chef saluted him and walked away to monitor another part of the kitchen. Before departing, Kokoro gave me another one of his infamous warnings with a low growl, "Remember. My eyes are everywhere."

I had to roll my eyes. Seriously? Didn't he ever get tired of all those lame threats?

Finishing my duty, I ended up having a wonderful lunch in the kitchen with the rest of the staff. Without the constant air of malice and threat—ahem, Natsume and co—I grudgingly came to like this time period. I spent the rest of my day hanging laundry outside with some of the girls and preparing the night's meal. I had come to enjoy the rambunctious personalities of the kitchen staff as we shared a meal together again.

Taking my hair down from the braid, I heard a knock at the door.

Kokoro appeared like a leech that I couldn't get rid of. I sighed. I wondered if this will become a nightly ritual; you know, where he barges into my room and starts threatening me verbally-and with the point of his sword. Because wouldn't that just be so fantastic?

Gruffly, "Here."

He thrust a beautifully ornamented container into my hands.

Hesitantly, I accepted the container and arched an eyebrow, "What is this?"

"Just open it."

"It better not be anthrax," I grumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Cautiously, I began to twist the top of the container. I glanced at him, and he remained rooted to his spot. Okay. Good. Then it definitely wasn't anthrax. Phew. It also ruled out a bomb because if it was, then he would've been sprinting out of here. I continued to take off the top and a sweet scent engulfed my senses. What is this?

As if hearing my thoughts, he explained, "Lotion. For your hands."

Suddenly recalling this morning's conversation…

'And you're gripping this all wrong too. It's too tight! Your skin will chap.'

"Oh," I screwed the top back on, "You didn't have to…"

"It's not a big deal. Just remember to use it, all right?"

Um. Okay.

"Thank you?"

"If you want to thank someone, thank Youichi. He made it," Kokoro brushed off what I said before mumbling, "I just had this one left over."

Youichi Hijiri makes medicine? Now that's interesting. And so is the fact that Kokoro just so happens to keep some extra handy.

"Well, good night," Kokoro abruptly announced.

And as always, as he was turning on his heel, he growled, "If you try anything funny or look suspicious, I will put an end to it all; I will end you."

He needed a cape because with a dramatic exit line like that? He was a standard villain from the comic books. Despite myself, I found myself smiling as I applied the lotion. I lifted my hands to my nose and took in a deep breath. Mmmm. Ginger.