Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale by Kristen Niedfeldt

Author:Kristen Niedfeldt [Niedfeldt, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-07-14T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“I’m afraid I can’t pay you anything for your help, but here’s an old glass jar you can fill each day with scraps of food for you to take home for your supper,” Albert’s wife, Hilda, instructed after she had shown Liesel the layout of the castle’s great kitchen the next morning.

Liesel cupped the empty jar and peered inside. Surprisingly, she found that she was actually more excited about this compensation than she would have been about any alternative monetary payment. After a week of eating stale bread and raw vegetables, her mouth watered at the mere thought of something soft and cooked. She inhaled a deep breath, smelling the rich aromas that were wafting about the kitchen. Palace food. How she had missed such smells!

“Liesel, are you listening to me?” Hilda beckoned, snapping her fingers in front of her.

“I’m sorry, yes,” Liesel replied, tucking the small jar away in one of the front pockets of her apron.

“Then let’s have you start working in this room over here. You’ll be washing all of the supper plates. They’ve been put away for a long time in the lower corridors of the castle, so they’ll need a good cleaning.”

Liesel followed Hilda into the small, stone room, and gazed at the towers of plates lining the perimeter. “How many plates are there?” she asked in awe.

“A few have broken over time, so I’m not sure. But at one time, we had over two thousand.”

Liesel eyed the piles of plates with trepidation. Where does one even start with such a task? At least she had two weeks, she reminded herself. She would need it.

“Just let me know when you are all done, and I’ll have the servants fetch the spoons and goblets,” Hilda added.

Liesel gulped. Her hands would surely fall off from so much scrubbing.

“Well, if you don’t have any more questions for me, then I’ll be returning to my own work,” Hilda stated as she turned to go back into the kitchen.

“Actually, I do have one question for you,” Liesel said stepping forward, bringing Hilda’s steps to a halt. When the old woman turned to look at her again, Liesel cleared her throat and then timidly asked, “Do the … Do any of the royal family members ever venture into the kitchen?”

“Into the kitchen?” Hilda repeated, as if she hadn’t heard correctly. She then laughed. “Why, wouldn’t that be quite the thing! Royalty in the kitchen …” She shook her head and then commented, “What a strange land you must have come from.”

Liesel smiled, albeit a little sheepishly, to conceal her blush. She almost wished she hadn’t asked, but she had needed to know.

After recovering from the initial disappointment of her changed plans the night before, she had been consumed with dread when she realized that if she helped Albert’s wife, she would be working in the kitchens of the Thrushbeard King. How she prayed she would never have to cross paths with him or any of his bearded sons!

At least now she could take solace in the fact that the probability of that occurring was highly unlikely.

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