Bound to Survive (The Magic Within Book 1) by Sharon Gibbs

Author:Sharon Gibbs [Gibbs, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-01-25T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

The sweat trickled between Elle’s breasts as she scrubbed the pots in an old tub out back of the Chancellor’s manor. Her back ached as she scraped the thick scum from the bottom. The cook always left them to simmer on the fire at night as the soldiers came in late from their last patrol and expected a hot meal. No one in the kitchen would think to fill the pots to soak and the remainder of the food would cook until it hardened.

The sun shone through the clouds and warmed her back as she bent at her task. It made her work easier to bear when she thought of the warm days that were left. Winter would be here soon enough and Elle would have to wade through the snow to check the animals in the barn each morning, before she drew water from the well and lugged it back to the house to heat for the officers’ morning wash. If the well had frozen, she’d then have to shovel snow.

Elle didn’t mind the work for it provided food and a little money to help her father. Atlas, her father, could no longer work his trade as a stonemason, but he managed to find enough odd jobs around the town to make a meagre income. Her mother had died some fifteen years ago and when her brother Jack had come of age, he’d left and travelled north to join the army in Alberdez. Jack had hoped to provide money for his family, but also to learn how to fight. His dreams were to one day return and herd the invaders from the lands. It was really just a boy’s dream. No matter how good he was with a sword, one man couldn’t fight every soldier that now lived in their land.

Elle lugged the heavy pots back to the kitchen and she placed them over the fire to dry. It was also Elle’s job to feed the prisoner in the cellar and clean his quarters. She was only allowed to clean when necessary, but she changed his chamber pot every morning. Outside she’d dispose of the contents and scrub it thoroughly. Eventually she found a lid that she’d place over the pot when she removed it from the room. It helped to conceal the smell as she carried it outside, but it also enabled her to stow objects inside, a small amount of food or candles to light, as the room was always dark. The prisoner had been held in the cellar for as long as Elle could remember. Each time Elle entered the prisoner’s cell, she’d have to place the amulet that hung by the cell’s door around her neck to allow entry into the vault.

Elle had managed to gain a position in the kitchen when she was ten years old, as her family had needed the money. Elle had befriended the man who lived in the cellar not long after she’d arrived. She’d watched along with the town for many years as the prisoner was paraded on the first Sunday every month.

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