5 A Curious Kitchen Maid

However, unlike most of the men who had been in the seedy house, Lucas actually knew the man. Nordveka had been around for as long as anyone could remember. The last of the magicians or so the story went. The outlawing of open magic in Aerithor had happened long before either he or Malcolm had been born. Malcolm Corrad the Third, their dad hadn't cared less about the magician. Malcolm IV on the other hand had recruited him as part of his cabinet; to consult on magical affairs. That had been the official reason. Lucas knew his brother didn't give a hoot about magic. He just wanted to care for the old man. Give him a place and make him feel important. So what was the magician looking him up for? He had never spoken to the man before and he frankly did not care much for him. Maybe Malcolm had sent him here with a message. But Nordveka was not there with a message from Malcolm. When they were comfortably ensconced in a private room with good strong wine, the magician spoke his piece. "I have watched you for a while, Lucas Corrad." He said. "I see ambition in your eyes. I see it in your aura." Lucas had said nothing, just watched him. "Your brother I fear no longer has my approval to become king." The magician had continued. "He does not respect me. Therefore, I'm going to see to it that he is removed." Lucas still said nothing but his mind was whirring. He had to give it to the magician though. The confidence was mind-blowing. "What you speak of is treason Nordveka. I hope you're aware of that." "Well, you have two options." The magician said easily. "You can have me arrested and I will be hanged earliest tomorrow morning." He took a long swing on his wine and cleared his throat noisily before continuing. "Or you can stop doubting and work with me. I'll have you on the throne of Aerithor before 12 months run out." And that was how it had started. Of course it might have been a trap from his brother. But Lucas Corrad only lived and breathed for a chance like this. He took the chance. Maxwell Sorrentino only lived for one thing these days. Ensuring Helena delivered safely and then getting all of them in one piece out of Aerithor. It was going to be risky; that was for sure. Some might even call him foolish, drunk in love, doing crazy things for a woman that could be argued was no longer his. But any time he thought to contemplate the craziness of what he was attempting to do, he would remember that night, the night Helena had come down to see him. The night she had first told him she wanted them to run away. He would remember her soft voice. "Take me away from here Sorrentino." He could not fail her. He would not fail her. One night, several months after, while on patrol duty, he fell to thinking as he was wont to do these days. Helena had simply fascinated the king for a while. He would get tired of her after a while and move on to other escapades. Had the man not said it himself, it was merely a game to him. A rush of adrenaline. A chance to dress up in disguise and sneak undetected across his own castle to random innocent lasses. He thought of the poor queen. She had borne Malcolm Corrad four strong sons. But she had been discarded or so he was told. Anyway, with the king always prowling around looking for fresh blood that he had no intention of making a harem of, the facts spoke for themselves. The queen was no longer entertaining enough. So if the queen could be discarded, who was Helena? The last time he had managed to get some alone time with Helena, she had told him the number of visits had already dwindled. Sorrentino did not know for sure because he had not been called upon as a chaperone but the King was no doubt already ensuring the welfare of more young maidens. With any luck, no one might even notice they were gone. He got up and wandered down to the kitchens for an early morning snack. He just had to try. For the sake of Helena. It was better than the inevitable: condemned to a life of solitude as the king's concubine. The kitchen was almost deserted. It had to be that small interval when one shift replaced another. The people on the new shift were probably having some extra snoozes. Sorrentino smiled to himself. There would be hell to pay for later if they didn't turn up soon. He looked around for any food lying around that he could snag and that was when he saw a young woman snoozing while standing at one of the tables. She had been dicing apples before she dozed off. The knife was still in her hands even. Sorrentino approached her amused. He gently tugged the knife from her hands with one hand and sampled an apple piece with the other. "Why don't you just go to bed lady? Your shift should have ended by now." But she suddenly started and began to speak in a low furious voice. "What's the problem with you castle guards? Always butting in on someone's work. Why can't you just wait for me to bring it to you? Just once a week. That's all we need. Once in a goddamn week. Is that too much?" Sorrentino stared at her, taken aback. But before he could say anything, the woman slumped against the table breathing softly. Sorrentino shook his head. She was fast asleep. The next shift spilled in at that point and someone led her off to their quarters. Sorrentino meanwhile was perplexed. What was that statement all about? The woman had been sleep-talking, that was for sure. Very likely, she would not even remember any of what she had said. But still, Sorrentino was intrigued. Sleep talking or no, she had addressed him as a guard butting in on her work. She had addressed the situation. And what was all that about needing to bring the guards food once a week? He recalled the words. 'That's all we need.' She had said. Who was we? He shook his head trying to clear it as he walked back to resume his shift. Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe it was just the ramblings of a sleepy woman. But his gut was telling him otherwise. And Maxwell Sorrentino always liked to trust his gut. The next morning, Sorrentino got up to news rippling through the ranks of the castle guards. Some kitchen maid had come to announce that they didn't need to come down to the kitchens for food anymore because it would be brought to them. One fellow rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Well, about time someone recognised our efforts in this place, I'll say." "What maid said this?" Sorrentino asked a man beside him. "I don't know man. Maybe she'll come up here again and then you can see the kindhearted angel." Sorrentino looked around slowly to see if anyone was even a little bit suspicious. Nothing. They welcomed the idea. Perhaps he too would have had it not been for the little episode just a few hours ago. He walked around, face scrunched and tapping at his forehead. What could be happening? When breakfast was brought up, it was none other than the snoozing maid he had encountered the night before. He made sure to put himself about but the woman hardly blinked. Not even after he had caught her eye several times. She clearly did not remember him.