The Last Flame

Chapter 2

Usually only the Royal Advisor would come down to the kitchen to check on things, and by check on things I actually meant that he would beat me within an inch of my life. He was probably the worst out of all of them when it came to doing cruel things to me. The entire kitchen staff just played pranks on me or threw a punch here and there. But the Royal Advisor didn't even bother to hide his distaste for me. This time though he came down looking very nervous with a pretty, young lady walking behind him. I immediately recognized her as the princess. She was wearing men's clothes that were completely black and hung loosely on her frame, making her appear bigger and scarier. The scars that I could see on her visible skin only made her appear even scarier. Everyone else in the kitchen suddenly seemed to be more focused on their work. She really had an interesting effect on people whenever she walked into a room. Just like back in the dining room with those two knights.

"Well here you go your highness, this is the kitchen. Now, shall I escort you back to your quarters?" the Royal Advisor suggested almost too forcefully. What was the Princess doing down here in the kitchen anyway? None of the royal family ever came down here, not unless someone had done something inexcusable. I've heard a rumor from the kitchen staff that the Princess herself carries out most of the punishments and executions since her mother's murder. Some people say that she has a taste for blood and others say that she is trying to make sure that no evil being goes unpunished, and that no innocents are harmed in the process of justice. Although it appeared that most people believed the first one.

"No, I would like to meet the people who work for me," she replied in a tone that left no room for any other arguments. The look that she gave the Royal Advisor made doubly sure of that. I barely noticed the Chef glance hatefully at me before returning his attention to the Princess. I knew that he hated me the most but would he really plan to do something to me with the Princess in his presence? I was pretty sure that they didn't want me to ever be seen by the Princess but I was sure that the Princess had already seen me since I was standing on a dangerously old stool doing the dishes in a large water basin. I wasn't tall enough to be able to reach the sinks myself. I was short for a 10 year old boy which was just another thing that I was made fun of for. I also still hadn't told him about what had happened yesterday, and I wasn't really planning on telling him.

I hated doing the dishes or being near large containers of water especially if the water was cold, because sometimes the kitchen staff would push me into the water and hold me under. The water already burns my skin just by touching it, I didn't need people trying to drown me in it too. Right now as I was washing these dishes I had blisters and painful rashes breaking out all over my skin where the water had touched me. Everyone else was very nervous as the Princess walked around the room with a critical eye and perhaps I should've been nervous too. But I didn't bother to pause in my work, knowing that it would only get me into more trouble. I grabbed a couple dry plates and began to walk towards the back of the kitchen to the cupboard where the dishes were kept, as the Princess was introduced to the rest of the kitchen staff. I felt a weird pang in my chest when I realized that the princess hadn't even glanced at me once.

I felt someone shove me in the back as I made my way to the dish cupboard and I fell forward, dropping all of the plates that I been carrying. The plates shattered and shards of porcelain hit me in the face, and cut into my hands as I tried to stop myself from going head first into the shards and the ground. I had thought that I was getting off way too easy today. I probably should've seen this coming. I just hope that the chef didn't hear the dishes break. But the sudden silence in the room told me that he probably did.

"What have you done now you little rodent!?" I heard the Chef yell from behind me. I turned to see him stomping towards me. I scrambled backwards through the shards of porcelain, cutting up my hands and feet even more. I knew what was coming next and I was already starting to panic. The same thing that had happened to Gero last night was about to happen to me. I closed my eyes and braced for impact as the Chef went to swing at me. I waited, but the blow didn't come. Cautiously, I opened my eyes to see what could've been taking him so long to hit me. I saw that the Princess was standing right in front of me, her wings of legend were now in full view. It's said that she could decapitate an entire army of soldiers with her wings at full length. She wasn't wearing the man shirt anymore, instead she had on a special, much more feminine shirt that allowed for the addition of her wings. They were beautiful and dangerous just like she appeared to be.