I'm No Cinderella

Chapter 17

A few of the cooks began to gather their things, but Maria, to her credit, held her ground a moment longer, "Dinner hasn't been prepared yet."

The princess waved her off, "Then leave instructions if you must, and go."

Hesitant, I met Evelina's gaze, "They'll be paid for a full day of work." I didn't phrase it as a question.

Her smirk widened to a grin, "You learn quickly." She shrugged, regarding Maria as she scribbled down her instructions on a piece of paper, "Their pay will not be docked."

With that, the few remaining cooks gathered their things and disappeared through another servants corridor behind a panel in the far wall. Instead of focusing on the fact that I was the only human left in the room, I studied the nearly invisible seam where the door was. Just how many of those have I passed daily and not known they were there?

As the door closed behind Maria, Evelina snatched up the instructions the poor woman had just finished writing and looked them over. She somehow managed to make a snort sound dainty as she ripped the paper down the middle.

A strangled sound escaped from my throat. I lurched forward, but the damage had already been done. She continued tearing at the page until nothing was left of the paper but tiny ribbons.

She gave a trilling laugh, "Don't look so upset, Rose. I thought you knew how to cook?"

Near the door, Matteo shifted uncomfortably. "Ev," he said. It might have been meant as a warning, but his tone was more of a plea. Her gaze never left my face, as if he hadn't spoken at all.

"Well, I do," I answered her, wringing my hands together, "but I've never cooked anything– uh– palace appropriate."

Her brow arched as she considered it. "I've never had peasant food before. It should be interesting, at the very least."

I tried not to look offended.

I looked around at the ingredients that the cooks had managed to prep before being dismissed, trying to formulate a plan. "There's nothing made yet for your snack, but if you're willing to wait about an hour, I know a recipe for bread that doesn't require kneading."

She turned to her sister, but the little princess wasn't looking at her.

Sienna turned her doll-like features to me, "You can make bread?" Something about the childish innocence in her voice made me think of my own sister, Daisy, though they were nothing alike.

"Yes," I hesitated, "would you like me to teach you how?"

There was a heavy silence for a beat, before the little princess nodded her head.

I tried not to stiffen as she approached. Sure, she looked harmless, but how much raw strength was she hiding behind that sweet disposition? "The first step of cooking anything is to wash your hands," I told her uncertainly.

I let out a quiet breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding when she turned to do as I said without argument, then blushed as I realized the entire room had likely heard it.

Finding the remaining ingredients in the countless cupboards proved to be a much more tedious task than I had anticipated. But, by the time I had hunted it all down, the shaking in my fingers had subsided enough to not be noticeable. At least, I hoped that was the case.

Together, Sienna and I managed to make the dough without any incident. Evelina had gravitated toward us at some point during the process, though she kept quiet. Those cunning eyes were on me like a weight, but I pretended I couldn't feel them for fear of what would come next.