I wake early and wait for Maggie to come to get me to bake everything we prepped last night. I actually slept well for the first time in a long time, being in the kitchen, doing something productive, made me feel normal.
I hadn't realized how long each day felt until I was able to do something I truly enjoy for a few hours. I love and appreciate the piano but it's not the same.
"Are you awake?" Maggie whisper yells at my door.
A smile stretches across her face when she sees me.
"I'm so excited to eat these, I dreamed about them last night. Don't get me wrong, Linc is a fantastic cook but his baking skills could definitely use some improvement."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, Linc cooks everything we eat here. He didn't want to have a chef brought in..." she looks like she just spilled a secret she shouldn't have.
"He cooked everything we've been eating?"
I think back over the delicious meals that I've had since arriving here. Soups, stews, roasts, chops, fish courses, everything has been phenomenal. I can't believe he has been the one making everything.
"Yeah, he's always liked to cook, he missed his calling," she jokes but there is a seriousness in her eyes.
While the pastries bake I start on the frosting for the cinnamon rolls.
"Look, I'm not saying that I think it was maliciously done, I just think there was room for both of them on that door..."
"I agree with you," I try to explain again, "but they tried it and it flipped over."
"Only one try? That's it? You supposedly love this guy and you're only going to try to make room for him one time?"
I can't help but laugh, "I think they were exhausted and panicked from everything they just experienced. They weren't thinking rationally."
She opens her mouth to respond but her phone rings, effectively cutting her off. She gestures to the door off of the kitchen that leads to a small outdoor patio.
When she goes out to answer I chuckle at her passion for movies. From what I've gathered she's seen almost every movie ever made and has strong opinions about all of them.
The door to the kitchen swings open and I cower back. Fantastic.
"What are you doing here?"
His hair is pulled up on top of his head and there are circles under his eyes. He looks exhausted.
"I'm baking what we made last night. Maggie is just outside on the phone... I'm not wandering unsupervised." There is an unintentional bite to my tone. It must be my imagination but the corners of his lips twitch upward like he's fighting a smile.
"What are you making?"
The question surprises me. I thought he was going to yell at me.
"Cinnamon rolls and danishes," I gesture to the ovens.
"It smells good, where did you learn to bake?"
"I..." an unexpected lump forms in my throat, even though it's been a long time, talking about Mrs. Lovett still hurts. I clear my throat, "I learned when I was a kid, then I worked as a baker's apprentice at a patisserie."
"Do you want to go to the lake?" he asks and I drop the spoon I'm holding clumsily onto the counter.
"I'm sorry?" My heart pounds in my chest.
"Would you like to have access to the lake?" I realize he's not asking me to go with him, he's asking if I would like to go in general.
"Very much."
He nods his head for a moment before walking to the refrigerator, pulling out bacon and eggs.
"Stay on the south shore, the area right in front of your rooms, where the dock is, and you may go to the lake... unsupervised."
His voice is so rough like he's scolding me. I don't know what to make of him.
He starts to crack eggs, never looking at me.
"T-Thank you," I whisper as I mix the frosting.
We work quietly until Maggie comes back in, loud and boisterous. I try to watch them without being too obvious. Their care for one another is visible. He isn't necessarily warm or talkative but it's evident that she knows a different side of him.
He wordlessly takes his breakfast to his office and Maggie has phone conferences all day. I excitedly pull extra layers on, I'm going out to the lake!
The cold air nips at my face as I walk along the shore, being careful to stay on the side that I'm allowed to explore. There is a small, rickety dock that I use as my stopping place. I look down at the one-person rowboat tied up on the end. I've never been in a rowboat before but it doesn't look like it would be difficult.
I step down into it and sit on the small bench seat. There is a little bit of water on the floor but it seems sturdy enough. I untie it from the dock and start to try to figure out rowing.
I watch the shoreline, staying in front of my permitted area the whole time.
The view from the middle of the lake is completely different from the view on the shore. It's so calm and peaceful. I smile, completely content. I'm so lost in the beauty of the scenery that I don't notice the water at my feet has gotten slightly higher.
"Oh, oh no!"
I search the boat for the source of the leak. Water is seeping in through a crack below the seat. I can feel the freezing cold lapping at my ankles now.
I look around the lake, I'm smack-dab, dead center. Shit. Using the ores I start to frantically row toward the shore. There is no way the boat will make it but I can hopefully get myself closer.
My weight is making the boat fill faster, the back end tilting slightly. When the water reaches my knees I abandon ship, rolling into the arctic lake to swim back.
Sputtering and frozen, I reach the shore. My wet clothes practically drowning me as I stumble out of the water. The mossy rocks on the shoreline are so slick I have to crawl out.
Steadying myself I stand precariously on the slimy stones.
"What the hell are you doing?"
A yelp pulls from my lips as I lose my balance and slip, falling down into the water again.
When I look up I find the King, staring at me, baffled.
"Oh, I... swimming?"
His brows furrow as he looks past me, to the half sunken boat in the middle of the lake.
"Why would you take that boat?" I follow his gaze to another dock with three boats tied to it. My cheeks burn bright red, I hadn't seen those.
"She looked seaworthy..."
He snorts, "seaworthy? You really are incapable of following the rules aren't you. Rule, really," he corrects himself, "it's just one rule."
I look around and realize that in my panic I swam to the eastern shore of the lake instead of to my designated area.
"Shit..."
I pinch my eyes closed and wait for him to yell at me.
"You are, without a doubt, the worst house guest I've ever had," the light chuckle in his voice surprises me.
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