CHAPTER 10 - THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER
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"Avery, someone is calling you," Avery heard a deep masculine voice say. She rubbed her eyes and opened them to see Alex standing next to her bed and his face right next to hers. She felt his warm breath on her and then when she realised what he had said, quickly jumped up and head-butted Alex. Both fell and started to rub their heads and after laughed about it. Avery then heard the knock on her door and quickly grabbed Alex and threw him into her wardrobe putting a finger to her mouth before closing the door. She jumped back onto her bed and called for Henrietta to come in.
"You're awake Princess! Good, there's some breakfast for you downstairs. Now, go and wash up while I clean up in here," Henrietta said as she handed Avery a towel and headed out of the room quickly. Avery made sure that Henrietta was gone and then she jumped to the Enchanted box on her window-sill and quickly drank a bit of the antidote before putting it back and heading out the room.
Avery came back after bathing and saw that Henrietta was cleaning her room. Olivia came in and Avery gasped at her appearance. She was wearing a blue dress that had a plunging neck-line that showed off most of her cleavage. Henrietta's expression was just the same as Avery and both just stared at Olivia with surprise.
"What in heaven's name are you wearing?" Henrietta exclaimed and Avery saw that she was not impressed.
"What's wrong with it? It's the latest fashion. Everyone is wearing it," Olivia said like it wasn't a problem.
"No. Only immoral women wear dresses like that. You live in the castle, you cannot be seen like that by the queen or king, so go change!" Henrietta practically screamed at Olivia but Olivia crossed her arms and headed to the door.
"Well, mother just so you know. I'm not royalty. I'm a commoner, you're a commoner, everyone in this castle is a commoner except for the royal family and there's only three of them. So don't tell me I'm royalty because I'm pretty damn sure I'm not and neither are you. And you know what, I'm happy I'm not royalty because if I was, I wouldn't live my life to my freewill!" Olivia shouted back. She marched out of the room and Henrietta just stood there very dismayed. Avery had her back to the argument but heard it all. How could Olivia say something like that to her mother? And why was she dressing like an immoral woman? Avery knew it had something to do with the mystery man that was in her room last night so she knew she had to investigate.
"I'll go talk to her. Let me get you your clothes," Henrietta said rather quietly. Avery smiled and then remembered that Alex was in the wardrobe.
"No! I'll get them. You go talk to Olivia," Avery said quickly as she jumped in front of Henrietta. Henrietta looked at her with confusion and as she walked out of the room, Avery heard her say something to herself. Henrietta closed the door and Avery quickly turned around and opened the door. Alex fell out and landed on his back so Avery guessed he was leaning on the door. Avery laughed at him and took out a grey and silver dress. She also took out some grey shoes and placed her clothes on her bed. She went over to her vanity table and took out her pearl necklace and earrings and tiara. After everything was placed on her bed, she turned to face Alex again.
"Get back in there!" Avery said pointing to the wardrobe. Alex looked at the wardrobe again and reluctantly climbed back in. He closed the door after him and Avery quickly got dressed. She put on a little make-up and fixed her hair before she pulled Alex out of the wardrobe.
"Wow, Avery, you clean up well," Alex said still holding Avery's hand. Avery let it go and smiled at him. She opened her bedroom door and peeped out. No-one was there. She took Alex's hand and after closing the door behind her, she quickly took him to the kitchen. Avery had a sense of deja-vu as she was avoiding guards and maids like last night. Finally, they arrived at the kitchen and Avery stopped and looked at Alex.
"Okay, we're here. You remember the plan right? Just do what everyone else is doing and if someone tells you to do something, don't resist, just do it," Avery explained and Alex nodded with agreement. Avery pushed him into the kitchen and she hoped he wouldn't blow their cover. After taking a deep breath, Avery headed to the dining room and wished something fun were to happen to enlighten her second day as a prisoner...
***
Alex looked around the kitchen. There were cooks running around frantically with vegetables and others chopping them. There was meat hanging on hooks on the walls, a spit was rotating with some sort of animal on it but Alex couldn't tell as it had no head. He looked to his left and saw cages of chickens which he guessed produced the eggs so he sighed but then realised that they might also be used for meat making him gulp down. He looked to his right and saw a water basin, that was filled with dirty dishes. Alex looked straight ahead again and jumped back with surprise when he saw an old lady looking at him. She was around 50 and had grey hair as well as a mole above her upper lip. She was over-weight and her white apron wasn't very white anymore and had lots of different coloured spots and stains on. She had her hands on her hips and she looked quite irritated.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" She said in a strong French accent, Alex barely understood her. Alex tried to find his words and remembered what Avery had told him to say.
"My name's Alex Dufort and I'm new here," He said confidently as he could. The old lady eyed him over before she spoke again,
"Oh yeah, well what is a handsome chap like you working here for and who hired you?" She continued.
"I live in a village called St Benoit du Sault with my father who is a farmer, my mother who is a tailor and my two younger sisters, Annais and Amelie. When my father became ill, I had to go out and get a proper job. Aimeric hired me and he said I should start today. I, of course will need some place to rest at night but I was told by Aimeric that whoever is in charge will sort that out for me. I believe that it is you?" Alex said feeling confident. He knew he had added extra information but he had to sound realistic and not fake so he smiled at the lady.
"Yes, I am in charge. My name's Edith. I'm head-maid here. I didn't mean to pry its just you're a charming boy, I thought you'd be a guard to the princess or something. Oh well, let's see how good you are in the kitchen and then we'll see. There's a pile of dishes. Start washing. I'll check on you in a few minutes," Edith was pointing at the dirty dishes in the corner. Alex looked over at them before looking at her with a face of plead but she just raised her eyebrows and walked off. Alex reluctantly walked over to them and saw flies hovering the dishes. He sat down on the wooden stool and started to wash...
After a few hours of hard labour, Alex was tired. He had never worked so hard in his life. Even when he was working for Argon, it wasn't this tiring. But Alex knew there was much more to do here. He'd washed all the dishes and pleased Edith and then she told him to brush up the kitchen floor. That's all he'd done and he was exhausted. Alex walked back into the kitchen from taking a break and Edith came up to him. She handed him a brooch and a small bag of money. Alex looked confused and then she told him his task.
"I need you to go to the market and get me some fish. I've already spoken to the fishmonger and he said he'd have it ready, you have just got to go and get it. Now hurry boy!" Edith said pushing Alex out the door.
"Edith, how do you expect me to go to the market? I'm not walking, its too far and I'm already tired," Alex said stopping Edith. She stood staring at him and walked back into the kitchen uttering the words, 'chien paresseux'. Alex didn't know what it meant but he knew it was French and he knew it wasn't nice. Edith came back to him eventually and walked out into the courtyard and Alex didn't know if he should follow but he did. Edith arrived at the stables and opened the door to one of the horses. She was a beautiful brown colour and she had a lovely black mane and tail, Alex fell in love with her. In Enchanted, he was a horse fairy meaning he trained and looked after them. They just liked him and trusted him naturally and this horse sensed he was a nice person and nuzzled him.
"This is Belle, one of our fine horses. She will take you to the market and back but look after her, she's very old. But I guess she likes you anyway," Edith said as she walked away. Alex was left alone with Belle and she was amazing. She looked at him with chocolate brown eyes and Alex hugged her. He placed a saddle on her back and got some reins. Before he climbed onto her back her, he checked her hooves. She was fine and looked healthy so he jumped onto the saddle and he spoke to her,
"Take me to the market," He spoke softly into her ear and she obeyed. An advantage of being any animal fairy meant that they understood you when you spoke to them. Belle nodded her head slightly and trotted down to the gates. Upon seeing them, guards opened the gates for them to leave and they travelled down to the market.
***
Alex's eyes stayed wide in his face as he looked around him. He'd gotten off Belle and was now walking beside her and she obeyed his every command. The market place was so colourful and he loved it. It reminded him of Enchanted and he felt more and more home-sick as he realised every time he thought of Enchanted, which was always, It always reminded him of home.
Alex remembered why he came and walked over to the fish stall. It wasn't a pleasant smell and he didn't know if the fish was safe but he knew he had to buy it otherwise Edith would kill him. He looked around the stall with interest but a voice interrupted his thoughts,
"Bonjour Monsieur. What can I get you today?" Alex looked up and saw a small man standing opposite him on the other side of the stall. Alex showed the man his badge and he smiled before heading into a shop that was behind his stall. Alex pulled a face of disgust at how impolite that man was. He continued looking around the stall and then someone called him again or at least he thought it was him,
"Monsieur. I believe this I what you are after." Alex looked at the fishmonger and his mouth opened in surprise. The man was holding a fish, a fish that was the same length as the stall. The fishmonger and someone younger were holding it and Alex nodded in shock. Who was the castle feeding? All of France? The fishmonger and his assistance came around and passed the fish to Alex, who held it with disgust.
"There you go Monsieur. Now that will be 500 euros," The fishmonger said and Alex frowned at him and looking at the giant fish in his arms. Alex walked to Belle and strapped the fish in, to make sure it didn't fall, before whipping out several coins from the little pouch Edith gave him and handing them to the fishmonger, who counted them, and smiled approvingly. He reached under the stall and fished around for something before pulling out a few more coins. " our, change, Monsieur. Merci, et au revoir," The fishmonger said as he headed back to his stall and waved Alex off. Alex jumped onto the back of Belle and waved back at the fishmonger and said, "Thank you, good sir."
Alex rode off back down the market and he knew there was a look of confusion on the fishmonger's face but he didn't care. He had done his job and that's all that mattered. Now, maybe, Edith will mention him to the guards so he'll get a proper job but he'd have to wait and see.
***
"Oh cher seigneur, what happened to you?" Edith called to Alex. The journey back was not pleasant. Not only did Alex have a fish that kept on falling off the horse, but he got attacked by birds of all kinds and even some wildcats. Alex fought them off as much as he could but the fish had long gone. Arriving in the castle, he was covered in feathers and had scratch marks all over him as well as a potent smell of fish.
Alex took Belle back to the stable and knew he had to have a fish as being attacked is not a good excuse to why the fish has gone. Alex panicked knowing Edith would really kill him now. But then remembered, he was still a fairy so he still had his powers. He looked around first and made sure no-one was looking at him and he concentrated real hard of the fish that he had. After a few seconds, the same fish appeared and Alex was happy with the results. He picked it up and he headed to the castle kitchen through the door Edith had taken him from. Alex didn't realise he was still a mess and that he stunk of fish that had been left out in the sun. Edith ran to him and he smiled thinking she cared about him but she took the fish from him and walked inside with Alex standing there in astonishment. Everyone in the kitchen gasped out in horror and blocked their noses from the smell. Alex stood there, quite embarrassed.
"Please, go wash up immediately! But come back as you have to prepare the dinner for the princess and take it to her," Edith said pointing to the door to the washroom. Alex walked in ignoring all of the ladies that were talking about him and pulling faces.
After quickly washing up, Alex started to peel potatoes. He was bored now, not tired and he knew that if he said anything, Edith would lose her temper a bit more. He felt a shadow climb over him and he turned around slowly to see Edith standing there, looking at him but she had a smile on her face.
"Stop peeling. Follow me," Edith said as she helped Alex up. He followed her slowly but all around the women of the kitchen were talking about him again. Alex shook it off and just followed Edith out of the kitchen and into the stables. A young man was already there, he was quite young and he had short blond hair and green eyes.
"Alex, this is my son, Dennis. He works here in the stables as well as a horseman. I've spoken to Aimeric already and he says yes," Edith started talking but Alex wasn't following.
"Yes, to what?" Alex said curiously.
"Yes, to leaving the kitchen and becoming a horseman like Dennis. You'll both get on well. But before you start you need to take dinner to the princess and then you may rest till tomorrow where your work will start here" Edith said with a smile. She walked to the kitchen not before reminding Alex to come back for now. Alex was going to follow when Dennis stopped him.
"You must be the famous Alex? Mother was saying you get on with horses like me. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," Dennis said shaking Alex's hand. Alex smiled and nodded before turning on his heels and heading for the kitchen again. Alex smiled as he felt like he was a fairy again, back where he belonged but there was something about Dennis that made Alex's smile drop. He looked familiar but from where, he couldn't remember...
***
Avery was sitting on her windowsill looking out to the market. The day had dragged on really slowly and all she'd done was try on some dresses from the tailor, clean out her wardrobe and read more novels. Avery watched the sun set and she knew her dinner would be coming soon. Last night, Avery had dinner with her parents because they had requested it but this night, she was alone again. Avery sighed at the thought before returning to her book. A knock on the door made Avery turn her head suddenly and she put the book down, swooped down from the windowsill and fixed her appearance before opening the door. Alex was standing on the other side with a tray of food. It smelt delicious and before Alex could open his mouth, Avery took hold of his tunic and violently pulled him into her room. She closed the door behind her and locked it, because she knew she wouldn't be disturbed again, or at least she hoped. Avery took the tray from Alex and walked over to her sitting area. Alex sat with her as she ate her food. Avery looked at Alex and spoke,
"So, what did you do today and how did it go?" Avery asked and Alex looked at her with surprise and he let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"While you've been relaxing and enjoying the day, I've had to wash up dirty dishes with disgusting pests hovering all over me..."
"Well they were dirty..."
"I was talking about the kitchen staff." Avery's expression dropped when Alex spoke. "I was sent to the market on a magnificent horse to collect a fish that could of fed this world and my world. I was attacked by birds and wildcats and there was no fish left. So I remembered I still had magic in me, so I conjured up another one.."
"Wait, what? Alex, you can't do that! Its dangerous, this world is dangerous and we can't risk it. Using magic or having knowledge of magic makes you a witch or warlock, they'll burn you alive and anybody associated with you! Please, don't do it again, I can't lose you, we need each other!" Avery said with shock. Alex looked at her and smiled when her words finally hit him. Avery ushered for Alex to continue after he agreed he wouldn't do it again.
"I bathed in freezing cold water, peeled potatoes before being told I was being hired as a horseman which is a good thing because on Enchanted, I was a horse fairy, so horses love me naturally. I can talk to them and understand their feelings and they can do the same for me. I met Edith's son Dennis who works with the horses and he seems nice but I seem like I know him from somewhere. After that, I collected your dinner and now here I am," Alex said changing his tone and expressions as he spoke. Avery finished eating and took hold of her drink. She didn't drink it though because something that Alex had said made her stop and think.
"Did you say Edith and Dennis?" Avery was looking straight at Alex. He looked at her and nodded.
"Yeah, Edith is head in the kitchen and Dennis is a horseman, why?" Alex seemed curious.
"We don't have anybody in the castle called Edith and if we did, Luc is in charge of the kitchen staff and the guards, while Aimeric is in charge of all of them. And we don't have horsemen," Avery said getting up and walking to the window. Alex knew where she was going with this and stood up shocked,
"So wait, you're saying they're from outside the castle? How do you know?" Alex said looking over at Avery with frowned eye-brows.
Avery dropped the curtain she was peeking through,"I didn't say that, and I don't know that. But all I do know is that, I would be informed if there was a new horseman because those horses are mine. I'm saying that I think they're here for something, or someone. I also don't think they are of this world, but maybe yours, as Edith got you to do everything a guard should've done so it shows she knows who you are. And Dennis must know too. We, you have to be careful, but we need to know everything we can about them. They might be important in this mystery. Can you do that?" Avery said as she walked over to Alex and looked him straight in the eye. Alex looked back at her and felt tempted not to lean in, but he nodded in agreement and looked away from her.
"I start working in the stables tomorrow, I promise to find out everything I can and to not use magic," Alex said as he walked over to the sitting area. He picked up Avery's food tray and placed it outside her door. She smiled at his politeness.
Eventually night fell, and Avery was right when she said no-one would disturb her. Alex stayed in her room on the love seat and she climbed into bed. Both fell asleep thinking about their loves, for Avery, it was Dylan who had been lingering in her thoughts all day and for Alex it was Avery, who wouldn't leave his mind, despite his secret still lingering in his thoughts too...