It didn't take long for me to remind Forrest that I would in fact carry out my threat from the other night if he did not let go of me.
"You're such a tease." He says but continues to walk with me.
We get shocking looks from the help as we walk by, passing small dorms with beds and small televisions. The kind I had at the foster home.
Once we approached the kitchen, I stopped.
"You are staying out here," I look over at him.
Forrest narrows his eyes "Do you have a reason?"
"Of course I do." I give him a bored look. "I have to ask questions, and the chefs won't be honest with me if you're there."
"What are you asking them about? A secret recipe?"
What was this, an interrogation? He was the one who wanted to come with me.
"I want to ask them how they make their food so good." I say in an overly sweet tone. "Also code for: None of your business." I say.
Prince Forrest glares down at me. "Who the hell ever gave you permission to talk to me like that?"
I roll my eyes. "I did. You're the one who wanted to be treated like a normal person. Stop whining and wait here," as I walk toward the swinging doors I glance over my shoulder and add, "And try not to touch anything."
I didn't look back to see his reaction and walked into the busy kitchen.
Chefs were running around, throwing various spices and chopped up foods into large bowls.
"Oi!" a chef said as he almost crashed into me. "What are you doing in here?" he glowers down at me.
"I'm looking for Lucy Leger," I say as the man narrows his eyes. "Why?"
"What's it to you?" I yell over the chaos.
He smirks. "I know you- You're Cordelia, the girl with no last name. Still here, huh?"
I raise an eyebrow. "Still going strong,"
He laughs at my comment. "She usually hangs out in the back. She likes to make the dough."
I smile at him. "Thanks."
I walk toward the back of the kitchen to find an older woman with long black hair and small strands of silver intertwined. She was folding dough over and over, a determined but light expression on her face.
Apparently her husband was the head of the guarding system here, and I frankly thought that was ridiculous. What happened to the guards being dedicated to their royalties? I guess she was an acceptation. After all, I'm pretty sure she came back to work after Hero got married to Everette.
I approach her slowly, giving her enough time to glance up from whatever she was doing.
Once I stood on the other side of the table she was working at, Lucy Leger looks up at me.
"Can I help you?" she asks, furrowing her brow.
"Yeah, um, I'm-"
"I know who you are." She says with a soft smile. "But that doesn't answer my question."
"I just need to ask you a few questions." I say honestly. "If you're willing."
Lucy Leger smiles. "Of course I am- only if you work and talk with me. I have a lot to get done, there are many young girls to feed in this palace."
I nod and rinse my hands before she pulls out another clump of dough and plops it in front of me. "I'm assuming you've done this before?" she says more like a fact, rather than a question.
"Yeah," I respond, because it's true. I'm not going to act like royalty when I was actually far from it. My time would come, but right now I was still the royal family's pity project.
"Alright, ask away." She says as we both work.
"This might sound like a weird question, but do you know anything about King Clarkson?"
Lucy stiffens at the name, and her molding becomes more violent. "Of course."
"As someone who comes from a foster home, I really could rarely get my hands on a book. I'm very far behind when it comes to the history of Illéa. I don't want to say something offensive or make a fool out of myself when it comes to the past. But what I do know is that King Clarkson wasn't all unicorns and rainbows."
Lucy clears her throat. "He certainly was not." she stays silent for a couple minutes, debating whether she would continue this conversation or not.
Surprising me, she continued. "King Clarkson was a cruel man." Lucy says. "But, he was also a fierce leader. I suppose Illéa needed that at the time, around when he first became king. But our world started to change," Lucy sighs sadly "And we needed a new type of ruler. I wasn't around as long as Gloria Renaldo, she would know more about him than I do."
I took a mental note of finding out exactly who Gloria Renaldo was.
Lucy then continued. "To me, he seemed almost bi-polar. No one notices the help, but the help almost knows everything that goes on around here. I knew King Clarkson was not always the cool collective man he was on television."
I stay silent, not daring to interrupt her.
"During King Maxon's selection, he very much despised America. And I know for a fact it was no coincidence when she was 'eliminated'." Lucy rolls her eyes. "He was a control freak and fearful dictator in my eyes. He wanted to keep the castes, and even enjoyed watching the lower class plead for their lives when it came to prisoners." She says in disgust.
Lucy then looks over at me. "That is all I really know. I hope that was of help to you, Cordelia."
I pull my hands away from the dough and wash my hands of the flower. "Yes, it was very helpful. Thank you so much, Lucy Le-"
"Lucy is just fine." She laughs. "Tell Elise she needs to visit me rather than that boy. I hardly see her anymore." Lucy laughs.
"Oh, um okay. I will." I say, a bit confused. I wasn't aware Lucy knew Elise. There are hundreds of hired maids in this palace.
"I'm her grandmother." Lucy explains. "I hope to see you around, Cordelia."
I give her a genuine smile. "I hope so too. And thanks again," I say as I walk toward the exit.
"Oh, and Cordelia?" Lucy calls out and I turn back to face her. "Yes?"
"I'm not exactly sure why you want to know so much about King Clarkson, but just be careful. No one likes when people release the skeletons hiding in their closet."
I nod, shocked she caught on to my lie. I guess I wasn't as good as I thought.
****
As I walked out of the kitchen, it was no surprise to see Forrest had a maid pressed up against the wall while he grinned down at her. Her face was flushed but she had a flirtatious gleam in her eye.
I rub my temples in frustration as I approach. "Dammit Forrest, I thought I told you not to touch anything."
The girl gasps, probably because of the way I just spoke to him.
"That is correct," he says, backing away from the girl. "But you don't tell me what to do."
"Well somebody needs to," I mutter as I walk past him, and I hear his footsteps as they quickly catch up to me. "What did you say?"
"I said you are absolutely charming," I smile sweetly and continue walking.
Apparently he didn't appreciate my attitude, because he grabs my wrist and spins me around so I'm looking at him.
"You do not talk back to me like that, Cordelia. Understand? I let it go the last few times because I felt I deserved it."
"You do." I glare at him. "You have no business flirting with maids and teasing them, while you have thirty two girls, and one of those thirty two are going to be your future wife. Instead of demanding respect from me, maybe you should show some respect to the woman you have staying in your home trying to win your heart."
"Careful, Cordelia." Forrest says in a dangerous tone.
I look down at his hand on my wrist. "I will do it while you're asleep and no one would expect it to be me." I say defiantly, referring to my earlier threat about cutting off his hands.
Forrest snaps his firm grip away like I burned him and glowers down at me. "I don't think you will." His lips then creep up into a mischievous smirk. "You want to know what I think, Cordelia?" he says as he slowly backs me up against a wall.
"Not really, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway." I say and look up at him.
"I think," His mouth hovers close to my lips. "That you actually love when I kiss you here," he says as his lips feel like feathers brushing my neck. "And here," he says in a lower voice as he places a hand on my lower back.
And I wasn't stopping him, because he was right. Well, not exactly. My body sure liked it, but I sure as hell didn't.
"Do you want to not be able to procreate?" I managed to bite out as he picked up his head to look down at me with an amused smirk.
"You were holed up in that foster home, surrounded by girls your entire life." he says, like he's thinking out loud. "Have you ever been touched by a man before, Cordelia? No first kiss? No first love? No first time-"
I shove him off me, hard. He's shocked by my sudden strength and stumbled back a little, but it's not enough to discourage him. His once amused smirk is now a full out grin.
"I knew you liked it." Forrest says it like he's won something. "Seems like I've found a weakness of yours, no?"
"I wouldn't be able to enter the selection if I already had sex you moron." I seethe.
"Oh please," Forrest laughs. "Do you really think Taylor is a virgin?"
I narrow my eyes and he continues to grin. "We ask if you're a virgin, but what's stopping you from lying? What proof do we have that you aren't?"
This made me wonder if all the rules that were stated to me had to be followed. Was there even a point in having rules? Over the centuries of Illéa things change. Shift. I had a feeling the rules around here weren't as stern as they used to be.
"And besides," Forrest says, adjusting his tie. "If she was a virgin, she isn't anymore." he gives me a dark look.
I feel my pent up anger toward him build up within me, and I all I wanted to do in that moment was punch that look right off his face. I didn't want him to be my backup plan. I was going through all this trouble to figure him out, but I don't want to anymore. I feel bad for the girl who ends up marrying this son of a bitch.
My reaction doesn't go unnoticed by Forrest as he continues to taunt me. "I wonder how sexy you would be, probably whimpering and sighing-"
My cold exterior returns as I no longer let him see a true emotion of mine. He's seen too much of the real me, and If I continue with this I will be sent home.
"You are wrong." I say firmly and he raises his eyebrows. "Oh really? About which part?"
"I don't have a weakness." I straighten my back. "And if I did, you aren't clever enough to figure it out. You're just a horny teenage boy who needs to grow the hell up." I snap and turn around swiftly, walking the opposite direction.
"Alright Cordelia, whatever you say."
And as I ascend the stairwell, almost positive I have gotten rid of him, I hear the distant voice of Forrest, "Whatever you say."