For Kingdom's Sake

Chapter Two: Warm Like Cinnamon (Part 2)

Miss Clementine came to check on me at lunchtime and seemed pleased with my work.

"Well, you are certainly quicker than I expected."

She investigated the room I was exiting.

"More thorough also."

She gave me a curious look, making me shift uncomfortably.

"Okay Miss Fidelia," she began. "Pack up and go have some lunch in the staff dining room. You can finish the last rooms once you are done with lunch. It should not take you long from the looks of it. You will be free to do as you please afterwards. I expect you here at six o'clock again tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am."

I would have liked to just finish my work, but we had been warned about the importance of dining hours for staff in the program. If the kitchen staff had to cater to unpredictable times of workers it could throw out their preparation for the next meal for the nobles and royals in the castle, so they simply did not cater for staff who did not eat on time. You could make requests early in the day for a dry packed lunch if you were going to be out of the castle for lunch or you have a noble request additional food for you if you were running errands for them, but neither of those options should be used if possible. So I did as instructed, packing up and heading to lunch.

"Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about," Winnie told me sympathetically, sitting next to me at lunch. Costas must have been working through lunch as we had not yet seen him.

"I don't know what it is," I grimaced, stuffing a piece of dried fruit in my mouth. "I keep smelling it. It is so frustrating!"

Winnie laughed.

"It is just a smell. You'll work it out. And if you do not, let me repeat for you: it's just a smell."

I smiled at her, but it still bothered me.

With the ball for the King to choose a mate approaching, much of the talk in a dining room was focused on everyone's mates or lack of. People hoping their second chance mate treated them better than their first, others not wanting a second mate after their first died, people in bliss with their mate whether fated or chosen, and others like Winnie and myself, yet to find our mates.

While I, of course, wanted to meet my mate one day, it was rarely in the forefront of my mind. Once I had completed my travelling plans and was ready to settle down, then I would be happy to meet my mate. But first I wanted to see our kingdom. Maybe even some neighbouring kingdoms. I did not want to have to worry about whether my mate wanted to travel too or where he wanted to travel. Winnie and I had already made our plans together and I did not wish for a third person to change them. If either of us found our mate, they would just have to come along and not complain. It would just be easier without them.

It was a week before my section began filling with guests. A couple of maids were moved to my section to assist in bringing the nobles their meals, take care of their laundry, and whatever else they needed. Lady Phillipa came a week before the ball and I began attending to her. Apparently as the youngest of her sisters she received the least attention usually. The family's staff were often preoccupied with her brother, who would inherit their father's Duke title, or her elder sisters who were of marrying age.

She enjoyed having her hair done each morning and her outfits laid out, she made many requests, seeming to find novelty in the action. She was only fifteen, closing in on marrying age herself, but many of the nobles would wait until their children were 21 or even older before starting to entertain marriage proposals. Most wanted their children to have a chance of finding their fated mate. For commoners such as myself, it was not unusual to wait until you were thirty or even older to start seeking a marriage outside of the mate bond, though of course some did earlier. Lady Phillipa probably would have sought a marriage earlier if she had a say in it.

She was constantly talking about the boys she saw, the idea of being the King's mate - which she was much too young to be - or who she thought her fiance would be when her parents made the arrangements years from now. She was a romantic at heart, and a good person, she just did not seem to have much respect for the moon goddess' judgement.

During my free time, I had previously been spending it either finding the scent and trying to track it down or in the nearby forest, feeling the freedom of my wolf form. Whenever I looked for the scent I could not seem to find it though, or I would catch a whiff just as I ran out of time to follow it. Some days it seemed to be everywhere, others it was nowhere to be found.

Winnie still had no idea what I was talking about. She would tell me everything else she could smell, the people, the cleaning products used, nearby plants, but she could not isolate the scent I was drawn to. In complete fairness, her sense of smell was not as developed as mine, but usually if I was smelling something so strongly then she could identify it too. Not this time.

After Lady Phillipa took up temporary residence in my section though, I had very little free time. What free time I had, I mostly spent in my quarters looking at the maps I had of the kingdom for travelling. The castle was becoming more full by the day, and some of the visiting nobles would occasionally go hunting in the forest. After running errands for Lady Phillipa practically from dawn til dusk, I had no desire to be around any more people if it could be avoided.

The castle won't be like this all the time. After the ball they should begin to leave. I only have another week or so of this, then my workload will relax a little again.

It seemed like no time at all before we were on the eve of the ball.