For Kingdom's Sake

Chapter Two: Warm Like Cinnamon (Part 1)

The next morning I put on the uniform I had grabbed a pile of for the week before bed, grabbed a slice of buttered bread from the kitchen to eat on my way, and made my way upstairs. I had left early to ensure I would not be late, just in case I lost my way, but luckily I had not trouble remembering where to go. After getting to my section early, I grabbed a bucket from the supply closet and took it downstairs to the well.

On my was back up, I paused at the base of the first flight of stairs. There was that smell again. I breathed it in deeply. It was warm, almost spicy, and kind of rich? I still could not work out what it could be from. It did not smell like anything I had ever smelled before. I looked in the direction the scent seemed to disappear. It was like it was calling to me.

I shook my head to refocus. I had a job to do, I could not just be chasing after strange scents. Miss Clementine was waiting at my section.

"Calling it a little close Miss Fidelia," she chastised. Her eyes went to the bucket in my hand. "What is that?"

"I arrived early so I thought I would bring a bucket of water ready to use for cleaning. My apologies for not getting back sooner."

Miss Clementine narrowed her eyes at me slightly. She held my gaze for a few seconds before nodding and turning away.

"Very well. As long as you are back here on time I shall allow it. I will be watching today to ensure your training is appropriately transferred."

We had been warned in the program that there would be next to no further training at the castle for our initial positions. It still felt a little daunting to be watched without instruction. What if I did something wrong?

I took a deep breath as I made my way to the supply closet again. I needed to start with dusting and cleaning higher surfaces before doing the floor to ensure any mess wiped onto the floors would be cleaned and not left there. I also needed to clean the halls before the rooms so that the halls were finished before most of the castle was up and about. That way I could work on the rooms while any occupants were already awake. I would need to start earlier if I needed to attend to a Lady so that the halls would be done in time for me to bring their breakfast, wake them, and prepare them for the day. I wasn unsure if anyone would be staying in the rooms for the upcoming ball. It seemed likely.

I grabbed a basket and filled it with a few cloths, a bottle of wood polish, some violet oil for cleaning other surfaces to tie in with the violets I had seen in the bouquets, a small pitcher, and a larger rag, retrieving a second bucket with my free hand. I moved back to the start of the hallway, grabbing the full bucket on my way through and made my way from table to table. Any wilting bouquets I placed in the rag and folded it closed over them to prevent petals from littering the floor. I emptied the water from each vase into the empty bucket and replaced it using the pitcher and full bucket. I then cleaned everything on the surface of the table before cleaning the table itself. The entire surface including the legs. In between the tables I dusted the portraits and other artworks hanging on the walls, along with the couple of statues. I took breaks from cleaning to empty the dirty water downstairs into a drain in the courtyard and refill the bucket of clean water.

The scent had faded from the bottom of the stairs and I simply had a quick whiff of it as I walked through. It was disappointing, but at least it was no longer as distracting as it had been. I could also smell the others who must be using the well water for cleaning different areas, but I did not see any of them.

After I finished the raised surfaces in the hall, I put the cleaning supplies to the side to use in the rooms and grabbed out a broom to sweep the floors. I made sure to move all of the tables as I went to ensure it was clean. Miss Clementine left part way through, telling me she would be back shortly after checking on some other areas. I gathered the dirt into a dustpan and took it down to the laundry where the was a large bucket for dirt or similar to be emptied into which would later be emptied outside. There were only a couple of maids in there yet. Most would be having breakfast, getting ready to get started.

"I had bruising for days after," one of them laughed. That seemed an odd thing to laugh about. "It went away though. Better than when he cheated on me and it was just always there."

"So much for the mate bond being sacred," another rolled her eyes as she worked on filling her basket with dirty laundry. I emptied my dustpan into the large bucket and left as the women picked up empty baskets next to their full ones. They appeared to be going the same way I was.

"He tried to tell me it must be something else too," the first woman continued. "Told me he would never cheat on his fated mate. It was bull s**t. It's not like I was getting beaten up, where else could it come from with the bruising like that? I am simply pleased that he had the pain of the rejection in the end."

"Did it hurt straight away?"

"Not until he accepted it. Then it kind of ripped through me. But it faded. I'll take it over ..."

Their voices faded as they turned off down a hallway. I could not imagine the emotional pain of finding your fated mate only to have them betray you. It sounded like torture. That was not to even touch on the physical pain. Betrayals of the mate bond caused severe abdominal pain. It was more severe depending on the severity of the betrayal. Having your mate reject you was the biggest betrayal, so caused the most pain, but there would be no more pain if you accepted it.

My head snapped up towards the atrium as I passed. The scent was back. I looked around like I was doing something wrong and quickly followed the scent into the garden. I just needed to know what it was coming from. The scent got stronger the closer I got, until I reached the only tree in the garden. Feeling ridiculous, I approached the tree and took a long sniff. It was not the tree.

"Damnit!" I looked around but I could not see anything else that the scent might be coming from. It was just hanging in the air. Whatever made the scent must have been here for a while, but no longer. I wanted to follow the scent, to see where it would lead me, but I knew I needed to return to work. I sighed in frustration and continued through the atrium, returning to my original route.