Thana had spoken too soon.
"Oh, how am I ever going to survive this then," Thana grumbles under her breath. Her eyebrows creased as she looked at Jade, unsure and uncomfortable.
Jade pulled her into an enclosed, dark room right before they could reach the end of the large wooden double doors with unique engravings and an expensive gold doorknob at the end of the hallway.
It turns out that the room they've barged in is where they kept the cleaning necessities and equipment when Thana stumbled upon a broom lying on the floor.
Jade deemed she needed to give Thana another set of reminders of what to do and not what to do. The sick feeling of anxiety got to her when she found Thana distracted about the slightest detail she found as soon as she was out of Madam Teresa's chambers.
"Remember, I will be doing your quick introduction. The others will be too occupied with their work to care. And you are not to speak to anyone. Your concern will only be toward getting your first task done."
"Goodness, you have reminded me ceaselessly," Thana rolls her eyes and folds her arms. She takes a deep breath, finding it difficult to breathe suitably in such a tight corset.
Restricted clothing was never her thing.
"Well, that's because you find following simple instructions a complexity. I told you to keep your head down and follow behind me quietly, and you decided to let your curiosity steer you," Jade lowers her voice, "to touch things you shouldn't touch."
Thana's eyes sparkled as she questioned, "were those made out of real gold?"
She speaks about every element she has seen while they walk through the quiet but seriously grandiose hallway. The palace did not hold back with the amount of gold.
The palace had some astounding architecture done in its interior. But the thing that caught Thana's attention was the tall golden statue of a knight that stood randomly on one of the empty walls. She could not help but touch it only for a few seconds until Jade pulled her away.
Other than that, there are golden engravings and borders on the plain white high walls. Running throughout the hallway are red carpeted floors. There are overly large arched-shaped windows that allow natural light to brighten the place.
Thana did not have the chance to see what was outside the tall windows, for she could not help but be amazed by how tremendously wealthy the kingdom could be.
Thana could only imagine how large the palace could be in reality. They had only gone through one long hallway on the first floor to reach the first kitchen, and it was already draining to have such a long walk from the chambers to the kitchen.
"Everything you've seen is authentic and is worth a king's ransom. We are not allowed to touch anything unless someone orders us to have them cleaned, but we don't do those work- we only do our job in the kitchen," Jade explains.
Thana's eyes widen, "exposed to these treasures every day- people here must keep their honesty close to their hearts."
Jade only grins, "honesty is the primary intellectual and civic virtue. Everyone is allowed to work here and go through a pledge to serve with honesty, resilience, and love for the kingdom."
"No one has ever tried to do anything funny to break their promise, except for one I know of, but I cannot be sure if it's true."
"What happened?" Thana curiously asks.
"One was blinded by sudden greed and tried to steal from one of the princes' chambers but got caught. He disappeared."
Thana gasps and Jade nods, "so do not do anything that would ruin Madam Teresa's name."
"Her kindness, integrity, and courage granted her respect among her companions and some attention from the royals. But that's a story you'll learn soon because we have to get going."
Folding her arms, Thana made a face of determination, "I won't mess it up, so you can relax now."
Jade studies Thana's face for the last time to see whether she has finally convinced her to keep her behavior under control. The small talk seemed to have eased and prepped her just fine.
She lets out a sigh of relief before nodding and bringing the both of them out of the enclosed space. They could now breathe properly again.
They find the double doors to the kitchen opened, revealing the busy gloriousness of the scullery.
Every step they took closer, Thana swallowed hard and adjusted her corset. She cursed on the incredibly uncomfortable attire in these olden times. But her mind went hazy to the delicious smell emitting from the kitchen.
About five people are working inside the spacious kitchen, three women and two men. The laborers are moving arduously from one place to another to grab ingredients, some are cleaning, and the men are by the fire, stirring on a large pot.
"Good day to you, Jade," one of the men stirring on the pot greets as he notices Jade and Thana walking in. He caught a glimpse of the new girl but waited patiently for an explanation.
"A pleasant morning to you, Jade. How nice of you to join us," a woman much older than Jade greets without looking at her as she occupied herself scrubbing the sink.
"It's a busy morning for the princes' lunchtime, and we need to prepare for tonight's feast," a girl about the same age as Thana replies, carrying a basket of fruits to the counter. She eyes Thana curiously but smiles.
Jade's smile drops, "right, the King and his daughter from Cidias will be visiting again tonight. I have almost forgotten. We must be careful since they're very picky eaters."
"You know how much they are in favor of wanting to create a match between Prince Maximillian and Princess Beatrice," a girl with brunette braids added.
"Which is a tough job since Prince Max is romantically uninterested," the older woman replied. And she finally glanced toward Jade and Thana by the door.
All attention was now on Jade and Thana, and the last man to speak up cleared the silent confusion and curiosity, "so who do we have here? New blood in this lively yet hectic kitchen."
Thana smirks at the innocently cute man with wavy black hair, puppy brown eyes, golden-skinned, and deep dimples when he smiles sweetly.
"Let's welcome you to the family, shall we?"
"We shall. I'm Thana Davis," she confidently answers, holding her hand in front of the handsome specimen. And he shook it willingly.