I walked in the corridor pushing the cart. Karl had told me to serve tea in the Earl's office. Beside me is Abelus, Earl's aide, who came with me to prepare it. I have been serving Lothar for a week and this could be the first time I see the Earl.
"I have settled the matter with Mister Gustave Ruperta yesterday." I could hear Lothar's voice speak from the door.
Abelus opened the oak door while I entered inside. "Good," the Earl replied.
I served Lothar's tea and Abelus served the Earl's. Afterward, I placed the cart aside and stood behind Lothar. I watched the Earl sip from his cup.
"Is this your new aide, Lothar?" As his foggy eyes stared, there was no atrocity or emotion but they were strangely oppressive.
Lothar puts the cup down, saying, "Yes, Father."
"If you are satisfied with her service, I have no complaints on that. However, this lass may cause ruckus in the house once time comes."
"I cannot see why such a thing would happen, Father."
"I said she might. The Emperor's frequent and sudden disposition is not something I can deduce, myself." Abelus pours his empty cup. "Anything and everything can happen."
"I understand."
"I heard Giselle is visiting again today. Do you not think of visiting her more often? It would be rude to King Ephraim if she keeps visiting here."
"The City Council is causing more problems every time you are away, Father. It gives me no time for any leisure and visitation."
"That should be something you can handle now. It will be harder once I gave you my title." The Earl paused to finish his tea in one go. "I will be leaving for the Emperor's Council on the 15th day before the Kalends. Do what you must to manage the house and the council. And, make sure to visit Giselle."
"I understand, Father." Lothar finished his tea and stood. "I shall take my leave, Father."
Unlike Lothar who is blonde, the Earl's hair was completely black. There was no sign of resemblance on Lothar's appearance from the Earl. Their gestures and expressions were the only similarities. And, it seemed Lothar does not love tea as much as the Earl does.
I followed Lothar and Karl behind pushing the cart while Abelus opened the door. "Lass, come back in the chamber with another tea and pastries," Karl looked at me and I nodded. I took the left corridor as I head back to the kitchen while they went the opposite way.
"Hey, how have you been?" Olivier abruptly appeared at my side. "I have not seen you since the first time we met." He opened the door of the kitchen and we entered. "You still do not talk, I see. The princess of Granid is visiting again, is she?" He rushes to the cook. "Pops, pastries for the princess."
"Oh, Olivier. I have finished the tarts and Milonia is doing the millefeuille cake." He saw me putting the cart and the tea set away. "The cake is about to finish. There is hot water already. Prepare the tea, lass."
I saw the woman in the kitchen placing flaky stuff on the plate and glazing chocolate on it. I went to get another set of cups with their saucers and glass pitcher. Afterward, I took the prepared camomiles putting them inside the pitcher, and poured the hot water.
As the cook took a couple of trays full of cookies out from the oven and placed them on the table, I took the cart back and placed the tea on it.
"Olivier, prepare the cookies. Put in separate plates the cookies with nuts and chocolates from the butter cookies." Olivier quickly followed the cook's words.
Milonia placed the tarts and the cake on the cart. "You are off to go, lass."
Emery and Petra emerged from the door. "Oh, Talia," Emery seemed surprised.
"Is that for Her Highness?" Petra asked. "I wish I could eat as much sweet stuff as she could and still do not get fat." She walked to Olivier and took one of the plates.
Emery followed her, laughing. "Keep dreaming. You cannot even eat them often for our salary are not enough to buy the ingredients."
"I know." Petra walked past me. "But, even though I would just ate a little more than I used to, my stomach gets more squishy."
"Why would you even bother about it when you are not dating anybody?" Emery raises her eyebrow.
"That is why. I am young, industrious, and pretty but no man is trying to take my hand."
"Enough chatter ladies and Her Ladyships are not waiting any longer than they are." Milonia shoos them away.
Emery left laughing uproariously while Petra followed her in frustration, saying, "Just because there is man giving you flowers every now and then, does not mean you have to laugh at me that way."
"Ignore those women and do what you are intended to, lass." Milonia starts to clean the table while Olivier disappeared somewhere.
I left the kitchen. Woman. When I become one will there be a need to find a man giving me flowers? Should I just buy myself some flowers, instead? Where should I put the flowers if he intends to give them to me twice a week? Would it be not a pity for flowers to be plucked and die only because a man wants to give them to a woman who would throw them away later? The plants would be mad about it, certainly.
I arrived in the chamber while Lothar is working and Karl standing beside him with papers. I placed the cart beside me and I stood, waiting. The ninth bell rang.
"Her Highness Giselle should be arriving soon, My Lordship," Karl reminds Lothar.
A few moments later, someone appeared from the door. We looked until the door closed. She curtseyed, saying, "Good day, My Lordship Lothar and Sir Karl."
"My, why have you come up here, Your Highness?" Karl put the papers on the table and rushed to meet Giselle. "You should have called a footman and we could have gone to the patio or in the gardens."
"It is fine, Sir Karl." She stood. "I have never been in Lothar's chambers in ages and it is better to talk indoors."
"If indoor is what you wanted, we could prepare the parlor right aw—"
Lothar standing near the couch cuts in and ushers Giselle to the couch. "Leave her be, Sir Karl. She wants to come here."
"I understand." Karl walked back to the desk while Giselle took a seat. "I do not see Lady Frederika with you, Your Highness."
"I came here with my coachman only."
As I pushed the cart, Lothar takes a seat across her. I served them tea followed by placing the tarts and the cake on the table with forks and plates.
"I did not come here for you, Lothar." Lothar's eyebrows raised while Karl's face was confused. "I am here to speak with Talia, you see. Go back to what you have been doing and do not bother."
Lothar squinted. "Should I?"
"You should."
He stood and went back to his desk with defeated expectations. Giselle looked at me and ushered me to sit across her. I took my seat. I never knew I would miss sitting on a couch.
"Take your share. I cannot finish all of these." She takes a small tart on her mouth. "Would you want your share, Lothar?"
"I cannot work as I eat so I will not." His face did not leave the papers on the table.
"Sir Karl?"
"I do not eat that much pastry, Your Highness."
I took one slice from the cake, gently placed it on the plate, and took a bite. This thingamabob cake is the most delicious food I have ever eaten.
"Why not? Are they not delicious?"
"They do but I cannot have too much. And, I am not hungry at this moment."
This might have tasted so delicious because this past week all I had most were plain bread. There are eggs in the mornings and meat seldom but that is all.
"I see. We shall finish these with no remorse, then." Giselle takes another tart on her mouth.
And, for a couple of weeks before arriving here, I only had a single plain bread from the merchant and a half plain bread stolen by a knight's wife.
"Men are men. And, there are tons of things they could never understand women." She is preaching all of a sudden. "You see, Talia," I looked at her, "men always get to do tons of things while women stay in their chambers, walk around a bit, and eat." She takes a tart followed by another. As soon as she swallowed them, she continued, "They always say we have it easy while they have it difficult. Do they know how much of a pain it is to watch the sun rise and set sitting on the same place?"
Karl and Lothar stared at her. She ignored them and takes another tart. Is this because of the blackberries in the tarts? I finished the slice and sips the tea.
"Where were you living in Thaedora before, Talia?" Her voice returned to how it was before she started preaching.
"A town called Ghurein in Ustav."
She frowned. "What sort of place is what I am asking?" Is it?
"I lived in my father's, a Baron, estate but I was told to stay in a tower and to never leave the borders around it."
Giselle's eyes sparkled. "You are a noble, then. You are even kept in a tower. Do you read stories?"
"I do."
"What sort of books do you read?"
How do you know what sort of book you read? "I have read several books in the shelves behind."
She frowned again and clicked her tongue. "How could you even understand those? You are even younger than I am." Giselle takes a slice from the cake and has a bite. "You know, I do not like books but I am told to read. In all the boredom I have, I have no choice but to read. Can we not also do what men can do?" She is back to her preaching. "We are all humans, are we?"
As I took a tart on my plate, I sliced it a bit and took a bite. How did Lothar handle her mouth? Not only she eats a lot but she also talks a lot.
"However, I read, only those simple ones." Giselle finishes the slice. "Have you read of the story wherein a girl is living in a tower? I bet you did not. Do you not think you resemble her? A witch had kept her in a tower with no doors and stairs. But the witch could get in and out of the tower through climbing her long blonde hair."
Even though I am only listening, that would definitely hurt your scalp. In what way does she even resemble me?
"One day, a prince, who had heard her sing and had seen her, came climbing her hair. They fell completely in love with each other. Romantic, is it? However, the witch found out that the prince came. She sent the girl into the desert where she bore twins while she blinded the prince." That is horrible. What part of that is romantic? That is just putting a spoonful of sugar in a pot of salt.
She continued her story. "Nevertheless, they met again. As the tears of the girl dropped on the prince's eyes, he could see again. They got married and lived in the castle happily." She paused. "The girl was traumatized of her experience in the desert. Wait, I do not know anymore if she resembles you. She got mentally ill and eaten by a giant while the prince marries another girl who is as white as snow. Forget it. She does not resemble you at all."
Giselle took a tart on her mouth and placed another slice on her plate. "Enough of stories. Can you still remember the woman with me the last time I visited here, Talia?" I nodded. "Even though she waits on me, she had the nerve to severely insist her ideas on me. Do you know how irritating she is? She always finds something wrong of what I do. I wonder what Father saw in her."
She glances at the men and looked at me. "Anything I have said today will stay in this room and on this moment, am I understood?" We all nodded. "I left that woman in the castle. I never told her I would be visiting here today. It was not easy to escape from her eyes, you know. Father, always believe what she says and not what I say. What is even good about her?"
Giselle continued to rant about being a woman and a princess until the next hour. I do not even know if I was actually listening to her or just pretending to. However, there is one thing I know, I do not remember everything she said. I wonder if Lothar's work is doing great with the noise. Are all adult women this much of a chatterbox?
After I lead Giselle to her rail coach, I went to take my lunch and ate it on my bed while I read. I was about to finish the book last night but I fell asleep. Afterward, I went back to Lothar's chamber bringing the book.
"I am returning this," I present the book to him.
He was sitting on the couch reading a paper. He looked and grabbed the book putting it on the table. "You can borrow a book every time you finish reading one, if you want. However, return them as how they appeared when you got them from the shelves." He continued to read.
I walked to the shelves searching for another book to read. As I got a book in my hands, Karl arrived seeing me with a book. He ran to me trying to touch the book. "What are you doing? Put the book back in the shelf. You are not allowed to take them." I embraced the book.
"I have told her to borrow, Sir Karl."
"But, My Lordship, she is a servant."
"Those are my books and she is permitted to borrow them."
"But, she is a child. She could never understand such books."
"She had finished The Changing Times, Sir Karl. I believe she used to read similar books before the war ended."
"I understand, My Lordship. Forgive me for my actions," Karl retreated and walked to Lothar.
As noisy as it was this morning, was as quiet as it was this afternoon. I placed the book on the table beside the door and stood waiting for another order and thing to do. Several moments later, the fourteenth bell rang.
We heard a couple of knocks and a man appeared bowing his head with a bowler in his hands. "Pardon me for disturbing you, My Lordship Lothar and Sir Karl." They looked at him. "Dame Henrietta Jarsdel have arrived. She is currently in the first parlor."
It was Euclio, the first footman, who I had met a couple of days ago when the Earl's daughters had visitors over going into the gardens.
Lothar stood giving the paper in his hand to Karl and Karl putting the paper on the desk. As they leave the chamber, I followed them behind. We walked in the corridor passing the foyer and entered the parlor after opening the door.
A strawberry blonde-headed woman was sipping the tea as we arrived. As she noticed us, she curtseyed. "Good day, My Lordship Lothar. Please do take a seat," she ushered him to the seat a yard across her seat.
Frederika goes back to her seat. She picks a board with paper on it and starts to sketch with her pencil. For the last two days, she had been coming over for the portrait. Karl invited her to paint a portrait of Lothar for he had his last portrait eight years ago.
I never had my portrait. Father never initiated it and I have never asked for one. However, I guess the rest of my family did have their portraits.
As the sixteenth bell rang, I took the tray with tea and cookies and we left the parlor. When passing the foyer, the Earl's daughters were about to leave with Emery and Aquila.
"Oh, Lothar. I thought you were back at the council. Well, I guess Father is around," the woman in a rosy frock giggled.
"Where are you off to at this hour?" Lothar asked.
"There is a ball at the Duke's estate tonight to celebrate his daughter's birthday, you see," the other woman beside Aquila answered.
"Oh, who is that obscene lass next to you?" Emery whispers into her ear. She laughed. "Are you trying to curse the house, Lothar?"
"I never did that."
"Yes, you are, Lothar. Look at that." She pointed to me. "I am not as smart and as diligent as you are however I definitely had read one of Mother's books about Thaedora." She looked self-satisfied. "Of course, I understood them. I understood that obscene little gizmo will bring misfortune to the house."
"Is that true, Ottilia?" the other woman gasped in disbelief. "Should we throw her away, then?"
"Indeed, Leonarda. Having her rummaging around the house will make us suffer. I have read it, you see." Ottilia returns to Lothar. "As of tomorrow, I expect you to do what you can to get rid of her. Send her away or what, Lothar."
"I will not."
"Oh," she frowned. "This wicked thing must have poisoned your thoughts. They use rituals and curses, Lothar. I am older than you are, you should follow my very word." It looked like she was emitting fumes out.
"Throw her out, Lothar," Leonarda seconds the motion.
Lothar ignored them and walked. "Do not ignore me, Lothar. Just because Father had chosen you, does not mean you should disrespect us who are older than you."
"I have never disrespected you, Ottilia and Leonarda. However, I cannot see why you should make a ruckus of me buying my aide only because of some culture and belief of a nation you never visited and which is now part of Leovia. She will continue to serve me until I wish to." Lothar continued his walk with Karl and me behind him.
"Someday, I will be able to convince Father at all cost and you will regret it without doubt," I heard Ottilia grumbling as we left the foyer.
Note:
*The story Giselle told to Talia was from Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm's (Brothers Grimm) Rapunzel and the after-story (after the marriage) is from the Into The Woods Broadway Musical Act 2 by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.