"My lady!" Yelled the Mrs. Clair, she could barely hold the weight of the young lady.
Theodor came running hearing his wife screams for help. They both carried the young lady to the room, so she could rest. They both thought she collapsed due to hunger. Mrs. Clair was sobbing feeling guilty as she gave the soup away to the children and her lady didn't have anything to eat since yesterday.
"She is burning up we need to get some water, the young lady may have came down with a fever. We need the doctor. " They didn't know what to do they couldn't leave the lady alone in the room to fetch the doctor and the water.
Mrs. Clair heard the kids playing outside, quickly open the window and screamed for them to go get the doctor as quickly as possible, she ordered her husband to go get water.
Theodor left in hurry and the children all run into town. She stayed by the lady side cleaning the sweat from the lady forehead.
Theodor quickly return with a basin with water, they use the water to wipe her, thinking that would bring the fever down.
The town was not big and was close by so the kids came back very quickly, rushing an old man and young lad to the house.
*
"She will be fine with some rest, her body temperature went down already, with a nice meal and rest she will be able to be healthy again." The doctor said as he looked to Mrs. Clair and sensed the guilt in her face, he understood, it was hard times noone in town had it easy, and food was already so scarce that everyone of his patients he could count on his fingers which ones weren't suffering from malnutrition.
"I will prepare a soup for the lady". Mrs. Clair got up and went down to the kitchen, as she was moving the pots from one side to the other, her feet bumped against the full bucket, at that moment it burst and alot of potatoes came rolling out, she was speechless, she rubbed her eyes thinking she was starting to hallucinate some potatoes.
She screamed for Theodor at top of her lungs. "Come down quickly" she said holding her heart.
Theodor came down saw her state and grabbed her thinking she was having an heart attack.
"Are you okay my dear? You look pale."
" Can you please look at the floor, do you see over there." She said pointing in the direction of the bucket cracked open on the floor.
"Oh my ... What is that..I have I actually finally gone mad with hunger? Are those... Potatoes?" As he said it, Mrs. Clair started to tear up, she was not hallucinating she was actually seing potatoes, it was food, alot of food she couldn't believe.'Did the young lady over worked herself, but how?' She couldn't understand... She shook any other thoughts of her head and started off collecting the potatoes from the floor. " I am going to make potatoes soup, no some potatoes puree, no I will make ..." She said grabbing all the potatoes that she could carry with tears in her eyes.
Theodor could see how happy his wife was and couldn't hold back his tears, they finally had something to feed the lady that has been working very hard.
As soon as she finished Mrs. Clair brought the potatoe soup and baked potatoes upstairs, the fragant smell of the food called the attention of the kids who still lingered near of the house. The doctor who was now talking to Alana, that was already awake, after smelling the delicious fragance of the food, he felt his stomach revolt, growling for food. He felt embarrassed, but Alana acted fast and asked for Theodor to prepare the table for everyone down stairs. The doctor wanted to refuse, but Alana reminded him, she couldn't pay him any other way.
*
After a while the table was set the food was prepared and everyone, the doctor , the young lad and some of the kids who stayed after bringing the doctor over, sat on table in the dinning hall. Theodor and Mrs. Clair made sure they would be prepared to serve the guest. They refused in spite of the insistence from Alana to sit with them.
They were finally performing their duties as their masters servants and they were happy to do it.
The kids, were happy eating the baked potatoes, they didn't care if it was very hot. They little legs were bouncing under the table of happiness.
"My lady, how come you have so much food? I thought the house was like the rest of the town ransacked by the bandits. " Asked the young apprentice.
"Eustace that's not ..." Exclaimed the doctor very upset by is young apprentice question.
"That's alright, is quite simple I had 3 potatoes that I brought from home and I planted and they have grown." Said Alana very direct and simply.
They all looked at her like she was crazy even the kids though that the young lady was either lying or gone insane. They all burst out laughing like she had said some kind of a joke.
"My lady excuse our insolence, we wish not mock you, but grow potatoes in the frozen Lands?? That's just impossible..."
"And yet you are eating it" she smiled gently.
"I mean... my lady, in these lands nothing has grown since long ago, except for mushrooms, and very special kind of mushrooms. "
" Well I guess I got lucky then." She smiled again.
The room was silent, was she actually growing potatoes somewhere in the house??
They all ate in silence wondering what was the young lady hiding.
Mrs. Clair brought the rest of the potatoes that remained after everyone ate. What she didn't know is that one of the little kids hat take one extra baked potatoe and had hidden under his clothes.
He wanted to bring some food to his sick sister back home.
After everyone left it was starting to get dark, Alana, was looking at rest of the potatoes that had been collected by Mrs Clair. She was wondering how she would explain this phenomenon to Mr Theodor and Mrs Clair, they haven't asked for explanation but wouldn't be long until they start questioning her or start suspecting of her methods.
The first light of the morning hadn't appeared when Alana woke up with some knocking noises and some noises downstairs. She wasn't a heavy sleeper but the noise outside of the room made her very alert, she lift her body against her will and went to the door. She instinctively picked up her bow, and opened the door, Mrs. Clair was still wearing her night gown and was standing outside of her door.
"What's all this noise?"
"My lady I am sorry to disturb you at this hour but something is happening.. the people of the town they've..." She was following the lady that was rushing downstairs to see what was all the noise about. Theodor was holding young man.
As Alana came close she started to recognise the person that was being held back by Theodor.
" I recognise you, you where here yesterday with the doctor."
"Yes my lady, is me Eustace I was here yesterday." He composed himself freeing from Theodor hands. " I came here to warn you the people in town somehow found out that you have alot of food in the house they are on their way here to get some for themselves"
' a lot of food? I wouldn't say that.' thought Alana.
"They are saying that is unfair for you to a hoard everything for yourself, that you should share..."
"Hmm is that so?"
" My master told to come and warn you..." Before he could finished, it could be heard the steps of the town people who come ready to take anything they could.