Aurora woke up and sat on the bed and, a few minutes later, she decided to leave the room. Her ankles were sore but she walked down the stairs ignoring the pain.
"Aurora, you shouldn't have", Lucas said as he watched her go down the stairs. He was frowning.
"I got bored", Aurora said with a broad smile.
"Come have a seat beside me", Lucas said as he got up and helped her to sit down.
"Thank you", Aurora responded.
The Chief cook walked in with the guards, her face was down and she could not look anyone in the eye.
" Yes, everyone has been waiting for you, I need to hear your side of the story. But first tell me, why did you leave? Were you trying to escape?", Lucas asked, staring at the middle-aged woman who looked shaken.
The Chief cook remained silent, she did not utter any word.
" Did you not hear me? I command you to answer or I might take it as you being guilty", Lucas scolded in a loud tone.
"Your majesty, there was an emergency, that is why she had to leave. I permitted her to go", Chloe quickly replied as she walked into the courtroom she had been listening in on the conversation from the corridor.
"What kind of emergency?", Lucas asked.
"Her Son got into an accident", Chloe lied, her face expressionless, she went close to the chief cook and pinched her discretely.
"Ah, yes Your Majesty, my daughter fell from a tree", the chief cook replied.
"Daughter?", Lucas asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Son, I mean", the chief cook replied, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"This is not a circus. Next time, Chloe, be sure to inform me if my staff leaves in the middle of work ", Lucas said.
" I will", Chloe replied sharply.
"Well I hope your son gets better, but first, how did my guest's clothes get caught up on fire", Lucas asked, leaning forward.
"She said it was an accident ", Chloe said.
"She can talk, let her speak for herself ", Lucas replied.
"It was an accident, your majesty ", the chief cook replied.
"I need a full account, start from the beginning". Lucas said.
"Uhm, er... I was trying to reach for a glass cup but I could not. I saw that she was tall so I asked her to help me get it, I don't know how her dress got into the fire", the chief cook replied, stuttering in between.
"I think I was accidental too, please let her go", Aurora pleaded.
Chloe rolled her eyes, wondering why the king had taken his time to investigate the case of a random stranger.
"Okay, I will let this go, but moving forward, you are not permitted to ask my guest to do you any more favors, are we clear?", Lucas asked, facing the chief cook directly.
"Yes, your majesty", the chief cook replied slowly as she bowed to the king.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding", Lucas said to the chief cook.
"You do not have to apologize, your majesty", the chief cook replied.
"You can go, all of you, Gianna, wait behind", Lucas said to all the cooks who dispersed in no time.
"Lucas, I am disappointed in you", Chloe said, stomping her feet.
"Not now, Chloe", Lucas said.
"You have never doubted me before but because of this thing, you refused to listen to me", Chloe shouted.
"Be careful of your words, Chloe. I care about you, but do not overstep your boundaries. Sorry if I hurt your feelings, I just wanted to do the right thing", Lucas said, stretching out his hands to hold Chloe.
"Let go, you will have to make it up to me", Chloe said as she stormed out of the courtroom.
"Gianna, just like I said, you will no longer work in the kitchen", Lucas said with a warm smile.
"Thank you your majesty ", Gianna replied.
"You will be Aurora's right-hand woman, you will look after her and you will be paid handsomely ", Lucas added.
"I will do my best", Gianna said.
"I was going to cancel the feast but seeing that you can walk on your own, I think the celebration should go on.
"Yes", Aurora said calmly.
"Let the preparations continue, everyone should be ready by eight pm", Lucas declared.
"Please take Lady Aurora upstairs", Lucas said to Gianna.
Gianna placed Aurora's hand across her shoulder and supported her up the stairs and took her to her room. In a darkly lit corridor stood two figures.
"This is for trying to mess my plans up", Chloe said, slapping the chief cook hard on the cheeks, leaving a mark.
"I am sorry", the chief cook replied, staggering. She rubbed her cheeks while trying to find balance.
"By the time I am done with you, you will be more than sorry", Chloe replied, grabbing her by the neck.
"Have mercy, I panicked", she replied.
"Panicked? That is not an excuse", Chloe said, her eyes were narrow.
"The guards came in and they were asking too many questions and I...I", the chief cook stuttered.
"Well you should have given them the answers", Chloe shot back, her voice now rising.
"But I...I did not know how to face the king after what I did", the chief cook replied.
"So now you have shame, when you got the money for the job, you were shameless ", Chloe said, grabbing her fist.
"I did the job, didn't I?", the chief cook said, releasing her hands from the hold.
"I will not say this more than once, don't you ever talk back at me, I will crush you ", Chloe threatened.
"Your job is not done, that witch is still alive and well, you are going to do one more thing for me if you want to get the other half of your money", Chloe added.
"But I did the job already ", the chief cook argued.
"I will decide if the job is complete or not, so listen carefully to what I am about to say, everything happens tonight, during the feast", Chloe said in a very low tone.