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I tried to think back to before my mother died, when the castle was still a warm and inviting place. I remembered spending my afternoons as a child in the kitchens, pestering the cook for a treat. Thinking back to what I had seen, it didn’t seem so hard. I remembered the cook always calling out for flour and butter. That’s where I would start!
Searching the various bins and cupboards, I found some white powder which looked like flour. The butter was already on the large wooden slab which served as a workspace. Grabbing a bowl, I poured some flour from the sack into it, coughing as a cloud of dust surrounded me. Taking a wooden spoon, I scooped a section of butter and added it to the flour. Stirring only seemed to coat the hunk of butter with flour. Odd. When cook had done this, it had seemed to make a thick, creamy mixture. I must be missing something. Removing the cheesecloth from an earthenware jug, I inhaled the spicy, earthy scent of mustard. Perfect! Tipping the jug over my bowl, I poured the entire contents into my flour mixture. Taking up my spoon, I vigorously stirred until the flour blended with the mustard and butter.
Behind me was a small iron stove. Using a discarded piece of cloth, I carefully opened the door, squinting as a rush of dry heat hit my face. Inside, the logs glowed orange with slashes of coal black. The bowl must just sit within the flames. Shrugging my shoulders, I placed the bowl on top of the embers and closed the stove door.
Cooking was easy.
Thick black smoke poured from the oven. With shaking hands, I grabbed the jug of ale from nearby and tossed the liquid into the stove. There was an awful hiss, then the smoke billowed from the stove once again…thicker and blacker.
My eyes stung as I swiveled around, trying to get my bearings. The hall was obscured behind a wall of smoke. Stretching my arms out, I took a step forward, then another.
I could hear indistinct shouting.
I took another blind step forward and collided with something warm and solid.
“I’ve got her,” bellowed Jerrik.
Strong arms wrapped around my shoulders as I was lifted off my feet and carried out into the cold, bright sunshine.
I watched as Tore followed him carrying a smoking bowl of burnt sludge. He tossed the smoldering mess into the nearest snowbank.
Hiding my face in Jerrik’s shoulder, I tried to avoid the angry lecture…or worse…that I knew was coming.
As Jerrik held me aloft, each of them shouted over the other.
“…could have been killed.”
“Punished for…”
“….burned down the cabin.”
“Of all the imbecilic…”
“Punished…”
“Lied about…”
“Get the belt…”
“Punished…”
Out of the cacophony of bellows, exclamations, and shouts…the only word I kept hearing over and over again was…punished.
CHAPTER 5
“Where are you taking me?”
Magni stayed silent.
After the chaos of my kitchen disaster, Magni tossed a large fur over my shoulders and lifted me onto the back of his horse. With a curt nod to the other huntsmen, he set off into the woods.
Through the dark, crooked branches of the trees, I could see the dying purple and orange flames of the sun as it set, casting the woods into shadow. Still we continued…deeper and deeper into the dark forest. The only sound was the crunching of the snow beneath the horse’s hooves.
Finally, the trees thinned, and we came upon a clearing.
I had never seen anything like it before in my life. Curls of steam rose above the crystal blue waters of a large pool. It was surrounded by massive ice-covered boulders.
“What is this place?” I asked in awe.
“A warm spring,” responded Magni curtly as he lowered me down from his horse. Despite the wet snow creeping through my wool socks, I could not resist stepping closer to the warm pool of water. Leaning over a boulder, I gazed down into its depths. The water was so clean and clear you could see straight down to the bottom. Expecting to see mud and sediment, I was surprised to see nothing but smooth rock. It was as if the entire pool had been carved out of the very rock which protected it.
“All right, lass, take off your clothes.”
I swung back to face Magni. The shirt Dagr had given me earlier was now grimy with black soot, but something was better than nothing.
“If I have to ask one more time, I will take that belt from around your waist and put it to good use.”
Knowing full well he would make good on his threat, I reluctantly pulled at the belt buckle which secured the voluminous folds of the shirt around my small waist. Letting it fall to the ground, I started to play with the buttons down the front. Magni’s sigh of frustration was my only warning before he marched up to me and swept the shirt over my head. With a cry, I bent my knees as I curled my body forward, trying to protect myself both from the cold air and his even colder gaze.
