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I stopped, silver dress in hand. Frida was right. I was naïve but not empty-headed.
“Then I won’t be alone.”
Frida’s eyebrows lifted.
“Quick,” I said, pulling my nightgown off my shoulders. “Help me dress, then pack a few trunks for me. And my jewelry. Not all of it, only the most exquisite ones.”
I had no money, but I could probably trade some of my jewelry along the way and wear the rest at my cousin’s estate.
“But...but where are you going?”
“The kitchen,” I said as Frida helped me out of my nightgown and into the silver dress.
“The kitchen?” she repeated, more confused than ever. I waited as she tied the golden bows on the back of my dress. I quickly put my hair into a simple bun, popular among the common women.
“Your Highness!”
I ignored Frida as I raced out of my room.
“Your Highness, wait!”
But there was no time. I had to move fast from here on out. The clock was ticking on my freedom.
I took several steps at a time as I flung myself down the servants’ staircase to the kitchen. Most of them avoided my gaze; only some dared to briefly look at me before bowing.
With a wind of desperation under my sails, I strode into the castle’s large kitchen. It was a busy morning, with cooks moving steaming pots and servants cutting meats and vegetables, scurrying around the kitchen like ants on their hill. It smelled of fresh bread and coffee. Stepping in farther, I didn’t have to search long to find whom I was looking for. A small weight fell off my shoulders when I saw his pitch-black hair sticking out among the servants’ heads like ash in snow.
“You, Sarolf!” I pointed at him. As all eyes turned to me, the bustling kitchen transformed into a graveyard within seconds. Sarolf had a loaf of bread in his hands as he stared at me.
“You stay,” I demanded. “Everybody else, out!”
It took another moment for everyone to process what had just happened. Then, the kitchen emptied in a matter of seconds. Servants pushed each other out of the way in an effort to not be left in here with me.
Confused, Sarolf looked at the loaf of bread, then at me, then at the empty kitchen.
“Your father had permitted me to buy bread from the kitchen,” he said, opening a leather bag in which he placed the bread. I frowned. What a simple thought—that I would go through the trouble of coming down here over some bread. Maybe he wasn’t that smart after all.
“Don’t waste my time,” I said, rolling my eyes and stepping closer, right next to the baking table. Several loaves of dough were on it, waiting to be put into the hot oven. I poked one curiously. This must have been the first time I had been down here since I was a child. Back then, the older kitchen servants would secretly feed me cookies.
“How can I be of service, Your Highness,” Sarolf asked as he grabbed a coin from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him next to a block of cheese. At least he was an honest man.
“Where is that awful woman?” I asked, crossing my arms.
Sarolf smiled.“You mean my sister? She is waiting outside, getting information about the other estates in the region.”
“To ask for work?”
Sarolf looked at me as if I had just asked the most foolish question.“To see what other princesses this kingdom has to offer me,” he said.
I puffed my cheeks in anger.
“Of course, to ask for work,” he said. “Your father’s castle has no place for me unless I marry you, if you still haven’t figured that out yet.”
The way this man spoke to me! It took all the strength I had to calm my nerves and remind myself what was at stake here.
“Well, you are in luck, then. You can save yourself the journey.”
Sarolf rolled his eyes. “I already told your father that I won’t marry you.”
