Sorceress of the Second Sphere

10. The Mistress of Isovine - Chrys

The strong sweet and savoury smells of sugar and spices barraged Chrys' nose as she first entered the kitchens of the Lionmane keep. Watching, attentively, the baker carefully pulled out the wooden peel from the steaming furnace. Chrys could feel her tongue wetting her lips almost instinctively and her stomach growled angrily at the thought of the delicacies she could never taste.

Staring at the sugars used to ice the buns removed from the furnace, she longed to bury her head deep into the sweetness that no commoner was meant to have. She could only dream of what various tastes would explode in her mouth as she bit into the various buns housing, what appeared to be, sultanas.

Her thoughts raced, wondering what a sultana tasted like. She had only seen them once before, aware that if she had even touched one, Lord Millandahl Darke would have removed her hand for thievery. Would they be as sweet as the icing being prepared to cover the illustrious bun, or would they be more savoury, like the dough which enveloped them?

"This is the bakery, and don't get distracted why you're here," a voice cut across Chrys' thoughts viciously bringing her back to the tour around the castle. "The last servant that got distracted here is now begging on the streets with two fewer eyes, ordered by the Lady Nimue no less."

As sweet as the room she was standing in, Chrys was reminded of where she was and why she was. As she moved into the next room, watching a butcher slide his knife skillfully along the skin of a deceased deer, carefully peeling back the flesh of the hung upside-down animal, she knew she was surrounded by death and by misery. One false move, one wrong word, and it could be her sharing the same fate as the poor animal being prepared for tonight's banquet.

Forcing back the sickness that was attempting to rise from her stomach, Chrys looked away from the poor animal, once again reminding herself why she refused to eat any meat offered to her. This was once a happy living creature, and now it was a symbol of greed and power, a symbol that will be forgotten moments after it's devoured by the megalomaniacal Emperor.

"Chrys? Chrys?"

The voice of the woman giving her the tour around the kitchens brought Chrys' thoughts crashing back down to reality. She hadn't realised it, but she was staring, gaping her mouth at the butcher's handiwork.

The ageing woman, providing Chrys with the tour, moved in close to the bewildered young brunette.

"Look, the Nightengale said that you would be up to this task to work for the mistress, please tell me, for both of our lives sake, that they were not mistaken?"

Chrys could see the fear in the woman's eyes, how her lip twitched anxiously when mentioning the mistress. Could Nimue, be as cruel as the rumours had suggested?

"I am capable of performing admirably," Chrys said, attempting to put the woman at ease.

"Then we must hurry, for the lady Nimue will be wanting to examine you herself along with the other potential replacements. Please don't forget anything I've told you today, for your sake, and the Nightengale's plans."

If only the woman knew she was speaking with the Nightengale.

"Replacement?" Chrys asked as the two women left the butchers, something that pleased the spymaster's daughter gratefully.

"Jayen should plan to leave the city tonight, for Nimue will not forgive her absence." the elderly woman explained.

Relief filled Chrys' heart as the smell of dead carcasses had long left her nostrils, yet it was a feeling short-lived as the elderly woman explained her anxieties. "But, Jayen is just unwell?" Chrys asked.

"You don't leave the lady Nimue's service for any reason, the last woman who did that was left with Searmundr to be his plaything. Rumour has it that she cries continuously when he's not there and screams continuously when he is. All she did was assist her brothers in laying their father to rest one afternoon."