"Hmm hmm, a marry maiden shall sing a song, falalalalala. Oh, a joyous mister shall sing along. falalalalala." I hummed as I cut up potatoes. Samuel had assigned me a task recently to watch over the kitchen. Busy servants hustled past and through the kitchen. Some carried out food, some carried in the supplement from today's order. Carrots, tomatoes, more potatoes. Another girl followed with a large basket of butter and eggs.
The next day I went, there were less people. Nobody carried in food. A man was quickly cutting up some of the vegetables from yesterday, and someone else was boiling a creamy yellow sauce. The kitchen smelled amazing.
"Anything I can do?" I asked. The servants perked up excitedly.
"Of course, slice up some tomatoes and gather up some minced garlic. Then come over here. They go wonderful fried with this dish." The lady with the sauce said. As I passed, I saw the egg girl was now frying toast. I noticed her hands were very burnt though. After we were done in the kitchen I tracked her down. She was hiding in the storage room holding some small amounts of food in her arms.
"Ah-ah! This isn't what it looks like! I was just.... um, looking for ingredients that went bad, yeah! I was going to dispose of them." She rambled.
"Well....um," I stuttered. Her embarrassment was almost contagious. I don't know if I should be helping a theif, but I do feel bad for her. "How did your hands get so bad?"
"Oh, that? I'm just clumsy is all. They used to ask me to cut things, it's time consuming and they kinda need all hands on deck, you know? But... let's just say it didn't work out. So now they have me doing menial things." She gives an awkward smile.
"Here, this should help with the burns. It's a coolant too, so it should numb the pain." Her eyes went wide.
"Are you sure? This... This is something expensive only nobles can afford. I'm just a peasant..." I nod. She thanks me before eventually leaving.
The next thing, however, is to report to Samuel. Hopefully I won't get in trouble for helping her. She is indeed a clumsy and awkward little thing, but she seemed nice enough. It's a shame I caught her stealing from royalty of all things. I sigh. Today may not be a good day afterall.