Briar

Ch. 10 The Curse

It took Fredrick some time to find this Marie, but after a half an hour of going up, down, and everywhere in between in the old castle, they found her in the kitchen.
“Geez, Marie, could ya be any harder to find?”
“What? Freddy, a woman has a right to eat.”
“We both know that anti what you’re doin’.”
Marie smiled mysteriously. Then she noticed the little smug of brown behind Freddy.
“And what have we here. Not another maid I hope. He’s always takin’ in these charity cases who have no experience,” glancing Rose up and down, “and can’t even carry a proper bucket of water.”
“The new goose girl, takin’ over for Anglia.”
Marie pursed her lips, “Good enough, I guess.”
Rose, slightly insulted at having been summed up so, stood a little straighter, “I might be short, but I pack a punch. And for your information, I can carry four buckets full of whatever you put in them.”
“Little bundle isn’t she?” Marie responded.
“Yeah, she even made ‘im laugh.”
“Did she now?”
“Yes, I did. I really don’t appreciate being talked over like this.”
“Well, I guess I’ll take her off your hands so you can get back to work.” Fredrick left and Marie swung all the way around in her stool. She heaved a sigh, but it got caught in her throat as she got a look at Jilly.
“You,” she began to laugh, “you brought a goose into a kitchen? We better get out of here before my good friend, Katharine, cuts that thing’s neck off.” At Rose’s protective expression, Marie laughed even harder. “You do have spunk.”
Marie’s arm was suddenly around her and dragging her out of the kitchen. Jilly let out a little squawk as she had to run a little to catch up to them. Marie was a large woman, and Rose was completely at her mercy. Her hips swung wide; Rose just tripped along behind Marie’s confident steps. They ended up in a garden, but she didn’t stop there. Pulling her along, they eventually ended up in the back of the castle.
On this side there were no cultured gardens. That show was all in the front. On this side there were a few hills of grass, and then the large stone wall that separated the city. Marie swaggered around the first of these hills, and suddenly, there was a lake.
“Here we go. Feel just at home don’t ya.”
“Well it’s certainly … picturesque.” And it was. There were weeds surrounding it, but the water was clear. You could see fish swimming, and bugs either floating or flying above the water making little ripples so the fish could eat them. Standing around eating, and thinking of little else, were the other geese.
Finally, Marie let Rose go and went to Jilly, gesturing wildly at the other geese. When Jilly hesitated, “Get in there girl. What is she shy or something? I never met a goose who was stupid enough to be shy.”
“Some dumb assistant won’t try to eat her right?”
“Naaaa, we keep the chickens for regular eating. We only use the geese for the banquets.”
“I don’t want her eaten. Ever.”
Marie held up some pleading hands, “Don’t worry. She’ll be safe until Katharine goes on her feasting rampage. Then you might have to hide her.”
“Ok,” Jilly still didn’t seem to trust Marie’s words, but Rose gave her a gentle push and a look that said it would be weird if she didn’t go.
“Alrighty, now that the bird is deposited and you know where you’re workin’, I’ll show you around.”
Rose waved good bye to a concerned Jilly as she once again dragged off by Marie. Marie did as she clamed and showed Rose around, not that Rose had any bearing the entire time. She saved the more important places for last; so Rose might know how to get to and from those places. The kitchen was one of these places. Marie introduced her to the head cook, Katharine and some of the other girls who were around her age. Marie was surprised that she was 19, since she was so small and still had the, “kind words of a child.” Rose made sure to warn Katharine against eating her black goose, Jilly. The cook was a bit taken aback, but at Rose’s continuous serious look she eventually gave in. She was told that servants ate when they could, but breakfast was only served from 6:30 to 7:30. If she didn’t make breakfast; then, she was out of luck.
The last thing Marie showed Rose was her new room.
It was small, and brown all over. There was a small window facing east, and a extremely small dresser along the opposite wall. But what was the greatest joy to Rose was the nice bed in the corner of the room, just big enough for two. After two weeks without a bed, Rose was ready to fall into the thing. Rose dumped her well worn sack on the ground, not wanting to get anything dirty.
“This looks like a good place.”
“It is,” and Rose knew she wasn’t talking about the room, but the country. “For the most part.”
Rose raised an eyebrow wondering what that cryptic comment meant. Everything had seemed well and good in this kingdom, no war or famine. Their king was good and just, and there seemed to be no quarrels with their neighbors. What could be wrong? Marie’s eye slide to the window, avoiding Rose’s unspoken question. Out of habit, Rose’s eyes also drifted to the window.
“Oh my gosh. Look how dark it is out side. I’ve got to get back to the geese.”
“What.” Marie was taken off by the sudden change. “Oh let me show you the way.”
She lead Rose to a door leading outside, “I can find my way from here. I’ll learn the route soon enough.”
“Ok, if you are sure you’ll be alright.”
“Don’t worry.”
Jilly was a little perturbed at having been left alone for so long, but when Rose mentioned that she knew where the kitchen was and could get some hot bread, her temper mellowed.
“Watch the geese.” Rose shouted as she walked back to the confusing halls of the castle.
“Grab me my robe while up there. It’s chilly up here at night.”
“Alright.”
Rose went about her business, and got a to-go-dinner for her first night on the job. The geese here were even more lazy than the ladies at Numberland, and they fed themselves. Jilly and Rose sat on a hill beside the lake and watched them fall asleep, as they disgusted their new life. They came to the conclusion that Rose would get a maid outfit for Jilly to wear at night. No one would notice another maid around. That also meant that as long as Jilly stayed in the shadows of the kitchen she could get meals too. Then, Jilly could share Rose’s room with her. If anyone wondered why a goose was sleeping in her room, she could always fall back on the “Jilly is more like family than a goose” story. And for the actually change the concluded to do it on the hill. Jilly said that the entire time she had been there not a single person had come by. If need be she said, there was a little shanty around the hill a bit where she could hide. The girls laughed as they thought of their perfect plan. It would be pretty easy to keep the secret as long as no one took to great an interest in the unusual black goose and her particular owner.
After only a week of Rose working at the castle, she fit in seamlessly. With Jilly changing, shedding light in the room at dawn, she was up even before most of the geese. Then she would go and get some breakfast. It was here that she met the majority of the servants. They were a good bunch and friendly even if they did treat her like she was 14, mostly because the majority of them thought she was 14. They were all very nice people; well there were a few that were disgruntled, but there are people like that were ever you go. But the majority of people in this castle were very nice, very satisfied with their work.
The person that Rose got to know the best was the cook Katherine, mostly because almost everyone worked inside the house, but Rose always had to go into the kitchen to eat. Katherine would be ordering her people around, but she always insisted on serving herself, probably because her great passion was gossip. They would talk during her lunch and then again while she was packing up the interestingly large dinner. They discussed the normal going ons at the castle, gossiped about the latest couple and how the ballroom was never properly cleaned. But above all Katherine talked about John, the prince of the castle. He was currently away spending the summer with his uncle the Duke of Billberry, but he would be back in by the beginning of fall. From Katherine, Rose learned that Prince John was the brightest, most diligent, kindest, smartest, and all around bestest prince that had ever been seen, and he was only 18! Everyone in the castle seemed to be in awe of him, as can be expected of the only royal child in a kingdom. All that Rose could wonder was if the worship of these people had completely inflated to this boy’s head.
Rose had originally thought the Queen was dead, but one day while eating breakfast she was introduced to Queen Lyn’s maid. Rose immediately embarrassed herself by blurting out that she had indeed thought the Queen dead. At this outburst, however, the servants did not laugh as expected but had sad expressions on their face. On was even brave enough to utter, “It’s like she is.”
Later, that afternoon, Rose asked Katherine about the Queen. Rose learned that the Queen was very sickly and was rare to even come out of her room. From there Katherine went into lala land about how beautiful the Queen had been when she was younger. Full blond hair, wide blue eyes, red lips, pure white skin, and so slender that she made Katherine just want to stuff her like a turkey. It was a miracle that she had gotten two children out of her with her small hips.
“And she wasn’t always so sickly, you know. She used to be full of joy and happiness …”
Rose had to break in as Katherine’s words filtered their way into her brain, “Two children? I thought Prince John was their only child.”
“Oh. I just keep forgetting that you’re not from around here.” At Rose’s quizzical look, “Well, everyone in Jubbellard knows what happened. See: John was not their Majesties’ first child. Before that they had a little girl. They had been trying to have a babe for a few years; so it was a big thing when the Lady got pregnant. They had these set of rooms set up for the baby, and it was all happy smiles and dandelions until she was born. It was a little girl, cute little thing with a little tuff of her Daddy’s dark hair. They invited everyone for the coronation. It was lovely all pink ribbons and lace, but what they didn’t expect was that a very angry resident would come.
“There’s witch who lives on the other side of the kingdom, by the name of Esperella. And is she was naughty one. The worst witch of our day, a nasty piece of work. Any curse you’ve heard of in the last ten years was probably her. Loves to do cursing; it’s our bad luck that she likes to live up in our mountains.
“Anyway, came barging into the coordination. All in a tiffy because she wasn’t invited. If you ask me,” Katherine said behind her hand, “she got her invitation just fine but just wanted to make a fuss.
“So, she bursts in with dark cloud around her, in her black gown and an even darker scowl on her face. Went right up to their Majesties, looked lovingly at the little princess and cursed her. Can you believe it? Talk about overreaction.”
Katherine was looking like she was taking a big breath to go on about this Esperella’s stupidity. Katherine had the ability to rant about anything for a good half an house. So, Rose cut in, “Wait. What was the curse?”
“Oh that. I don’t remember the exact words but it was something like: I curse you, fair maiden, to live in horror of my horrible curse. I shall curse you to prick your finger on a malicious rose thorn by the time you are of twenty years. I’ll be watching you. With that she left, in a puff of smoke. She was always so dramatic. There was a lot of discussion about the twenty year limit, because you know traditionally, it’s 17, but Esperella is all about women’s rights, and she says that it’s ridiculous to think that a girl can get a proper protector when she’s so young. So, she boosted it up to twenty, just so she can really have some fun in the last bit of the curse.”
“This woman sounds like quite a character.”
“She is. She’s a strange one. --”
Rose cut in. It was a hard task to keep this woman on track. “Please go on.”
“Well, after that happened, the Missus was very sad. Just stopped coming out of her room, and wouldn’t let little Emile come out either. Emile, that what they named her you know. Isn’t it a lovely name?” Rose knew this was a rhetorical question and should save her voice for important moments. “She was just a doll. Her parents hated to send her away, but they knew that they couldn’t just let Esperella watch and wait for the most painful moment to take their little girl. As soon as they could they assembled four of their best soldiers. They sent each of them out in a different direction each with a little bundle. So on one would know which one had the babe. Oh! And they went in the middle of the night. Isn’t that romantic? Not a one of them was supposed to come back until the Princess could. So she wouldn’t know which way she went or which man to blame. They were sent with her to protect her from, well, everything. So on her twentieth birthday she’s to be brought home to her family. You know they’ve always kept a room for her here. Even changed the motif, to keep with the times, just in case.”
Katherine realized the change in Rose’s expression before Rose did.
“What’s the matter dear.”
“What? Oh it’s nothing. I’m finished. I’ll go out now.”
“Oh, but I didn’t finish.”
“Well hurry. I need to get going.”
Katherine didn’t believe that Rose was alright at all, but she went anyway. “The Queen was very distraught over her daughter’s impending doom, and that’s really when her health got bad. It was like a miracle when John was born not even a year later. Imagine that, two babes when they had been waiting so long. He helped her a lot. Maybe that why everyone pampers him here so much. He gets twice the love for that babe that was lost. But the Queen is still in a bad way. What she really needs is her little girl. I just hope that she gets to see her before the curse takes her. Esperella might have funny name, but she is a good witch.”
“I hope she gets to meet her too.”
Rose moped out of the kitchen. Katherine was even more confused by her behavior; Rose was just as confused. She refused to admit it even to herself, but that story had just brought her own royal troubles to mind. The particulars of her background didn’t fit with those of the Jubblellard princess, but there had be that small hope in the back of her mind that maybe she belonged here. But if this Esperella was as bad as Katharine said she was than Rose could be from just about anywhere. It just seemed all the more hopeless that she would ever find her kingdom.
“Stop thinking such silly thoughts, Rose. You have a perfectly good home. Why would you need more?”
But she did want more. She wanted to know where she came from even if it was from the two biggest idiots in the world. She had hopped just a little to have a good kingdom like this. Parents and a people who would love her as unconditionally as Jubbellard loved its lost princess.


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So we're finally getting a little longer in our chapters! I know the plot is ridiculously easy to figure out, but I hope it's not too dull. I try to make it interesting.

Sorry that this one was late, but do yall see the consistency for lateness that I do. Sooo... I think I'm going to start up dating on Saturdays cause with my school schedule Fridays are just a pain. Sorry unless anyone wants to dispute it that's what I'm going to do.