Rae made such a face of disgust that Phoenix couldn’t help but laugh, the sound that rasped out sounding foreign to her ears.
She sat on the edge of Phoenix’s bed and picked at her blanket with her fingers. “So... what happened last night?” Rae finally asked.
“I dunno,” Phoenix admitted. “I was late returnin’ an’ I didn’t want t’ wake anyone, so I lay on th’ couch for th’ night. I thought the fire was out...” Feeling confused, Phoenix frowned at the prominent singe marks on her boots.
Rae looked unconvinced, but she shrugged. “Well, it’s a good thing you were yelling - otherwise no one would’ve woken up. You might have caught on fire!” Her eyes were wide, and Phoenix wondered whether she was being serious or not, but then she cracked a smile and the two of them began to giggle.
“C’mon,” Rae told her. “We should get something to eat before we head out.”
“Head out?” Phoenix asked, rising from the bed to redress in her discarded clothes.
“Yeah. We have to join the others in the orchards. We can’t take the whole day to - that’s a pretty necklace!” Rae exclaimed, interrupting herself to point to the pendant where it hung uncovered by Phoenix’s underclothing.
“Thanks,” she said, quickly slipping the pendant under her tunic before she belted the shirt around her waist. “My family left it fer me,” she explained hurriedly. Marla had told her to always keep it hidden, as many would not agree with a farmgirl having something so precious. Phoenix had always kept it safe.
“I wish my family had given me something so lovely,” Rae said wistfully. She opened the door to their room and led the way from the dorm to the kitchens. “Tessa said she’d put some food aside for us, since she didn’t know when you’d wake.” Phoenix was touched and surprised by the woman’s thoughtfulness, since she knew how busy the Kitchenmaster was.
“Was Mistress Ruby mad ‘bout last night?” Phoenix asked, worried that she had to deal with someone else who was set against her.
“Doubt it,” Rae said, shrugging. “She’s had to deal with worse. You should have seen Brianna when she first came here. She was such a wimp!”
“Really?” Phoenix asked, finding it hard to picture the dark-haired girl being anything but a bully.
“Totally.” Rae’s doe eyes sparkled. “She was always taken care of at her father’s manor. She never had to do anything for herself until she came here.”
“Oh. Why’d she come here, then?”
Rae shrugged. “Same as all the other nobles: learning how to be a proper Lady to grab a rich Lord.” She rolled her eyes.
“What about you?” Phoenix asked, only belatedly realizing that she had no idea about the girl’s family, and hoping that she didn’t take offense to the question.
Rae grinned. “Just the opposite,” she told her.
Phoenix didn’t have to time to tease apart her answer as Rae pushed open the doors to the kitchens, a the sudden smell of cooking food assaulted Phoenix’s nose. Her stomach growled loudly in response.
Tessa was ahead of them, orchestrating several of the young boys into separate groups. “Now, Shane. You and Jeff take these baskets to the North quadrant. Yes, on the cart. Bring the full ones back to Anna at the second set of sinks. Billy, same goes for you and Ty - except you go to the Northeastern quad. Yes, on the cart. Yes, right now. Bring the full ones back to Anna. Yes, she’s at the sinks. Thank you.” The woman dismissed the four with a wave in the right direction, then paused a moment to watch them go. She wiped her hands in her apron and turned to see Rae and Phoenix waiting for her.
“Ah. So you’re awake, are you?” She smiled. “Fetch the food from the holding oven, please, Rae. I’ll get Phoenix set up here.”
Rae nodded, and Phoenix followed Tessa to a table that was out of the way. Tessa indicated for Phoenix to sit, and she brought a pot of tea and several mugs to her table.
“I heard you gave everyone quite the scare last night,” Tessa said, pouring three cups of the drink. Phoenix blushed and dropped her eyes to the table with embarrassment. Strong fingers grasped her chin and lifted her head, and Phoenix was surprised by the warmth of the woman’s skin.
Tessa dropped her hand and looked at her a long moment afterwards. “We all have troubles in our lives, Phoenix. Sometimes they come out funny in times of stress. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Phoenix looked away and shrugged. “It don’t feel tha’ way,” she told the woman.
Tessa pursed her lips, then gave Phoenix’s hand a quick pat. “I know. But you’ll get used to it eventually. Soon enough you’ll be settled enough that you won’t care about what anyone thinks… except for me, of course.” The woman winked humorously and Phoenix gave her a smile in return.
Rae returned with a tray of food for the table. She and Phoenix filled their plates and ate hungrily. Tessa sat with them for a while, and even cut herself a slice of bread from the loaf.
Phoenix barely tasted the food as she shoved it in her mouth to fill her starving belly. She had eaten well last night, but she was strangely ravenous for someone who’d only missed morning’s meal.
When the girls began to slow down, Tessa waved Alan over to the table. He came and stood by the three - his attention fixed solely on Tessa, as if by ignoring Phoenix and Rae he could somehow will them out of existence.
“Alan, you are excused from your next set of duties. I need you to take these two to the orchards to join the rest of the girls.” Alan’s expression became sullen, and Tessa fixed him with a stern eye. “Is that a problem, Runner Alan?”
At his title, he straightened under her gaze and shook his head. Phoenix thought that he mumbled something, but she was unable to make it out.
Tessa gave him a reproachful look, but she set down her cup and returned to the stoves without saying anything more. It wasn’t long before she could be heard shouting orders over the commotion.
Alan huffed and relaxed his posture. “You two done yet, or what?”
Rae took a judicious sip of her drink. “Maybe. Maybe not. What’s it matter to you?”
He glared at her. “I just don’t want to be stuck in here with you, is all.”
“You mean, you can’t wait to get back to Brianna. Right?”
Phoenix watched as Alan’s face darkened several shades. He turned smartly on his heels and marched towards the kitchens’ double doors. Rae smirked and watched him go with a roll of her eyes. Phoenix looked around quickly to see if anyone else had noticed the exchange, but everyone was too busy with their tasks to pay them any attention.
Rae shrugged and rose. Grabbing empty baskets from a cart, the two left the kitchens and followed Alan across the courtyard to the orchards.
Alan marched ahead of the pair by several lengths. He refused to look back at them, trying to make it seem as though they weren’t walking together while following Tessa’s orders. The pace was brisk, and it wasn’t long before the three exited the courtyard through the massive doors that led into the outer yard.
The grounds were beautiful. The sun was shining with uncharacteristic warmth, though the wind had a chill bite to it. Phoenix didn’t care. She let her empty baskets swing in her hands, happily enjoying the walk.
They reached a fenced perimeter. Phoenix could see hundreds of trees were planted in rows, and even though many of the branches were entwined, the trunks were spaced far apart that they could be walked around with ease. The bright splashes of colors in the leaves were beautiful in the sunlight. Small birds flitted excitedly between the branches in the commotion, and Phoenix paused to watch a small lizard skirt along the path next to her. It paused to look up at her when her shadow passed over it. Intrigued, Phoenix stared at the lizard in awe. It darted off the path as quick as a blink, and climbed easily up a tree until it was at eye level with her. It stopped, hanging easily onto the branch, watching her.
“Phoenix!” Rae called from up ahead. “C’mon!”
With one last curious look at the lizard, Phoenix hu
rried to catch up. She rushed past groups of juniors who were stacking baskets full of fruit, while the younger children tended to the laden carts. Several chaperones issued orders to direct the chaos.
Alan walked past them without a word, ignoring the adults who were calling for his attention. He ducked under a short tree and cut across the planted rows. With a shrug, Rae followed him and motioned for Phoenix to do the same.
The dorm girls were gathered loosely in a group. There was no fruit on the ground that Phoenix could see, and the others had begun to pluck the remaining under ripe ones that still clung to the branches. Elise caught sight of them and turned to wave them over. Alan pushed past her, causing her to glare after his retreating back, but she smiled at the girls as they approached.
Sophie was with her, but when she caught sight of Phoenix she grabbed her basket and hurried away.
A mocking tone rose shrilly from the adjoining row of trees. Brianna’s voice came from the direction where Alan had disappeared, filtering into the area where the group was working.
“She was positively hysterical!” Brianna gushed. Phoenix could see that she was sitting on a large boulder, her baskets lying empty at her feet. Jenny and the girls were gathered around her, snickering as she continued with her tale.
“Mommy! Mommy!” her voice called mockingly, as she clasped her hands in an exaggerated expression of distress. She ended on a high pitch that sent the others into a fit of laughter. Brianna’s triumphant eyes fixed on Phoenix, and the girl’s pretty face turned into a vicious smirk. “Did you find your mommy after, Phoenix?” she asked, her voice honeyed.
Phoenix felt her cheeks turn hot as she realized that the group was laughing at her. She turned quickly so that they wouldn’t see the sudden tears that came to her eyes.
Elise and Rae stepped close to Phoenix and the three headed towards a different area of the orchard.
“Ignore them,” Rae said, handing Elise an empty basket. “It’s not like she’s actually good for anything, anyway.” She said the last part over her shoulder, directing her words to Brianna.
A sudden hush fell upon the group. “At least the bloodless urchin has parents, sculler!” Phoenix winced as Brianna shrieked, her words lashing after them with fury. Everyone around her erupted into another fit of laughter as Rae’s cheeks flushed a hot pink.
“Warty toad!” Elise swore with surprising heat, linking her arm with Rae’s as they walked towards an unclaimed picking area. Phoenix was shocked by her language, but she followed her example and linked her arm with Rae’s other arm and swung her basket with false cheerfulness.
“Ignore her,” she said, echoing the girl’s earlier words. “She dunno wha’ she’s talkin’ about.”
“Warty toad,” Elise swore again, huffing.
“She’s jus’ jealous,” Phoenix added. “Her parents turned her into a toad an’ she’s mad tha’ yours didn’t. That’s th’ whole reason they sent her away.”
Phoenix received incredulous stares from both girls. There was a shocked moment of silence, then Elise surprised them both by bursting out laughing.
“Can you just imagine...?” her voice shook as she tried to regain control of herself.
The three had stopped walking. Phoenix became aware of Rae’s arm shaking in her own. A moment later, Rae began giggling uncontrollably, and Phoenix could feel her lips twitching in response.
“Pass the pudding, Tadpole,” Rae said innocently.
Phoenix couldn’t help herself. Forgetting Brianna’s nastiness, as well as Sophie’s apparent desertion, the humor of the situation took over. She burst out laughing with Elise while Rae wiped her eyes, and the three had to wait to catch their breath before they could start collecting fruit.
CHAPTER 13
The amount of tree fruit in the kitchens was staggering. Rows upon rows of baskets were stacked along the walls, many of them perched precariously on top of one another as they struggled to hold their contents. Some of the columns stood taller than her, Phoenix realized, feeling daunted by the task. She held her basket and stared around in disbelief. Scullers and castle-folk alike were scurrying around like workerbugs to get their assignments done. Tessa stood in the thick of it - like the eye of a storm - directing everyone around as if she were controlling an elaborate dance.
Tessa caught sight of her and Rae, and gestured for them to go to an adjoining room.
“C’mon,” Rae said, setting down her basket. Phoenix did the same and followed her to another fruit-filled room. “Tessa wants us to start with the sorting.” She stopped so abruptly that Phoenix nearly bumped into her. Rae put her hands over her face with a groan.
Phoenix looked wide-eyed around the room, mouth hanging open. She understood Rae’s distress. Mountains of fruit surrounded them. “We gotta sort all tha’? We’ll be here fer days!”
“Only until the others finish washing,” Rae said, trying to be hopeful. “Then they’ll help out.” She led Phoenix to a stack of fruit next to three large bins. “Waste, cooking, and whole,” Rae instructed, touching each bin in turn.
Phoenix nodded. She was used to the routine from Avondale, just not the quantity she had to sort. She grabbed an apron and got to work.
It wasn’t long before Elise and Sophie joined them. Elise handed Rae and Phoenix a kitchen knife each. “Tessa says we’re to cut the bad spots out of the cooking ones,” she told them.
“She would,” Rae rolled her eyes.
“At least it’s not as bad as last year,” Elise commented, slicing a bruised piece from a fruit.
“As if! We have twice as much to do this time!”
“Ha!”
Phoenix smiled as they fell into an animated discussion comparing the two harvests. Elise argued that the weather had been better last year, while Rae maintained that more fruit had survived to harvest this year. Neither of the girls seemed intent on proving their point, and were more so debating for the fun of it.
The task wasn’t hard. Phoenix found that she could let her mind wander while her hands sorted the treefruit automatically. Others joined them, and the noise of many idle conversations filled the room. Many were laughing and singing as they did their work, adding to the relaxed atmosphere of the labour around them. It was a completely different environment than Phoenix was used to.
The work continued on until the prep for evening’s meal began. Phoenix could feel her stomach growling as she finished off the last of her current fruit pile. Rae looked around and sighed, wiping her brow with the back of her hand in an exaggerated fashion. “Phew,” she said. “I’m glad that pile’s done. I think my fingers were about to fall off.” She winced and stretched them several times as if making sure they were still there.
Phoenix? Malcourt’s voice rang clear. Will you meet me in my study, please?
“Where is it?” she asked, without looking up from her work.
“Where’s what?” Sophie asked sharply, speaking to her for the first time that day. She eyed Phoenix suspiciously.
In the top level of the North Tower.
“The one across from the dorms?”
Yes.
“Is what across from the dorms?” Elise asked.
Phoenix looked up and wiped the dried juice from her fingers. “Malcourt’s study? He wants me t’ meet him there.”
The three paused their work to stare at her. Sophie’s face flushed as she looked around the room uncomfortably.
“I thought you were going to eat with us,” Elise protested mildly.
“How do you know you have to meet him?” Rae asked. “You’ve been with me all day… Are you trying to get out of fruit duty?”
Phoenix snorted at the expression on her face. “Wha’? And miss all this fun?” She swept an arm around the room, gesturing to the treefruit that still had to be sorted. “He pro’lly don’t wan’ me fer long.”
Phoenix? Malcourt’s voice seemed much softer now.
“Yes?”
Bring me a treefruit, please.
Pho
enix slid her gaze around the room to discover that Malcourt had already left. With a shrug, she took a moment to look through the whole bin for the best fruit. “I dunno why he didn’t choose his own fruit,” she muttered.
Rae’s eyes widened, and Sophie turned and walked away without a word. Phoenix chose a fruit and, shrugging to Elise and Rae, left the kitchens.
The tower was not far. It was floors above the kitchens, and Phoenix had to go down a hall that she had never walked before - though she admitted to herself that those outnumbered the ones she had traveled - but she knew enough by now to tell where the dorms were in relation to the hall. Hugging the inside wall, eyeing the unmoving statues of the gargoyles that stood on guard, she hurried across the courtyard to the large tower where Malcourt waited, slipping back into the castle through a side door. She smiled when she reached the entrance, feeling proud that she had found it on her own.
The hallway leading to the tower was deserted. Not even scullers milled around the halls, and the rooms leading up to it were barred and locked. Phoenix wondered if anyone ever entered the wing.
She entered the base of the tower. Her footsteps echoed in the silence, calling back to her as she walked curiously around the perimeter of the foyer, inspecting every carving and symbol in the stone walls.
A large winding staircase in the center of the floor was the source of illumination for the room. The stairs themselves were cut into an intricately carved pillar of stone that spiralled up into the next floor. The layers of the grey stacked stones looked as though they had been sanded down to a seamless structure, carved and imperfectly textured to make it seem as though a giant tree trunk had sprung from the very rock itself and wound its way to the top of the tower.
Massive carvings of branches stretched along the ceilings and the walls. They folded over one another by the base, twisting thickly before veering off in different directions and connecting to the various symbols that had been carved into the walls.
Phoenix ran her gaze over it in awe. She placed a hand against the trunk, unable to tell if the structure was alive.
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