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The choices we make 14
Inside the pharmacy it was dark, and it smelled of different spices and medications. The pharmacist was an old man with a bent back and round glasses. Mary walked carefully towards the counter.“Good day,” she said.“Hmm,” the man answered.“We’d need three sticks off cinnamon,” Mary said. The man looked at her and then at Zerden.“Three cresi,” said the man, turning toward a cupboard with lots of small draws drawers and fishing up three sticks of cinnamon. Mary didn’t want to talk to him; she didn’t like him. But she couldn’t pay that much money for the three cinnamon sticks. She tried to haggle but the man told her that in his pharmacy the price was fixed. Mary looked at Zerden, who seemed to have the same opinion of the man as her. He shook his head and she understood that he just wanted to take the cinnamon and go.“Well then, Zerden, I guess the court can eat apples without cinnamon,” Mary said, walking toward the door.“But Mary,”, Zerden whispered to her as he followed. She gav
The choices we make 15
Time seemed to pass quickly when Mary finally began to accept her new life. She enjoyed her new chores and she quickly learned how to chop carrots and dice parsnips. She had started to make some of the porridge they ate in the mornings, and she discovered after watching how one of the other assistants did it, she could cook porridge that neither floated into the milk nor got stuck in the pot. Filled with new confidence, she learned how to clean meat and fillet fish. The days weren’t any shorter, but the chores suited her better. Her hands would still hurt when she went to bed at night, but now it was due to cuts from knives or she had burned herself on a hot saucepan. She also had Wednesday afternoons to look forward to. She and Zerden met in the courtyard outside the kitchen and practiced. As spring passed into summer, he began to master the letters better and better. He, in turn, used the time to tell her about all the exciting things that happened outside the kitchen. He often knew
The choices we make 16
Thursday seemed to never end. Never had Mary waited so for the evening to come, it seemed. Even when Mrs. Karrots tasked her with peeling and cutting apples into archers for a pie, she couldn’t stop thinking about dinner at the castellan family. Mary tried to concentrate on the apples. It was a job she was not used to, and it was tricky to get the pieces even and the same size. When she had sliced a whole bucket, she sighed and felt relieved it was over. But instead of being given an easy task, she was set to knead dough. The prince would be bringing bread for the hunting party, so Mary stood for a long time and kneaded one loaf after another. She could feel her muscles slowly turning into trembling jelly and her hands almost go numb. No matter how slowly the day crept along, no one could stop time. Mary looked up when Mrs. Karrots called her.“It’s time to get ready,” she told Mary. Mary nodded and ran to her room. She washed herself thoroughly and combed out her hair, which she then
The choices we make 17
“What do you mean it is your fault, my child?” asked Zerden’s mother. Mary looked at her and suddenly, the words poured out of her mouth. She told them about how first her father got sick and then her mother; she told them no one wanted to help them and how she took care of them. She told them about the day she opened the store and how she had gone to the market.“It was my fault,” she said in a low voice. “I should have stayed with them and taken care of them. Instead, I went to the market and when I got home, I milked the goats and looked for eggs. I should have taken care of them, but I was stupid and selfish and that’s why they died,” she told them. She continued to tell them about how she ran and looked for the Lady, how she had found her, but that it had been too late. “That’s why she brought me here,” Mary said. She was sitting with her head lowered now. There were no tears, and she was calm, uncomfortably calm. She didn’t dare look at any of the others sitting around the table
The choices we make 18
The days Mary spent working in the kitchen always seemed to go by quickly. It was the daily routines which divided the days into breakfast, lunch and dinner that made them float together into a formless memory. Wednesday seemed to appear out of nowhere and before Mary knew it, she stood outside the kitchen waiting for Zerden. She was wearing her grey cloak and in the pocket of her dress she had put her purse with some of the money she had saved. She was hoping Zerden wanted to go with her to the seamstress. Mrs. Karrots had told her where to go. There was apparently a seamstress who used to sew clothes for the servants in the castle. If Mary told her she worked in the kitchen, the seamstress would choose the fabric and the model which was standard. Zerden came running, Mary saw he was happy. He came up to her and gave her a big smile and his eyes was full of anticipation.“Mary, you’ll never believe what Dad told me today,” he said before she had time to say hello. “I’m going to go hu
The choices we make 19
Zerden and the hunting team did not return until the Tuesday after they had gone hunting. They had a good hunt. This meant that in addition to butchering the crudely butchered animals, the kitchen would be cooking and preserving them. Alongside cooking the regular meals. Mary was so busy she had not been able to meet Zerden to ask how he had been doing or about the hunt. But she took comfort in the fact the next day was Wednesday, and then she would be able to meet him. She wondered if Erik would come up to the castle. Maybe all three of them could take a trip in the city. The weather seemed to be holding up, and Mary was really looking forward to Wednesday.Wednesday morning dragged itself forward. Mary stood and cut thin strips of venison which would be dried over the fire. Her hands had a couple of wounds from the knife. She wasn’t used to cutting such thin slices and sometimes the knife slipped. But she continued stubbornly, trying to concentrate on her task. She knew it was soon
The choices we make 20
As usual, the kitchen was in full swing. Mrs. Karrots shouted orders with a clear voice, the kitchen maids rushed around to perform their duties, and everyone else worked with strict concentration to please Mrs. Karrots. None of the people in the kitchen knew it was Mary’s birthday. Mary herself had almost forgotten about it until Mrs. Karrots casually mentioned the date. Last year, she hadn’t even realized she had turned eleven years old until the summer had passed into autumn, so much had happened. Today Mary turned twelve years old and if she were home with her mother and father, it would have been celebrated and her parents would have had a small gift prepared for her. But now she lived in the castle and her parents were no longer alive. Instead, she spent the day peeling and cutting vegetables of various kinds. It was Wednesday and Mary was able to get off work a little earlier. She went to her room and washed off and changed before heading to church. As she crossed the castle co
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Mary handed over the ladle to a kitchen maid, who had to keep stirring in the pot while Mary made her way towards the door.“Hello,” she said, a little surprised.“Hello,” Zerden said. “Mom is wondering if you can come and have dinner with us tonight.”“Wait a minute,” said Mary, walking over to Mrs. Karrots. Patiently, she waited for the big woman to finish reprimanding the farmer who had delivered vegetables that apparently did not meet Mrs. Karrots’ standards. When the cook was done, she turned to Mary.“Zerden’s mother wonders if I can have dinner with them tonight,” Mary said.“Of course you can, my friend. Now run and tell the boy, so you can continue with the porridge.” Mary did as she was told.“I’ll be there as soon as I finish for the day,” she said.“Okay, I’ll tell Mom.” They said goodbye and Mary returned to stirring the porridge. Mary was a little nervous about the dinner. It had gone well the last time she was there, but she was still a little afraid of the castellan. B
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