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The choices we make 8
One afternoon the Lady came walking in with Mildy. Mary was no longer afraid or shy of the Lady, so she smiled when she saw her coming.“Come, Mary, and we’ll see if your new clothes fit,” said The Lady, reaching out to Mary. Mary jumped out of the window and took the Lady’s hand. It would be so exciting with new clothes. She tried on one dress after another. There were clothes for everyday life and for parties in all kinds of colours and shapes. Mary felt the knot in her stomach unknot a little and she smiled up at the Lady.“Thank you very much,” she said.“You still have a dress to try on” said the Lady, smiling. Mildy held it out so Mary could see. Mary stared at the dress and felt the tears rise in her eyes, this time out of joy. The dress was a small copy of the clothes those in the Lady’s company always wore. They differed from the clothes used in Dermes, but Mary thought they were incredibly beautiful. Now Mildy held out such a dress towards her. It was deep green and had wide
The choices we make 9
Mary walked up to the chest that stood by her bedside. It was her father’s chest. She took out the key she had around her neck and opened it. Therein were her father’s silver items, wrapped in cloth and straw. There was also a small bag of the money that Mr. Sansi had received from the sale of her parents’ estate. She searched the items until she found what she was looking for. She picked up a small parcel and unwrapped the fabric that protected the silver object. It wasn’t big but the rose was so cleverly made you’d think it had been a real rose that someone dipped in liquid silver. Mary knew her father had made it for her mother. He would have given it to her for her birthday. Mary was annoyed by a tear that ran down her cheek and wiped it away. She didn’t think her father would be offended if he knew what she was planning to do with it. She wrapped the rose back up and put it on the bed. Then she picked up a new parcel. She unwrapped it and saw a heavy silver buckle. It depicted a
The choices we make 10
When the last grey-clad riders had left the castle courtyard, the court turned around and entered the castle. Mary and the chatelaine remained while the castle courtyard slowly returned to the tumultuous chaos Mary had watched from the window.“Come, I don’t have time to stand here.” It was the chatelaine who spoke to Mary. Her voice was stern and thin. Mary turned to the chatelaine and waited for her to lead her to Mary’s new room. “I’ve made sure your things have been moved to your new room,” said the chatelaine as they walked towards the castle.“Thank you,” said Mary. They didn’t enter through the large doors where Mary had come out. Instead, they walked around the castle and entered through a much smaller door. Mary saw they entered the parts of the castle where the servants were staying. They rounded a corner and suddenly they were standing in the middle of the kitchen. It was the biggest kitchen Mary had ever seen. There were four huge fireplaces where the food was cooked. Ther
The choices we make 11
“Thank you, ma’am. It will certainly do just fine, and I promise to work just as well tomorrow,” Mary said and curtsied. Soon after, she swept through the corridors tightly on Jossi’s heels.“It’s forbidden to have men in the room,” Jossi said, looking over her shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about that for a couple of years, I guess. The room should be tidy and clean; sometimes both Mrs. Karrots and Mrs. Meata do inspections of the rooms. If you ask me, Mrs. Meata is a real bitch, so you better make sure to stay n her good graces,” Jossi continued. Mary nodded and followed the woman as she desperately tried to remember the way they were walking. Jossi stopped in front of a door. “This is your room. Toilet and bath are two doors farther in that direction,” she said, pointing. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, so you don’t get lost. Okay?” Mary nodded and Jossi left her outside the door. Mary opened the door and walked inside. The room was minimal. At one side stood a bed, next to
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“Yes,” said Mrs. Karrots. “I think it can be arranged. I already have a new helper that I’m training,” she said, nodding toward Mary. “I guess another one wouldn’t be a big inconvenience. He’ll need to be here from the start of the day until we finish, and he’ll eat all the meals with us?”“That sounds agreeable, and I don’t want him to be treated any differently because he’s my son,” he said. Mrs. Karrots nodded, and the man disappeared from the kitchen, leaving the boy behind. The boy stood next to Mary and looked at Mrs. Karrots.“What’s your name, young man?” Mrs. Karrots asked him.“Zerden, ma’am,” he replied.“Nice to meet you. Mary here will show you where everything is and how we do things around here. I expect you to work hard and fast and do things the right way. Is that understood?” The boy nodded. “Excellent. Mary, take Zerden and bring water for the vegetables; two pots are enough today. When you are done, I want you to come to me. I have a special task for both of you,”
The choices we make 13
When they returned, however, there was no time for any lessons on how to read and write. They were busy and soon it was time for dinner. Just as Jossi had done for Mary’s first day in the kitchen, Mary made sure Zerden could sit next to her. They didn’t talk much; they concentrated on eating. When the afternoon’s work was completed, Zerden returned home and Mary walked towards her room.“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, waving at him. He waved back before disappearing out the door. Mary thought it was nice to have someone her own age in the kitchen. He wasn’t as nice as Erik, but right now she wasn’t picky. When she fell asleep that evening, she dreamed of branches getting sawed off as she sat on them, long streets lined with people, and of a room with an empty bed.The days went by quickly. Mary discovered most things were easier now she shared most of her chores with Zerden. He had stopped being grumpy and angry and for the most part she liked him. Sometimes they had a few minutes
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
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