Chapter 3- The Mad Kitchen

I nodded uncertainly. My legs were still shaking from the ordeal; I was trembling. How on earth did I manage to get away with that? 

"Of course," I stammered, gazing shyly up at the girl. I then turned my attention to the loaf of bread that was outstretched in my hand. 

The loaf wasn't of perfect quality. I had crushed it and dented it in several places. So much that it no longer looked much like a rectangle. Nonetheless, crushed bread would likely still taste like nice bread and I was too hungry to complain.

Breaking apart the loaf into two sections, I timidly passed it over to the girl. She accepted it gratefully, nibbling on the portion of her section. 

"I'll give my hat to you," She said between mouthfuls, "This is a good loaf of bread to be getting into a heated foot chase for." 

I took a bite. It tasted too heavenly for words. The bread seemed to almost melt in my mouth, calming the raging storm inside of my stomach. I reckoned that it was probably the nicest bread that I had eaten, making the entire foot chase suddenly feel worth it. 

Reluctantly, I tore away half of what bread I had left for Aunt Iris and my father, pocketing it. I knew that they would deserve to have a fair share of what I had gathered. I felt strangely guilty that I hadn't spared them the entire loaf, rather than eating a portion of it myself. 

"Hey, Haidyn! Spare some for the rest of us, a middle-aged woman chuckled, thumping the girl on the shoulder, "We all contributed."

"I don't see why I should, Mahra," The girl, Haidyn, teased, "For all you did was just stand there."

Murmurs of weak laughter rang out in the kitchen. I didn't realize that all of the other workers were staring at me in interest, some sizing me up, others shooting me a sympathetic smile. I warmed to them all at once. None of them seemed snobbish or dishonest. 

"I did a lot more than that," Mahra responded indignantly, pulling an exaggerated expression of shock. I stifled the urge to giggle. "My presence was more than enough to ensure that this young lady here-"

"My name's Heliodora, ma'am," I supplied nervously. Mahra mouthed me a quick 'thank you,' flashing a quick smile as she went along.

"Heliodora wasn't caught because of my contribution," She continued, puffing out her chest, "Haidyn, I'm famished. I need food."

Haidyn rolled her eyes comically, tearing off a small piece with her petite hands. She handed it carelessly to Mahra whilst patting her on the head like a young child. Seeing them mess around made me smile. They all looked so happy like they were all part of a special community. That was something I had wanted for a long time. I couldn't help but feel the familiar prickle of jealously crawl up my spine. 

"So Heliodora," Haidyn asked, diverting all of the attention over to me once again, "What brings you into the lonely depths of the palace kitchen? Of all the places you could've hidden, why here?"

"It's quite a long story," I admitted, "I don't know if you're up for listening to it all."

"You fed me bread," She laughed, her eyes twinkling, "Of course I'll listen!"

So I poured out the entire story of how everything had happened. I briefly mentioned my home life, not wanting to go into great detail about living in poverty. I explained the foot chase, the shouting and the elderly lady. When I had finished, the servants looked up at me with great interest, as if I were some sort of exotic animal that had arrived from a foreign country.

I wasn't used to this sort of attention given to me at once. I started to feel self-conscious of everybody's gaze turned admiringly up at me. 

"That sounds so cool!" Mahra exclaimed. Some of the other servants were nodding in agreement. "I feel quite proud that I played a part in that story."

"A very minor part," Haidyn smirked, "Remember I did all of the fancy work." 

We all laughed. I felt at ease with all of the servants, almost as if I belonged with them. They were a jolly bunch, all wearing beaming smiles and having cheerful attitudes. It was the ideal work environment to have. 

"But if you're on the hunt for money," Haidyn was saying to me, interrupting my thoughts, "We could help you out there. We've needed somebody else to help out by sweeping the floors since old Nanno left. I don't suppose you could-"

I didn't even need to process or think for a moment of what Haidyn was asking me to do. The word 'money' echoed through my brain. My ears perked up. My concentration tripled to more than it was before. Money. We needed that more than anything. 

"I'll do it," I piped up, unable to keep the eagerness out of my voice, "Just show me what I need to do."

"That's my girl," Mahra grinned, "Welcome to the mad-kitchen." 

Somebody threw an apron in my direction and I caught it. I felt more ready than ever. I wasn't only doing this for my sake now, but for my family's. I took a deep breath, following Haidyn over to the opposite end of the kitchen.

"Are you ready?" She asked me.

"I think so." 

---

After work, I practically was skipping home. My spirits were high, my mood was lifted and I was unable to stop smiling. That was the best day I probably had in the past year or two. Although the work was dull, uninteresting and tedious, the other servants made it lively and interesting. I got to know and chat with most of the workers in the kitchen. They were a merry lot.

I had also noticed that a lot of them had similar stories of living in poverty as I did. I learnt about their struggles with rent, food, coal and clothing, exchanging survivor stories. One of the biggest things I had gathered was, a lot of servants managed to turn their life around by working at the palace. 

I was starting to optimistic. I used to feel too scared to hope that maybe things would have a happy ending, but now it felt more real. I knew that with a little bit of hard work, I could turn my life around back to how it used to be.

When I reached my home, I let myself in humming. I couldn't even bring myself to feel depressed at the sight of our dishevelled home. 

"Aunt Iris, I return with good news!" I called out to the kitchen. I heard the frantic sound of a pan being hastily stored onto a shelf before my aunt appeared in the doorway. She looked flustered. 

"Heliodora! It is good to see you back!" She greeted me, trying to inject some enthusiasm into her voice. "I have a dinner of potato peels on the table ready for your supper." 

"That is most kind of you," I thanked her as graciously as I could, retaining in all of my excitement. "But I bring good news that surely will mean a brighter future for our family."

This had caught my Aunt Iris's attention. Her eyes widened. The corners of her lips twitched. Her breathing quickened. 

"I'm listening, Heliodora," She told me, her voice shaking desperately. I could tell that she needed to hear this more than anything.

My fingers curled around my leather pouch, inside it contained four drachmae. It wasn't much, but it was equivalent to buying four loaves of bread. I opened it, letting the four bronze coins fall onto the palm of my outstretched palm. The coins were gleaming, the engravings staring up proudly at Aunt Iris's eyes. I had worked all day for those coins and it felt completely worth it.

She looked like she was close to tears. Her chin was quivering slightly, from the shock and suddenness of it all. 

"It's not much," I said, smiling slightly, "But it's something."

"My dear child," Aunt Iris mumbled in disbelief, her voice softer than the touch of an angel. "How did you get this money?" 

"I worked for it," I told her with pride in my voice, "I have a job down in the palace kitchens."

Aunt Iris was at a loss for words. I could tell that this wasn't what she expected. She looked straight at me, her eyes glossy and unfocused. Her brain whirled, trying to process what I had just told her.

"You didn't beg or steal this?" She whispered. "You earnt this through working a job?"

I walked over to, my footsteps echoing down the hall of my house. It was strangely eerie in some way. I clasped my hands over hers, noticing her flinch slightly.

"I have a job," I said confidently, "I will turn this family around. Father will get better, I'm sure of it. We must continue to pray to the gods." 

She just nodded at that as I led her into a prayer to Asclepius. I noticed how distracted and strange she was acting; I found I also couldn't concentrate on prayer. My mind was too distracted to concentrate on prayer at that current moment. 

That's when I remembered the loaf of bread in my pocket. It was even more squished than it was when I stole it. Either way, squashed bread was still good bread. I offered her half of what I had on me. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets with shock.

"How did you get that?" 

"I'm sorry, Aunt Iris. I stole it."

I jumped to my feet, still clutching the other half of bread to my chest. I could sense that she was about to lecture me on the cons of stealing. Instead, she looked straight at me with a funny look. It was a look of amusement, uncertainty and disappointment. 

"You have a job now," She told me sternly, grabbing my wrist before I could run away, "The last thing you want is to lose that through being a petty, common thief. We have an income now, there is no need to steal. It may not be a very big income but it is something we must make do with."

I broke free of her grip and trotted through to the kitchen. I let out a sigh of relief. I thought she was going to give me a proper telling off and punishment. That was something I did not want at the moment to dampen my light-hearted spirits.

I swallowed down my potato peels with a surprising keenness. I felt so giddy, I even felt ready enough to conquer and bring down the world. At that moment, I was convinced that I could do anything.

I could barely wait to head off to the palace to work again. I couldn't wait to joke and laugh with Haidyn, Mahra and the other girls. They felt like the rays of sunshine at the end of a dark tunnel. The sunshine peeping out from behind the rainclouds. The optimism after a long journey of feeling downcast. They were a much-needed morale booster. 

I got up, leaving my finished bowl on the table. I felt the sudden urge to go and see my father and tell him about everything that had happened. Even though he wasn't responsive, I still wanted to tell him everything. It would make me feel a lot better. 

"Heliodora, where are you heading to?" My Aunt Iris's voice called out to me from behind. I turned around to face her. That's when I noticed that she had been crying. Her eyes, which were red, swollen and puffy, had an air of vulnerability about them. She pulled me into a tight hug, pressing her forehead into my shoulder.

"My dear child," She whimpered like a young child, "I fear that this may upset you." 

"Aunt Iris, what is wrong?"

"I...I...I don't think it is in my place to say. It is only in my place to show you." 

Her words worried me. I rarely saw Aunt Iris fall to pieces like this and act in such a strange manner. She was usually quite down-to-earth, sensible and responsible. 

She placed a hand on my shoulder and steered me to my father's room. That's when I suddenly got the horrible suspicion that something was extremely wrong. My spirits had dimmed away to almost nothing. I was fearing the very worst.

"My nerves cannot take this, Aunt Iris," I told her before we could open up his door, "Is there something wrong with my father?"

Aunt Iris's expression gave nothing away. She continued to look helplessly into space.

"You will see very soon, my dear child. May the Gods bless us all with good fortune because we sure do need more of it." 

I pushed the door open and half ran, half leapt inside. Upon first glance, I could see nothing was wrong. My father was lying down in bed just like he always did. Then after studying him for a minute or so, his eyes were not blinking. He was lying there, emotionless and empty.

"Heliodora, your father has died."