Egyptian Timewave

Chapter 32

Just moments after Abayomi had started to suspect that Anippe had fallen asleep, the princess pushes herself up to look at Abayomi. "Why don't you go down to the kitchens today?"

Abayomi blinks at her. "What?"

"I overheard your conversation with one of the maids who brought up breakfast? Why don't you go? I'll just be here for a while and you can say that I gave you a break for the day and if anyone asks, you can say it's because of the ineptitude of the guards that rattled you."

"What brought this on?"

Anippe shrugs. "Nothing really, I just think you deserve a break after the chaos of earlier."

Abayomi snorts. "A break from what? The job that doesn't actually exist beyond the need to use it as a cover?"

"A break from everything, I guess. And-" Anippe pauses. "And it might give you extra precautions if they investigate you."

Abayomi sighs, flopping back onto the bed and closing her eyes. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Still, for my sake?"

Abayomi opens her eyes to see Anippe staring down at her, eyes wide and pleading. "Are those puppy dog eyes?"

The look disappears, replaced by one of confusion. "What?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter. It's just a saying. But fine, if you're going to give me that look then I guess that I can go."

Anippe grins. "Great! I'll see you later."

Abayomi narrows her eyes at the other girl but with a huff of a laugh, she pushes herself up. She's walking over to the door when she freezes, frowning to herself.

Anippe calls out from the bed. "Is everything alright? Did something happen? Did you forget something?"

Abayomi nods, slowly turning. "We did forget something, yes." Anippe is about to get off the bed, concern in her eyes, when Abayomi adds, "Where's the kitchens?"

A huff of an "Oh." from Anippe comes before she bursts into laughter. Abayomi mock glares at her.

"It's not that funny!"

"It is a little bit, you must admit."

"Haha do you know the way or not?"

Anippe laughs. "Of course I know it! What do you take me for, the perfect princess?"

She slides off the bed and opens the door, waving Abayomi through before slipping past it herself. The path she leads them down is a meandering one, avoiding all of the big throughfare hallways even where she must have known of a shorter path. There's no other reason for them to have gone around the entire courtyard.

"Hey Anippe?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are we going this way, exactly?"

Anippe frowns back at her. "Because I'm taking you to the kitchens?"

"No I know that, I meant why these little hallways, the hidden ones?"

"Oh, that would be because I do not think that you we should be allowing anyone to see me leading you, a servant to everyone's knowledge, to the kitchens? It would be quite strange to anyone who saw, perhaps even concerning. Most servants do tend to grab their meals from the kitchen, after all."

"I haven't."

"No, you haven't."

Abayomi frowns. "Should I have been doing that, then?"

"Technically, yes. But we have been saying that I keep you too busy for you to slip away, so the kitchen staff has been assuming that you have been taking care of yourself with my leftovers. Did you not notice the extra rolls and small bits they have been sending up with my usual tray?"

Abayomi blinks. "That was for me?"

"Oh yes. Of course, they have no reason to know that I tend to share my meal with you, but it was still quite kind of them to do."

Abayomi nods. "Oh. yes, that was very nice of them." After a few minutes, "Anippe?"

"Yes?"

"How do you know these paths in the first place?"

Anippe's cheeks darken slightly. "Well, my uncle used to bring me to the kitchens for little treats when I was very young, and as I got older I used to try and sneak to the kitchens for those same treats after I got old enough for my uncle's doting to be frowned upon and I no longer had a reason to be going. It doesn't befit a prince's duties for him to be getting desserts with a mere princess, you see. Even if the princess was the child of his favorite sister."

"But he wouldn't have shown you these passages, would he? How exactly did you sneak into the kitchens?"

"I found them with trial and error, really. The kitchen staff always knew that I was there, but I became familiar enough with these paths that no one else did, and to this day no one has caught me. And speaking of the kitchens," Anippe points ahead of her to the large wooden doors across the hall from their little alcove of a side-hallway. "They're right over there. I must leave you here, but I'm sure you can find your way back?"

"I think so?"

Anippe chuckles. "If you don't think you can trace our steps back, the courtyard is just down the hall to the left from the kitchens."

Abayomi nods. "Do you want me to bring you back anything?"

"Mallow root?"

Abayomi laughs at the other girl's guilty look. Must be a favorite treat of hers. "Sure."

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Well hello, I'm back. What do you think will happen in the kitchens? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out