A Servant Lost (Alys Book #1)

Chapter 8

It was a full week before Alys was able to return to the kitchens to work.  During that time, Aldyth made regular visits to see to her back.  Dastrehan had dealt with Gax; he was given the same punishment that had been inflicted on Alys, and after he refused to see the error of his ways, he was stripped of his Lordship and sent to work in the stables with strict supervision.  As for Dagan, he was given the option to redeem himself, but he denied any relationship to Esme's unborn child.  Dastrehan informed him that he would pay for any expenses that the child brought upon Esme, until a day if or when Esme married another man.  Surprisingly to Alys, Dagan made no argument, and agreed to comply. 

Alys's back was much less painful after the first two days of treatment, and by the end of a week she could almost sleep on her back again.  Aldyth agreed that she was fit to return to her duties, and Alys did so. 

She did not welcome the idea of sleeping on a hard stone bed again, but she had not seen Esme for more than a few minutes since the Prince had first returned. 

Aldyth had supplied extra paste to have Esme put on Alys's back. 

Alys's return to the kitchens was met with curious eyes.  Everyone had noticed her absence for the past week, as well as Gax's disappearance. 

"There's a rumour going around that you two were lovers," Esme explained while the two young women scrubbed dirty dishes, "But I laugh at anyone who dares to ask me."

Alys had to laugh herself.  Just the idea of it was simply ridiculous.

The two women once again fell back into routine.  Except that Esme was pardoned from arriving to morning shifts late, now that all the other servants and the new acting reeve had been informed by the prince's men that Esme's pregnancy was to be treated with understanding and respect.

Esme no longer had to try and hide her baby bump, which made productive work much easier to do.  Alys was beginning to feel healthier and stronger again, and her work days were much easier to bare.  Her back was healing nicely, though she knew it was going to scar up badly.  This fact saddened her, but she tried to console herself by reminding herself that she was never going to marry, so having ugly scars on her back would never affect her.  Still, she could not brush off the sad feeling she got when someone, like Aldyth or Esme, brought up the scars. 

Another week went by, and Alys was sure now that she must be pregnant.  Relief engulfed her, but there was still a nagging worry in the back of her head that she could not isolate.  Dastrehan had not asked her about the baby since the first night he had found out about her flogging.

Alys had begun to think that Dastrehan might have changed his mind about their plan, but when she informed him that she was indeed still carrying, he resolved her worries with his pleased and unwavering smile. 

It was the end of March; the snow was all melted, the world was thawing, and the days became a little warmer.  One particularly warm day, a messenger came from Prince Dastrehan to fetch Alys just before the midday meal.  Alys obliged, finishing up what she was working on and hurrying after the messenger to bring her to the prince.  The messenger stopped in front of the doors that Alys remembered lead out to the gardens.

"You should put this on, Miss," the messenger boy said, retrieving a thick knitted shawl off a hook on a wall and turning to Alys.  He helped her put it around herself, and then they headed out of the palace and into the gardens.

The sun was bright, and Alys could not keep herself from bringing up a hand to shield her eyes.  It felt like years since she had last been out in the sun.   The messenger led her through the maze of various gardens, until they entered a long, narrow field.  The prince was standing with a few of his guards quiet nearby, and a table was in front of him holding various bows and arrows.  Alys guessed they must be in a shooting range.