Her own way

Chapter 27

Several days passed since the argument between Kate and Josh and each time Kate attempted to speak to him, he ignored her and walked on as if she was not there. It was difficult for Kate to comprehend, in all the years she had lived with the Jacobs family she had never been shut out for this length of time. A few hours is nothing in a sibling dispute, but going on for longer brings more difficulties.

After the first day, she left the tower room and moved her meager belongings down to a small room branching off from the kitchen. She believed that if she gave the prince his safe space back then he might feel like he could come back and talk to her like he had before. Unfortunately that was not the case. She has neither seen or heard from Josh in the days after and she was starting to give up hope.

 Instead of moping around like a love-struck fool, she threw herself into her role within the kitchens.

The kitchens took up a large area of the ground floor within the castle, with access out into the castle gardens where a large portion of vegetables and herbs were grown, and to the chicken pens where eggs were gathered on a daily basis. Each time she looked out the window, Kate was astounded at the size of the gardens and the resources available to the kitchen staff. When she had been in the kitchen back in the cottage all she could see out of the window was the trees of the forest, which had it's own sense of beauty but nothing that compared to this organised splendour of colours and shapes of different sized plants. Kate knew better than to leave the castle without telling anyone first, even to explore the grounds. After all that she had been through just to feel relatively safe, she did not want to jeopardize it in any way and with Josh not talking to her at all Kate did not want to put her safety to the test.

Each day, Kate was given a list of her chores. They always started the same - feed the chickens and gather any eggs, and then help Miss Lina with her cooking duties for breakfast. Cooking made her think of home and her family. It had been so long since she had been with them and she often wondered where they were, what they were doing and most importantly, did they miss her? Most of the time, Kate was kept so busy she didn't have a moment to stop and think about what was going on, what she would do next, but her family was at the top of pile. 

On the third day of hard work down in the kitchens, Miss Lina pulled Kate to one side putting a stop to the chores for the day.

"What's wrong child?" Miss Lina asked. "Hmm? Look at me girl."

Kate didn't want to speak and kept her eyes locked on her feet. Miss Lina reached forward and grasped her chin, forcing Kate to meet her eyes. Pushing her hand off, Kate turned her face away to the wall before looking back at Miss Lina.

"I don't know what to do," she mumbled. "He won't talk to me."

"Who, the Prince?" Kate nodded her response and dropped her head to her chest, letting her dark hair fall forward over her shoulders. Lina started to laugh. "That boy don't know how to stay mad at you, girl!"

"I do not know, Miss Lina. I have not seen him these past few days and every time I went to apologise he walked away from me! Ignored me..." Kate trailed off, her voice breaking slightly. Lina stilled, it was not like the young Prince to disregard another's feelings, especially not this girl.

"My dear," Lina spoke gently as to not upset the girl any further. "You care for him greatly, don't you. Now don't shake your head, I know this is true! I also know that that boy loves you just as much."

"No, I don't believe you. He doesn't feel like that towards me. I mean, how could he? We only met a few weeks ago. I.. ah... but..." Kate was lost for words. She wanted to believe what Lina was telling her but without Josh speaking for himself, she had no way to be sure. "Miss Lina, I know you mean well, but I... I just can't believe it."

"Believe it or not dear, it's the truth in my eyes. Well I can see you're going to be no use in here now. I shocked you too much, yes I did. In that case, take this list and go to the market. You have until the sixth bell of the clock, if you are not back by then..." She left the warning unfinished. With nothing else to say, she handed Kate the shopping list along with some money before almost pushing her out of the kitchen door.

Kate allowed herself to be maneuvered outside and mindlessly began walking towards the marketplace, paying no attention to her surroundings. She went through the motions of purchasing the various items on the list Lina gave her and slowly made her way back up to the kitchens. No sooner had she put the shopping down on the bench, her arms were grabbed from behind, a cloth placed over her eyes and another tied over her mouth to prevent her from speaking.

"To the dungeons." She heard a voice hiss before she was dragged out of the kitchens and down a set of stairs. She could feel several hands holding her upright so it was easy enough to guess that there was more than one person taking her away. Kate was so confused. This had to be the worst year of her life.

As Kate was dragged away, Miss Lina stayed hidden in the pantry. She had been checking for supplies when the two soldiers came in and asked for Kate's whereabouts. They had been so quiet she had thought they had left. Apparently she was wrong. Shaking herself out of her shocked stupor, she hurried up the stairs to find Prince Joshua. Things had gone far enough, and if that boy had anything to do with Kate being taken to the dungeons then he would be in so much trouble.

Taking a deep breath she knocked lightly on the door to the Prince's chambers. Without waiting for a summons, she opened the door and slipped inside.

"Tell me you didn't." Lina demanded. Josh looked up from his perch at the window, confusion marring his features. "Tell me you didn't order Kate to the dungeons."

"What!?!" Josh jumped up from his seat and grasped the older lady's shoulders. "She can't be there. I would have known." Lina wriggled out from his grip and poked him in the shoulder, using her familiar relationship with the Prince to get some straight answers.

"You wouldn't have known if the sky was falling and that girl was the only one to save the world! You have not spoken to her in at least three days! Did you even know she moved out of your upper rooms? She told me she wanted to give you your 'special place' back, without her tainting it. Her words, not mine."

"But... No, I left that room for her use."

"Well she gave it back. Boy, can't you see how much she cares for you? It might even be love, but who  am I to interfere in affairs of the heart. Now back on track. If you didn't order her to the dungeons, who did?"

"I don't know Miss Lina, it wasn't me thats for sure. No one else here has the authority except for...." Josh closed his eyes in realisation. His voice hardened as continued to speak. "That conniving man. I will get him back for this. I will not have her harmed by his actions!" Now it was Lina's turn to be confused.

"Who?"

"My father."