The Kitchen Maid & The Queen [Guinevère | Tesslin]

[Guinevère]

Guinevère was queen, and things were both looking brighter then ever--and more unfamiliar then ever. It was hard for her to have people look to her for answers that she might not have or feel comfortable making. Yet the time she spent with Arthur more then made up for her worries about the rest of her life. A smile from him, a kiss of his lips, an touch of his hand on her's and suddenly life was perfect. Happy.

She was happy. They no longer hid who they were too each other! No longer spent time away from the others. Just could sit beside each other supper, and hold hands while walking, and smile openly at each other while others were watching. There was no risk of scandal and shock if they were seen together too late at night with no chaperone.

Life was perfect! Tonight was another feast, and it was in the later hours of it. Soon she would go up to her chambers with her husband and spend time with him as a wife should. As a wife could. But for now, while he was talking with his knights, laughing and joking--She slipped away. Looking for an old friend, whom she had not seen in a while. He was the dishwasher, and she wanted to find him again.

Walking into the kitchens she found a girl there, and she smiled softly, "Hullo," She called, with happy tone. It was quite here, where the feast was loud, and she found herself wanting to spend a few moments here before going back.

[elyseosanne]

The sounds of the feast were traveling down the corridors. The music and laughter dancing through the hallways, twirling with the firelight as the sun set over the mountains. Tesslin was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, a pot in one hand and a soapy sponge in the other. Every now and then she would halfheartedly scrub at the pot, dunking the rag into a bucket of water by her feet. The other maids were taking advantage of the laspe in culinary needs. She suspected most of them were upstairs serving, or trying to sleep. Tess would never understand how somebody could sleep through a feast. She was nearly on the other side of the castle, and the sounds of merrymaking were a background noise to her chores.

The focus wasn't on her chores, however, even though they seemed to pile up on top of one another when she wasn't looking. It was like a game. While she was off baking a few loafs of bread, her duties lined up on after the other, waiting for her when she was done. It was a game with no mercy, and sometimes Tessa got so overwhelmed she just wanted to cry. She has cried, actually. She tried so hard to do it at a time when nobody was about, and she mostly succeeded, but there were times when she just couldn't help it.

Tessa stared out of one of the small windows in the kitchen. A few chickens strutted lazily by, but many of the creatures were asleep with the setting of the sun. That, or too lazy to move around. The sky was clear, and the stars shown brightly down on the castle. The moon was almost full, but not quite. It was the kind of shape that required a lot of staring before one could really tell which shape it was. A voice floated over to her, mingling with the light and the warm slosh of soapy water against her arm.

"Hello. How is th--" Assuming it was another maid, she responded somewhat dreamily. Slowly turning in her seat to catch the source of the voice, Tessa's jaw nearly dropped on the floor. Shocked, she stood abruptly, face flushing with embarrassment. The pan made a clattering sound as it fell, some soapy water splashing against the skirt of her dress. Her hair was not in it's proper bun, and Tess was hyperaware of how it waved down her back. She stumbled over her words, cheeks burning with self-consciousness. "M- M'lady! Do you need anything?"