Prince Justus and the Rogue

Gracia POV

Johanne, the top maid, is this short and slightly plump elderly lady that looks like your typical grandmother that should be at home baking chocolate chip cookies. She has gray hair that is neatly tied into a bun and wears a red dress with a green apron.

"Come along dears. First I'll show you where you'll be staying. The rooms are for two people at a time so this will work perfectly for you. We need help the most in the kitchen right now so I'll introduce you to Chef Randel later. He'll decide your direct supervisor who will then decide your station and working hours. So, here's your sleeping chambers." She opens the doors to our room. It's pretty simple. There's two beds, two desks, two ceiling to floor cupboards, and two closets. The furniture is made of oak, the sheets are blue, the comforters are white, the walls are white, and the floors are wood. She also shows us the staff dining hall and what times meals are available. Then she takes us to the kitchen. "Chef Randel, This is Gracia. She'll be starting in the kitchen tomorrow. Prince Justus has asked that we allow her time to take her sister, Cecily, to school in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. School starts at eight o'clock am and ends at two o'clock pm. Also, he wants to know what her work schedule is, what type of work she is doing, and who she is working under and he would like that information by tomorrow." Johanne explains to the chef. "Great. So, I have to babysit some slut that the prince is fucking so she can act like she is working. Is that the idea Josie?" The chef exclaims not even looking in my direction.

The chef's harsh words leave me shocked. "I should say not Chef Randel! I don't know what type of help you're used to getting around here but I am certainly not like that. The prince was nice enough to help me get a job here but we are anything but fucking and I am anything but a slut. So, I shall thank you for leaving such language out of your mouth when you are speaking my name."

The chef's and Johanne's mouths fall open. They have nothing to say. Finally the chef recovers first. "Well, alright Miss Feisty. Looks like we have a new prep cook. You'll report to the AM Sous Chef Hann at eight thirty am sharp, you can take an hour break to pick up your sister and eat lunch, then your shift ends at five thirty pm. That should give you plenty of time to get your sister to school and back here. Be on time, do your job, and we'll get along fine. I do not tolerate tardiness, gossip, or bullying in the kitchen. It is bad for morale and what is bad for morale is bad for the kitchen."

I smile at my new nickname. "Thank you Chef Randel. See you tomorrow morning."

We left and headed towards the school entrance. Johanne took us to the fifth graders for ten year olds and called for the teacher to step outside the classroom. "Miss Aalis, this is Gracia and Cecily. Cecily will be starting class tomorrow." "That's wonderful news! Cecily, do you read and write?" The teacher asked with a smile on her face as she bent down towards Cecily's level. She seemed really nice.

Cecily wanted to be shy and hugged on my leg. She just shook her head. I felt embarrassed. My father couldn't read or write so and there was no school in our village so I never learned and did not have an opportunity to teach Cecily. "Well, that's okay." The teacher stood up to direct her attention towards me. "This is really common and I am fully trained to deal with new learners even at this grade level without asking the child to go back a grade so they can stay with peers their own age. The children eat lunch at noon before they leave. Do you have any questions?" She smiled again.

"If someone, other than me, was ever to try to pick Cecily up from school can you stop him from taking her?" My real fear is that father will find us and try to take Cecily out of school while I'm not there.

"Absolutely. You can make a list of people that are authorized to pick her up and if you're the only one then there's no point in making the list. Even if one of the royals comes to pick her up I won't release her to them. They know the rules. Also, Cecily's school uniform will be a white shirt with a yellow skirt and black shoes." She smiles again as she pulls out five shirts, five skirts, and the shoes in Cecily's size. This woman is always smiling. After we left the school Johanne took us on a small tour of the king's castle and property. She showed us good places to go for a run in wolf form that didn't include leaving castle property, a park to take Cecily, where the warriors train, walked us around the gardens, the female bathing pools are, a place to play games such as archery, jousting, hammer throwing, and wrestling, and then back inside the main part of the castle. She took us to the main floor library, a game room that included boards setup for backgammon, checkers, shuffleboard, and dice, ball rooms, grand dining hall for large feasts, then where the meeting rooms are, offices, and where the royals, beta, delta, and gamma plus their families eat. That was all on the main floor. The second floor was for guests even though the other floors also had guest rooms, the third floor was for the gamma and his family, the fourth floor was for the delta and his family, the fifth floor was for the beta and his family, and the sixth floor was for the royals. Each floor has its own library, dining hall, office, at least one guest bedroom, gathering room, meeting room, and then bedrooms for the families. The royal floor also has an atrium. Finally we went back to our rooms.

Johanne gave me my uniform. "The King's Werewolf Castle is extremely color coordinated so everyone knows everyone else's position. As a prep cook your uniform is simple. Your tops and bottoms are blue and your apron is black. You are given five pairs on your first day. You are expected to wash them and to take care of them. Well, girls I think that's everything. I hope you enjoy staying and working in the castle." I'll be seeing you around. That night I took Cecily down to the bathing pools for a bath. They had towels and soap there. The warm water felt so good on my skin.

I wake up at six am to a loud bell. It's enough time for me to get both Cecily and I dressed and then to the dining hall to eat. There's coffee, milk, sausages, eggs, hash browns, and pancakes. I've never seen so much food before. Both Cecily and I ate our breakfast and then I took her to school. It was a bit early but the teacher was there. Then I made it back to the kitchen before eight thirty.

Chef Randel introduced me to AM Sous Chef Hann "Chef Hann this is your new prep chef Gracia, also known as Miss Feisty. Her shift is from eight thirty am to five thirty pm and gets an hour break at two pm to pick her sister up from school and eat lunch."

"Well Miss Feisty, start by cutting up these vegetables. They've already been washed." With that he hands me a large basket of root vegetables and I get to work.

A young man walks up next to me with another basket of root vegetables to chop as well. "Um, Hi! I'm Blazh. Welcome to the kitchen. We'll be working alongside each other a lot."

I smile up at him, grateful for some friendly chatter. "Hi Blazh, I'm Gracia. How long have you been working at the castle?"

"Oh, I've been here for a while. I'm twenty now but I've been working here since I was fourteen, so six years. I started out as part of the cleanup crew that would pick up dishes after meals and meetings, wipe down tables, mop the floors and clean the kitchen, then I became a dishwasher, and now I'm a prep chef." He remembers thoughtfully.

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.org is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! "Wow! That's great. I guess you like working here?" I ask, talking makes the work go by faster.

"Yeah, Chef Randel is rough around the edges but he's actually really a great guy. Chef Hann has been awesome to work for. It's because of him that I've been able to move up. Besides, the pay is nice, the benefits of the castle are great, and I'm surrounded by beautiful women." He laughs at his last remark. I stop and look around the kitchen, other than Chef Hann, he's the only guy working. "Most guys that come to work here become stable boys, landscapers, or learn some craft but when I came all that was open was the kitchen."

"So, do you belong to Alpha Titian's pack?" I ask, thinking of my time in the dungeon.

"Yeah, I do but I'm an omega so I don't have a wolf and I was doing the same job there only I wasn't making near the pay that I'm making now." He explains why he left the pack.

"Gracia! Prince Justus is taking his midday meal in the southern gardens and has requested that you bring his lunch to him." Chef speaks out in the kitchen. There's a collective gasp and then everything goes instantly silent and all eyes turn to me. There's a whisper that seems to start at a low volume and slowly increases. "That's enough! We all know Chef Randel's rule on gossip. There's nothing unusual about the young prince choosing to take his meal in the garden. He often eats his midday meal outside. The fact that he's asked for a specific kitchen helper only means that his butler is busy. That's all. So, everyone back to work. Gracia here is the prince's midday meal. When you give it to him, take it off the tray, set the table in front of him and then set his meal on the table, then fill his chalice with wine. Wait for him to finish his meal, ask him if he desires anything else, if he says no then collect everything for the meal, and bring it back, if he says yes then do whatever he asks you to do."

I pick up the tray and start my way to the garden.

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