Food for service

Kimi walked her dirty self out of the street and went to the high tree of the palace, playing the flute. Even a stick could barely have the strength to blow air into the instrument in her mouth.

"Get down here girl." She eyed her from the backyard where she stood with her apron.

"Lola—" She called her name meowing her face, she had lost hope and at this rate going for two days without food she might end up with her intestine embalming itself into a cadaver.

"I thought we were done, what are you doing here with all this face." She glanced at her, that's one of her tricky faces she would use after then she will get a portion of free food from her. But today wasn't her usual luck.

"If it's food, you're not going to get it that easily." She threw her head in the air, motioning her to go far away.

"Lola, I'm starving, I know you don't want me to die of hunger and be fed on by beasts."

"I doubt they don't feed on corpses."

"Well ferals do, come on you can use one of those mantras of yours and get me anything edible, fish, meat, grains, cooked or uncooked, if there are even fruits; one of those that grows behind that wall I would be so grateful." She said clasping her hand together pleadingly peeping through the other side and when she saw the woman was not pity stricken by her tricks she realigned herself. Kimi was fast at doing everything, her intellectual quotient was high too so she tried to figure out what to say in the next few hours.

"Leave here before anything happens and both of us will be in trouble and by the way you reek, try changing those trousers of yours." Lola raids her hands holding her nose in between the pads of her thumb and index.

"Lola please— help him out, I would do anything and promise not to run away." The woman turned her back while still walking inside.

"I promise! Please—" she screeched after her like the bang of thunder. The woman stopped and looked at poor Kimi, Lola had always pitied the poor girl, she had wished she could adopt her as her own if she was one of the royals but all hands are not equal instead she was a mere slave like her, but with a different story. Her parents were dead since she was five and she strived and grew.

"Promise—" she wanted to hear it from her as she called her forward.

"I, Kimi promised." She said, holding her hands to her chest so that Lola wouldn't have any doubt.

"What happened to you, I thought I gave you seven pence earlier, were you robbed or did you do your charity of feeding those little infants again?" She asked as she opened the door that led to the store.

"I wish it was that." She said looking down as if a child that had committed an offence and was being spanked.

"Your tongues, Kimi!" 

Screams. "What happened to it." 

"I will turn it into a frog," She threatened.

"Fine, since you said so, but you won't believe it, it was a vampire that robbed me, only if I know him,"

"That's stupid, and why would a vampire that's already rich pickpocket you, they won't even come near you." She said looking at her from the stair where she stood.

"You're going to be working in the palace throughout today." she said her hands gold onto the sponge that she scoured the back of the pot with.

"No way, you know I don't like vampires." She said,

"Unless you want to starve, if you're going to be eating, then get ready and start working." She said, "And more so Kimi, there's a royal ball for the king's welcome party, you will have to help me out, I may even pull some string, who knows the queen might like you and you won't have to sleep in the manger again."

"Still I don't like the idea of it."

"Who does? But we don't have a choice do we?"

Lola was right if anyone had a choice she wouldn't be stuck with the vampires serving and worshipping the ground they walked upon. She had dreams; she wanted to settle in the countryside with the man she loved but when the war broke out he was killed trying to defend her before her own two eyes, tragic, but he saved her, sweet. 

Kimi stood there looking at her, uncertain of what to say.

"But they killed my parents." She said meekly then her face went the wrong sort of shape as it does when a child wants to cry.

If you're trying to keep back your tears.

"Oh poor Kimi, what have you got against them? They're powerful and look around. Everyone has had their loss yet we have that glimmer of hope inside our heart, some can't sleep at night, and we're still working because we have to survive." She moved near the plates that were stacked above each other and had the maid rearrange them.

"It is for the queen to keep it dry." She said to the girl that was placing the dishes on the platter, Kimi's thoughts wondered at what she had said and she couldn't think of being any better than any of the maids there, all of them starting from Lola the chief maid to the least were refugees.

"Fine, I would do as you say just for tonight, and get me something before—" She didn't finish her statement before she shoved a piece of pancake into her mouth and landed the plate containing other kinds of stuff in her hand and took to leave.

"Get ready, tonight is going to be weary!" she shouted at her, how the table has turned.

She perplexed her head through the door, " and don't wander around." That was the part Kimi was not good at keeping her space, she could run around the whole city in just a day like a flash and still feel no pain or ache in her muscles.