1 Chapter 1

"Lanaaa~"

Lana smiled as she whirled around with a plate of large puffy cream buns, "Yes, Briar?"

The beautiful blond at the wooden table moaned, "These are delicious! How do you make them like this?"

Lana laughed.

Briar was a delight whenever she was in the kitchen.

"I just pray a lot after they go into the oven and there's nothing I can do!"

The two girls laughed.

They stood in the middle of a large spacious kitchen. Wooden tables and work stations lined the walls and the surfaces were filled with pots and pans and other crockery. In the middle ran a long table with freshly baked scones and buns and various cookies atop. The dishes were piping hot and filled the castle's head kitchen with the most delicious scent.

"I'm droooooling but I can't possibly take a bite more!" Briar cried.

Lana laughed, "There will surely be a few stored away for the kitchen staff to eat. You can snipe them from me tomorrow!"

Briar squealed, her cute face filled with excitement, "I love you, Lana! You're the best!"

The sound of quick footsteps caused the pair to startle before Briar hurried out of the backdoor leading to the store room with a quick wave and a bright smile.

Lana waved quietly back before she turned to the door through which the footsteps could be heard.

A tall lady with a dignified and stern expression entered the kitchen. She had glasses balanced on her curved nose and full lips, "Lana?"

"Ms. Heigrenne."

The lady stopped her nose catching the magnificent scent and posture relaxing, "Did you make all of these, girl?"

"Yes, ma'am." Lana steadied, her face beaming and eyes sparkling, "There's one more batch in the oven. With that, baking for the week should be done."

Ms. Heigrenne glanced over the table, impressed.

The tall lady was not one for giving out praise, Lana knew. She was quite strict and dealt out harsh words for the slightest of offences. She was quick to notice skill however and awarded it with heavy duties and important responsibilities.

Ms. Heigrenne slowly approached the table and Lana tensed slightly.

This was the first time she had been given the duty of baking to store away goodies for the rooms of the royal siblings. It was not the most important duty compared to the other duties that the royal kitchen carried out and did not compare to making fresh dishes for the royal meal itself but it was definitely not a job given to just anybody and Lana had only entered the royal kitchen staff a good seven months prior.

Lana swallowed.

She was no ordinary kitchen staff at the castle.

Lana had two jobs. Primarily, she was not from the land she had entered. She was from the kingdom of Amethia, a large prosperous land that housed happy people and well-built cities and towns. She had been picked by the kingdom to secretly go undercover to the kingdom over the sea. 

The kingdom in whose royal kitchen she now stood.

There was a large weight on Lana's shoulders.

Her main Employers had suffered no expense and sent her in with perfectly forged documents and finely executed procedures such that the royal guards and security personnel had been perfectly fooled.

Lana knew her job was simple. Blend in with the kitchen staff of the enemy kingdom's castle and do the job sparking no one's curiosity or suspicion, aid the two other spies who had been planted in the castle's higher positions. Escape with the others at the first sign of danger and rejoin the main kingdom to share the collected intel.

Lana bit her lip as Ms. Heigrenne bent down to touch the cookies delicately with her finger.

Everything Lana did, at times of inspection, she always housed a silly fear that she would be found out by her dishes.

As if the cookies she had baked would somehow open their mouths and sprout out where she was really from.

She calmed her breath when Ms. Heigrenne looked up to see her.

The tall lady straightened.

"No need to be nervous, Lana. You've proved time and time again that your baked dishes cannot be compared with that of the others."

Lana nodded, smiling awkwardly as a slow trickle of sweat ran down her neck, "Yes, thank you, Ms. Heigreene. You are most kind."

The lady nodded before turning around, "Finish the batch and take the rest of the day off. I'll send Steven in to help clean and stuff the jars."

She did not pause as she left the room, calling out over her shoulder, "And maybe Ms. Briar hiding in the Storeroom can help him too."

--

A breeze rifled through the leaves.

Two horses galloped fast, headed in the direction of a mighty castle that rose into the clouds.

"A magnificent sight!" One of the men on the horses shouted. He was a strong, muscular man with dark red hair falling over his forehead in silky waves. He had piercing blue eyes and a confident expression on his face.

The handsome man who raced him nodded, "It is indeed!" 

The companion had golden blond hair and an easy smile. He had grey smiling eyes and sharp canines in his teeth. Dressed in all black, his pale skin cut him into a sight one could not tear their gaze from.

"That lazy Damien is probably snoring away in the stables right where we left him," the tanned redhead shouted, annoyance contorting his features.

His friend laughed, "I would say the same. I knew the moment he waved us away with all his might and promised he would be with us the moment we cross the gate!"

The redhead rolled his eyes, "We're sending him out to get our refreshments."

"Again?" The blond looked amused, "I don't think he would mind."

The redhead quirked his eyebrow, the wind still slapping at his face as the two men sped on, "What do you mean, Cayle?"

Cayle smiled and shrugged, "He is more than pleased to visit the kitchen. Beautiful maidens have recently joined the work force, he said."

The redhead's gruff laugh did not hold amusement, "He's out dallying with vulgar women, is he? We have to put a stop to that for sure."