Page 41 of Arrows and Gems
“Of course not,” Rouge scoffed. She matched Helena’s slower pace as they crossed to the camp’s center. “I trained as akitchen assistant, the same as my mother before me.”
“Doesn’t that require early mornings?”
“Unfortunately.”
Shaking her head, Helena sat on a log that Tucker and his friends had hauled into camp the previous evening. Rouge lowered their food supplies from the branches overhead, then wordlessly handed Helena the jar of yeast, a tub of lard, and the small packet of salt. After setting the bag of flour on the table, she grabbed their bucket and stomped off to the nearby stream.
As others in the camp began to stir, Helena mixed the simple dough Rouge had taught her. She eyed the table as she worked. Had someone else left it here and she hadn’t noticed the night before?
The planks looked more grown than hewn. She’d only seen round ears in the camp, but many were always hidden in hair or under hats.
While Helena worked, Rouge started the fire, then laid some of Helena’s dough on a thin sheet of metal over the fire. Some of it would be left to rise for bread later, but they needed something to eat for breakfast. Helena hadn’t eaten the flatbread or the peasant loaf before Le Capuchon rescued her, but she found both satisfactory.
“That smells delicious, ladies.” Stepping over the log, Adrien claimed the seat next to Helena. “Good morning, Margit. How is your ankle?”
Helena formed another ball of dough and passed it to Rouge, wishing the process didn’t require bare fingers. But the sticky dough would ruin her gloves. “Bearable. Le Capuchon kept it from hitting the ground yesterday.”
“Ah, yes, I saw that,” Adrien grinned. He paused to give Alanna a one-armed hug as she sat next to him. “That was quite the tumble. Very fortunate that Cap has such quick reflexes.”
A little heat blossomed across Helena’s cheeks. She hadonly wanted to remove Le Capuchon’s hood, not end up in his arms again. But she had, and everyone in the camp had seen it.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, excellent reflexes.”
“That’s enough for now, Margit,” Rouge cut in. “You can take a break and warm your hands.”
Relieved, Helena quickly dunked her fingers in the small bowl of water for cleaning. The frigid liquid sent little stabs of pain through her fingers while she quickly rinsed off the dough. She wiped her hands dry on her cloak and then stuffed them inside her gloves.
“They warm faster if you put your fists under your arms,” Tucker commented, demonstrating with his own balled hands. “Without the gloves, though.”
She jerked her gloves back off and stuffed her fists in her armpits. The change was immediate, the warmth of her body soaking through into her chilled hands. “Why don’t we do this inside a tent?” she asked, clamping her arms tighter against her sides. “It’s still cold, but it would be a little bit warmer than out here.”
“We tried that. But since we don’t have an extra tent, I used my own.” Rouge shook her head grimly. “When I failed to clean up every last bit of a spill, it attracted wild animals. Better cold hands than that.”
Helena shivered at the thought. “I think I would agree.”
Rouge handed out the pieces of bread as they finished cooking. Helena nibbled on hers, listening to the conversations around the circle. She still received angry looks from Laurent, but the rest of the group was adjusting to her presence.
Two faces didn’t appear at breakfast. No one else commented on the absence, so neither did Helena. She didn’t want to give the wrong impression after her mishap the day before.
The day passed slowly, but Helena appreciated the opportunity to gaze across the valley, picking out homesteads andlooking for houses built among the trees on the mountain slopes. It lessened the boredom of her chores, and she basked in the different beauty from her homeland. Even Reineggburg and Flussendorf, with their rocky hills, were nothing to the mountains of Amitié.
“Those are the lands belonging to Lord Raoul’s family,” Tucker said from behind her.
Turning from the view, Helena squinted up at the teenager. “What?”
He gestured down the mountain. “Down there. You were admiring it, and I thought you’d like to know.”
She nodded her thanks, although she had no use for the information.
Instead of leaving, he set one foot on the log next to her and leaned on his knee. “You must be one of the few ladies immune to his charms.” Tucker chuckled. “To hear Cap speak, Lord Raoul has only to smile at a woman and she’s his. I wouldn’t know; I’ve never met him myself.”
“Neither have I,” Helena replied, furrowing her brow. “I’ve never been to Amitié before.”
“Yes, but he almost always travels with Princess Daphne,” Alanna quietly chimed in. She looked up from the sock she was darning. “If you’re friends with Marielle, surely you’ve met her cousins?”
A thread of nerves wound its way through Helena’s chest. Papa had only allowed family and the Daric royals to visit her at Reineggburg. So while she had met Marielle, she hadn’t met Marielle’s other royal cousins. But should she have, if she had met Marielle under normal circumstances?
“Just the Ralnoran ones,” she hedged. “I was never available for a visit when her Amitian ones came along.”
