As the sun rose on the seventh day, all of Melchior bustled with joy as its people celebrated their king’s birthday. Not everyone celebrated, as the staff in Melchior castle was hard at work. Sera was rudely woken up by the sound of the unruly livestock which rested right outside of her window. Along with her fellow kitchen and scullery maids, she stiffly rose from her bed and got dressed. She listened to the others as they swooned over the dresses for the day’s festivities. While the other maidservants were quick to get dressed, Sera took her time, slowly lacing her corseted red dress for this special occasion; it was a courtesy of the king, although secretly a display of his wealth. As the room steadily cleared, leaving her alone, she made her way to her dresser. Opening her drawer, she cast aside her hair ribbons and brush to open the cover of a book with a leather binding, which revealed several small vials embedded in the pages; each one containing a different colored powder or liquid. With a small smirk, she began to pull out the vial which was filled to the brim with a white powder.

“Ahem!” a voice roared behind her, causing Sera to straighten her back on impulse and accidentally drop the vial in her drawer.

Glancing down, she saw that the lid of the bottle had opened slightly, causing some of its contents to spill out.  

“To work with you, girl!”

“M-many pardons, m-miss Rose!” Sera apologized profusely, “I was simply looking for a ribbon for my hair. I did not mean to dawdle.”

Turning back to her drawer, Sera quickly grabbed the small vial and slid it inside a band within her sleeve as she grabbed a red ribbon. She neatly closed the book and her drawer, before rushing towards the kitchen with an agitated miss Rose on her heels.

In another part of the castle, Andyr was wiping sweat off his brow. Not only was it a hot day, but the king insisted on having barrels of wine delivered to citizens. After hours of carrying barrels from the wine cellars onto the carts to be delivered into the city, an end was finally in sight. Loading the last barrel onto the carriage, Andyr straightened his back.

“August, Edmund, what about these?” he asked bluntly, pointing at several barrels which were placed near the kitchen doors.

“One of the scullery maids, told me that those are empty,” August responded, “so we’re finished here.”

“Thank goodness, you’re here, big fellow!” Edmund exclaimed, patting Andyr on the shoulder, “You do twice the work in half the time. No wonder the marshal had you help.”

“I am a castle guard, not an errand boy.”

“I’m famished,” August interrupted, wiggling his eyebrows, “You know, that maid also told m

Publishe we were getting some extra meaty stew today!”

“Not a fan.” Andyr added stiffly.

Edmund and August looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Andyr into the servants’ dining area.