Hazia got up and woke up Kazu earlier than usual, before dawn. She had hardly slept the night before after Inae had told her that she would be brought to cook for a noble lady of the palace that day, because her nerves had gotten the best of her and for some reason the animals being raised a few courtyards away from theirs were especially noisy. She couldn't help being a bit nervous of her upcoming meeting with the noble lady that Inae served. After all, in this world there was a clear distinction between nobles and commoners, even though they weren't exactly commoners; hence why some of the servants were still able to show a little pity to them outside of the orders the had received from nobles who had more money and power than them. For that reason, no matter how kind and easygoing a noble may seem, it should not be forgotten that they are nobles and the rules and laws that govern the people struggling at the bottom of the hierarchy are much different from the rules that govern them. She thought it would not be, in any way, wise to make an enemy out of any noble outside the white tower especially since she was not, by any means, in the position or had the backing to make such a bold move. Her being in the body of a malnourished child no older than 6 years but seemed to be 3 or 4 years, was not at all advantageous for her. All she could do was plot and scheme till she got strong enough to use her ow strength.
They quickly snuck out of the white tower, having forgotten to check on their small crops, and routinely covered their tracks carefully to go meet Inae, who had been waiting for their arrival in the servants' kitchen.
After seeing them approaching, she stood up and waited till they stood before her. Inae looked at them from head to toe then nodded her head, approving of their appearance. Hazia had taken extra care in her and Kazu's appearance. They were dressed in matching dark brown and light brown colored garments, though the styles were a bit different; to differentiate between their genders. She had also used a ribbon to tie up her and Kazu's hair in low ponytails.
"I'll take you to my lady's kitchen, now." Inae turned away from them and began walking off in a direction. As they walked, Hazia looked around and saw that they were passing the entrance of courtyards with lights and lively noises even so early in the morning. They were obviously occupied by some ladies who were favored. She kept quiet and closely followed behind Inae along with Kazu. Before long they finally walked into a huge courtyard, though it was a lot less decorated than the others that they had passed along the way it held a sense of serenity that everywhere else in the palace lacked. Inae, without stopping or slowing down, walked along the walls going behind what looked like the main house. They went inside a kitchen that was understandably much bigger than the servants' kitchen she had gotten used to working in; however, it still had the most basic layout of the stoves and pots and pans. There were already some servants present and they were prepping ingredients.
"Come here," Inae called out and everyone stopped what they were doing to step forward in her direction and listened to what she had to say. "These two here will be the ones cooking today," she pointed us out to the small crowd. "You all need only to assist them today."
Another elderly woman walked out from behind the crowd while wiping her hands on a cloth before throwing it over her shoulder and inspecting them. "What are these two brats doing here?"
Hazia looked at the woman and couldn't recognize her or a majority of the other cooks in the kitchen. So, they've probably never tried her cooking at the servants' kitchen. A few familiar faces showed sympathetic faces but remained silent. She realized that the woman questioning them was most likely another power force in this kitchen. At first glance she was not easy to work with.
"They will be the ones cooking today. If that's going to be a problem for you, Imra, you can just take the day off. Everyone else will be their assistants. Understood?" Inae's presence was so strong and commanding all the other servants obeyed her words, while the one named Imra was frowning.
Inae turned to them, "Use these ingredients to make something delicious for my lady." Hazia nodded then quickly went to work after Inae left them with some instructions.
She had to make three meals and some snacks to serve the noble lady for the day.
Hazia decided on making an omelet and porridge for breakfast, a cold soup and some stir fried meats for lunch then some chilled melon for her to snack on till dinner, which was a lot grander; it consisted of 3 meat dishes that were fried, stir-fried and stewed, served with rice and blanched vegetables. She could do a bit more in this kitchen than the servants' kitchen where she was before as it had more of everything.
Her and the ever-silent Kazu worked from early in the morning to late in the evening with barely a few bites to eat. Because of this she hoped that it wouldn't be a long-term thing for her to work in the noble woman's kitchen. Inae had visited the kitchen multiple times throughout the day to check on her progress, find out the menu, and to help with delivering the food. After Imra had left from in the morning, she wasn't seen for the rest of the day and Hazia had no complaints about that since for the most part all the servants were willing to listen to her instructions and assist her, especially the ones who had eaten her food before.
When she was finished for the day, Hazia had asked one of the maids she was more familiar with to help lead her back to the servants' quarters so they could bathe before going back to their courtyard. Right as they were leaving after packing up some leftovers, as the noble lady certainly wouldn't eat them, Inae came back again and sent away the servant.
"My lady would like to meet with you." Then she turned and walked off in a direction and Hazia was compelled to follow with Kazu following her.
'This is going to be a longer day than I had expected,' Hazia thought as she followed behind Inae.