Chapter 28

28 A Deadly Cuppa

Olive sneaked into the kitchen that was specifically set up by Zenon for the humans in the castle. She was already covered in cold sweats just by thinking about the thing that she was going to do.

‘How did I even find myself in this situation?’ She started to question her whole existence as she was hastily shuffling through the ingredients that were on the table and in the kitchen cabinet.

‘My life turned upside down within a matter of a single day. Why did my mother send me to work here in the castle even when she hated the vampires? Had she just said no then I would have been living a peaceful life on the farm. Did money become more important to her than her daughter’s safety?’

She tried to find some kind of sweet food that was already prepared. But she didn’t find anything. She began panicking even more thinking that her life would come to an end soon. She abruptly crouched down on the floor and hugged her knees.

‘I cannot even run away now. They will easily catch me. But how can I kill someone? I think I should just let that vampire kill me instead. I don’t want to be a murderer,’ she thought to herself and she began to silently shed her tears.

But the thought of getting bitten, tortured, or defiled by that vampire before finally getting killed sent chilling shivers down her spine. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she feared getting discovered by some vampire just by hearing her heartbeat.

She gulped to moisten her dry throat. And when she did, she recalled that there was a solution to this problem in her pocket. ‘I should drink that poison myself!’

With her shaky hands, she took out the vial and glared at the light purple liquid for a few seconds. She slowly opened the lid and a minty smell entered her nose. Her trembling hand inched closer and closer to her mouth. Her lower lip touched the cold glass that sent goosebumps all over her body.

She inhaled sharply and immediately closed the lid. She buried her face in her knees and screamed in her mind. ‘Why should we lower class people always sacrifice our lives for those in the higher class? Isn’t my life equally valuable as that of that Princess?’

.....

Her mind was filled with hatred towards everyone. And she pushed herself up with a determined look on her face. ‘If I have to kill someone to live then so be it.’

She looked through the cabinet again.

She gathered a couple of items like bread, tangerine, cream, and some berries. She was going to make a quick dessert for the King’s wife. Side by side, she put a kettle over the firewood to make some tea.

Olive took a fancy glass bowl and layered the bowl with pieces of bread. She squeezed in some tangerine, spread the cream over the bread, and topped it with the berries.

‘The dessert is ready. Now for the poison...’

She poured the tea into a teapot. And she slowly and steadily began pouring the poison in it.

She was so focused on not spilling the poison that she didn’t even hear the chef entering the kitchen.

“Olive, what are you preparing?” he asked from the kitchen door.

“Haa!” Olive got so startled that she spilled some poison out of the teapot and into a bowl that was right beside the teapot.

“Oh, careful!” the chef ran inside to see if Olive was okay.

Olive’s back was facing the door so she quickly dumped the poison in the teapot and slipped the vial in her cleavage.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you.” The chef looked very apologetic.

Olive nervously smiled and stuttered, “It’s o-k-kay, Mr. Madok.”

Madok couldn’t help but ask when he saw the tea and dessert, “Who are these for?”

“I wanted to treat Tilla. So I prepared it for her,” Olive came up with a lie without even missing a beat.

And before the chef would ask any further questions, she gave a dismissive smile to him and turned towards the cabinet to take a cup.

She was about to choose a fancy one but Madok suggested from behind, “That cup is for the King’s wife. You might want to take another one.”

“Sure,” Olive pressed her lips together and then picked up a rather plain cup.

She quickly arranged everything in a tray and gave a nod to Madok before leaving the kitchen.

Her heart began to drum again. She was nervous because someone had seen her in the kitchen with the food that she was going to give to Anastasia.

‘If that vampire finds out that someone saw me then he will be furious. What shall I do?’ She walked aimlessly while fretting over the matter.

She slowed down for a while and thought of meeting that vampire and revealing the problem. ‘But I don’t even know his name! And nor do I know where to find him...’

She tightened her grip on the tray and thought, ‘I will just go along with the plan. I will sneak back and clear the evidence before anyone else finds her dead.’

She didn’t know whether it was her strong will to survive or it was her suppressed bloodlust, she was not backing away from murdering the woman who had done nothing to harm her.

“Your Highness, may I come in?” she knocked on the huge door which matched the description given by Elias.

There was no answer for a while so she tried knocking again, “Your Highness? I have brought some tea.”

Anastasia had fallen asleep on the sofa in her antechamber. She was woken up when she heard a soft voice coming from outside.

“Come in,” Anastasia rubbed her eyes and yawned.

She heard the door creak open and a light footstep approaching her. ‘Ah! That was some good sleep!’ Anastasia thought to herself and forced her eyes open. The dim evening light was trying its best to keep things visible in the room.

Anastasia slowly got up and stretched her arms while thinking, ‘It’s already dusk... so why am I being served tea at this houuuuur...’ her mind hit a snag when her eyes caught the sight of the dessert.

‘Never mind that. I could enjoy a tea whenever if they serve desserts like this.’ Anastasia’s eyes were sparkling as the maid lay down the tray on the table.

She watched the maid put the bowl of dessert in front of her and watched her thin hands as she started to brew the tea.

Anastasia was so absorbed in the tea brewing process that she didn’t even realize this maid was not her personal maid but someone else.

Anastasia shifted her eyes from the teacup to the bowl in front of her because the maid was taking too long to brew the tea and the dessert was looking very appetizing.

‘I will have the dessert first. I feel so hungry just by looking at it.’ She grinned like a baby and grabbed the bowl to dig in.

“Thank you for the dessert,” she happily said and scooped a heap of cream and berries. The sweetness spread in her mouth and she closed her eyes as she floated in the food heaven.

“Ah! This tastes so good!” Anastasia praised the maid and kept on stuffing her mouth with the sweet dessert.

In between the eating, she took a glance at Olive’s face and realized that she was Tilla’s caretaker. Her babyface was easy to remember.

Anastasia wanted to ask why she was here instead of her personal maids. However, she felt that it would be rude to ask that while gobbling up the tasty food that she had brought.

“The tea is ready, Your Highness.” Olive pushed the teacup in front of Anastasia and added in a sweet voice, “The dessert will taste even better if you have it along with tea.”

Olive was not even scared anymore. The adrenaline rush had taken over her mind and body. It would be a lie to say that she wasn’t eager to see Anastasia take a sip of that poison-laced tea and choke to death.

“I know, right? It tastes so much better with tea,” Anastasia excitedly put the bowl aside and took the teacup in her hand.

She brought the cup close to her nose and inhaled the minty aroma. “Ooh! Smells very tasty,” Anastasia smiled as if the aroma touched her soul.

The corners of Olive’s lips pulled up when the rim of the cup touched Anastasia’s lower lip. ‘Yes, that’s it. All you need is a sip or two.’