57 Sisters

The Queen stood there speechless and motionless for a few minutes.

Eventually, she cleared her throat and said, "I did ask you not to burn my castle down yesterday."

Brightise raised her eyebrow in challenge. "You asked me not to burn the throne room. The dungeons were fair game."

The Queen looked at her silently with an unreadable expression.

Brightise broke the silence first. "Is my punishment over?" she asked.

"Yes," said the Queen slowly. "Yes, it is."

Brightise nodded. "Good. I'm hungry."

The Queen led her out of the burning room without another word. On their way to the kitchens, she stopped a passing Amazon and asked her to fetch Neleah.

"Tell her to go to the dungeons right now. There is a fire that needs to be put out this second."

The Amazon nodded and hurried away.

Brightise followed the Queen into a big room with a high ceiling that served as the kitchen. A woman with a dark Mohawk turned to look at them as they entered. She had intricate tattoos on her arms that looked a lot like the Queen's head tattoo and she was holding a steel pan in her left hand.

"Meesa," the Queen greeted her with respect.

"What are you doing in my kitchen?"

Despite the cook's rudeness, the Queen didn't seem mad. Quite the opposite, she looked as nervous as if the other Amazon was her superior.

"I wanted to serve our new recruit some dinner," the Queen said carefully.

The cook raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You want to serve her dinner?" she scoffed. "Wait, you passed the test?" she asked suddenly in surprise, turning to Brightise.

Brightise didn't remember the other Amazon, but she could guess that she had been at the amphitheater when her punishment had been announced.

"Yes," she answered.

"How?" the cook asked curiously.

"That is for me to know," the Queen broke in. "Could you leave us alone for a minute?"

The cook looked at the other woman suspiciously. "Why?"

"So we can have some privacy."

"Why did you come here if you wanted privacy? Lots of empty rooms in this castle," she pointed out.

"Because she was hungry and this is the kitchen," the Queen said impatiently.

"Let me serve her food then," the cook said with a sly smile.

"No."

Brightise waited for the Queen to explain why, but she did not. Her inability to provide a reason seemed to satisfy the cook even more.

"I don't know what you want in here, but you will not get it for free," she told the Queen with a smile. "I want two pigs, ten chickens and five baskets of apples here by tomorrow morning."

"Fine," the Queen said through gritted teeth.

"And a deer caught personally by you."

"Done."

"And two helpers during meal times."

"Okay."

"And-"

"Get out."

The cook rushed out without even bothering to complete her sentence. When the door slammed shut behind her, the Queen turned to Brightise with a sigh.

"That was my blooded sister Meesa. We are not nearly as close as you and your sister."

Before Brightise could think of an appropriate response to that, the Amazon started rummaging through cupboards and containers noisily. Brightise had a feeling she was making a mess on purpose.

A few minutes later, the Queen dropped a large piece of raw meat on a wooden board in front of her.

"There's your dinner," she told Brightise. "Tuck in!"