Mary's Path
An old friend

Mary looked the way of the artisan quarters and saw Erik. She turned to Zerden.

“Wait here,” she said, then ran down the street they had just walked up. Erik came running from the other direction.

As they approached, they both stopped. Mary didn’t know if Erik could talk to her, so she kept her distance and looked at him questioningly.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hi” he replied.

“Where have you been?” he asked. “It’s been almost two months since we last saw you. Mom thought you were dead or living on the streets,” he continued.

“No, I live up in the castle, I work in the kitchen there,” she replied. Erik looked at her wide-eyed.

“Mom told me about your parents,” he said, looking down at the ground. He seemed unsure what to say. “I’m sorry,” he said after a while, looking up at her carefully. Mary felt her lower lip tremble and looked down at the ground until the feeling had passed.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“Dad’s going to teach me how to do combs” Erik said. Mary looked at him.

Erik’s father was very good at crafting things out of bone, just as her father had been with silver. Erik had always wanted to learn how to carve bone, but his father had thought he was too young. Erik smiled and he seemed proud.

“I hope one day I’ll be as good as my dad,” he said.

“I think you will be” Mary said.

“Mary, why don’t you come and visit us sometime?” said Erik.

“I don’t know,” she replied. Mary wasn’t sure if Erik’s mother would let her, and she was always busy in the kitchen.

“Please?” he asked.

“Okay, I’ll try” Mary said, nodding. She turned around and saw that Zerden was waiting impatiently. “I have to go,” she said.

“Who is that?” asked Erik.

“It’s Zerden, he helps me when I have to do errands in the city,” Mary replied, not knowing why she didn’t want to say he worked in the kitchen. Then, he didn’t work in the kitchen anymore.

“His father is the castellan” she said as if that explained everything. Erik looked at Zerden and then nodded.

“Come and visit soon” Erik said.

“I’ll try. “Bye,” Mary promised, and began to leave.

“Bye” Erik said and stood and watched how she went back to Zerden and how they both then proceeded towards the castle.

“Who was that?” asked Zerden after they had been walking for a while.

“That’s Erik, he and I used to play before” Mary replied.

“Why don’t you play anymore?” he asked.

“When would I have the time?” said Mary. “When I’m not working in the kitchen, I eat or sleep,” she added.

“Or teach me how to read and write,” Zerden said.

“Yes or that.”

“But now that I’m no longer working in the kitchen, we won’t be able to practice anymore, so you’ll have time,” he said.

“When you’re not working in the kitchen, all my chores take twice as long,” Mary said.

“Oh”

The two continued in silence until they approached the door to the kitchen.

“I can take the basket now,” Mary said. “You should go replace your father.” Zerden nodded and gave her the basket and what was left of the money.

“See you around” he said as he walked toward the castle yard to replace his father.

“Sure” Mary said, walking into the kitchen. As usual, it was organized chaos in there. The heat hit her like a brick wall and she criss crossed between people to replace Mrs. Karrots.

“Here you go ma’am” said Mary, holding out the basket and the money to Mrs. Karrots. Mrs. Karrots looked through the basket and then counted the money.

“Is this what you were left with after you finished shopping?” she asked Mary.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Mary, wondering what was wrong.

“I’d like to talk to you, Mary. We’ll go and sit out in the yard for a while,” Mrs. Karrots said, leading the way out of the kitchen. Mary followed her with a heavy heart. Had she done something wrong, she wondered.

She had tried to save the money and she had tried to hurry. Of course, the conversation with Erik took some time, but that long. Mary desperately went through everything she had done and what she could have done wrong.

Mrs. Karrots sat down on a bench that was not far from the well.

“Sit here with me, Mary,” she said, and Mary obeyed.

“Last week, when Zerden and you had been to the butcher, a butcher came here with the meat we wanted. He asked for ten cresi per kilo for the pork and fifteen for the beef,” Mrs. Karrots continued.

“What?” Mary couldn’t contain herself. “He promised that he would only take nine and twelve kresi each,” Mary said indignantly.

Mrs. Karrots fell silent and looked at Mary in amazement. Mary felt herself blushing.

“Did you negotiate the price?” asked Mrs. Karrots. Mary could only nod and did not dare to meet Mrs. Karrot’s gaze. “And today you negotiated the price as well?” the cook asked. Mary nodded again.

“You’re ten years old, you can read and write, and you know how to negotiate the price of goods?” asked Mrs. Karrots. Mary nodded and wondered where this was going.

“Mary, yesterday you helped me make the mayonnaise for dinner.” Mary nodded, she had been allowed to stand and hold the big bowl while Mrs. Karrots had made the mayonnaise with the help of a kitchen help.

“Do you remember how many eggs I had in it?” asked Mrs. Karrots. Mary was surprised by the question and looked up, then she thought about it.

“Yes, you had 22 yolks in it,” she replied.

“Just egg yolks, no whites?” asked Mrs. Karrots. Mary shook her head.

“No, just egg yolks and then you mixed it with mustard and salt and dripped in oil until it got white and sticky,” Mary said with confidence.

Mrs. Karrots looked at her with a frown. Mary was sure she had done something wrong. Maybe it was a secret recipe, maybe she should be punished for remembering it.

“Mary, you seem like a talented young girl,” Mrs. Karrots said after a while.

“Thank you, ma’am,” was all Mary could say.

“It’s not often we get such talented girls in the kitchen. I’d like to teach you how to cook and maybe even how to become a cook’s assistant if you are up for it.”

Mary looked at Mrs. Karrots.

“In the kitchen?” she asked.

“Yes. Do you know what a cook’s assistant does?” the cook asked. Mary shook her head.

“They help the chefs and cooks prepare the food and makes simpler dishes,” explained Mrs. Karrots.

“And you want me to learn how to be one?” Mary asked. Now it was Mrs. Karrot’s turn to nod. When she did, several blonde curls fell out of the white cap.

“There will be other chores, not as heavy as the ones you have now but instead you have to learn new things by heart, and you have to be meticulous and patient. It will mean you will get two afternoons off a week and a little more money” Mrs. Karrots continued.

“Money?” asked Mary.

“Yes, of course we get paid. Didn’t anyone tell you?” Mary shook her head. “Dear me, of course we get paid. We get food and accommodation and a small amount of money in salary. The salary is paid every third month” Mrs. Karrots said. Mary nodded.

“There’s something else I want to talk to you about. The castellan was surprised that you had taught his son to read,” she said. “It turns out that neither he nor his wife can read or write. He would be happy if you could spend one of your free afternoons continuing to teach Zerden. Would you agree to do that?” the cook asked.

Mary nodded eagerly.

“Very happy,” she said. Mrs. Karrots seemed pleased with the answer.

“Then we decide that you start learning how to cook tomorrow. On Wednesday afternoons you teach Zerden, you can be here in the yard, and then you have Sunday afternoons off. Does that sound good?”

Mary didn’t know what to say, so she nodded. She hadn’t felt this happy in a long time. She would not have to carry firewood and water, and she would learn how to cook and best of all was that she would see Zerden again.

This meant that she was no longer alone, not entirely, she had found a new place. She had a place to create a new life for herself.