I cleared my throat. “I am looking for spices called cardamom and nutmeg.”
“Cardamom? I know the plant, but it’s not used for much more than a mild tea,” Jel said as he climbed a ladder and rummaged through a dozen or so glass jars on his gigantic shelf. He produced a jar containing cardamom and plopped it before me.
“Do you ever use the seeds in your cooking?” I asked.
“Not that I know of.” Jel raised an indigo eyebrow.
“It’s incredible!” I gushed. “You take out the pods and crush the seeds inside, releasing the fragrant spice.”
I walked Jel through the simple process and he took furious notes in a separate notebook, complete with illustrations. His work was beautifully thorough, very much like my own father’s copious attention to detail. By the time I’d finished gathering the herbs and spices I needed for my baking, Jel was already five sketches deep.
“Thank you, Jel,” I said. “I have what I need.”
“Anytime, miss. Humans truly are an interesting species. Perhaps when I’ve figured out this shadow blight, I can study more of your strange customs.” Jel waved, still intent on his sketch.
“You are welcome in the kitchens anytime.” I nodded, still not able to shake my curiosity at seeing the king, covered in dirt, working with Jel. What had he been working on?
With the hand-ground cardamom and nutmeg filling fresh glass jars, I made my way back to my kitchen to set up for tomorrow morning where I would not fail. But what was the king doing at the home of a lowly gardener and more importantly, why was he so dirty? I couldn’t imagine the king doing anything to sully his immaculate hands, but my eyes had not deceived me. I filed that strange occurrence back with all of my other musings on the king as I made my way to the cottage.
Jacob and his eager assistant were waiting for me when I arrived. I wondered if he would be too busy with the king’s carpentry demands to meet with me so soon upon arriving in the Undying lands, but was pleased to see him—a connection to home. Jacob scratched his head and grunted when I waved at him from afar.
“Hi Jacob!” I smiled.
Another grunt. Yes, a connection to home, but a grumbly one.
“Are you busy? Does the king have you working all hours of the day to build some kind of precious throne carved from whale bones?” I asked.
“Whale bones?” Jacob continued to scratch his head. “I work in wood.”
“I know.” I grumbled, annoyed by how my weird thoughts sometimes made it out of my mouth without reason. “Are you busy? Because I have some things around the cottage that could use some sprucing up.”
Silence, then Jacobs’ apprentice, the lanky, eager one, burst into a fit of laughter, his bright green hair flying though it’d been piled on top of his head like a fluffy ball of yarn.
“Spruce-ing? I get it! You know, the tree? Spruce? And you’re a carpenter…”
I nodded and took full credit for the pun as if it had been intended all along. “Glad one of you has a sense of humor.”
Jacob merely grumbled again as he made his way through the front door and into the kitchen. He grunted, taking notes as he drew lines and took measurements before I’d even told him of what I needed. His assistant offered to hold the tape or help in some way, but was shoved off.
“The kitchen table needs a new leg and—” I started but Jacob cut me off with a raised eyebrow.
“Table’s no good,” Jacob mumbled. “Gonna make you a new one. Y’need space for your dough to rise near the heat of the oven and this?” Jacob indicated the half-broken table. “It’s a mess. Gotto.”
“Yes, sir.” Gotto, his assistant perked up.
“Take these measurements—in my language so I can read it.” Jacob commanded.
“Yes, sir.” Gotto shook his hand out awaiting numbers, which came in a stream of fractions of height, length, girth, and things I didn’t quite understand. So, I left them to it and got to organizing my larder and shelves, which wobbled—so we added ‘secure shelves to the wall’ to the items on the list, which was becoming alarmingly long and detailed.
“I’ll have this done for you within a fortnight.” Jacob nodded and left without another word.
“Thank you!” I called to his and Gotto’s retreating forms.
Rafia and I exchanged amused glances at Jacob’s gruff manner. I hefted up a large bowl, and we got to work cleaning out the larder and preparing for our cinnamon roll delivery for the next morning.
The king’s words rolled through my head in a deep, cranky echo.“Do not disappoint me.”
Tomorrow, everything needed to be perfect.
