章 13: HIDE-AND-SEEK

"You're dismissed. You all can leave. We will be making lunch." Catherine informed the head chef who nodded in understanding on seeing the little princess with the madam, as the rest of the kitchen servants started to leave the kitchen.

Normally, nobles would be mortified at the thought of cooking or learning that their spouse– the women, or child wanted to cook, but the people in the Grand Duke's mansion were used to their madam using the kitchen, since Catherine used the kitchen sometimes. Therefore, it wasn't too shocking that the princess also wanted to join her mother in the kitchen.

No one knew how the servants would react if they learned that Wilson would also join in the cooking. But even if they did find out, they could do nothing about it, after all servants had no say in the affairs of their masters.

The only servants who remained in the kitchen were Adeline and Cassandra, their personal maids who were told to observe so that they'd be able to teach the rest of the kitchen servants how to make the food.

Melanie, Catherine's lady-in-waiting, was also present.

The head chef and the rest of the servants weren't asked to leave the kitchen just for Catherine to use it. Aristia came up with the idea to save Wilson the embarrassment. She couldn't believe she actually forgot the timeline she was in, and was beginning to doubt if she truly was a genius as the world called her.

Some minutes after the maids left, Wilson and Alaric walked into the kitchen, the both of them dressed in their usual stylish clothing. Aristia had changed into the simplest dress in her wardrobe and also asked Catherine to do the same, but even the simplest dresses spelled expensive.

Aristia smiled as she kneaded the dough with her little hands. She enjoyed cooking as much as she enjoyed eating.

"What am I to do?" Wilson asked Catherine, his voice snapping Aristia out of her thoughts.

Catherine chuckled softly. Her husband who usually knew what to do actually looked clueless in the kitchen, but it was expected, after all, he had never stepped foot into the kitchen before now.

Catherine turned to Aristia who replied to Wilson. "We're making doughnuts and some drinks." She chirped.

"Doughnuts? What are those? I've never heard of them before." Wilson asked curiously.

"You'll see. For now, you can help knead the dough like I and Mama." Aristia replied, pointing to the remaining lump of unkneaded dough in the bowl.

Wilson was about to pick up the dough when Aristia stopped him, telling him to wash his hands. She didn't want germs all over her food.

Obliging, Wilson and Alaric did as she said. Aristia divided the unkneaded dough into a smaller portion which she gave to Alaric, while handing the bigger portion to Wilson.

Wilson watched their movement and in no time, he was able to get the hang of it. The problem was Alaric who was having trouble kneading the dough.

Walking over to him, Aristia sprinkled a little flour on the rolling board placed on top of the kitchen stool so that Alaric would be able to knead the dough comfortably. She held the dough and kneaded it, and then asked him to do the same.

She oiled a bowl and asked Alaric to place the kneaded dough into it. She did the same to hers as Wilson and Catherine imitated her actions.

"What shall we do now?" Catherine asked Aristia curiously.

"Now we cover it and wait for the dough to rise. We aren't anywhere near done, and we won't be making only doughnuts today." Aristia replied.

***

"This spot will do. It has nice scenery." Aristia said as she pointed at a particular spot shaded by a tree through which small streaks of sunlight passed through.

Right now, they were in the garden after they had freshened up and gotten dressed in clean clothes. There was a stream in front of them.

The quietness of the mansion, coupled with the clear sound of the sparkling stream and the occasional sound of passing birds, made the atmosphere very relaxing and peaceful. The perfect atmosphere for a picnic!

Aristia asked the maids to spread the blanket on the ground beneath the tree which was beside the stream.

She sat down on the blanket and patted the spot beside her for Alaric to sit on. Wilson placed the basket containing the baked goods and drinks on the blanket before sitting down with Catherine.

"I would like for us to play a game." Aristia suggested.

"What game?" Catherine asked curiously.

[If I suggest a game, Wilson and Catherine might wonder where I learnt it from, so I'm going to have to take the credit for the game's creator.]

"There are lots of games, but let's play hide and seek first. I made it up myself." She said, pretending to be proud of her achievement in order to make her act more believable.

"You did?" Catherine asked, amused. "Well, what's this game about?"

"It's just that; hide and seek. Someone hides and someone seeks. It's a game in which one player closes his or her eyes for a brief period, often counting to hundred, while the other players hide. The seeker then opens his eyes and tries to find the hiders. The first one found is the next seeker, and the last is the winner of the round..." Aristia replied.

[I doubt if they would be willing to go out and hide, seeing the era and their positions.]

Wilson nodded his head in understanding. "So, how do we decide who to hide and seek?" He asked, making Aristia blink in surprise at his acceptance of having to possibly hide or seek.

"That's easy. I thought of that and I found a solution in the form of another game. It's called Rock, Paper, Scissors. The rock is a closed fist, paper is a flat hand with fingers and thumb extended and the palm facing downward, and scissors is a fist with the first and middle fingers fully extended toward the opposing player. Rock wins against scissors, paper wins against rock, and scissors wins against paper." She went on to explain the rules of the game and how it was played, while demonstrating the hand signals.

"I see," Catherine said when she had finally gotten the hang of the hand signals. "But what If both people show the same hand signal?"

"Well, If both players throw the same hand signal, it is considered a tie or draw, and the game resumes until there is a clear winner." Aristia explained.

"Do you understand the game Al?" Aristia turned to Alaric worriedly. She wanted them all to participate.

"I do!" Alaric nodded enthusiastically, eager to play the new game– not that he really played any games.

"Good, so we'll start. Rock, Paper, Scissors!" Aristia spoke, throwing a scissor. Wilson threw a scissor, Catherine threw a paper and Alaric threw a rock simultaneously.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" Aristia said again and this time, she threw a paper, Alaric and Catherine threw a paper, and Wilson threw a rock, making him the seeker.

"So you'll have to close your eyes and count to... one hundred!" Aristia informed, standing up excitedly.

[I chose the number out of consideration for Catherine. She might not be able to run as nobles normally move as slowly as peacocks. Yup, that's the only reason.]

Catherine and Alaric also stood up and Catherine asked the maids to watch over the still hot snacks in the round basket which was covered by a white cloth.

Wilson stood up, turned around and leaned on the tree with his eyes closed. Not caring if any servants were watching, he started to count as his wife and children hurriedly looked for places to hide. It was a funny sight. A man as large as the Grand Duke and with his position turned against a tree, covering his eyes and counting to ten.

[How do I move in this dress? I'll need custom-made clothes soon. I should have asked Wilson to count to the number one hundred. I'm not even in the mansion yet and he's probably counted past fifty.] Aristia thought in frustration as she tried not to trip on her dress while holding Alaric.

On getting to the mansion, the three separated. Aristia ran all the way to her room and crept under her bed, making sure that her dress wasn't sticking out. She felt it was a good hiding spot because no one would expect a noble child to hide under the bed, in her opinion. Plus, the spot beneath the bed wasn't dusty at all.

Not long after, she heard her room door open and someone walked into her room. She held her breath as the person's feet stopped just right beside her bed. She almost thought she was caught until the person turned around and left, not even checking the bathroom and closet.

As soon as the door closed shut, her body relaxed and she sighed in relief. But a thought flashed through her mind and she sighed again.

"I wonder how long I will have to wait here."