I was summoned to work in the orchard

Trying to find a black cat in the castle proved to be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

I had no idea where Vesna was and how she was spending her days, and I had nobody to ask. His Highness was up in the sky, flying around, and Korvan was offended, not wanting to talk to me. I did not want to use another spell with the coin of Saint Anthony, considering how it ended up the last time.

Strolling around, I decided to go outside.

The sun was up high, and the air was warm, but I could feel a cold wind on my skin. Autumn was slowly approaching. I crossed the inner part of the court and ended up in the outer courtyard.

I remembered there was supposed to be a garden there, and I never saw it, so I decided to take a look at it. I was expecting a few bushes and trees, but I was surprised once I entered it.

The whole garden was surrounded by a hedge. At first, I thought I ended up in some kind of labyrinth which I remembered from fairytales, but I was mistaken. The hedges were splitting the garden into sections. There was one flower garden and one orchard. On the opposite side, the hedges were slowly disappearing into tiny fields with growing vegetables and fruits.

A small boy was standing in the orchard. His short hair was scruffy, going in all directions. Small droplets were glistening in the sunshine in his hair. He was dressed in a small beige linen shirt and brown loose trousers reaching down to his knees. He was barefoot. He had a little wicker basket hanging on his arm, reaching out with his second hand to the low-hanging plums. He was too short. He was trying to get the plums, but no matter how high he jumped, he was unable to reach them.

I went after him. I had to tiptoe to reach the branch, but I was able to catch it. I pulled it down, lowering it for him to reach.

He turned around, surprised. His wise, black, round eyes stared me down. He did not say anything, clearly annoyed by my entrance. He just reached out and started collecting the ripe plums. None of us said anything, so there we were, working in silence. I couldn’t bear it anymore. This was the first time I felt really lonely since coming to this world, to this castle.

“Are you still angry at me?” I asked.

His hand twitched, but he did not respond.

“I told you, I am sorry,” I said.

He was still pretending, he could not hear me.

“Aren't you going to forgive me? Aren't we going to continue with our reading lessons, Korvan?”

He turned around, shocked.

“How were you able to recognize me even in this form?” he asked.

“Even if I would like to say that I am smart enough to recognize your wet hair, the thing is, there is no one living in this castle apart from me, you, Vesna, and His Highness. So seeing you here, I knew instantly that it was you.”

I let go of the branch, which was now covered only with leaves, and it shot up instantly.

“Where are all the servants and people living at court, who need to serve His Highness and are responsible for running this place? Why are we alone here?”

“They all ran away once His Highness was cursed and turned into a dragon. Even a few brave ones, who stayed, have already left after a few years or died ages ago. His Highness is cursed already for one hundred years. No human can live for that long until it's cursed.”

“So we are really the only ones here, apart from the Firebird Prince.”

“He is not cursed, but he is not human. And his castle is behind the mountain, where he lives along with some of his birds of prey servants.”

“And the village nearby is the only one?”

“Yes, the majority of people living there are the ancestors of people who once served His Highness. The second nearest village is just too far. You would have to cross a deep forest to get there. The path there is also very difficult. Villagers from there were never able to cross the forest and arrive here. Too perilous.”

“I see.”

“Now, enough talking, more working!” Korvan said, suddenly full of his usual authority and force. “I need to check the whole garden to see what else is ripe and needs to be collected. And we need to store those things and decide what we are going to do with them. Are you going to help me, or did you just come here to bother me?”

I considered his words as proof that he is no longer jealous of the sneaky firebird who infiltrated my bed.

“Why are you not taking some kind of ladder with you?” I asked him. “Those branches are high.”

He did not respond. But this time, it was not because he was pouting, but because he did not want to say something to me.

“I… I am not good with heights in this form,” he said after a while. “It's scary without wings.”

“But now I am here. If you fall, I will catch you. So stop being so stubborn and forget about that arrogant firebird, okay?”

He finally smiled at me.

“It was kind of lonely without talking to you, even though it was only a few days,” he confessed.

“You can be surprisingly sweet sometimes,” I said, unable to hold back.

His cheeks puffed.

“I am just kidding, you are very brave and handsome, like a prince out of a fairytale. Where is the ladder then?”

“In the barn,” he said.

We left the basket of plums in the garden and went to the barn. An old wooden ladder was there, waiting patiently for us.

“Where is the weasel?” I asked.

“Hiding. It found out you snitched on it to His Highness.”

“Excuse me? I did not snitch! I didn’t even say anything!”

He laughed, and I could see that a few teeth were missing in his mouth. Like when children are losing their baby teeth. Korvan looked very young, but considering the age of His Highness, I was not sure if the time was moving the same way for him. I did not ask him. Korvan was a zmok, a supernatural being, not human at all. And yet, even in his original black chicken form, with his personality, it was hard not to adore him, even though he was feisty sometimes.

We took the ladder out of the barn and returned to the orchard again.

“So you are taking care of the whole garden by yourself?”

“There is not much to do,” Korvan answered. “His Highness is usually away the whole day. He is only rarely in the courtyard when the sun is up. Vesna is always somewhere, not helping at all, as she has cat paws now and cannot do anything apart from having snarky comments. And there is a garden, and there are animals. Weasel is helping with the animals in the barn, as she can use a little bit of magic. But the garden would be unattended otherwise, so we split the tasks.”

“Want me to help you? I am fine with collecting fruits, but if there is something that needs to be done around the garden, you need to teach me.”

He looked at me, astounded. “How is it possible you are a girl and you don’t know how to tend a garden? Aren't all girls spending the whole day working in the garden or in the fields?”

I knew he did not mean any harm by it, but his words stung, reminding me words of people back home, in my own world.

“I used to buy fruit and vegetables back in my home,” I told him.

“Are you a princess? His Highness told me that usually only nobility was able to read.”

I put the ladder down to set it up right under another heavy branch fully covered with ripe plums. I held the ladder while Korvan was climbing it.

“In my home, there are no kings and queens, no princes and princesses,” I answered after a while.

“You must have been really rich then, even if you are not a princess,” Korvan assessed. “Can you pass me that basket? Wait! Do not let go of that ladder!”

“The basket is too far, Korvan. I am unable to reach it until I will let of of the ladder.”

“No, no, don’t let go. I will get back down and will take it myself.”

“No need for that, chicken baby!”

We both turned around, recognizing the voice. It was Radovan again. He was now standing right next to us, handing the basket to Korvan.

I jumped. I almost let go of the ladder just so I could run away from him, but I did not want Korvan to fall. So I was still there, standing awkwardly next to him, unable to look him in the eyes.

“Are you going to take that basket or not?” Radovan asked Korvan, ignoring my panic.

“You! Why are you here again?!” Korvan yelled at him. “Begone!”

“So you don’t want that basket,” Radovan assessed. He took one of the ripe plums and bit right into it. “These would be excellent for a wine!”

I did not comment on that, but I was sure that in my world, people would not care about wine but would be making strong liquor out of it.

“Will you tell us why you are here again?” I repeated Korvan’s question to him. “Are you too bored in your own palace?”

He finished eating the plum and looked at me. There were no traces of a smile on his face.

“I came to ask for help,” he said.

“For help?”

“Raroh is gone.”