DUMPLING ch. 5

The little girl was bewildered and confused in the best way.

She was surrounded by lady giants, all of them cooing at her, wiping away her frightened tears and petting her hair. Someone was braiding her freshly washed hair while another was taking measurements of her feet for new shoes as her own were deemed unacceptable.

Lolly had brought her to a room somewhere in the servants’ quarters reserved for the female servant and had called all her friends to help her. They brought out a small wash bin and filled it with warm water and allowed the little girl clean herself, giving her a little space, and collect her scattered thoughts. Though Lolly did step in when she felt the little girl did not quite scrub all the dirt from behind her ears and neck. Then she washed the little girl’s hair for her with real soap.  

“Oh look! There was a little human under all that dirt!” Lolly teased with a laugh, wrapping a soft towel around the now clean human. “You have red hair as well! And here I was thinking that it was brown.”

Indeed, it was a sight to look into the water to see the once clear water had turned a murky brown.

The little girl was beginning to feel a lot better and even spared Lolly a smile at the woman’s kind words. The lady giants were all nice and very gentle with her as they took her measurements for new clothes. An idea that was beyond the girl’s scope of thought for the moment. Just a little while ago, she had been so certain she was going to die and now she was not entirely sure what to think. But she dared to hope it would be alright. If the ladies were so nice and the King so merciful, maybe there was real reason to hope.

But she recalled that she was going to be given to the Kitchen master. He was large and he scared her.

“I suppose if you’re going to be in the kitchens, you’ll need some clothes you can get about in,’ Lolly was saying, writing down the little girl’s measurements. “A few sets so you’ll have a clean one ready each morning.”

“Is Farris...is he really mean?” The little girl asked, feeling nervous. The kitchen giants were for the most part tall and menacing looking. Male and gruff and looking just as she imagined ferocious giants to look. Farris and the butcher, Bart, were tallest and most muscular with personalities to match. The giant who had caught her, Yale, was lean and tall but his eyes belied a sharp intelligence.

They scared her.  
 
“Farris? I wouldn’t call him mean. He’s certainly not as cruel as he acts. Just loud. And bossy and he has a temper. But he is a good man. Even if I could throttle him for deciding the kitchen was an appropriate place for you. Though I doubt he’ll be having you doing anything. He runs a tight kitchen and I can’t imagine he’d have the patience to try and have you do any real work.”

“Why would he want me? I thought he was mad at me for stealing and…”

“I’m sure I haven’t the faintest idea, my dear,” Lolly replied stiffly, rifling through a sewing box.

“Did you not say that you had caught the Red Reap, dearie?” one of the ladies asked. When the girl answered to the affirmative, she nodded knowingly. “That must be it.”

Lolly seemed to ponder that for a moment. “I supposed. Yes, that could be it.”

Lolly hummed quietly to herself for a moment and looking a little more sympathetic.

“Why would that be it?” asked the little girl.

“Farris lost a dear friend a few years ago to the Red Reap.”

“It was very sad,” said another lady.  

“I heard he didn’t speak for a whole week,” added another. “He took it really hard.”

“The whole kitchen did, but Farris especially. Poor man.”

“And a depressed kitchen makes the most bland food.”

“Wendy!”

“What? It’s true! The food was awful for almost a month before Farris got some sense knocked into him.”

The little girl was silent as she thought about what the ladies were saying. She was still apprehensive about living in the kitchens of a literal giant castle, but now that she knew she was not destined to end up as someone’s dinner, she was less frightened. If only a bit. And she still could not place where or why Farris’s sharp green eyes seemed familiar. She was certain she had never met a giant before coming to Vhasshal. Surely she would recall such a meeting.

Wouldn’t she?

The lady giants put a bright blue ribbon in her hair and fussed over the fittings of the first piece piece of clothing they had finished. It was a gray dress made of very soft material, though it was a little big on her.  

“Hm,” Lolly considered the fit, pulling on the hem lightly and instructing the girl to turn. “We could take it in a bit more, but I think we’ll leave it, so there’s room for you to grow into it.”

“It’s very pretty,” the little girl said with a bright smile, noticing the blue flowers embroidered on each cuff. “Thank you.”

The lady giant responded by leaning down and pressing her lips to the girl’s head in a light kiss. The little girl blushed a fierce scarlet and the other ladies all giggled.  

“We’ll make you a coat too. It can get mighty cold up here, even in the kitchens, and fall’s nearly over. Ginger’s wants to make you a proper quilt as well. The rest of your clothes will take a bit more time, but I think this shall keep for the moment.”

Bathed and dressed, the lady giants all gathered around to inspect their work.

“You look very pretty, my dear,” said Lolly with a warm smile.

“Thank you,” the little girl said, twirling a little so her skirt swirled around. “And for being so nice to me. I was so scared I was gonna get eaten, but...”

That only seemed to set the ladies off and they spent the next half hour assuring the little girl that she was perfectly safe and that all the talk of eating her was just the kitchen boys playing tricks on her. One of the ladies scooped her up and cradled her like a baby. The little girl was surprised to find that she did not mind it so much. It felt nice to have someone care. Even if that someone was taller than a house.  

“Don’t let those boys get away with any of that nonsense,” Lolly told her firmly. “Tell them what’s what next time they pull that hooey.”

“But they’re so much bigger than me! I don’t wanna make anyone mad at me...”

“Never stopped me,” said Ginger, who was the youngest and shortest of the ladies. “I popped Gjerk over the head once for pulling my skirt. Nothing drops their bravado quicker than their mates laughing at ‘em for getting throttled by a girl.”

The little girl was not sure she would be heeding that particular piece of advice.

She ate lunch with the ladies, much to her delight as she had missed breakfast entirely. Lolly took it as a chance to teach their new little guest proper table manners. It was a lot more complicated than it first sounded and took an entire hour. Not much eating was actually done much to the little girl’s displeasure and she retained very little of the lesson.

“I know we have some human sized plates and cutlery somewhere, but I cannot remember where. I tried to teach Jae proper manners when he was small, but his head is as hard as a rock. The little barbarian eats with his hands and the King doesn’t even say anything!”

“Who is Jae?” asked the little girl.  

“Oh!” exclaimed Wendy. “Of course, you haven’t met him yet, have you? He’s the King’s pet human.”

The little girl frowned. “...‘pet’?”

She recalled the words the King used when telling her that he was giving her to Farris. Optimum word being ‘given’. Was that what her punishment was? To become a giant’s pet?  

“Oh don’t fret, dearie,” said one of the ladies, seeing the worried expression she wore. “We just call him that because that’s how he acts. Lounges around like a cat and acts dumb and innocent to get out of everything. He’s the King’s ward.”

“And the King adores the little brat so he gets away with everything. He’s such a rascal.”

“He’s a scoundrel is what he is.”

“He’s a little mischievous is all.”

“Remember when we caught him spying on us in the dressing room?”

“Boys will be boys regardless of size, I suppose.”

“He’s lucky he’s too small to properly throttle.”

“Lolly might still give it a go, though, after last night.”

The ladies all broke out into fluttering laughter. Lolly was not so amused.  

“What happened last night?” asked the little girl. She had heard Jae’s name so many times, she could not help but be curious about him.  

“The King just married Lady-er, Queen Rosanna. It was a beautiful ceremony, her dress was spectacular! The bead work alone took months! She looked so regal, just as any young queen aught to. And the feast was magnificent! Farris really outdid himself. Last night was the last night of the celebration and...”

“Someone gave Jae whiskey...”

“I don’t have to think very hard as to who that someone is...”

“...and...well, Jae is not permitted to drink anything like that.”

“For a very good reason.”

“He just can’t handle his drink. At all!”

“He got drunk...”

“...and he fell into the gravy boat and it splattered it all over the Queen!” cried Lolly, red in the face and furious. “My poor Lady Rosanna! She looked so embarrassed! And Jae didn’t even bother to apologize! He just passed out! Urgh, they should have just let him drown in that gravy.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Maybe in a week I won’t. But right now, I certainly do. It might be a few years for her Ladyship to get over it. She did not have very high opinion of him to begin with.”  

After lunch, several of the ladies had to leave to tend to their own work, leaving the little girl with Lolly and Ginger. Ginger sat quietly in the corner, sewing little patches of brightly colored fabric together for a quilt. Lolly held the little girl in her lap as she read from a book of poetry. She had decided she would return the girl to Farris closer to their supper time when the kitchen would be quieter and the Spice Master a little less ornery. She rocked lightly in the chair, cradling the little girl against her and rubbing her arm affectionately.  

“Farris can wait a few more hours,” Lolly said. “Besides. I haven’t quite gotten over the idea of stealing you away. You’re too sweet for the kitchens. They’ll have you cursing and acting unladylike like within a week!”

The little girl giggled, leaning against the giantess’s middle, a familiar sense of comfort coming over her. It reminded her of sitting with her mother. She use to recite poetry and sing songs too. Suddenly, Lolly jumped in her seat, jostling the little girl. “Oh my goodnes! I just realized! We haven’t even asked you your name!”

The little girl broke out into a giggle. She thought something had been wrong when Lolly suddenly jerked at nothing.

“My name is Nenani,” said the little girl. “Like the river.”

“Nenani,” repeated Lolly. “That’s a beautiful name.”

“Thank you. My Mama gave it to me.”