The main kitchen in the camp looked like any other regular kitchen she would expect in a home. It was good enough sized and homey, but she had to admit it was a little hard to imagine how the cooks managed to feed the whole village with such a small space.
They were truly talented-since there was always an endless amount of food being passed around.
The room was hot enough for Doris to strip off her jacket after only seconds of standing in the entryway. An older man turned to look at her with a curious lift of his brow but said nothing as she hung her coat. The ovens were on, but it appeared that nothing was inside them yet. It made her wonder if they were always left on, just in case. A large pot on the stove was filled to the brim with some sort of warm soup that made her long to curl up by the fire with the largest bowl possible.
"Hello, sir." Doris stepped further in and held out her hand. He glanced down at it before he seemed to decide to oblige her. "I was wondering if I could use some of your ingredients and ovens to bake something small. I promise to clean up after myself and replace whatever I use."
"Oh, you like to cook?" The man asked. He had a thick accent that she wasn't familiar with, but it was lovely and went along with his kind face.
"Yes sir, I love to bake. I've missed being in the kitchen, it's been a long time." Doris glanced around and felt her head spin with all of the delicious scents. It was so calm in here. The kitchens at the palace were always so loud and busy. It was hard to find any sense of peace there without a string of anxiety to follow. She wasn't sure if there were more cooks that helped, but for the moment it was just him.
"Hmm, I see." The old man crossed his arms. "What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking something simple. A chocolate cake and frosting." Doris brushed her hair behind her ears. "I'm Doris, by the way."
"I know who you are, my dear. You can call me Poe." He turned his back on her to pull down a glass bowl. "You may use my kitchen and ingredients on two conditions."
"Of course, anything."
"You have to keep an eye on my soup, and you have to clean up after yourself." He turned and placed the bowl in her hands. He smiled a little and winked. "Stay for as long as you need and have someone come find me when you're done."
"Oh! That's so kind of you. Thank you, Poe." Doris smiled widely. Poe went to the coat rack to pull on his jacket. This village was full of some of the kindest people. Each day that passed only made it harder when she realized they would soon leave this place and she would have to go back to her old life where she had no choices.
"You'll find everything you need for sweets in the lower cabinets." He pointed. "Maybe leave me a slice, eh?" He said and smiled.
Doris laughed a little. "Absolutely."
Once he was gone, Doris searched through all of the cabinets to pull out everything she needed and got to work. Her wolf remained silent the entire time, most of her was thrilled to have the silence. Her head could get so loud, but baking always centered her and reminded her how to keep a bit of clarity. There was nothing to stress over, only getting the recipe right.
She missed those sort of simple worries. She couldn't help but think of the times her largest worries were finding misplaced books and removing all the cobwebs around the shelves. Now she worried if she would witness another murder almost daily.
She moved around the kitchen as if it was her own. It felt like an old dance as she placed the cake pans in the ovens and spun around to clean up the mess she made. By the time she wiped the counters clean, she was pulling out the hot pans and starting the frosting. She set the blazing pans by the cold window and had them cooled in no time.
She cut the cake into pieces and left one on the counters before she carried the rest of it out. She was almost sad to be finished so soon. Time always seemed to fly faster when she was enjoying herself-but at least she had a taste of what it was like to feel lighter. At least for a little while.
Each step towards William's cabin filled her with a heavy weight once more as her unease and nerves came rushing back in. What if he turned her away? He hadn't spoken to her once since he spat at her feet. The memory burned worse than any fire ever could.
She swallowed her pride before she knocked on his door. His deep grumbled beyond it. "What?"
"It's me." Doris leaned closer as if it would make him hear her better. She glanced around and was glad to see no one was around to see her pathetic attempt at civility with a grumpy prince.
There was a pause that lasted hours in her mind. She cleared her throat and took a small step back as if to prepare herself to run as fast as possible away from this door. It wasn't worth it, she knew it was an awful idea-
"Come in." He said.
Doris released a breath and opened his door slowly. Her eyes found him instantly by the dimming fire. His eyes lit up beautifully against the light. What a curse it must be to have such beautiful eyes like that. His dark lashes raised and suddenly they were on her without a warning. She closed the door behind her and lifted the plate in her hands.
"I made you some dessert."
"It's not even dinner time." He said blandly. Doris felt her cheeks heat instantly, she took a step back towards the door.
"Yes, right. I meant for later-of course." Doris looked around for an area to put it so she could leave. "I'll leave it over here-"
"Come here." He said. His words rooted her in place and she hated he had that sort of power over her. He leaned forward n his seat and gestured to the chair next to his own and her feet had no choice but to obey.
She gently placed the plate of cake slices on the table in front of him before she sat. She shifted uncomfortably in her bulky coat. William looked over the slices as if he'd never seen such a dish before.
"Did you already have some?"
"Oh! No, of course not. The nice old man in the kitchen asked for a piece if I used his things." Doris pulled her arms free of her constricting coat. Why did she always feel as if she was about to suffocate in his presence?
William brushed his thumb across his lower lip. She wished her eyes hadn't seen that, now she couldn't look away from his mouth.
"Have some with me now, then." He said. Doris almost thought she imagined it. Her wolf woke up a little and made a sound of approval.
"Are you sure? I can have dinner brought for you first if you-"
"No." He said and grabbed a slice with his bare hands. Doris laughed in surprise when he took a large bite. His eyes snapped to her and took in the sight of her smile as if he was drinking it in.
Doris clamped her lips shut and brushed har hair behind her ear. "I wasn't sure of your favorite so I made chocolate." She cleared her throat and leaned forward to wipe a bit of frosting off the plate with her finger to have a taste.
"Oh," Doris moaned a little. "I've missed the taste of chocolate."
William watched her with such intensity, she felt as if a fire erupted inside her chest. His blue eyes trailed across her face and along her lips with a different sort of heat she wasn't used to.
"It's good." He finally said. His large hand gripped the edge of her chair and brought her seat closer to him. She held her breath as he used his thumb to wipe a bit of chocolate near her lips. He was so close to her, she knew he could hear how loud her heart pounded.
"Why did you make me this?" He asked with a voice that was meant just for her.
"I... I just thought you would like it."
The air felt thicker when he looked at her like that. His eyes watched her mouth whenever she spoke and had a hard time looking anywhere else. He shoved the rest of the piece in his mouth and leaned back away from her.
"You were right." He stood and brushed the crumbs off his shirt. "At least you finally found a way to make yourself useful."