♔ Astarial ♔ discussion

((Bubbleswaffle))

Queen Saphira was annoyed. Normally, on a good day she was annoyed, but today it was one of those full-blown 'I am prepared to fire someone' sort of annoyed. The reason was because the cook, who she swore knew how she liked her meal cooked, placed mint in the dish instead of basil, and that ruined the entire taste. However, she wasn't going to bring this up in the kitchen or even in her own suite. No, she needed to make the cook feel a false sense of security, so she invited her to take her break outside on a nice day. Saphira was early as usual, standing in the middle of the hall and looking out towards the gardens, an unreadable expression on her face.

((Elizabeth))

Sera cursed hard when she found out that there was no more basil in the container. She thought that she should head out and get some more basil through the back of the kitchen when her eyes landed on the mint container in the corner of the kitchen. She had leaped for it and dropped it in the dish, presenting it. She was nervous about it, but kept her facial expression positive, not wanting to let anyone else know that her nerves were fried. She was completely shocked when the queen invited her to the outdoor hall. She had never been, except for maybe to run down the halls, but she had never really stopped and looked around at the beauty. She was awed by how nice this part looked, even though she had been exploring the manor for ages. She stopped when her eyes set on the queen. Standing there without any readable expressions. She took a deep breath on the inside and stepped forwards. "Good morning, your majesty." She said. She had learned that different generations liked being called different names and was still learning what this new queen, Saphira, wanted to be called.

"Good morning to you as well, Sera." Saphira commented in her usual cold tone, not looking at her. She assumed she would stand over by her, or stay a few feet back. She wasn't a nervous type, but it wasn't very proper to stand to close to nobility and royalty. "You are probably wondering why I called you here on such short notice,"

Sera smiled nervously, trying not to falter. She knew that the queen's cold tone wasn't giving any clues to why she called her here, so she answered simply. "Yes, indeed I am, your majesty." It was the formal way to address the queen and Sera wanted to stick to what she knew.

"I understand it must be a very strange experience for you. If I am not mistaken, you are on your break right now, am I correct? So you will not be missing any work," She continued, trying to make this last as long as possible and build up Sera's worry.

"You assume correctly, your grace," Sera responded, nodding softly that it seemed as if she were just bobbing her head softly. She was getting slightly more and more nervous by the moment, horrified by what was to come. She wasn't used to being summoned, something like that rarely happened unless she was doing something wrong. She had stuttered over the last two words in her mind.

"It is a very nice sight, is it not?" She continued, motioning to the gardens in front of them. "The gardeners came today and trimmed and plucked anything unsightly, so the flowers that were in the garden first can continue to grow unhindered."

"It is a very nice sight, your grace." Sera stumbled upon these words nervously, afraid of what was about to happen. She took those words as a metaphor for her about to "pick out the best" and fire her but kept those words inside. She tried her best to refrain from showing any signs.

Saphira finally turned to look at Sera. "You are probably wondering why I called you out here. After all, I feel you are probably already imagining the worst; I'll fire you and throw you out onto the streets. Am I correct?"

At this point, Sera wasn't even shocked by how the queen knew that. "Yes, that is correct, your grace." She nodded softly, looking down at the floor as she could feel her legs tremble in fear. She hoped that Saphira wouldn't fire her for what she added to the dish this morning, it had been a mere experiment.

"I am not angry with you." She stated. "Rather, I am more disappointed in you. You were hired to be this manor's cook because you seemed to be the best in your craft. A true cook gets the ingredient she needs when she realizes she is out, and does not experiment during an actual mealtime."

Seraphina slightly wanted to point out that she really hadn't had a choice since she was thirteen, the position was forced onto her when her father died, and she had taken it upon herself to be the best she could be. "I'm sorry, your grace." She hoped that she wouldn't get thrown out from her one true home that she had ever experienced. Knowing that being fired would dishonor the memory of her father, she added: "I will ensure that this will never happen again." She mentally chided herself to restock everything right after this meeting.

Saphira walked over to one of the flowers growing in a bush and quickly yet cleanly snapped it off with her fingers, watching it fall to the ground. "Words are meaningless. Prove to me how sorry you truly are by never doing it again."

Sera let out a squeak. It was a quiet one, but she hoped that the queen didn't pick it up. She nodded rapidly, and she could feel her knees trembling as the flower hit the ground. She wanted to say something, but she didn't want the queen to kill her.

She raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at Sera's squeak, but for once, pretended she didn't hear it. "Do not make this mistake again. I will be watching you very closely from this moment on."

"Understood, your grace." Sera nodded, trying her best not to stutter. It wasn't as if she was nervous, she just knew that the queen had the best ability to hide some things better than most other people.

"You are dismissed," Saphira turned from Sera and started to walk back into the house, not saying or doing anything else. She felt like her silence spoke way more.

Sera let out a large sigh of relief, before turning around and heading on the path back to the kitchen. She was sure not to tell anyone about this.

((End?))

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((Okie-dokie!))

~End of roleplay~