“Well that’s about it for this floor!” Dotty announced after showing Penelope around the second floor. The other rooms weren’t of much interest to the knight. A couple closets with cleaning supplies, offices for some of the higher up servants like Matilda and those that directly served the royal family, and even a few empty bed chambers for lower level nobles. However, what Penelope did find interest in was the staircase that laid towards the end of the eastern hallway. With any luck, it seemed like it would put her rather close to the window she was supposed to meet Crow at. 

She turned her attention back to Dotty and nodded her head. “So what’s next?”

“Bottom floor. That’s where you’ll basically live. We have all of our bed chambers down there plus the kitchen and pantry, of course.” Dotty explained as she began to lead the way back to the stairs. Penelope looked around as they walked and as they moved to pass by the great hall. Her gaze soon landed on the mural that was painted above the large doors. It was a portrait of Aeklora. Two of her eyes were focused on the small orb drawn in front of her, almost looking at it affectionately. However, her other two eyes piercingly looked ahead into the castle. [i]The artist really want to make people think she was actually watching..[/i] Penelope thought with distaste. 

“Oh guess you finally noticed Aeklora!” Dotty chuckled, snapping Penelope out of her thoughts. “She’s all over the castle. Paintings, statues, busts. She’ll always be watching over you.”

Though Dotty’s words were meant to be assuring, Penelope was far from comforted by the goddess as she considered the legend behind the staff again. She glanced over at Dotty, wondering if the servant had anymore information on it. It’d likely be easy to get the information out of her if she did. The girl was practically the perfect guide for the knight with how much she had shared and trusted her. “Of course, just like she watches over everyone. Though, probably not as much as she watches over the king.” Penelope mused casually.

“Right! They’re connection is much more powerful!” Dotty nodded vigorously. As if suddenly struck by a thought, Penelope turned to Dotty with a look of curiosity. “Hey Dotty... Is it really true about his staff?” 

The servant blinked, a little caught off guard by the sudden question. She shuffled her feet nervously. “Yes, of course.” She said, her answer sounding a bit guarded. Penelope felt her stomach drop slightly, worrying that she had been too forward with the question. [i]Guess I need to be careful with that subject..[/i] She thought and focused her gaze back on Aeklora. 

“Sorry. I’ve just always heard about it growing up and at some points, I just wonder if she really is watching over us...” Penelope said softly, lowering her gaze as she put on a troubled look. Dotty frowned and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, seeming to guess that Penelope was thinking of the abusive husband she had claimed to flee from. 

“She is! That’s why you’re here now and far from danger.” Dotty reassured her. The servant paused as her eyes drifted towards Aeklora. “You remember the incident that happened five years back with one of the servants, don’t you?”

“Kinda... Wasn’t it just a rumor going around though?” Penelope said looking over at her with a raised eyebrow. She had no idea what the servant was referring to but she guessed it had something to do with the mentioned servant touching the staff. When Dotty’s eyes widened and she shook her head, Penelope felt her heart race slightly with worry. She had mostly written the legend off as rumors to keep the king in power and to ward off thieves. However, if Dotty knew of a time when it actually happened, then perhaps it wasn’t just a rumor. It was still difficult for the knight to believe that the gods would play an active role in the mortal world though. 

“No,no. It really happened! Matilda doesn’t like us talking about it since it was a servant but I swear it happened.”

“Did you see it happen?”

“Gods no. I kept away from that... I woke up the next morning to find out what had happened. The court physician even declared it was a smiting.”

Penelope nodded her head, relaxing slightly. [i]The physician is probably in on the lie.[/i] She theorized, a bit comforted that Dotty hadn’t actually seen anything and had just heard the rumor like everyone else. She wouldn’t doubt it if they had merely poisoned the servant in an effort to make it look like he suddenly just dropped dead. Finding satisfied with her reasoning, she turned to Dotty. “I can’t believe that happened.”

“I know!” Dotty gawked as she turned to continue on towards the kitchen. “It was a crazy time here in the castle. Anyways, we should get back to the tour! I don’t want Matilda getting mad at me. She can be quite scary!”

“I bet.” Penelope chuckled. 

The two made their way into the kitchen. It was large and quite busy as other servants worked to clean up the mess that was left over from what Penelope guessed to be breakfast. “You’ll probably help out in here once in a while, depending on what chores Matilda gives you.” Dotty told her as they stood off to the side. “Cooking is a hassle here though. We’ve got a ton of people to feed after all!"

“I see.. Well, I wouldn’t mind that.” Penelope mused. “I can make a pretty tasty stew.” 

“Really?” Dotty said with a smile as looked over at her. “You must be a pretty good cook!”

Penelope feigned bashfulness. “I’m alright.. I just enjoy cooking. It’s relaxing.”

“Not for me! I’m always burning something or doing something wrong. I never get kitchen duty anymore.” Dotty laughed.

In truth, Penelope barely knew how to cook. Most of her meals were prepared by other people and she had only cooked for herself on a few occasions. However, she hoped by acting like it was an interest that Dotty would help get her on kitchen duty for later that night. Everything seemed to be working out better than Penelope thought. She smiled to herself as they headed out of the kitchen and towards the servant’s quarters which were down the opposite hallway.