“Kitchen duty, huh?” Matilda crossed her arms as she looked at the two with clear uncertainty. Dotty had been the one to quickly request it for Penelope and even offered to help supervise the newcomer. “I was going to give you the rest of the evening off, you know, that way you could settle in more... Are you sure you want to do more work?” 

“Yes ma’am.” Penelope said with a nod. “I prefer to keep busy. It helps keep my mind off things and this way, I’ll get to learn more about how things work around here.. If you don’t mind.” 

Matilda hesitated and let out a sigh. “Alright, that’s fine.. But all I want you doing is aiding the kitchen staff. You have plenty to learn before you start helping them cook so just keep out of the way and help things run smoothly.” She stated sternly her gaze shifted over to Dotty. “And the same goes for you, Dotty... I don’t want any fires.”

“R-right.” Dotty said with a sheepish smile. As Matilda dismissed them, the two walked off to the kitchen. Penelope felt her heart begin to race anxiously. Everything had been fairly easy up until now since it had only required lying and a bit of acting. However, now it was time for her to figure out a way to poison the food. As they stepped into the kitchen, she began eying what was being prepared. There was a large pot being heated up over a fire as several servants busied themselves with chopping up various vegetables and meats. In another part of the kitchen, a different meal was being cooked by servants that had blue bands around their arms, which Penelope guessed meant they were of a higher status than her and Dotty. [i]So that must being the royals food..[/i] She noted it quietly to herself as she followed Dotty over to an older man who was cutting carrots up. 

“Hi Flitz! We’re here to help!” Dotty grinned. 

Flitz looked up with a cold gaze in his eyes. “Did Matilda approve this?” He grumbled.

“Yep! And I promise I won’t do any actual cooking! Oh and this is Farah. She’s new.” Dotty gestured to Penelope. Penelope smiled politely at the man and waved. Flitz didn’t seem very interested and focused back on his work. 

“Help collect the cut up vegetables and pour them into the stew, Dotty. And you... Farah, get me some potatoes from the pantry.” 

Penelope hesitated, nearly tempted to try and switch jobs with Dotty but figured it might draw attention. [i]Patience.. You still have time..[/i] She reminded herself trying to remain calm and level-headed. She smiled and nodded as she headed off to the pantry door. [i]This will give me a chance to check out the door that’s locked there anyways...[/i] As she stepped into the quiet pantry, away from most of the other servants, she walked over towards the door at the very back of the room. It wasn’t easy to spot at first glance as shelves of various foods blocked it from direct view. It had two locks on it that would require a key. The knight glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was nearby before she began to look around for the keys. First, she checked the tops of the shelves nearby but they all seemed empty. She tried to move quickly not wanting to have Flitz or anyone else wondering why she was taking so long for such a simple task. Penelope searched around a bit longer before giving up and fetching the potatoes. 

As she was about to head out of the room, she noticed a small ledge about the doorway. She glanced out into the kitchen, making sure no one was paying attention to her. All the servants were busy with their work luckily so she proceeded to lightly feel around the edge until her finger pushed against a pair of keys. She smirked to herself, pleased that she was able to locate them. [i]That could come in handy later..[/i] Penelope retracted her hand before anyone saw and quickly returned to Flitz to drop off the potatoes he had asked for. 

The man eyed her with annoyance at how long it had taken her. “Sorry.. Took a while to find them.” Penelope apologized. 

“Take these and help Dotty with adding them in... Stir it a couple of times too..” He ordered, ignoring the apology. He pushed the plate of carrots over to Penelope. Penelope carefully picked the plate and turned to look over over at the pot where Dotty was fumbling to add the various vegetables. She felt her stomach churn with anxiousness as she used her free hand to find the jar of henbane oil she had stashed away. [i]I just have to get Dotty away... or distracted or something...[/i] She told ehrself trying to calm her racing heart. 

Penelope stepped over to the large pot besides Dotty. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kettle this big before.” She mused as she moved to dump some of the carrots in carefully. Dotty looked over at her and smiled. 

“Well there’s a ton of people to feed! Even the guards sometimes eat with us.” 

“Oh like Emeric?” Penelope teased. 

Dotty flushed. “Y-yeah... Sometimes...” 

“You should invite him to dinner once this is done.” Penelope suggested. She felt bad to use Dotty’s affection for the guard but she needed to try and get as many guards as she could to eat the food and if Emeric agreed, perhaps he would bring a few other guards with him. 

“Oh I don’t know...” Dotty shuffled her feet bashfully. “I-I don’t want to be too obvious you know..”

“Well... Make it an open invitation to all the guards. Just make sure he knows that you want him there even though you’re inviting everyone.” Penelope said, feeling a surge of hope that Dotty would listen to her words. Dotty hesitated. “Maybe..” She replied slowly. [i]Good enough for now.[/i] Penelope let out a small sigh and looked back at the pot. She had to get Dotty away.

The knight glanced over her shoulder and noticed Flitz had finished with cutting up the potatoes. “Oh, hey Dotty can you grab that plate. I think it’s the last one.” She said. Dotty blinked and followed Penelope’s gaze before giving a small nod and bouncing off to grab the plate. 

Penelope fumbled as she used her body to try and block what she was doing from view. She popped open the lid and rushed to dump the henbane oil into the pot. “Here you go!” Dotty’s voice came from behind. Unable to completely stash the jar away in time, she slipped it up into the sleeve of her dress to hide it from view. A few drops of the oil not only stained her clothes but also got on her hand and arm. A soft tingle of numbness began to set in. 

“Thanks, Dotty. Uh can you handle the rest of this? Some of the stew splashed up on me and I want to clean up real quick.” Penelope lied, clutching her arm as if it had burned. 

“Oh no!” Dotty frowned. “Go ahead! I got you covered.”

Penelope gave her a grateful look before slipping away. She hurried to step out of the kitchen and glanced around the hallway with care. Seeing that she was alone, she let out an exhale of relief and slipped the empty jar back into it’s original hiding spot. She leaned back against the wall and grinned to herself. She had managed to pull it off and soon, the castle staff would be feeling the effects of the poison. Penelope wiped what she could off of her arm and slipped back into the kitchen to join Dotty once again. 

“Dinner’s almost done!” Dotty told Penelope with a smile. “We just need to set the tables in the great hall.”

“And you need to invite the guards to dinner.” Penelope said with a wink. After having pulled off pouring the henbane into the stew, she was feeling rather confident. 

“I don’t know...”

“It’s just dinner.. And he seemed rather, interested in you too..” Penelope said slyly. Dotty blinked in surprise at Penelope’s words. 

“R-Really?”

Penelope smiled knowingly and nodded her head. Dotty beamed. “Well... it is just dinner... Alright! I’ll do it! I’ll be back soon! Just help them with the tables while I’m gone.” She said quickly before hurrying out of the kitchen. 

Penelope watched as Dotty left and felt her smile fade. [i]I’m sorry I have to use your love against you like this Dotty... But if I don’t, I might risk losing mine.[/i] The knight closed her eyes for a moment and took a steeling breath as she tried to ignore the guilt she felt over setting Dotty up like that. She tried not to think about what might come after for the bubbly servant instead focused on what lied ahead as the castle staff got ready to serve dinner. With Dotty gone, it also gave Penelope a chance to sneak away before anyone noticed her absence at the table. She moved to help carrying a couple trays up to the great hall, glancing towards a nearby window as she noticed it was growing dark out. [i]I’ve done all I can for now...[/i] She assured herself as she still felt anxious despite all that she was able to accomplish. [i]I’ll see you soon Collin..[/i]