Chapter 28: Chapter 27

Julia

 

She had slept badly. Excitement had kept her awake. Finally, she would see her sister again! After seven years!

Had she changed?

Was she still the quiet sister Julia remembered?

The bookworm?

They had written letters to each other, so it wasn't like Julia didn't know anything about her sister's life... But those were just letters! Letters did not replace her sister.

And then there was the matter of Leopold. They would sit together inside the carriage... With no one else.

For heaven's sake!

Hopefully, she didn't say anything embarrassing!

She turned her jam roll on her plate like a spinning top and watched as said elf walked past the dining room door again and again. His blue-green dragonfly wings shimmered in the morning light. He looked good... Very good.

Maybe I should stop staring at him... His wings are so pretty... It's a pity that he is not allowed to fly... Does he miss it?

First Leopold carried garbage, then a broom... Apparently, he cleaned the boy's room.

She heard Marko protesting. Apparently, he was not happy to have been awakened. As was the case so often. Julia grinned. Marko was a late riser and it was not uncommon for him to sleep in. And he didn't like being woken up.

Finn came into the dining room. He held a cup of coffee in his hand and looked as tired as Julia felt.

"Slept badly?" she asked, yawning.

Finn sat down next to her, smiling. "Marko snores. Tonight was particularly bad. I wonder how Leo was able to sleep."

As if called, Leopold also entered the dining room. "Once I sleep, I sleep," he answered Finn's question, which he had heard.

Then he turned to Julia: "When are we leaving?"

"In about two hours... Why are you cleaning? Have you had breakfast yet?" she asked.

"The reason woke up earlier in a bad mood." Leopold grimaced and got himself a bun too. "Someone needed to clean urgently!"

"He hasn't eaten yet... As soon as he was awake, he had a broom in his hand!" Finn also smeared himself a jam bun. "Where's Sophie?"

Leopold threw pieces of his bun at Finn in protest. "Our room was a mess! You could have helped me!" Finn just laughed.

"Sophie wasn't hungry." Julia looked at her jam bun, next to which were now crumbs from Leopold's food. She, too, lacked appetite. "She is in the janitor's office and discusses with him where Marko and you, Leopold, help out today and tomorrow. She mentioned that today she wants to bake cookies and cakes... Presumably, she also fetches flour. We don't have much left."

"Bake cookies?" Finn beamed. "I'd like to do that!"

Leopold, who was now sitting next to him, smearing cheese sandwiches, gently nudged Finn with his elbow. "Then I'm sure you'll have fun today. I hope I don't have to go to the laundry. The work there is terribly monotonous and it smells very strongly of detergents."

Finally, Marko came into the dining room. He was still wearing his pajamas and his hair was uncombed. Wordlessly, he sat down at the table and ate sausage and salami without bread. From time to time he gave Leopold a sour look. The elf ignored him and talked to Finn about their favorite cookies. In between, he went to Julia and smiled. She felt her cheeks slowly turn red. How could she survive the carriage ride?

A little later Sophie came back and told Marko that he was needed in the kitchen of the academy and in the dining room. Leopold was also to help out there as soon as he returned to the city from his trip. Also on Sunday, they were assigned to the kitchen.

"In the kitchen?" Marko bit off a piece of cucumber. "Can't I sweep the hallways? Or something else?"

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"No. You will help out in the kitchen and dining room. Same next week. The students obviously have a very big appetite this year and therefore more staff is needed there."

Marko groaned.

"And what do I do?", Finn wanted to know.

"You can help me bake later. Bread and cookies... Maybe also a cake for tomorrow. We now have enough flour to have a baking party." Sophie held out her basket to him, in which she carried a large bag of flour. "I bring the flour to the kitchen first."

"Great. Finn is having fun and we need to go to the kitchen!" Marko now smeared himself a jam bread. Leopold did the same. "The kitchen is not that bad. The cook is very nice," he objected.

"So you don't have any problems with the kitchen staff?" asked Julia. It was important to her that her servants were well. Especially after the fiasco with the gardeners, she was still angry.

"No problems, no. The work is just exhausting." Marko sighed. "Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

Julia shook her head. "No, thank you. I am well taken care of. Sophie has already ordered me a carriage so that I don't have to use the carriages at the academy. I’m fine. Can I bring you something out of town?"

Now all three servants looked at her in amazement. "Us?" asked Finn, blushing slightly. "Something from the city?"

"I'm also in town." Leopold laughed. "And I don't need anything. Thank you." The fact that he had no money to buy anything for himself was not mentioned.

"Fabric for sewing?" Finn's eyes lit up. "I have needles and thread.... Oh! And scissors. Sophie's old scissors are a bit rusty and blunt."

"A skipping rope?" Marko looked at her most incredulously of all. "So that I have more exercise? I'm not allowed to transform here... And I miss being able to run." The last sentence sounded like an accusation, but unfortunately, Julia couldn't do anything about it...

Her hands were tied.

"Something for sewing and a skipping rope? Well, I'll bring you that." Her mother had given her plenty of pocket money and sent her a considerable sum a week, which Sophie kept for her and used to pay the school costs, such as food and school supplies. She also wanted to buy something for Leopold, but unfortunately, she didn't know what he liked. But she couldn’t just bring him nothing.

About two hours later, Leopold and Julia made their way to the carriages. Leopold was silent, but Julia noticed that he watched her from time to time when he himself felt unobserved. She smiled.

"What do you like to do in your free time?" she wanted to know. After all, she needed ideas for a small gift, and she wanted to know too.

"My parents have a small grocery store. I have always enjoyed working there. And I always took care of my parent's garden. Planting vegetables and fruits... I had my own cherry trees."

"You like gardening?"

"Yes."

"And what else do you like to do? Gardening and working in your parents' shop can't be everything, can it?" She couldn't imagine it.

Leopold laughed. "But it is. That's what I like to do... And I often met friends to play cards."

"Then there's more! See? I knew it."

"Good, yes. You won! I like card games."

The two arrived at the carriage that Sophie had ordered for them. The carriages stood right in front of the gate of the academy. The two guards stood next to it to accompany Julia as well. They took a seat next to the coachman. Throughout the carriage ride, they talked about their favorite games and Julia decided to buy a new deck of cards for Leopold. After all, she knew that Marko also liked to play cards. So it would definitely find useful. She also wanted to get something for Sophie. Maybe some flowers?

Then the carriage arrived in town and Leopold got out to a shop selling wool. The carriage drove Julia to the house where Ingried lived and awaited her little sister.

"Before I go back to the academy, I would like to get some other stuff in the city afterward," she informed the coachman and the guards, who nodded.

Then Julia stood on her older sister's doorstep. Ingried lived in a small, white-painted house with a blue roof and a blue front door. The window frames were also painted blue from the outside. The paint had already faded and some ivy grew up next to the front door.

Julia took a deep breath and knocked on the door.