The Kitchen Mess (2)

The clean counter tops were now covered with a slimy fluid which was dripping from the sides, and looked like a mixture of a couple of different liquids. There were chunks of some solid substance floating in between. Lillian couldn't figure out what they were. For all she could tell, they were either some diced fruit, or the remnants of a couple of vegetables.

The exhaust hood which was hanging above the main stove was marred with black smoke, showing that something must have burnt there. The smooth, shiny grills which were encasing the stove, now looked like they had been sprayed with some sort of acid which had rendered them looking like they had grown a mixture of rust and mold over them.

"What happened here?" She mumbled to herself.

"A storm named Katherine hit the poor kitchen." The old butler, who was standing next to her, replied in a gruff tone.

The whole place looked more of a mess than it did before he left to find his Young Master. He shouldn't have left her on her own. He made a grave mistake of entrusting the young chef to keep an eye on her.

"Katherine?" Lillian muttered under her breath. 'So, that's what she is called! But where is she?' She thought the latter to herself. After witnessing the condition of the kitchen which looked like it had been just cleaned around an hour ago, she didn't know what to make of the Young Miss Katherine.

"Where do you think they are now?" She asked the old butler. Since her eager eyes couldn't locate Blake inside the empty kitchen, she assumed that he must be with Katherine somewhere else.

The only people she could locate were the chefs from before with a bunch of new faces, who were clad in uniforms different from others. They were clearly from the cleaning staff, their uniforms made it obvious. They were too busy trying to clean what was left of the poor place to even notice their presence.

"I wonder the same." The old man shrugged his shoulders. "Let's check the hall outside." He added as he took a step inside the messed up place.

Not having any other choice, Lillian followed him inside with her eyes glued to the floor. She was being careful of her every step. She would hate to step in something and ruin her new sneakers.

"Watch your step." The old man didn't forget to remind her to be careful with her feet as she followed him around the kitchen.

After much difficulty, they finally made their way across the flooded aisle to the other door of the kitchen which led to the hall outside.

True to the old butler's thoughts, their eyes ended up lying on two figures as soon as they stepped inside the hall.

On the far end of the hall, Blake was occupying a chair as he tended to the lady's wound, who was sitting on the edge of the table with her feet dangling over the edge.

"I don't think I should go with you." Lillian drew in a sharp breath as she stepped behind the old butler. Seeing the so engrossed in their own conversation, she didn't find it right to be an interruption.

"It will be fine." The old butler shook his head before he began to walk in their direction. He stopped after taking a couple of steps as he realized that the young lady had no intention of following him.

"Follow me." He looked over his shoulder and muttered. This time his voice held much more authority than before, not giving her any chance to refuse.

"Okay." She bobbed her head a couple of times before her feet began to follow his tracks as he walked in Blake's direction.

"Is everything okay, Young Master?" The old butler spoke up as soon as he reached the duo. His eyes trailed off to his Young Miss's index finger which was being treated by Blake, and then to the huge first-aid box which was left open on the table, next to her.

'Really?' He shook his head helplessly after seeing the size of the kit. The small cut was barely five centimetre long, and Blake had taken out the first aid kit which was meant to treat a bullet wound, or a stab.

"It will soon be." Blake muttered without even looking up. He was too focused on the small finger as he dabbed it with a cotton swab which was more or less likely dipped in disinfectant.

He was treading the small gash as it was the most delicate thing in the world, or maybe it was the lady whom he was treating with so much care. Who knew! Only he could answer it.

"Come on, Blake, stop it already. Do you want to clean it or make it bad?" The lady who had been sitting quiet for so long, finally spoke up. She was already too tired after her long and tiring flight, now she had to sit through this. It only added to her ire. Moreover, she had spent so long in that kitchen trying to cook something for him without taking the staff's help.

In reality, nobody would have stepped up to help her even if she had asked them to. Everyone in the base had a first hand experience, or at least heard about the times she had stepped inside the kitchen. No one could ever live down how that has turned out every time.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do it?" Blake clenched his jaw even when he sounded like he didn't mind it. He was clearly trying to keep his anger in check. "Also, why didn't you inform me beforehand of your arrival?"

"There is a thing called surprise, you know." The lady rolled her eyes at him. She was about to continue further, but stopped herself when she saw someone looking at her with curiosity filled orbs.

"Who do we have here?" Katherine spoke up in a mildly amusing tone.