Punishment

One of the dishes, a large meaty fowl, roasted into golden brown perfection and drizzled with honey and spices, gave off a mouth-watering scent that made Oriana stupefied in place. Its appearance was so appetizing, the drooling young woman had an urge to reach out and take a small bite out of it.

All the dishes looked so delicious and expensive that someone like her could not even afford to eat a single plate with her current wage.

"Pick the first tray and follow me," the Head Maid told Oriana, as the other servants began to grab their own trays to carry. Oriana picked the tray with the roasted fowl. 

Despite its silver food cover, she swore the aroma was overwhelming her senses and cursed in her mind, 'This is pure torture ahhh! Will I die if I get caught pinching the skin? Maybe no one will notice if I cut a small part of the underbelly…'