XVII: Kitchen Escape

'My face?' Judith's hands instinctively rose to her cheeks as she gazed into the rippling reflection of the water.

Disbelief coursed through her as she beheld her own visage staring back at her.

'How is this possible? My real face?' Judith pondered to herself as fear began to settle within her.

'Wasn't I supposed to have inhabited Sarah's body? Why don't I have her face instead?' She questioned, scrutinizing her reflection intently.

Upon entering this world, Judith didn't know what to make of anything, but after meeting the goddess, it was clear she got transmigrated into the world like some of the Transmigration novels she read.

Which meant she was supposed to have entered someone's body in this world, and as things had been happening to her the same way it did for Sarah, it was obvious or rather should have been obvious that she was in Sarah's body.

But to suddenly find her real face.

'This is bad.' Judith thought, her fears growing. If she was herself and not Sarah, then the bulk of this story would be greatly derailed.

Sarah was an integral part of the novel, her blood was needed to carry the story forward. Literally.

So if she was herself instead of Sarah...

'This is very bad.' Judith thought, her fears consuming her.

Standing up, she began to analyse the rest of herself, wondering if she just had her head placed on top someone else's body.

'Perhaps...' Judith paused, then pulled down her robe so she could get a good view of her shoulder. And likewise, what she saw caused her to gasp.

There was no tattoo on her shoulder, the tattoo of Sarah's clan.

At this point, Judith felt her being shatter. What would she do if she wasn't Sarah? She would be stuck, not able to control this world and its events.

Feeling her fear eat at her, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She couldn't think about this now, there was too much on her plate as it was. Right now, she needed to focus on the immediate.

'One step at a time.' Judith thought, then controlled her breathing. She was going to figure this out later, just not now.

As she stood staring at the rest of her body and all but confirming she was herself, Tsai had raised a brow as she started to wonder what was going on with Judith.

It had taken Judith a moment, but when she finally realized she was being watched by Tsai, she forced a smiled.

"Sorry, was just checking something." Judith had defended.

Tsai didn't linger on it for more than a second. She rose onto her feet and pointed her gaze to the manor.

"It's almost lunchtime, we should head back inside. Though I doubt anyone will have an appetite right now," Tsai's voice lacked its usual vibrancy, yet Judith remained preoccupied.

Her focus shifted from her appearance to Qui Lin.

If she didn't go to see her now, it would be too late.

***

As noon approached, the maids gathered in the kitchen, scrambling to prepare lunch for the nobles, the captain, and a few of his most trusted associates who always ate at the manor.

Judith — lacking in knowledge on how to prepare Qugan cuisines — stood at the corner and watched as per Tsai's suggestion.

Though everyone who looked at Judith would assume she was rapt in what they were doing so she could pick up a thing or two, Judith was actually searching for ways to escape this kitchen.

"Has anyone asked the captain if we should prepare enough for Lady Qui Lin?" A maid had asked amidst the sizzling, boiling and roasting of the kitchen's culinary activities.

Though this question had caused a chill to rattle up everyone's spine in the heat of the kitchen, they didn't stop what they were doing, as that would lead to a ruined meal.

"No." Murmurs flew into the air as they all fixated on their cooking.

Judith in this moment had found her opportunity to escape.

"Who will volunteer..."

"I'll do it." Judith had interrupted, eagerness ever present in her tone.

"Hm, very well then." The older maid said, then she waved her hand at Judith, telling her to scurry along.

Judith took a deep breath, then made her way out of the kitchen.

Tsai kept an eye on Judith as she left, fearing for her well-being.

Stepping outside the kitchen brought more of a relief to Judith than she had initially expected.

The desert's sun was already hot enough, things didn't need to be aggravated by the extra heat perpetrated by the stoves.

She didn't linger on this relief for more than a second, when she realized what it was she would be doing.

This realization frightened Judith, but there was no other way.

She steeled her nerves and made her way forward.

Her walk through the empty hallway did not last long when she emerged into the main hall.

Judith had stared at the spot in which the prince was laid, fear etched her being a moment later when she saw a spot of blood on the ground.

The prince's death had never been more present in her mind, neither was the presence of a god that wanted to harm her.

"One problem at a time." Judith had said, before turning to the stairs.

Just then, the sound of a creaking door resounded into the air.

Judith having panicked in this moment, took shelter under the flight of stairs, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

"What do we do? We're almost running out of time?" A voice along with footsteps too many to be one person's echoed above Judith's head.

She did her best to stay out of sight, as the stairs had enough spaces between them to reveal her location.

"Calm down Xen," Judith felt her breath stop in her lungs when she heard the captain's voice. "I have a plan in mind."

"When will you put your plan into action?" The man addressed as Xen had asked.

"This evening, so don't worry yourself." The captain had said, as he took the first step down the flight of stairs.

Judith had now leaned against a pillar underneath the stairs, to ensure she was out of sight.

"I can't believe this, do you think Lady Qui Lin meant what she said?" Xen asked, anxiousness filling his tone.

The captain, upon hearing Xen's question had stopped in his tracks.

"My friend Xen, Lady Qui Lin meant every word."

Xen couldn't help but gasp to this confirmation.

Judith already knew this, but hearing someone else affirm her assumptions was not exactly something she was happy about. Most especially if it was this man who was the affirmer.

"She would do so to convince the King of her grief for the prince, reaffirm her loyalty to the King of Qugan." Captain Qiao proceeded to make his way down the stairs, with Xen following behind.

"She would kill an entire Outpost to be in good stance with the King?" Xen wondered, speaking with an aggressive tone.

"Of course, she was responsible for the prince's safety after all. What better way to escape punishment than to show how much the prince's death meant to her. That royal bitch."

Judith felt anger well within her as she heard the captain's words.

Qui Lin and the prince had shared a bond quite profound, though she never acted like it, Qui Lin saw him as a son. Especially considering the fact that she was the one who took care of him when his mother had died in childbirth.

Not to mention she was the Queen's best friend.

Hearing these two make a mockery of that bond had stirred up something nasty within Judith. But she quelled this anger, as she knew he was going to get what was coming to him.