Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Violette POV

We spent an hour picking weeds and grooming the plants. We removed all the dead flowers and leaves, watered them, then finished by sprinkling something on them that Ms. Beatrice told us to.

The feeling of being watched never went away.. it’s like every move I was making was being watched closely. It made my heart race fast, and I’d find myself at several moments having to stop to take deep breaths, slowly looking around to see if I could spot anyone but I never could.

“Lunch is ready.” Ms. Beatrice called. Lillian and I stood up from the floors and made our way over to the servants eating area. I dried my hands against my uniform and was handed a plate by the kitchen staff.

I nodded my head and smiled gratefully and he smiled back. Once Lillian got her food we took seats by the far back of the room. I didn’t want to sit near many people.

“Is that the King’s slave?” I heard one of them whispering to the other.

“Yeah, I hear he caught her being broken in by another man. The king killed the man and beat the slave. That’s why we haven’t seen her.” The other whispered back.

“Don’t listen to them. They don’t know what they’re talking about.” Lillian said to me. I gave her a small smile and began forking at whatever meat it was on my plate.

“What did you do to the king to make him so mad, huh? Did you try to kill him like your Father did?” A male servant stood next to me with an evil look in his eye.

“Leave her alone. She did nothing to any of you.” Lillian defended me.

“Not directly.. but her Father is the reason we got beat daily. If he hadn’t killed the entire royal family and kidnapped the last living heir, the kingdom could be flourishing right now. That idiot cousin of the Kings ruined us. And it wouldn’t have happened had her Father not started a war.” The man growled.

I couldn’t do anything to defend myself without breaking rules and risking punishment. The King already hates me enough as it is, I can’t imagine what he’d do if he found out I got into a screaming match with a servant.

“She holds no responsibility for the acts of her Father. She is nothing like him and you’re all idiots if you believe so. She’s already endured enough. Don’t torment her with her Father’s sins as well.” Lillian growled back. The man continued glaring at me but didn’t say another word. I just sat there silently fighting tears, wanting to shrivel up into a tiny ball and rot away.

I couldn’t bring myself to eat. I ended up just giving my plate to Lillian.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

“What else shall I do, Ms. Beatrice?” I asked once I’d walked over to her. I had just finished all of my work for today.

“I see you’ve finished everything. I’ve already gone through and checked your work.. you’re quite a good cleaner. Usually, royals don’t know anything about it.” She said.

“She used to help us all the time back at home. Though her father always struck her for it.” Lillian said.

“What’s striking?” Ms. Beatrice asked.

“Oh, it’s not good at all, Ms. Beatrice. He would take whips and whip her until she couldn’t stand-“

“That’s enough, Lillian.. please.. That’s not her business.” I stopped Lillian. Royals would not think of ever being hit or beaten. But I’ve had my fair share of it and I’d much rather keep it to myself.

“Oh.. I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t realize..” Lillian looked at me and shook her head.

I looked over at Ms. Beatrice, her eyes were filled with pity.

“May I be excused to my chambers if there is nothing else?” I asked. Ms. Beatrice nodded her head just as I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

“Oh!” I grunted.

“Is it the pains again?” Beatrice asked.

“Oh, yes. They are much worse today.” I g*****d.

“Here, come with me.” Beatrice lead me down the hallway into a little room filled with herbs.

“Take these. Grind them up with this, mix them with a cup of warm water and honey, and drink. It should help. I don’t know what it is, dear. I’ll have to do some research.” She handed me a jar of herbs, a grinder, and a container of honey.

“Thank you,” I said as the pain continued. I took them and began to my room, Lillian hot on my tail.

“Here, hand them to me. I’ll get them ready.” She said as she reached for the items. I handed them to her. We walked across the castle and finally, the pain came to a stop. As we went to pass the King’s Chambers, Minerva stumbles out half dressed.

“Oh! Slave. What are you doing here?” She asked as she pushed her hair from her face.

“We are going to her chambers,” Lillian answered.

“What? Your room isn’t this way. The slave’s quarters are on the opposite side of the castle.” She said.

“No, Violette’s room is right there,” Lillian said as she pointed to a door at the far end of the hall.

“Why does he have you so close? That doesn’t make sense! I will go speak with him right now!” She growled before turning around and stomping right back into the King’s room.

“Let’s go. She’s crazy.” Lillian chuckled as she pulled me to my chambers. She sat the items down and got them ready as I crawled into bed.

“I didn’t mean to bring up such bad memories, Princess. I was only trying to show them that you’re not like your Father. You’re a good person. The best person I’ve ever known.” She said. A sad smile appeared on my face.

“Thank you, Lillian. But that is you.” I said. She giggled as she got the drink ready and brought it to me.

“Hopefully Ms. Beatrice will figure out what pains you. It seems to be getting worse each time.” She said worriedly.

“I’ll be fine, Lillian. I just need rest.” I said. She nodded her head and stood up, walking to the bath and staring at it.

“I shall get a bath ready for you. It will be relaxing and may help you feel better.” She said.

“It’s fine Lil-“

“No, I’ve made up my mind. I promise you won’t regret it.” She said with a smile. I rolled my eyes and nodded my head.

“Only because you insist.” I smiled. I closed my eyes as she left the room to fetch water. I’ve always been lucky to have a friend like her. But I always wondered if she would be different toward me if I wasn’t a princess. I’m happy to see she’s still the same happy person.

She came back in a few times, each with pails full of hot water to pour into the bath. I tried to get her to let me help, but she refused every time. Once the bath was full, she helped me undress and step into the hot bath.

“That does feel quite nice, Lillian. You always have the best ideas.” I said as I closed my eyes. She washed my hair, massaging the soap into my scalp gently.

I felt myself drifting off when she spoke.

“Ms. Beatrice has summoned me. Keep relaxing. I’ll be back soon.” She said. She stood up and left the room.

I sank further into the water, covering my entire body up to my chin, and closed my eyes. The warmth of the water relaxed all of my muscles. Sleep called my name repeatedly and finally, I gave in.

••••••••••••••••••••

My eyes slowly opened as the door did.

“Oh, Lillian. You’ve been gone a while. I think I may have fallen asleep.” I said tiredly.

The room stayed silent and I’d thought maybe I was still dreaming when I felt fingers slide into my hair. They began slowly massaging my scalp and I felt like I’d melt into the bath at any second.

“That feels amazing, Lillian.” I m****d. Maybe she asked Beatrice for some tips. It’s definitely something she would do. When I got no response I tried to turn around only to have my head shoved under the water.

I kicked my legs and punched my arms out, hoping to connect it to whoever this was. They held me tight underwater and I pushed up finally able to get a breath in before I was shoved back under.

I scratched at this person’s hand as the need to breathe got worse. My sight became blurry and was going dark. My heart thudded slowly in my chest, the only thing I could hear was it combined with the splashing. My movement slowed down as I began slipping. Closing my eyes and going to sleep was all I could think of.

The hands let go of me but I didn’t move. I heard muffled sounds around me.. not knowing what was going on. I finally closed my eyes and gave in just as I felt hands wrap around my body.

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