The Consort

I shrug, having no idea. "Probably tomorrow."

I'm honestly still in shock that I've been given my own room. The guard who took me here didn't give me much information, but did inform me that I'm no longer to be serving the King and that somebody will come by later to fill me in on my new role.

John arrived just a couple of minutes later, having rushed immediately here after finding out about my whereabouts. Unfortunately, he only knows the same information as I, the unknown making me a bit nervous.

It was pretty uncommon, but possible, for servants to get their own bedroom back at King Richard's, but apparently it has never happened here in Ziad.

I'd never admit to it out loud, but I'm a bit upset that I won't be working directly for the King anymore. It's silly to say, but I felt that we got along quite well and could have had a decent friendship. Hell, just today he told me that I could call him Heloix when we are alone!

The room I was taken to is the one that I awoke in this morning. I was shocked to realize that I've been moved to the top floor where the King and Second reside, and even more so to discover that I'm staying in the King's private wing.

The space is just as I left it this morning, backing up my assumption I slept in here alone. I'm still unsure how I got here last night, but I'd like to believe that the King brought me here and not some random guard.

"We should get you some plants for your window. I'm pretty close with the gardener, so I bet I could convince him to cut me off a vine or something." John says excitedly.

I spin around, looking towards the window in question. It overlooks the gardens, a beautiful view that is even better than King Heloix's.

"Yeah, that would be nice!" I agree.

John continues walking around the room, pointing out all the decorations I should make and calling dibs on my shower. Laughing, I promise to let him use it whenever he wants.

Knowing that I should unpack before the guards come back, I grab my sack off the floor and bring it over to the dresser. There's a small closet in here with a couple of hangers that I use to hang my dresses. I only have three, including the one that I'm wearing, and I hold back a snort as I take in the view of my sad excuse of a closet. Shaking my head, I turn my attention to the dresser and quickly stuff my undergarments inside.

I only have enough clothing to fill up two of the drawers, which is honestly pretty lovely because now I have extra space to hide any fun things I find over the years. Back at King Richard's, I only had a small singular drawer and any knick knacks I managed to find were always thrown away by the guards during inspection.

John continues walking around the room as he shares his grand vision for the space. If I didn't know any better I'd say he's more excited about this than I am.

"Maybe I can find you some spare fabrics that we can piece together to make you some curtains."

I hum, doubtful that we would be able to source enough fabric for that.

"We can try." I respond, not wanting to spoil his good mood.

A knock on the door quickly silences our conversation and we exchange nervous glances as we wait for the Beasts to enter.

The door swings open, but to my surprise it's the King and his Second that step inside the room. Both look serious and turn to glare at John as they enter.

Both men speak out at the same time.

"What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't you be cleaning my quarters?"

My head snaps to the side to look at John, watching as he visibly clams up under the pressure. I want to jump in and help him, maybe create some excuse as to why he is here, but I struggle to think of anything believable at the moment.

"Sorry, Sir. I'm leaving now to finish my cleaning." John croaks out, immediately rushing out the door.

He doesn't bother to say goodbye, but I don't blame him. The room feels tiny with both the King and Second inside, and I can't help but feel nervous being alone like this with them.

The Second doesn't look happy to be here and eyes me with disdain. The King, on the other hand, looks much better than he did this morning. He's freshly showered and the angry expression he wore is gone, now replaced with a friendly smile.

"Adeline, sit." He says, gesturing to the bed.

The Second's eyebrows raise slightly at the King's informal use of my name. I'm careful to maintain a considerable distance as I walk past them and tentatively sit on the edge of my bed.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you've been moved," Heloix starts, and I vigorously nod my head in response. "We've decided to make an official Head of Household position and are putting you in that role."

"What about Gwen?" I ask, confused.

It may not have been official, but that's the role that she has taken ownership of. We all go to her when we need new clothing or supplies, and she puts in a request to the guard in charge of making castle orders.

It's not a highly sought-after role as the servant typically has to sleep with the guard to get him to order, but usually somebody is willing to bite the bullet and do it. As much as I dislike Gwen, I do have respect for her for being that person. It prevents a lot of slaves from going without and keeps overall morale up.

"Who?" The Second pipes in.

"Gwen. She is the servant we go to when we need things." I answer, purposely leaving out the details of how exactly she gets those things.

The Second frowns, apparently not having any idea who I'm talking about. King Heloix doesn't look to have any clue either.

"Oh, wait," The Second starts, turning to Heloix and snapping his fingers in recognition. "That's the slave that brings in our human shipments."

I frown at the term 'human shipments' but nod my head anyways in confirmation that that's her.

The Second turns back to look at me.

"She has been moved into your old role." He says.

Heloix still looks confused at who we are talking about, but shrugs in indifference.

"Anyways," Heloix says, changing the subject. "We will meet tomorrow to discuss in more detail, but you are to be in charge of all things slave-related. Necessities, jobs, things like that."

I nod, anxiety rushing through me. I don't want to have sex with the ordering guard, and I surely don't want to meet with the King tomorrow to discuss the technicalities that come along with the role.

The King's smile falls and is replaced with confusion as he watches my expression. I'm not sure what he expected me to do. Jump up and down in joy?

Heloix turns to look at his Second, his voice firm as he commands him to leave. The Second hesitates for a second, eyes flashing between the King and I, before exiting with a huff.

"Will you put me on birth control?" I quietly ask the second we are alone in the room.

"What?"

"If I'm to sleep with the ordering guard, then I would like to be on birth control to prevent pregnancy." I respond, doing my best to keep my voice steady.

Heloix visibly recoils at my statement, anger evident on his face. He mumbles a curse, bringing his hand up and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No," He says, squatting down so he's eye level with me. "I'll give you a budget to spend from. That's what we will be meeting tomorrow to discuss- how much money you will need."

I look at him skeptically, not quite believing his words. That's not how things are ever done. Heloix continues watching me before slowly extending his arms and placing his hands on my face, cradling my cheeks in his hands.

"Addie- you won't have to have sex with anybody." He promises.

My eyes scan over his face, looking for signs of deceit, but he seems truthful to his words. He hasn't lied to me before, but he is a Beast at the end of the day, and I'd do well to remember that. Despite what my brain says, my body relaxes as it hears his words as truth.

A small smile comes across his lips as my glare eases. The smile doesn't last for long though as seconds later it's replaced with a scowl. His hands are quickly removed from my face as he stands back up and moves a couple of steps away from me.

"Why was that male in here?" He questions, clearly upset.

I know he's talking about John, but I'm confused as to why he's so upset about it. Am I not allowed to let anybody enter my room? King Richard didn't have any issues with it, but he also let his humans procreate with one another.

"Well?" He urges, arms crossing against his chest.

"He's my friend. I didn't return to the slave's quarters last night and he was worried. He came to visit me once he heard I was here." I answer truthfully.

The King moves toward me, continuing forward until his toes meet mine. He bends down slightly as he leans over me, bringing his face only inches from mine.

"He's not to come in here again." Heloix commands.

I nod my head in understanding. "It won't ha-"

He raises his hand, cutting me off mid-sentence. I shut my mouth immediately, not wanting to anger him any further.

"And if you two decide to continue with that little plan of yours, I'll have him castrated and made to wear his balls around his neck until they shrivel up and fall off." The King threatens.

I freeze up at his words. Is he referring to John and I's plan to have sex? A part of me wishes to explain to him that it's not for pleasure and is simply so I can learn to become accustomed to sex in case a Beast decides to take me, but I stay quiet.

"Yes, Sir." I whisper, voice cracking at the threat.

The King's smile returns as if his threat never occurred in the first place, and before I can register what's happening he leans down and plants a chaste kiss on my lips.

"Great! Come to my office tomorrow morning and we will discuss your new role in more detail."

I stare at the door Heloix just exited, fingers touching my lips. Why did he just kiss me? It happened so fast a part of me wonders if I imagined it. My face heats up as I think about it, a small part of me wishing that he would do it again.

I shake my head in an attempt to rid myself of such thoughts. His mood is so back and forth today; it's giving me whiplash.

What am I going to say to John? I need to tell him what the King said and warn him to be careful, but I am wary that it will anger the King if I'm seen with him again.

I didn't realize how serious Heloix was about humans keeping distant, and am shocked that he knew of our plans in the first place. We were so careful to discuss them only in private, and made sure to keep our voices low and the conversations brief.

I begin to pace the room, stressing over John's safety and what tomorrow will bring. The sun slowly begins to set as I worry, but I remain focused and continue my planning until the sky has long since turned dark and my feet are sore from my walking.