The Consort

"The King told me he likes the way I fold his jeans. Said it's the best he's ever had it done." Gwen brags in between bites.

She's been at this all week, every day talking about some compliment the King bore her. It's pretty annoying to listen to and often makes me angry to hear. Everybody else eats it up like butter, though, wanting to hear more about the King and his actions.

"Oh wow! I can't believe he said that!" A servant who I haven't met before says, eyes wide in amazement.

"Yeah, he's honestly so sweet."

I roll my eyes at their conversation, trying to block them out as I eat my breakfast. I've been coming down here in the mornings and after work to eat, and while it's not exactly convenient, it is nice being able to spend time with everybody still.

Usually, I sit next to John so we can catch up and chat about our day, but he hasn't shown up this morning. I got down here a bit later than usual, though, so I figure he's probably already left for the day.

He was pretty upset when I told him that he couldn't come to my room anymore, but has seemed better the past few days. The other servants have been treating me a bit differently too, some opting to suck up to me in hopes that I'll put in special orders for them while others ignore me entirely because I'm 'consorting' with the Beasts.

Gwen and the other woman continue to gossip, my grip on my fork tightening with each word.

"His bed is huge too, and so comfortable."

Her words have my full attention. How does she know how comfortable his bed is?

"What? Have you.." The other woman asks, voice trailing off suggestively at the end.

I watch carefully for Gwen's reaction, but she simply smirks at the girl, sending her a sly wink. The motion doesn't go unnoticed by me, my body filling with anger at the knowledge that they have been together.

King Heloix doesn't pay her much attention while we are together, but apparently I don't know what happens behind closed doors. Clearly he's just looking for a warm body in his bed, the person connected to it unimportant.

I scoff at the thought, not at all surprised. Beasts aren't exactly known to have a lot of integrity. Or, apparently, taste.

"Have something you want to say, Adeline?" Gwen turns her attention to me with amusement.

I shake my head, thinking back to the expression my mother used to say. If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Gwen continues to smirk at me until I grow tired of it and get up to leave.

It's not appropriate for her to be talking about the King in such a way. She's being foolish and, if she isn't careful, will end up getting herself killed. I wouldn't be surprised if Jade does it herself when she gets wind of Heloix's indiscretions.

My stomach grumbles as I walk out of the room, the organ angry with me for not finishing my food, but I ignore it. I'll eat extra tonight to make up for it.

Heloix said that he would have a desk put in my room for me to do work, but we have just been sharing his desk in the meantime. It's a bit inconvenient, both of us taking up opposite ends of the surface, but it gets the job done.

As promised, he also switched the hinges from his bedroom door to the office so I can enter and exit as I please. It's been a lifesaver, especially on days where he isn't there to let me out.

I take my time as I walk to his office, happy that none of the guards are giving me any trouble. Heloix is sitting behind the desk as I enter, and I give him a curt nod before heading over to my end of the desk and sitting in the office chair he had put in for me.

"How was breakfast?" He asks, continuing to stare down at the papers in his hand.

"Good."

My voice comes out harsher than intended, causing Heloix to glance up at me in confusion. He doesn't comment on it though, instead opting to shake his head and focus back on his tasks.

He's already laid out all my work for today, and put little sticky notes explaining things that he thinks I won't understand. Quite presumptuous of him to assume that I don't know what I'm reading. I quickly scan over the notes, making sure that they aren't anything that I need, before crumpling them up and tossing them in the garbage.

The paperwork is boring and repetitive, and I don't for the life of me understand how Heloix does this all day long. I've only been at it for a week or so now and I'm about ready to rip my hair out. My mind wanders as I skim over the papers, constantly going back to the conversation Gwen had today.

I wonder when Heloix and Gwen have been seeing one another. I arrive before her in the mornings and am with Heloix all day. She must wait around for him in his apartment- probably drinking all his wine and folding his clothing just right. I roll my eyes at the thought, annoyed that she has gotten into my head so badly today.

Hours pass in tense silence. The King tries to start a conversation a few times but quickly gives up after receiving only curt responses from me. A part of me feels terrible for being so mean to him, but my anger and, if I'm honest with myself, jealousy, far outweighs any pity I have.

"It's hard to focus with all your huffing and puffing over there." Heloix snaps. It's the first thing he's said to me in over an hour, and in surprise I snap my head up to meet his gaze.

"What's your issue today?" He continues, "You've been in a bad mood since you arrived."

"Nothing. I'm fine."

Heloix rolls his eyes at my answer, slamming his pen down and turning to his body to face mine.

"That's clearly not true. If you are upset abo-"

Our conversation is cut off as Gwen saunters inside with her head held high. I watch her through squinted eyes as she begins her cleaning. Every little thing she does aggravates me, from the way she bends at the waist instead of the knees to the small grunts she makes every time she has to reach up for something.

Heloix watches me watching Gwen, but I don't care.

"So- what's your issue?" He asks, continuing our conversation.

Sigh, I drag my eyes away from Gwen to look at Heloix.

"I told you that I'm fine." I argue.

At this point I'm not even sure why I'm so angry with Heloix. His entire presence is making me mad, and I want nothing more than for him to drop the subject.

"You're so wound up." He says, a sly grin spreading across his face. "I could help you with that."

The sexual innuendo isn't lost on me, and under normal situations it would make me blush, but all it does now is deepen my frustration.

"No thanks. I'm sure Gwen would appreciate that more than me." I retort, lip curling at the words.

Gwen freezes in her movements, her grin quickly transforming into a blank stare. She was happy enough to brag about their endeavors this morning, so I'm unsure why she's acting so shy now.

The King, on the other hand, appears confused. He looks between Gwen and I with furrowed eyebrows.

"Well, I didn't ask her now did I?" Heloix snaps, clearly getting fed up with me.

"You." He points at Gwen, flicking his hand towards the door. "Leave."

Gwen does as he commands, quickly scurrying out of the room. With her gone, Heloix's attention is once again all on me. Usually I would enjoy this, but today I wish for nothing more than to shrivel up and hide under his desk.

I shouldn't have made that comment about Gwen. I'm sure he doesn't want anybody knowing about the two of them, and I'll no doubt get in trouble for speaking on it.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Heloix snaps, all patience gone from his voice.

His tone flares my anger, making me lash out.

"Nothing. I just think it's inappropriate for you to say those things to me when you're sleeping with both Gwen and Jade."

I'm cringing the second the words leave my mouth. I'm really on a roll today.

"Why don't you try this one on for size. I'm not fucking either of them, and I sure don't appreciate your judgment."

Heloix's chair slams against the bookcase as he abruptly stands, eyes flickering in anger. I shrink into myself, humiliated, as he storms out of the room.

I want to seek him out to apologize, but pride prevents me from doing so. Instead, I follow in his footsteps and storm out of the room towards my bedroom.

No doubt Gwen heard our argument, and no doubt that she's going to ream me out tonight at dinner. If she does she'd be admitting to lying about sleeping with the King though, so maybe she won't. Either way, I can't bring myself to care much right now, too frustrated and angry with myself to think of any of that.

"Woah, woah, woah. What's your problem?" John asks, startling me.

He's standing outside the Second's chambers with a garbage bag in hand, looking at me like I've grown three heads. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice him. Slowing my footsteps, I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself before plastering a smile on my face.

"Nothing! Just having a busy day." I respond, cringing as my voice comes out at a noticeably higher pitch than normal.

John narrows his eyes at me, clearly seeing through my lie. I continue to smile at him in hopes that he will let it go. Relief rushes through me as he shrugs, turning to the trash chute and throwing the bag inside.

"Well," He starts, cheeks reddening. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

I watch in amusement as John fidgets for a second, awkward movements that remind me of when we were young teens.

"Can you put me in the kitchens?"

The kitchens? Cleaning for the Royals is relatively easy, and the kitchens are well known to be one of the hardest jobs to have. Knowing John, it's probably for a girl. It wouldn't be the first time he's switched around his jobs to get close to one, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

"Yeah, I can try to do that." I respond, a genuine smile coming across my face. "Who is she?"

"Emma. I met her the night you went missing. She was feeling so guilty asking you to work in the kitchens with her and we ended up chatting all night. She's really cool."

My heart warms hearing him talk about her. Emma is great, and I could see them being a cute couple. That is if humans were allowed to date. The knowledge that we aren't allowed to be with one another or have a family still upsets me, but I do my best not to think about it. There's no point in dwelling on things that I can't change.

John excuses himself to head to the servant's quarters for dinner, and I watch him leave with a heavy heart. I miss being able to hang out with him and walk the halls together. I'm aware that we were breaking the rules by planning to have sex, but I don't understand why we can't even be friends.

In another world I would bother Heloix about it to try to change his mind, but after our argument today I think that that would be one of the worst things I could do.

Sighing, I continue my walk to my room, hoping to sneak in a quick shower before going down for dinner. I've been taking advantage of having my own bathroom and showering multiple times a day, even if I just stand under the spray and enjoy the warmth most of the time.

Making it to my room in record time, I fling open the door, surprised to see a small desk sitting in the corner of the room. It's finally arrived!

There are a couple of papers sitting on it along with a small box sitting on top. Excitedly, I make my way over, smiling as I take it all in. The papers look to be simple order forms, but the box has me confused.

I quickly snatch it up and tear off the lid, dropping it immediately on the floor as I notice what's inside. The coins scatter along the floor, letting out loud clinks as they bang against the surface. I rush to pick them up, my mind running a thousand miles a minute.

Who left this here? Is this some sort of trick? An attempt to frame and accuse me of stealing from the King?

I need to bring this to Heloix and explain what's happened before anybody has the chance to frame me. I hastily grab all the coins that have fallen on the floor and shove them back into the box. Once they are secure, I push the lid back on and rush out of my room, sweat accumulating along my eyebrow and neck.

I'm careful not to draw any unwanted attention to myself as I rush to the King's office door, praying that he has returned after our argument today. Grabbing the handle, I don't hesitate to push on the door, cursing quietly as I realize it's locked.

The King must have come back and locked it, meaning that the only way to access him is to go through the bedroom.

I hesitate on it for a second as I weigh the pros and cons, quickly coming to the decision that the mysterious coins are more important than his current frustration with me. Scurrying over to the bedroom door, I ram my shoulder against it to shove it open. I wince at the contact, knowing that it'll leave a nasty bruise tomorrow, but that's a problem I'll deal with then.

Heloix whips around as I enter, eyes completely black and body low to the ground as if to attack. He's on top of me before I can register what's happening, his body caging me against the floor as he crouches above me. The box almost falls out of my hand as I'm pushed to the floor, knees smacking harshly against the surface.

"What's happening?" He growls out, voice sounding more animal than man.

I've never seen a Beast so close to shifting before, the proximity making my heart pound.

"I found a box of coins in my room." I blurt out, desperate to claim my innocence before he can hear otherwise.

Heloix takes a second to register my words, but once he does the change is immediate. He moves off of me, grabbing my arm in the process and pulling me to my feet.

"What?"

"I went to my room after you stormed out and there was a box on my new desk filled with coins. I don't know how it got there or why." I spit out, stumbling over my words in a rush to get them out.

Heloix rubs his hand over his face, struggling to compose himself after his almost shift.

"I'm aware. I put it there this morning. Did you see the note I left?"

"No?"

"Obviously. Running in here like you're being chased, making me damn near shift." Heloix says, sounding tired.

He throws himself down on his couch and visibly melts into the cushions. I feel a bit silly having rushed in here like this and causing a panic. Looking down at my feet, I shuffle them slightly, wishing for nothing more than to be invisible.

"I thought that somebody was trying to frame me." I explain, hoping he isn't too angry by my outburst.

"Yeah, I gathered that." Heloix says, not so subtly kicking me out. "If there isn't anything else you need, I've got some work to get back to."

I hear the unspoken command loud and clear, cheeks flaming as I rush out of his space. The guard eyes me wearily as I exit, no doubt wondering why I am coming in and out so much today, and I give him a small nod before walking back to my room.

The room is a mess when I enter, the chair knocked over and papers scattered all along the floor from my hasty exit. Sighing, I set my box down on the desk and start looking through the documents for the note the King left me.

I find it still sitting on the desk right next to where the box was placed, and rush to get it open. My heart drops as I take in his words, guilt at being so nasty to him today eating at my mind.

Buy yourself something nice when you go to the city. Should you need more, you are always welcome to stop by and ask me.

-Heloix