SWNOVELS Chapter 20: Teaching
"It needs to look like this." I repeat, gesturing to the neatly folded example I laid out on the floor minutes earlier.
She huffs, throwing the shirt onto the floor in anger. I understand where her frustration is coming from, having felt it myself when I first learned how to fold properly, but it's essential that the King's clothing is done correctly.
"It looked good enough." She complains, bending down and snatching the item off the floor.
I patiently watch as she tries folding the shirt again, this time taking care to keep the seams neat. She looks up at me for approval as she finishes and I eagerly give her a nod, happy with the piece.
Her hands shake as she works, and I can't help but feel guilty that I wasn't there to help clean up last night. I can only imagine how traumatizing that was to witness, and I'm sure that being taken to King's chambers the next morning only furthered that fear.
"I'm sorry you had to experience what happened last night." I murmur.
She freezes momentarily at my words before shrugging slightly and continuing with her folding. She clearly doesn't want to discuss it, so I drop the topic. Instead, I grab a pair of pants from the basket and begin folding along with her, a comfortable silence stretching between us.
"Will the King kill me?" She asks suddenly, her voice wavering as she speaks.
I shake my head in response. "No."
I feel like a liar as I answer her, not at all certain of Heloix's intentions, but knowing that I cannot tell her that. He has little regard for human life, and I wouldn't put it past him to kill either of us over a minor inconvenience.
Telling her that truth won't help any, though, and the last thing she needs is more stress in her life.
"Were you born here?" I ask, both wanting to change the subject but also curious as to how Betty got here. She's by far the youngest slave I've come across in Ziad, and given the fact that she spends most of her time alone I assume that she has no parents or family here.
"No, but I was bought when I was young. This is the only place I've ever known." She answers, grabbing a small pile of clothes and carrying them over to the dresser.
She slides open the dresser drawers and begins setting the folded clothing inside. I watch carefully, wanting to see if she comments on the journal Heloix keeps inside, impressed when she ignores it completely. I nod to myself in approval at her actions, glad that I don't have to explain the importance of privacy to her.
"What about you?" She asks, continuing the conversation.
I shrug, "What about me?"
"Where were you born?"
"I was born and raised in another kingdom about a day's trip away." I answer, grabbing the last item out of the basket and folding it. "I arrived a couple of months ago."
Betty hums at my answer, turning around to face me.
"And your family?"
"My mom died when I was still pretty young, and I don't know who my dad was. He was probably another servant who was sold before I was born." I answer, grabbing a pile of clothing and bringing it over to the closet to hang.
"Once we are done with laundry I'll show you how to properly make the bed." I inform her, grabbing a metal hanger off the rail and sliding it into Heloix's shirt.
We finish up on the laundry in silence, my mind too preoccupied to hold a decent conversation. The knowledge of what happened to Gwen has me worried, scared of what the future holds for me.
It's no secret that the Beasts don't exactly appreciate the humans, but having them killed in the middle of the night without cause is pretty extreme. Will Heloix have me killed when I inconvenience him? Will a Beast rip out my throat if I walk too close to them in the hallways?
Betty puts the last bit of laundry away, her small hands pushing the drawers closed with a quiet thud before we move over to the bed.
"You'll need to tear off all the sheets first." I instruct, grabbing a handful and pulling them back. "Sometimes Heloix leaves wet, white stains in them, so you'll have to look for that between the sheets. Wash them if you notice any."
She nods in understanding, eyes inspecting the sheets. I watch as she nods slightly in approval before moving forward with making the bed. Her short arms move quickly as she grabs a handful of the sheets and pulls them to the floor.
"Are you going to be sleeping with Heloix often?"
I frown, shooting her an exaggerated glare. "No."
Betty hums and shoots me a pointed stare, clearly not believing me, before beginning to sift through the bedding on the floor. She grabs the thin sheet and pulls it from the pile, tossing it back onto the bed and spreading it over the mattress.
"Make sure to get out any wrinkles before putting the next layer on." I remind her, nodding my head towards the large rumple at the top corner of the bed.
She quickly fixes it, smoothing out the sheet before grabbing the comforter. Despite her reluctance she's a pretty quick learner, and I have no doubts that she will be a great personal slave for Heloix.
I continue showing her how to clean his apartment, my pulse racing every time I hear somebody moving around in the hallway. I'd like to finish all the cleaning and get Betty out of here before Heloix comes back, my mind worrying over the danger being around him brings.
"Do I have to do all of this every day?" She asks, huffing in exertion as she stands up and cracks her back.
I can't help but chuckle lightly at her attitude, remembering how much I hated all the cleaning when I first started. My hands would get so dry that they'd crack open and bleed, and I'm sure I looked like a walking corpse for the first couple of months as I adjusted to the long hours.
Betty shoots me a glare, clearly unhappy with my laughing. I try my best to tamper it down, failing and letting out a loud snort as she gives me the finger.
"Yeah, pretty much." I answer with a shrug. "Or at least most of it. Some things can go ignored for a couple of days."
"The King is quite messy. I hope th-"
Her words are cut off by the sound of the office door slamming shut. Betty's entire demeanor changes at the sound, her shoulders dropping and body folding in on itself. Her large eyes look towards me for guidance, but I have none of value to offer.
I don't know Heloix that well and still struggle to understand what makes him tick.
After a moment of tense silence Betty gets back to cleaning, her movements noticeably slower and more careful. We both move around the room quietly, and I watch to make sure that everything is done correctly so I can defend her should Heloix throw a fit about something.
Luck appears to be on our side though as Heloix remains put in his office. Occasionally I can hear the door opening and closing as others enter to speak with him, and at one point I even hear the Second's voice rise to a shout.
I take a step or two towards the door, intending to stealthily eavesdrop on the conversation, but the sound of a deep growl reverberating through the air halts me in my steps. The sound is easy to distinguish as Heloix's, but I can't tell if it is directed at me or the Second.
I'm sure that he could hear me inching towards the door, so to be safe I scurry back into the main room as if I was never trying to listen in the first place.
Betty must hear the noise as well as she lets out a quiet gasp and flinches. The plate in her hand slips between her fingers at the action, the glassware moving in slow motion as it falls to the floor and shatters.
We both stare at the broken glass in shock. I'm fearful that Heloix is going to come storming in, but when nothing happens I jump in to help.
"It's okay, things break sometimes." I reassure her quietly, rushing forward to begin picking up the pieces.
"I'm so sorry." Betty quietly whispers, voice so low I can barely hear it. Tears almost immediately begin filling her eyes, but she wipes them away before they can get far.
Bending down, I begin to grab the larger pieces off the floor, careful to avoid the sharp edges and smaller shards. Betty follows my lead, but her shaking hands fumble around as she picks up the glass and a large piece lodges into her hand.
Blood pools out of the cut and seeps between her fingers before dropping onto the floor, and in a panic I gesture towards the kitchen.
"Go run your hand under some water." I order.
Betty drops the shard and hurries away, her footsteps pattering quietly along the floor as she moves. I can't help but feel pity for her, knowing that her constant fear is only going to make this job harder for her.
She quickly turns on the sink in the kitchen, her mouth grimacing as she moves her hand underneath the water. I hope the sting serves as a warning to be more careful with her actions in the future.
The sound of the office door opening has my heart racing, and I snap my head to look at Betty. She's already staring at me, eyes wide in fear as Heloix enters the room. I nonchalantly raise my finger to my mouth and signal for her to stay quiet, my hand shaking as I slide my gaze over to him.
His eyes narrow as he looks over at me on the floor, his gaze moving from me to the glass on the floor being sliding over to Betty. She's visibly shaking, her wet, bloody hand clutched tightly to her chest.
"I will get the bandages." He announces, spinning on his heel and marching into the bathroom.
Both Betty and I remain still as Heloix clinks around in the bathroom, surprised that he doesn't seem upset about our mistake. He emerges seconds later and makes his way over to Betty.
She looks between Heloix and me, clearly petrified as I rush to pick up the last pieces of glass so I can go over to her. I know that realistically there isn't anything I can do should he decide to harm her, but that won't stop me from trying.
"Damn it, Adeline. Let go of the glass." Heloix barks, startling me.
I immediately flex open my hand, letting the pieces I'm holding fall back to the floor. They clink against one another as they drop, some breaking further upon impact.
Standing back up, I smooth down my dress and focus on Betty and Heloix. He stands only inches in front of her, her small hand held firmly between his as he inspects her cut.
Flashbacks of the time he bandaged up my neck come to my mind, but I shoo them away as I move closer to the pair.
"You still have glass in your hand." He mumbles with a shake of his head. His curls bounce around at the action but I refuse to let myself be distracted by it.
He moves so quickly that my eyes can't keep up, and the next thing I know Betty is yelping and Heloix has a piece of bloody glass between his fingers. Instinctively she tries to jerk her hand away, but he holds onto it tightly to prevent her from doing so.
She looks to me for help, but I can only stand by and watch as he bandages her up the way he once did for me, stinging liquid and all. Betty is tense the entire time, eyes locked in on either me or her hand.
I'm happy to see that he is helping, a significant change from how he treated her this morning. It brings me peace of mind and fills me with the hope that he will treat her with the same kindness he does with me.
I wish to comfort Betty and tell her that this will keep her hand from getting infected, but fear of drawing attention to Heloix's actions and causing him to change his mind keeps me silent. The process is quick, and the second Heloix releases her she rushes backward, stumbling slightly over her own feet in the process.
"You may leave." He says to Betty, jerking his head towards the door.
She immediately rushes to the front door, arms tugging at the heavy wood in a sad attempt to pry it open. Heloix heads over to help her while I take advantage of the distraction and rush to grab my paperwork off the kitchen island. I had brought it here last night hoping that I would be able to escape to my room early this morning and get some of it done.
The door creaks as it is opened and I turn to rush out with Betty, wanting to avoid being left alone with Heloix. He appears to have other plans, though, and slams the door shut the second she is past it.
"I have purchased you a couple of items." He states, arms crossed over his chest.
I nod slightly in response, unsure of what to say to him.
"They are in your bedroom."
I nod once more.
"I am warning you so you do not get fearful and run in here panicked again." He continues, a small smile on his face.
I only nod, and Heloix's smile leaves as quickly as it appeared. I don't understand why he thinks I would be in a chipper mood after finding out that he had several humans killed in their beds last night. Maybe he thought that I would be too fearful of him to express my distaste for his actions.
"This is because of the humans?" He asks.
I cross my arms over my chest, finally opening my mouth to speak. "Yes."
"You didn't even know any of the women, and you hated Gwen." Heloix argues, clearly not understanding that dislike doesn't equal me wishing a person was dead.
"That doesn't mean I wanted her dead." I say, my voice rising in tone as I struggle to keep my emotions out of my words.
Heloix sighs, leaning back against the door. "Well, what's done is done. You can't be angry about it forever."
I open my mouth to argue but stop myself before saying anything. As comfortable as I may feel around Heloix, I need to keep in mind that he is the King, and I need to maintain respect.
Inside, though, I want to scream and argue and push Heloix until he understands my feelings. Until he sees how his actions affect us and how shitty our lives are under his rule.
Instead, I nod, staring at the door he leans against as I wish for nothing more than to leave this room.
"What would you like me to do?" Heloix continues, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"Not kill us." I murmur, annoyed that I even have to tell him this.
Heloix stares at me silently for a second before shaking his head and pushing himself off of the wall. I back up slightly at the sudden movement, expecting him to crowd my personal space, but instead he turns and pulls open the door.
"I hope you enjoy your presents." He states, holding the door open for me to exit.
I don't hesitate to rush out of the room, breathing a sigh of relief the second my body is over the threshold of his chambers. The corridor is empty, save for the ever-present guard standing along the wall, but even the sight of him isn't enough to keep me from running back to my room.