The Consort

"What are your plans after work?" Emma questions, glancing up at me from her seat on the floor.

Her thick brown hair is thrown up into a tight bun, the edges gelled into small waves. She's sitting on the floor cross-legged, eating some oats for breakfast. We haven't spoken to one another too much, but I've seen her in the servant's kitchen after work quite a few times.

"After I'm finished with the King's quarters I need to clean all the furniture in the courtyard." I answer, rolling my eyes as I speak.

Gwen was displeased by the whole three hours of spare time I have at night, and as a form of punishment has been assigning me extra tasks to do each day. They take me hours to complete, and for the past couple of days I've been lucky to get even four hours of sleep at night. I've developed some dark bags under my eyes, and when paired with my bony frame makes me look sickly.

Emma sighs, standing up and dusting off her dress. "Sorry about that! Gwen's a real hardass on you. I think it's because she wanted to be the one tasked with cleaning the King's chambers."

"I didn't realize that." I reply, happy to finally understand where some of her dislike is coming from. Generally speaking, cleaning the King or Second's chambers is a pretty easy job, and as such is typically favored among the humans. You get to spend most of the day alone and there isn't any crazy hard manual labor involved.

"Yeah, but don't tell anybody I told you." Emma points a finger at me, pursing her lips before transforming them into an exaggerated frown.

Laughing, I put my hand over my heart. "I promise!"

Emma laughs back, shaking her head as she sets her bowl in the sink and heads to the doorway.

"I should get going. Don't want to be late." She says, giving me a short wave before leaving the room.

Sighing, I push off of the wall and follow her out of the room. It's time for me to get to work as well. Thankfully the King hasn't spoken to me since he gave me his food, and I'm starting to feel a bit more at ease around him.

I'm still careful to keep quiet and be respectful while in his presence, but I don't worry that he's going to rip out my throat at any minute anymore.

John's already waiting near the end of the servant's hallway, and I give him a smile as I approach.

"Morning!" I greet him. "I need to head to the courtyard after work, so you don't need to wait around for me today."

John frowns at my statement, clearly unhappy with it, but doesn't immediately respond. I can practically see the cogs turning in his head as he takes in the information and thinks over his response.

"I'll still wait and walk you down to the courtyard." He answers, finality in his tone.

I shrug. "Suit yourself. Just know that I won't be offended if you go down early."

Without another word, I walk past John and out into the main hallways. I can hear him following behind, and seconds later I can feel his body heat to my right. We both keep our heads tilted downwards as we walk throughout the halls, trying to stay out of trouble.

The guards have a pretty regular schedule, and John and I have been taking different routes every morning to find the best one. If we get heckled or grabbed at we will attempt a different route the next day. The goal is to find the safest way to work in the mornings, and so far our plan has been successful.

It's a slightly longer walk, but we've found that if we go around the main hall instead of cutting through we will avoid the man who always grabs and lifts my skirts as I pass. And after the main hall, if we go up the staircase further down the hallway, we will avoid the guard who loudly jokes about taking John and me to his chambers. We do have to leave about 5 minutes earlier in the morning to get to work on time, but it's well worth it.

"You know." John speaks up just as we reach the staircase. "I'm so jealous that the King had those new hinges put on his door. I'm always struggling to get the Second's open"

I laugh.

"Yeah, but at least the Second is mated to a woman who keeps the suite clean." I argue, secretly wishing the King would stop leaving his place such a mess.

Every day, without fail, there is clothing strewn about on the floor, documents left on practically every flat surface, and a giant pile of dishes in the sink. If I have to touch one more piece of soggy leftovers I'm going to go insane.

"That's true." John agrees, joining me in laughter.

Our chatter quickly dies as we reach the stairs, both of us pretending that the exertion of walking up six flights of stairs isn't the reason why. We are audibly out of breath by the time we reach the top, but I still try my best not to let it show.

The King and Second's chambers are on opposite ends of the hallway, and I give John a quick wave goodbye before heading towards King Heloix's.

He's still inside when I arrive, and I give him a quick nod before getting started with my day. The place isn't too bad today, and hopefully I can get done a bit early so I can finish the courtyard furniture at a reasonable time.

I head over to the King's bed, having made a habit of starting there after the wine incident, and discretely check them for bodily fluids. The past couple of days there has been semen in his sheets, so I've been giving them daily washes. It's not great for the fabric to be cleaned so frequently, but once I notice the quality starting to fade I'll put in an order for some new ones.

I don't see anything in the sheets so I go ahead and make the bed. I can see the King watching me out of the corner of my eye but I ignore it and continue with what I'm doing.

He's still here by the time I'm done making the bed, so I head over to the kitchen to clean the dishes. I usually like to clean up the living room area before the kitchen, but I'll wait until the King has left.

I try not to pay any attention to him as he gets ready, knowing that it's considered disrespectful, but it's hard not to. It's fascinating to see how the Beasts live and move around when they are in their own private space.

He suddenly pulls off his shirt, putting his back on full display. Thick muscles are prominent under his smooth skin, not a freckle or scar visible. He leans forward to grab a shirt out of the closet, his muscles shifting at the movement.

A loud clamor echoes throughout the room as the pan in my hand smashes against a plate. The King spins around quickly, our eyes meeting for a split second before I look down and fumble with the dishes in my hand.

"Enjoying the view?" He teases, causing my cheeks to redden.

I don't acknowledge his statement, instead focusing on getting the dishes washed. I'm beyond mortified that he caught me watching him, and even more so at the emotions that seeing his body invoked in me. It's no secret that the King is handsome, but as a servant I know better than to look.

The King continues getting ready before leaving a couple of minutes later, slamming the front door shut behind him. Relieved that he's finally left, I continue on with my cleaning.

Hours pass in easy silence, and before I know it I'm finishing up my last tasks. I've been good about keeping up on the deep cleaning, so all that really needed to be done today was general tidying and a couple loads of laundry.

The sound of the front door opening has me straightening up and spinning around. To my surprise though it isn't the King that has entered, but the young woman who's been staying at the castle with her mother.

She gasps when she spots me, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"Oh good, I'm glad there's a slave here. I'm going to need you to stay throughout the night to wait on the Heloix and I." She says, pulling off her jacket and tossing it in my direction.

I scramble to catch the coat, scared of what she'll do if I drop it.

"You can start by bringing me a glass of wine." She says.

I nod. "Yes ma'am."

I walk over to the closet and hang the coat, careful not to crinkle it against anything. King Heloix has a wine fridge in his kitchen, and I head over to it to see if there's anything inside.

To my luck, the fridge is pretty full. I open the door and peek inside, hoping to spot a wine with a twist top. The only servants who are allowed to even come in contact with alcohol are those that work in the kitchen, so I've never had to open a bottle of wine before. Thankfully there's one in the back that has a twist top, and I immediately reach in to grab it.

"What's taking you so long?" The woman questions, clearly desperate to get her drink.

Picking up my pace, I quickly grab a glass down from the cabinet and fill it up. I'm careful not to spill anything as I carry it over to the woman.

"Here you are." I say, holding out the glass to her.

She snatches it out of my hand, and I quickly walk over to stand against the wall, ready for her subsequent request. She begins walking around the room, fingers gliding over every surface as she passes. I'm shocked as she opens up his bedside drawer and starts looking through all the King's personal belongings.

I don't know the King very well, but I doubt he will appreciate her going through his things like this. My mind races as I debate on whether or not I should say anything. If I do, she will undoubtedly punish me, but if I don't, I worry that the King will. Maybe she will change her mind and excuse me before he returns, letting me off the hook.

The woman slowly moves away from the drawer to sit on the edge of his bed. I wince as the wine in her glass nearly spills over the rim. What is with these Beasts and drinking wine in bed?

"What does the King like?" She suddenly asks, eyes zeroing in on me.

I'm surprised by her question, and even more so that she thinks I would have the answer. Even if I did, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to speak about it. King's servants are to be invisible, not learning about or hearing anything that happens while inside the King's chambers. To know things is dangerous, but to speak on them is practically a death sentence.

Clearing my throat, I hesitate before speaking. "I'm not sure. He works a lot."

She hums, clearly dissatisfied with my response.

"You spend all day cleaning his apartment, clearly you know something." She responds, voice sharp.

She removes herself from his bed and approaches me, her movements lithe and confident. Averting my gaze from her face, I watch her feet as she nears. My heartbeat quickens the closer she becomes, and I resist the urge to back away as she comes to a halt only inches in front of me.

Sweat is beading on my temple, and my hands clam up as her hand raises to my face. A sharp nail makes contact with my forehead, and slowly drags down the side of my face and neck until it settles on my collarbone.

I hold back a hiss at her actions, her nail easily slicing open my skin as she trails it down my body.

"So tell me-," she continues. "What do you know?"

I rack my brain for something, anything I can tell her, but am struggling to focus. She continues to run her nail across my neck, applying more pressure the longer I take to respond. I no longer wonder if I am bleeding, the liquid I feel pooling into my collarbone answer enough.

"He likes to cook." I finally blurt out, remembering the dishes that I have to wash every morning.

I continue, also remembering the wine stain in his bed. "And he likes red wine."

The woman sighs, removing her finger from my skin. I watch out of the corner of my eye as she downs the rest of her drink.

"I need a refill." She commands, pushing the glass into my chest.

I rush to grab it, careful not to touch her fingers, and hurry into the kitchen. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my hands shake as I pour more wine into her glass. The blood feels wet and sticky on my skin, but I ignore it, knowing that I need to bring her her wine before cleaning myself up.

The woman has moved back to her spot on the bed, and eagerly grabs the glass out of my hand. The second she is comfortably seated with her drink, I rush back into the safety of the kitchen. I spot my reflection in the microwave, and am glad to see that the cut on my face and neck isn't too bad. The line is thin and looks pretty similar to a paper cut. Blood has surfaced along the entire cut, but only from my mid-neck to collarbone did I actually bleed.

I grab a paper towel from the counter and wet it under the sink before bringing it to my wound. Holding back a hiss as it comes in contact with my skin, I carefully dab at my face and neck to wipe away the blood.

The sound of the front door slamming open breaks me from my concentration, and I look up to see the King entering the room. Fearful that I'm going to be punished for speaking about him and letting this woman look through his belongings, I freeze in place, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.

He immediately looks at me, his eyes flashing between the cut on my neck to the bloody paper towel I hold in my hand. His eyes begin to flicker, and my heart rate picks up at the knowledge that his inner Beast is fighting for control. I've never seen a Beast completely lose control before, and not many who have made it out alive to tell the tale.

He abruptly looks away from me and locks eyes with the woman casually laying on his bed. She shoots him a large smile, lifting her glass to the air in a friendly gesture.

"Heloix!" She greets him. "I've been waiting for you to show up! We haven't spent any time together while I've been here, and I thought that we could take tonight to get to know each other better."

She smirks as she says this, leaning back suggestively in his bed. I stay completely still, frightened to see how this will turn out. Will the King be distracted by her and let me go? Is he going to punish me?

My question is answered as the King looks back to me, fury evident on his face. He's breathing hard, and his eyes continue to flicker as he watches me. Tears begin to well in mine as I come to realize that this is the end for me. I drop my head to the ground in submission, hoping that he will make it quick.

A low growl echoes throughout the room, and I can no longer hold back the tears that leave my eyes. I let them fall to the ground, not wanting to risk angering him further by wiping them away.

"Adeline, leave." I hear the King suddenly say.

My head snaps up, vision blurry as I look at the King. He jerks his head towards the door, and I don't hesitate to run out, feet uncoordinated and tripping over one another.

I rip open the door and throw myself outside into the hallway as fast as I can, wanting to be long gone before he changes his mind. John is already waiting outside the door, and rushes up to me with concern on his face.

He wraps his arms around my body, and I bury my face in his chest, unable to control the sobs that leave my mouth.

"Hey hey hey. Addie, you're okay; everything's okay." He whispers, leading me away from the King's door.

I continue to cry, unable to get my emotions in check after being so convinced that I was about to die.

John continues backing us up, "You've got to quiet down for me, okay? Let's go downstairs. Then you can tell me what happened."