CHAPTER THREE: THE KING'S QUARTERS
Waking up, Lucy blinked her eyes as they tried to adjust to the sunlight coming from the wooden window in her room, she yawned her hazel eyes dull as she stood up and went to take her bathe, stepping into the mini bathtub she could barely stretch her leg, she missed taking her bathe in her large bathtub as wide as a pond, she sighed scrubbing her skin after a while she came out with a robe, she wore a beige coloured dress, packing her hair into a ponytail she left her room. On walking out of the inn she saw the woman “greetings ma'am” she greeted the woman who smiled “greetings to you too Lily, I thought I would have to go to your room glad you came out, we have to go to the palace now” the woman said and Lucy nodded and they left. CLEARSTONE PALACE Lucy arrived there with the woman, she glanced at the sturdy gigantic gate before her she clenched her fist, the guards present stopped them but the woman gave them the necessary information they let them pass. They went to the head maid. Lucy might be discovered even though she had lived in the last palace of the Clearstone kingdom the head maid might still recognize her, but there was no backing out. She stood before the head maid whose rigid face could scare many. The woman scrutinized her “who is she, Eve?” the head maid asked the woman who brought Lucy. “She is Lily, she would like to be recruited as a maid, she is good at making tea that I can testify” Eve said and the head maid stared at Lucy for a while “you look like a noble so what are you doing here” she asked Lucy who pursed her lips “ma'am I am an orphan who is trying to survive I hope you would offer this job” Lucy said bowing to the woman who raised a brow, she sighed “fine you are selected you will be assigned to the king's quarter's, I hope you won't fail me” she asked and Lucy smiled she was making great progress. “I won't ma'am and I promise to do my best” Lucy said firmly and the woman nodded “good you may have a word with Eve before going to your assigned quarters” the head maid said and Lucy bowed before leaving with Eve. “Ma'am thank you for helping gain this job” Lucy said and the woman's lips curved into a smile “why won't I, you seem special so of course I would love to help you, though she is a good friend of mine it's surprising to know she accepted you without going through many tests, that's to show how different you are, just be good and don't step on the king's toes and that of his soldiers” Eve said and Lucy nodded after a while of advice they bid farewell to each other, with the former heading out of the gate and latter walked further into the palace, the palace had three buildings one for meetings, balls and to accommodate guests, The second being in the middle was her parents quarter's it was for the royalties, but then they had built a new palace behind the two and it was where she lived funny enough she never lived with her parents and it saddened her heart sometimes. She didn't know where the new king stayed. Confused, she went to the first palace but she was asked to go to the king's quarters. No one said anything more. After a long while searching for the king's quarters a maid walked up to her “Young miss who are you” the maid asked Lucy turned “I'm Lily, a new maid here I was assigned to the king's quarters but I don't know where it is” Lucy answered politely and the maid nodded her head with an ‘oh’ “I'm Catherine, the king's quarters is the last palace” she explained and Lucy smiled but the girl came closer “be careful do not mess with him or you might be killed, some of the former guards and maid's were killed as well, and beware of his soldiers they aren't human know what you say before them” she added whispering into her ears before gently stepping back, she hastily left a thoughtful Lucy, She didn't know if Helene was alright remembering their last meeting a tear slipped through her eyes, as long as she could remember Helene had always been with her, she had been her maid since they were little so she was also like a friend, she wiped the tear and headed for her own palace. Lucy stood before the beautiful milk coloured building, she stared at a place she once lived and called home, she chuckled it was no longer her home not until she defeated that monster who took everything away from her. She had a strong urge to take a look at her room but she suppressed it immediately, she couldn't afford to be suspected by them she saw ten soldiers who were bulky. she felt that something was off about them, one walked up to her “you, have I met you before” he asked and she flinched when he sniffed her “I haven't seen you before this is my first time here” she lied but he refused to let her go, she felt familiar like the one talking to the maid he had captured, but another soldier walked up to him “Frank, let her go we shouldn't harass the poor humans they are way beneath us” the soldier said and the other reluctantly left her. Lucy heaved a huge sigh as she walked into the mansion she saw a slightly open room it had been an empty room when she lived there, her feet took her there before she could stop herself she had fully opened the door, ‘oh no Lucy’ she face smacked herself mentally she had the intention of closing it and walking away but a voice stopped her “who are you, what are you doing here” she halted immediately breathing in she opened her once closed eyes “I am Lily, a new maid assigned to the king's quarters but I don't know the way, I apologize for disturbing your peace” Lucy said in one breath,the person scoffed “I would like to see the face of this maid who doesn't know where she is assigned to, come in” the voice replied she hesitated a bit unsure.CHAPTER FOUR: THE KING'S QUARTERS 2 Lucy decided to go inside since she was caught already, walking in her breath hitched as she stared at the person before her, he sat down lazily on the bed his long raven black hair a bit disheveled as he stared at her with his golden coloured eyes, Lucy gulped. “Oh so you're the one looking for the king's quarters” he asked and she nodded after a while waking herself up “good day sir, please can you tell me where it is” she asked composing herself, he smiled leaving her breathless once more, she had never felt this way before she cautioned herself mentally she was here for revenge not to fall for a stranger. “Hmn, Lily you have to go the room by the left at the end of the hallway” he said, Lucy was stunned at how beautiful her name was as they rolled of his tongue, biting her lips, looking up she saw those golden eyes on her once more she sighed inwardly, today wasn't a good day for her. “Thank you sir, I shall take my leave then, I apologiz
CHAPTER FIVE: FAMILIAR VOICE Lying down on the wooden bed she relaxed, for a royal it would have been hard to cope but she had always mingled with commoners. Closing her eyes her mind drifted back to those golden eyes, she shivered hearing a heavy thump she sat up searching for who it was only to realize it was her heart she face smacked herself, she wasn't the type to fall for someone easily she had met lots of handsome men but none was like him it wasn't about his looks she just couldn't tell what it was that made her feel attracted to him. After an hour of struggles she finally slept off as she curled into a ball on the bed with a duvet draped over her body. Lucy felt a tap on her shoulder she whined snuggling closer to her pillow a smile on her face as she dreamt of her mother but the tap became numerous she grunted and slowly open her eyes “Helene stop disturbing me please” she said immediately as she rubbed her eyes “Lily it's me Catherine not Helene” Catherine said helpi
CHAPTER SIX: A NEW DAY AT THE PALACE Searching, her eyes wandered till they landed on a masculine tall man who stood out amongst the other soldiers he took regal strides as he walked to a seat one like a throne at the other end of the hall. He wore a black royal robe, his face was masked, there was something off about his silver coloured mask; she couldn't see her eyes, one thing she needed for confirmation. One thing was certain this man before him screamed danger whereas she was comfortable with the stranger. Sighing she silenced her thoughts. The head maid was there with them as well. She brought out a scroll she had seen her holding earlier and guessed it contained the names of the new maids. After a while she heard her name “Lily, step out” she said coldly and Lucy walked out immediately feeling the king's eyes on her as she couldn't see his eyes she held herself from glaring at him. “Present” she said just like the others. “You will be assigned the duty of making the
CHAPTER SEVEN: KAEL “The king's tea” she said calmly and he smiled, he walked beside her, their movement slow, Lucy would subconsciously glance at him, he was much taller than her, her head could only reach his shoulder. “Do you have a question dear lily” he asked as his golden eyes caught her hazel eyes which had sneakingly glanced at him, she blushed. She had to lie immediately “I was thinking if I had seen you before” she blurted out and the man narrowed his gaze. “Really, but why do I think it's more than that” he taunted, looking at him she paused, she didn't know what to say or she was lost in those golden eyes. “You see, you can't deny it” he whispered right beside her ear making her shiver, he leaned back flicking her head lightly, she scowled “I have to go now dear Lily” he said before he could leave Lucy called him back “can you tell me your name sir” she asked and the man raised a brow he paused his lips as if unsure about him telling her his name “call me Kael” he s
CHAPTER EIGHT: UPCOMING BANQUET Lucy's eyes lit up wanting to know more.The third maid relaxed seeing the hallway was empty “I saw a huge wolf there and I didn't see the guard, scared I ran away to avoid being eaten by the wolf” she narrated and the others shook frightened “I think the new king and his soldiers are mysterious and if we desire to stay in this palace with our head still on our neck we have to be careful and not to step on their toes” the first maid said and the others nodded, they scurried away.Lucy grasped her mind taking in the information she had received from the maids, she remembered when she overheard her dad talking about some wolves with someone she couldn't see as she was trying to sneak away when she saw him.Lucy gently left the pillar she was stopped by a red haired guard “Lily the King seeks your presence” he said and Lucy's heart skipped, the guard's face was rigid scaring, she didn't know if the King had found out who she is, swallowing she followed h
CHAPTER NINE:BITTER ANNLucy called out his name, it wasn't him but Ann, she scoffed “Lily don't tell me you've started seeing a man within a day of entering the palace, well what can I say I have always known you have some secrets but being a slut? Tsk tsk” she said clicking her tongue, Lucy felt the urge to slap her, she wasn't the type that was violent but she never appreciated being insulted, holding back the anger which cursed through her veins as she breathed in and out. It wouldn't be good if she ruined her plans tonight because of her, ignoring Ann's remarks she left the door open and continued what she was doing but the former wasn't satisfied “who is the young naive man with no taste that would want to be with you Hmn? Oh maybe he is a guard no wonder you passed the test, you were literally sleeping with him right?” she asked then gasped faking a shocking look, Lucy had heard enough. She turned around and before Ann could laugh at her she heard a deafening slap as it resonat
CHAPTER TEN: ANNOYED KING Stepping into the grand hall she stared at the familiar silver coloured walls, it was still as magnificent as it was months ago, seeing one of the minister's son one she had once rejected, she frowned but then everything would be alright if she didn't lose her cool, the young man was known for his ability to recognise one through their voice. Even though she always wore her veil, but then she had spoken to him before, on reaching where he stood she bowed, just as she wanted to walk past him, Ann quacked her and she slipped only to be held by a strong hand as they wrapped around her waist she gasped and clung onto the man regaining her composure she looked up to thank the man and her eyes widened. ‘what sort of bad luck is this’ she thought as she stared at the minister's son who was still holding onto her waist, his gaze on her, clearing her throat she gently removed his hand from her waist “thank you sir, I apologize for the
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THOSE EYES? Lucy stood there staring at the Minister's, the ones who had served her father. They were comfortable with the usurper as if he was their rightful king, she wanted to rip them apart, her eyes went to Alex's father who smiled the most she clenched her fist ‘that means, if I had agreed to marry his son he would hand me over easily’ she thought closing her eyes as a sharp pain wash over her, her head hurts a lot she staggered but maintained her balance.The guests arrived, they were four in number, three men and a lady.The lady and one of the men wore black masks.They looked lethal, the other two wore the same uniform as the king's men.Lucy stared at their mask recalling Helene's words ‘he wore a black mask’ she could hear Helene's voice in her head once more.Her eyes darkened, darting between the king and the man.‘the king wears silver mask only, then who did Helene see was it him’ she thought as her eyes soften as she stared at the king, she shook he
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: KNOWN CONFESSION Lucy hummed softly as she prepared the king's tea, this time around it was ginger tea. pouring the hot content from the tea pot to the cup, the aroma spread once more.She inhaled it and nodded in satisfaction with her eyes closed.She closed the teacup and lifted the tray heading out of the kitchen.She walked into the hallway and saw Catherine who was speaking with the other maids.Catherine turned and smiled“Lily!, I was looking for you” she said as she called out,She walked towards Lucy.“Aren't these heavy for you” she asked and Lucy lifted a brow before laughing.“I'm almost healed and besides this just a cup of tea” Lucy replied and Catherine grinned.“It's good to know that, you have to go now before the tea gets cold” she said pointing at the tea and Lucy nodded.Lucy rolled her eyes when she remembered what Kael had said.On reaching the study room, she knocked slightly and heard a soft ‘come in’. twisting the door knob she stepped i
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: WARMED HEARTCatherine, who was called by the head maid, was now returning from the second palace.She sighed, the head maid had asked her to wash an entire room, not because it was necessary.‘Maybe she wanted to punish me for informing the King about the incident’ she thought.She was really tired, having done her chores and instantly called for another. It was hectic.As she walked in the vast space, she saw a young man who was staggering looking lost.She blinked her eyes, it was the man who had wasted her time.She frowned a bit.‘Why is he looking like this, did someone roast him like he does to others’ she thought.Sighing she wanted to mind her business, but her heart said otherwise.Before she could realize it her feets had taken her to him.He stared at her his green eyes dull, he had always been the kind to make sarcastic remarks but he stayed mute.“
CHAPTER TWENTY: SEVERED BONDIris grinned as she whistled.It was time to weave her plan.She stood up opening her left fist and glared at the handkerchief which was stained with her blood.“Luckily I wore a dark dress, else that stupid human would ask questions” she muttered.“What human Ris?” Viktor asked as he stood before the door, his green eyes roaming around the room before settling on her.He was looking for Kael, the maids had said that he was seen here.Iris felt her wolf stir.“And how is that your business, it is none of your concern” she growled and Viktor nodded.“You know very well that Kael doesn't like people coming to this room, yet you still came here what do you stand to gain”“Can you stop tailing me Viktor, I don't wish to see your face, is it so difficult for you to understand?,” she asked, folding her hands under her chest.“Iris don't you feel anything for me, our bond don't you feel it?,” he asked as he walked into the room, his eyes staring into her green
CHAPTER NINETEEN: IRIS' PLANKael sat on his throne, his hair flowing freely covering the straps of his silver mask.The Ministers sat at the long table as they discussed the kingdom.Alex, who was part of the meeting, occasionally stared at the king.He has his doubts about the king,It was confusing how the Ministers had accepted him so easily.After the meeting Alex stopped his father outside the palace gate, Because he intended to look for the maid he had seen the other day.“Father, why are the Ministers including you, so comfortable with the king” He asked, his brows furrowed.His father sighed. “Alex, we all know what type of king we once had, but trust me when I say that this seated king is not bad” He replied hitting his son on the shoulder slightly before heading to his carriage.While Alex went into the palace.Kael left the throne room, he was satisfied to know that his Kingdom was doing fine,It's been decades and now things have fallen into place.Instead of going t
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: BURNING MARKOnce Catherine was done she sat up “Ok, here it's all done, you can move around but don't stress yourself so that the wound won't tear up again” She explained and Lucy nodded obediently“I won't, you didn't tell me you knew how to treat people” Lucy asked as she placed her hand on her cheek raising her upper body.“Oh that, I learnt a little when I was young, at least I can help when necessary” She replied, packing her bag.After a while of discussion, Catherine left, since she has her chores to do. Lucy tried to stay awake so that she could speak to Kael but she dozed off.She yawned as she slowly opened her eyes, she gasped it was evening. Sitting up, her eyes roamed around the room in search of the king. But he was nowhere to be found, she bit her lips.Standing up she left the room, She wanted to go back to her room but she changed her mind and went back inside.Searching the drawer beside Kael's bed, she saw a bunch of keys, Grabbing it
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: WARY LUCYLucy stared at the ceiling in a daze, she wondered what other secrets the King and his people had, The name Kael resonated in her ears.He is Kael, it has always been him all this time.The King is Kael and her worst enemy but yet the only one who could make her heart race, she smiled bitterly.She overheard their conversation earlier.Curling up on the bed she cried, it wasn't what she planned.She didn't plan to be torn like this.Kael, who had stepped out earlier after the conversation with Lucas, walked in, his long black hair disheveled.He sat down on the black couch rubbing his forehead.*You should find a solution to this, we are attracted to her but then we don't feel the mate bond and the princess is elsewhere, all we have to do is to find the princess first* his wolf said to him and he shook his head *Rage what about her, j don't think I can stay without her* Kael replied, his eyes glowing as he conversed with his wolf.*Are you being serio
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:TORN KAELKael stepped into his room, shutting the door slowly so as not to wake the figure in his bed.He sat down at the edge of the bed his eyes on her lazily, He stared at her features, she looked familiar but he hadn't met her before right ‘she is a commoner, but my mate is princess Lucy according to the moon goddess’ he thought as he stared at Lucy, his heart ached as she occasionally flinched.‘We accept her but she isn't our mate, is she?’ His wolf questioned and he frowned ‘I can't tell, the attraction is there but I can't feel the matebond’ he replied and his wolf growled in annoyance.Shortly after, the royal physician came in “greetings your Majesty, you sent for me” the man who seemed to be in his fifties said and the King hummed in approval “yes, check if she is alright” he said and the physician nodded.The King's eyes followed his every movement as the man inspected Lucy, seeing the bandage placed .neatly, He pi
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: TOXIC VIKTOR Kael cradled Lucy in his arms carefully on reaching the door to his room, Catherine hurriedly opened the door for him. He walked in, placing Lucy on his bed he gently turned her, that she now lay on her belly. He wanted to rip her clothes off but it was inappropriate at least for now, Catherine seeing how hesitant he was, she offered to help “your Majesty let me treat her wound, I do know a few herbs that can be mixed to stop the bleeding” she said nervously and Kael nodded stepping aside, “you can go and treat her, make sure she is alright” he warned and stepped out of the room, Lucy winced as her face contorted due to the pain, Catherine brought out a small bottle from the little crochet bag she always wore. She gently removed the straps of her clothes exposing her back only. She cleaned the bloodstains with a wet towel, occasionally rinsing it in a stainless bowl beside t
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ANGRY KING Lucy winced but the head maid smirked “I warned you, I have always hated you and this?, it's my opportunity to torment you” she said scornfully as she whipped her again and again.Lucy laughed bitterly, she who was once a princess was now being whipped by a maid in her own home, Iris frowned standing up she took the whip from the head maid.MEANWHILE Catherine ran as fast as she could her breath unsteady as she stopped before the king's study room only to be stopped by a man with green eyes, it was the man who had brought Lucy to the King earlier, he stared at her “ what do you want” he questioned and Catherine coughed as she tried to catch her breath “I'm here to see the King, Lily.. Lily is being punished by the head maid” she said in between her breath but the man frowned, he remembered the girl he had brought to the King bore the same name ‘but then if she did something wrong she should be punished’ he thought.“And why wou