Doris POV
“You have to leave?” Beth nearly cried as she sat on her bed, watching me pack the little belongings I had.
“I have to,” I told her, sadly. “As Lady Melody’s handmaiden, I must abide by those rules. Handmaidens stay in a different unit, closer to their ladies.”
Beth pouted and folded her arms across her chest.
“I’m going to miss you,” she said softly. “What am I going to do without you?”
I chuckled, but I knew the humor didn’t reach my eyes because I was also worried about what the future held.
“Beth, you act like I’m moving palaces. I’m just moving units. You’ll still see me,” I assured her, but she just rolled her eyes.
“Not nearly enough,” she said.
Beth was right; I was hardly going to see her being Melody’s handmaiden. I knew that Melody would make sure of that. She doesn’t want me to have friends or communicate with anybody else in the palace. My life was going to be a living hell.
“I’m doing this for us,” I told her, sitting beside her on her bed. “If I keep my head down, and keep following the rules and orders, we will get out of here when we are supposed to.”
She sighed and stared down at her hands; she knew I was right.
“We have to get out of here, Beth,” I finished.
She nodded in agreement.
“We need to get out of here,” she agreed.
“So, do your part here, and I’ll do my part there. So, we can both get out of here in a few months once the amnesty is signed by the king. Okay?” I asked.
She gave me a small smiled and wrapped her arms around me; pulling me in for a hug.
“Okay,” she agreed.
…
“OUCH!!” Melody yelled as she yanked the brush out of my hand. “You’re doing it wrong,” she hissed, slamming the brush down on her vanity.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve brushed your hair, my lady,” I reminded her, trying to keep my tone even, but also feeling extremely annoyed.
She stared at me through the mirror of her vanity as she sat in front of me; her lip curling up in disgust and her eyes turning from a warm, yet pale, brown, to an icy shade of silver from her wolf’s eyes. I felt my breath getting caught in my throat.
“Do you dare talk back to me?” She growled, sending a chill down my spine.
“N… no,” I stammered. “Of course not.”
She stared at me for a long while until she finally grabbed her brush and handed it back to me.
“Try again with less force,” she muttered as she sat back in her chair.
I nodded and began brushing through her blonde hair again; trying hard not to snag any of her hair or get caught in any of her knots.
“Tell me, Doris. How does one care for your hair?” She asked, peering at me through the mirror. I stared at my reflection, frowning.
Melody’s hair was so sleek and blonde while my hair fell in messy dark ringlets around my shoulders. Complete opposite styles and types of hair.
“How do you mean?” I asked, not sure what she was asking.
“Your hair is so coarse. It looks difficult to manage. Do you use a comb or a pick?” She asked.
I frowned.
“Sometimes a comb,” I answered. “Sometimes a brush.”
She laughed, which surprised me.
“You? A brush?” She asked. “I didn’t think a brush would work for your type of hair.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I figured it was better if I bit my tongue.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Melody continued, still staring at me in the mirror. “It’s beautiful hair. I just don’t think it’s something that Prince William would particularly like for his lady.”
I frowned; Prince William?
“I’m sorry?” I asked as I continued brushing through her hair and pinning it in her silver barrette.
“William obviously has a type,” she explained. “You should know better than most of his affair with Lady Grace. Considering you are so close to the Crown Prince, Martin.”
I rose my eyebrows at her.
“I wouldn’t say we were close,” I told her, trying to keep my voice even. I remembered his visit to the library, the day that Melody had forced me to be her handmaiden. A month had gone by since then, but my encounter with Martin was still fresh in my head.
He acted so strangely.
“There’s a small rumor going around that he visited the library often. Did he not?” Melody asked with a coy smile placed on her lips.
“He came for the books,” I corrected.
She laughed again. I attempted to keep the annoyance off my face.
“Of course, he did,” she spoke as if she didn’t believe me. She had no reason to not believe me. “Anyways, Prince William obviously has a type, and you don’t quite fit that description.”
A small crease appeared between my eyebrows. I wasn’t sure what she was getting at. Why was she so worried about what Prince William thought of me? I wasn’t his lady and his opinion of me shouldn’t matter to her.
Perhaps she was upset because he hasn’t really spoken to her. I know she was growing frustrated because he hasn’t asked her to bed with him. She spends all this time and energy throwing herself at him and yet he doesn’t even give her the time of day.
I suppose that would make any lady of his crazy.
I chose not to say anything more on the matter; the more I bit my tongue, the better it would become. I only had a few more months left before the king signed the amnesty and grant our freedom. I couldn’t mess this up. Beth and I were so close to finally getting out of here.
As Beth came into my mind, my heart tugged painfully. I hadn’t seen her since I became Melody’s handmaiden. It’s been a whole month and I missed her so much.
“Be a dear and fetch me some water from the kitchen,” Melody waved me away as she fixed her gown.
I bowed my head to her.
“Yes, my lady,” I said to her as I made my way out of her room and into the hallway. As I walked down the hall and towards the grand stairs, I passed by Ms. Shirley who walked with such elegance. She gave me a small smile but said nothing as we passed.
I walked down the stairs and through the foyer; part of me wanted to go to the maid’s unit to visit Beth, but I knew that Melody would be asking what took me so long if I didn’t return promptly. I passed through the kitchen and filled a cup of water.
As I walked back through the foyer, I noticed a couple of other handmaidens standing at the bottom of the stairs. They were staring in the direction of the main door where the butler, known as Roger, stood at the doorway and was about to open it.
For some reason, I felt the strong need to stop walking to gaze at the door alongside the other handmaidens, curiously seeing who the visitor was.
As Roger opened the door, I got a sense of someone extremely powerful. I could smell her radiant lavender perfume almost right away and her hazy red aura shined through as she entered the palace.
Lady Jane.
I recognized her almost right away, though I’ve never personally had any exchanges with her. She was a tall, slender woman, with narrow and bright features. Her hair was dark and ran like melted dark chocolate down her back. Her eyes were big and blue, like droplets of water that almost reminded me of Prince William’s eyes.
I know Prince William and Lady Jane have grown close over the years. Though I don’t think they’ve ever been lovers. I do believe he values her family very much. She was born to a well-known Beta family and one of the biggest merchants in the kingdom. Her father sent Jane to House Arnold to strengthen their relationship with William.
Lady Jane would visit the palace often to help with some of the chores around Prince William along with managing the ladies of the palace. She would stay here from time to time; however, I never had the honor of officially meeting her before.
“Ladies,” Lady Jane said, staring at the maids, and then her eyes fell on me. “I see we have a new handmaiden.”
I was stunned that she was acknowledging me.
I curtsied and tried to remain confident.
“Yes, my lady. Doris,” I said, relieved my voice didn’t give away my nerves. “I’m Lady Melody’s handmaiden,” I continued.
She stared at me for a moment until I brought myself back up.
“Lady Melody?” She asked, thinking about it for a moment. “That must be Prince William’s new lover.”
I nodded my head once.
“Yes, my lady,” I answered.
She glanced at the glass of water I was holding in my hands.
“I suppose that glass of water is for Lady Melody?” She asked.
I nodded again.
“Well, then, I won’t keep you. Best not keep your lady waiting,” she said, shooing me away.
“Yes, my lady,” I said as I scurried up the stairs.
I couldn’t believe I just met Lady Jane.
I stopped outside of Melody’s door and was about to knock when it swung open. Ms. Shirley stood on the other side of it, she was just leaving. I stared at her puzzled for a moment and we both passed each other as I entered Melody’s room.
Melody stared at me for a long while; I was just trying to figure out what was wrong until she stormed over to me and smacked the glass of water out of my hand. It fell to the ground and water seeped into the carpet around us.
She spoke, but her words were making no sense to me.
I couldn’t have heard her correctly.
“You want me to do what?!”