Williams POV
Doris was lying on the ground with blood dripping down her face; a giant gash on her cheek, and her body bruised. She was barely conscious, but she managed to lift her head and gaze up at him with her swollen eyes.
William turned away from her to address Melody.
“It was you that sent her to Prince Martin?” He asked again; he felt angry and betrayed by this woman.
Asking his own brother to try and get into his head and convince him to have sex with her. He was disgusted just thinking about it.
“Your majesty…” she stammered, taking a step back. “I can explain.”
All signs of anger that were previously on her expression were gone as soon as he made himself present to her. The room had gone completely silent; each maid and even the ladies were tense as William assessed the situation. They could feel his rage, there was no doubt about that. Despite how hard he tried to keep it hidden, he knew it was clear on his face that he was furious.
Waylon was too strong, and his emotions were difficult to keep at bay.
“I thought if maybe he spoke to you…” she tried to say but he held up his hand to silence her.
“I will rip her from head to toe for what she did to our mate,” Waylon hissed, fury boiling in his stomach.
But he swallowed that anger, burying it deep inside him. He couldn’t allow this moment of anger and weakness to jeopardize everything he was working towards.
“Save it,” he muttered to her. “I don’t care how you treat your servants. However, this kind of behavior is disgraceful for a lady. I won’t allow my lady to publicly act this way. Do you understand?” He said, eyeing her carefully.
She nodded and bowed her head; her blond streaks of hair falling over her face, hiding her shame.
“Yes, my prince,” she said; her words weighing thick in the air.
She looked as if she was about to burst into tears, and that wasn’t something he wanted to stick around to watch.
“I’m only here because as my lady, it’s your responsibility to host Luna Queen Cara’s birthday party,” he said, turning away from her.
“Oh, yes, your majesty,” Melody said, widening her eyes as she curtsied to him. “It would be an honor. I won’t let you down.”
“See that you don’t,” William muttered as he glanced down at Doris. She was completely unconscious; the only indication of life was the faint movement of her body from her breathing. She was lying in a puddle of her own blood. It was a disgusting sight but there was a slight painful tug in him as he stared at her.
“We need to get her help,” Waylon said again, urgently.
William, once again, ignored him.
“Clean this mess up,” he ordered for Melody, motioning for Doris as he turned away and walked towards the door.
(Doris’ POV)
I struggled to open my eyes; the pain was too much, and I flinched as I became aware of my body and the bruising that caked it. I felt nearly paralyzed as it was difficult to move my body even an inch. My breathing was sharp, and my throat was dry from the lack of fluids; I don’t think I could have spoken even if I wanted to.
I attempted to move my eyes around to see my surroundings; they were swollen pretty badly, and my vision proved to be a bit blurry but from what I could gather, I was in the medic still within the palace.
I can’t remember much of what happened and I certainly don’t remember the journey to the medic. I’m not even sure who brought me here. I just remember the beating and how angry Lady Melody had gotten at me because she thought I slept with Prince William.
It was a ridiculous thought, though I couldn’t blame her for thinking such things. I returned to my room practically naked and with his coat. She was already angry with me because he wanted me to stay behind after asking her to leave. I knew I was going to be punished one way or another, but I didn’t think she’d go as far as to try and kill me.
The thought of it tugged my heart; a painful sensation and I could feel a tear burn the back of my eye and wanting to escape. But I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to cry with how swollen and bruised my eyes were.
“Ssshh,” A soft voice said from beside. I couldn’t see who it was because I couldn’t turn my head, but this person was adjusting my pillow to make me more comfortable. “Don’t try to move too much,” she said, keeping her tone low.
It was Beth!
“Beth…?” I whispered; my voice raspy from being so dry. “How are you here?”
“I asked to come and see you,” she said gently. “Mr. Carson pulled some strings to excuse me for a little while.”
“How did you know I was here?” I asked; I wanted to spring to my feet and wrap my arms around her. It’s been a little over a month since I last saw her, and words couldn’t explain how much I truly missed her.
“You know how fast word travels around the palace,” she said. “Everybody’s talking about what Melody to you.”
“Is it true?” She asked, after a breath of silence. Her eyes were wide and curious; I frowned, not sure what she meant.
“Is what true?” I asked.
“Did you have sex with Prince William?” She asked; she tugged at her fingers nervously waiting for me to answer.
“No!” I said quickly. “It’s not true. He just wanted me to keep watch over him for the night. I stayed on the couch. My uniform got ruined because I spilled on it. There’s nothing more to it.”
“Oh good,” she breathed, looking relieved as she sighed. “I was scared for a moment. Something like that would cause the king to never sign that amnesty. We’d never get out of here.”
“I’d never get out of here,” I corrected her. “You would still be able to.”
She frowned and shook her head.
“Doris, we are in this together. I’m not going anywhere without you,” she told me, squeezing my hand gently.
I winced as she tightened her hold and she released me, apologetically.
“I need to be going,” she said sadly. “But I do wish you would say something to someone about how Melody is treating you. I hate seeing you like this, and she nearly killed you…”
“Who’s going to help me?” I asked her with a scoff.
No one in their right mind would help a servant just because she was punished by her lady. It was perfectly acceptable for a lady to punish their maids any way they see fit. Melody just happened to see fit the type of punishment that nearly killed me.
“Perhaps Prince Martin?” Beth said with a sly smile.
“You’re joking,” I nearly laughed. “Prince Martin? Why on earth would he help me?”
She gave me a knowing smile and shrugged.
“Because of how much he adores you,” she chuckled.
If I could roll my eyes, I would have.
“Don’t play stupid, Doris,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “I know how he feels about you. It’s obvious. I see the way he looks at you. He comes to the library often and hardly speaks to me. I think he’s hoping you’d return. He sees me and his face falls a little.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I argued, heat rising into my face.
“Is it though?” She asked humor dancing in her eyes. “I’m sure if you spoke to him, he’d help you however he can.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her.
She rolled her eyes as she headed toward the door, but she paused for a moment and turned back to me.
“At least think about it, okay?” She pleaded.
I sighed.
“Fine,” I muttered.
When was I going to see her again?
“Doris, take care of yourself, okay?” She said softly.
“You too, Beth,” I said gently as she disappeared through the door.
…
A few days had passed since my time in the medic; Melody had hardly said any words to me because she was too busy planning Luna Queen Cara’s birthday party.
The swelling around my body had gone down a lot and I was able to walk around and do some light tasks around the palace. I had a big bandage on my cheek from where Melody sliced into me with her nail. They had to give me a couple of stitches, but they said it shouldn’t scar too much. I was hoping they were right.
I also spent time avoiding William.
I vaguely remembered him after I was beaten; it looked like he was about to scold Melody, but I don’t think it got that far. However, I do remember the way he looked at me. His gaze was filled with hatred and disgust that it sent a chill down my spine. I felt a painful tug in the pit of my stomach as he stared down at me; I was lying in a puddle of my own blood, fighting for my life, and he could hardly spare an ounce of compassion.
Prince William’s hatred toward me was obvious to anyone with eyes.
Hate me enough to try to rape me, but then throw me in the trash like I’m nothing.
Maybe I was nothing…
…
I missed my quiet days in the library. I walked to the library and pushed the doors open.
“I thought I saw you coming in here” a familiar voice said, startling me.