It had been two weeks since that night in the garden, and I told myself over and over to not go back.
To not look for him.
To not wait for him.
Every time my legs itched at the thought of going back, I buried myself deeper into work. I’d mash the potatoes harder or squeeze the soaked garments tighter.
It was in the middle of the second week since seeing him when I scrubbed a ceramic plate so hard that the whole thing shattered in my hands. I cursed under my breath and began scraping together the shards to dispose of them.
“Okay,” Jenny said sternly, throwing down the towel that was draped across her shoulder onto the edge of the sink. “I can’t take it anymore. Your absent mind is driving me nuts.” She approached me and put both hands on my shoulders. “Where are you? You’re here, but your thoughts are elsewhere. Tell me why.”
I sighed and tossed the pieces into the trash. “Something happened a couple of weeks ago,” I admitted, wiping my hands on my apron before picking up the next dish. “I met someone.”
Her eyes widened in anticipation. “You met someone? Who?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked around us to make sure no one was listening. The idea of talking about him out loud made my throat dry and my stomach churn. I barely allowed myself to think about him for the past week, and now, I was about to tell someone everything.
I lowered my voice and began telling her the whole story, obviously leaving out the parts where his touch felt like fire against my skin and his words crawled down my throat and made a home in my chest.
Her jaw was practically on the floor by the time I had finished. I tucked my lip into my teeth and waited for her to reply.
“I cannot believe it.” Her eyes darted around as she tried to connect the dots in her head. “The Queen has a secret son? And he talked to you?”
I nodded, biting down the smile that threatened to form on my lips.
Jenny stared blankly for a moment. “Was he… hot?”
I choked out a laugh and pushed her playfully on the shoulder. “Jenny!”
“So, that’s a yes.”
“I guess he’s not… horrible to look at.”
The sponge fell from her hands and splashed in the sink as she squealed. “Oh my god!”
I shushed her. “Quiet. Seriously, Jenny, no one can know about him. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
She rubbed her lips together and smirked. “Okay, okay. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Girls!” Irelda called out to us. We spun on our heels as my cheeks flushed. “Less talking and more working. We only have four hours to prepare for tonight’s ball. It’ll be my head if everything isn’t perfect.”
We both mumbled quiet apologies before turning and returning to the dishes.
I couldn’t help but catch sight of the sheepish grin plastered on Jenny’s face as we worked quietly.
I fought to even suppress my own.
It was only ten minutes before the ball began when Irelda finally revealed what would take place at the ball. She told us that all the members who lived in the farmlands would be in attendance. Some came with the simple idea of socializing and business opportunities, but the majority were there to be courted. After questioning the meaning of this, Jenny told me it’s when people try to find who they are going to marry. Back home in my village, people simply married the person they loved, but apparently, it’s far more complicated here in the higher ranks.
A large portion of the maids were told to hand out drinks and fulfill guest requests. Jenny and I, though, were left out of this assignment.
Irelda approached us when she dismissed the other girls. “You two have a much different job today. You will stand by the Queen’s table and do whatever she requests. If her glass is empty, fill it. If she moves, you move.” She scanned both of our outfits. “Now, we can’t have you guys in those dreadful work clothes when you’re representing the Queen.” She hurried over to a back closet and pulled out two long dresses. One was a sleek, red, shimmery dress was a sharp cut at the cleavage, while the other was a satin green one that was tight at the waist but flared at the hips. She held them both up to us. “Violet, you take the red one, it’ll compliment your fair complexion. Jenny, take this green one. It’ll go nicely with your hair.”
We took turns changing in the closet before meeting back at Irelda. When she saw us, her eyes lit up and she clasped her hands against her chest. “You guys look perfect.” She reached out and pulled my hair free from the messy bun and tousled my hair. “With the way you guys look, I wouldn’t be surprised if you would be courted tonight. But remember the task at hand. We can’t afford any distractions tonight.”
Jenny and I nodded and made our way to the dining room which was now transformed into a ballroom. We pushed open one of the side doors and went inside.
The whole scene was beautiful. The room was dimmed, the only light coming from candles and hanging sparkling lights. I peered up at the domed ceiling in awe as a thousand flowers draped down at different lengths. There was a string quartet in the back of the room playing soft, beautiful music. The room was packed with people, all dressed in elegant clothes like my own. The soft hum of chatter slowly grew as more and more people arrived. A few people who appeared to already coupled up danced away in the middle of the room.
The whole environment, though extremely pretty, was jarring compared to what I was used to. It all seemed so formal.
I found myself not knowing what to do with my hands, even though I was only standing.
Jenny tugged at my arm. “Come on, I’m heading to the washroom before we meet up with the Queen. No way am I staying here a moment longer without seeing what I look like in a mirror.”
I followed her as she weaved through the crowd with ease. We exited at the front and made our way to one of the closet washrooms. Even though it was packed, we were luckily able to push past people to get to the long mirrors.
A gasp escaped my lips as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My wavy brunette hair sat perfectly on my shoulders. My dress sparkled from the lights as it hugged every one of my curves perfectly. My eyes widened as my eyes wandered to my cleavage which was pushed together and very much on display because of the neckline. I instinctively reached up to try to adjust it, but Jenny’s hand stopped me.
“Don’t,” she said quickly. “All the men are going to be drooling over you.” She continued to gaze at herself in her mirror. “Beauty is power, you know. With that body, you can get anyone to do anything for you.”
I jutted out my body lip as I turned my attention to her reflection. “You look pretty, too. You’re so skinny. I’m quite jealous.”
Her eyes connected with mine in the mirror and she shot me a knowing look. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bottom line… if Miles sees you in this dress, he is going to lose his freaking mind.”
My mouth fell open. “Jenny. There are like a thousand people in here. Someone could’ve heard.”
“Look around,” she said, motioning across the room. “Everyone’s too busy worrying about themselves.”
We were back in the ballroom in an instant.
We spotted the Queen in the back of the room. She was surrounded by many people, but I could still catch a glimpse of her long, ball gown. It was her signature dark green look with familiar gold details. Her hair was twisted into an elaborate updo, with her crown glistening upon her head.
I clenched my jaw when she noticed Jenny and I approaching. Not even her elegant outfit could hide her dark and demented smirk that stretched across her lips when she took us both in. She scoffed, “I thought I asked for good help for tonight. Instead, I got the last picks.”
I shoot her a sarcastic smile. “Always a pleasure talking to you, Your Majesty.”
If she was affected by my words, she sure didn’t show it. She waved us off with her hand. “Go stand back there and don’t bother me for the rest of the night. Try not to screw anything up.”
Jenny pulled me away to the back wall where we stood between two grand podiums with flowers bursting from gold pots.
“At least we don’t have to do anything tonight,” Jenny said with a sigh, letting her back hit the wall.
Jenny and I spent most of the night talking about mindless topics. Time seemed to fly when we were together. We made each other laugh. We understood each other.
It was nice having a friend.
“Excuse me, miss?” A man approached me. He had blonde hair that was swept back and a sharp jaw. His eyes were more crystal blue than even my mother’s and Rose’s. His suit was tight fitting, and I could see he was nicely built beneath it. “I can’t seem to find the men’s washroom. Do you have any idea where it is?”
“It’s just out those doors and to the right,” I told him, pointing a finger in that direction.
A smile formed on his lips, but he didn’t seem satisfied with my answer. “Actually, would you mind guiding me there? I’m just terrible with directions.”
I agreed and began guiding him toward the door. I glanced back at Jenny over my shoulder whose confused expression mimicked mine. I frowned and shrugged my shoulders at her before leading him out of the door.
The second we made it into the much quieter hallway he paused and pulled me to him. “I honestly lied. I simply just wanted an excuse to get you alone. I spotted you from across the room, and, my god, you’re just so beautiful. I’d regret it forever if I didn’t try to talk to you tonight.”
I laughed through my nose at this. He was attractive, yes. But the last thing on my mind was something like this… flirting… romance.
“That’s very nice of you, but-”
He held up a hand. “Please. Before you completely reject me and break my heart, can we just… talk?”
I shook my head and stared at the floor. “I don’t know. I really should get back in there. I’m supposed to be taking care of the Queen.”
“Just two minutes of your time. I promise you won’t regret it.”
A voice from behind me emerged. “It seems to me like she already told you no.”
I spun around and my mouth parted slightly when I saw Miles standing tall behind me, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his tight suit. “So, it seems like you need to leave her alone, now.”
The blonde guy faltered slightly, looking Miles up and down. “Who are you, anyway? Her boyfriend or something?”
He stepped closer to me. My breathing was swept from my lungs when his hand slid across my back and gripped my side, pulling me into him. “Actually, yeah I am.”
The man put his hands up. “Sorry, man. She didn’t say she was with anyone.” He disappeared down the hall and back into the ballroom, his head shaking the whole time.
A sigh of relief escaped my lungs as my body relaxed. I slid out of Miles’s grip. “Thank you.”
“Whatever.” He shrugged. “Look, I can’t be out here. People may not know me, but if my mom sees me out here, I’m toast.”
“If you don’t want to be here, then why are you wearing a suit?” I crossed my arms and eyed his all-black suit with suspicion. I tried to ignore how good he looked all dressed up.
All glanced down at himself. “Oh, this thing?” he mused. “This is just my casual suit. You haven’t even seen my formal one.”
I was going to respond—to say something snarky back to him—when I caught the burning gaze, he held me in. His eyes were like flames against my body as he took me in. I suddenly became very aware of the amount of skin that was showing.
His voice became deeper, hoarser, “What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be in your uniform?
I choked back the lump in my throat as his eyes continued to gaze across me. “Actually, um… your mother—I mean the Queen said she wanted two maids to tend to her tonight. I guess she preferred we didn’t stand out in our work clothes.”
Miles shook his head. “Well, she failed. Everyone’s attention was on you.”
My cheeks flushed so hot I felt like I would pass out. “That’s not true.”
He took a step closer to me. The whole world around me stopped and my ears rang out as he reached out to me. His head tilted to the side slightly as his fingertips lightly ran down the length of my hair that sat on my shoulders. “You should wear your hair down more often. Hair up is nice, too, but,” he clicked his tongue, “down is a whole other universe.”
My knees almost buckled underneath me and I couldn’t seem to remember how to breathe. I was speechless, the possibility of me uttering any words at all was not even remotely possible.
He seemed to notice the effect he had on me, and he quickly stepped back and dropped his hands back to his sides. His intoxicated expression slowly faded away as he gulped. “Sorry. I need to get back now,” he said, motioning behind him. “See you later, Violet.”
All I could bring myself to do was lift a hand in a small wave before he turned and disappeared down the hall.
I stumbled backward and my body slammed into the wall. I placed my trembling hands over my mouth as I tried to recall what had just taken place.
Did I just imagine that whole thing?
That couldn’t have been real.
Could it?
I knew what I was doing was a bad idea.
I knew I shouldn’t have flung myself from my position against that wall and stumbled down the hallway he had disappeared down just moments ago. I lifted my dress at the hips so I could run faster. The small heels we had been given with our dress rubbed uncomfortably against the back of my ankles, but not even that could slow me down.
I didn’t even know where I was going. I aimlessly turned down random hallways and flew through random doors. My lungs were beginning to burn from all the running.
I was mere moments from giving up when I heard something from a door just to the right of me. I twisted the doorknob, but it was locked.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. What was I doing? Mindlessly running after a man whom I knew nothing about?
I was foolish.
Foolish… foolish… fool-
The door swung open.
I stumbled back so suddenly that I almost fell to the floor. A shocked Miles stood beyond it. He had removed his suit jacket, and his sleeves were rolled up against his forearms.
We both stood there, unsure of what to say.
“Violet?”
I stood there wide-eyed. “I-I was just-” I paused, desperately searching for any excuse. “The ball… it’s just too much for me. I’m not used to being around so many fancy people.”
He looked behind him and sighed. It was obvious he was unsure what to say. “I guess we can… go somewhere if you want.”
All I could manage was a nod.
As he turned to retrieve his suit jacket from the arm of a plush couch, I couldn’t help but peer into the room. All I could see were a few couches and shelves. Nothing significant to tell me what kind of room he escaped to after talking to me.
He shrugged back on his jacket and pulled the door shut behind him. He looked down both ways of the hallway before nodding to the right. “Down here.”
I followed behind him as he led me down the hallway.
I cursed when a sharp pain erupted on the back of my left ankle. I stopped in my tracks and bent down. Mile frowned and watched me as I pulled off the small heel to find my ankle dripping blood. The back of the white shoe was now stained crimson red.
“You hurt yourself a lot, don’t you?” he said, taking the shoe from my hand.
“No,” I answered.
He pressed his lips into a line, obviously unconvinced. I pulled the other heel off and he grabbed that one too, leaving me barefoot.
“Are we going outside? Because if we are, I need new shoes.”
He continued down the hallway. “You’ll be fine where we’re going.”
After a while of walking in silence, we reached the end of the hallway. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door in front of us. My heartbeat quickened in anticipation as we descended a flight of stairs and arrived in a huge room.
Bookshelves lined every inch of the way, towering far above my head. Couches were placed in the middle, small tables sat next to them with lamps. The shelves were packed with books.
I had never seen anything like it.
He kicked off his shoes next to the stairs, leaving him in only socks, and guided me to one of the couches. I carefully sat down, scared that I would breathe wrong and ruin such an amazing place.
“This is where I spend most of my time during the day,” he said, motioning around the room. “Books are the only thing that makes time go faster. They’re not bad escapism-wise, as well.”
My eyes scanned the spines of the thousands of books in awe. “My father had a few back home, but nothing like this.”
Miles shrugged. “I started collecting them from the moment I learned to read. I guess my collection just grew and grew from there.”
“Do you enjoy it? Being alone down here, I mean,” I asked him.
He inhaled deeply. “It’s not terrible. You do get lonely, though.” His eyes lingered on me longer than I could ever possibly handle.
The door above the stairs banged open, making both Miles and I jump out of our skin.
Janson stood in the doorway with an evil grin, his arms crossed tightly against his chest. “Well isn’t this cozy?”
Miles and I both shot up from the couch, unconsciously creating a greater distance between us.
“Janson, it’s not like that and you know it,” Miles hissed through gritted teeth.
“What is the meaning of this?” An angered voice emerged from behind Janson. The blood drained from my face when the Queen came into view. Her jaw dropped when she took us both in. “Miles, what the hell are you doing with that girl?”
Miles’s expression paralleled mine. His eyes shot to mine as he mouthed: I’m so sorry.
I had no idea what would come next, but I was sure of one thing:
Whatever it was, we were one-hundred-percent screwed.