The Consort

I narrow my eyes in concentration as I begin to scrub the stain harder. King Heloix must have had guests over last night as the entire suite was turned into a giant mess overnight.

The second I walked into his apartment this morning I knew that I had my work cut out for me, but I didn't expect to have to spend an hour on my hands and knees trying to get wine out of his mattress.

Groaning loudly, I crawl off the side of his bed to rinse my rag in the bucket on the floor. I dip it in a couple of times to dilute the wine, before ringing out all the soapy water and climbing back onto the bed. This time I try to tackle the stain at a different angle, turning my body so my back is to the front door.

"This is ridiculous." I complain out loud, glad that the King is gone and I can talk to myself. He was around for the first couple of days, always working in his office, but lately has been absent. I'm not sure to where, but he's gone before I arrive and doesn't come back after I'm gone. I don't mind though; it's made my time here much less stressful.

I begin scrubbing the mattress once more, excited to see the color beginning to fade. The stain won't completely disappear, but my goal is to get enough of the wine out that the King won't smell it when he goes to bed at night.

King Richard used to spill in his bed all the time, and would always complain about the smell. I'd never say this out loud, but it's what he deserved for spilling it in the first place. A small part of me enjoyed seeing his enhanced senses come back to bite him in the butt too.

Tossing the washcloth into the bucket, I push my face into the stain and take a deep breath, trying to see if I can smell any wine. My nose picks up the light scent of soap and laundry detergent, but no wine. Deeming that good enough, I crawl backward a couple of inches until I'm at the edge of the bed and climb down.

"It's not perfect, but it'll do." I mumble to myself.

The buzzer on the dryer goes off, making me smile at the perfect timing. The once clear water inside the bucket is now tinted purple, and I dump it in the kitchen sink before getting to work on the laundry.

Glancing quickly at the clock on the oven, I sigh as I take in the time. It's getting pretty late, and I'll be lucky if there's any dinner left for me when I get back. I made the mistake of cleaning the entire place before taking a look at the bed. Foolishly, I assumed that it would be fine and all I needed to do was make it, not realizing that the sheets needed to be washed and mattress cleaned.

The dryer's buzzer goes off again, yelling at me to hurry up and take out the sheets. They are nice and warm as I pull them from the machine, and I can't resist squeezing them against me, enjoying the heat that emanates from them.

I grab the last bits from the dryer and stand up, closing the door with my hip. Slowly I waddle back over to the bed, careful not to drop anything onto the ground. I'm for the most part successful, but just as I reach the bed one of the pillowcases slips from the pile and falls to my feet.

"Shit!" I curse, bending over to pick it up. Another item falls from the top of my bundle just as my hand closes around the fabric. "You've got to be kidding me." I groan.

The sound of a chuckle has me frozen in place.

I snap my head towards the sound, immediately spotting the King sitting on the couch. Papers are all sprawled out along the coffee table in front of him, and he leans back casually as he watches me, bringing a hand up to push his messy curls out of his face.

"This is entertaining." He says, referring to me hunched over trying to pick up the escaped laundry.

I straighten up immediately, embarrassed at having been caught in such a position.

"Sorry, sir. I just need to make the bed and I'll be gone." I apologize, knowing that I'm in here far later than expected.

He nods and I get back to the task at hand, urgency clear in my movements. The King has never worked outside his office before, and his presence is distracting.

I drop the sheets on the ground next to the bed and quickly pick through them until I find the fitted sheet. I make haste to get it on the mattress, internally cursing as my fumbling hands slow me down. With much struggle I manage to get it on, and begin working on the top ones.

The King's movements are loud as he works from his couch, and I listen carefully to make sure that he doesn't approach me or anything of the sort. Typically Beasts move quietly, and often to such a degree that the human ear has trouble detecting it unless they are actively listening. It's silly to even think, but I wonder if he is being loud on purpose.

It's general knowledge that Beasts can smell our heightened emotions, and unpleasant ones are typically accompanied by unpleasant scents. He probably doesn't appreciate the scent of my fear, and is attempting to alleviate some of it for himself.

"There will be no dinner for you when you get back." The King curtly comments.

I tuck in the final corners of the sheet as I nod in confirmation.

King Heloix doesn't respond, but I hear him stand and walk over to the kitchen area. I strain my ears to listen to what he is doing, but can't hear anything beyond an occasional clatter or bang.

My heart rate picks up slightly in fear that he is going to sneak up on me, but despite it I keep my head down and continue working on the bed. All that's left is the pillowcases, and I make quick work of them.

"Come here." The King says from the kitchen as I set the last pillow in place.

I take a deep breath, holding it in for a second before letting it out through my nose. It's a calming technique I learned from John's mother when I was young, but doesn't seem to do the trick this time.

I try not to let my fear show as I turn away from the bed to face the King.

He's standing behind the kitchen counter with a bowl of food placed in front of him. Hesitantly, I walk forward, stopping once I am a couple of feet from the counter.

"Yes?" I ask.

He nods to the food. "Eat this before you go. I will be working from my office tomorrow and don't enjoy hearing your stomach groan all day long."

I frown, looking at the bowl in question. Inside are leftovers from the dinner the King was served last night. Farfalle pasta covered with spinach, mushrooms, garlic, and Parmesan. A dish I've dreamed of tasting thousands of times.

Is this some sort of trick? Humans are never given food like this. Kitchen maids have been killed for taking even a bite of a Royal's food.

"Eat." The King pushes the bowl towards me. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Hesitantly, I step forward and grab the fork sitting in the bowl. I move slowly, keeping a watchful eye on the King. He takes a sudden step backward and I flinch in response, the action causing the fork to loudly clank against the edge of the bowl.

I pause for a brief second, giving my nerves a chance to settle down, before stabbing a couple pieces of pasta and bringing it to my mouth.

The second the food touches my tongue I'm in heaven. Flavors I've never experienced before fill my mouth, and I immediately understand why humans aren't allowed to eat anything beyond bread, potatoes, and basic fruits and veggies.

If I had access to this type of food I would spend all day eating in lieu of working.

King Heloix watches as I eat, but I can't bring myself to mind, completely enraptured by the taste of the food. I shovel forkful after forkful into my mouth, hardly even chewing between bites. The bowl empties in record time, and the King steps forward once I set down the fork inside of it. I jerk away from the counter as he approaches, snapping my hand back to my body.

He ignores my flinching and grabs the bowl, moving and dropping it in the sink.

"You can clean that up tomorrow." He says, before turning and walking out from behind the counter.

I back up with his movements, careful to maintain distance between us.

"Thank you, sir." I say, genuinely meaning it. It was incredibly kind of him to let me eat his food, and is an experience that I won't forget.

He hums in response before heading back over to the couch. I watch as he plops down on it and grabs a couple of papers off the table. Taking this as my cue to leave, I scurry over to the door and heave it open.

The hinges made the door easier to use, but it's still hard enough that I really need to put some muscle in it. A quiet grunt leaves my throat at the effort, and I pretend not to hear the laughter coming from behind me as I slip out into the hallway.

The door slams behind me, and I spot John standing next to the trash chute.

"What took you so long? I've been waiting for hours!" He asks, coming up and taking the trash out of my hands

I watch as he throws it down the chute for me, my stomach already beginning to ache from all the food I ate.

"Sorry- there was a lot that needed to get done today." I answer, feeling guilty but thankful that he chose to wait around.

Ever since I admitted to John what happened with the King's guard, he has made sure to always be with me in the hallways. We both know that should a guard choose to take me that there realistically isn't anything he can do about it, but it makes us both feel better.

"Do you have any information?" I whisper to him, looking around to make sure nobody is in hearing distance.

He's been asking around to figure out where and when the servants have sex with one another. They are obviously being pretty hush-hush about it, not wanting to admit that they know about any indiscretions happening, let alone that they partake in it.

I'm thankful that John agreed to help me out, and even more so that he has taken the initiative to ask around about it to make sure that we don't get in any trouble.

John glances around before responding. "Yes! It's pretty great too. There's an entire wing on this floor that's completely empty. Apparently it's where the King will move to once he finds his mate and starts a family, but for now it's vacant. The servants will sneak in there late at night while the guards are on rotation."

"Oh wow!" I answer, pleasantly surprised. "I was expecting you to tell me about a dirty broom closet or something."

This is great news. The sooner I can prepare myself the better off I will be. The knowledge that we will have an entire room to ourselves is ideal too. Now we just have to find a safe time to meet there and begin working on my problem.

"When can we go?" I ask, eager to get started.

John and I turn and head into the stairwell, immediately dropping our conversation when we are inside. The stairwells echo, and it is too risky to talk about such things inside of them. We hurry down the steps, exiting once we reach the first floor.

"That's the only problem." John says the second we are back in the hallways.

He looks around, making sure the coast is clear before continuing.

"There's a visiting Beast family right now. The mother and daughter- I'm sure you've seen them around. Well, they are staying in the rooms right outside the wing, so nobody can go in until they leave."