The Consort
Chapter 4: First Day

"You nervous?" Gwen asks, mouth overflowing with grits.

I shrug, not giving her a verbal answer. From the second I woke up she has been following me around giving me shit and making me nervous for today. Constantly saying things like 'bet you you won't last the day' and 'I'll trade you my bunk if you come back tonight with all your teeth intact'.

At one point she tried getting the other servants to join in, but thankfully they weren't interested.

I slide my shoes out from under my bed before turning and flopping down on the mattress. Leaning forward, I slip them on and tie the laces.

"Those are the shoes you're wearing?" Gwen speaks up again, disgust evident in her voice.

"They're my nicest pair." I answer calmly, not wanting to provoke her further.

I threw away my worn pair before leaving King Richard's kingdom, knowing that I wouldn't get away with wearing them here. Deep down I know it was the right decision, but my pinched toes tell me otherwise.

Ideally I would put in a request for a new pair, but I already know that Gwen is in charge of servant orders and there's no way she would approve it. Given her current attitude, she'll probably enjoy watching me hobble around with blistered feet.

Gwen continues watching me as I slip on my shoes and tie up the laces.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you something!" She suddenly says, throwing her hands up in the air in mock surprise.

I snap my head up, eyes narrowing at her. She has a shocked expression on her face, but I can tell it's fake by the glee shining in her eyes.

"Your work starts earlier than the other servants. You need to be at the King's chambers in-uh" Gwen looks at her wrist, pretending to be checking a watch. "five minutes ago."

My blood runs cold.

"Are you serious?" I ask, my voice coming out a quiet whisper.

Why wouldn't she tell me that I needed to be there earlier than everybody else? I don't know what I ever did to her to cause her to act so coldly towards me. It's like I have a giant stamp on my forehead that reads "fuck with me".

Gwen nods. "Mhmm- you should really get a move on."

I snap into motion, jumping off the bed and rushing towards the exit of the women's chambers. I haven't had time to eat any food or make myself presentable, but hopefully no Beasts will notice and I can quickly tidy myself up when alone in the King's chambers. I rip open the door, ignoring the sound of Gwen's laughter behind me, and rush out of the servant's quarters towards the main halls.

I don't know where the King's chambers are, but assuming that this castle is built similarly to King Richard's, then it will be on the top floor. I continue rushing down the hallway, keeping my eyes peeled for a staircase that I can go up.

As I near a corner I hear some loud laughter, and immediately slow my pace and move closer to the wall, dropping my head towards the ground to show my submission.

Taking a deep breath, I round the corner and see a couple of female Beasts up ahead. Both are tall and elegantly dressed, adorned with jewels. They look to be a mother and daughter, but aren't accompanied by a guard, meaning that they likely aren't royalty.

"If he accepts your proposal you'll definitely need to redecorate." The elder woman laughs.

They approach me quickly, and I make sure to keep my steps even and face blank, making myself as invisible as possible.

The younger woman gives her mom a playful push, bringing her dangerously close to me.

"That's if he even accepts!" She says.

I remind myself to keep my eyes straight ahead and breaths even. My heart pounds in my ears as I near them, and I pray that they can't smell my fear.

They pass by, and my clenched muscles relax when they don't acknowledge my presence and continue down the hallway laughing and joking with one another.

Picking up my pace once more, I start my hunt for a staircase, pleased to see one up ahead on my left. I scurry over to it and slip inside, immediately taking the steps two at a time.

The first couple of floors pass by easily, but by the fifth I'm panting and using the railing to stay upright.

As I reach the sixth floor the stairwell suddenly ends, signaling that this must be the top. I stop behind the door leading to the hallway to take a quick second to collect myself. My breaths are coming out rapidly, and I force myself to breathe more slowly through my mouth.

Reaching up, I run my fingers through my hair, haphazardly combing out the big knots before throwing it in a low pony. I'll take more time to clean up once I'm alone inside the King's chambers, but for now this will have to do.

Taking one last deep breath, I push open the door and exit out into the hallway. The floor is completely silent, not a soul to be seen anywhere. I'd expect the King's chambers to have guards nearby, and the lack thereof has me worried that my assumption was incorrect.

I continue forward down the hallway anyway, taking care to step lightly to minimize the echo of my shoes. I notice a couple of doors up ahead, all very large and imposing, and regret not asking anybody to show me where to go. It was foolish of me to assume that I would be able to replace his chambers all on my own, and by now my tardiness is sure to be noticed.

The doors are all identical, solid dark wood with black detailing, and look eerily similar to the ones at King Richard's. I carefully walk up to the first one on my left and place my ear against it, trying to see if I can hear anything inside.

I'm moving to open it and peek in when I hear somebody clear their throat behind me. Spinning around, I see King Heloix standing at the end of the hallway near the stairwell I exited from just minutes ago.

"What are you doing?" He asks, voice gruff.

I open my mouth to answer, to explain that I'm looking for his chambers to clean them, but nothing comes out. Instead, I stand there with my mouth flapping like a fish.

The King stares at me, annoyance clear in his expression.

"Well?" He urges.

"I- uh- I am the servant in charge of cleaning your chambers. I'm looking for them." I finally stammer out, my fear audible in the quiver of my voice.

He continues to stare at me, his eyes looking over my whole body. It sends shivers down my spine.

"Follow me." He finally says, before turning on his heel and walking down the opposite end of the hallway.

I quickly scurry after him, careful to keep a good distance between us. For all I know he's leading me to a window with the intention of throwing me out of it. My stomach suddenly lets out an angry growl, angry at not having been fed in over twenty-four hours, and I feel my face heat up in embarrassment at the noise.

I can't help but to want to make a good impression on King Heloix, and my stomach screaming for all to hear is not exactly doing that. Although I guess at this point it can't get much worse. I've been here for less than a day and already I've angered the King, am late, and now I can't seem to control my bodily functions.

The King continues leading me down the hall, and I take the opportunity to get a good look at him. To say he's an intimidating man would be an understatement. His whole persona exudes confidence and strength, and I can understand why the other Beasts obey him.

King Heloix abruptly halts, and I manage to stop centimeters before running into him. I hadn't realized, but I was accidentally following too closely behind him, not giving myself enough reaction time to his sudden movements.

"Here." He says, gesturing to the door to the right. "I will be inside in my office. Be quiet when you come in there to clean."

With that, he pushes open the large door and walks inside. It quickly slams shut behind him. I wait a couple of seconds, wanting to give him time to get adjusted in his office before I enter.

"When you're done cleaning the King's quarters, come to mine." A loud voice says from behind me.

I quickly spin around and lock eyes with a guard standing along the opposite wall. I was so distracted by the King that I hadn't even noticed he was there. He's wearing a tight suit, the seams looking like they are about to pop at his arms and chest.

The guard gives me a sly smirk, eyes looking me up and down.

He takes a couple of steps towards me, and I resist the urge to walk backward. I heard whispers that slaves are often used for pleasure in this kingdom, but was hoping that I could escape it.

The Beast continues forward until he is only inches from me. His hand snaps up, faster than I can register, and roughly grabs my chin between his thumb and forefinger.

He squeezes hard and forces my head to turn left and right. His grip is painful, and I feel tears start to well up but refuse to let them fall, knowing that crying will only cause me more trouble. He continues his inspection of my face, a large smile on his the whole time.

"You'll be fun to break in." He finally says, releasing me. "Come directly to my room once you're done here."

I drop my eyes to the floor, face burning in shame.

"Yes, sir."

He nods in approval at my confirmation and walks back to his post along the far wall. I turn to King Heloix's door and begin working on prying it open.

Thankfully I replace that the process is similar to the one that I learned at King Richard's. I set my shoulder against the door, and with one strong push crack it open just wide enough to slip inside. Getting out will be a whole other issue, but I'll worry about that in a couple hours when it's time to leave.

To my surprise, King Heloix has a beautiful suite. The door opens up immediately into the living room, and the entire apartment looks to be one large room. They used to have a name for a style like this, a studio I believe it was.

A large leather couch and living area is right in front as you walk in, but to the right is a grand kitchen space and center island. I spot a bed in the back left corner, long white curtains around it.

The entire room is brightly lit by the floor-to-ceiling windows that line the entire wall to my left, and I'm honestly shocked by the taste of the decor of this room. Most Beasts prefer a darker, muted color scheme, but the furniture in here is either white or beige, with the occasional brown thrown in.

There's a small hallway past the kitchen, which I assume leads to the office and bathroom.

This place is already pretty tidy, so hopefully it won't take me too long to clean. Usually I would be ecstatic about this, but knowing that I will have to go to the guard's chambers afterward is dreadful.

My mother warned me when I was young that this might happen, and that the best thing to do is just stay still and allow them to do what they please.

John used to please one of the guards back at King Richard's, and he said that it wasn't awful. Painful at first, but eventually you just get numb to it. The Beast even used to give John little presents and extra food.

I shake my head to rid the thoughts from my mind, and get started with my cleaning. There isn't much tidying up I need to do, so I'll just give the place a good base clean. Dusting all the furniture, cleaning the glass and appliances, mopping the floor, and doing a load or two of laundry.

The dusting and general cleaning go by pretty quickly, but as I'm switching over the laundry into the dryer I feel the blood rush from my head and my vision tunnel. Careful not to make too much noise, I drop the wet laundry onto the floor and sit on the ground, taking deep breaths.

This has happened to me before, usually a sign that I've gone too long without eating, and almost always passes within a couple of minutes. The first time I fainted was so dramatic. I tried working through the dizziness and ended up dropping on the kitchen floor in front of pretty much the entire staff. Most of my peers were pretty worried, but the elders laughed, telling me I need to be more careful.

Putting my head between my knees, I focus on my breathing as I wait for the feeling to pass. It was foolish of me not to eat anything last night before going to bed. I was so concerned with replaceing a bed and not bothering anybody else, but it wouldn't have really made a difference to anybody if I took five minutes to eat a couple pieces of bread and an apple. Tomorrow I will wake up extra early to ensure I have enough time to eat.

The dizziness begins to fade, and seconds later I am feeling back to normal. A decent headache is left in its place, but it's manageable. I wait another minute or so before getting up, stumbling slightly as I regain my balance. As if nothing had happened, I grab the laundry I had dropped and throw it in the drier.

All that's left now is to clean the King's office and fold his laundry. I've been avoiding going into his office all day, hoping that at some point he would leave, but he's been inside the entire time. Not even leaving to use the bathroom.

Grabbing my small basket of supplies, I tiptoe to the office entrance. I resist the urge to push my ear to the door to hear inside, knowing that I've already been caught once doing so, and instead slowly push open the door.

The room is silent as I enter, and I keep my eyes facing downward as I close the door behind me. His office matches the rest of his place, with large windows and bright-colored furniture. The entire wall to my left is a bookcase, and King Heloix sits behind the large mahogany desk to my right.

He doesn't look up as I enter, and I take that as a good sign to continue on with what I'm doing. I do my best to work quickly and quietly, not wanting to disturb the King.

I dust all of the bookshelves that I can reach, and make note to bring a small ladder the next time I come. My mind continues to wander to the task I am to fulfill once I am done with my cleaning, but I do my best to ignore it.

Making a big deal out of these things isn't going to get me anywhere. I chant this to myself in a mantra, desperately hoping that the more I think it the more it will feel true.

I turn from the bookshelves and search around for the garbage. I don't spot one immediately, but do notice that the King is watching me. I freeze momentarily, before deciding to pretend that I don't notice and continuing to search for the trash.

It's nowhere to be seen, and I realize that it must be behind his desk. Hesitantly, I make my way over to the King and walk around him. I can feel his eyes on me the whole time, and notice him turning to face me in my peripheral vision.

Sweat beads up on my forehead, but I ignore it as I finally spot the garbage behind the desk. It sits just inches from his thigh.

I'm sure he can smell my fear and unease, the scent probably filling the entire room. I reach forward quickly and work on removing the bag from the bin. It comes out pretty quickly, and I immediately step away to maintain a safe distance.

He continues to watch me as I tie up the bag and set it by the door, but he doesn't move or say anything to me. His attention is nerve-wracking, and causes me to fumble around.

I waste no time trying to escape from the room the second I finish my work.

"Come to me when you are finished and I will open the front door for you. I'll have the hinges adjusted so you can open it easier. I don't want to have to listen to you slam your body against it every time you enter and exit." The King says, annoyance clear in his tone.

I glance back at him to give him a nod, but he is no longer looking at me, instead staring intently at the papers in front of him.

I exit the room and let out a deep sigh, feeling my muscles relax. Bringing my fingers up to my temples, I gently massage the skin there, urging my worsening headache to ease up.

The dryer has long since finished its cycle, and I head over to fold the clothing. It was a pretty small load, and only takes me a couple of minutes to finish. I hesitate as I look at the pile of folded laundry sitting atop the washer, not sure if I would put them away or leave them out. I don't know if King Heloix is comfortable with me opening up his drawers.

I weigh my options for a couple of seconds before deciding to leave them out. If they are still here tomorrow then I will take that as a sign to put them away.

I do a quick spin around the room, searching for anything I may have missed, before deciding that I have done everything that I needed to today. A part of me is upset by this, hoping to have found something that would require me to stay here longer. As much as I've tried to forget about my interaction with the guard this morning, the memory never stays away for long.

I bring the garbage bags to the front door and set them on the ground so they are easy to grab as I leave. The door to the King's office stares at me, taunting me to go inside, but I decide to try my luck with the front door first. I grab the handle and pull as hard as I can. Unfortunately, the door doesn't even budge.

Not wanting to give up so quickly though, I push my foot up against the wall next to the door and use that as leverage to pull harder. Still, no movement. I try a few more times before giving up and heading towards the office door.

Like before, I quietly open it and peek my head in. The King is in the same place, a pen in his hand as he furiously scribbles at the papers on his desk.

I clear my throat. "Sir, I've finished."

He doesn't acknowledge my presence. I stay where I am, but drop my eyes to the floor to show my respect while I wait for him to finish up what he is doing. Given the advanced hearing that the Beasts possess, I know there's no way he didn't hear me.

After another minute or so I hear his pen drop to the desk and a creak as he pushes his chair back. The second he is on his feet the room feels suffocating, his tall frame making the room feel much smaller than it is.

The King walks around his desk and begins heading towards me. I move out of his way and stand pressed against the wall, holding the door open for him. He doesn't spare me a glance as he strolls past and into the main living area.

I follow after him, careful to keep a safe distance, and watch as he opens the front door with ease. The muscles in his arm bulge as he holds it open, the fabric stretching around him like a second skin.

He catches my staring and rolls his eyes. I feel my face flush at having been caught, and quickly grab the garbage before he punishes me for being disrespectful. My body is tense as I walk past him and out into the hallway, the door immediately slamming shut behind me.

I notice that the guard from earlier is gone and has been replaced with another Beast. I was worried that he would be here waiting for me, giving me no time to mentally prepare before taking me to his room.

I heard from a couple of servants this morning that the guards live directly above us. I'm not sure which room is his, but I assume that there will be guards everywhere down there and one will be able to tell me where to go.

With a defeated sigh I make my way down the hallway, preparing myself for what's to come.