The Consort
Chapter 5: Surprises

I can feel their eyes on me as I walk through the hallways. The corridors were practically empty this morning when I was moving around, but now they are full of Beasts, each one looking at me in contempt.

There don't appear to be too many guests in the castle. I pass by the mother-daughter pair from this morning and one other young woman just moments later, but those are the only ones I see. I'm honestly pretty surprised. King Richard loved to keep a full castle, Beasts always stopping in on their travels. I assumed that that's how this Kingdom would operate as well.

Unlike the guests, guards are everywhere. They stand every twenty feet or so, and either stare or jeer at me as I pass. The staring isn't too bad, but the jeering makes my blood boil and face heat up in embarrassment. I'm sure by the end of the day they will all know what the King's guard has done to me, and will probably be eager to have their turn.

I can't help but feel foolish for being so upset about this. It's no surprise that it's happening. Everybody in my life has warned me that it would happen and most of my peers have already experienced it firsthand.

The elder women told me when I was younger that I should have sex with human servants to prepare my body, and I'm regretting not taking their advice to heart. Maybe once the Beast has finished with me tonight I will ask John to have sex with me as well and help me adjust my body to the foreign entrance.

The Second said that we are not allowed to have children, and I wonder if that means we can't have any sort of relations with one another as well. Gwen is the only person I know here that I could ask, but there's no way she would give me a serious answer. Given her apparent dislike for me, she'd probably go right to the guards and tell them of my indiscretions.

Maybe I can have John ask around for me. I know he would have sex with me if I asked, but I want to make sure I'm not putting him at risk beforehand.

"Where are you going?" A guard suddenly asks, stepping in front of me and blocking my path.

"I'm on my way to guard's quarters. I'm expected to meet somebody there." I answer him truthfully, knowing that he would be able to sense my lying. Besides, it's only hours until they all know anyway.

The guard looks me up and down, evaluating me, before nodding and stepping aside. It's probably not too common to see a servant walking around by themselves at this time of day. Most are either in the midst of a task or moving around in pairs.

The Beast moves back to his post against the wall, and I continue my way towards the guard's chambers. Assuming that I was correct in hearing that their sleeping quarters are one floor above us, then I am pretty close.

As much as I try to ignore it, I can't help the dread that seeps into every pore of my body. I'm sure that every Beast in a fifty-foot radius of me can smell my unease, and hope that the King's guard doesn't punish me for it.

As I round the final corner I'm surprised to be met with a crowd of Beasts all huddled around whispering amongst one another. None pay any attention to me, and I glance around looking for the guard from earlier.

He doesn't appear to be in the hallway with the others, and I look around to see if I can replace somebody to give me directions. To be honest I expected him to be waiting for me in the hallway. Most Beasts love to announce and parade their conquests around, and I was anticipating that this man was no different.

I spot a Beast standing alone in the corner, and hesitantly approach.

"Excuse me?" I murmur, dropping my eyes to the ground and shuffling my feet along the floor.

He grunts. "What?"

"I'm looking for the Guard who's posted in front of the King's chambers in the morning." I answer, hoping that he will know who I'm referring to.

He doesn't immediately respond, and I continue to wait patiently. After a couple of seconds I glance up at him, noticing that he's staring at me with a confused expression on his face.

"Why?" He asks.

"He told me to meet me in his chambers after finishing my work." I answer, confused as to why he is asking. I thought it would be pretty obvious why I was looking for his bedroom.

The guard chuckles. "Well, today's your lucky day! He's-"

"He's right through that room there." A voice cuts in. I turn around and see a large man standing behind me, pointing towards a door further down the hallway, right next to where the crowd of chatting Beasts are.

I nod at the men, showing my respect, and begin heading towards the room he pointed to. Sliding up against the wall, I attempt to make myself as small as possible to prevent being noticed by the guards. Thankfully, my attempt works as they continue to talk amongst themselves, completely ignoring my presence. Under normal circumstances I would slyly eavesdrop on their conversation, curious as to what has gotten them all into such a tizzy, but I can't hear anything over the loud beating of my heart.

Tears begin to well up in my eyes as I stand in front of his door. I quickly blink them away, doing my best to compose myself. I can cry later, but now is neither the time nor place.

With one last deep exhale, I grab the knob, drop my face to the ground, and push open the door.

I carefully step forward, my body teetering in the doorway, and take a peek into the room. My blood runs cold and all thoughts leave my body as I take in the sight in front of me.

The guard's body is sprawled out on the floor, blood seeping out of the gaping hole in his chest and pooling out around his body. His eyes are still open, the pupils blown wide and color frosted over.

I quickly back out of the room, terror penetrating every inch of my body. I hear laughter from the guards all around me, but am unable to focus on anything or form any coherent thoughts. Is this what all the guards were chatting about?

Quickly spinning on my heel, I beeline my way out of the guard's corridor. My heart is pounding in my chest, thoughts racing a million miles a minute. Will I be punished for this? Will they think that I'm involved in his death? It'll be easy to make the argument that he called me to his chambers and in anger I paid off a guard to get him killed.

All it takes is for one accusation to be let out for me to be killed. Even if the Royals know that I didn't do it, my life is expendable and my death will be a small price to pay to keep the guards happy.

The man who pointed me towards the room is hunched over in glee, openly laughing at me.

"Sorry lass." He yells between laughter. "Looks like the King got to him first."

I ignore his words and continue rushing out of the area. Getting back to the safety of the servant's quarters is all I can focus on.

I scurry through the hallways, doing my best not to draw any unwanted attention to myself. Turning, I run down the first pair of stairs I replace, and once I get to the bottom floor I don't hesitate to shove the door open and head to the servant's area.

I hear the chatter before I see it, the noise growing exponentially as I round the corner that opens up to the bedrooms and kitchen area.

The whole hall is packed, servants all around with dirt on their faces and wooden bowls in their hands. I quickly spot John standing in the kitchen doorway, and make my way over to him.

"Addie!" He says when he notices me heading over. "I've been looking all over for you. You left so early this morning- I thought that we would head up to work together."

Before I can respond, he continues. "The King killed a guard this morning! Apparently he just walked into the guy's bedroom and ripped out his heart. Everybody's been talking about it."

Relief floods my body as John says this. Nobody thinks that this is related to me!

"I heard!" I answer, purposely leaving out the fact that I was meant to serve that particular guard and saw his body on the ground.

Wanting to change the subject, I walk past John into the kitchen to quickly grab something to eat. My eyes immediately lock in on the food covering the table. It looks to be potato soup and bread- one of my favorite meals.

Without hesitation I grab a bowl and fill it to the rim, before taking a piece of bread too for good measure. John watches the whole time, tapping his foot against the ground.

"Yes?" I tease his impatience, taking a large bite of bread as I walk back over to the doorway.

He frowns. "Why did you leave so early? I waited around for you to come out of the woman's room only to replace out you had already left!"

Hurt is clear in his voice, and I feel slightly guilty for not connecting with him last night on the plan for today.

"I thought that my shift started at the same time as everybody else's. I didn't leave until really late today." I admit, a bit embarrassed.

"What?" John says, tilting his head slightly to the side. "We do start at the same time as everybody."

My confusion only lasts for a millisecond before I realize that Gwen must have lied to me this morning. I'm not surprised, but feel a bit silly for having fallen for it.

I huff in annoyance. "Gwen told me that I started earlier than everybody else."

"Oh, that's rude of her." He frowns. "We can walk together tomorrow. Other than that, how did your day go?"

I replay the day in my mind, not sure where to even start. When I think about the guard though I know that I need to ask John to sleep with me. My cheeks heat up at the thought, but as embarrassed as I am I know that it needs to happen.

It's only a matter of time before I am called again, and I would like to be prepared when it does.

"Actually John, I have a big favor to ask of you."