Chapter 4 Dinner

The woman slowly moves away from the drawer to sit on the edge of his bed. I wince as the wine in her glass nearly spills over the rim. What is with these Beasts and drinking wine in bed?

"What does the King like?" She suddenly asks, eyes zeroing in on me.

I'm surprised by her question, and even more so that she thinks I would have the answer. Even if I did, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to speak about it. King's servants are to be invisible, not learning about or hearing anything that happens while inside the King's chambers. To know things is dangerous, but to speak on them is practically a death sentence.

Clearing my throat, I hesitate before speaking. "I'm not sure. He works a lot."

She hums, clearly dissatisfied with my response.

"You spend all day cleaning his apartment, clearly you know something." She responds, voice sharp.

She removes herself from his bed and approaches me, her movements lithe and confident. Averting my gaze from her face, I watch her feet as she nears. My heartbeat quickens the closer she becomes, and I resist the urge to back away as she comes to a halt only inches in front of me.

Sweat is beading on my temple, and my hands clam up as her hand raises to my face. A sharp nail makes contact with my forehead, and slowly drags down the side of my face and neck until it settles on my collarbone.

I hold back a hiss at her actions, her nail easily slicing open my skin as she trails it down my body.

"So tell me-," she continues. "What do you know?"

I rack my brain for something, anything I can tell her, but am struggling to focus. She continues to run her nail across my neck, applying more pressure the longer I take to respond. I no longer wonder if I am bleeding, the liquid I feel pooling into my collarbone answers enough.

"He likes to cook." I finally blurt out, remembering the dishes that I have to wash every morning.

I continue, also remembering the wine stain in his bed. "And he likes red wine."

The woman sighs, removing her finger from my skin. I watch out of the corner of my eye as she downs the rest of her drink.

"I need a refill." She commands, pushing the glass into my chest.

I rush to grab it, careful not to touch her fingers, and hurry into the kitchen. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my hands shake as I pour more wine into her glass. The blood feels wet and sticky on my skin, but I ignore it, knowing that I need to bring her her wine before cleaning myself up.

The woman has moved back to her spot on the bed, and eagerly grabs the glass out of my hand. The second she is comfortably seated with her drink, I rush back into the safety of the kitchen. I spot my reflection in the microwave, and am glad to see that the cut on my face and neck isn't too bad. The line is thin and looks pretty similar to a paper cut. Blood has surfaced along the entire cut, but only from my mid-neck to collarbone did I actually bleed.

I grab a paper towel from the counter and wet it under the sink before bringing it to my wound. Holding back a hiss as it comes in contact with my skin, I carefully dab at my face and neck to wipe away the blood.

The sound of the front door slamming open breaks me from my concentration, and I look up to see the King entering the room. Fearful that I'm going to be punished for speaking about him and letting this woman look through his belongings, I freeze in place, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.

He immediately looks at me, his eyes flashing between the cut on my neck to the bloody paper towel I hold in my hand. His eyes begin to flicker, and my heart rate picks up at the knowledge that his inner Beast is fighting for control. I've never seen a Beast completely lose control before, and not many who have made it out alive to tell the tale.

He abruptly looks away from me and locks eyes with the woman casually laying on his bed. She shoots him a large smile, lifting her glass to the air in a friendly gesture.

"Heloix!" She greets him. "I've been waiting for you to show up! We haven't spent any time together while I've been here, and I thought that we could take tonight to get to know each other better."

She smirks as she says this, leaning back suggestively in his bed. I stay completely still, frightened to see how this will turn out. Will the King be distracted by her and let me go? Is he going to punish me?

My question is answered as the King looks back to me, fury evident on his face. He's breathing hard, and his eyes continue to flicker as he watches me. Tears began to well in mine as I came to realise that this is the end for me. I drop my head to the ground in submission, hoping that he will make it quick.

A low growl echoes throughout the room, and I can no longer hold back the tears that leave my eyes. I let them fall to the ground, not wanting to risk angering him further by wiping them away.

"Adeline, leave." I hear the King suddenly say.

My head snaps up, vision blurry as I look at the King. He jerks his head towards the door, and I don't hesitate to run out, feet uncoordinated and tripping over one another.

I rip open the door and throw myself outside into the hallway as fast as I can, wanting to be long gone before he changes his mind. John is already waiting outside the door, and rushes up to me with concern on his face.

He wraps his arms around my body, and I bury my face in his chest, unable to control the sobs that leave my mouth.

"Hey hey hey. Addie, you're okay; everything's okay." He whispers, leading me away from the King's door.

I continue to cry, unable to get my emotions in check after being so convinced that I was about to die.

John continues backing us up, "You've got to quiet down for me, okay? Let's go downstairs. Then you can tell me what happened."

The door taunts me. Such an innocent enough looking object yet behind it lies so much fear. I've been staring at it for minutes now, working up the courage to enter.

It took hours for John to calm me down last night, and even now I am still frazzled. He's assured me that if the King wanted me dead then it would have happened by now, and that everything will blow over if I just keep my head down and stay quiet today. I don't know much. I believe that though, my mind is full of doubt and worry.

Hopefully the King will be gone all day and I won't have to see him. He's gone most of the time anyway, so it's likely that he won't be there today.

I've never been particularly fortunate though.

I continue staring at the door in an attempt to work up the courage to go inside. I'm sure that the guard will tell the King of my odd behaviour, but even that knowledge isn't enough to get me to open the door any quicker. I contemplate running away- just leaving through the servant's entrance and disappearing into the woods.

I'd probably do it if it weren't for the fact that the Beasts often go out and run at night. They'd find and kill me by nightfall.

My thoughts are cut off by laughter coming from down the hall. It's followed by an angry shout from a voice I recognize immediately. My head snaps to the left just as the woman from yesterday comes around the corner, guards on either side of her holding her arms. She fights to remove their hold, but they only laugh at her attempts and continue dragging her down the hall in my direction.

Fear rushes through my body, scared of what she will do when she sees me. Realising that I either need to face her or the King, I decide to pick the lesser of two evils and turn once more to the door. The handle feels smooth in my hand, and I only hesitate for a second before turning and pushing the door open and quickly stepping inside.

I look around the room in search of the King, relieved to see that it is empty. The room, on the other hand, is a complete mess. It looks as if a tornado ripped through here. Broken glass lies everywhere and almost every object appears to have been thrown onto the floor.

"Sorry about the mess."

I look up, immediately spotting the King standing in the hallway that leads to the office. His hands are shoved into his pockets, shoulders hunched over.

I back up against the door as I regard him, hesitant to do anything until I can better determine his mood. He continues to stare at me, but does not move. His eyes wander over my face, following the length of the cut I received yesterday.

He pauses at my neck, squints, and lets out a sigh.

"Your neck is getting infected." He states.

Frowning, I bring my hand up and softly touch the cut. It gets a bit deep on my neck, and stings as I poke it. I flinch at the contact before dropping my arm back to my side.

The King sighs once more, before turning and walking into the bathroom. I stay where I am, unsure of what to do. Should I just pretend like yesterday didn't happen and begin cleaning like normal? Am I expected to apologise for last night?

Deciding that the best course of action is to just begin cleaning, I tiptoe to the cleaning closet next to the kitchen to grab a broom and dustpan. It'll be best to start with the broken glass. The King exits the bathroom and I slow my movements, but continue with what I'm doing.

"Stop with that." I glance up at him, and he motions to the broom in my hand. "Sit down."

He gestures to the barstool underneath the kitchen island, and I cautiously do as he says. I sit on the very edge of the seat, watching him with narrowed eyes as I try to gauge his intentions.

The King lifts his hand, showing me the first aid kit he holds.

"I'm not upset with you. I'm just going to clean your cut, okay?" He says, pointing to my neck.

I want to ask why, but instead just nod my head in obedience. He walks closer to me, carefully stepping around the broken glass and stopping once his feet are only inches from mine. He sets the kit on the counter and pops it open, showcasing a multitude of products that I've never seen before.

Servants don't typically have access to any sort of bandages, and are often expected to clean up scrapes with body soap and paper towels. It's not the most effective method and often leads to infections, but it's better than nothing.

"Jade wishes for me to marry her, which is why she came in last night. She and her mother are leaving today, so you shouldn't reencounter her." He says, voice almost sounding kind.

I nod, eyes tracing the floor's wood pattern. The King sighs, and I feel his fingertips touch my face moments later.

His prodding is gentle, and after a couple of seconds I feel some of my unease start to leave. I couldn't tell you the last time somebody touched my skin, and it admittedly feels pretty nice. Sometimes I would give John or Vera a quick hug after a long day, but they were brief and often quite awkward.

John may have made a good point last night- if the King wanted me dead he would have either killed or had me killed by now. And given the King's kind attitude towards me today, I am starting to believe him when he says he is not angry with me.

"You can talk to me, you know." He grunts. "It's not exactly fun having a one-sided conversation." His hands pause for a moment on the deeper part of my cut before continuing. "This is going to hurt."

As the words leave his mouth he presses a cold, wet cloth to my neck. Immediately my skin is on fire and I jerk away, hissing in pain at the sensation.

The King's free hand loops around the back of my neck, squeezing gently to hold my head in place. I look up at him in anger as he brings the cloth back to my neck.

His eyes are zeroed in on my wound as he bites his full bottom lip in concentration. I try to jerk away once more, causing his hand at the base of my neck to tighten further in response.

"That hurts." I finally murmur, continuing to try to move my head away.

His eyes snap to mine, and I see what looks like pity in them. "I know, but I'm almost done. Whoever cleaned your cut last night did a shit job."

I frown, embarrassed at the fact that it was me who cleaned it last night, and had felt that I did a pretty adequate job too. He continues rubbing the disinfectant on my neck, the stinging slowly mellowing out.

Smiling, the King pulls the cloth away as he releases his hold on my neck.

"There! Not so bad, was it?" He questions, sounding smug.

I huff, not justifying his question with an answer. He doesn't seem to mind, and I watch as he sets the cloth down and reaches back into the first aid kit. He pulls out a tube and squeezes some clear gel out onto his finger.

He brings said finger to my neck, intent probably to apply it to my cut, but I pull away before he can make contact.

"I'm fine. I don't need all that." I say, scared that it will sting.

The King looks between my neck and his finger, before understanding flashes in his eyes.

"This part won't hurt." He assures me.

He seems sincere in his tone, but I'm also not great at being able to tell when people are lying to me.

He's the King, though, and I'm not really in a place to refuse his help. Giving in, I tilt my head to the side, giving him better access to my neck. I tense up as he brings my hand to my throat, relieved to discover that he wasn't lying when he said that the gel doesn't hurt. In fact, it feels cool and brings instant relief to the scrape.

He's tender in his movements, and I watch his face as he works. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration and eyes focused on my wound. Up this close, I can see light freckles smattered across his cheeks and gold flecks in his eyes.

I heard once that all Beasts have gold flecks on their irises, and that it's their inner beast watching through their eyes. It's probably just folklore though, humans having made it up as a fun story for their children.

The King looks up suddenly and makes eye contact with me before focusing once again on my neck. He grabs a large band aid from the kit and puts it over the deeper part of my cut.

No Beast has ever been so kind to me before.

In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of a Beast, let alone a King, being so kind to any human before.

My mind wanders to all the rumours I've heard about him, and I wonder how much truth is in them. All the talk about him being a crazed, evil monster seems wildly exaggerated given how nice he's been to me since I've arrived.

"Did you like pasta the other week?" He asks casually, striking up a conversation.

I nod my head, eyes widening in surprise at the question.

"Yes, sir. It was very delicious. Thank you for giving it to me." I answer truthfully, mouth watering at the memory.

The King smiles, seemingly pleased with himself. "I enjoy cooking. I will make you something as an apology for your neck."

He suddenly steps back and evaluates his work, nodding in approval at the bandage on my neck.

"What do you want me to make?" He continues.

I frown, not sure how to answer his question. I've never eaten anything else, and to be honest I don't really know what I like. There are hundreds of dishes I've always dreamed of trying, and I worry about picking the wrong thing.

"I've always wanted to try meat." I answer honestly.

King Heloix nods. "Noted."

I smile softly, wondering if he will actually follow through with cooking me some food. I won't be surprised if he doesn't, but a small part of me hopes that he does.

"I need to get going, but don't worry about getting everything cleaned up today. If it gets late, feel free to leave and finish up tomorrow." He says, turning away from me and quickly heading to the door.

I watch from the stool as he moves around the apartment to grab a couple of things before leaving. The door slams shut behind him, and I stay put for another couple of minutes trying to make sense of what just happened.

I gingerly poke at the bandage on my neck, surprised by the lack of pain I feel. With a sigh, I hop off the chair and go about my cleaning.

The glass takes a while to do, and I end up pricking my fingers a couple of times while trying to pick the pieces out of the rug. The rest of the apartment takes just as long, and before I know it it's gotten pretty late.

I look around the space, eyeing all the work that still needs to be done. Was the King being genuine when he said I don't have to finish it all up today? He seemed sincere, but for all I know he could wake up tomorrow and think differently.

It'll take another two or three hours to get everything completed though, and it's already so late that by the time I finish I'll be lucky to get even a couple hours of sleep.

Deciding to take the risk, I put away all the cleaning supplies and left the suite, not so frightened at the thought of seeing the King again.

"Will you please help me in the kitchens tonight?" Emma begs, giving me some very convincing puppy dog eyes.

The King is having some important guests over, apparently for the first time in a while, and all the servants are stressing out about it. I heard that they are Royals from a small kingdom to the East, but am not sure if there's any truth to that.

Nonetheless, everybody has been running around making sure that the castle is pristine. I spent all day yesterday cleaning up the room that they are to stay in, and even still there is more that needs to be done.

I sigh, already knowing I'm going to say yes. "Do you really need my help?"

"We really do!" She says, voice rising in pitch. "The Royals are going to be here for dinner and we need all the help we can get to make sure everything goes smoothly. I heard from John that you used to help out occasionally in the kitchens."

I haven't seen the King since he helped clean my wound, but he's been keeping his place pretty neat, making my job easy and giving me back a lot of extra time. I should be able to finish early enough to help out in the kitchens for dinner.

"I'll try to finish up as quickly as I can today and come down to help." I promise.

Emma squeals, pulling me into a tight hug. I hold back a wince as the movement causes the healing cut on my neck to tug, and quickly return her hold before pulling away.

"Thank you so much! I owe you one." Emma says, a large smile on her face.

We continue chatting for a couple of minutes before departing to get started on our day. I find John chatting up some girls outside the women's bedroom, and wave my hand to grab his attention, gesturing towards the main hallway. He gets the hint and excuses himself to walk over to me.

"Time to head up." I say, shoving my hands deep into my pockets.

I glance down at the ground and shuffle my feet slightly. Not sure what else to say, I pull my hands out of my pockets, clap them together, and give John some finger guns. I regret the motion as soon as I do it.

He gives me a slight chuckle, taking pity on my awkwardness, and begins walking out of the servant's area.

John got word yesterday that the King's empty wing is going to be clear in three nights' time, and things have been a bit awkward between us since then. Neither of us is really sure what to say to one another- do we go on like normal? Afterward, do we pretend as if nothing happened?

He told me the news last night and, despite my excitement at finally getting a time and place secured, I find myself pretty nervous.

"I'm going to finish up early to help in the kitchens for dinner, so we won't be able to walk back down together." I say to him, voice quiet as we walk through the hallways.

"Sounds good, thanks for letting me know." John responds, giving me a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

The gesture makes me smile, and I feel some of the tension between us fade. John's a good friend, and I appreciate him keeping things easy between us.

We continue our walk in silence, both of us keeping a watchful eye on the Beasts as we pass them.

The King's chambers are empty when I arrive, just as they've been for the last couple of days, and I'm pleased to see that they are pretty clean. It even looks like the King cleaned his own dishes last night!

As suspected, I manage to get through everything pretty quickly and rush down to the kitchens in record time. I enter through the servant's door and look around for Emma.

She's standing off to the side cutting some vegetables, and I jog over to greet her.

"Hey, Emma! I'm here to help." I say as I approach, careful not to startle her.

She spins around, relief evident on her face. "Addie- thank god you're here. One of our servers is sick, so I'll need you to fill her place tonight."

I frown, a sudden bout of nervousness coming over me. That's not what I expected to be doing.

"I've only ever helped out with the cooking- I don't know how to serve." I admit, hoping that it'll be enough to change her mind.

Luck doesn't seem to be on my side though as Emma begins walking me over the basics.

"It's easy! You'll be in charge of wine. All you need to do is stand to the side holding the bottle and refill glasses as they get low." She says, shoving the container in my hands and nudging me towards the door.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, I follow her direction and head into the dining room, careful to stay along the wall and be silent.

I spot the King first- sitting at the head of the table with a scowl on his face. The seat to his left is empty, and on his right sits the Second. Next to the Second is his mate, and the visiting royals across from them.

Most glasses look to be pretty full so I post up along the wall. Other servants line up against it as well, waiting for their cue to rush in to serve the Beasts.

"You've caused quite a stir by sending Jade home." The man I don't recognize says to the King, voice filled with laughter.

I slyly glance over at the King to see his reaction. He looks slightly annoyed but otherwise unbothered.

"It was time for her to go." He calmly replies, bringing his glass to his mouth and taking a sip.

The man laughs, shaking his head as he cuts up and shoves a large piece of ham into his mouth. The woman next to him clears her throat, drawing the attention to her. She doesn't speak right away, and instead looks between King Heloix and his Second with squinted eyes.

"Have you thought of any of our proposals?" She finally asks, voice smooth and confident.

Everybody looks at the King but he gives them no answer. The room is filled with unease as everybody waits for him to speak, and eventually the Second pipes in instead.

"We have discussed it and, unfortunately, found the terms to be disagreeable. Your price for humans is too high." He answers curtly.

The King is looking to buy more humans? We already have more staff than we need. I can't even imagine what we would do with more.

The man begins to splutter, voice rising in volume as he throws out obscenities at the King. King Heloix seems to be holding back a smirk, and brings his glass to his lips to cover it.

It's hard not to admire the King when he acts like this. Even surrounded by other Beasts he stands out. His sizable frame is quite threatening, even when he doesn't intend for it to be, and his whole aura demands respect.

I watch as he takes another sip from his wine, my eyes drawn down to his throat as the thick muscles shift underneath his skin with each swallow.

My gaze continues downward to his shirt. It's quite loose, but his large arms and muscular chest are still quite prominent. My mind, of its own volition, thinks back to the times that he has changed in front of me. I shuffle my feet as I think of his strong back, and the visible muscles just underneath his skin.

For a brief moment I wonder how they would feel under my hands, but I quickly move on from that thought, knowing that this is neither the time or place.

The sound of King Heloix clearing his throat brings my attention back to the present, and I snap my eyes back up to realise that he's watching me, eyebrow raised in amusement. He holds an empty wine glass in his hand and subtly gestures for me to fill it. None of the other Beasts seem to have noticed, but I am positive that the other servants have caught my staring.

My cheeks heat up at the thought, and embarrassment floods my body as I move forward to fill up the King's cup. He holds out the glass for me as I approach. My hand visibly shakes as I pour the wine out of the container, trying my best not to let any spill.

The King's eyes remain on me the whole time, watching my every move and making me even more nervous.

Once his glass is full, I back away and do a spot check of the others at the table. The guest's glasses are both nearing empty as well, and I head over to fill them up.

As I approach the man reaches out and grabs my wrist, roughly tugging me towards him. He shifts his grip to my face, and I wince as his pudgy fingers press against my wound.

I flail in response, trying to regain my balance and almost dropping the bottle of wine on the floor. The liquid splashes over the rim at my abrupt movements, coating my dress and shoes. Ignoring the mess, the man yanks my head to the side, facing me towards the King and Second.

"My price is too high? Why don't you tell me how much this one's worth?" He snarls, squeezing my face with more force. "You've clearly got a soft spot for her."

My jaw clicks under the pressure, and an audible whimper leaves my mouth. The Second looks merely annoyed, mouth turning down at the corners, but the King is livid. He sits up straight, eyes narrowing in on the man's hand.

"I recommend you let her go." The King says, his voice loud and threatening.

The man loosens his grip slightly at King Heloix's words, but quickly changes his mind and tightens up once more.

The man laughs. "Or what? How about this- the price you put on her head is how much I'll sell you my humans for." He pauses for a moment, rubbing his rough thumb across my lips. "If you give her a good enough price I might even buy her from you."

King Heloix's eyes flash and his body twitches at the threat. The Second notices the change and jumps quickly into action. Standing, he puts a rough hand on the King's shoulder, keeping him seated in his chair.

"If you expect to see tomorrow I recommend you release the girl." The Second says, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

The man does as he's told this time. The second his painful grip is gone I scurry backward until my back meets the wall. I bring my hand up to my jaw, gently massaging the muscle and watching the scene unfold in front of me in fear.

Is King Heloix going to sell me? If he sets a low price then the other King will no doubt try to buy me.

My entire body is shaking, and it takes everything in me not to run right out of the room.

All eyes are on the King as he struggles to compose himself. King Richard was never this temperamental, always able to control his inner Beast, and King Heloix's inability to do so is honestly quite concerning.

"We will be taking the slaves free of charge." The King says, finally calm enough to speak.

He takes a deep breath, standing up as he continues. "And should you have any issues with that you are free to declare war. I don't recommend that though, we both know that my men outnumber yours four to one. You will take leave immediately-"

The King's eyes suddenly flash to mine, before returning his gaze to his guests. "Empty-handed."

He doesn't wait for a response before walking away from the table towards me. He grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the room.

I stumble after him, struggling to make sense of thousands of questions running through my mind. His guests begin arguing with the Second and his mate as we exit the space, but I'm unable to make out the words.

King Heloix continues pulling me through the hallways, his pace so fast I need to jog to keep up. He pushes open a closet door and abruptly pulls us both inside.

"What are you-" My words are cut off as the King crushes his body to mine, burying his head into my neck.

His arms snake around my waist and squeeze my body into his. He breathes deeply, taking in my scent as his wild curls tickle my face. I remain frozen in place, not sure how to react.

The King doesn't seem to mind my reluctance, though, as his arm around my waist loosens and his hand moves to my head. He grabs a handful of my hair, gently pulling my head back and exposing my neck to him.

"Are you okay?" I whisper.

My voice seems to snap the King back to normal as he quickly composes himself and pulls away from me.

"What the fuck were you doing serving in the kitchens?" He asks, his frustration now directed at me.

My blood runs cold at his tone, not having expected him to be angry with me. "I- uh, I was asked to help out tonight with dinner."

King Heloix steps backward, getting as far away as he can from me in the small space. He runs his hand through his hair before yanking softly at the curls.

"If I wanted you to be a kitchen wench I would have made you a fucking kitchen wench. Next time do the damn job you're assigned to do." He scolds, spitting the harsh term at me.

I say nothing to that, unable to come up with the right words to explain myself. King Heloix doesn't wait around to hear what I have to say anyways though, opting to rip open the door and exit the room, leaving me alone in the closet.

His footsteps echo as he stomps away, the noise slowly diminishing until he's completely gone. Everybody pore in my body is filled with confusion, and shock, at the ten different moods he seems to have just cycled through. I stay in the closet trying to process what just happened.

Loud footsteps begin heading back towards me from the direction the King just left, and I straighten up, ready to be yelled at some more by him.

Instead, and to my surprise, the Second appears in the doorway. He looks me up and down with a frown, clearly unhappy with what he sees.

"Come with me."