Chapter 2 Troubles

Long ago, it was said that all races lived together as one in a kingdom called Danark. Werewolves, vampires, foxes, elves, demons, and the mightiest of them, all the dragons.

Apparently, while they lived in harmony on the surface, weaker races were preyed upon by the powerful ones. The human beings, the weakest of them all, were constantly being haunted and sometimes even made into slaves. This continued for a while until the races started to rebel, plunging the world into an all-out war. It is unclear how the war ended, but the after-effect of it birthed what we know today as the Great Kingdoms.

Danark slowly crumbled as each race started to form its kingdoms. The elves moved into the most flourished magical forest called, Ahren. The vampires enacted their kingdom called, Erebos. The Lycans established the Lyall kingdom which had several packs. The land of witches was called, Circe, and finally, the dragons. The dragons stayed on the land of Lanark, forming an empire out of the crumbling nation, now known as Caelist. Powerless races that didn't have enough power and population to form their own kingdom like the werefoxes, demons, and several others stayed behind and were assimilated into Caelist.

To avoid war, each kingdom chose a king who would meet every two years at a meeting called the Swerve. During this time, they would set boundaries, rules, and trade pieces of information. This year would be the year they hold the swerve meeting again, and that is why His Majesty has been busy as of late.

It is thanks to his occupied schedule that he didn't return on time today to catch my blunder. I couldn't help it. I had been angry earlier, and when I was angry, I practiced archery. That stupid skank Lola and her boy toy of a warrior Andrew, was at it again.

Just because my ears were a bit unique, they constantly ostracized me daily. Usually, their antics would go ignored by me, but today they had managed to light fumes under my pot, causing it to boil once more.

Entering the king's chambers, I mulled over the earlier event that made my mood sour.

Earlier that day-

"It wasn't me! It was that freak, Aurora!" Lola yelled in her shrill voice, rattled with fake sobs. "What evidence do you have that it was Aurora? The other servants all say they saw you walking out of the king's office and when they went in after you, they saw tea spilled all over his paperwork." Madame Stella said. "But- but we all know I'm not the only one that goes to the king's office. Aurora is in charge of cleaning his chancery. There's no doubt she made that mess and ran away in order not to get caught. I only saw it when I entered the chancery and was on my way out to tell you, Madame." Lola was now full-on crying her dainty little eyeballs out.

Rolling my eyes, I stood my ground and spoke, "How would I be in the king 's office when I spent all my hours in the kitchen all day washing the dishes almost everyone in the Palace used?"

Then, a gruff voice interjected, "What is going on?"

Great, here comes Mr. Knight in shining armor-I mean it literally. Andrew was an egoistic person who prided himself on his warrior's position which I presum. He wore this overly gaudy armor and pranced around the castle with his nose stuck up.

"Greetings to you Sir Andrew," Madame Stella said nervously. He didn't even acknowledge her as he made a comment for Lola.

"Why are you crying?! Who caused this?! Are you injured?!" He fussed, running his hands up and down her body and checking for any injuries.

Lovely, another drama queen.

"Oh, Sir Andrew, I'm so glad you are here, I'm being wrongfully accused of spilling tea on important documents in his majesty's office," Lola cried, falling into Andrew's arms. "It's obvious that was all Aurora's doing."

Andrew finally decided to cast a glare at Madame Stella, passing her a glare. "Care to explain Stella?" See? literally a knight in shining armor. "My goodness, no Sir Andrew, no one is blaming her. We were trying to find the right culprit, and based on her explanation, we were just concluding that Aurora was the one who made the mess. Rest assured she would be punished accordingly." Madame Stella said, fumbling with her hands while giving me side glares.

"Yes, see to it that she gets the appropriate punishments so that no innocent person gets treated unfairly," Andrew said, rubbing Lola's arm like she got hurt.

End of flashback.

'So no innocent person gets treated unfairly?' I repeated what Andrew had said earlier out to no one in particular. I call it rubbish. I fumed as I flipped over the silk covers on the king's bed.

It was obvious that Lola had tried to clean the king's chancery in an attempt to please Madame Stella, but made that mistake and ran away. And Madame Stella was too intimidated by Andrew to admit she knew the real culprit. She doesn't even like Lola, but she puts up with her because of getting good graces by Andrew.

Picking up King Raymond's shirt from the bed, I paused, my anger gradually subsiding. I brought the shirt up to my nose, inhaling the nice smell that came from it.

Working in the castle as a maid doesn't present a person the chance of seeing the royals, more or less the king. However, the few glances I'd stolen from him from afar were enough to have my heart racing. His perfectly leveled nose, hazel eyes, and short straight black hair were all qualities that anyone would find mesmerizing.

Sadly, though, I've never had a chance to get a close-up look at him. As servants, we weren't allowed to be in the presence of royals unless otherwise permitted. We could only clean their room when they weren't present.

Snapping back to my senses, I reluctantly folded the shirt and put it along with the hopes and dreams of ever getting noticed by the king - into the laundry basket.

Who am I kidding?

King Raymond had a fiancee. Her name was Esther. She was the daughter of a councilman and a beauty to behold. Sighing in defeat, I picked up the laundry basket and proceeded to head out the large golden doors before the King gets back.

Just as I was about to pull open the door, it suddenly swung inwards, smashing into my face, which made me lose my standing and fall right to the floor. I groaned and tried to look up at the person who decided to restructure my nose.

My eyes first caught sight of short black hair that was slicked back at the right side, then two pairs of hazel eyes, and then full lips. That hair looked so familiar... just then I realized who it belonged to, and I internally cringed.

My eyes widen as I tried to recall the number one rule of being a maid here was... 'Do not present yourself in front of the royals unless permitted to'... and I had just broken that rule.

Shit. I'm in trouble.