by Emma Merrell
He was gorgeous. Her eyes traveled down the length of him slowly, taking in everything from his silky, black hair to his bare, sinewy feet. His jaw was strong and set within a classically handsome face, but the effect was softened a bit by a set of full lips. His most striking feature though were his eyes. There was the palest shade of green, so luminous that it looked as if light were shining from behind them.
The servant dropped into a curtsy and Luce followed suit as she had been instructed. Catherine had warned her that not to rise until the price said that it was all right, or it would be a sign of disrespect. He didn't make them wait long before telling them to rise, and Luce was grateful for that.
"Your Highness, may I present to you, Luce Taylor?"
He gave a brief nod and the servant girl entered fully into the room, she led Luce to the prince and seemed to melt away into the corner of the room as Luce knew all good servants should do. Luce had also been briefed on what to do next and so when the prince offered his hand, she took it in both of hers, did a sort of curtsy and touched her forehead to his hand. Then she rose and looked him steadily in the eye, she would do as told to keep Jude safe, but she wasn't going to be cowed by anyone and the glint in her eyes showed it.
"I am pleased to meet you. I am Jonathan Kent, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Carnley." His voice was musical. It was deep and gentle, flowing easily from his lips.
"I am honored to be in your presence, your Highness."
He inclined his head briefly but gave no other response, it was, after all, the expected thing for her to say. It was pretty much the last thing that Luce had been briefed on, that and not to eat or drink until after he had already done so. He waved her over to the table and she took a seat next to what she assumed was the head of the table.
He sat as well but offered her no other conversation. It was an extremely awkward silence, which Luce hated, she had never been any good at sitting through them and often started babbling whatever came to her just so that it would be over. She held her tongue this time though, she had a feeling that the prince was more accustomed to women being seen and not heard.
The seconds ticked by like minutes and Luce's sense of discomfort gradually increased. She kept sneaking glances at the prince, but he seemed content to pretend as if she wasn't there at all. Luce fought the urge to sigh. She hoped that the first course would arrive quickly, or that anything else would happen to break up the icy air in the room.
Her prayers were realized as two serving girls brought in a set of trays laden with berries and various cuts of game. The servant girls placed the heavy looking trays on the table, and then they began serving, filling up Jonathan and Luce's plates with a wide variety of items. One of the girls rose and grabbed a jewel-encrusted decanter, she filled Luce's goblet without incident, but sloshed over the edge of the prince's, wetting the table and his clothes.
The girl set down the pitcher immediately and dropped to her knees, reciting a litany of apologies. The other girl began frantically trying to blot the prince's clothing dry. Luce was watching nervously, afraid for the poor girl. She didn't know what the punishment would be, but she assumed that the prince would dole one out swiftly. Her former masters usually had.
Luce watched open-mouthed as the girl blotting Jonathan dry began trying to dab at the wine that had spilled into his lap. The prince's eyebrows shot up at the first contact, and then his eyes flew up to meet Luce's. Something in his bemused expression made her smile, she tried to stop it, not knowing if it would anger him, but she wasn't very good at suppressing her emotions. His face stayed the same for a moment, but then his shoulders began to shake with silent laughter. Luce gave in as well, and they shared their first moment of real connection chuckling over the ludicrousness of one girl frantically dabbing at his crotch with a napkin, while the other begged forgiveness at his feet.
"Arise, arise. Stop petting at me, it is fine. If you would just return to the kitchens and collect our next course before any more disasters occur."
The girls left the room, walking backward and bowing the entire way. Luce was relieved that neither of them had gotten in trouble over a slight slip of the hand and a bit of overzealous blotting. She had imagined him having a very different reaction and found herself amazed by the one he did. Maybe he was a somewhat decent human being. If Jude were here, they would have probably shared a joke about how hard it was to find good help these days. But Jude wasn't here. The thought instantly sobered Luce, and she felt whatever twinkle of mirth she had experienced vanish.
"Is something amiss?"
Luce realized that she had been staring blankly and forced herself to make a quick recovery, "No your Highness. I am as well as can be expected." There, that was honest.
"I think that there was some veiled commentary in that answer."
Luce met his light green eyes with hazel ones and answered, "I wonder why that would be?"
She felt a thrill go down her spine after the words left her lips, she knew that she might have just gone a step too far. There was a tightening around the prince's eyes and his fist tightened. Luce opened her mouth to speak, maybe to retract the hastily spoken words. But he responded before she had the chance. "I am sorry about your brother. It was not my mother's intention to bring him here, I can assure you of that."
It wasn't much in the way of an apology, but Luce was relieved that his reaction wasn't worse. It would have been nice had he also apologized for bringing her here, but that didn't seem likely to happen. Still, it was enough to diffuse a bit of the anger that had been simmering beneath Luce's painted exterior. She was, again, surprised at his reaction. He didn't seem half as scary as his mother, or even close to as cold as the girls told her he would be. It gave her a little bit of hope, in that being forced to spend time in his company wouldn't be as bad as she had thought.
"Please try the food. I am sure it is different than what you are accustomed to."
Luce looked down at her empty plate with a start, she hadn't taken a bite. She was amazed when she did. The fish, though she had nothing to compare it too, was one of the best things that she had ever put into her mouth. "It's delicious."
The prince inclined his head gravely as if her opinion on fish really mattered to him.
The courses came quickly after that and Luce quickly lost count of the number of delicious things that she had tried. There were baked apples stuffed with goat cheese, roasted potatoes, thin slices of lamb carved directly off a roasting spit, two spicy chicken stews, various fresh fruits soaked in wine, and delicate little cookies that were glazed with honey and tasted of almonds. She was served deliciously cold water and wine. She felt as if her stomach was going to burst by the time that the last plate had been served. She was ready for a long nap if only someone would roll her away from the table. She stifled a burp with the back of her hand and smiled as the prince didn't bother. They hadn't talked the whole time that they had been eating.
Jonathan leaned back with a contented sigh. He raised a hand, signaling the girls to clear the reaming dishes from the table. "Well, it was nice having dinner with a girl who can actually eat as much as me. Most of you are like little sparrows, pecking away at tiny little mouthfuls."
They didn't have much to say after that, and after a few more minutes a new servant girl came to collect Luce. Jonathan stood and Luce took that as her signal to rise as well. She suppressed a groan as she got to her feet. She was painfully stuffed. Luce curtsied in front of Jonathan once again. "Thank you, Your Highness."
"Rise."
The prince's eyes swept over her face and it seemed as if he stared for just a couple of beats too long. Luce watched his expression change, hardening before he bid her goodnight. Luce turned to the servant girl and followed her out of the room, wondering if she would ever have to see the Prince again.
"Luce?"
She was startled, it was the first time that one of the servants had addressed her by name. Luce looked at her closely for a second and saw that her clothes
were just a bit finer than what the rest of the staff wore. She must have been more important. She was beautiful too. Luce realized that most of the servants who worked around the girl’s court were kind of homely. Maybe it was so that they wouldn't make the girl's court feel threatened.
"That's me,” Luce answered.
Chapter Six
Petunia
Petunia glanced at the girl sideways through her lashes. She shared her brother's hazel eyes and height, and it was blindingly apparent why she had been chosen by the queen for her son. She was a real beauty. Escorting the girls was not usually one of Petunia's duties, but she liked to see each new girl as they came in. And this time, she was even more curious than usual to see if this girl were anything like her brother.
"I am Petunia, the head servant. I am pleased to meet you, Luce Taylor."
The girl glanced down at her, startled as if she hadn't expected to be spoken to. That was common. The girls were taught to ignore the servants completely, to treat them as ghosts. Like everyone else in the palace did. She regained herself and responded, "I'm Luce, though I guess you already knew that. So, has the word of my arrival spread through this place like wildfire yet?"
Petunia smiled. "You have only just arrived and already you understand the way things are in our kingdom. Everyone is speaking of you, and more than usual because of the unexpected arrival of your brother. I can hardly get my staff to do their jobs because all they want to do is gossip about him. I caught a kitchen girl letting a pot of water boil over because she could not stop staring at him."
"Have you seen my brother? Is he alright?" Luce asked in one breath.
"I have seen him, and he is well. He is settling into the servants' quarters and he will start his new job tomorrow."
"What's his job?"
"He will be Prince Norrick's beverage server. It is quite an honor, to begin with serving our Highness."
"Is Prince Norrick like his brother? Will he be nice to Jude?"
Petunia winced inwardly. Probably not, she wanted to answer. Prince Norrick's moods could be described as capricious at best, and downright malevolent at worst. He was given to fits of temper, which he frequently took out on his personal staff. Jude would have to be both very good, and very lucky, to escape Norrick's wrath completely. But she didn't want to tell this to the girl, so she simply said, "I am sure that your brother will be well situated in his service. I can allow you to speak to him if you like."
Luce's entire face transformed, and tears welled in her eyes. "Could you really?"
Petunia nodded. "I can do it right now. I have the power of sending and receiving thoughts."
She was startled when Luce grabbed hold of her hands, but then she saw the raw desire in the girl’s eyes and thought of Jude without a moment of hesitation.
"Petunia? Is this you? Because if this is how it works it feels awfully strange," Jude said.
Petunia smiled and sent a thought back. "I have your sister with me. She wants to speak with you, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. I will connect you and step back but be aware that I will still be privy to the entire conversation."
Petunia repeated the same to Luce, who she wasn't even sure was listening so great was her excitement. Petunia roped her in as well and told them that they could begin. Already, she could feel the headache pressing in upon her. What she was doing was almost as difficult as communicating with her Uncle Bran had been.
"Luce?"
"Oh, Jude. Oh Gods, I wasn't sure how long I would have to wait to hear your voice. I miss you."
"Me too. Are they treating you okay?"
Petunia watched Luce nod her head in response as though her brother could see her, and then she seemed to realize her mistake. "Yes. I'm okay. I'm just trying to toe the line so that you don't get hurt. How are you?"
"Same. I've heard that you have better accommodations than me though. My room is like a mud cave or something."
Luce laughed. "Fair point. But did yours come with a couple of extremely bitchy girls?"
"Nope. I have an elderly gentleman who looks like he might snore."
Petunia enjoyed listening to their easy back and forth. It was certainly nothing like her family communicated. She could tell how much love they had for one another and it made her a little sad to see the two of them in this situation. She watched as Luce's smile slowly slipped away from her face to be replaced by the expression of a lost little girl.
"What are we going to do Jude?"
"Lay low. Behave. Get a lie of the land and wait for our chance."
"And if that chance never comes? If we never see each other again? I was told that I would never be allowed to leave the girl’s court, and you definitely aren't allowed in."
"I'll figure out something, Luce. We've got to make the best of our situation right now, but don't give up hope. We've come through strong before when people thought that it was impossible."
Resolve entered the girl's voice as she spoke next. "Okay. You work from your end and I'll work from mine. I love you, Jude."
"I love you too, baby sis. And thanks, Petunia, this meant a lot."
Petunia acknowledged him and then cut off contact. Her head was spiking with painful throbs. She leaned her face into her palms for a few moments and allowed her mind a brief respite.
"Are you okay?"
"I will be fine. It just causes a little bit of discomfort to connect two people."
"Thank you, for putting yourself through that for us. It might be one of the few nice things that have happened to me since I woke up here."
Petunia saw that Luce genuinely meant it, and it made the pain lessen a couple of degrees. "If there are any important things that you need to say to one another, I can do this again. But please, only if it's important."
She dropped Luce off with the other girls. She was exhausted and longed for nothing more than to lie in her own bed. As the head servant, she had her own room situated with those of the other senior servants. They all shared a small bathhouse, but it was far better than what the others used. It was set on a quiet side of the complex, as far away from the girl’s court as one could get. And she had that walk tonight of all nights when she was bone-weary with a splitting headache.
When she finally reached her tiny, but a well-kept room, she fell onto the rushes that served as her bed. Her eyes clamped shut, and she was having a dream about Jude before she knew it.
Chapter Seven
Jude
The other men in the courtyard were shooting him sidelong glances and carrying on conversations under their breath. Jude's new roommate was practically holding court in one corner, undoubtedly holding everyone rapt with tidbits about what it was like when Jude slept. It had been that way since yesterday. None of the other servants seemed to know what to make of the interloper. He was an unknown quantity and was apparently going to be regarded with suspicion until either his newness wore off, or he did something to prove himself to them. The women were the only ones who didn't seem to have hints of hostility in their gazes, and they still regarded him as a curiosity. Petunia seemed to be the only one not put off by him.
Jude didn't have much time left before he started his new job. Petunia had given, what he had begun to think of as a wave, that morning, letting him know that she would be coming for him in roughly an hour. He had roused himself from what had been an interminably long night of trying to sleep and got breakfast. It wasn't quite the eggs and bacon that he was used to at home, but the coffee was certainly stronger.
He finished rinsing out his hair and gave his head a rough shake. He was done being gawked at for the day, and he left the courtyard behind, heading into the cool earthen corridor. The temperature change made his naked flesh break out in goosebumps and he hoped that he would air dry before he got too much chillier. There hadn't really been towels to speak of out there and Jude hadn't really wanted to ask anyone.
The hallways were empty, and his roommate had risen hours before, so he had the place to himself. It
was nice to be alone, and he savored the moment. In the short time that he had been here, there hadn't been much of it. This place seemed so full of people, always and everywhere. It was a maddening crush of humanity for a man used to living with one other. The thought of Luce brought up that fluttering sense of anxiety that he always seemed to feel lately when he thought of her. He wondered how she was doing, and he hoped that she had found at least one kind person to talk to like he had.
As if his thoughts had drawn her, there was a throat-clearing from the hallway, and he turned to find Petunia waiting for him. He tugged the shapeless, rough clothing on before she got too good of a look. He didn't want to embarrass her. "Time to go?"
"Yes." She wrinkled her button nose at him,
"Thank you for allowing me to speak to Luce. Is she really okay?"
Petunia smiled. "She is. She hopes to return you home one day."
"I hope that she's not counting on me for that last part."
"I hope not, for either of your sakes. It would be foolish, to attempt any form of rescue or escape. There is no way out for either of you, so do your best with what you have now."
"That is not really making me feel any better."
"I don't know what you mean. I am only trying to warn you away from any course of action that would prove unwise. Such things should not even be discussed aloud."
Petunia shot him a severe look and he got the hint that he should drop it and continue toeing the line. Then he noticed that she had made a point of saying that he couldn't talk about things out loud, but maybe he could talk to her about them in her head. He gave her a nod to show that he understood, and he saw the set of her shoulders ease just a bit. He followed her out of the servant’s quarters and into the main palace. The difference between the two places was striking. Instead of rough walls, these were polished stone and marble. There were soft rugs everywhere, and the sweet smell of flowers pervaded the corridors. It was also much quieter.