19 Lunch with the King

The next day, the representative from the shop came to the palace and by some miracle had a ready-made dress that the lady reluctantly said she liked. We all felt a huge weight lifted off our shoulders and rushed to get the final budget together and turn it in. From there, it was simple and tedious preparations 'til the big day. Everyone could tell that Lady Refference was on edge, but no one was stupid enough to point it out or make mentions of it. Though it was hard to ignore when she had made everyone redo their jobs at least twice. We had to fix her make-up and hair five times before she was satisfied, which still might be a stretch considering every time her reflection was made apparent through a mirror or dish, she checked whether she looked as perfect as she needed to be before messing with it in some way.

I hope she won't be this nervous every time she meets the King.

Soon enough, the time for the event came, and we had plated all the horderves while tying ribbons and bows throughout the planned walk through area. As the afternoon drew closer, the servants all got in their places throughout the garden and near the table before the date had officially started. Since Jeff and Emily were more experienced than me, they were in charge of following behind the lady and the King and taking care of anything they might need along the way. Personally, I thought I was given the worst possible place: right in front of all the horderves. I stared, wanting nothing more than to have a bite of the little sandwiches and cakes. However, I held back and constantly reminded myself that dinner was only a little bit away.

As planned, the King came and was greeted by Lady Refference. The King complimented the Lady's dress, which I mentally noted to thank him for should I ever meet him again. Whether or not he noticed my presence was unknown, but if he did, he definitely ignored it— another thing I was ultimately thankful for. At the very least, my mistake wouldn't wrongly impact my lady's date. Everything else that happened followed the itinerary they had to the dot. They both went on a short walk, chatted, and lastly made a stop for the orderves that were waiting for them at the end. The King wasn't smiling, so I wasn't sure if he was enjoying himself, but no one was dead, so I considered it a win for Lady Reference. After he went back to the palace, the only other thing left to do was to clean up the mess that was now the garden. We spent the next hour or so collecting all the decorations that were used on the shrubs and bushes before taking down the tables and returning the orderves to the kitchen. The event had a relatively peaceful end, and I returned to my regular schedule of cleaning and helping out around the castle. It wasn't until later that week that anything significant happened.

"The King requests your presence immediately," the guards stated. I blinked a couple times wondering if I even heard the statement right.

"The King wants to see me?" I asked, pointing to myself to clarify that it was me and not any of the other non-existent people in the room.

"Yes," They said stiffly, somewhat intimidating in their decked out armor.

"...Ok," I said wearily, following them to the dining room. My steps were hesitant as I slipped into the doorway, looking around. I clung to the duster still in my hand as if it was going to protect me against anything. I saw Sophia sitting on the other end of a table full of food, seeing dishes that I knew she'd told me she'd wanted to try.

Oh, she followed my advice.

"Eleana," I heard the king command. I turned my head in his direction, quickly scuttering over to make sure I was in his view. His voice had set off countless alarms in my head, the low tone signaling he was anything but happy.

"Yes, Your Highness," I returned, curtsying.

"Lady Sophia here said that you didn't bring an escort with you on your trip outside the palace recently," he stated bitterly.

"...Yes, Your Highness," I stated.

"That sounds quite odd considering that I remember explicitly telling you to take an escort with you before you left," he said. I remembered our conversation outside in the hallway, making me wince.

"I'd love to hear your reasoning for disobeying words straight from the King," he said.

Sophia looked worried, frightened even.

She must've told him unknowingly.

"I did try to get an escort, Your Majesty. I was just told that single day excursions don't require them, so I didn't feel the need to push further. I thought-"

"Even so," he interrupted, " I, the king, told you it was required. Last I checked, my word has more importance than a guard. You should've told him that the king ordered it. If you did, you wouldn't have gotten into the trouble that Lady Sophia has just informed me of. Speaking of which, I am astounded by the lack of investigation or report on the matter," he said, pointedly around the room, getting increasingly angrier the more he spoke. I kneeled on the floor, bowing my head low.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I should've listened to what you said regardless. And you're absolutely correct, I wouldn't have gotten into the trouble I did if I had," I said, speaking clearly but sincerely.

"You think I'll spare you with a meager apology?" He asked.

He's furious.

"I… Please, forgive me, Your majesty. If there's anything you would like me to do to make it up to you, just say the word. " I tried, hoping that at the least, I could escape death.

"Like a maid could do anything to make it up to a king," he spat bitterly.

"Your Majesty," Lady Sophia stepped in, "I'm sure she meant no harm and was simply confused."

"Confused? About what exactly?" he shot back.

"Your Highness," I called. He looked over, raising an eyebrow to hear what I had to say while holding a firm frown on his lips.

"If it will appease your anger," I started cautiously, feeling my stomach clench at my next thought, "punish me as you will."

"Eleana!" Sophia called out, about to step in once again, but stopping when our gazes met and I shook my head.

The King stared at my figure for a moment, his jaw and fists clenching. We were silent as we waited for his decree.

"You're banned from leaving the palace. Indefinitely. The only way you'll be leaving is by an imperial decree," he stated.

I breathed a silent sigh of relief, closing my eyes for a moment.

"Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness," I said, lowering my head to the floor.

He looked away, glaring to the side.

"Get out," he ordered.

I stood up, bowing instead of curtsying, before making my way out of the dining room.

"I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite, Your Majesty. Can I be excused?" Sophia asked quickly. The King waved her off and Sophia sped walked to catch up to me outside the room, leaving the king to his thoughts.

"Eleana, I'm so sorry. I had just mentioned you getting trapped in passing. I had no clue you would get in trouble over it," She said, walking with me while looking at me with apologetic eyes.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Sophia. I was the one who didn't bring the guard, and you didn't even know the King said anything to me," I reassured.

"Still, if I just didn't say anything, then you would've been fine," she continues, lowering her voice in dejection.

"I am fine," I stated, "Not being able to leave the palace is much better than an execution block. I'm lucky he didn't label me for treason for disobeying his orders, whether I was confused or not."

"If the King really ordered you to bring an escort, why didn't you?"

"Well, he didn't necessarily order me to. He just said that it was required for commoners regardless, but when I went to the guard office to get one, they said escorts weren't required for one-day trips, so I figured it was fine. I should've just told them the King said to bring one," I explained.

"...I'm sorry you're banned from leaving, Eleana. Maybe we can find a way for the King to allow you to go again," she said.

"Even if we could, it definitely won't be anytime soon. It's fine really. The fact that the King didn't kill me was extremely merciful on his part. Thank you for trying to step up for me too," I said, giving gratitude in the end.

"Of course. If he gave you anything worse as a punishment, I would have stepped in further for sure," she said.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to eat the food you wanted," I apologized, knowing she was probably looking forward to it.

"Pshh," she waved off. "Please, I can just try it some other time if I get the chance," She said.

"But what about your date? I doubt he'll pass you after this. I feel so bad I ruined it for you," I said.

"You're just saying that I'll get to work with you instead as a maid. I see no down side. Remember we made the date into a win-win situation anyways," she reminded.

"...I guess," I said. She grabbed my arm, hugging from the side.

"It's fine. Why don't we go have some tea and take a break? Then you can get back to whatever you were doing before this fiasco began," she suggested.

"Yeah, that would be nice."