The Bastard's Attendant

"Henry," Elys called out to the man that had accompanied her for the whole tour of the manor, "I am tired, can you send a maidservant to draw me a bath?"

They were walking in the corridor of the east wing, where Henry had been leading Elys to her own bedchamber. The bastard prince's attendant stopped in his tracks and lifted his head for the very first time since they became acquainted with. Henry was about to meet Elys' eyes when he shifted them away as if intentionally doing to avoid her gaze.

The odd behavior didn't get past Elys' sharp eyes, and this ticked her off all the more.

She had been on edge after regaining her consciousness. Aleksander's little trick on her wasn't something she appreciated too. The attendant's deliberate act didn't sit well with her, especially that she and Aleksander shared - if not the same level of animosity against each other – in the very least, a burning desire to get rid of one another.

Although she had come to the conclusion that she would never find any ally within the walls of the bastard prince's manor, Elys still hoped she would at least get a fairly passable treatment from the servants. She was after all, a wife now to their master. Even if the marriage was arranged against their will, the official records now had her name attached to the prince as his wife.

If she couldn't kill or get rid of the prince easily, she might as well use their marriage as a leverage to wedge herself into the vampire society. Her mind instantly began calculating her next steps, planning over the best options for her at the moment.

But it has been a long day – at least it felt like it. She never did know how long she had been out. Elys wanted to dip herself in a warm tub of scented water to relax.

If there was going to be any inside the rundown manor that she is now forced to reside in.

That wasn't much to ask considering she was by default a royalty of the West, right? Elys squared her shoulders as she spoke once more, "Look at me, Henry," she demanded.

The old man didn't want anything to do with the young prince's wife, and was deliberately doing his best not to provoke her interest, nor answer the questions that he thought weren't his place to answer. At this very moment now, it seemed that he was in a tight spot, as she had suddenly demanded for a non-existent maidservant.

Henry cleared his throat, "Your highness," he began, standing straight and meeting the former slave's serious gaze, "I am afraid that your request is a bit difficult for us - " he paused, recalling one tiny detail he got wrong, " - for me."

Elys cocked her head, unable to comprehend why he quickly changed his words. She raised an elegantly curved brow, inciting a question with only a few facial muscles. If Henry was the kind of attendant that she thought he was, he would definitely be able to take on the nonverbal cue.

The old man bowed his head and apologized once more, "Forgive me, your highness. I am the only man left serving the whole manor, as Prince Aleksander had disposed of the last blood servant who could have been your personal servant. There is no one else but me to serve the both of you, and I have not been advised to do anything for your highness by the young prince."

Elys' mouth twisted as she came to realize the reason of the unkemptness of such an old and exquisitely designed manor. There is only so much a human can achieve in a day. Even if Henry had help like he mentioned before, two people were still close to nothing compared to the size of the entire place.

"Very well," she calmly replied.

Henry was a bit baffled.

To his surprise, the slave's demeanor seemed to be a whole lot different compared to what he assumed how a slave would act. She emanated a sense of superiority with just her stern gaze. The words she spoke were definitely carefully thought of and firm without being seemingly too demanding.

It was as if she had been previously of noble descent too.

The old man bit down his tongue, holding back his urge to ask if she really used to be one. It was none of his business. And usually with nobilities, even if they had been stripped off of their status, their pride would definitely still be as high as the skies.

Even if he might be wrong, Henry must play it safe to save his own neck.

"That won't be a problem," Elys added as she waved a slim hand, "I just need the water drawn. I don't need you to bathe me, I can do that myself."

Henry considered her demand, mulling over the appropriateness of her request. And as there wasn't much of a choice for him now, the old man could only nod in agreement and opened the door to her own room while he went off to prepare her bath.

'Wow, so this is what the wife of a prince's – a bastard prince at that – bedchamber would look like,' she thought to herself as she took her first step into the room.

Elys mused over how the bedchamber looked so bare despite the elaborate gems embedded on her walls and ceilings.

There was only a simple bed in the middle. She counted one pillow for her head, and not even a bolster was provided. She wiped her hand over the bed and noted the beddings and blanket were thin too.

'What kind of living condition is this? Not even bastard prince from past monarchs of the North experienced such poor states,' Elys thought as she clicked her tongue in disappointment.

It seemed like the bastard prince was definitely ignored by his father over the crown prince, so much to the point he wasn't even supported with the servants and properties he needed.

Apparently, the snickers she heard from the maids weren't just mere gossip.

+++

A/N: 01.18.22 Internet is still unstable since the typhoon last 12.16.21. Our home still don't have electricity, but thankfully I could charge in my workplace. Thank you for your patience my dear Bloody Royals. Elys and Aleksander is finally back :)