Maise

Chapter 1

How tiresome. That was what seventeen-year-old Maise wanted to say, but she knew better than to do that. If she had been alone rather than with an audience, she certainly would've said it.

Maise examined the red rug that wasn't far below her crouching face. She didn't have many options other than the rug to look at. She wasn't about to look up at the person in front of her.

The bloody Queen. People didn't just call her that because of the color of her hair. The woman who had seemingly appeared out of thin air one night killed everyone in the palace. From the king to his servants, they say there wasn't a soul who survived the cruel-fated night.

The queen, however cruel was usually quiet. In her earlier days in power, she had often brought people in the palace and killed them in very harsh ways. It was done all in the means of trying to find some excitement in her dull life. After witnessing her calling so many people in only for them to never leave, there became a popular saying among the people. Once you enter the bloody queen's palace, you never return.

However, Maise knew she wouldn't be killed. She knew she was there for one reason, and that was to help cure one of her children. Her first child, who had been sick for nearly all of his life, had suddenly become much worse. The prince's only hope for survival was having a skilled physician come in.

Unfortunately for the bloody queen, all the physicians had either disappeared or slit their own throats to avoid being killed by her later. There was another physician capable of filling the role besides Maise, her father, but the queen had killed him years ago, so now there was only one person left with any hope of curing her deteriorating son: the capable man's even more capable daughter.

Maise knew the responsibility fell on her. Whether she liked it or not, she couldn't run away. She was in the tiger's den now with no escape in sight.

Still, to call in the daughter of the man she murdered and order that said daughter to help her, Maise had no idea what the bloody queen was thinking. She questioned whether the woman had any ounce of sanity left in her.

"Maise." The moment she heard the queen say her name, her head shot up. "That's your name, right?"

Once again, Maise found herself lowering her head to look at the red rug beneath her as she answered slowly, "Yes, your majesty."

The queen examined Maise with her imitating red-like eyes. Nobody questioned the color of them; they rather believed it was justified by her murderous past. "I've heard rumors about you." The queen perched her hand under her chin as she asked, "Are they true?"

Maise slowly began to lift her head again. It was true that she was nothing short of a genius when it came to medical practice among her peers, but she wondered if there was an answer she should give. One that would allow for her safe escape.

"Are you or are you not a proficient physician?" The queen's tone was cold until Maise's hesitance to answer quickly enraged her. "Answer me!" she shouted. "Are you or are you not the one of the rumors?"

Maise sighed heavily; there was no getting out of this now. "Yes, your majesty. The one of the rumors is me. However, I've only employed the things I've been taught by my father, no one is better than he was."
She hoped by saying that last part, it would strike a nerve in the queen's heart, but she also knew better than to think anything she said would have an effect on her.

"Yes," said the queen slowly. "H. Ward. Looking at you with him in mind, you don't really resemble him much."

Maise was well aware that she did not resemble her father. When he was alive, he was known as a very kind and generous man. He had long chocolate brown hair, which he kept tied up in a ribbon, and pure green eyes that resembled a kind meadow. His stature was tall and lanky.

Maise could admit that she had her father's stature, but not much other than that. She had curly-like golden hair that rested near her shoulders and blue eyes that resembled sapphires.

After observing her for a moment, the queen added, "I will say that you have that same look in your eyes as he once did."

Maise was surprised to hear such a thing.

"He, too, had those eyes, eyes that made it seem like he was better than I was. That he could escape at any time he wanted." She quickly pointed a sharp, long-nailed finger at her. "But make no mistake! Before you go and get any ideas in your head remember that whether you have those invincible seeming eyes or not, you will meet the same fate he did if you ever try to escape from here."

The queen might have said a whole lot more had her guards not entered the room. "As you are aware, the only reason I brought you here was so you could manage the health of my son, as well as the rest of my family."

Maise suddenly found herself being pulled to her feet by one of the guards. He kept a tight grip on her arm as he slowly dragged her towards the doors. All the while, she could still hear the queen's voice. "You'll meet a maid outside who will show you where you will be staying during your time here."

The guard dragging Maise by the arm slowly began to open the door. The bright sunlight nearly blinded her. The moment she shut her eyes, the queen's voice sounded even more intimidating.

"And it goes without saying, but if you make a mistake or fail to do your job properly at all, even once, you'll be seeing your father much sooner than you think."

Maise wanted to point out the redundancy in the queen's statement but knew her head may go flying if she were to do that, so she kept her mouth shut and turned her head towards the blinding sunlight.

As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a maid standing inches away. She had orange hair pulled back into a bun and kind dark eyes. She looked to be Maise's age, maybe a little younger. After staring at the girl for a while, the first thing Maise did was question the girl about her age.

The girl gave a kind smile as she answered in a loud voice, "I'm fifteen, ma'am."

"Fifteen, huh?" Maise replied. She wondered why such a young girl was working in the palace as a maid. Her curiosity didn't last long once she remembered what the queen was like.

"I'll escort you to your room now, ma'am," said the girl in her unwavering cheerful voice.

"Okay," Maise responded. She wondered what could be keeping the girl so cheerful in her harsh environment.

The girl led Maise around the palace to a secluded area. "Here's your room, ma'am!"
The young maid opened the door to reveal a room that was barely ten feet wide. There was a small window and a bed below it and a relatively large dresser placed up against the wall.

"Do you like it, ma'am?" asked the girl.

Looking around at the shabby room amused Maise. She had to try hard to keep a laugh from escaping. "Yeah, it's fine." She turned to the girl slowly. "Also, you don't have to keep calling me ma'am."

"Okay, ma'am!" grinned the girl.

"My name's Maise."

"I'm Penelope!"

Maise returned Penelope's smile. "It's nice to meet you, Penelope."

"You too, Maise!"

Penelope glanced over at Maise's hands. "Don't you have any luggage with you?"

"Nope."

"Oh."

The two girls stood staring awkwardly at each other in silence.

"Well. . . then Maise. . . would you like a tour of the palace?"

"Maybe later."

Penelope nodded and excused herself. Maise watched as she shut her door. In the room that was being filled with silence, Maise walked over to her new bed and sat down on it.

She let out a loud sigh. "Serving as a physician for the royal family, huh? The very ones who killed my father." Maise looked out the window. "There's no chance of escaping from here either, is there?"

Maise fell back on her bed. She felt annoyed that it was so comfortable. "No chance of escaping," she repeated. She looked up at the bland wooden ceiling. "We'll see about that."