Kings Obsession

Life in the Castle

(Alice)

I cried quietly now knowing why the king brought me here.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay." The old woman said as she walked over and hugged me. "Come with me I will show you to your room, and get you into proper clothing. The king wants you to start working right away."

She pulled away from the hug and started walking towards another door at the other side of the kitchen. I couldn't find my voice to speak so I slowly followed her.
She opened the door to walk down a hallway that had doors on each side all the way down the end.

"Everyone gets their own room, boys on the left and girls on the right. You are expected to wake up and get ready for work when the first morning bells ring. You will bring the king his breakfast every morning and when you do...you do not speak unless spoken to, do not make eye contact with him unless he is talking to you." She said in a serious voice, I slowly nodded.
"You will do whatever he tells you without question, doing his laundry, keeping his bed chambers clean, bringing his meals to him on time and..." She sighed and looked at me with a sad face. "He's only done this once a long time ago but," she hesitated slightly "he may ask you to satisfy his needs."

I gasped and shook my head rapidly.

"You must, it is your job to keep him happy and if he wants you to do so then that's what you must do."

"N-no I can't, please I don't want to be here, I want to go back home!" I cried.

"Never say that again especially in front of the king. Do not cry, he hates crying. This is you're life now, there is no leaving, trust me no one gets out and even if they do the guards will hunt them down and kill them. That's what happened to the kings last personal servant."

"What do you mean?" I asked shaking in fear.

"It was about three years ago, the girl who served the king was cleaning his chambers before the king returned from meetings he was having. He returned to his chambers early, he wanted to bed the girl but she got scared and refused him. It made him very angry, he tied her so she could not fight and then used her for his needs. I don't know how but she got free from the ropes, she was foolish enough to attack him and try to run. I woke up when I heard her screams and rushed out of my room to help her but when I saw that she was running from the king I returned to my room. I could be of no help to her. She was about to leave the castle but he came up behind her and slit her throat with his dagger." The old woman had tears in her eyes.
"By then all the servants were out of their rooms watching. The king turned around with blood all over his face but he did not seem to care.

'This is what happens to those who do not follow orders or try to escape the castle!' He yelled before he stormed off leaving us to clean up the blood and body."

Tears continued to fall from my eyes. I don't want to be his servant and I definitely don't want to be bedded by him either! I have seen what an unclothed man looks like but it was all by accident. I was helping the farmers unharness the big draft horse after plowing the fields.  I was bringing the horse back to the barn and when I opened the door I saw a boy and a girl completely unclothed, the boy was on top of the girl, they were moaning and rolling in the hay until the girl saw me. She pushed the boy off of her. I saw exactly what was happening with their bodies and it looked painful for the girl! They both grabbed their clothes and ran out the back door of the barn leaving me there in complete shock and disgust.
There's no way I am going to let the king do that to me!

"Please there has to be a way to escape. Please help me." I begged but the old woman just wiped away her tears and opened a door on the right side of the hallway.

"This is your room, quickly get dressed in one of the dresses in the closet. The king is excepting you to bring his dinner in a few minutes so hurry please. It's never good to upset him." She said and pushed me into the room before closing the door.

I looked around the small room. There was a small bed, a closet and a chair in the corner with a small table that had a candle that was the only light source in the room. The room had no windows. I walked over to the closet and opened it, there were several long servant dresses that were brown or gray colored with long sleeves. Each one had an apron with it.

I picked a brown one, quickly putting it on. It was a little tight and showed the curves of my body. It made me feel very uncomfortable.

I hurried off to the kitchen where the old woman was waiting for me.

"You need to have you're hair up as well." She said as she walked behind me and put my long brown hair up in a tight bun.

"I will show you the way to the kings chambers, he prefers to eat his meals there where he can continue his paper work while eating. You will be bringing his dinner to him at this time every day."

She handed me a silver tray with really expensive looking dishes that had chicken, potatoes, and veggies on it. The old woman lead me down the same hall the king had dragged me down earlier until we reached a big door. Opening the door to a huge room with a big red carpet and white walls. On the other side of the room was a throne and behind it a grand stair case. The royal throne room.

After passing the throne we continued up the stairs before we reached a long hallway with paintings of kings, queens and other royals hanging on the walls.
We stopped in front of two big white doors.

"Knock on the door." The woman said, I did softly.

"Enter." The kings voice said on the other side.

"When you go in sit the tray down on the table he's sitting at." The woman whispered quickly to me.

I nodded, opened the door and walked into the most beautiful room I have ever seen.

The room was a blood red with a grand white fire place, a large bed and a big window overlooking the ocean. The king was sitting behind a decorative oak table studying some papers. He was wearing a black trousers and a black shirt covered by a black robe with gold stitching and red rubies at the collar. His intense stare gaze me suddenly feel more I'll then I already felt. I am serving dinner to the man that ordered the murder of my mother only hours ago.

Avoiding eye contact I slowly walked up to the table and gently put the tray of food down before turning to walk out of the room.
"Wait." His strong voice said making me stop right away.

I slowly turned to face him keeping my eyes to the floor. Rising he walked around the table until he stood in front of me. My body started to shake, I tried desperately to calm myself but failed.

"Tell me your name?"

I hesitated before speaking.
"Alice, my lord." I answered, a single tear streaked down my face.
No! oh no! 'He hates crying.' The old woman's voice echoed in my head.

The king brought his hand to gently wiped my tear away with his thumb.

"You do not have to be afraid Alice." He whispered.

I nodded still keeping eyes to the floor not trying to break down in tears while I shook with fear. He was standing  too close to me, I wanted to move away but what if it angered him? Would he punish me, harm me in some way, or maybe kill me? He just stared at me showing no emotion.

"You are dismissed....Alice." He said as he slowly turned to go back to his meal.
I quickly turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind me, a sigh of relief escaping my lips at the closing of the door.

The old woman still waited where I had left her with her worn face giving a smile that said well done.
"You did good, tomorrow morning you will bring his breakfast and make his bed."
I looked down and nodded.

She brought me back to the kitchen where I was given one small bit of chicken with a hunk of bread before being sent to my room for the night

Once I was in my room I could not hold my emotions in any longer. I dropped to my knees sobbing, until I had no more tears left to cry. Finally rising I tugged on the night clothes given to me, climbing into the small hard cot with only one single thought in my mind. How will i ever escape this hell?