Sovereignty and Servitude

Prologue: Girl of Unknown Origin

Dex just stared at their king blankly, but Sophie nodded, "Thank you, my king. My name is Sophie, this is my cousin Dex and his triplet siblings Bex, Lex, and Rex. Our parents names are Grady and Edaline ruin, and Juline and Kesler Dizznee. They were last in the square at Slurps' N' Burps Apothecary."

"I hope that I find them," the King gave them a warm, genuine smile before standing up, and walking to the door.

Before he left, she said, "May gnome be with you, sir."

"Thank you, I'll be back soon. No reason to worry," he smiled again before he left them alone with the other kids.

Sophie and the Dizznee kids didn't talk to the other kids, and the other kids kept to one another, but no one seemed to mind. Sophie was busy comforting the triplets, but kept glancing over at Dex, who sat by the window, watching the road to see if the King would come back. He hadn't said anything since they were running outside of their house, and it was starting to scare her, but she had to help keep the triplets calm. They eventually fell asleep, and Sophie was glad because they slept through most of the wait for their king to return.

King Alden and his men returned five hours forty five minutes and sixty seven seconds later (Sophie had counted), and King Alden returned to the nursery twenty minutes later, dressed down from his armor, in a simple tunic, pants, and boots ensemble. His head was hung low, and he knelt before the expecting children waiting for him. Sophie's heart sank, because she knew he didn't come with good news. The triplets were still asleep, so he spoke to Sophie and Dex with a heavy heart, "I'm so sorry... The battle first took place in the square... and I'm afraid your parents were caught in the crossfire. It appears that they worked to fight back, but... the ogres were stronger. It was already too late by the time I arrived... Margery Beckett identified them for  me."

Cold hard tears spilled from her eyes, and she managed to say, "Thank you for checking." She looked over at Dex, who was staring at his feet, tears running down his cheeks silently, eyes wide with horror.

"I know this is so soon to ask... but... Do you have any other family to live with? If you do, I will pay all the expenses to bring you there, I promise," asked the king, and through her own tears, she thought she could see that his eyes were shining.

Sophie looked to Dex, because she didn't have any. He shook his head no, and spoke the first words he had since the battle started, "No... my mom's parents don't talk with us, and my dad's died of Goblin Pox during the epidemic."

King Alden joined Dex in looking down at the floor for a moment, before deciding, "Then, I have an idea. You are both about thirteen, are you not?"

"Yes, your majesty," Sophie nodded, shakily taking a breath, suddenly worried about what would happen to them.

"I can offer the two of you each a job here at my palace," proposed the king, "Dex, you would be a stable hand, and Sophie, you would be a handmaid. The triplets could stay here in the nursery. I pay well, you'll have a room and meals guaranteed for all five of you... What do you say?"

Sophie looked to her cousin, and he looked back at her, but without talking, they both were on the same page, "Yes, your majesty," she smiled, "that is very kind of you. Thank you, we will gladly accept your offer." King Alden smiled, and hugged the two of them tightly.

They started the next day, and worked hard over the years. Sophie had to pretend to be a Dizznee so the five of them would stay together, and in addition to this, King Alden had taken an interest in Sophie's telekinetic abilities, and had soon discovered that she was a naturally strong telepath, but needed some training. So the king, a telepath himself, started training her in secret, twice a week when she was supposed to clean his office, where the sessions took place, with only the Queen and Dex knowing about it, the rest of the castle thinking that he just felt bad for what had happened with her parents, so he was taking special interest in her. Eventually, they discovered that her mind was impenetrable, which made the training harder, but eventually, she grew to be stronger than Alden himself! Even though their sessions ended, they still remained close.

With the call of her boss, Madelyn, Sophie snapped into reality, "Coming!" She instantly scurried to her side to find Princess Biana, who was three months pregnant, standing with her, a smile on her face.

Sophie was surprised, and curtseyed deeply, "Your highness."

"Hello, Sophie," the princess smiled warmly, her hands under her round stomach, "How are you?"

"Well, my lady, thank you. How are you? How is the baby?" Sophie asked humbly, wondering what the princess wanted from her.

"We are good, thank you," she nodded slightly, and cut to the chase. "As you may know, my lovely personal handmaid, Amaria, recently got married and moved to the capital... she has been my maid and close companion for many years, and since you are already close with my father, who, as you know, is stepping down from the throne in a few months so my older brother, Fitz, may be crowned king, I was wondering if you would like to fill the open position."

Sophie blinked, surprised, she had not been expecting this at all, "Wow... your majesty... just... wow..." She was in awe, and her mind kind of locked down a bit from shock. Out of all of the maids, Biana had asked her?

"There would be a pay raise," Biana assured her quickly, "and I know your brother Dex doesn't like my family very much... but... I wanted to check anyways to see... because... I don't know... I thought it'd be nice to get to know you... and you're good with kids... I could use some advice..." Biana almost seemed, nervous, actually, and it surprised Sophie. Sophie had always seen her as a confident, regal princess who was focused, and passionate about fashion, as well as her country. Sophie had never thought she was so close with... anyone of any class lower than noble, as Sophie had always seen her with a member of nobility or royalty, but then again, Sophie hardly saw her, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Smiling widely, Sophie curtseyed again, "Thank you, your majesty, it would be an honor."

"Really?" Biana asked excitedly, an eyebrow slightly raised. When Sophie nodded, the princess suddenly hugged her, "Oh yay! This will be so much fun! Oh my goodness! Would you and the triplets mind moving rooms? I know the one you live in now is quite small, but there's a room closer to mine that is bigger and available now that Amaria has moved out. It would make your job easier, do you mind?"

"A bigger room would be wondering, my lady, thank you!" Sophie smiled, this was like a dream come true!

Biana clapped her hands together excitedly, "Oh yay! Shall we go move things? And you don't have to use fancy titles with me unless we're at a fancy event or something, because then the press would be obnoxious about it, and personally, I don't want to deal with press drama... but otherwise, please do call me Biana."

"As you wish," Sophie gave her a questioning look before continuing, waiting until she was given a sign of encouragement, "Biana."

"Alright! Let's go!" Excitedly, Biana grabbed her hand, excused Madelyn, then determinedly waddled off, her mind clearly set, and Sophie knew that this new promotion would be interesting for sure.