Viola hurried through the hallways of the castle. The seasons had changed but the spring evenings were still cold. She wrapped her thin linen cloak around herself tighter.
Her head rang with Sir Malik's words. "The king has summoned you into the dining chamber."
She had not spoken to the king the entire winter, and every step she took made her more nervous as her distance to the dining hall grew shorter.
She'd helped the cook and his servants prepare some of his finest meals in preparation for a special guest. It had taken her almost all day, and she couldn't piece together why she was now being summoned.
She stopped at the large oak doors leading to the dining room, as she tried to gather all the courage in the world. She'd found comfort in the fact that the king had seemingly completely forgotten about her these past few months.
Maybe the King would be selling her to someone or he'd changed his mind about keeping her alive. She had no idea what he wanted.
She reached out and gently knocked on the wood so quietly, she secretly hoped no one would notice.
To her dismay, she heard the familiarly stern voice of the King, "Enter."
Viola lowered her head as she pushed open the door only to carefully close it again after she'd slipped in. She didn't dare look up, although it seemed odd that she couldn't hear any voices inside the dining hall.
With her eyes glued to the ground, she felt like the silence grew louder with every second. The only noise she could make out was the crackling of a fire in the fireplace.
She shuffled her weight from one foot to the other as curiosity got the better of her. She lifted her head just enough to see the dining table, which had been decked neatly and filled with a buffet of various exquisite dishes she'd only known from when she was still a princess.
She tilted her head slightly to the right to find an empty chair, before looking to the left to find King Archer who sat cross-legged on the king's chair. Her eyes briefly met his cold, observative ones as she realized he was watching her.
She lifted her head, not breaking their gaze as she realized they were alone. The King scanned her from the face to her torso, to her feet, and back up again before saying, "Sit."
Viola swallowed the urge to call him out for talking to her like a dog, as she looked around for a place to sit.
King Archer leaned his head on the back of his hand as he watched her trying to figure out where to take a seat.
Unsure if he really meant for her to sit at the table where the dishes looked like they were prepared for a noble guest, she searched his eyes briefly. Impatiently he lifted a brow, resulting in Viola walking over to the oversized chair and cautiously taking a seat on the red cushion.
After another agonizing minute of silence and King Archer staring a hole into her soul, he finally spoke. "You must be hungry."
Viola grit her teeth. Suddenly the fact that she'd been getting less to eat for the past few days seemed to make more sense.
She knew that if she ate now, she'd feel like she owed him, so she decided against it. "I am not."
King Archer lowered his brows a little. Before the next silence would fill the hall, Viola chose to simply confront the king. "Why," She tried to find the right words, "Why am I here?"
Instead of answering her, the King reached for his chalice, which he gently stirred in his hand before taking a drink. He took his time placing it back on the table before folding his hands.
"Because I want to show you what you could have if you would marry me."
A spark of anger erupted in Viola's chest. "I didn't realize that the offer was ongoing," she hissed.
"This is your last chance," Archer's serious tone, reassured her that he was being serious. More impatient. Viola watched as her deceased father's crown reflected the light of the flames in the fireplace on the head of the man that had killed him.
Without batting an eyelid Viola said, "I refuse."
In one harsh movement the King slammed his hands into the table making cutlery jump as he pushed himself into a stance. With a hostile glare, he made his way around the table directly to Viola, who tried her best to seem unfazed. Grabbing the armrest of her chair he turned the large chair she sat on to the side roughly. Placing both of his hands on either armrest he loomed over her.
"Are you sure you understand what I'm asking!?" He roared at her face which was mere centimeters away from his. Viola froze up due to his sudden aggressive demeanor as her eyes grew wider. "Do you really prefer working yourself to death within the next few winters over spending the rest of your life as a royal without any concerns!?" His loud voice echoed through the hall.
Viola opened her mouth but couldn't get out any words, as Archer went on, "Is that really all you want to be?? A worthless slave?!"
Viola tried swallowing the lump in her throat, as she gathered the courage to speak.
"I'd rather die a slave," her voice came out weaker than she'd wished, "than be yours."
A sense of déjà vu overcame Viola. The King roughly pushed himself into a stance as he glared down at her. "So then you have chosen your path," he spat before waving for her to leave him.
Viola got up from her chair and hurried past him, being relieved to leave.
As soon as King Archer heard the door close behind her he brought his fist down on the table loudly. "Damn it," he hissed under his breath.
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A few days had passed since Viola had spoken to the King. Sir Malik had since been keeping her up day and night giving her more work than usual, which she was pretty sure was at the orders of the king. He would probably do anything to make her regret her decision.
Viola's limbs hurt with every step she took toward the servant's quarters. Besides the guards, she was pretty sure that everyone in the castle was already sleeping.
As she opened the door to the room she was allowed to sleep on the floor off she could hear heavy breathing and she saw one of the maids holding a lantern over Amelie's bed. She turned to Viola with a worried look, making the former princess hurry over.
"She's burning up, and, and her breathing is uneven," the maid uttered as Viola looked at Amelie who was soaked in sweat as she was curled up tightly in her blanket. "Amelie? Can you hear me?" Viola asked as she laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. Her heart began racing. She could clearly make out the pain in Amelies scrunched up face.
Amelie's eyes were closed and there was no indication of a response. "Do you think she has the Cold Cough?" The maid asked panicked.
Viola gently stroked Amelie's arm, "Has she been coughing or throwing up?" The maid shook her head.
"I'll go get the castle's doctor," Viola said as panic began getting to her.
Before the maid could answer, Viola had already bolted out of the door and down the hall. She ignored her aching limbs as she concentrated on putting one foot before the other.
Since Viola had become a slave, she'd grown close with Amelie. She would share her food with her and try to help her with her work when she had a free minute, and Viola wasn't going to let her die.
Rushing past another corner she hurried to the royal doctors door before banging on it loudly.
"You need to wake up!" Viola shouted at the door trying to catch her breath, "It's an emergency!"
Shortly afterward a short old man yanked open the door in a hectic.
Viola didn't even give him the time to ask as she swallowed her words, "One, one of the maids, she's fallen ill and we need your help! She's not responding and her breathing is rigid."
The panic and confusion on the doctor's face from just a moment ago was quickly replaced with a condecieding glare as he narrowed his brows, wrinkling the skin between his brows.
"You dare wake me for a maid at this time of night?" His words were laced with disgust.
His heartless words left Viola speechless as the old man began closing the door again.
Desperation caused the slave to move before she thought as she caught the elder by surprise by pushing his dorm door open again.
"I, I'm sure the king would disapprove of one of his maids dying because you didn't help her. She works for him after all."
The old man gritted his teeth, "I will not risk my own health for that of a maid!" He shouted. "For all I know I'll be the one to die next because she gave me the cold cough. And that would truly trouble the king! And I do not care if you were once a princess because the fact is that you are now nothing more than a slave, so get lost before I have your head", he spat slamming the door in Viola's face.
Cursing the old man under her breath Viola's mind raced trying to figure out how she could help her friend. Just then the unthinkable crossed her mind, making her clench her firsts, before running through the castle again.
She'd have to convince the King himself. It was the only other way of getting the doctor to help Amelie that she could come up with. She had no gold or anything of value she could offer, so this was the only thing she could think off in her panic.
Having run up the stairs to the king's chambers she could barely catch her breath. She saw a knight guarding the king's dorm, which seemed to have fallen into a standing slumber, not noticing her approach.
She used the small moment she had, by running to the king's chambers and banging on the hard wooden door as hard as she could as she screamed, "YOUR HIGHNESS, WAKE UP! THERE'S SOMETHING-"
She was cut off as the guarding knight who'd now realized her noisy presence, yanked her away from the door roughly with one arm and holding her mouth shut with his other hand. She tried to continue shouting but her words were muffled by the knight's hand. "Have you got a death wish?" The knight whisper shouted, trying to keep his grip on her.
Viola tried wiggling out of his grip until she heard the chamber door unlocking only to reveal the visibly infuriated King.
"What the fuck is going on here?" He spat, only to grow more displeased when recognizing Viola.
"I don't know what got into her, I apologize, your highness," the knight muttered tightening his grip on Viola.
King Archer dismissively waved his head signaling his knight to let Viola go, resulting in her tripping and landing on her knees.
Ignoring the king's cold glare she began explaining before he could even find the words to ask. "There's a maid that is in need of medical assistance! The doctor refuses to treat her or even look at her."
She scrambled to a stance, "Please have him help her! I'm more than certain that it isn't the Cold Cough!"
King Archer lifted a brow in surprise. Crossing his arms he leaned into the door frame, making his dark blond hair hang into his face. "And why should I?"
Anger began growing in Viola's chest but she knew she had to contain it. She took a deep shaky breath and looked him straight into the dark blue eyes that showed not a smidge of empathy. "I'll do anything," she said with determination.
For a second the king's stone mask was replaced with a look of surprise before turning emotionless again.
"You," he said locking eyes with the guard without moving a muscle, "get the doctor to treat the maid on my order."
Straightening his posture the knight nodded his head, "Yes, your highness."
The feeling of relief over showered Viola, only to be quickly replaced with spite when the King looked at her again, this time with a mocking smirk. "The wedding will be held tomorrow at sunset."