I care for you.
Why can't his words leave me be already, Beatrice thought, stirring the food in her plate, they're just meaningless anyways. I don't care about him – I couldn't! I'd get fired, my life ruined, my family brought to shame. He's royalty, and I'm from the lowest class. That should be reason enough.
As Beatrice consumed herself with her thoughts, Christina spotted her. She slowly made her way to the table, sitting down.
"Hard day?" Christina asked slowly.
Beatrice glanced up and forced a smile. "Just deep in thought."
Christina nodded. "Are you planning anything for tonight?"
She shook her head. "I think I would much rather prefer being alone in my bedroom."
Christina sighed. "Don't get so hung up in there. You should explore the castle - these walls have many things to offer."
Reluctantly, Christina left her best friend alone. She looked back, knowing something had to be wrong for her to behave this way, but deemed that she would prefer to be left alone than talk.
Knowing there was no future in finishing her food for the night, Beatrice stood and walked over to the bin. She placed the tray on the cart and stopped at the familiarity of the servant beside her - Tori.
"Hello, Tori," Beatrice greeted.
Tori grunted beside her, looking up momentarily as she placed the tray on the cart. Beatrice furrowed her brows at the sight of her wearing sunglasses. Sunglasses in the basement? How odd.
"Are you alright?" Beatrice asked, reaching for Tori's shoulder to turn her around.
Tori gasped and grabbed Beatrice's wrist, shocking her. Beatrice gasped, her eyes wide at how violent the situation had gotten so suddenly. Tori's sunglasses fell to the tip of her nose, revealing a large bruise surrounding her eye.
Beatrice felt fear instill in her as she let go of Tori. She followed her persistently down the hall, pausing to notice she had gone into the storage room.
Too large of a coincidence for Tori to have a black eye after I had thrown a punch at my assailant. Her grab was eerily similar to the same hand from the storage, Beatrice thought to herself as she entered the dark storage room.
"Why are you following me?" Tori snapped.
"Take off your sunglasses!" Beatrice snapped back.
With a sneaky smile, Tori pulled off her sunglasses, tossing them at Beatrice's feet. "Happy?" when she didn't get an answer, Tori continued, "I never expect you to give me a black eye."
Beatrice stared in anger at her revealed attacker. She wanted to give her another black eye and report her for the attack, but instead, she stood there listening.
"If you're willing to cooperate, I'd like to take you somewhere," Tori said slowly, circling Beatrice.
"You expect me to follow you after you attack me?" Beatrice looked down at her hands and remembered how she had felt when her knuckles collided with a human face. "You forced me to hurt a person. I've never hurt anyone before."
Tori stopped circling as she looked up at the not-so-weak girl in front of her. "Your reflexes are admirable, then."
"What? That's not the-"
"Shut up and follow me," Tori interrupted and motioned her to follow. Reluctantly, Beatrice followed, grabbing a stick on the way for protection.
They walked to the end of the cleaning supplies storage. There, Tori moved a sliding door and stepped inside, disappearing from sight.
Beatrice, confused, tightened her grip on the stick and followed Tori inside. It was dark for a few seconds before a light bulb flashed on.
Tori opened a door, leading to an empty room with three chairs. Before she had time to ask, Tori's hands were wrapped anew around Beatrice in a hold, dragging her toward one of the chairs. Beatrice attempted to protest but was thrown instead into the confines of the chair. She tried to lunge out, but Tori seemed stronger today.
Tori strapped Beatrice to the chair, securing her against it.
"What are you doing?!" Beatrice demanded. "Tell me where I am!"
Ignoring her, Tori reached for a device from a nearby table, bringing it to her mouth. "Matthew, I need you in here."
"On my way." A voice from the device spoke.
Completely confused, Beatrice sat in one of the chairs as a man walked into the room.
A young man walked in, looking around his surroundings. He spotted Beatrice and slowly approached her, eyeing the woman strapped in the chair.
He glanced at Tori. "Is this some kind of joke?"
Tori shook her head. "Not at all. I am certain she will make a valuable asset to the coalition."
He nodded slowly. "Have you told her anything?"
"No, she hasn't," Beatrice replied as Tori stood in the corner of the room.
Matthew glanced at Beatrice briefly before sitting down at a table nearby. Tori walked over and handed him a yellow foldier, standing over his shoulder. He opened the folder carefully, skimming over its contents.
"Beatrice Prior?"
"How do you know that?"
He chuckled as he read through the papers in the folder. "You have acquired a rather important position in the castle, Beatrice," he glanced at her. "Servant to the crown prince. Do you understand how valuable you are?"
Beatrice cringed and shook her head. "I fear you have the wrong idea; I'm only a servant who cleans his bedroom twice a day! Nothing more!"
"Nonsense," he assured. He sighed and closed the folder, standing with his hands behind his back. "Have you not noticed how the royals treat their servants? As they were mere objects who serve an only purpose to cater to their every need."
Beatrice faltered at his words.
"However, that purpose need not waste away," Matthew continued. "You see, because the servants are treated like vermin, the royals seem comfortable enough to speak of business in front of them," he smiled. "Do you think the King would turn away his Page Boy during a meeting? Of course not; he does not see him as an equal."
Tori stepped forward. "The same goes for servants like you and I. The royals stay in their chambers and sputter away talks of treaties and waging wars in front of their staff because they can not even comprehend the idea they might share the same intelligence in understanding such complex notions."
"This discrimination is incredibly useful," Matthew urged. "You see, while the servants reside in the presence of the royals, they are able to acquire information. Information, that is very valuable to me and our organization."
"Organization?" Beatrice finally spoke.
"A secret organization known as the Royalty Protection Program," he explained.
Beatrice looked at the man incredulously.
Surely he must be joking.
She looked down at her restraints and burst into laughter. "Ah, okay, this is a joke!" she strained against the rope in an attempt to escape. "A sick joke!"
"I assure you I am being serious," Matthew replied.
"Do you understand how crazy you sound?" Beatrice scoffed. "You're asking me to become a secret agent for a secret organization that protects royalty. That doesn't make sense!"
"The protection of the royal families does not make sense to you, Beatrice Prior?" Matthew asked with a sly smile.
She stuttered at his question and shook her head profusely, refusing such a claim. "Why are you here? Are they in danger?"
Matthew nodded, turning the yellow folder around to show portraits of people to her. "Emperor Eric is creating an army alongside his Lieutenant, Peter, to assassinate the king and queen, along with everyone else in the castle. Every single life is at risk now, including yours, and you can help fight."
"You want me to fight?" Beatrice asked, to which Matthew nodded. She sighed, closing her eyes to try and wrap her head around the situation at hand. "What if I decline? I just walk out of here knowing there's a secret organization in the basement of the castle?"
"Of course not, we would obviously erase your memory."
She gulped, wondering how many people had been approached and had declined only to have their memory wiped.
"If the war is imminent as you claim, then why not approach the King and Queen directly? Why go around them and form a protection army?" She asked.
"Unfortunately, although it may not seem the case, royals do not have the capacity to understand how serious certain situations are," he sighed. "Especially the current King; Marcus will surely take the opportunity to wage an immediate war, disregarding the thousands of lives of servants he would take away in the process."
"So the protection program is more than just for royals; you aim to protect the well being of those who serve them as well," She concluded.
"Exactly," he nodded. "Although, a Servant Protection Program would fail instantly; people prefer to believe in defending royalty rather than their own peers. A mere consequence of living in a society where they are taught to value their lives as lesser than the royals."
She took a deep breath. "By accepting this job, I become a secret agent, preparing to fight in a war no one is aware of except the two of you. Correct?"
Matthew nodded, standing from his chair and collecting the pictures back into the folder. "Yes, along with the hundreds of trained soldiers training and the new recruits Tori is collecting. You will all be sworn to secrecy."
Tori finally stepped forward. "You will gradually learn to fight, but your main asset to the organization is to infiltrate information you can gather while you are in the prince's chamber. Do you understand?"
"You have to understand what you're making me choose," Beatrice replied, panic washing over her. "You're asking me to live a double life. How can I look at the people I serve, knowing that their lives are in my hand?"
With crossed arms, Tori approached Beatrice. She crouched beside her. "The choice is yours," She sighed and looked away. "We would not be persistent if we were not desperate."
Beatrice looked away herself. She glanced towards the door, certain she could make a break for it.
Perhaps wiping my memory is a good thing - I could forget about the moments between the prince and I as well, Beatrice bartered with herself, but such thoughts only made her decision increasingly more difficult. If the prince is in trouble, I should do my best to protect him.
"I know it is a hard decision," Tori continued, dragging a chair and sitting beside Beatrice. "It is hard to protect the people who continuously take from you and your family. It is hard to protect the people who live lavishly while you clean and cook and serve them. It is incredibly unfair."
Beatrice looked up at her. "It is unfair," she agreed.
Tori nodded, standing from her chair. She turned around and would have gotten the memory serum had she not been stopped.
"But," Beatrice called out, forcing Tori to turn back around. "They are still people. And even if the royals abuse their rank when it comes to their staff, the servants deserve equal protection."
Matthew appeared once more, in his hand an diamond shaped object. "Is that a yes?"
Natalie and Andrew Prior had always taught their children the importance of selfless values. To help others. To put everyone else before oneself. Yet, they had also taught their children to feel no pity toward the Royal Family.
With careful thinking, Beatrice looked up at her new second employer. "Yes. I'll do it."
Tori smiled smugly, bending over to untie her newest recruit. Matthew handed Beatrice a badge that had her name etched onto it. She smiled and took it, stuffing it into the pocket of her apron.
A fire burned in her eyes that day; a fire that she would never forget.