♜
my father truly had prepared me for every single different letter i could have gotten. he had taught me to climb, fight, flee and anything else useful for survival.
i remembered once where we went on a day trip to a market and he left me by the gates. told me to wait for him until he got back but he never did. he went home, and i quickly realized that i had to find my way home by myself.
memory was the at most important thing to have, living where we did. he had always told me that.
but the castle was not anything like the woods.
every turn i took lead me back down the same halls. every staircase i took downwards seemed to lead upwards. this entire place was nothing less than a maze, and i expect that to have been thought into the whole construction. if the impossible were to happen, and enemies entered, they would their sense of left or right and would get lost in the matter of minutes.
i stopped by the staircase, trying to decide what to do. where do i go? i had no idea how far i had moved from the room i had woken up in, but it wasn't even a question that mercer and nathaniel knew their way around. they would find me soon enough if i didn't hide or find a way out.
luckily, however, most guards and staff were asleep, so they were most likely on their own. two against one.
if i had to say it myself, i had done pretty well with twenty wolves just behind me earlier on. i had made it far before they caught up. so, my odds surely showed better this time.
deciding to just follow the stairs down until i couldn't go further, i soon found myself in the basement. at least, in my own guess. three halls in four directions but only one closely resembled the halls upstairs.
all the doors had signs and titles above, which made it easier to figure out where i was. service quarters. every single person working in the castle had a room here.
they seemed to be two people in each room, so i continued down until i found a sign with only one name, and the other one crossed out. dead, probably. as mentioned, your letter was your life and your life didn't stop until your heartbeat did. my stomach twisted only the slighest bit as i stared at the sign for just a moment too long. i hated this mountain.
"perfect," i whisper to myself, quietly pushing the door open, before giving a quick glance to my outfit. a plain dress that had been white at the beginning of the day, but had taken on quite the battle which was clearly visible. my socks were also long, still white enough, and my hair was messy, but it could have looked worse.
"harry?" a voice calls out.
i quickly step in, closing the door behind me. my eyes had had enough time to adjust to the darkness to notice a lamp sitting on a side table by the door. i light one of the matches next to it, before lighting up it up. the flame catches on quickly, and i spot the server to my left.
"not exactly," i reply, as light grows in the room.
i notice the shook on her face before she can hide it, as she makes eye contact with me.
she's laying in bed, not exactly dressed for sleeping. her hair is tied back with an elastic at the back of her neck, i notice trying to keep myself from seeing just how little clothes she has on. she quickly covers up, hiding her body beneath the sheets.
"you're expecting company, i assume." i speak, testing the waters. how easy is this girl to scare?
"no, i-" she stutters. "it's forbidden, i'm aware. i-"
"i'll keep quiet," i smile. at least, i'm not the only person in the wrong place currently.
"thank you,"
"but i will need for you to do the same for me." i speak, quickly roaming through the room. the empty bed on the other of the room still had covers on the pillow and sheets, meaning the other girl has recently 'left'.
"i need to resemble a server." i mumble out-loud, triggering a response.
"you are not a server?"
"far from," a short chuckle leaves my lips as i open the single door to the closet they probably shared. "i'll keep your secret, and you'll keep mine."
"what exactly is your secret?"
"i would be the secret, i suppose. all i need for you to do is show me the way out of this castle in the morning," i spoke up, running my fingers over the folded clothes on each shelf. there wasn't much, and it all seemed to resemble the piece before. same size, same colour, even shade.
"who-" she paused, as if biting her own tongue to stop herself. "i wouldn't want you to ask me any questions, so i'll stop. do you need a maid's attire?"
i smiled to myself. my luck must be turning. "yes, thank you."
"top shelf to the right."
i reached up, following her orders, grabbing onto a black dress that i prayed would fit. holding it out in front, i quickly ran over the few details. it had a dark grey rim at the bottom that had been sewn in under the black skirt. at the top where the black cut, at the spot where you would display a necklace, part of a dress shirt had been sewn onto, giving the neck of the dress a high collar.
i folded the dress back up and placed it on a stool that stood in the corner. i would leave in the morning before they started looking for me again, even if they were.
at least, that had been my plan for the last minute or so.
suddenly, a knock sounded on our door. a firm knock that loudly announced that someone was expecting us to open.
"will you open?" the girl asked. i turned my head, about to argue that i would rather have no one even notice me, but as i set my eyes on hear, i suddenly realized why she had asked.
"of course," i replied, quickly making my way to the door.
wrapping my hands around the knob, i turned it, the door opening slowly. i peeked my head around the frame, meeting an unfamiliar face. it was a woman, a lower bun having been made at the back of her neck pulling her wrinkles out due to the tightness of it. her eyes were dark, her attire a bit different than the one i had found in the closet, but not much.
"we have a situation. all servers are expected to gather in the assembly hall in ten minutes, nothing less." she spoke up, not waiting for me to reply before she moved on, knocking on the next door, seemingly having forgotten that i even existed.
i turned around, a deep frown on my face, as the door fell closed behind me.
"as if tonight wasn't chaotic enough," the girl mumbles to herself as she wraps the sheets around herself, before making her way to the closet. "all servers have been running around preparing for the festival of lights during these days," she tells me, perhaps forgetting that i didn't ask. "as if did the festival not pressure us enough, the ball was then suddenly, pushed into the calendar as well," she chuckles to herself tying a knot in the fabric to secure it. she then releases it in her hands before she pulls out two pairs of white socks, two pairs of black ballerina shoes and a necklace.
"here," she opens the lock on the necklace, placing it around my neck before securing it. "every maid has one. it's the only thing unique about you in here." she tells me before continuing on how to put on the items that make out the outfit properly, as i nod along.
only two faces in this entire castle would be able to recognise my own, but looking like hundreds of other serves still helped significantly.
"what ball?" i ask, having found a seat on the bed opposite hers.
"the settlement ball for the queen," she smiles, meeting my eyes. "you aren't from here, are you?"
"who is harry?" i say, leaning back.
she nods, sticking her head back into the closet. "a secret, i get it," she mumbles. "the settlement ball is only held when a queen starts her reign, and according to this year's letters, the queen has been found."
i take a minute to swallow her words. the king had already reigned for almost two years at this point. i hadn't thought that the royals followed the same principles as us, especially when something like this could happen: the king waiting two years for his queen to turn of age for her mark and place in society.
then, my mind takes a different turn. nathaniel had said that i had been wearing 'the king's mark.' i swallowed hard.
"what mark do you bear?" my head jerks up.
"what do you mean? my server's mark?" she questions, as she sits on her bed, putting on her stockings.
"yes, what element is it?"
"none," she chuckles. "it's a server's mark," she frowns, seemingly confused as how i do not know this. she then twists her neck, pulling her hair to the side and i feel like sighing out loud.
the royal vector is melted into her skin in the form of her mark. in our religion, the royal mark is represented by two branches with leaves together forming a circle that isn't complete.
"the royal mark," i say, feeling how my heart had begun by beating heavily. "the king's mark,"
"oh no, the king's mark would be..." i cut her off, getting off the bed. enough time wasted.
"we need to leave," i say, quickly, pulling on the pair of shoes i'm missing as the last piece to the outfit. "do you know what is happening?" i then ask.
"it almost never happens anymore." the girl speaks, shaking her head as she corrects my collar. "you need to stand up straight and remember your place in the chain. you need to show the at-most respect for whoever you pass not wearing this uniform, and you won't have it returned."
"that sounds horrible," i say, receiving a single nod.
"better than the outer-ring, however." she replies, and i have to give her that one.
the assembly hall was completely quiet, if you looked aside from the low buzzing of whispers amongst the servers. no one knew anything, meaning only questions were found, not answers, as we all awaited for someone to speak up.
"bexley," the girl whispered as we had found a spot in the crowd. she had glanced to me the second she spoke, but turned her head back to starring straight forward the second she finished.
"i'm sorry?" i reply, not catching the word, or the meaning.
"i'm bexley," she smiles.
"ma-" i pause for a moment, wondering if saying my name would cause problems. "grey," i say.
"grey? that's your actual name?"
"nickname."
"not exactly a good one. what do your parents call you?"
i think for a second. "grey."
"siblings?"
"grey."
"how about a love interest? if you've had one, of course."
i glance to her, meeting her eyes as she shrugs. if you had ever had one, you should keep quiet about it.
"mars." i say, realizing how long it had been since that name had last been said.
she nods with a satisfied smile. "that fits you way better,"