The King's Daughter Part II

Hello Readers! Thanks for stopping by on such a lovely Saturday evening. I wanted to specially thank the people who left the encouraging comments on my last post. I am very excited that you are enjoying the story. Hopefully, in the future I will be able to post chapters of The Inheritance which is one of the many stories I am currently working on. Enjoy!

The King's Daughter Part II

"Lillian, clumsy girl," Raphael murmured groggily. He had come back to his apartment after drinking in the tavern. "Lillian," he cried. She did not reply. He shrugged and lied down on the cold stone floor. A few hours later, deep in the night, he aroused. Raphael woke up and rubbed what seemed to be a bump on his head. "Owe," he said feeling absolutely miserable. His eyes adjusted to the dim light. "Where's the girl?" he asked himself, groaned, and lit a candle. On the table, lay a small note. It read:

Dear Father,

Be not alarmed by my absence. This is a brief summary to explain myself. I do not want to sound ungrateful, but our unkempt apartment has been called to my attention. Since I am now older, I think that I can take a fraction of responsibility upon myself. There is an open position of maid service at the king's court. The job is of low pay, but if I stay long at court, it shall increase slowly. As a result of my applying to this position, I must stay at the castle for a short period of time. I will send part of my income to supply daily essentials including, rent, food, clothing, etc.

Yours truly,

Lillian

After reading the note, there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Raphael cried rather annoyed.

"Tibias," was the reply.

A scowl crossed Raphael's face. "Come in."

Tibias strutted in wearing fine clothes. "And might I ask where you obtained such finery?" Raphael questioned snobbishly.

"Fair and square, thanks to the money you gave me for completing the mission," he said with a smirk.

"The mission was a failure. My wife died thanks to your not warning her," he replied angrily.

"Hey, I did warn her. I was counting my coins while I was waiting, and they accidentally scattered everywhere making quite a racket. I told your wife to run when we saw guards coming, but it was too late," Tibias said trying to fake his grief. "Anyway, what upsets you, my lord, that makes you such ill-tempered to-night?"

"Well, first of all, your barging into my apartment at this time of night, and now this," he showed him the letter. "I think it will be good for her to stay at my....I hate to say his name; it sends shivers down my spine," he gulped then resumed, "my brother's court, and there will be something good for me in the bargain." He gave Tibias a scheming look. "Lillian will send me part of her income, and I will spend it on drink! And when her first paycheck arrives, you and I will celebrate."

"But my lord, what if she learns of her past? Will then trouble befall thee?" Tibias said nervously.

"Oh, I don't think she will," he scoffed and poured some wine into two glasses. "Drink, Tibias," he said handing him a brimming glass. "And be merry!" he added.

Lillian ran panting down the hall with a bundle of white towels. "Oh," she moaned as she tripped over her skirt. She clutched the towels, but it was useless to catch them in midair. "Oh, no! Madam will be very angry at me," she scolded herself and tried to collect the towels that had scattered the floor.

"My, my, she will!" a familiar, high-pitched squeal said from behind her. Lillian twirled around to see Amy Richardson standing there in her neat, unwrinkled, uniform and a bundle of clean towels, one thing that Lillian did not have at the moment.

"That will teach you not to be late," Amy said waving a finger at her. She chuckled. "Sorry I will not see you at dinner," she gave Lillian a smirk. "You will surely be missed.

Lillian sighed and looked down at her wrinkled outfit. It had only been three days, since she had applied for the job, and so many rules came with it. In a way, the palace was better than her filthy, dingy apartment, but she had no time to rest. She was either running errands and messengers from one place to another, or scrubbing kettles, washing linens, and making beds. It was rather a cold place as well. She had a cold, strict supervisor and cold, haughty co-workers. Madam, as she was to be called, was none too popular with her staff. And Lillian's co-workers just saw the palace and its riches as a fantasy and way to sustain their everlasting hunger of greed.

"What?!" Madam screamed as Lillian stood ashamed against the cold stone wall. "Young lady, I demand an explanation for such a foolish action." Lillian did not answer.

"You obviously take your work lightly, but here at the palace we take it seriously. I do not want to have to go to the king on behalf of an irresponsible action done by one of my serving maids!"

Lillian still remained silent.

"If you remain to do your duties this way, I will have to dismiss you," she said slowly but sternly. Lillian nodded and heard giggling that was coming from around the corner. Madam sighed.

"I will not disappoint you," Lillian said quietly; a great lump had formed in her throat. After Madam left, Lillian sank to the floor with her head in her hands.
A few days later, Lillian was preforming the same task of taking the linens from the washing room to the ironing room when suddenly, she stopped, seeing that Madam was talking to the King! Madam gestured for Lillian to come to her side to be introduced. Lillian gulped nervously and slowly made her way towards the two.

"And this is one of the maids that I am in charge over. Is not her uniform so nicely pressed? The maidens always have their uniforms like this," Madam said politely. The King nodded, and the young girl curtsied. Then he stared into her eyes, just like the time he had seen her at the parade.

"Have we met before?" he asked.

"No, Your Majesty, I do not think that this girl has ever met you before," Madam replied sweetly. "Perhaps, your bad memory is playing tricks with you."

"Perhaps, it is so, Madam. Ah, what is your age, child?"

"I am but only sixteen years of age, Your Majesty," she tried to answer politely, for she had very little training in etiquette.

The King was taken aback by the nonchalant statement.

"Is anything the matter, Your Majesty?" Madam asked.

"No it is just...it's just that, that my Jeanne would be her age," he said sadly.

"My lord, you do not think that there is any connection between you and-"

The King interrupted Madam, "No, it would be most impossible."

"Why, yes, sir, it would be quite preposterous," Madam chuckled half-heartily.

On the way to the kitchen, Lillian shyly asked Madam, "Do you mind if I ask why the King is so low-spirited? Has he always been this way?"

"Dear," she replied returning to her cold tone, "You should never mention this to anyone, especially the King. But such a long, long, long time ago the King lived happily in this castle with his lovely wife. They had a daughter, but when she was born she was kidnapped by an evil, jealous man. No one knows whom this man was or where he is now, but I say that he be cursed with guilt for his evil actions and breaking the King's heart. I think that the King secretly knows whom this villain is, but has never publicly revealed to his kingdom and court the man. Now the King and his palace have never been the same."

Lillian thought of what Madam said. "What an odd, sad, terrible story," she murmured and secretly wished that she could find the King's daughter.

The next day, Lillian was excused from her duties and was able to deliver some goods to Raphael. Before she entered into the apartment she heard low voices.

"Raphael, my lord, are you sure that she will never ever EVER discover her past at the palace?"

"Relax, Tibias. Why do you question your lord like this? Do you not trust me?" Raphael said.

"Well, I nearly got caught in the kidnapping. And besides, you are taking nearly every penny of your daughter's wages and spending it on wine and drink," Tibias said.

"She is not my daughter, and you know that. And you are just as guilty as I. You have taken some of the money. You have helped me with the kidnapping," Raphael responded angrily and scowled.

"Yes, but I think that my guilt has got the best of me, and I am getting a little uneasy with the situation."

"Maybe some wine will relax your nerves. Come over here for a drink and some bread," Raphael said calmly.

Lillian was shocked and a little angry too. Those vile men in that room were feasting on bread and wine that they had paid with her own hard work earnings. She had to tell someone about her predicament, but who? Then an idea struck her, and she ran all the way back to the palace to put her plan into action.

I shall post the ending in my next post. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend.

Love,

Grace