The Consort

Chapter 6: Information

I narrow my eyes in concentration as I begin to scrub the stain harder. King Heloix must have had guests over last night as the entire suite was turned into a giant mess overnight.

The second I walked into his apartment this morning I knew that I had my work cut out for me, but I didn't expect to have to spend an hour on my hands and knees trying to get wine out of his mattress.

Groaning loudly, I crawl off the side of his bed to rinse my rag in the bucket on the floor. I dip it in a couple of times to dilute the wine, before ringing out all the soapy water and climbing back onto the bed. This time I try to tackle the stain at a different angle, turning my body so my back is to the front door.

"This is ridiculous." I complain out loud, glad that the King is gone and I can talk to myself. He was around for the first couple of days, always working in his office, but lately has been absent. I'm not sure to where, but he's gone before I arrive and doesn't come back after I'm gone. I don't mind though; it's made my time here much less stressful.

I begin scrubbing the mattress once more, excited to see the color beginning to fade. The stain won't completely disappear, but my goal is to get enough of the wine out that the King won't smell it when he goes to bed at night.

King Richard used to spill in his bed all the time, and would always complain about the smell. I'd never say this out loud, but it's what he deserved for spilling it in the first place. A small part of me enjoyed seeing his enhanced senses come back to bite him in the butt too.

Tossing the washcloth into the bucket, I push my face into the stain and take a deep breath, trying to see if I can smell any wine. My nose picks up the light scent of soap and laundry detergent, but no wine. Deeming that good enough, I crawl backward a couple of inches until I'm at the edge of the bed and climb down.

"It's not perfect, but it'll do." I mumble to myself.

The buzzer on the dryer goes off, making me smile at the perfect timing. The once clear water inside the bucket is now tinted purple, and I dump it in the kitchen sink before getting to work on the laundry.

Glancing quickly at the clock on the oven, I sigh as I take in the time. It's getting pretty late, and I'll be lucky if there's any dinner left for me when I get back. I made the mistake of cleaning the entire place before taking a look at the bed. Foolishly, I assumed that it would be fine and all I needed to do was make it, not realizing that the sheets needed to be washed and mattress cleaned.

The dryer's buzzer goes off again, yelling at me to hurry up and take out the sheets. They are nice and warm as I pull them from the machine, and I can't resist squeezing them against me, enjoying the heat that emanates from them.

I grab the last bits from the dryer and stand up, closing the door with my hip. Slowly I waddle back over to the bed, careful not to drop anything onto the ground. I'm for the most part successful, but just as I reach the bed one of the pillowcases slips from the pile and falls to my feet.

"Shit!" I curse, bending over to pick it up. Another item falls from the top of my bundle just as my hand closes around the fabric. "You've got to be kidding me." I groan.

The sound of a chuckle has me frozen in place.

I snap my head towards the sound, immediately spotting the King sitting on the couch. Papers are all sprawled out along the coffee table in front of him, and he leans back casually as he watches me, bringing a hand up to push his messy curls out of his face.

"This is entertaining." He says, referring to me hunched over trying to pick up the escaped laundry.

I straighten up immediately, embarrassed at having been caught in such a position.