You Are The Reason ( Prince x Reader )

Chapter 13: A Months Time

   " Y/n, please help me. "

   " Ray, what do you need? "

   " Could you clean a spot in the hallway? I saw there was a darker spot on the carpet and I didn't have the cleaning supplies to clean it. "

   " Sure. Where is it? "

   " Along the East hall. Trust me you'll see it. "

You nodded and ran down the hall to get the cleaning supplies. Once you were at the maid's closet, you threw open the doors and started searching for the cleaner and a brush. Once you grabbed both, you stood up and shut the door. But once you turned around, you noticed the king standing behind you with his butler beside him. His face held a scowl as he looked at you.

   " What are those cleaning supplies for? "

   " There's a spot in the East hall I was informed of. I was asked to clean it, so I came to get the supplies to clean it. "

   " Who made the mess? "

   " I'm not sure sir. "

   " Why don't you know? "

   " I was only informed that there was a spot and the maid was busy cleaning so she asked me to take care of it. "

   " Did you do it!? "

   " No, sir! "

He grabbed your arms and held them tightly; you knew they would leave bruises.

   " I was only informed sir! "

   " How dare you raise your voice at me! I am your king! "

He slapped your face and let you fall to the floor. You held your cheek, and he walked away from you with his personal butler giving you worried glances. You stood up from the floor, grabbed the cleaning supplies, and ran towards the East hall. Your face was heated from the slap, and you could still feel the sting on your cheek.

   ' Great, that hurt a lot. '

It's been a month since the ball. Genevive was still very sick, and Elina was with her now-boyfriend at his palace. They had made it official not long ago, and because of that, Elina had to move away from the Madrathia Empire and live with him in the palace of the Prosan Empire. She wasn't a maid anymore, so now her workload was on you and you alone. With Genevive's work, you had a lot on your plate.

There were still moments where you could take a break and relax, but they were rare. Jin was on a mission, so he hadn't come back. He wished you wouldn't worry about him, but it was hard. The mission wasn't supposed to take long, at least not a month.

The king seemed to always be in a bad mood and would take his anger out on anyone around. The slap you had received was a mere warning not to raise your voice next time. You noticed that he had a hand on his sword before slapping you. That frightened you.

No one had heard of Prince Quinn that entire month. When you would deliver breakfast, you were told to leave his room untouched and not to deliver food to his room. You once asked the maids why and they said to you that they didn't know. But they told you they never heard that he left the cell in the castle. They said they never heard of him returning to his room, and they only told you that he was stuck in the castle.

Mariella was fooling around more than she ever had before. Genevive's condition had worsened, and you worried for your friend. She was practically family to you. Now, you were cleaning up blood from the red carpet because the king probably killed someone on that very spot.

Maids had been missing for days, but instead of telling the public the truth, they said strange activity was going on. Really, the king was killing them for the tiniest things. He even wanted to punish Genevive, but the advisor stopped him before he could enter the hospital wing and hurt her. You were worried about what was happening in the palace.

You scrubbed the spot hard, trying your best to remove the carpet's stain. When you were finished, you sat on your legs and looked at the area with sorrow. You were happy that Elina could get out of the palace, but at the same time, you had no one to talk to and vent your frustrations. Genevive was too sick, Jin was gone, and Quinn was nowhere to be seen.

   ' What happened to this place? '

You sighed and stood up from your spot. You decided to head back and continue your duties cleaning and organizing everything in the palace.