DevilstiltSin - A devilish fairytale ✔ (Lucifer fanfiction/deckerstar)

Chapter 2

As soon as the shallow light of dawn had been replaced by bright sunshine, the door was unlocked and swung open. The same servants who had brought her up the night before went to stay inside on either side of her as the king entered the chamber.

He strode towards the spinning wheel and picked up a spindle to inspect it. Chloe's heart hammered in her chest as she waited for him to say something, to announce his opinion on whether he believed the gold to be real.

Finally, after what felt like half an eternity to Chloe, he lowered the spindle and turned towards her.

"I see that you've indeed accomplished the task I assigned to you. As a reward, you will have dinner with me tonight. You may rest during the day. My servants will lead you to a bower you can stay in. I've had it prepared for you."

Chloe nodded quickly before any inappropriate remark could leave her mouth about her supposed reward. She had a ready tongue, yet she didn't dare to contradict the king, especially not openly in front of his servants. As little as she knew him, what she knew was enough to make her wary not to awaken his anger.

The room she was escorted to was indeed very nice. It had a comfortable bed, a couch full of soft cushions, a desk in front of a window that offered a magnificent view over the surrounding landscape and a wardrobe with a few dresses for her to choose from. There even was an adjacent bathroom that was rather luxurious and much bigger than the one she was used to at home.

Perhaps Chloe would have been able to truly enjoy staying here if the servants hadn't locked the door from outside. Even if the environment was much nicer than the drafty tower, she was still a prisoner, not a guest.

When the evening came and the servants returned to let her out, she was determined to ask the king what else he wanted from her now that she had already fulfilled his task. But in the end, he forestalled her before she had had an opportunity to pose her question.

"I had my treasurer check the gold you spun last night. According to him, it's of the highest quality. That's why you will spin more of it tonight."

"What? But if it is of the highest quality, as you say, isn't that enough?"

Marcus stared at her as if she wasn't in her right mind.

"There can never be such a thing as enough gold."

His reply, spoken with the confidence of a ruler, brooked no dissent. Chloe bit her tongue as she forced herself to nod in acceptance, hoping she would get help from her mysterious visitor again. How he had done it, she had no idea, but he had done it well, apparently, and saved her life.

The rest of their dinner passed in uncomfortable silence, and Chloe kept her gaze on her plate as much as she could to avoid the king's scrutinizing stare. It was almost a relief when he left her sitting at the table after their meal was over and ordered his servants to lock her back inside the chamber in the tower.

***

Once the heavy lock fell into place and trapped her in her lonely prison, Chloe sank onto the stool and buried her face in her hands. How had she ended up in the same situation as the night before? She still had hope, though, because she'd been lucky once already, so why not another time?

But as the night passed on and nothing happened, she became more and more nervous. Where was Luci? If only she knew how he had found her the night before, so she could summon him again to ask for a new deal. Pacing the room in circles around the spinning wheel that stood in a heap of straw, glaringly still, only worked to calm her nerves for so long. Her chest felt tight, and her breaths became faster as panic started to rise inside her.