King Jasper

Chapter 4 - Adeena

A knock on the door woke me up from the deep sleep I had fallen into. I heard a mumble come from somewhere but in my hazed state I could not pin point it. Groaning, I turned myself towards the door and focused my eyes on the figure coming towards me. I blinked a few times hoping to clear my vision.

When it worked I saw the blonde maid again, this time standing next time to my bed. "Ms. Claire, dinner was served ten minutes ago. The Royal family is waiting on you." She spoke to me in a quiet voice. With those words I sprung up, my heart beating wildly. I did not mean to oversleep, the turmoil from today caught up with me.

"I am so sorry! I completely lost track of time." I said, in a rushed voice fast walking over to my where my shoes lay. The blonde maid gave me what looked to be a tense smile, "that is quite alright, Ms. Claire. Follow me and I will bring you to the dining hall." I nodded, following her out of the room I now exhibited.

The clacking of our short heels against the marble floor filled the silence between us. She is a little shorter than me which I do not mind. She is, however, skinnier then me and it makes me unconsciously wrap my arms around my waist. Since I started taking over my fathers duties on the farm I have seen significant changes in my body. I went from being small to growing muscle. The girls in town did not look like me and it was obvious they could tell too.

We walked down the stairs and turn the corner to an open room that overlooked the massive garden. It is truly a wonder how I found my way out, now that I look at it from above. This is the Grand room, where the ball had taken place and it looked better when it was empty of people.

Turning to another hallway, we came to a dark wooden door that matched the other doors I had passed in the palace. Unlike the other doors though, this one was a double and it seemed much taller now that a slight wave of embarrassment went though me.

I hope they are not waiting for me, after all I am not important. The blonde maid pushed the door open for me and as I walked through the doors I saw four faces turn to my direction. They were sat along a skinny U shape, the King was sat in the middle, with a brow raised and his tongue sliding along his teeth underneath his lips. He looked as if he was entertained by my late arrival.

The Beta, Beta Theo, sat to his left with a fist covering a smirk plastered on his face, next to Theo was a man who I did not recognize but he was old. A few empty seats were scattered along the left side of the U. To the right of the King sits his Mother, the reigning Queen of our territory.

The queen looked at me with a scowl on her tight face. She is tall and skinny. Her dark hair gathered in a bun at the top of her head. She looked much older than she did when I saw her in my childhood. Surely she would reprimand me at some point for being late to dinner.

Embarrassment raced through me as I took in the sight. I am sure my face is as red as a tomato. My thoughts turned quickly from embarrassment to being hopeful when I realized if I am not queen material then he cannot marry me. I smiled at the table of people that I largely disliked.

The king tilted his head slightly, drilling holes through my own eyes. That seemed to have helped my body realize it can still move. He probably knows my thoughts. He would not like it if I disobeyed him, my King. I walked to sit next to the old man, if I sit by the queen she might stab my thigh with her knife that sat next to her clean plate.

My glass was already filled with water and as soon as I sat down the servers came out with the food. The food was under a metal dome on a rolling tray, one per person. I'd never seen one of those before used for food. One server gave the men a small glass of brown liquid as the other five servers put food on our plates.

I took in the surroundings of the room curious to see if is as spectacular as the rest of the palace. One wall was made completely of glass and the sunset could be seen, the colors filtering through the horizon. The other walls were painted a navy blue, it was just as pretty as the rest of the palace. I was trapped in a beautiful cage.