A Beast's Tale

Chapter 12

She was humming again.

I heard the latch click as she opened the door, and I heard her humming, and the sound coaxed me from a restless sleep into a soothing drowsiness. She had such a pleasant voice. I lay there, listening, and as wakefulness came to me, I wondered why she was humming. The last time I'd seen her, I'd hurt her. I'd called her insignificant when I knew she wanted respect. And yet here she was in my bedroom, going about her work while she thought I slept. Humming.

Then again, she'd forgiven Clavis for trapping her in that net; perhaps she'd forgiven me as well. He'd apologized, though. I had not. Unless she was in the habit of forgiving others for their offenses, even without an apology, that seemed unlikely. She was, however, in the habit of making the best of her situation. Perhaps her humming was as calming to her as it was to me. Today was also a holiday, and seeing the festival preparations in the city may have put her in a good mood. I knew she'd heard no good news from the doctor regarding her mother's prognosis at her weekly appointment yesterday evening, and although she would have learned someone had paid her bill, she wouldn't have liked that. It was a matter of pride for her, as was her refusal of my attempts to protect her.

Given the options, I deemed it most likely that she was simply making the best of her situation.

She left to make my breakfast, and I sighed into the new silence. I'd given her no orders regarding today, but she'd been correct in her assumption I wanted to sleep in this morning. Not that I could sleep when she was here. Beyond my sensitivity to noise, she was a perpetual distraction. She was an efficient, competent employee, though, and her only faults were an interesting personality and a tendency to speak her mind more often than she should. In the light of a new day, it seemed unfair to punish her for attracting attention she didn't even want.

The latch clicked again, and the humming returned. I followed her voice from the door to my desk and then to the drapes, rustling as she opened them.

"Good morning, Prince Chevalier. It looks like the weather's perfect for Foundation Day. Are you planning on attending the festivities?"

I pushed back the covers and stretched, watching her go to my bureau and pull clothes out of the drawers. This was new. As was the small talk.

"Why would I do that?" I muttered, more to keep her talking than anything else.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe just to have some fun, Your Highness." She dropped the clothes on the backless sofa at the foot of my bed as I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Nothing in her polite but casual behavior seemed forced. She was doing her job in what she thought was the best way possible.

I climbed out of bed and picked up my clothes on the way to the bathroom. "Are you going?"

"No, I'm not, Your Highness."

"Because of your mother?"

When she didn't provide an immediate answer, I paused in the doorway and glanced back at her. She hadn't met my eyes once this morning, I realized, and she was biting her lip as she made my bed. Something was on her mind.

"Partly, Your Highness. I could go after I get her settled, but festivals aren't much fun alone, and it isn't really safe for me to wander around at night, anyway. There will still be plenty to see on my walk home."

She wasn't looking forward to the festival. She was worried about it, possibly for the same reason I'd lost sleep over taking her there. If that was the case, going through with the plan had an even higher chance of success. The logical answer was clear.

That soured my mood.

I dressed and went to my writing desk for breakfast, and she slipped into the bathroom, with no further attempts at conversation. Concern regarding the festival was no reason for her sudden avoidance of me, unless she was afraid to admit she needed help. Or... was this about the doctor's bill? I'd disappeared yesterday, and when she went home, she found the bill paid. It wouldn't have been hard to make a connection, although it had been mere coincidence.