A Beast's Tale

Chapter 59

I heard a crash followed by a series of frantic apologies. When I rounded the corner, I saw Ivetta and Keith on the floor in the library doorway, picking up shattered porcelain and scattered silverware amidst a mess of tea, sugar, and cream. Keith was a big man, less than an inch shorter than Luke and well-muscled, and even kneeling on the floor, the size difference between him and Ivetta was striking. But he was the one who looked the most embarrassed in this situation.

"I'm so sorry! This big, clumsy body of mine—I should have looked where I was going—"

"It's alright, Your Highness," she said, offering him a sweet smile. "It won't take me long to clean this up. You really don't need to—"

"I just got here, and I'm already making more trouble for everybody—"

"Oh, don't stain your pants!"

She untied her apron and lunged forward to mop up the spreading puddle of brown liquid before it reached his spotless white pants, ducking underneath his torso to do so. He jerked backwards, his golden eyes widening as he waved his white-gloved hands in front of him. "T-that's fine, you don't have to—"

In his haste to pull away from her, he lost his balance and fell on his rump. They stared at each other for a moment. Then Ivetta put her hands over her mouth and sat back on her heels, smothering her laughter. He gave her a sheepish smile and scratched his wavy gray hair.

"Do ya need some help?" Luke's amused voice drifted out of the library.

"Y-yeah, maybe... oh, Chevalier. This is..."

While Luke pulled a stammering Keith to his feet, Ivetta glanced up at me and bent over the mess, ducking her head to hide her smile. "I'll be out of your way in a moment, Prince Chevalier."

"Oh, you must be Chevalier's new maid. I've heard about you. Ivetta, right? I'm pleased to meet you. And... sorry."

"It's really no trouble, Your Highness."

"And I haven't even told you my name! I'm such a failure. I'm Keith Howell, First Prince of Jade. They're... probably glad to be rid of me for a while..."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I really doubt that, Prince Keith. It's nice to meet you."

His eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, and then he averted his eyes and scratched his head, although she had already returned her attention to the spill. She was making quicker work of it without him in the way.

"Keith. You can just call me Keith," he mumbled, his eyes wandering here and there, unable to look at her or anybody else.

"No, she can't," Luke said. "I've been tryin' to get her to just call me Luke the whole time she's been workin' here. She can't do it."

"If you'll excuse me, I'd better get a broom and another pot of tea." She stood with her tray full of shards and flashed Keith a smile, one that he returned, a hint of pink coloring his cheeks.

"Here, let me take that," he said, reaching for the tray. "It's the least I can do."

She shook her head and took a step back. "No, you really don't have to—"

"But it's my fault you're having to do extra work, and that looks heavy. If I can't put this obnoxiously large body to use—"

"Go," I told Ivetta, unwilling to wait until they arrived at a solution. There was no telling how long that would take. To Keith, I said, "Move."

"Ah, sorry, Chevalier," he said, stepping aside. "I'd heard Luke was here, so I stopped by to introduce myself to him, and I was just leaving to find Yves and Licht when I ran into her... That was your tea, wasn't it? I'm so sorry..."