Between Cruel Crowns

Chapter 4: Gwen's Brush with Desire

It has been a few months since I moved in and started to work at the royal palace, but besides a learning curve in cleaning to a new standard, I didn't have much trouble adjusting. I didn't consider myself exceptionally pretty, but the Madam was right: most of the staff here were conventionally attractive and polite, even when they made jabs at one another. The royal family and courtiers' personal staff were mainly fae while the lower servants were humans.

The only person I could count as a friend here was Timothy. He was one of my roommates. He had been serving at the palace far longer than I had. The other servants said the only reach around he knew was sneaking up and reaching around to slit someone's throat. However, as I got to know him, he wasn't actually that bad. He was occasionally rude and sarcastic, but at least, he seemed to be one of the lesser evils here. Timothy was the type to spit in someone's cup but not poison it.

He gave me advice on how to fend off against the other servants. "If they bully you, fight back. Don't let it be worth it for them. If you become too much of a hassle for them, they won't think you're worth it."

We became proper friends after I had probably overstepped boundaries. As one of the few people I knew at the palace, I followed him around and ate meals with him when I could. One day, his sister was visiting and he invited me to eat at a nearby restaurant with them.

I noticed she didn't eat much. I looked at her knuckles. They had callouses and fresh scrapes, Russell's sign. My suspicions were confirmed when she went to the bathroom and spent a long time in there. While she was still in the bathroom, I took the opportunity to talk to Timothy. "She needs help, professional help."

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"That's not for me to say, but if you want to help your sister, bring her to a doctor and show them her hands."

"I deserve to know."

"Only if she wants you to. Just support her. Let her know you love her the way she is. It won't fix it, but it will help."

A few days later, Timothy conveyed his gratitude and said I saved his sister's life. Apparently, when he told his sister they should go to the doctor, his sister broke down and confided in him that she had an eating disorder.

I was always too honest when I drank. One night, Timothy and I shared a drink over dinner together. "You are very pretty." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

His eyes flicked to the floor before meeting mine again. He paused and then, "My... interests don't align in that way."

"I didn't mean it in that way either." It's true. He wasn't my type, but objectively, I couldn't deny he was beautiful. He had auburn curly hair and freckles covering his face. His eyes twinkled when he smiled and turned into half-moon crescents when he laughed.

Currently, I was assigned to clean the first floor of the library. I reached up to wipe one of the many windows within the palace's main library. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Crown Prince Aleksander enter. I have seen him a few times around, but his beauty never failed to make me feel inexplicably nervous. Despite his dubious politics and the nervousness he caused me, I still liked seeing him more than his brother.

The first time I laid eyes on Prince Dorian in person, he turned to look at me in turn, and I was frozen. I knew I should have overted my eyes to the ground and bowed, but my body had locked up. His icy blue eyes looked me up and down. He was assessing and looking for something. I don't know what, but it looked like he found it. Prince Dorian smirked, and I saw a flash of sharp canines as he teased, "Do you want an autograph? Better yet, take a picture. It'll last longer." I stayed speechless. He gave me one last sardonic grin before turning away, his long, black hair swishing behind him.