King | j.b

XIV

The next days in the castle went by normally. Ariana was pleased that there had been no more drama or surprises since she saw her brother. She had already had enough of that.

"Would you pass me that?" Rachel asked pointing to a towel hanging on the bathroom wall. Ariana took the towel in her hands and handed it to Rachel. She noticed it was already starting to get dark outside. It was probably around seven already.

"Thanks," she said. The two girls continued to scrub every inch of the bathroom. Ariana started to think about the king.

All her life she had learned to always hate the king. She had never expected to be in a situation like this. She knew that once she became a servant, the king had changed for the better. And at that moment she knew that the reason the king was changing was because of her.

Ariana looked at Rachel then back at the towel in her hand. She moved the towel in a circular motion on the floor, making sure to get every spot. She wondered if she should tell Rachel about the king. How would she react? Ariana was already sick and tired of keeping this whole thing from Rachel. She knew she could trust her. But will Rachel trust her if she told her? After battling the two options in her head, she decided to tell her after they had finished cleaning the bathroom.

Ariana let the water of the sink run over the towel. The warm water felt nice on her cold and dry hands. She turned the sink back off and started to scrub the mirror. When she was rubbing the towel in a round motion, she suddenly stopped. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was staring at the face of the village girl she once was. The village girl who lived happily with her brother and parents. She missed the village so much.

She thought about her family and about her ill father. She really hoped he was okay. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts when it was almost time to leave. She threw the dirt towel in the laundry as did Rachel.

Now Ariana had remembered what she was going to tell Rachel. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned towards Rachel who hadn't spoken to her much today.

"Rachel," Ariana said. "I have to tell you something." Rachel's expression turned serious. Ariana couldn't believe she was going to say this. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, very concerned. Ariana opened her mouth to speak. Her words just on the tip of her tongue. It seemed as of they would come out at any given moment.

"Hey! You two!" someone suddenly yelled. The two girls spun around to find a guard staring down both of them. "Stop talking and get back to work!"

Rachel and Ariana looked at each other for a moment and immediately left. The suddenness of the guard startled them and Rachel immediately forgot about what Ariana was going to say. Well, Ariana thought, maybe it was a sign not tell her so soon.

She walked along the hallway, on her way to her next session. And what was her next session? Cleaning the king's room. That's right. It was the first time Ariana had cleaned the king's room before.

The king wouldn't be there though. The king was never in his room while a servant was cleaning it. At least that's what Ariana heard.

She listened to the echoing of her footsteps. She felt so isolated; so alone in this part of the castle. The walls seemed to grow higher and the hallways longer. It was an eery part of the castle Ariana did not like. She folded her arms as she walked; hoping to warm up a bit. Goosebumps started to form on her skinny arms and legs.

She could finally see the tall doors which lead to the king's room. They grew taller and taller as she came closer. She suddenly halted in front of the two doors.