The Key ♕

8

Sophie's Point of View

"Lady Sophie," a maid bangs on my door, "the king has requested to see you."

My heart immediately starts pounding, knowing that this is undoubtedly about how I acted towards Lucas yesterday. "Now?" I ask timidly, crossing my fingers and hoping I don't have to face the queen's outright hatred towards me right away.

"Yes, my lady, right now."

I sigh as I get up from the desk, "I'll be out in a second."

The walk to the common room is miserable. The possibility of being forced to leave Alice and the queen's hateful glares play over and over in my mind. I peek inside the room. The king, queen, Lucas, and Alice are all sitting on a set of couches with strained expressions. 

Alice notices me first, "Sophie! Over here!" Everyone else snaps their heads in my direction, causing me to shudder under their intense stares. I cautiously stride over to where they are standing, almost tripping on the hem of my beige dress.

I peer at Lucas and he has a smug look on his face, almost as if he enjoys seeing me in trouble. He probably does. "Sophie, I think you know why you're here," the king speaks up.

"Yes, I do, your Majesty. I would like to apologize for my ridiculous and utterly disrespectful behavior towards Prince Lucas yesterday." I say, trying my best to hide the unwillingness in my voice.

"She doesn't sound like she means it," Lucas notes, raising an eyebrow.

"Luke! Stop teasing Sophie!" Alice snaps, hitting him on the shoulder.

"I agree with Lucas," the queen huffs.

The king shoots her a warning look and continues, "Sophie, I know you're new to the court and is still unfamiliar with certain courtesies. We decided that you can stay as Alice's lady in waiting."

"You decided," the queen scoffs under her breath. She glares at me with her icy eyes and gives me a disdainful look.

"Anyways, Sophie, you are a great influence to Alice. We can all tell that she loves working with you. Keep up the good work and keep in mind the social conducts in the palace."

"Thank you, your Majesty. I assure you this will not happen again," I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Father," Lucas whines mockingly, "I still don't believe she meant the apology."

"Son," the king sighs, "then what do you want Sophie to do to prove that she does mean it?"

He hesitates for a moment, then a mischievous smile appears on his face, "I want her to be my assistant whenever she is not working for Alice."

"What?" Alice exclaims, "you already have Nathaniel to help you!"

"Lucas," the queen frowns, "what are you talking about?"

He chuckles, "as the future king of England, I have way more things to take care of than Alice. Nathaniel works so hard everyday already, so I want to alleviate his workload for a while."

"That may be a good idea, Lucas," the king says, nodding his head to express his approval, "it's nice to know that you are taking your duties seriously."

"I..." I mutter, feeling completely flabbergasted by this abrupt proposal. He obviously dislikes me, so why is he saying this?

"Is there a problem, Sophie?" The king asks, suspicion lacing his words.

"There is no problem, your Majesty," I quickly clarify.

"Great, then it's settled."

"Wait," the queen complains, "do you want to think about this again, dear? We can appoint another another more experienced person to be your assistant."