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JULIETTE STOOD BEFORE THE BOLTED DOORS, HER HEART BEATING TOO LOUDLY IN HER CHEST FOR HER TO CONCENTRATE.
She kept feeling an urge to itch her skin - a tell-tale sign that she was nervous - as the big wooden doors to the grand hall were suddenly opened, giving Jules next to no time at all to prepare for what lay behind them.
A deathly silence greeted her from beyond, rows of courtiers and noblemen - and the king's council, all gathered to hear whatever the great King had to say. She stumbled forwards with shaking limbs, struggling to keep upright as a nauseous feeling spread through her stomach, threatening to sweep her off her feet. Anyone who saw Jules' trembling hands may have mistaken her for being scared, but the emotion that caused her to clench her fists so tightly into her palms that she felt blood, was not fear.
As her footsteps ceased to ring out, she finally stopped in front of the throne, sweeping into a curtesy, pushing her disgust to the back of her mind as she rose again to meet the smirking face of Uther Pendragon.
"Rise," he commanded with a flick of his wrist, and she did so. "You're probably wondering why I've summoned you," he began. Not giving her a chance to reply, he continued. "The Lady Morgana here-" he gestured to his left where Jules locked eyes with a strikingly beautiful young woman. "Has told me you are in need of work."
Jules attempted to mask her confusion with a weak smile, but feared it appeared more like a grimace, and so resorted to keeping her mouth straight; her face neutral. "I think there very well might be a place for you here. You will serve in the royal household, as a handmaiden for our most esteemed guests. You shall obey their every word, do as they say, whenever they say. Am I understood?" Juliette simply nodded, not wanting to miss the opportunity.
"Very well, you shall start tomorrow. I trust you can find suitable accommodation outside the palace until then?"
"Yes sire, thank you," she swooped into another curtsy, hating how she had to grovel to the man she loathed. But still, as the King dismissed her and she walked steadily out of the hall, she tried to keep the smirk from her face. She was not discovered after all! In fact, things could not be more perfect. If she wasn't mistaken, Uther had just given her a job, giving her access to the heart of the kingdom. She couldn't have wished for it to go any better. And she owed it all to the Lady Morgana.
