Dusk Till Dawn (Being Rewritten!)

Part 5: The King.

Melody sat on her bed in her room fretting over what the king would say to Aiden. Many scenarios ran through her head, all of which ended with her still out of a job. The pendant around her neck was now warm from her constant fiddling with it, but she took some comfort. It was when she started to think of how disappointed her family would be that a soft knocking came to the door.

“A moment,” she got off her bed to fix her dress before opening to the door, not sure what to expect.

“The king wishes a word with you,” a guard said to Melody as she stood there staring at him. “It would be best not to keep him waiting.”

“R-Right,” Melody picked up her skirts a little so it gave her more room to quickly get out of her room, close the door, and start following the guard who only shrugged.

With every step, Melody sent up a prayer to some unknown force to help her keep her job, while trying not to seem like a complete ditz in front of the king. After seeing him for the first time at the banquet, she pondered what kind of personality he had. Would he be anything like the prince?

“Remember to bow when you get in there,” Melody nodded at the advice as the guard opened the door to the king’s throne room. How did they get there so fast?

She quickly went into the room, trying her best not to trip over her own two feet. Looking down, she saw the steps that lead up to the throne and gave her best curtsey she could. Now she just had to wait till the king spoke to her.

“Rise,” Fulton told Melody has he assessed her. “Do you know why you are here?”

“I do not, Your Majesty,” Melody said, shrinking under the king’s intimidating stare.

King Fulton was not as young as he used to be, with bits of gray showing in his otherwise slick black hair. Melody could see where Aiden had gotten his blue eyes from, but the way the king looked at her, as if she was insignificant insect, made her wish Aiden was there. What was she thinking?

The reflection of his jewelry danced in the firelight as he continued to stare as if debating what to tell her. His clothes were not as lavish as it was for the banquet, but he still had on a fine cloak over his silk tunic. Melody wondered he had gotten such fine clothing even though the kingdom was started to tax people a little more each passing week. In his hand was a piece of parchment which Melody eyed in case it was important to her future.

“My son seems to think I have done an injustice to you,” he gave a strange smile as he looked her up and down, making her shivered.

“What injustice would that have been?” her voice came out small and insignificant.

“I decided to fire you when I thought he gave you attention, but in fact he was giving the woman in front of you the attention instead. He has also mentioned you need this job to pay off a debt for your father and requested I give your job back to you. Is this true?” Melody stood up a little straighter as she nodded her head towards the king. “Very well, you may have your job back, but one condition.”

“What would that be your majesty?” Melody asked, her voice slightly shaking again.

“You will never associate yourself with the prince ever again. You may not look at him, speak with him, or even be in near proximity of him. Is that understood?” Fulton wondered what her reaction would be to this news.

“I’ll do it,” Melody nodded with determination. “If that is what it takes, I have no choice.”

He was taken aback with her reaction. “Very well. Come forward, my dear.”

“Your Majesty?” Melody did as she was told and he held a letter in his hands holding it out to her.

“Give this to the Mistress Emma to tell her you still have your job,” he watched as she gave another curtsey before taking the letter. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in close. “If you wish to pay off the debt sooner, you could always keep me company at night.”

Melody stiffened as she realized what he meant. Still flustered, the king let her go, chuckling. She had to think of a response which would not offend the king and get her fired again, but he seemed to have saved her.

“You do not have answer me now, but do consider it,” the king said with a smile that could match Aiden’s.

“Your Majesty,” Melody gave one last curtsey before rushing out the door so she could breathe.

She let out a big sigh of relief as Derek looked at her a little worried. She smiled when she noticed his concern; he smiled back. Now she just had to head towards the mistress and tell her the good news.

“Melody!” Cordelia came rushing up the hallway, waving wildly at Melody with a grin on her face. “Where have you been?”

“I was summoned by the king for a moment. Look, I get to keep my job,” Cordelia smiled as she took Melody’s arm and started to lead her down the hall.

“I’m glad. Oh, then I suppose we will be roommates for a while then,” Cordelia took her to where the mistress normally stayed once most of the servants went to bed.

“Roommates, why would we be--” Melody stopped before shaking her head with a smile. “I see, so you were going to take over my room then?”

“No, I was to be your roommate before all of this happened. But I am really glad you get to stay at least now I will have one friend,” Cordelia knocked on the door for Melody.

“Come in,” Emma said tiredly. When she saw who it was she was afraid of what the commotion was going to be about. “How can I help you?”

“I was told to give this to you,” Melody handed her the letter from the king and noticed Emma was still in her evening gown instead of in some sort of night gown.

“Right,” Emma read the letter quickly. When she was finished she messaged her nose as she thought for a moment. “Will you two still be able to bunk together?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cordelia and Melody said at the same time, making the two giggle.

“Good. Congratulations on keeping your job. Get some sleep, tomorrow will be a long day,” Melody nodded while Cordelia looked Emma in a strange way. “What is it?”

“I was given this to hand to you,” Melody noticed something pass between the two, but what it was exactly, she could not tell. Either way, it seemed a little suspicious.

“I will look at it in a moment. Now please go to bed,” Emma took the small note and placed it next to her under a pile of cloth as she set to work on planning the dinner for the next day.

Melody stepped out of the office first with Cordelia on her heels. It was a quiet walk until Cordelia could no longer hold her breath.

“What did the king tell you in order to keep your job?” Melody looked at Cordelia in surprised, but she supposed word traveled fast.

“He made me promise never to see, talk, or even be close to the prince,” Melody said simply with a shrug, suddenly thinking about the hug he gave her made her stop.

“Something wrong?” Cordelia asked looking back at Melody before looking past her. “If you are not supposed to be close to the prince then I suggest you start moving and now.”

Melody looked back to see the prince coming down the hallway with a few scrolls in his hand, and waved at the two when he noticed them. She took a quick breath in before she turned and dashed towards her room. It would take more than a big castle to keep him away from her it seemed.

Cordelia watched with a small smile as Melody ran off. When the prince caught up with a confused expression on his face, she laughed.

“What did I do?” he asked looked at Cordelia who playfully pushed him to the side.

“Poor Aiden. It seems she has been ordered not to get close to you,” his brow came together as he thought. “If you think too much on it you will end up with a headache. Any news yet?”

“We will have something planned by tonight so be on standby,” Aiden said, coming out of his thoughts as he held up the scrolls. “These should help without a doubt.”

“Okay, I’ll be awaiting your orders,” Cordelia said as she shoved Aiden a little in the direction he was headed. She rounded the corner towards the room she was going to share with Melody.