Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 15

A/N: I'm changing Dominic's name to Bastian! I'll be going back to change the instances of his name in the older chapters, and hopefully it won't be too confusing going forward! Thanks for your understanding! :)

Walking into the prince's room, she made her way into his bedchamber and closed the door behind her. The smell of lavender was strong, but not overpowering, and the room felt almost as if Bastian was still in it. It seemed to pulse with belonging to him, as if his ownership was tangible and visible in the room. His clothes lay scattered on overstuffed chairs and across ornate tables. A book lay open on a window seat, the place marked with a dried leaf. A pair of his boots lay toppled over on the floor right under his bed, and Cole stepped over to them. They were scuffed and only half-polished. A rag and oil-pot sat nearby, and Cole realized that he must shine his own boots. This seemed strange to her, after seeing how entitled and pampered he was. He could easily order any servant to shine his boots multiple times a day, yet he did them himself.

Cole frowned and leaned down to scoop up the polish and rag and dump them in a drawer where they wouldn't bother her with complicated thoughts anymore. She then walked around the room to gather up the clothes and fold them to return to his wardrobe. She blinked in amazement at the sheer amount of clothes he had stuffed into the drawers that lined one wall of his room. How anyone could even live long enough to wear this amount of clothes, Cole was uncertain about. He had a seemingly endless supply of white linen shirts embroidered in all different patterns and colors, and his collection of luxurious jackets was ridiculous. They came in every color under the sun, and in every rich fabric that could be procured. She even found a few long robes in one drawer in deep greens and blues, as calm and tranquil as a spring lake. They were the royal attire of his mother's homeland, and Cole found it strange that he should keep such decidedly not Soman clothing around.

Once she'd cleaned up his room, she pulled out fresh cotton linens and remade his bed. She had no idea how to create the crisp corners and flawlessly smooth surface like she'd seen in other rooms. She wasn't used to a normal bed, and certainly not one this large and covered in so many sorts of blankets.

After struggling for what felt likes years, she managed to stuff all the sheets in under the blanket and tuck it under the mattress in a lumpy line. She tossed the pillows on in what she hoped was the right order.

Stepping back, she winced as she saw her floppy handiwork. If a child had made his bed, it would probably look better than what Cole had done. But she had already spent far too long on the bed, and was running dangerously close to when the prince was supposed to be returning to his rooms. The tea would take at least ten minutes to prepare, and she needed to have it ready for him to drink when he came in.

Dashing down the servant's hallway, she made her way to the kitchen where one of the cooks glowered at her.

"You're late," he said, and shoved a tray into her midsection without even pausing for a breath. She gasped in pain, rubbing at her ribs, but by then the cook had already plopped down a clay kettle and handless cups onto her tray. She struggled to keep it upright with the sudden weight.

"The leaves go in around five minutes before the prince arrives," the cook said, plopping a small and ornately inlaid wooden box next to the cups. After placing a golden spoon, a perfectly smooth linen napkin, and two glistening honeycakes on the tray, he pointed at the door.

"Hurry up and get back up there. I don't want to be blamed for anything being late," he said.

Cole wanted to tell him exactly what she thought about his big meaty hands and greasy nose, but she thought better of it when she remembered she was supposed to be blending in. So she clenched her teeth tightly and merely gave him a scathing glare when his back was turned.

Climbing back up to the prince's room, she heard the hunting party already breaking up and heading to their rooms. They must have ended the gathering early, or else Cole hadn't realized just how late it really was.

Dashing up the rest of the steps, Cole burst into the main hallway and then over to the prince's door. She pushed through, the tea set jangling on the tray as she attempted not to shatter it all over the floor. She was too busy staring at the sloshing steaming water in the kettle, hoping it wouldn't spill out and onto the tray and her hands, to even notice that there were voices in the room. In fact, she didn't notice at all, until she was already in the middle of the sitting room.

She was lowering the tray onto the table when she suddenly became aware of male voices echoing nearby. Immediately, her muscles froze and everything buzzed as she strained her ears to try and identify where the noise was coming from.

Her eyes swiveled to the prince's bed chamber, and there she saw the door was left slightly ajar. Light from candles spilled through, which meant that someone had entered and lit them.

Had the prince already arrived? Or was it someone else?

Cole burned with curiosity, and also fear that at any moment the prince could step out and find the ugly servant he'd already been suspicious of, late with his tea. She didn't have any of the pretty other servants to buffer his displeasure, and she wondered if she'd end up just like Adrie. Banished to her rooms with no food, and banned from ever even falling in the prince's eyesight again. If that happened, she'd find it almost impossible to carry out the fairy's orders. Which meant she'd lose her mother as well.