Delicate Flower

Chapter Five ♡

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Chapter Five

     "I-I'm so sorry," the maid with the golden hair whispered against his chest, her soft voice breaking as Remond yelled at her. She was very tiny and fragile, for her head was too low to even reach his shoulders and he felt like she'd break if he let go of her.

"YOU STUPID FOOL!" Remond, his late father's advisor, boomed again at the little maid in his hold who jumped at Remond's wrath.

"I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO SEND UNPROFESSIONAL MAIDS LIKE YOU!" Ignoring Remond's yells, he made sure she was steady and set her down softly. She had delicate features, he observed, porcelain skin and soft almond eyes giving her a permanent innocent face. Her cheeks were rosy and her nose was red from crying. Even though he caught her, she never dared to get a glimpse at him. Her blue-green eyes were always staring down at her feet, as tears descended down from them.

Nevertheless, he couldn't care less for what happened. It wasn't the first accident of its occurrence and Remond always liked to play his advisor role extraordinary well.

"Enough, Remond. Leave the girl alone." He muttered boringly as he mentioned for the other maids to clean the mess.

"It was an accident." His comments however, was not enough to calm the old advisor any less.

"An accident you say?! Or was it an attempt to get the King's attention!" He sighed heavily. The poor girl didn't even have the courage to move her eyes his direction. He glanced at her again, and her red cheeks seem to have gotten scarlet even more than they already were.

"Remond." He warned. "Careful who you're addressing." Remond must have realized he crossed the line, for he remained silent for a bit and stared at the mess the maids were taking care of.

"Forgive me, my king. But to have maids like her, so untrained in our kingdom is a most despicable thing. To think our beloved guests from the neighboring kingdom would have seen such scandalous disaster!" He turned his attention back to her.

"Oh—yes! The role wouldn't be complete without playing victim you despicable, vile unex—"

"ENOUGH." The king roared. The king was now circling the girl, the way a wolf would do to its prey. With each step he made, she encased herself even more as if she expected him to pounce at any moment. She could feel his eyes scrutinizing ever bit of her being, the darkness of his tall frame enveloping her. She was the culprit, the star of the show, and the maids were the spectators, eagerly waiting for the king to hit the gavel and send her to her end.

Unbeknownst to Remond, however, the king was in deep thought as he studied the girl in front of him. If he was sure about one thing he had accumulated over his thirty years of living, it was his extraordinary ability to decipher the character of people. He was the pioneer of trickery and deception, the master of toying others, and the girl who stood in front of him was nowhere near cunning. She was as fragile as glass and she wouldn't dare to hurt a fly. He could feel her body tense every time he stood near her and he could tell she was petrified of his presence. It wasn't guilt she was feeling, no, it was pure and utter fear.

Silence reigned across the dining hall and the only noise heard was the sound of metal against the floor as the servants removed the bits of sweets that remained on the marble floor. What had escaped their notice, however, was another two pieces of tartes that have crumbled on the far side of the carpet. The toasted pastry glittered, the sugary sprinkles beckoning to him.

His eyes met with Remond's. Fire ignited in the king's eyes and for a moment, Remond felt threatened, but he managed to mask his fear well. "You're all dismissed." He ordered the maids, his voice strong and authoritative. All lingered in their place for a bit too long, as if they were too curious to know what would happen next.

"You heard the king." Remond continued, turning to the maids warningly.

"Except for the mademoiselle." The king added, leaving the tension hanging in midair. It took around five minutes to have the servants leave the royal dining hall, which gave him enough time to allow his eyes to wander back to beautiful girl with the golden hair. Her hair now curtained most of her innocent face, but he had no doubt there were still staring at the floor. That's all she dared to.

"My dearest king," Remond re-attempted more calmly this time, much more calmly as if he was walking on eggshells. He shut the door of the dining hall, leaving he, the king and the girl alone. His earlier companions had apologized while the maids cleaned the mess and they left the room on their dismissal.

"Allow me to explain." The prince—who had his back to him—suddenly turned, his face full of rage and fury.

"Oh, please do." He growled, prowling his direction. "May I know WHY the appetizers you so-insisted on serving are soaked in poison?" He snarled, his fist balling against one tarte he had grabbed, the sugary powder scattering from beneath his fingers.

"Lendes, really, I'm surprised at your lack of creativity. Do you take me as a jester to miss such a joke?"

"Your father would have enjoyed it."

"My father," He hissed, "was a fool for trusting rats like you." He stepped closer to him and the extreme height difference made him as daunting as ever.

"You're making a mistake." The short man uttered but it sounded more like a threat than a statement. The king grabbed him by the collar.

"You have come too far, Remond." His voice was rough and it reeked of murder. His gaze went back the girl.

"And what of your new little spy who carries your silver plates for me!"

"I-I a-am no—" Her protests were silenced with one gesture from his hand, signaling for her to remain quiet.

"Pay your condolences to your family from me as you tell them goodbye." He informed him. "Your execution is tomorrow morning." He thrust him outside.

"As for you," He turned towards her direction, knowing well his harsh tone made her jump and that perhaps he may be unjust to her altogether. Still, he couldn't risk putting the kingdom at risk more than it was already. It was on the verge of falling apart. "You have three days to unpack and leave the castle, for good." And with that, he opened the door of the dining hall and slammed it shut, leaving the beautiful girl with the golden hair shaken and broken.

He never turned back.

Later on that night, as she cried to the moon and whispered him her secrets, she heard the soft moan of an injured man just outside the tiny door of her dimly lit chamber.

~•~•
And so the story has started. Hehe. ♥
(Please vote for me to update faster,
Also comment! I want to know your opinion..unless you want the same fate as Remond..hehe :p)
I know king Maximus was a bit harsh on Juliette this chapter but also, it wouldn't be realistic if he went heads over heels with her on their first meeting. Let's not forget he's a king and he's seen all the beauties in the world.(just saying hehe)
And besides, I want to show you guys his real side before Juliette comes to his life ♥
What's your favorite character so far?
What do you think will happen?
(Let me know in the comments, PLEASE I love you guys)
I hope you have a lovely day, beautiful people ♥
Take care,
–Theladyandthefox