A Queen and Her Seven Servants {BTS}

Chapter Thirty Six ~

"Dinner," the gruff voice of guard barked before a plate was thrown onto the floor, its contents spilling onto the dirty stone. I raised up, hissing in pain. I observed the food and looked up at the guard.

"This has been eaten off of," I stated, disgusted. Teeth marks were evident in the small piece of meat, one of the only things that stayed on the plate.

The guard gave a short laugh. "Dogs like you get served table scraps. You should be grateful you get that much. Apparently, the Prince had something to do with it." He kneeled down, placing a hand on the bars to steady himself as he looked at me, amused. "If it was up to me, you'd be eating my shit." He then spat in my face before walking off, laughing to himself.

I sat up slowly, letting my back adjust to the movement. I had been trying to stay on my stomach to prevent any sharp pain, but I knew it wouldn't be long until I had to sit or stand. They had buttoned my dress back, and the fabric moving across my open wounds made it even worse. A while had passed since they whipped me, but judging from the searing pain I constantly felt, I was sure that the wounds hadn't fully closed yet, leaving them open and ready for infection. I grimaced.

I looked at the food and frowned. It looked cold and it was obvious this was off someone else's plate. There was no silverware, either, meaning I had to eat with my hands. To make it even worse, my fingers were caked in dirt and dust. Maybe I just won't eat-

Fight.

That word came back to me suddenly. I repeated it a few times before picking up the discarded food. It was freezing. But if I didn't eat, I wouldn't have enough energy to do as my mom told me to – to fight.

The metal door opened and I watched as a few guards shuffled in, clearly drunk. They were laughing and stumbling around, and the guard that had spit at me joked along with them. I decided to ignore them and start eating. I was almost finished when the sound of heavy footsteps echoed off the walls. I looked up and saw the drunk guards making their way toward my cell. I moved closer to the back wall, seeing them eye me.

"This the queen we've been hearing about?" one of them asked the guard from earlier.

The other guard laughed. "Uh-huh! Pathetic, huh?"

The drunk ones laughed before they all started talking at once, mocking me, Aaliyah, my parents, and everything I stood for. Vulgar names and comments filled my ears and there was nothing I could do to stop it. This is a trail, Eve. You just have to endure it while it lasts.

"I hope the King humiliates you so bad, your own kingdom won't take you back," one of the snickered before he threw the bottle in his hand at the wall behind me. It shattered, sending glass shards flying. I cowered away from the mess before the guards grabbed my attention once.

"I think we should treat her like the no-good wretch she is," another smirked.

"I hope the King will let us decide what we should do with her one day," another said. "She may be an enemy of Desdemona, but she's mighty pretty." I saw him lick his lips and I cringed.

For what seemed like hours, they continued to heckle and tell me what all they'd do to me if they had the chance. Some were nasty, others were just plain torture. But I just drained them out as much as I could.

Fight. Fight. Fight.

***

My reflection stared back at me as I peered into the water splashed across the tile floor in front of me. I sighed before taking the dirty rag in my hand and mopping up the soapy water. As the water left behind droplets on the floor, several tiny mirrors reflected my dead eyes and pale face back at me. I stared for a moment before the reflection of a guard appeared behind me. I went back to work once more.

"After you've finished this, the King has ordered you to help the maids with the laundry," the guard announced. He was a little nicer than others, considering he didn't throw me around as if I was a mere doll.

"Yes, sir," I quietly murmured, continuing my mopping. My fingers were beginning to feel raw from all the cleaning I had been doing. First, I cleaned the dishes, and then the windows, and now this. It felt like it should be midnight, but the afternoon sun was still splashing light into the castle halls.

As I continued working, I heard footprints approach from behind me. They were quick and nimble as they hurried across the clean tiles. The guard in charge of me for the day was leaning against the wall when the owner to the rapid footsteps rounded the corner. He bowed and choked out a "Good afternoon, Prince Blaine," as the person passed. When I heard the name, I froze and watched the boy pass by hastily. I looked up and hoped he'd say something to me, but I only noticed his clenched fists with white knuckles. I continued to watch his figure speed down the hall before he vanished behind a door, out of my sight. I felt as though I should cry, but a gruff cough made me resume my cleaning.

Minutes passed and I sat up to catch my breath for a second, but before I could go back to my work, the guard grabbed my arm gently and hoisted me up.

"I'm not done," I quickly said, gesturing at the wet floor with my rag.

The guard's eyes looked kind as he stared at me. "The King expected you to be done minutes ago." He looked at the pocket watch he held in his other hand. "If you're not working with the laundry, he'll get angry."

"But if he sees that the floors aren't done, he'll still be upset," I argued.

The guard squeezed my arm. "I'll take of it." He began to lead me away from the soapy floor, guiding me through the halls at the pace Blaine had taken. "I hate to go against the King but it's not right what he's doing." I heard him swallow. "Nothing he does is."

I didn't know how to respond, so I remained quiet as we went outside to an area that had a metal tub full of water surrounded by young girls. They were giggling as they used washboards to wash the dirty clothes of the royal officials. The guard let go of me and took the rag that I still held and motioned for me to join them.

"I'll come to get you when you're needed again," he told me, giving me a small bow.

That same guard was killed a few days later.

---

i'm having trouble decided which two i should use for a certain part of the story, so what pairing from the boys do you want to see more of? just name me two and i'll use the most frequently requested hehe.

merry christmas, cherubs, or whatever you choose to celebrate! <33