Parallel

Chapter III: Hayes-ndsome

Auralea

My eyes shoot open and I spring up from the chair and dash over to the clawfoot tub. I grab a rag and get down on my hands and knees, pretending to scrub the floors just as I hear footsteps echoing throughout the room. I am shocked when leather boots come into my view. They bear the royal crest. My head is already bowed so I simply mutter, "Your majesty." Only someone of high status can afford leather. I am too frightened to look up at him. Braxton's words repeat in my head, be sure to bow and never make eye contact. There is a long pause of silence before he speaks. "You may rise. Why is it that I have never seen you around before?"

My breath hitches and I stand. "That is because I am new to the castle, your highness." I awkwardly fidget with the hem of my dress. I could be put to death for sneaking around the royal quarters. He takes a step closer and I can feel his gaze on me. "What is your name?" His tone is rather accusatory, making me all the more anxious. "I am Auralea Webb from a far off village south of here. I am still learning how to properly carry out my duties so I apologize if I have offended you in any way."

I ramble nervously as I stare down at his perfectly crafted boots. He scoffs as if what I said was completely unremarkable and his boots leave my view. I hear him plop down onto the large bed. "The room looks tidy enough. You are dismissed." I hold the rag firmly in my hand and scamper to the door. I pull it open but before I leave, I glance back at him questioningly. He is lying on his back with his right arm lazily draped over his eyes. His frame is quite built with muscle and everything about his attire screams status. His arm shifts and our eyes meet for a millisecond. He is simply stunning but my alarm in that moment is enough to force me out of his room.

I shut the door and sigh. I should have never followed those tunnels. That man will tell Mrs. Inman and I'll be unemployed. Imagine it, an orphan with not even a dollar to her name in the market for work. I'll be a laughing stock. I will bring shame to the name of the orphanage. I trudge through the halls of the castle nudging every wall that I can get my hands on, searching for another trap door. I find one in a deserted hall and begin to blindly navigate the tunnels once again. When I finally make it back to my room, I have decided that today has been full of far too much excitement and disappointment.

I shut the trap door and fix my bed so that it rests atop the latch. After unlocking my door, I change into my nightdress and scarf down the food Braxton packed for me. I curl up in the scratchy sheets of the bed and try to decode everything that has happened today. From leaving everything I know behind to running into one of the royals, the stress is enough to put me to sleep.

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Mrs. Inman comes into my room as the sun is rising and wakes me just as Braxton has done for years. The only difference is that she doesn't spoil me with baked goods. When I am finished washing up and getting dressed, I meet her in the hall just outside my bedroom. She leads me to the door in which we exit and enter the royal quarters. She tells me what cleaning each room entails and walks me through the first room. After I scrubbed the room until it was spotless, under Mrs. Inman's instruction, I am ushered into the room right beside it.

"Be efficient." And with that, I am left alone to clean the rooms of the east wing. I am quick to notice that this is the wing of the strange and semi rude man that I happened to run into yesterday while I was sneaking around. It's a surprise to me that I haven't been escorted out of the castle yet and dumped in the town. Then again, I am glad that I can make at least a day's worth of pay before being put out. I clean masterfully while I reminisce about the orphanage. I wonder what the children are up to and if any new children were brought in. I wonder how the bishop and Braxton are holding up. I daydream about when I was still so young and full of life, my only worries were getting scolded by Braxton.

I make it back to the room I was dreading most and rap gently on the door before pushing it open. I look up and see the man from before sitting on the chair closest to the window with a book open and his feet propped up on a matching ottoman. He looks completely relaxed. The way the sunlight hits his chocolate skin makes him look almost angelic. He looks away from his novel to glance at me. I curtsy and look down at the floor as I begin to ramble nervously. " I am sorry for the interruption, your highness. I can come back another time-"

"That won't be necessary. I am only reading. Carry on." I nod in understanding and begin to clean the room. There is a bit of tension in the air but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Every time I catch a glimpse of his face, he looks comfortable. I try my best to shuffle around the room in a quiet manner. For a while, the room is completely silent besides the sounds of me cleaning and the sound of him turning the page.

I jump slightly when his voice suddenly breaks the silence, "You look very familiar Auralea." I am unsure of which is more unsettling: the fact that he remembers me or the sultry slur of his words. I stop my scrubbing of the tub. "I am not sure how that would be possible, your majesty. I just arrived in the castle yesterday. I have lived far away from the castle the entire duration of my life." He hums in agreement and thought and doesn't speak again for the rest of the time it takes me to clean his room. I look him over one last time before I exit his room. That man is strange. Strangely intriguing, strangely confusing, and even more strangely handsome.