Amber's Lovely Solitude
1837 Words
The sound of her door creaking and Carmen's voice jarred Amber awake.
"Good morning sleepy head" her voice said cheerfully.
Amber sat up and stared at her in disbelief.
"How can it be morning?" She asked, staring out the window and noticing just how bright the sun was.
"You slept straight through dinner and up to now" Carmen shrugged "You are still recovering after all and cooking yesterday must have completely drained you."
Amber sighed. "Should I be getting ready to leave? I can't keep imposing on everyone like this."
She dreaded the thought of leaving. Here she felt safe and secure with nothing to frighten her. If she had to leave she would have to travel to another town and hope her father didn't find her. She would be constantly looking over her shoulder and wouldn't have a moment's peace. She inwardly shuddered at what he had tried to do and how he had tried to sell her to work in a brothel. Even now she couldn't fathom how any father could do this to his daughter and privately she wished him to rot in hell.
Carmen fiddled with her hands and avoided her gaze. "You are still resting and Dr Rivers hasn't cleared you yet. Best wait till he does" she pointed out and Amber felt relieved.
"What should I do today?" Amber frowned "I could help you all in the kitchen or clean" she offered.
Carmen smiled at her kindly. "It was awfully kind of you to step in yesterday but Dr Rivers would be awfully upset if you did too much before fully healing."
Amber fidgeted. She really didn't want to stay in her room by herself. She needed to do something, anything to keep herself from getting bored.
"What would you like to do?" Carmen asked her.
"I don't know" Amber admitted. "Could I explore the castle grounds?"
Carmen thought for a moment. "Do you like flowers by any chance?"
"I do" Amber said excitedly. She loves the colour and various scents they offered and always stopped to admire them when walking home from work.
"We have a courtyard" Carmen said slowly "what if you had a leisurely breakfast there? It's nice and private but it will give you a chance to get fresh air and relax a little."
Amber nodded enthusiastically then glances down at her wrinkled clothes.
"Do I have time to get cleaned up?"
"Of course" Carmen said easily. She pointed to a dresser in the corner of the room. "There's clothes in there you can wear. If you leave your clothes outside your bedroom door another maid will scoop them up and wash them."
Amber bounced into the bathroom and washed herself quickly. Carmen handed her some clothes through the door.
"Thankyou" Amber called out and happily dresses in more sweatpants and a flowy shirt.
"You didn't strike me as the type who likes wearing dresses" Carmen said drily as Amber walked back into the room.
"I hate them" Amber said passionately and Carmen grinned.
"A girl after my own heart. I wish we could wear pants as our uniform but never mind."
She beckoned to Amber and together they walked down the stairs before Carmen lead the way through a bunch of corridors to a set of large oval wooden doors. "Here we are" she said opening the doors with a flourish.Amber stared. The courtyard was large with a stone floor and a large round table and chairs. There was a stone wall surrounding it but there were see through panels on one side, affording a view of the grounds and forest. It had a garden bed curving all the way around to the other side of the doors and it was filled with an array of different coloured flowers. It was like looking at a beautiful rainbow, there were so many different colours
"It's lovely" Amber breathed in awe taking in the wonder of it.
She made her way to the table and sat down, basking in the warmth of the sun and the smell of the crisp fresh air.
"I'll be back with your breakfast momentarily" Carmen told her "if you need the bathroom there's one next door."
Before Amber could thank her she disappeared leaving her to close her eyes and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere.
Heavy footsteps suddenly sounded and Carmen appeared holding a large tray, which she set in front of her.
"I can't possibly eat all that" Amber protested as she looked down. It was absolutely covered in food. There was toast, fruit salad, yoghurt, biscuits, crackers, cheese and both coffee and juice.
"Won't you join me" she implored but Carmen shook her head.
"I've had breakfast" she commented "plus I have a lot of work to do. I put a lot of food on in case you wanted to spend a fair amount of time out here."
"Thankyou so much Carmen" Amber said looking around "this is a great way to spend my day."
Carmen smiled at her. She really liked this girl. Amber was so polite and well mannered and she hadn't hesitated to help out the other maids yesterday. She planned on keeping a careful eye on her, to ensure she was safe and to protect her if needed.
Carmen waved bye at Amber who returned it before turning to her food. She decided to eat the yoghurt and fruit with a piece of toast. She put the tray aside after and sipped the coffee, leaning back in the chair and relaxing as she listened to the birds chirping and occasionally spotted a butterfly. She was so engrossed in her surroundings that she didn't notice the footsteps or the person observing her.
Prince Liam strode to the courtyard needing some peace and quiet and to be left alone. As he got to the open doors though he noticed a girl sitting at the table with a coffee in her hand. It's that girl the human one, he thought to himself. I wonder what she's doing here?
He started to peruse her, amused that she hadn't yet noticed him. She wore basic Grey sweatpants and a plain white shirt with sneakers on her feet. Her brown hair was pulled messily into a ponytail with little strands floating around her face. Her eyes were sparkling as she drank and her light pink lips were pulled back in a smile. She wore no makeup, he noticed, and although the girl was still gaunt she was looking a lot healthier. It was almost refreshing to see a girl who didn't dress in skimpy clothes and wear excessive makeup.
Prince Liam strode forward eliciting a gasp from Amber who was startled.
"Your highness" she stammered rising to her feet and making a rather clumsy bow.
"Please sit" Prince Liam said harshly and Amber complied immediately. She hoped she hadn't,t offended him or greeted him incorrectly. She had no notion of etiquette and wished she had asked Carmen about it.
"Just call me Prince Liam" he drawled and Amber nodded. He glanced around the courtyard and settled back in his chair.
"I can leave if you would like the courtyard to yourself" Amber offered but he waved her back down.
He studied her intently causing Amber to blush and look away.
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen" Amber said hesitantly.
"Still a child then" he muttered. Amber's temper flared.
"I am an adult" she shot back "not a child." Good lord what had she done. She placed a hand over her mouth in horror only to see him chuckling with mirth, his blue eyes dancing.
"Why were you running" he asked unexpectedly and Amber fell silent, avoiding his gaze in shame.
"Well" he continued relentlessly "I have a right to know what led you here and if you are are being honest or playing a role."
Amber's cheeks burned. How could he accuse her of not being genuine? The thought had never even crossed her mind to be deceitful and lie. She took a shaky breath.
"My father tried to sell me to a brothel. He needed to pay off a gambling debt and wanted to make a profit on every customer I brought in." Her heart was painted at the thought. If she hadn't run she would have been subjected to a life that she hadn't wanted, being used and degraded by men and then discarded when she was too old to be of use. She had seen it happen to a lady of the night in her town and there was no way she wanted any part of that life
Prince Liam was silent. Secretly he felt anger that any man would do that to a woman but for a father to do it? That repulsed him. He was suddenly glad that she had run but fought not to show it. He would not show kindness to anyone least of all a plain human girl. He might stand up for the maids but that was only because it was a hassle getting new ones all the time. He noticed the girl casting her eyes at the floor. She's so shy and timid. It's like she's broken or doesn't have a backbone.
He forced himself to look Amber up and down. "the way you look, I doubt you would have brought in any customers" he said rudely.
Amber couldn't believe her ears. The nerve of that man. She wanted to hit him, scream at him, do something! But in the end she stayed quiet, not knowing what the ramifications would be if she gave in to her impulse. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of his cruel remark and quietly muttered "please excuse me your highness."
She rushed out of the courtyard and ran to her room, locking the door behind her as she threw herself on the bed and cried.
Prince Liam watched the human girl leave and patted himself on the back. Now he had the courtyard to himself and had let some of his anger out on the girl. However he didn't feel as exhilarated as he normally would. Instead as he pictured her big brown eyes and the way they had filled with tears, he felt a brief moment of guilt. Perhaps he had been unnecessaringly harsh on the fragile girl. But he couldn't afford to be weak or nice.
He heard the courtyard doors reopen and groaned out loud. Was he never to have any peace? Just a few minutes to himself, was that too much to ask.
"Forgive me your highness but Queen Annabeth requests your presence in your study immediately" Neil said softly, bowing down to the Prince
Prince Liam sighed in exasperation "what does mother want now?"
"I'm afraid she did not say Prince Liam, only requested that I find you and let you know that your presence is required."
Prince Liam stood up grudgingly and began to make his way to the study, wanting to get whatever his mother wanted over and done with
- Writer
