A Beast's Tale

Chapter 4

Her soft humming invaded my dreams the next morning, slowly coaxing me to wakefulness well before nine o’clock. She had a pleasing voice, and the tune was soothing and cheerful. This must be something she did unconsciously when she could relax and work undisturbed. It would stop when I got up, I knew. But I wasn’t in a rush to go anywhere. Clavis and Nokto would enjoy teasing me again as soon as I went to my office. They were going to be problematic for a while, either until she left, or until everything settled into a new routine.

Did I want this to be my new routine?

At the very least, I enjoyed escaping to the library at two thirty every afternoon. But was it worth it to get up this early in the morning?

At nine o’clock, I heard her pull back the drapes. “Good morning, Prince Chevalier,” she called, using the same cheery voice as yesterday morning.

I pushed the covers back and stretched, yawning in the warm sunlight. “What were you humming?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was humming, your highness. It’s just a song my mother used to sing to me. I’ll be back in a moment with your breakfast.”

Used to sing to her. How long had her mother been ill?

I went to the bureau, pulling out my clothes before going to the bathroom. Whatever was going on, she seemed to be handling it remarkably well. At the very least, she wasn’t letting it interfere with her work.

Breakfast was waiting on my desk when I finished in the bathroom, my sword propped up next to my chair, and as I’d expected, she’d tailored the meal to my preferences. She disappeared into the bathroom without a word as I ate, but she didn’t resume her telltale humming. She probably wouldn’t until I left. I did so as soon as I finished eating, heading for my office.

That was the pleasant part of my morning over and done with. Now for the unpleasant part.

“Well, look who’s up early again,” Clavis announced as I entered my office. “Decided to sleep in a little this morning? Or maybe you were engaged in other activities with Ivetta.”

This was going to get very old, very quickly.

I made it through the morning without beheading Clavis, a feat in and of itself, and he finally left, bored with his games. Nokto never showed up, for which I was grateful. He probably had a late night. I was getting ready to leave for lunch when Jin walked in.

“Hey, Chevalier, you got a minute?” Jin asked, shutting the door behind him.

“Not for pointless chit-chat,” I said coolly, walking past him toward the door. He stopped me with a hand on my arm, and I shot him an icy glare.

“This is important, Chevalier,” he said firmly.

I yanked my arm free. “Then speak.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, his face devoid of his usual smile. “I ran into Ivetta in town last night.”

Of course he did.

“Did you know she walks an hour to and from the palace every day?”

“The length of her commute does not interest me,” I said dismissively. I hadn’t guessed it was that long, though.

He frowned. “Even though she goes straight through the red-light district?”

That was concerning. She was the ideal target for unsavory characters.

“I got her to admit that she’s had trouble there before, but she wouldn’t go into it. And she refused a carriage, and she won’t move into the servants’ quarters.”

It would be a miracle if she hadn’t had trouble there. That explained her fear surrounding anything of a remotely s****l nature. But she was clever enough to know the danger she was facing, to weigh the pros and cons, as she had when she first started working for me. She had her reasons for continuing as things were, and though they may appear foolhardy, they were probably anything but.

“So?”

“So, she’s working for you, Chevalier,” Jin said, anger creeping into his voice. “And if you want to keep her around, you’re going to have to do something about her before she gets hurt.”

“My recommendations are the same as yours. Why would she accept them from me if she wouldn’t from you?”

He scowled. “I don’t know. But you need to talk to her about it. Give her an order if you have to. She’s gotta obey your orders, right?”

I sighed, irritated. Not by him. By the situation. I didn’t have enough information to formulate an acceptable solution yet, and she certainly wasn’t going to accept an order regarding her personal life.

“Move.”

Jin remained firmly planted in front of the door. “I get that you probably don’t care, but surely even you can see how much danger she’s in.”

“Of course I can,” I snapped. “I’m as much a predator as you are, and she is merely prey, just waiting to be picked off. But her personal life is not my concern. You work in domestic affairs. If you’re so worried about the red-light district, then do something about it.”

“Chevalier-”

“I have nothing more to say on the matter. Get out of my way.”

He did so, reluctantly. “She’s a sweet kid, Chevalier. You don’t deserve her.”

I walked away without another word. Deserve her? She was my employee. I didn’t need to earn her services. She needed to earn her pay.

And I didn’t believe for a moment that Jin’s motives were purely selfless. He was concerned for her, yes, but he was also trying to bed her, and he wasn’t above getting her drunk to do it. Nevermind that he was probably ten years older than her, and she was small enough that one stiff drink would likely be more than enough to incapacitate her.

But, even though he was a pig, at least he would take no for an answer. There were a lot of men who wouldn’t, including most of those found within the red-light district. And she walked through there twice a day. An hour each way. By herself.

That was problematic.

She was alone in the library when I arrived later that afternoon, and she immediately stopped what she was doing and headed for the door. Leaving for my tea, I knew.

She would be very useful if she lived in the palace, unencumbered by time constraints.

Maybe that was it.

I’d located her mother’s doctor, and I was expecting a report regarding her condition later today or early tomorrow. Once I knew the details surrounding her mother’s illness, it would be simple enough to move the ailing woman into the palace while Ivetta was here working. That would force Ivetta to stay, and Jin would have no further reason to harass me. I could resolve the whole matter in the next two or three days.

The thought, along with my promptly delivered tea, put me in a good mood.

Unfortunately, that only lasted about an hour.

The door was thrown open with such force that it slammed into the shelves, and my head snapped up to face the irreverent intruder. It was Leon, his amber eyes blazing as his tall, muscular frame clad entirely in black filled the doorway. He stormed over to me, throwing an open letter on my lap.

“What did you think you were doing?” he shouted.

I sighed, irritated. This was about the purge again. “I’ve already said all I have to say on the matter,” I replied coolly, closing my book and setting it down.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t,” he countered, his black hair fairly bristling. “Did you ever consider trying to talk it out before jumping straight into battle?”

“I don’t waste my time talking to traitors,” I said, scanning the letter. It detailed many of the events of the purge, including much that I hadn’t told Leon, hence his renewed anger. Fortunately, it left out the most important - and confidential - information. I couldn’t risk a leak right now.

“What about the village? I can almost understand the fort, but the village, too? Do you even care how many innocent people were killed in your purge?”

“There is nothing innocent about knowingly aiding and abetting Rhodolite’s enemies.” I set the letter down on the table and stood up, facing him head on. We’d just had this argument a few days ago, and clearly, nothing had changed since then. This was pointless.

“You went too far this time, Chevalier,” he growled, as if the gold lion crest at the fastening of his cloak spoke for him.

“If you wish to spout your drivel, do so elsewhere.”

He grabbed me by the collar and slammed me up against a bookcase, his muscles straining against the fabric of his jacket as my feet dangled just above the floor. Now he’d gone too far. I grabbed his hand and ripped it off of me, automatically going for my sword. My hand stopped on the hilt, daring him to make another move. He clenched his fists at his sides, his knuckles starkly white next to the bright red of his sword belt.

I was positioned perfectly to see the library’s main door, where Ivetta stood, her hand on the doorknob, her face completely drained of color as she stared back at me. Why couldn’t Leon manage something as simple as closing a door? He probably hadn’t even seen her in his blind rage. I didn’t need him scaring her away. Jin would probably blame me for that, too.

Although it would be an interesting irony if she could hold her ground with the Brutal Beast, but ran away at the sight of Leon.

“Whatever,” Leon said irritably, his voice suddenly back down to a regular volume. “I don’t know why I even bother trying to talk to you.” He turned and walked out, his black cloak billowing behind him as his heavy booted footfalls carried him straight toward the door and Ivetta. Her green eyes were wide with fright, and she looked quickly away from him and opened the door.

“Sorry you had to hear that,” Leon said apologetically as he came up behind her. The lion had retired in favor of the lady-killer. She looked up at him, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor.

“There is no need to apologize, your highness,” she said politely with a fake smile. “If you’ll excuse me-”

“Maid,” I called, interrupting before I even thought about it.

Leon let out a frustrated sigh, which made my impulsive command worthwhile. Much to my satisfaction, Ivetta looked back at me and walked over with no hesitation, completely calm and collected again. Unfortunately, Leon followed her. A sigh slipped out before I could stop it.

“Unless you have something of actual importance to say, Black, our business is concluded,” I said coldly.

“I’m just sticking around to make sure you don’t mistreat this little lady,” he said firmly, unflinchingly meeting my glare.

“Thank you, your highness, but that really isn’t necessary,” she said quickly, before I even had a chance to respond to Leon’s accusation. Then she turned back to me. “What was it you needed, Prince Chevalier?”

Nothing, actually, but I led her back into the library, picking up the letter. “Take this to my office,” I commanded, giving it to her. Although I had no reason to keep it, let alone have it rushed to my office. “You’ll need this,” I added, tossing her the key.

“Yes, your highness,” she said, folding the letter closed and leaving with the key in hand.

A smile spread across Leon’s face as she closed the door behind her. No doubt her calm within my presence was amusing to him. It certainly wasn’t a common trait.

And I couldn’t recall having ever given a servant the key to my office before.

Or having fabricated an excuse to get a woman away from Leon. Not that it had worked. In the end, I’d fabricated an excuse for him to walk with her to my office, flirting with her the whole way, telling her what a monster I was. She already knew that, of course. And she would side with him regarding the purge. I knew that just from her personality, even without seeing her frightened expression after overhearing that argument.

That expression had really bothered me.

But she’d surprised me by recovering her poise extremely quickly, and then rapidly intervening to diffuse the tension between Leon and me. That was something Jin and Sariel struggled to do, and they’d been dealing with our rivalry since we were children.

I sighed and went back to my chair, picking up my book. She was becoming a nuisance. The news of her twice daily venture through the red-light district had me on edge. I had better things to do with my time than worry about her safety, and I certainly didn’t have to worry about her where Leon was concerned. He was naturally protective of anybody who could be viewed as weak and vulnerable. She already fit that description, and, with the addition of her appearance as an added incentive, she couldn’t be safer than when she was with him.

Maybe that was it. She’d placed herself completely in my hands, and even though that had been done out of necessity and not by choice, that meant the responsibility for her safety fell squarely on my shoulders now. It was in Leon’s nature to protect and worry, but it wasn’t in mine. However, it was in my nature to take every responsibility seriously. This just wasn’t my forte, and so I found myself struggling.

I came here to the library to read, to escape from my brothers. It wasn’t helping that she was attracting them like flies.

One little maid should not bother me this much.