Chapter 7

Clara

The man I saved from bleeding to death in the stables was a prince. He was the First Lycan Prince, in fact. I followed him through the halls of the royal palace and tried to wrap my mind around this strange twist in fate.

A lot had happened in a short time, and I was still reeling. I found my fated mate. I saved the life of a prince. I was nearly executed for a crime I didn’t commit. I learned that my fated mate would rather kill me than acknowledge I existed.

And now I was jumping the ranks of the servants, going from the lowest ranked to a “personal servant.” I wasn’t sure whose servant I was meant to be. Would I be serving Gideon, or his Beta Jasper, or someone else?

Gideon led me to a hallway lined with doors. He opened one door and motioned me inside, revealing a small, cozy room appointed much like my own room.

“This is your room, now,” he announced. “I’ll send someone to collect your belongings from your old room.”

My room? What was wrong with where I lived?

I almost reached for his arm, and then realized that his eyes were no longer blank. He could see. So, I signed my first question instead, hoping he understood.

“Why?” I signed.

“It’s ridiculous for you to work in the palace and live next to the stables,” he explained.

His voice was cold, but at least he understood my question.

“Your eyes are better,” I signed. “Are your other injuries healed, too?”

He shrugged. “It’s not your job to worry about me. But yes, I am fully healed.”

I suppose it was a little arrogant to worry over a prince. But I had put a lot of effort into saving the stranger I found bleeding in the stables. I was happy to see my hard work had not been wasted.

“I am glad,” I signed. “I work in the palace now. Who do I serve? Who should I report to?”

“You are Nora’s personal servant,” he explained. “You report to her.”

With that baffling statement, he turned to leave. I wished I could call out, to get his attention. He left the room too quickly for me to reach out and touch his arm.

The room was nicer than my old one. There was a dresser for my clothing, and a small desk with a shelf for any papers or books I might own. It had a small bed, which currently had only a single white sheet. There were no blankets or pillows. According to Gideon, mine would be gathered and brought to me.

I hoped that whoever gathered my belongings wouldn’t decide to destroy them out of spite. The other lower ranked maids enjoyed stealing and breaking my things. They knew no one would believe me when I pointed them out.

Maybe being a personal maid would grant me protection from that kind of bullying. I could only hope.

I was baffled that I was assigned as Nora’s personal servant. She was a maid, too, wasn’t she? Why did she suddenly need a personal servant?

Luckily, I had an opportunity to talk to her very quickly. There was a knock on my new door, and when I opened it Nora was there with a box holding my possessions.

“I went and got your stuff,” she said, “Gideon told me to have the palace servants go, but I don’t trust them not to mess with you.”

“Thank you,” I signed, taking the box.

Everything I owned fit in one box. At least that meant moving was easy.

I set the box aside and turned back to Nora. I could unpack later. I trusted Nora; she wouldn’t have left anything behind or damaged anything.

“What is happening?” I signed, hoping that Nora would explain, well, everything. I was so confused!

Instead of answering me, Nora rushed across the room and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

“I was so worried,” she cried. “I thought you were going to die!”

I had to wiggle out of the hug to get my hands free to answer, “So did I. What happened? What is going on?”

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Nora said. She bounced in place. “I’ve found my mate. My real fated mate!”

I was surprised. I thought Nora was stuck with her abusive mate, the one she refused to reject. But many people had a “second chance” mate, someone they usually found if something happened to their first mate.

“Who is it?” I signed, eager to know more.

I was glad Nora had a better mate, someone who would take care of her. She was my best friend. I hated seeing her suffer the abuse from her awful mate, but she always stopped me from confronting him. She always insisted it would only make things worse.

“It’s Gideon,” Nora said. “Can you believe it? Prince Gideon is my fated mate!”

“That’s wonderful!” I signed.

Gideon had been kind to me even when he was blind and injured. I was sure he would treat Nora well. This time I was the one who jumped to hug her.

“Gideon found out I was the one to give Jasper the pen,” she explained, “and my wolf recognized him as my mate. So he moved me into the palace. And I told him about you, and about how the other maids bullied you.”

I winced. I wished Nora hadn’t risked bringing me up, even though it had probably saved my life. It could be risky asking for a favor so soon after meeting your fated mate.

“He said he’d take care of things,” Nora continued, “and obviously he did. He stopped the execution! And he promoted you to be my personal attendant. You’ll be safe now!”

I was safe. I sat down hard on the bed in shock. I hadn’t felt truly safe in a long time.

But no one could punish a personal servant but the person they served. And Nora would hardly bully me! I wouldn't have to be on guard constantly anymore.

We hugged again, and Nora went back to her new rooms, after telling me where they were. I unpacked my box and went to sleep in a bed much softer than the one I’d had before.

Working as a personal attendant was much easier than my life before. I still had to clean, but the labor was lighter. And the other maids did not go out of their way to bully me.

They did, however, love to gossip. And their current favorite subject was Nora. They were convinced that she had somehow enchanted Gideon, to make him take her as his mistress.

I seethed as I swept the hall outside the royal guests’ quarters, where Nora now lived. They didn’t know Nora at all! She wasn’t anything like the conniving viper they described.

The maids mocked Nora for “charming” Gideon. They also mocked her for bringing along a useless mute as a servant.

I didn’t care what they said about me. I was used to the taunts and the insults. But Nora was my friend. She didn’t deserve the vile things they said about her!

When they started in on her again during a break, I stepped up to defend my friend. I couldn’t speak to put them in their place, but I made my irritation known. I signed slowly and distinctly, using gestures they could not mistake.

The servants were angry that I dared confront them. They surrounded me, shoving and slapping me. They didn’t beat me the way the lower servants had, but I was still recovering from my injuries.

I stumbled against a table after one of the servants shoved me harder than the rest, and fell to the ground. I covered my head and neck with my arms, expecting the bullying to get worse.

“What is going on in here?” Gideon’s voice demanded from the doorway.