Aliena's father, Edward couldn't help but worry about the safety of Aliena. After the decree had been passed about her punishment of serving as the crown prince's personal maid for a week, he couldn't help but feel concern.
The ball was over and his family had retired for bed, he sat in his study sorting out some documents before he heard the door creak open and his wife came in. He sat up and adjusted in his seat as she came to the desk.
"You are still up?" She asked with concern etched on her face.
"I'm just worried" he said
"Worried about what?" his wife inquired.
"I can't help but feel concern for Aliena" he opened up and closed the document in his hand.
Ginia's face immediately changed to that of jealousy, just a glint sparkled in her eyes but she masked it up with a smile.
"Honey" she called as she laid her hand on his arm, "She'll be fine, it's just for a week and she'll be back. She shouldn't have, disrespected the Prince in the first place, she brought this upon herself" Ginia stated calmly.
"How could you say she brought this upon herself?" Edward faced his wife in a confused manner.
"Forget I said that, I care deeply about Aliena, everyone does. Besides, a week is going to slide through quickly" She reassured but deep down she wished it could be forever.
"You're right" he sighed in relief, "it's just for a week"
"Also, you have more pressing issues at hand. Like what the King announced at the ball, I knew he didn't summon everyone back to Nacrifa just for a mere ball. Instead, he summoned us back because of the impending war and he wants everyone to participate in the war" Ginia subtly changed the topic to what had transpired in the ball during the king's announcement.
Edward brought out a few documents and stared at it before he said, "As the Duke of Asteria, I have my obligations and that is to protect the people who reside here in Asteria. There's going to be an official dinner tomorrow at the Palace between all the Dukes and court members on how to resolve the war conflict because the war isn't ascertained, we could just say it's a rumor"
"True" Ginia nodded in agreement. It was still hard to believe that an unknown kingdom was about to declare war against them. From the information passed, it was a kingdom that had vampires just like them.
During the ball, the King had made an announcement to everyone present just before the ball was about to end. He had told them the reason he had summoned them back to Nacrifa which was because of the war that wasn't ascertained. He also said that they were going to fight the war together as a kingdom. Of course, people had found it hard to believe.
"At least I have hopes that I would be able to see Aliena tomorrow at the official dinner" Edward said and gave a little smile while Ginia nodded her head nonchalantly but not for Edward to notice.
*******
(ALIENA'S POV)
I stood at the door leading to the crown prince's chamber ready to perform my duties as his personal maid for a week. I was dressed in a maid's attire given to me by the house keeper, she had strictly informed me of the does and don'ts and how I should behave in front of Prince Sebastian because he was a no-nonsense person.
I contemplated within myself if I should open the door or whether I should knock, without much Ado, I opened the wide door and strode into the chamber. Everywhere was decorated with golden antiquities and it was nothing compared to the maid's quarters.
I ventured deeper into the chamber until I came across a door, I decided to open the door thinking the Prince would be in there, I stepped in but halted immediately. My eyes were wide in surprise as what was facing me was the crown prince, half naked. He turned to my direction, his demeanor was as cold as the marble floor and his eyes shot daggers at me.
"What do you want?" his cold voice sent shivers down my spine.
"Um, I.. I'm sorry my Prince for barging in. Forgive my manners" I bowed my head apologetically and cursed myself inwardly for my uncultured behavior.
"I said what do you want? Is that too hard to answer"
I was taken aback, doesn't he remember me? the vomit? and the decree he passed to me as my punishment to serve him?
"Well I'm your personal maid" I said and raised my head up slightly. He was now properly dressed.
"Do your job and stop moping around" he replied me coldly and stepped out of the room.
I bit my lower lips and looked around the room, there was nothing to be done, everywhere was cleaned to a shine and he didn't leave any instructions. I later then decided to clean the room and the whole chamber over again.
Judging by the looks of the chamber, the crown Prince was a clean freak because I couldn't find a single speck of dust. There were no maids or guards around, does that mean he tended to his needs by himself? Or perhaps his stepmother deprived him of it just like how mine did.
Once I was done, I was about to head out of the chamber before the door opened revealing the Crown Prince, he stepped in and walked into his room without acknowledging my presence. I decided to wait Incase he needed anything, few minutes passed and he came out fully dressed in a regal attire. Truth be told, the Prince's handsomeness was undeniable, he looked so ethreal.
"Prepare yourself, you'll be escorting me to the official dinner and you'll be serving everyone present on the table" he said as he buttoned his sleeve.
"What? Everyone?" I asked surprisingly, wasn't it my duties to tend to his needs only?
He glared at me but I bowed my head immediately, his eyes were too intense to look at.
"You've got such audacity to question me, oh right, I haven't laid down my rules" he smiled devilishly, "Rule one, never question me. Rule two, don't make any mistakes I hate mistakes I'm a man of perfection. Rule three, always resume your duties early. Rule four don't speak to me until I command you to do so and five, always be neat I hate dirtiness" he said and approached, "Understood?"
"Yes" I nodded vigorously and was relieved as he stepped away from me if not, I'd have been on the floor because his intimidating aura was enough to get someone pleading.
"We better go now to the dinner" he said and stepped out while I trailed behind him like a diligent servant.
As he walked, he commanded respect from everyone that passed by, they all bowed to him. We walked for a good 10 minutes before we got to a big door and a guard positioned there opened it.
All eyes fell on us or rather him as we walked into the dinner hall. A long table was placed there with seats occupied by various numbers of people, varieties of food were placed on the vast table but what caught my attention was my father. He sighted me and gave me a reassuring smile but his face was marred with worries.
'I'm okay' I mouthed and followed the Prince to his seat.
He sat down and a man stood up and said
"Thank you all for honouring my invite, please let's eat before the meeting commences" I recognized him to be the king.
Sebastian looked at me and motioned for me to draw nearer, then he whispered into my ear "Serve me tea".
I gulped down my saliva and reached for the little kettle to pour tea into his teacup. I could feel that all eyes were on me, my hands shook with nervousness as I poured the tea and something unexpected happened. It slipped from my hand and splashed on Prince Sebastian.
Gasp escaped from the lips of everyone around the table, my mouth hung open as I stared at him but his expression was unfathomable. No mistakes were to be made, that was part of his rules.
Dang it