A/N: I'm sorry for how butchered the occasional French words are - I'm using google/google translate. Please leave reviews!
The estate was in a panic. The King and Queen's royal entourage were expected to arrive several hours earlier than planned. The servants were in disarray, running to and fro to try to finish their tasks the best they could without disheveling themselves. Beca just stood in the center of the foyer with her hand placed over her eyes, occasionally dragging her fingers closer to try to snap herself back to reality.
"Beca?" a familiar voice called out. She knew it wasn't someone she would have to suddenly straighten her back to and force herself back to normal. If it was, they'd call her Mitchell. Turning slowly on her heel tiredly, she gave a weak smile when she saw her friend Jesse approaching her slowly. He was one of the chefs in the kitchens. Occasionally he'd save a few biscuits from the morning for her so she'd have something to eat while she worked – she tended to skip meals until she could sit down and fully enjoy her food.
"Hm?" Beca offered as reply. She really hoped that he hadn't come bearing bad news, like that they didn't have enough of something to support the guests.
"Everyone's really concerned, Becs. You've been standing here for an hour now." At this, Beca paled. Has it really been an hour? Oh, god.
"Jesus Christ. Why didn't anyone say anything? I thought it had been a few minutes." Beca frantically started fixing her uniform so she could get back to work. She looked up and saw Jesse giving her a stupid grin. "What?"
"You haven't changed since we were kids. Sometimes I'd come back from doing something else to find you reading or staring at the clouds and it had been hours and you thought it was only just a moment." Uncomfortable with the sudden sentiment, Beca punched him in the shoulder and left him with his work. King Richard had sent forth two riders on messenger horses to announce that their company was approaching. Once again Beca let each servant and maid run past her, spinning them once to check for errors.
"Erik, really? You have a giant stain right here." Beca pressed the tip of her finger into the pocket of his pocket. He grumbled an apology and went down to the servants' quarters to change. Her attention was grabbed away from inspections when a loud wail of trumpets sounded from outside. Everyone lined up in a somewhat orderly fashion and Beca adjusted her uniform, put on a large smile, and connected her hands behind her back.
Everyone fell to their knees softly when the King and Queen walked in, arm in arm, grinning at their subjects. Beca kept her head down as Master Fitz stepped forward to welcome the royals to the Fitz Estate.
"Welcome, Your Grace." He politely murmured, bowing curtly. The king stood stiff, watching him with a raised brow. The crowd that had gathered in a formation watched anxiously. Usually words were returned from the guest to the host.
"Stand up, Luke. Honestly, boy. You look preposterous bowing to me." King Richard joked, roughly shoving Master Fitz back. Everyone knew that Luke and Richard had been childhood friends. One had risen to glory and one had decided to stay modest and live his life with content. You can figure out who did what.
"Always blunt, Richard." Luke joked, turning towards the gardens. This was a signal to Richard to start striding with him. Once the two had gone on their way with two servants trailing after them, everyone dissipated and returned to work. Most of the servants went into the servants' quarters to play cards or smoke. The latter was another reason that Beca despised the living quarters beneath the estate; there was a constant cloud of hazy smoke that reeked.
The other servants brought in the luggage that soon followed after the royal party and brought it to their rooms and then found themselves wandering about the house in an idle, bored pace. There was at least an hour before the havoc would kick back up as they prepped for the feast later that night. Beca leaned against the railing of the staircase and sighed, her thoughts drifting back to the red headed heiress that had yet to leave her brain.
Several hours later, the kitchen was in full force, pumping out dish after dish of food. Servants with a few beads of perspiration on their forehead desperately swatted the sweat away with the cuffs of their shirts, the muscles in their arms straining as they carried the silver trays with appetizers out. Beca had done nothing since the King had arrived. Everyone else had fallen into a pace that required no management. She looked out the port window in the door and saw patrons looking around with a lost expression on their face, looking from their empty glasses to the servants bustling around. Putting two and two together, Beca concluded that they needed drink refills. Grabbing a pitcher of wine, she went down the long line of guests and filled each glass. She had almost finished one side of the table when she stumbled on a corner of rug that was jutted up into the air, effectively spilling the dark liquid on whoever was in front of her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry, please forgive me." She rambled, not having looked up yet. There was no reply for a moment and then a giggle.
"Paix, Beca. It's alright." Oh, of course I had to spill wine on the woman that has invaded my thoughts. And she called me Beca, in front of everyone else. This is terrible.
"Oh, Miss Beale. I'm terribly sorry, it was a stupid error. Someone should have checked if there were any problems that could trip up guests; I'm only a lowly servant, so it's not a big deal if I fall but see I've made it worse by spilling wine on you." Another sweet giggle fluttered out of the pink lips tinted a slight red.
"You're cute when you ramble, Beca." Chloe murmured, dabbing at the wine on her dress with her napkin. "Now, will you please escort me back to my suite so I may change out of this?" Chloe suggested, trying to calm the fretting brunette in front of her. Behind Chloe, Aubrey observed with an amused expression.
"What? Oh, yes, of course. Come with me, please." Beca offered her hand with a bow and helped Chloe up. She flustered yet again when the smooth skin of the other woman brushed against hers, hooking into the crook of her own arm. It was a silent walk to the Gardenia suite. Beca was still too stunned and embarrassed to speak.
Once they reached the room, Beca unhooked her arm and opened the door for Miss Beale, giving a sly smirk and a wide swept motion of her arm into the room. Once Chloe stepped inside, she went to close the door but was met with fingers gripping around the wood.
"What are you doing?" Chloe asked, an honest look of confusion on her face.
"…Letting you get changed?" Beca replied, almost a question.
"You're not coming inside?"
"No, Miss. I don't think that's appropriate."
"Oh, hush. Come inside, I need help unzipping anyway." Refusing to hear any words of argument, she pranced away into the room. Beca stood still for a moment, her jaw slightly slack before she entered the room. She saw Chloe repeatedly missing the zipper off her dress with frustration, groaning. "Beca, some help please?" Beca nodded and moved forward, wiping her sweaty palms on her linen pants. She shakily tugged the zipper down, the breath catching in her throat when she saw the toned muscles in Chloe's shoulders. The next thing she knew, Chloe was swaying her hips and shimmying out of her dress. Beca let out a strangled noise and averted her gaze.
"What? Nothing you haven't seen before. I'm sure you've got your own… assets." Chloe teased, scoffing playfully at the mortified servant.
"Oh my god. You're nude." Beca squeaked, knowing full well that she was stating the obvious.
"Mon dieu, Beca. You're a squirmy as a child. Now help me get into this dress, should I have to remind you that you're the reason that we're in here." Chloe grinned. Scoffing at the jest, Beca stumbled forward, tripping over the carpet yet again. Carpets were not her forte, it seemed. Lazily brushing her hair back with her fingers she stood up and grumbled at Chloe's laughing. She was thankful when Chloe already had the dress tugged up above her chest. Zipping her back up easily and tying the few lace strings in the back, she gave a small smile and offered her arm to bring her back to the dining room. Right as they got outside the door, Miss Posen intercepted them with a raised brow, and then a look of disbelief.
"Oh my god, Chloe! Seriously?" She asked incredulously, trying to keep her high pitched voice quiet.
"What do you mean seriously, Bree?" Chloe asked, attempting to imitate Aubrey's voice, rolling her eyes.
"You already bedded this one? What did I tell you earlier? Did you hear one word?" The blonde interrogated, not pausing for a single second for Chloe to speak up. It was not until her tirade finished that Chloe held up her finger.
"Are you done?" She asked, strain in her voice. Aubrey nodded. "Good. We didn't do anything, she fell while she was helping me zip up my dress. Don't jump to conclusions, Bree, we all know how that can end up." At this, the blonde flustered and pushed past them, going to retrieve something from their room.
Beca had stood beside the terse argument with a stunned look on her face, holding her palm up to Chloe when the redhead began to try to explain. They finally found themselves crossing the carpet in the foyer into the grand dining hall. Beca turned to return to the kitchen and watched Chloe return to the rest of the guests, easily fitting back into the setting. She stood there for a moment, admiring the way the lights hanging above them reflected in Chloe's baby-blues, the way her new dress hugged her curves perfectly, the way she caught Chloe's eyes flickering back to Beca's every once in awhile, a trace of sultriness inside them that sent a shiver down Beca's spine.
If this was how the rest of the guests visit was going to go, Beca had no idea how she was going to survive the challenge that was Chloe Beale.
