AN: It's been a few months... I was going to post this like a month ago, but June didn't really go the way I thought it would, so my plans got a little delayed. My plan as of now is to hopefully finish up either Lost or this one by September (now let's all cross our fingers and pray the Writer's Block away), then get a good chunk out of the other one. As for me, I'm perfectly fine, it's just June went by differently than I thought.

A Diamond in the Rough - Same here... Thank you!

Doctor Legolas - Hey! Hopefully about 6-7 months isn't too late (*smiles sheepishly and hides*)... Sorry about the wait. Thanks! :D

TJTwigg - Thank you!

Chapter 2

Days, which quickly turned into weeks, passed, and I hadn't seen the Prince since the encounter on the bridge. In the earliest days that followed, his strangeness was always at the forefront of my mind, yet as the weeks dragged on, I started to think of him less and less. Instead of crossing my mind every few minutes, he only came to my mind every few days. It slowly seemed like I was beginning to listen to the side of me that told me to keep my head low, to not meddle in things that weren't my business. The side that was less likely to bring me trouble.

For those weeks, my days were filled with the monotony of clothing, folding each tunic with such painstaking precision, stacking folded cloak after folded cloak, delivering stack after stack to their rightful owners only to get an armful back to clean again. Luckily, my trips out of the workroom seemed to increase, so it felt like I had more opportunities to stretch my legs.

At the moment, I was stuck in the back at the water basin, rinsing more clothing while the skin of my fingers began to wrinkle. Torien had taken up my spot beside Braigves, sorting through some dirty laundry quietly. Meluines was at my side, wringing out everything I handed to her. She didn't say anything to me, but it wasn't unusual for her. Even when Braigves left the workroom, she rarely said a word.

A still, focused silence hung in the air, until the sound of tearing fabric and a tight gasp pulled me from my work. As I turned to see what was going on, the sound of metal clattering on the ground reached my ears. Torien was leaned against the table, gripping her right forearm, staring at the torn pants at her feet. Her mouth was open, but it wasn't from pain. Shock was written across her features. Beside me, Meluines stiffened as she took in the same sight.

Surprisingly, Torien was the first to speak, "I'm sorry, Braigves! I didn't know there was a knife in there. I know, I should have known. This is all my fault." Hanging her head, she moved to grab the tattered and bloodied clothing at her feet, but then winced, gripping her arm tighter.

Braigves clicked her tongue. "There's nothing to apologize for. The guards must have accidentally grabbed it when they gave us this load. Now, we're going to go bandage that arm before anything else gets bloodied. Come." Looking up at Meluines and me, Braigves said, "Don't bother mending those pants, because they were fraying and would have been replaced soon. But clean up the blood after you get done rinsing. I don't want any clothes falling into it." With that, Braigves led Torien up the stairs, some stray droplets of blood landing on the ground, marking their path.

Turning back to the basin, I stiffly started rinsing again. Who would have forgotten a knife in a pile of clothes?

As if she was reading my thoughts, Meluines murmured, "Maybe they didn't forget about it."

"What are you suggesting?" I asked, astonished.

Shrugging slightly, she never lifted her eyes from her work. "I don't know, but I doubt any of the guards would just forget about one of their blades." As logical as that was, I couldn't stomach the idea of what I thought she was trying to suggest. Never breaking her rhythm, she added. "We shouldn't discuss this any further. It's not our business."

It is when someone who works beside us was injured because of it! I thought, but held my tongue, because Meluines was right. Discussing it further wouldn't help anything, and would only lead to trouble.

Stay out of trouble. Just keep your head low.

Minutes passed, and the amount of clothes in the basin gradually decreased in number until there was only some ice cold water left lapping against the sides. Meluines grabbed a piece of cloth out of her apron, and dipped it in the basin. Nodding to the knife, she murmured, "Clean it. You've probably had more experience than I have, and we don't need another injury."

That was true. About a year before I began to work as a servant, my father showed me how to clean his pair of knives, insisting that I learned to clean something the proper way before leaving to work. Before I could remember anything more, I gave my head a slight shake, stifling a wince. Reaching into my own apron, I grabbed my own piece of cloth, and picked up the knife by its hilt.

Apart from the dark red line of blood on the blade, nothing else was wrong with the knife, which confused me. Why would anyone discard a perfectly good knife? My head swimming with questions, I dipped the blade into the water, wiping Torien's blood from the metal. What lay underneath made me freeze.

Behind me, Meluines murmured, "I'm going to go throw these pants away. I'll be right back."

Without turning, I gave her a stiff nod, unable to come to terms with what I had found. There were small, sweeping laces of leaves decorating the top part of the blade. When I had looked at my father's knives, they weren't decorated, and their hilts were a dark brown. The hilt in my hand was more of a light gold to brown color. This was not a regular guard's knife.

Moving from the basin, I quickly dried the knife, wrapped it in cloth, then slipped it into the pocket of my apron.

Stay out of trouble.

Not at a moment like this, I couldn't. The meeting on the bridge came flooding back to me, and one particular detail stuck out in my mind. The Prince was missing a knife, but unfortunately, I couldn't remember the color of the hilt. Having nothing but a wild assumption in mind, I took a deep breath, then got on my knees and dried the floor Meluines had just washed. I could feel the bulky cloth brushing my legs through my apron, and it felt completely wrong. It felt like trouble. But if I wanted answers from that day, then this knife was my only shot, even if it wasn't my business. Even if I shouldn't be the one to handle the return of the knife.

After drying the floor, I stood, wiping a stray hair from my face. Looking at the work in front of me, I took up Torien's spot at the table, mostly to give myself something to do while I waited for the others to arrive. I started to lose myself in the peace of the work, but after remembering that it was this very pile that the knife came from, I slowed, checking each item for any other weapons.

By the time Meluines returned, I had finished Torien's pile and started one of my own. Silently, she took up a spot beside me. To my surprise, she didn't ask what I did with the knife.

Braigves returned soon after, and said, "She's fine, but she won't return for a few days." The minutes went by, and the three of us fell back into a silent harmony. Nothing was said about the knife, which came as a slow relief to me. I didn't want to pass this opportunity for answers up.

Yet, I was a lowly servant girl. The Prince wouldn't spill his story before me, not when some other servants had a tendency to gossip a little. Besides, he probably wouldn't remember me. Even if he did remember me, he definitely wouldn't trust me. There was no way he'd tell me anything, except a thanks for his knife, if it even was his knife.

Looking up, I noticed Meluines studying my face. We made eye contact for a second before she dropped her eyes and returned to work.

My pulse quickened. Was she going to say something? Trying not to appear edgy, I swallowed quietly and buried my head again. A moment passed, then another, and Meluines said nothing. Slowly, I allowed my eyes to lift again. Meluines was looking at me again, but this time, she raised her eyebrows slightly. Willing my face into neutrality, I looked back down at my work, fighting my racing heart.

The knife grew heavier in my apron.

AN: I will admit, I didn't have much time to edit this one (but I shouldn't use that as an excuse for how good/bad it turned out), so if you see anything wrong with it, please let me know. Also, if you've got anything you want to see in later chapters, let me know, because the only thing I've got for this one is the next chapter :/

Thanks guys!