Yeees! Over 3,000 words :) I am still well ahead of my schedule! Thanks for the nice reviews, everyone! I am glad you like it! :) Leave me more opinions, please, I am always glad to have some feedback!

17.

A King's Servant

The next morning came way too fast and as King Severus' voice broke the morningly silence, Rolanda felt like she had not slept at all. Her whole body did hurt and she actually feared that she would have bruises all over her body, not from the beats she had received the previous day, but from sleeping on the floor. How was she going to survive the next days if she already felt that horrible after one night?

Slowly, she stood up, responding to the harsh demands of the king to get up:"I... I am awake..."

She tried to straighten her dress, that was extremely wrinkled from sleeping in it all night, and she turned around to bow at the king briefly, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"This should go faster the next time, I don't want to have the time to fall asleep again before you react!" Severus growled, looking extremely annoyed and Rolanda gulped, feeling like she should hurry on everything she would do today to make him forget that she had been too slow to get up.

"Send for the servants to prepare my bath, and I also want my breakfast ready as soon as I am ready! Bread, suggared milk and fruits."

"Ehm... okay, I...," Rolanda stuttered and hurried down the stairs and through the living room towards the door that led to the corridor, not quite sure where she was supposed to go. Helpless, she walked a few metres before stopping, fearing that she could get lost in the many hallways if she continued walking. She had never been out here alone, and lacking any guide, she was sure that she would never find the kitchens.

"Hello?" She called out carefully, peering around a corner. "Is anybody here?"

"What can I do for you?"

Rolanda whipped around, glad to hear the voice of somebody and even more as she saw that a servant was standing in front of her, looking at her with a questioning gaze.

"I... I need your help," she exclaimed, not able to hold a happy smile back. "The king, he wants hot water for his bath, and his breakfast too, as soon as possible or he will rip my head off."

Her explanation maybe was a little bit more honest than necessary, but at least it caused the man to take her serious – his eyes widened and he nodded at her, answering:"I will hurry down to the kitchens, it won't be long until we will have everything ready, I promise. Just... just go back up there and try to be as uncomplicated as possible."

"Thank you," Rolanda breathed, still smiling at the man who turned around and hurried down the corridor in the direction he had come from and Rolanda herself turned around too, walking back to the king's private chambers in a fast pace.

She was breathless as she came back into his bedroom – Severus was standing next to his bed, wrapped in a robe made of a dark fabric, his foot impatiently tapping the floor. Rolanda just thought about curtesyeing before starting to speak, and she felt like she was being hunted.

"I... the water is on its way, and your breakfast too, your highness..."

Luckily for her, the servants with the water buckets came in before Severus could get any more impatient, and while the men filled his bath tub with the hot water she wanted to check if the servants also had the breakfast.

"Stop. You will stay here," Severus demanded in a sharp voice and Rolanda turned around while all the other servants hurried out of the room. She blushed heavily and tried to hide her glowing cheeks from the king, but she already knew that he had seen it.

"Pull the curtain shut. I want you to prepare my clothes now," he ordered and Rolanda silently released a breath she did not know she had been holding back. Nearly stumbling over her own feet, she pulled the curtain close and then turned to the many wardrobes.

"So, is your father a good and fair father? I noticed that you don't seem to be married. Am I right?" Severus chatted casually, his voice sounding rather disinterested. Rolanda wondered why he wanted to know something like that, but she guessed that it would be better to answer.

"I am not married, no. My father left me the choice if I want to marry or not and... I did decide for myself that I did not feel ready yet. So I guess he is a fair father, yes," Rolanda replied, opening one of the cabinets while searching for some clothes for the king. After some false choices, she finally managed to assemble a pair of black trousers and a plain white wool shirt. She placed the clothes on a small stool next to the curtain and then went to make the king's bed.

"How nice of him. He seems to be very gracious towards you."

"Yes, he is gracious towards many people," Rolanda answered, smoothening out the blankets and lingering a little bit as she felt how soft the fabric felt under her fingers.

"Well, not towards everybody," she heard the king mumble and then she heard the water splashing. A moment later, the king pulled back the curtain a little bit and took the clothes before disappearing again. As he emerged from the space behind the curtain, fully dressed, Rolanda realised that she had not checked if his breakfast was ready and served, down in the living room where it was supposed to be.

Her heart was beating in panic as she climbed down the stairs and she just hoped that the other servants had been as quick with the breakfast as they had been with the water. Though she somehow had the feeling that they had been kind of prepared for a morning like this – the water had been there in a fairly short amount of time, as if it had already been boiling when she had met the servant in the corridor. Maybe they had had to learn it the hard way that the king did not like to be forced to wait.

For the second time on this already eventful morning, she could be relieved – the table was completely prepared, and the king looked kind of satisfied as he sat down and started to eat immediately.

Rolanda did not know what she was supposed to do and therefore she was just standing around in the space by the stairs, chewing on her lower lip and asking herself when she would have time to eat or wash herself or change her clothes for some fresh ones... After all, she was supposed to be around the king all the time...

She could hear her stomach grumbling in hunger and it took a few moments before she could really recall for sure when she had last eaten something.

A few minutes later, King Severus had stopped eating and stood up, fixing his eyes on his new maid with an unreadable expression as he said:"You may eat the remains of my breakfast if you please. I will spend the day in my rooms today, and I expect you to stay with me all the time."

Rolanda nodded and tried not to look too hungry as she stepped forward and took a slice of the bread, waiting for the king to disappear in his working room before she really dared to eat it. She could barely hold herself back from bolting her food down and sometimes she even had to muffle a cough when she ate too fast nonetheless.

After she had finished eating, she took the tray and carried it outside, placing it on a side table next to the door that led into the living room from the hallway. She assumed that it was placed there so the servants did not have to disturb the king more than necessary by entering his chambers to pick up the tray and sticking to that spirit, she tried to be as silent as she could.

Severus was not even looking up from the parchment he was scribbling on with an eagle feather as she entered the working room – he only gestured at the floor next to one of the book shelves that stood opposite to him. Rolanda sat down, not knowing if she was supposed to be doing anything right now.

But he did not say anything, and so she continued to sit there for the next few hours, letting her eyes wander over the backs of the books. When she found herself being bored, she started to try and count them, but there simply were too many of them to count them all – even for a woman as intelligent as she was, there were numbers that she could not really name.

She had expected him to order her to fetch some lunch, but the noon passed and he did not say anything. All she registered was that he seemed to be watching her out of the corner of his eye from time to time, causing her to feel a little bit uncomfortable as this odd sensation was getting stronger when the gaze of his black eyes met her. But still, she tried to act as if she was not bothered by this and look as strong as ever, not willing to give him any clue of the influence he had on her with his mere gaze.

"You may go to the kitchens and get yourself something to eat in case you are hungry or want a brew. The cooks will prepare any dish you could wish for," Severus said casually as she shifted a little bit in her sitting position, probably assuming that she needed something.

It was almost terrifying how polite he was acting towards her in this moment, and in general – the feeling was only intensified by the memory of the things she had experienced in her village and in the castle until now, showing her that he was obviously not hesitating to be a cruel man who was really dangerous.

oOo

The day passed and as the sun started to set, Rolanda stood up and started to light some candles around the room, unasked, but she guessed that he would be alright with that.

"Could you send for dinner? I am hungry. And don't let me wait!"

Rolanda nodded quickly and hurried out of the king's chambers, only to stop dead in her tracks as she remembered that she still had no idea which way led to the kitchens.

Cursing her own laziness, she walked down the corridor a little bit, only to be out of hearing distance, and then she called out if anybody was around.

Fortunately, only a moment later a servant appeared, the same man who had been around the same morning when she had been helpless too.

"The king demands his dinner, I assume?" He asked and Rolanda nodded, a relieved smile on her lips once again as she replied:"Yes, he does... and this time it would be nice if you could take me with you, down to the kitchens I mean... It really is a nice coincidence that you are walking around here whenever I need help, but I think it would be better for all of us if I knew how to get down there myself..."

The man grinned and gently took her by the elbow, leading her towards a staircase while he explained:"Well, I have to admit that the other servants and I agreed to always have somebody waiting up here so we can help you to stay out of trouble."

She looked at him in surprise as they climbed down the stairs. It was not that she had not already expected something like that, but still it was something else to actually know that these people were secretly helping her.

"Oh... how nice of you... I guess I really needed that help...," Rolanda sighed and the man laughed lightly. "I am Rolanda, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, even though I guess you wish that you did not have to meet me... My name is Sturgis, Sturgis Podmore."

He took her hand and shook it briefly before they walked down the next corridor, aiming for a different staircase. Rolanda tried to memorise the way as good as she could so she would be able to find it on her own the next time she would have to get something from the kitchens.

"Oh, well, too late is too late, I would say... I should have gone camping, I guess," she joked dryly and Sturgis smirked even brighter.

"Whenever you need anything, just go down to the kitchens and we will help you," Sturgis said as they reached the bottom of the stairs and walked through a narrow corridor before they entered a large vault that was lit by many torches and fireplaces. Kettles were hanging over the fires and in between the fireplaces, long, old looking oak tables were placed. Maids were sitting on them, cutting vegetables or doing other things, while others were bustling around, carrying things to the cooks. A delicious scent of roasted meat, cooked vegetables and sweet caramell was wafting in the air and Rolanda took a deep breath, feeling how her mouth watered.

"Did the king mention what he wants?" Sturgis asked while waving for one of the cooks to come over, and his smile actually fell for a second as Rolanda shook her head, remembering that there probably was a problem.

"No, I... I should have asked, right?"

"Oh, no, no, never ask him what he wants. He's been here for only a few days, but we had to learn the hard way that he takes it for granted that everybody knows about his preferences," Sturgis exclaimed and Rolanda nodded, glad that she had just left.

"And... and what does he want?"

"Oi, prepare some deer meat and fresh bread, the same as always."

The cook nodded and hurried off, yelling orders at the maids who instantly jumped to action too. Rolanda took a deep breath and made a mental note as Sturgis explained:"This seems to be his absolute favourite. Always pleases him. Therefore we always have something prepared so you only have to pick it up when he asks for his dinner. We do the same with his breakfast and the bathing water."

"Sounds pretty clever," Rolanda smiled and Sturgis grinned before handing her a big wooden plate that was filled with meat, bread and some parsley salad to the brims.

"Go, before he explodes. We will see each other."

"Thank you a lot," Rolanda breathed and she was incredibly proud of herself as she found the way back to the king's chambers without a problem. Severus was already sitting at the dining table and she tried to smile friendly as she gently placed the plate in front of him. The king nodded, his face looking as if he was satisfied with what he saw and she took a step back, watching as he ate.

For a moment, the look in his eyes had reminded her of her father – how content he would look when Rolanda had cooked something for her family and served it to him, extracting eulogies about his angelic daughter from him.

Would it ever be like that again? Would she ever be able to return to the cottage she had grown up in, with her family waiting for her?

And as she focussed her gaze on the man sitting at the table, she remembered that he could be the reason why she had to rely on memories when she wanted family moments. Before she could hold herself back, the words jumped out of her mouth while the king was still chewing:"Why do you hate my father so much that you would be willing to kill my sister, a child, to get me to tell you where he is?!"

Maybe she had expected him to choke on the piece of meat he had in his mouth just in that moment... Or that he would look surprised about her question. But of course he had expected her to ask about his reasons sooner or later, and his neutral expression did not reveal anything about him and his thoughts.

"You should not ask questions, do you understand?" He replied in a calm tone that sounded a little bit forced and Rolanda saw how one of his hands curled up to form a tight fist lying on the tabletop. Nevertheless, she went on – she had already done the first step, and the next one surely could not do more damage, couldn't it?

"No, actually I don't understand it, okay?! I demand to be told what is so important about my father, because right now, it is my life and the life of my little sister that are immensily affected by this situation! Whatever the reason is why you are doing all of this, I feel like I have the right to know hear everything about it! And by the way, I don't care about what I am supposed to do and what not!" Rolanda hissed, taking a step towards the table while speaking.

But only a second later, she regretted how daring she sometimes could be – the king jumped to his feet and threw the plate to the floor with a loud bang, his face contorted in anger.

"Don't you dare to speak with me like that! Stay silent, and nothing will happen to you, girl! You are too curious, and that is no good for you, do you understand me?!"

"But..."

Suddenly, his palm hit her cheek and she stumbled backwards, tears stinging in her eyes. Severus glared dangerously at her, his dark eyes seemingly emitting sparks of fury and Rolanda knew that she had probably gone too far.

Kneeling down, she hurried to pick all the little pieces of meat and bread up and stuffed them back on the plate, only to get back to her feet and hurry to place the plate outside on the side table. Severus gaze never left her, watching every move of her as she cleaned up the floor and she was incredibly glad that she was able to stop her hands from shaking badly.

"Prepare my bed. And if you should ever start with this again, you will regret it. Don't forget that your sister's life is lying in my hands and that I can do with her whatever I want!" Severus threatened her, grabbing her arm as she came back to the living room. He was cutting off the bloodstream in her arm and her fingers were already starting to tingle as he stopped to glare into her eyes and shoved her backwards, towards the stairs.

"Don't forget my words. It would be unwise to do so, for both you and your sister."