Chapter 54: Elfried and the King

Here we are. I know some things are taking time in this fic, but I assure that most of what happens in these chapters aren't just put there for no reason. Most of it are important details that may have a matter of importance in the story. You might understand later, but for now, let's continue…

This chapter may have become a little long, but it wouldn't have been the same if I had pieced it up.

And just for notice, we're not done with Varian yet. Wait and see… *sneaky smile*

Even though she hadn't hesitated to leave her fellow maids to meet with His Majesty, Elfried wasn't hurrying when she walked down the corridor. She was practically strolling more than walking. One could indicate that everything was normal, but her face showed that her mind was tumbling and troubling. Had one looked behind her small, round spectacles, one would see her ice blue eyes exposed a wave of emotions. She had to take a couple of calm breaths to calm herself, and she gathered her hand sin front of her to prevent them from shaking.

"This needs to be done, silly woman…" she mumbled to herself and drew her breath slowly before breathing out even slower. "You have to!"

"There she is, Your Majesty!"

Nigel's voice broke her thoughts, and she looked up to see the King and the Royal Advisor approach her. She quickly put her thoughts away, grabbed a hold of her skirts while she bowed her head and kneeled. "You Majesty!" she rose, but kept her head lowered a bit in respect. "I was sent for, I heard. How may I be of help?"

"I am sorry to interrupt you in your work. I promise it will not take long. We just want to ask you a few questions. It is about something that happened at the Science Expo last year. Uh…" the King cleared his throat. "It appears that you met with someone that day, is that correct?"

Elfried's smile faded, and she became rather serious. "I think I know what this is about." She folded her hands and raised them to her chest and without looking His Majesty directly in the eyes, lifted her head. "It's about the boy? The one that was wandering all alone around in the Castle that day?"

Both the King and Nigel became a little stiff, Nigel perhaps more than His Majesty, but she continued.

She lowered her head a bit more as she spoke again. "I am so sorry, your Majesty. It should have been reported the moment I found out about it."

The King tried not to be too strict and smiled when he spoke. "Well, there is no need to worry about that now, dear. Done is done."

"With all respect, Your Grace, of course it matters!" Now Elfried looked straight up at him, her normally mild eyes more serious that one could expect of a castle maid. "Protocol and procedure weren't followed that day at all, and it should absolutely have been notified!"

The King was taken a little by surprise by her sudden, it wasn't exactly an outburst, but in a way, it required confidence to speak so directly to the King himself.

"Eh… protocol and procedure?" Nigel asked, and he looked questioning up at the King, who arched an eyebrow back in pure confution.

"Yes, Nigel. Protocol and procedure were not followed, and therefore led to a very serious glitch in our order among the Castle staff. I did discovered this, but I am so sorry for failing to report this!"

"Now now, dear Elfried. It can't have been that bad." The King said calmly.

"On the contrary, Your Majesty!" Elfried replied and shook her head lightly, but steady. "When a member of the staff takes into her own hands and hires extra help without permission from her superiors, it is actually rather bad!"

The King and the advisor exchanged looks again, and the King cleared his throat and asked. "Ehm… would you mind explaining that? I fail to understand what you mean!"

"With pleasure, Your Majesty!" Elfried took a short breath before she begun. "During the day of the Science Expo, we were all occupied; two of the maids were sick that week, and the ladies-in-waiting were asked to help out to fill the gaps in order for us to actually get anything done. And during that day, one of them rudely enough took matters into her own hand and hired someone to, not only help her with her job, but she made him do the job for her while she herself were nowhere to be found at certain parts of that day!"

"And what does this have to do with the protocol?" Nigel asked with an arched eyebrow.

"With all respect, Nigel…" she took a breath and rubbed her eyes a moment before she turned to him with smaller eyes, "I am shocked at your lack of knowledge in the Castle staff's own protocol!"

Nigel looked for a moment like he had been slapped, but he gave her rather small eyes back when he replied, openly insulted. "And what exactly is it that I have overlooked here that is of importance?" he said with a hint of snap in hic voice.

Elfried's eyes remained small, but a slight satisfied smile appeared on her face when she spoke.

"When it comes to hiring new or temporary staff for work, the request must go through and be handled by one of the superior maids. Normally it's old Lady Crowley, Violet or myself. But this wasn't reported to either of us before it took place, and so I got myself a shock when I found the poor young boy down in the laundry hall, all by himself!"

"Oh?" both men replied, both of them wide eyed.

"Imagine if this had been a thief, or even worse, some spy that wanted to harm the kingdom. Luckily he wasn't more than a child, but the fact that she had left him alone with the tasks…"

"Wait a second there, Elfried. You said someone hired this… boy that day… for work?" The King interrupted, and the elder maid immediately went silent and lowered her gaze. "Who had hired him?"

Elfried got small eyes when she spoke up. "The Captain's daughter!"

The King blinked, then widened his eyes again. "You mean Cassandra? My daughter's lady-in-waiting?"

"I do believe the Captain of the Guard only has one daughter." Elfried said, her tone polite, but there was a slight sting in her voice.

"Can you tell exactly what happened when you… met this… boy?"

"Gladly, Your Majesty…" she said, and started telling.

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She had been on her way to put away her cleaning equipment and had just reached the lower levels in the servants corridors when she found him. He had a huge pile of laundry beside him, and he was busy stuffing down a huge handful of it into the laundry shaft. She was shocked because she had never seen him before, and immediately walked up to him, her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.

"And exactly what are you doing here, young man?"

Her unexpected arrival startled him, and he made a loud, squeaky cry, and jumped up, causing him to loose the laundry. As he fell on his rear on the floor, half the laundry ended up there as well as over him, half covering him up except his legs. He looked rather ridiculous, and of Elfried wasn't disturbed by his presence she would probably have laughed, because he did look rather sheepish when he peeked out from under the sheets, laughing nervously. "Eh… eh-hi..."

He looked like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and it struck her that he didn't at all look like a threat, but his presence still bothered her, and she kept her mask.

"Where exactly do you come from, and what are you doing here?"

"Uhm, pardon me, Ma'am. I…" he stumbled while he shook of the sheets and rose up to face her. "I was just going to finish this…this…" he quickly started picking them up again while he giggled nervously. "…laundry. Yes, laundry from the guest rooms."

"And what business did you have in the guest rooms exactly?" she asked, squinting her eyes.

"Uhm…" he looked nervous and didn't face her, instead flicked his eyes back and forward, and down at the laundry. "…changing sheets and… bedclothes?" he tried smiling, his huge buck teeth showing off and made him look more ridiculous.

"And exactly who gave you this task? Who gave you permission to wander around here at all? The Castle's corridors aren't just for anyone to walk in an out!"

"I didn't do anything, I swear! I was just helping out for- uhm…" he quickly dropped the laundry again and covered his mouth.

She leaned forward so she stood face to face with him. "For whom, exactly?"

"EH- hehe…" he grabbed around his right arm, avoiding her gaze. "I didn't say…"

"Enough!" she barked and grabbed him by his right ear before he could react.

"OUTCH!" he cried out and started whimpering as her grip was rather hard. "Ouch ouch, please Ma'am! It hurts…"

"I'll ask you only one more time now, lad! Who put you to this?"

"I did it myself! I volunteered!"

"WHAT?" she said, grabbing his arm and turned him towards her.

"I said I could-ouch… finish the guest rooms."

"Finish for whom? I demand to know, or I will report this to the Queen! I'm pretty sure your parent's will find that amusing…"

"NO! Please please, no! I beg you, please don't tell her, don't tell my father?! I'll tell you what you want!" His voice changed from whimpering to desperate and sounded almost like he was about to burst into tears. His huge blue eyes was begging her, and it seemed like she had him, so she released the grip on his ear, but instead grabbed his other arm, so he stood face to face with her.

"We-we made a deal… I was gonna help her… with her chores, and she promised to help me on the expo later on." His voice were quivering to begin with, but speeded up as he spoke.

"Help you with what?" she kept her eyes locked on him.

"A-a-assist me during the presentation on my invention."

"Are you presenting at the expo?" Elfried became more and more confused. Eying him up and down, she arched an eyebrow and became a bit softer in her voice when she spoke again. "How old are you?"

The boy swallowed hard. "Uhm… f-fort-teen, Ma'am."

Elfried blinked, and the shock made her loose her frown. "Aren't you a bit young for that?"

"Eh, well… they said nothing of age in the registration, so I guess it wasn't that important." He didn't seem as afraid as a moment ago, because he started laughing nervously again. "Please Ma'am, I'm sorry if I did something wrong, but can I at least finish off the laundry so I can go and prepare my invention?"

Elfried was a little disturbed as this whole little being confused her. "I… I suppose if you've just been cleaning…" She loosened her grip on him, and he was pretty quick to start rubbing both his arm and his ear after her hands. "Fine. But make sure to be out right afterwards. I don't want to see you here again, is that clear?"

The boy immediately brightened up. "I'll disappear before you know it!" he said and hurried to pick up parts of the laundry again and started stuffing it down the shaft.

Elfried turned around and begun walking away, but turned back and had one last look at him. He didn't look at all like a threat, but his enthusiasm for the work made him a mystery. She still hadn't decided what she thought of him when she turned back and started walking away. She had just picked up her cleaning equipment from where she dropped it when she realized that she hadn't gotten out of him who it was he had been making a deal with. She was about to turn back when young Karen approached her with a merry smile.

"Elfried, they say we can have lunch now! They've gotten cookies and cinnamon buns for us!" she said, but her smile faded when she saw her face. "Is something wrong?"

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"And that's when I got confirmed that she had seen him with the Captain's daughter earlier that day. She had also seen him alone without company!"

"Uhm, do you mind me asking, what did the boy look like?" Nigel said, having raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"He was about six feet tall, rather lanky, messy black hair with a pair of ridiculous looking goggles, freckles, and blue eyes."

"Aha!" Nigel nodded, and looked up at the King, who gave a confirmative nod back.

"Just one more thing, Elfried!" the King said. "I… understand that the boy wasn't supposed to be there at the time, but except from that… do you think you can… I mean- what was your impression of him? Did he appear… I don't know how to describe it…"

"Like he was up to something?" Nigel added and got a strict eye from the King.

"Quite the contrary. I think the boy was as naïve and well-meaning as a retriever puppy. I don't think I've seen a more… childishly innocent being my whole life..." She became a bit thoughtful. "I have a feeling she never kept her part of the deal. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't…"

"Hm…?"

Elfried was snapped out from her thoughts by the King, and gave a smile as she nodded. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I should have reported this the moment it was discovered to hold the girl accountable, but there was this mess that came after the expo, and I have to confess that I…" she lowered her head. "I completely forgot all about it. I am sorry beyond words. I hope I can be forgiven for this forgetfulness of mine!"

"Now now, I can assure you, my dear, that no one is blaming you for this. And things do happen from time to time and we shall not dwell with what has been. We will consider the… glitch to be… notified, and we thank you for your information." The King sounded sincere and mild and was smiling when he spoke. "However, we thank you for your time. We shall not uphold you any longer."

"Your Majesty is too kind!" Elfried said gratefully as she grabbed her dress and kneeled again before she turned around to leave. When she had passed the corner, the King finally spoke.

"Well, that was… informative." Frederic said, thoughtful.

"Hm…!" Nigel had watched the maid walk away with small eyes and now he spoke with low, suspicious voice. "I don't know, Your Majesty. I would honestly advice to be a little… sceptic in her case."

"Why is that?" the King looked down at him. "I think this cleared out the situation."

"Well, Sire… there's a chance that Elfried has… well… adjusted her tale a bit."

"You mean she didn't tell the full truth? We have already confirmed that Varian was with Cassandra that very day."

"Yes, but…" Nigel turned directly to the King. "Didn't Your Majesty notice that she referred to Cassandra only as the Captain's daughter, and… not at all by her name?"

"Well…" the King thought a bit before he looked back at his advisor. "What does that have to do with it? It was no doubt that it was Cassandra she meant. And she is the Captain's only daughter."

"I am only suggesting that she made it sound worse that it was because it was about the Captain's daughter." Nigel urged.

King Frederic seemed to find his advisor's words confusing and grew impatient while he planted his hands on his hips. "I fail to understand you, Nigel. What are you trying to say?"

Nigel arched an eyebrow. "Have Your Majesty forgotten?"

"Forgotten what, Nigel?" Frederic became more and more confused.

"The wedding, Your Majesty!" Nigel sounded a bit louder than he had intended, and grew silent when he realized that he had raised his voice, fearing she had heard them. "The wedding." He whispered one more time.

The King however didn't' seem to be concerned about that, but rather about what he had said. "But… there never was a wedding. Didn't it get called off?"

"Exactly!" Nigel said, urging with his hands.

Frederic shook his head. "But for goodness sake, isn't that… ten years ago or… something?"

"Seven years to be exact!"

Now it was Frederic's turn to arch an eyebrow. "And she's still upset?"

"A woman never forgets, your Majesty. Especially in a matter like her own wedding. I can assure, and this is something the whole staff knows; from that very day, Elfried has never referred to Cassandra as more than the Captain's daughter, and she has never spoken a direct word to her ever since. She's practically pretending she's not even there whenever she's present. So yes, I would definitely say she is still upset from it!"

"Oh…" The king puzzled. "So you mean that we cannot trust her statement?"

Nigel had to draw his breath a moment, relived that His Majesty had taken the point at last. "All I'm saying is that we take what she said with a little pinch of salt, if Your Majesty know what I mean."

"Hm…" Frederic stood a moment, pondering about this, but then a sly smile broke on his face. "As if she hadn't salted the story enough already?" the King chuckled, finding his own joke amusing.

Nigel was a bit too bitten by the situation to take the joke seriously. "If you ask me, I say she added quite allot of pepper in it as well."

Nigel seemed to realize too late what he had said, because suddenly the King started laughing loudly, and gave him a pat on his lanky back, causing him to almost fall forward and loose all his notes on the floor.

"Oh Nigel, I didn't know you had such a good sense of humor!" The King kept on laughing as he walked away, but Nigel remained silent, rather unamused.

"Indeed… I actually forgot to laugh." The advisor replied dryly to himself as he started picking up the his papers.