Honest Man in Chains | Closed.

Katherine felt bad for walking away from Matt but knew she if she hadn't she would have gotten in trouble.

On his way back to the kitchen, Matt was stopped by a guard, who asked why he was wandering around instead of working. "I was just on my way back to the kitchen," Matt said.

The guard grabbed Matt by his arm. "We don't tolerate slackers around here, servant," he snapped.

Matt frowned. "Yes sir," he said, breathing a small sigh of relief when the man let him go.

Katherine sat in her room, shocked when her father stormed in and began scolding her. He accused her of leading the servant on and she was reminded she needed to stay pure or he would disown her and toss her to the pesants.

Matt scurried back into the kitchen, ignoring Greta's concerns as he continued unpacking the potatoes. When he finally finished, he went to his room on the opposite side of the castle, laying on his cot and sighing softly.

Katherine stayed silent as her father continued berating her. She was shocked when he pressed a kiss to her forehead, telling her he wanted to see her own the world once he was gone before he left the room.

Matt looked over when one of the other servants around his age, Jessica, brought in a bag of ice. She smiled kindly at him and placed it on his shoulder. "Greta told me your shoulder was hurting," she said.

Matt smiled up at her. "Thanks, Jess," he murmured.

When Katherine was told that lunch was ready, she quick write a note to Matt, apologizing for how quickly she had left him after her father had arrived. She made sure to hide the note once she finished it, asking a servant to give it to Matt once she sat down to eat.

Matt dozed off, finally able to relax after what felt like a 24-hour-shift. But he was quickly awoken again, this time by Jessica again. She handed him a slip of paper before leaving. His brows furrowed as he unfolded the paper, reading the note from Katherine. He smiled slightly, totally surprised. She seemed to be the only one that actually had any consideration for any of the servants.

Katherine continued eating, speaking when spoken to and smiled kindly and thanked each servant who gave her food and filled her goblet.

Matt decided he would wait until later to thank Katherine, since he was still tired, and he was sure he had a long day ahead of him tomorrow. He knew it was still only a little after noon, but he had the rest of the day off so he planned on sleeping for the rest of the day and all of the night.

Katherine asked to be excused from the table once her brother's started going on about beating one of the dogs. She hated how cruel her brother's were and prayed they never were placed on the throne.

Matt fell back asleep, snoring softly as he slept peacefully.

When Katherine was excused she sat outside in the garden, just wanting to be alone for a little while.

Matt managed to wake up before it got too dark, unable to fall back asleep. He groaned softly and got up, deciding to get some fresh air and see if that would help.

Katherine was shocked no one had tried to look for her. She was still sitting in the garden, enjoying the peace and quiet of it.

Matt walked outside and began to walk around, enjoying the cool night air. He walked through the garden, stopping when he saw Katherine. He looked around, surprised she was out here alone and didn't have a guard with her. He took a deep breath before he walked up to her, bowing before her. "Your highness," he greeted. "I got your letter. Thank you."

Katherine heard Matt's voice, smiling when turned to face him. "I was worried I had offended you earlier and I wanted you to know that wasn't my intention."

Matt smiled at her and shook his head. "Of course not," he said. "I wasn't offended. May I ask what you're doing out here alone?"

"It disheartens me to hers my little brothers treat animals so cruelly," Katherine admitted.

Matt frowned. He'd always had a love for animals, so it upset him to hear as well. "My apologies," he said. "It must be difficult for you to hear some of the things they say."