XXX

I was given a bucket of water and a towel. The water stung as it went down my back. My room had a mirror, which I used to look at the damage caused by the whips. Long, red, gashes filled my back, but none were too deep. My face and hair were covered in dried blood. And where they branded my arm with my "name", that hurt the most.
Someone was knocking on my door. "The Prince is looking for you."
"I'll be out in a moment," I called back.
They didn't leave. Instead a girl younger than I was, walked in and looked at my back.
"They get worse the more they whip you," She told me.
She took the towel from my hand and began washing my back. "Sorry if it stings. It's the only way to be sure you don't get infected."
"Thank you," I told her.
Once she was done cleaning, she patted my back dry and placed a sort of oil on it.
"Keeps the wounds wet so you don't get scars," She explained. "I'll tell the Prince you are just getting washed."
I was left alone to change. The uniforms were clean, yet raggedy. It wasn't much to look at, though we were meant to be looked at. We had to pass through the days and the halls obeying our orders and never to make a scene. Hold your tongue tight and never look your master in the eye. They beat these terms into you, I hold the wounds on my back to prove so.
I went to my Master's study. Before I knocked, I heard him speak to someone, yet I heard no reply.
"You sent me a killer as a servant?...You don't think she'll kill me. Geez that will make me feel safer at night... Of course I'm upset. You are here to protect me, yet you sent me a bride that murdered her own mother... That doesn't prove anything!... I don't care how good looking she is! I'm not laying down with a killer... You are missing the point! This Woman Has KILLED! What if she decides to gut me in the middle of the night? What then?... It will be on your head if it comes to that." There was a loud thump and a sigh.
I waited a moment, holding my breath, before I knocked on the door.
"Enter," Prince Liam said.
I opened the door and bowed before him. "I did as you asked, sir. Was the outfit to your liking?"
I looked up from the floor to see what Adriana's girl had picked out. The red shirt I was given was paired with a dark gray pinstripe three-piece suit, the coat of which rested on a mirror in the corner of the room. He was working to make a white tie fit perfectly around his neck.
"Aye," He said, looking at me through a mirror. "Adriana never disappoints. Yet, you need to learn one more thing tonight."
My body feared the worse. Was it like the lessons I had before? Did I do something wrong?
"You need to learn to tie this for me," He laughed slightly. "I can't seem to get it for the life of me."
Prince Liam walked towards me and stood rather close. Closer than I was used to. I took the two ends of the tie in my hands.
"Make sure the thinner end is shorter than the thicker part," I did as he told me to. "Now, You take the longer end and wrap it round. Then just lace it through."
It came out perfectly it seems. I could only tell cause he didn't have me redo it.
Master Liam went back to his mirror and ran his fingers through his hair a few times. "Does this look okay?"
"Aye, sir," I nodded. "May I be of any other assistance?"
He turned at looked at me. "When was the last time you ate, Jocelyn?"
My name sounded odd coming from him. Yet, hearing him call me that made my stomach flutter. "I do not know, sir. I am sorry."
I knew when I ate last. Two days ago. It was toast and jam. The toast was molded and cold, the jam was burnt. It was just enough to keep me going for a while, though I still felt faint, especially after all the blood I had lost.
"Very well," Master Liam when to his desk and lifted an object to his ear and spoke. It was the language the others spoke before.
He spoke for a few seconds, well looking at me. I couldn't keep his eye contact without feeling like my back was on fire again. My eye looked down at the floor while the Prince chatted on his device.
"You didn't understand a word of that, did you?" His voice was puzzled at the thought. "No one ever taught you anything? Didn't you go to school? Read a book?"
"No, sir," I felt ashamed. "They do not mutts like me learn anything as noble as that. I am sorry for my incompetence."
"No schooling," My master spoke. "Yet, you know and understand words like that. How can the be?"
"My father, sir," I looked up to see Prince Liam looking at me like a child looking at new discovery. "He taught me to speak and words such as that, but nothing more. As for books, we never had them. Money was needed for food than material like that, sir."
"I see," Master Liam was still looking at me when a woman knocked.
"Master," She bowed. "You ride is here, sir,"
"Thank you," He waved her out of the room, never taking his eyes at me.
I was beginning to feel my checks warm. "May I be of any other assistance for you, Master?"
"Don't call me that," He said very gently. "You may go to your quarters.There is a device such as this," He lifted the object he was speaking to before. "It makes a ringing noise, you pick it up and speak into this end," He pointed to one part, then to the other. "And put this to your ear,"
"Aye, sir," I said. "What do I say to the device when it rings?"
"You pick it up and say, 'Hello'" Prince Liam was almost laughing at me now. "Should I need you, I can reach you through this. I will be the voice that you hear. Regardless of the matter, be in this room tomorrow at the earliest you can. You will not be punished for whatever time that maybe."
"Aye, sir," I bowed my head and left the study as Master Liam put on his coat. "Enjoy you evening, sir,"
"You too, Jocelyn," Prince Liam spoke quietly, with a crook in his smile.
I took the long winding stairs to the higher level of the servants quarters. Those who were personals to the nobles or higher rank, were giving their own room. It wasn't much, but it was still a place to call yours and that was enough for many of us. Yes, there was dust and mice, the beds creaked and smelled like waste, but it was a place all to ourselves. My even had a tiny window with coloured glass. That evening when I enter the room, the sun had hit the glass, making patterns hit the floor, as well as a cart the rested a silver dome with a handle.
I grabbed the handle and lifted up the silver dome. I was greeted by a gush of warm air that smelled like nothing I have ever know. The dome was holding a plate filled with a meal I had never seen the likes of. Lush greens and juicy meats, my mouth and stomach were begging for the food. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to eat it. I let the dome place itself over the plate and pushed the cart to the corner of the room.
A ringing came. Such as the sound my master had told me about before. I followed the noise to the same device my master had showed me before. I did as he said and picked it up.
"The food is for you," My masters voice was coming from the device. "I expect you to eat, you shouldn't let it go to waste."
"Yes, sir," I spoke to the device. "As you wish."