Isadora walked through the hallways of the palace following a knight closely. She had been summoned by the princess of Arcadia. She wondered what a princess would want from a mere maid from her. But she could not help but feel that something was off with this summon.
They came to a halt by the double doors of the throne hall and the knight ushered her to get in. Isadora slowly pushed the door open anticipating what awaited her inside. Taking one final breath, she pushed the door wide open and entered the hall. Inside, her fellow maids were lined up with their gazes down. Fear filled the air and one could see it through each maid's face and trembling hands.
In front of the hall stood princess Roselyn and Sir Brandon stood closely behind her. She was exuding a great aura at that time as she stared at the maids coldly. However, her gaze turned even more colder when she saw Isadora walk in. With a wave of her hand, a knight closed the doors of the throne hall, leaving only the maids, Sir Brandon and her.
"Do you know why you've been summoned here?" She asked her cold gaze sweeping through the maids and finally settled on her. Her eyes burned with anger and her urge to punish Isadora intensified. From her observations, she had to admit that this woman was beautiful than her. Of course that was the reason why the prince spared her a glance and even some time to talk. But she believed that he would dump her after he got what he wanted. After all, she was just a maid.
"No, your highness," the maids answered simultaneously except for Isadora. This angered Princess Roselyn to the core. Didn't she have a shred of respect for royalty? She was definitely going to pay for this. Her anger boiled the nth time and she couldn't hold it anymore.
"You," she called pointing at Isadora. At that time, Isadora lifted her face and stared at her. The maids also looked at her direction. "Who do you think you are to not answer my question?" She walked down the stairs holding her dress with her hands, her face distorted in anger. She looked like a volcano that could erupt any second soon.
On reaching to where Isadora was, she lifted her hand and a hot slap landed on her face. Searing pain rushed through Isadora's cheeks and they immediately turned red. The maids looked at her in pity and could not help but sympathise with her. She had been only admitted yesterday and she was on the wrong side with the princess. How pitiful!
"You should always look at me when I am talking to you," the angry princess said. Isadora looked at her with anger while holding her cheek with her right hand. She would definitely pay for this. What on earth had she done to offend this woman.
"And you should never go near my husband. If I see you close to him again, the punishment will be worse than this. And death it shall be." Isadora's face turned a few shades darker, confused. Her husband? When had she gone close to somebody's husband. It then dawned on her and her eyes widened in realization. Was this woman Alexander's fiancé? But rumors had it that he had not yet married.
"Leave this hall this instant!" She ordered. The maids trailed out one by one until the room became empty. Isadora also left after the princess had nothing else to tell her.
"That should serve as a lesson to her. And a warning too." Princess Roselyn said, her eyes flashing with anger. She looked at Sir Brandon as if wanting him to consent with what she had said. However, the knight stood there, unmoving as if he had not heard what she had said in the first place. Roselyn stared daggers at him before she said, "You are such a disappointment Sir Brandon." And she left.
Isadora paced through the hallways while still holding her hot cheek with her hand. That bitch would certainly pay for this. How dare she slap her in front of the maids. As she passed, the maids glanced at her while discussing in low tones. "It's such a pity she got slapped by the princess." One said.
"I heard that of all the maids summoned, she was the only one who got punished. Poor girl!" Another commented. However, this did not affect Isadora. All she wanted for now was to vent her anger on something, or someone. Come to think of it, he was the cause of all the trouble. He was the one who had made that woman to slap her.
Just thinking of the devil himself, she nearly ran into him while hurrying through the hallways.
"Don't you watch where you are going?" he asked her looking at her face. She however looked down hiding her face. He tried hard to look at her but the more he tried, the more she looked down. He then spotted a red mark on her right cheek.
"What happened to your cheek?" He asked moving his finger at the red spot. Isadora hissed in pain once his finger landed on her red cheek.
"Ouch, that hurts!" He retracted his finger but it hung in mid - air still itching for a touch of her flawless skin.
"Does it?" Isadora lifted her face and stared at him. Did he really care when all this was caused by his "wife". Thinking of this, Isadora fumed in anger and felt like slapping him back. But he was a prince, and given his temperament, he would surely skin her alive.
"What's with that look?" Isadora arched a brow at him before some maids passed smiling at her. It was then that she realized that they were very close to each other. She could actually hear his even breathing. Taking a few steps back, her face turned more redder, her pale cheek taking it to another level. Alexander understood her actions as they were not that close. But he couldn't deny the fact that he liked it when she was that close. And he wanted her even more closer!
"You haven't answered my question yet. What happened to your beautiful face?" Did he just say beautiful? Isadora felt that he sounded seductive while pronouncing that word. She knew she had to avoid him before someone could take her precious life. Besides, she was a maid, and he, he was a prince. There was quite a big difference in their social status.
"I…I just got stung by a bee." She said whatever came to her mind that time. If she said that Princess Roselyn was the one who slapped her, he would probably do something stupid leading her into more trouble.
"You were also with the maids who were eavesdropping on our conversation with my future wife. And for that, you will be punished accordingly," he said changing the topic. Isadora's face turned a few shades darker. Was she going to be punished by this couple? But why only her? In fact, she was the innocent one in this whole ordeal. But the tables had turned and all blame was placed on her. This was unfair.
"From now on, you will be my personal maid. That is the punishment that I have given you." Alexander said before he glanced at her looking for any reaction. Isadora looked at him with a stunned face. Was that even a kind of a punishment. Her eyes then widened in realization. He was scheming to bring her close to him. This man was so shameless.
Alexander took one final glance at her beautiful face before he turned to leave."Remember your punishment begins now!" He said and took a few steps before he halted. "By now I mean that you should follow me," he said looking at the stationery Isadora and began walking away.