"The fact that you're the King's wife and the Queen, does not change that you are human, Your Majesty. For as long as you have the blood of a human, you'll always be prey here."
'Knock Knock'
Marlowe jerked back to life by the double bang on her door.
"Come in," she tiredly permitted with a furrowed brow. She recalled dismissing the maids for the day and telling them she needed rest.
The door opened to reveal one of her maids—as expected. Marlowe sighed, but understood why when she saw her with a bucket of steamy water.
"It's time for your evening bath, Your Majesty," the maid informed respectfully.
"Hmm, thank you," Marlowe acknowledged as she stood to accompany her to the bathroom.
Once in, the maid fixed the tub in the usual way with all the floral and natural mixtures.
She then walked up to Marlowe. "Your Majesty," she muttered, recollecting what happened that morning, before reaching out to Marlowe's clothes.
In compliance, Marlowe let her take off her dress, before she helped her get into the tub filler with warm water.
Immediately she sank in, she felt the strains in her muscles going away, and an unbelievable calmness in her nerves as the warmth of the water invaded her, relaxing all the tenseness from the day's strenuous mental and emotional happenings.
She couldn't suppress the satisfied moan that fled her lips from the sweet feeling.
"Are you feeling better, Your Majesty?" the maid, who was attending to the tangled lockets in her hair asked.
"Mmm, I am, thank you," caught off guard, she muttered beneath her breath.
"It's my pleasure, Your Majesty," the maid replied, with a detectable surprise in her voice.
Done with her hair, the maid lattered the soap on her body, slowly rubbing off the dried sweats of her earlier agita and fear.
Marlowe's eyes that were closed, gradually fluttered open. She moved to face the maid as she recalled, "Where are the others?" she asked, noticing that the maid was alone as they normally appear all together.
Hearing this, the maid smiled. "We came to a decision to serve you separately, Your Majesty, seeing that you're quite uncomfortable with all of her presence at once."
Stunned, Marlowe awkwardly looked away. Fighting to hide the smile that threatened its presence on her lips. Nonetheless, she decided to express her appreciation knowing it'll be bad if she doesn't, and it'll be against her father's teachings. "Thank you, that's thoughtful of you—" she paused. A frown on her face.
"What's your name, please?" Marlowe suddenly asked, catching the maid off guard.
"I'm Berkel, Your Majesty," she responded with a blush on her cheeks.
Telling herself to remember, Marlowe turned back, facing her back to the maid as she let her wash her shoulders.
When the maid, Berkel, was done washing her with the fragrant soap, she carefully downed a ladle of water to wash it away.
"Your Majesty?" Berkel called for her with a tinge of hesitation.
However, she was not met with a response.
Quite reluctant, the maid called again, "Your Majesty?" this time, tapping her on her shoulder.
"Huh? Yes?" Marlowe abruptly stirred when she realized that she was being called. "Sorry, I'm not used to that way of being addressed, you know," she explained when she saw the maid's fallen expression.
Puzzled, Berkel shook her head sideways, "No, no, Your Majesty, you don't have to apologize, that's not right," she cut in.
"—I actually wanted to ask why you requested our names?" Berkel questioned.
Confused, Marlowe's bright green eyes shone, "Is it not normal to know the names of the ones who serve you?" she asked callowly.
Berkel plainly looked at her. "No, Your Majesty, it is not." she replied.
Marlowe's brows wrinkled. "Why? What are you called, then?" she inquired with sheer curiosity.
"Maids, for a person, maid," she responded.
"Oh," she said as she turned back around, her wet hair sticking to her shoulders and back. Harboring a thought, she decided to speak her mind, "Are you offended that I want to call you by your name?" she asked with a line of worry etched on her face.
"Of course not, Your Majesty, I'm more than glad by that," Berkel confessed with a wide happy grin.
"To be honest, Your Majesty, we maids are beings too, and we feel we deserve at least that tiny bit of respect. We work for people and are just known as mere servants, that's not fair." the maid complained in a low tone.
As if realizing that she had just done something wrong, she whipped her head up to look at Marlowe, dread, unobscured in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I talk too much," her hand immediately flew to her mouth, covering it up.
Marlowe pursed her lips at her actions. "I understand how you feel, it's alright." she assured.
"Let me tell you, even we commoners don't have it great, you know? To be honest, I think the privileges you maids have in the Castle is more than that the outside commoners have with royalty." she said with a slight smile.
"You really are a good person, Your Majesty, you'll make a good Queen," Berkel praised, with her cheeks spread widely.
Marlowe's response was a shy giggle before turning away, the smile on her face disappearing completely, 'That's never going to happen,' she thought with intense doubt in her heart.
"Berkel," she called.
"Yes, your Majesty," her response came almost immediately with glee in her voice.
"Can you be more elaborate on the Royal family?"
"Mmmm," trailing a hum, she continued, "actually, the Royal family's tree is rather complicated, I'd say," she said.
"How so?" Marlowe questioned in confusion.
"The late King had five wives, and out of all of them, only three were able to bear him children. Which was the Queen—oops," she blundered. "Now the Queen Dowager, and his other two concubines." correcting her mistake, she went on.
"The Queen was loved by the late King even nations knew that, but all of a sudden, after the King's birth, the late King's love for the Queen instantly vanished. She was replaced by Lady Lauren, the late King's second concubine, but her position as Queen still remained."
"The're lots of mysteries surrounding the king's birth, according to the rumors," Berkel informed, as Marlowe intently paid attention.
"Like?" Curious, she quizzed.
Led on, Berkel revealed, drawing nearer in a hush whisper, "The midwife, said to assist the Queen Dowager in birth, was not seen anymore from then on. Only the Queen made it out of the room. It was like, immediately the King was born, she disappeared."
Shocked, Marlowe softly asked; imitating the maid's tone in a whisper. "And the King?"
"No one, except from the Royal family, had ever set eyes on him till this day."