The break of dawn had just begun, and the soft golden rays were scattered everywhere across the royal estate. Delma, wrapped in her coarse woolen cloak, moved noiselessly down the dimly lit corridors of the palace. Her heart racing with controlled breaths, she hurried through her morning chores, becoming one with the background as always. She kept her head low, trying to avoid the stares of other servants as she went about her tasks, scrubbing and dusting as if the weight of the world depended on her slender shoulders.
She was a mystery within the palace, a maid whom no one particularly noticed. Her mousy brown wig covered the long, luscious black hair cascading down her back in private, her baggy uniform masking a body that could have drawn admiration and desire from anyone who glimpsed its true form. She preferred it that way; hiding was safer, simpler. Letting herself be seen meant inviting attention, and attention could get dangerous.
She had felt as invisible as every other servant in royalty's household. Yet, even then, it was so much more involved than she even fathomed. For the very first time, her beauty was concealing: hidden beneath the rough clothes, the ugly disguise she had worn all her life, or at least as long as she could remember. It was only when she felt most alone that she stepped into the light.
The day was suddenly hot, and Delma was drawn to the river nearby-a silent retreat zone where she could be free, if only for a minute. She glanced around quickly to make sure that no one saw her slip away, and then she ventured down to the water's edge. Unwrapping the tattered cloak and laying it aside, Delma reached up and peeled off the wig. Soft waves cascaded down her back, bright in the sun. She stepped out of the shapeless, baggy dress to reveal the curves she had been hiding all along beneath folds of fabric.
For a few fleeting moments, she could be more than a servant. As she placed her feet in the cool water, Delma closed her eyes and let the feeling of being free wash over her. The soft currents of the river stroked her skin, and the tension of months spent in hiding slowly began to seep away.
Little did she know, this tranquil moment was going to change her life forever.
King Luis, riding his horse along the pathway in the forest in search of some brief respite from the incessant duties of running the kingdom, suddenly saw something that resembled movement near the water. He reined in his horse, his eyes narrowing as he spotted a young woman standing waistdeep in the river, her hair like a dark waterfall cascading over her bare back. He knew all the maids who worked in the palace, or so he thought, but he'd never seen this one. Her beauty was unearthly; he'd never seen anything like it.
Curiosity soon gave place to another emotion—deeper, which he did not quite know how to explain. He saw her dance in the water, unconscious of his existence, and he felt a strange impulse to steal closer and observe more. So the king noiselessly dismounted and stole forward, retaining himself behind thick briers.
A change in the air had Delma spinning around suddenly. Her eyes widened to find the figure of the king just at the edge of the clearing. A shock ran through her body like lightning; she struggled backward as her heart raced in her chest. "Your Majesty," she stuttered, scrambling for her discarded cloak to lay over herself.
King Luis stepped forward, his eyes stuck on her with so much intensity that Delma shivered. "There's no need to hide," he whispered softly, his voice filled with a strange mix of command and gentleness. "You are quite a rare sight. Who are you, really?
Delma's breath caught. She knew if she showed her identity now, repercussions would ensue. She had struggled so hard to stay hidden, to live in the shadows. But as the king's eyes seemed to stare into hers, a part of her defenses crumbled.
I am…just a maid, Your Majesty," she stammered. She turned to leave, but he reached out to stop her. A shock went through her at the touch of his fingers on her wrist, sending tingling through her skin.
"A maid?" he returned skeptically. "You seem to be much more than that.
The river burbled along beside them, its music filling the silence. Delma knew she ought to pull away, retreat to the safety of her disguise, but something in the king's gaze held her transfixed. And as the first rays of the morning sun fell upon the riverbank, lighting up the scene, Delma felt the world shift around her.
The king bent down, his voice dropping to an extremely low murmur. "Why hide such a beautiful sight?"
In the brief moment before she even had time to say anything, a rustling sound in the near woods startled the two. Quick as lightning, Delma clutched her cloak and whirled to run, disappearing amongst the trees before the king could say another word.
As the king watched her vanish into the forest, this pang of longing rose in his chest-one that he had not known for many years. He was a man used to getting his desires and now, it would seem, he had found something worth pursuing.
Little did he know that this was just the beginning of the muddled web of lust, secrets, and deceit to be unraveled under the palace roofs.
She rushes back to the palace; meanwhile, the king had begun to ask questions about her identity-a snowballing chain reaction bound soon to cast her undercover life beneath the harsh glare of daylight.