Escaping Her Curse—Completed

Chapter Seven

Following a servant, Jessie was taken to her quarters, where she would call home for the foreseeable future. She quickly unpacked her small bags and sat carefully on the couch in the room. She looked around and attempted to still her thoughts. Simon had asked why she had been shaking earlier, and she made up an excuse that she hoped he’d bought. She couldn’t tell him the truth. In fact, she was afraid of admitting the truth to herself. Everything in the room was new to her, yet it felt so familiar. She frowned at the decadence but was resolute in her commitment to her new role. She had no idea what the prince had in store for her.

It had taken all day, and a part of the night to get to the city, so after declining a late meal, Jessie decided to try to sleep. Slipping into the silk sheets, she felt the exhaustion overtake her. However, with the impending meeting with the king in the morning, she tossed and turned more than she slept. Her mind kept filling with unrealistic probabilities of how the encounter would go, and she shuddered to think about any of them coming true. Yet, before she could stop it, a maid was knocking on her door and entering her room.

“Miss, it is time to rise and get ready. You must have a light meal and a tour of the castle before your meeting with His Majesty, per the prince’s orders,” the maid said curtly.

Jessie could feel the animosity from the maid. She knew how her situation looked to others, especially other staff. She had just been a maid at another estate, and here she was, being waited on by the very people she used to be. Although, Jessie wanted to explain that she had had no say in her new position. Oliver had gone over her head and used his power to influence Francis’ decision. She doubted anyone would believe her, though.

Sighing, Jessie climbed out of bed and let the maid lead her into the bathroom to help her get ready.

“I’m sorry. I can do this, if you want,” Jessie said meekly.

“Lydia. And no, it’s my job now. I’m assigned to you, so I’ll do it,” Lydia said.

Jessie noted that she sounded tired.

“Well, I’ll try to not be too much trouble for you,” Jessie replied.

Nodding, Lydia pushed Jessie into the bathroom and proceeded to bath her and get her ready for the day. Once Jessie was clothed and ready to go, Lydia pushed her out the door and dropped her off at the dining room, where Prince Oliver and Duke Simon were already eating.

Jessie sat down tiredly and began picking at her breakfast.

“Is everything alright?” Oliver asked, eying Jessie as she poked at her eggs.”Does the food not taste okay?”

Setting her fork down, Jessie smiled at Oliver and nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’m just really nervous about meeting with King Tyson. It seems unusual, so I’m not exactly sure how to prepare myself for it.”

Oliver instantly scowled. “I wouldn’t think much of it. Don’t let him into your head. That old man is always scheming something, but don’t let him rope you into it. I’m sure he’ll just want information about you.”

“What he means to say,” Simon interjected. “Is that you’ll be fine. There’s no need to fret. You’re on his mind because you’re new, but it'll blow ever quickly.”

“Thanks,” Jessie smiled at Simon. That helps a lot.”

Oliver’s scowl deepened as Simon’s smile widened, though Jessie was blissfully unaware of the reasons behind each facial expression. Soon, however, Oliver’s face cleared up as he began showing Jessie around the palace. She ‘ooh-ed’ and ‘ahh-ed’ at all the right places, making special notes of where she’d like to revisit later.

The palace was divided into four main quadrants. The center was dedicated to hosing everyone who lived within the palace walls. To the right side were the scholar and magic rooms, which held the library, magic tower, and experimental practices. To the left was the royal court and war rooms, which held the throne room, strategist tower, and training grounds. A huge garden circled the entirety of the castle, which had just about every flower a person could imagine in it. The late queen had cultivated the gardens extensively, ensuring that there would be blooms no matter the season. It was a well-known fact that the king kept up the gardens as a tribute to her.

Jessie's heartbeat immediately rose once the tour ended at the door to the throne room. She had no idea what to expect when she walked through the doors and spoke with the king. She couldn’t comprehend what the king would even want to discuss with her.

“Unless…” she murmured to herself.

“–so you’ll come? Right?” Oliver asked her, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Jessie turned her attention back to Oliver. “Hmm? I’m sorry. I was distracted.”

Oliver pouted.

“I didn’t mean to zone out!” Jessie tried to explain as she held her hands up. “I’m just overthinking the meeting with your father. Come to what? Please tell me again what you asked.”

The sincerity in Jessie’s voice won Oliver over easily, and he quickly broke out into a smile.

“Of course,” he started. “I was wondering if you’d like to meet me for dinner tonight, before your official duties begin tomorrow. We’ll have to be more formal starting then, and I’d like to get to know you, for you, before that happens.”

“That would be wonderful,” Jessie grinned back. “I’d like that very much.”

Oliver dipped his head to Jessie and gave her wink. “I’m looking forward to it. Good luck in there, but I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”

Jessie watched him walk away, took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and then knocked on the big, double doors, which promptly opened to reveal the court with the throne at the end of the giant room.

“Announcing former maid, Jessie Montgomery, Your Lordship,” a page called out as she entered the room.

“Come forward,” the king’s loud voice boomed.

Jessie walked to where she was instructed to stand and then bowed into a low curtsy.

“Rise. I must say that your form is impeccable. Who was your instructor?’

Giving the king a small smile, she said, “Thank you, sire. I’m afraid the name would mean nothing to you, but I’m sure she would be extremely proud to hear that.”

“You know,” he began. “As soon as I heard that my son was bringing home a maid, I attempted to do some research on you. However, there was very little to be found, even for my royal scholars. Why is that?”

Jessie tried her best to steady her nerves. She was terrified that this would be his line of questioning. She wanted to say, ‘you couldn’t find any information because there isn’t any available’. But, she knew she couldn’t. Jessie attempted to smile once more.

“I’m sure it was a bit disconcerting to find out that your son was bringing a ‘nobody’ into the palace. I’m afraid that I can’t answer why there wouldn’t be any information about me. My origins are humble, so perhaps nothing was recorded,” she stated as confidently as she could.

King Tyson scratched his chin. “Must have been very humble indeed. There is nothing about you until you entered that nobleman’s home ten years ago.”

Jessie remained silent.

“You won’t even defend yourself before me?”

“Your Highness, nothing I can say will change your opinion. All I can do is prove to you that I will be useful to your son. I will be loyal and respectful. I have no intentions of stealing your son’s heart or ruining whatever plans you may have for him. I am here to do a job. A job that he asked me to do, I might add. A job that he went over my head to my employer to get for me. I promise that I did not seduce your son nor give him any reason to pursue me,” Jessie then said.

She felt herself getting heated and upset with the king’s tone and insinuations.

“Seduce my son? I never said anything of the sort,” he replied.

“My Lord, if I may be so bold as to say, I’m not a stupid girl. I can see your worries about how this may look. I’m also not under the impression that you wouldn’t have designs laid out for your son’s future. He is the key to holding this empire together. There is no place for me by his side.”

After a few tense moments, Tyson suddenly broke out into a huge smile and laughed.

“I like you, Ms. Montgomery. I appreciate you speaking candidly and your willingness to be blunt, even in front of a king. I’m glad you know your place as well. I will continue to keep a close watch on the situation, but will not interfere with whatever jobs my son gives you. Remember what you’ve said to me on this day, for I will hold you personally accountable. My son is brilliant and will lead this great empire expertly; however, he is still a child in many ways. He has young ideals and often sees things with rose-colored glasses. Be mindful of that, hmm?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Jessie said.

After a few more moments of light pleasantries, King Tyson waved Jessie off, and as soon as the doors closed shut behind her, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

“It went that well, huh?” Simon asked, a grin playing on his lips.

Jessie shook her head but smiled back. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“May I take you to tea?”

“Were you waiting for me to finish?” Jessie shot back.

With a devious wink, Simon grabbed ahold of her hand and whisked her down the hallway, towards one of the many conservatories. “Always, Ms. Jessie. I will always wait upon you.”