At Your Service

Chapter 4- The Price of Whispers

Night still clung to the air when Prince Delvin stormed through the palace corridors of Celestia, his boots hammering the marble floor with a force that made servants flatten themselves against the walls. His jaw was locked, his fists tight enough that his knuckles burned white. Every muscle in him was rigid with fury and something sharper—fear.

Violet had been taken.

Not questioned.

Not summoned.

Taken.

Dragged from the garden like a criminal while he was forced to watch from a distance, his status as an honored guest suddenly useless. The memory of her frightened whisper—“Your Highness… I didn’t do anything…”—echoed in his head again and again, a wound that refused to close.

He had searched half the palace through the night, but guards had sealed every hallway that led downward. And now, morning light crept into Celestia as he approached the one place he didn’t want to go:

King Alden’s audience chamber.

The two royal guards at the massive cedar doors crossed their spears.

“His Majesty is occupied.”

“I don’t care,” Delvin growled.

“You cannot—”

Delvin stepped forward, and both guards tensed, but a calm voice cut through the tension.

“Let him in.”

King Alden’s voice.

The doors opened, and Delvin strode inside.

The chamber was spacious, lit by tall windows of colored glass that painted the marble floor in red and gold. King Alden sat upon his raised seat of carved stone, his crown gleaming, his posture impossibly straight. He looked like a man carved from an unbending rulebook—authority etched into every line of his face.

Beside him stood the Princess.

Her expression was composed, serene even, but her eyes flicked away from Delvin with a tremor too shallow to be guilt yet too sharp to be innocence.

Delvin bowed only because diplomacy demanded it.

“Your Majesty,” he said tightly. “I’ve come to speak of Violet. Your guards took her without explanation.”

King Alden’s eyes narrowed. “There was nothing without explanation about it. A crime demands consequence.”

“What crime?” Delvin asked, voice low.

The Princess spoke before the king could.

“She has been meeting you in secret,” she said softly. “In places where servants have no right to be. And last night—”

Her words were like a blade sliding under the skin.

“—she was caught attempting to enter the Forbidden Chamber.”

The room tilted. Delvin felt it, a shift like gravity losing its direction.

“That is a lie,” he said, too quickly, too sharply. “Violet would never—”

“I saw her,” the Princess whispered, hands clasped delicately in front of her. “I saw her near the door. I called guards immediately.”

Delvin’s chest tightened. His pulse slammed in his ears.

She was lying.

He had been in the garden with Violet. She hadn’t even stepped toward the corridor leading to the Forbidden Chamber. She had been talking—softly laughing—eyes bright with emotions she didn’t dare express.

He looked at King Alden. “Your Majesty, Violet was with me in the garden. She never went near that chamber.”

The Princess lowered her gaze. “She left you briefly, did she not?”

“No,” Delvin snapped.

“She did,” she insisted gently. “For half a minute. Perhaps a full one. I saw her slip away.”

Delvin’s jaw clenched. “Princess, I—”

“You accuse my daughter of lying?” King Alden thundered.

The sound vibrated the very windows.

Delvin swallowed back the fury mounting in him. “I accuse no one. I state the truth.”

King Alden rose to his feet. “The Forbidden Chamber is sacred, Prince Delvin. No servant—especially a maid—may approach it. Violet has been locked for investigation until we determine the severity of her actions.”

“How long?” Delvin demanded.

“As long as necessary,” King Alden snapped. “Celestia does not rush judgment.”

Delvin took a step forward. “She has done nothing—”

“Prince Delvin of Avernal,” King Alden interrupted, voice cold as blade steel. “You are a guest under treaty. Do not forget your position.”

Delvin’s breath stilled.

Not forgotten—thrown at him.

King Alden took a slow breath. “Your six-month presence is required for negotiations for aid. Violating palace authority would jeopardize your own kingdom’s stability.”

A threat wrapped in protocol.

Delvin bowed stiffly.

“Then may I at least speak to her?” he asked quietly.

“No,” King Alden said. “The investigation is underway.”

Delvin swallowed the surge of helpless rage.

He had gone to war at fifteen. He had led armies, broken sieges, shattered enemies twice his size. He had never been this powerless.

Never been denied something so fiercely.

Never feared—for anyone—this much.

“Your Majesty,” he said through tight lips, “Violet is innocent.”

King Alden turned his face away, dismissing him.

But Delvin did not move.

Not until the Princess spoke again, barely above a whisper.

“She’ll be questioned this evening. If she is truly innocent…it will come out.”

Delvin looked at her.

Her hands trembled.

Her eyes avoided his.

A mask of sorrow hid something sharper.

She was lying.

He bowed stiffly and left.

But as the doors closed behind him, he heard the Princess exhale, a soft, shaky breath of guilt.

She had done this.

She had framed Violet.

And Delvin was going to burn the truth out of the shadows if he had to tear the palace apart stone by stone.

---

Violet

Cold.

Stone.

Chains.

The scent of old dust and iron.

Violet’s mind drifted in and out of clarity as she sat curled on the freezing floor of the palace holding room—one of the small subterranean chambers used to detain servants accused of wrongdoing. Her wrists were bound loosely in front of her, more symbolic restraint than actual imprisonment.

But the walls.

The isolation.

The dark…

That was punishment enough.

Footsteps echoed above her now and then, distant and hollow. She had no idea how long she’d been there. Hours. Maybe more.

She flinched as the door scraped open.

A soft lantern glow pooled into the room, followed by the silhouette of a man stepping inside.

For a moment fear stabbed her heart—

But then she recognized the figure.

Sir Rowan.

One of the palace knights. Young. Fair-eyed. Known for his kindness.

His voice was low as he approached.

“Violet… what happened? They say you tried to enter the Forbidden Chamber.”

“I didn’t.” Her voice cracked. “I swear I didn’t.”

Rowan knelt beside her, his expression tight. “I believe you. But the king doesn’t. And someone very powerful is insisting you be punished.”

She closed her eyes. “The Princess.”

Rowan didn’t confirm it—he didn’t have to.

“I don’t know why she would do this,” he murmured. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Violet’s hands trembled. “Prince Delvin… is he—?”

“He’s fighting for you,” Rowan said softly. “But King Alden is… prideful. Stubborn. And the Princess… she told him you and the prince have been meeting secretly.”

Violet felt her breath stop.

Not because of the accusation—

but because it was almost true.

Almost.

She had tried so hard to distance herself. To keep her head down. To avoid being seen near him. But people saw what they wanted to see, and the Princess saw Delvin’s attention drifting toward her.

Rowan lowered his voice. “Violet… whatever happened between you and the prince…”

“Nothing happened,” she whispered, a little too quickly.

He gave her a sad, knowing look. “I don’t doubt your innocence. But the Princess fears any threat to her future. And her father will always choose her word over yours.”

Violet’s eyes burned.

Rowan hesitated. Then:

“Prince Delvin will not sit quietly. He will tear the palace apart for you. But that might place his kingdom in danger.”

Her heart clenched painfully.

She had already caused enough trouble. She couldn’t drag his kingdom down with her. She couldn’t let him fight a war on her name.

“Rowan…” Her voice shook. “Please. Is there anything—anything I can do?”

Rowan looked conflicted. “There is one thing.”

She looked up, desperate.

But then footsteps echoed in the distance—heavy, authoritative.

Rowan stiffened. “Stay silent. I shouldn’t be here.”

He blew out the lantern, slipped back through the door, and was gone.

Leaving Violet in darkness once again.

---

Delvin

He spent the rest of the morning pacing the length of his chambers like a caged predator. Sleep had not touched him. His mind replayed the moment Violet was taken over and over again until rage consumed every vein in him.

He needed answers.

He needed the truth.

And there was only one place in Celestia where truth could be uncovered:

The Forbidden Chamber.

He didn’t know what was inside it.

He didn’t know why it existed.

He only knew that Violet would never go near it.

Someone wanted her accused.

Someone wanted her silenced.

Someone wanted to separate them.

And Delvin was done playing by Celestia’s rules.

He left his chambers and headed straight for the west wing. Guards patrolled heavily around the entrance to the forbidden corridor, but Delvin walked with the confidence of someone carved from authority itself.

“Halt,” one guard said.

Delvin stopped. “Move.”

“We cannot let you pass,” the guard insisted. “King’s orders.”

Delvin stepped closer. “Then send for King Alden. Tell him Delvin of Avernal demands entry.”

The guard swallowed. “The king is in counsel—”

“Now.”

The guard hesitated, then turned.

And in that moment—

A soft voice drifted from behind.

“Prince Delvin?”

He turned sharply.

It was the Princess.

Hands folded.

Eyes lowered.

Expression carefully crafted to appear fragile.

“May I speak with you?” she asked softly.

He did not want to speak with her. He wanted to tear apart the chamber she had weaponized.

But he forced himself to nod.

She moved down the corridor, signaling him to follow.

They reached a private alcove.

The Princess didn’t look at him. She twisted her fingers together.

“I didn’t want it to go this far,” she whispered.

His pulse slowed with cold fury.

“So you admit it? You framed her.”

Her breath hitched. “I didn’t frame her. I just… told my father what I saw.”

“What you claim you saw,” Delvin corrected.

She looked up then, eyes shimmering with tears.

“You… you were paying attention to her. More than to me. More than to anyone.

He stared at her. "what does that imply".

“That you don’t want me,” she whispered.

Silence fell, sharp as broken glass.

Delvin inhaled slowly. “Princess… this is not about wanting or not wanting. It’s about justice. Violet is innocent.”

“But she is between us,” she said, trembling. “Can you deny that?”

Delvin confused. "Us?".

where could this be coming from? he wondered. Something is wrong but at the moment Violet is his priority.