Mystic Moons

"Are you ready madam?" Asked Horville, the royal footman. He was sent instead of Thomas. The head butler who saw me off to the Kings chambers for 7 years. He didn't come because he couldn't bear it. He told me over the years many times that he hated goodbyes. I have no choice but to assume that this time is no different. "Yes. I'm ready." I looked into my beautiful wall sized gold baroque mirror. My reflection was dark in the dimly lit room. Just the way I liked it. The only difference in my appearance tonight is that my eyes are not puffy and red. And there are no tear stains on my cheeks. I promised myself I wouldn't cry this time. Not tonight. Not for my last song." You look more beautiful than usual madam " Horville gushed at me. "And that dress is the perfect color for you." "Thank you, Horville. I wish I felt that way as well. The king picked out my dress as usual. I prefer softer colors, but I've never been granted the honor of preference." My waist long midnight black hair was cut evenly right before I put on my dress. Scarlet of course. With a thin lace trim around the bust. But the lace was just a tease. Just a reminder of how grotesquely I was dressed. The dress, two sizes too small, hugged me tightly. Forcing my breasts out over the lace trim of the bust. And the red lipstick made me stick out like a harlot looking for her next victim. Over the years I developed a shape that pleased the king. As my breasts grew into a full D cup, and my hips spread out into the curves of a human corset, the king refused to accommodate my size. " More for me to look at "He would say. And he ordered the seamstress not to alter my measurements again. I was not just his songstress. I was his human doll" Well I do see a different look in those beautiful deep ocean blue eyes tonight madam. What would that look be?" Asked Horville curiously. " I call it determination, " I said confidently. "Tonight is a big night for me. It's the last time I will sing for the king, and also the last night I will sleep in this room; the last night I will live in this palace " I said as my voice grew less confident with each word. I sighed, as I walked over to my bed. I plopped down on the scarlet sheets of my King sized Victorian canopy bed. The see-through scarlet canopy curtains were tied back on both sides. I always kept them open so I wouldn't feel trapped. I took a minute to soak in my surroundings for one of the very last times. My room was the size of a small ballroom. And my carpet matched my scarlet bed set. The only window in the room was massive and was covered by long velvet drapes that touched the floor to blend in with the color of the carpet. And one wardrobe so large I could fit a horse and carriage in it. An entire room dressed in scarlet. The king's favorite color. King Clyde the 3rd was a prideful man. On my very first night at the palace he had me sing Ave Maria at a ball he threw for the royals. His five younger sisters were all present with their spouses. He was the only one who did not marry. Rumor has it that he would rather rule alone than to have to share his rule with a woman. He ordered me to put on a revealing scarlet ball gown. It was altered very tightly to fit the figure of my ten year old body. And before I sang. He made an announcement. " Ladies and gentlemen. Your wonderful king has hired you, the best songstress in the kingdom! She may be small, but I have a very very good feeling that she will grow into a songstress that will be pleasing to the ears and to the eyes. Let us all now enjoy the selection that I myself picked for the young Elizabeth to sing. Ave Maria." I stepped forward to sing with confidence as singing never made me fearful. It was the look in the king's eyes as he stared at me until the end of the song and throughout the rest of the night that scared me. As the party came to a close. I resigned to my room early. But I was quickly met by my dear Thomas with a knock at my door. "May I come in madam?" Yes Come in." I said as I stood up from where I sat on my bed. "Hello Miss Elizabeth. I am Thomas the head butler." Hello Thomas, I am pleased to meet you." I said in a friendly tone. Thomas was tall and thin with great posture and a handsome slender face. A mulatto strangely enough. He had thick dark hair that was combed back and a black suit and tie with a pair of shiny black shoes to match. "I don't mean to be rude", I said carefully, but how did you obtain your position as head butler? You are a mulatto just as I am." "You are a very curious little thing aren't you?" he laughed. " My father was a white man. He was head butler before me. He trained me to do everything I know today. My mother was a mulatto, a servant here. But she passed away when I was three. And my father was left to raise me himself. All he knew was being a butler. So he taught me the ropes. And now that is all I know." He said in a cheerful voice. "Wow, I'm sorry that your mother died so soon. I know it must be hard to live without one. I never knew my mother. Her and my father died the day after I was born." I said sadly. "I'm very sorry to hear that dear Elizabeth." Thomas said in a comforting tone as he knelt beside me. "And if there is anything that you need while you are here you must always let me know and I will help in every way I can." "Thank you Thomas, " I said. I knew at that very moment that he and I were going to be friends. Thomas stood up and flashed a wide grin at me " The king is requesting you in his chambers my dear. He would like to hear your beautiful voice one more time before he goes to sleep." he said adoringly. He held out his arm for me and I grabbed ahold of it. And off we went to the king's chambers. To the first night of a new terror. Thomas knocked on the large wooden doors quietly. " Come in!" The king said loudly. Thomas opened the door and we were both met with a shocking site. The king was in his bed with the covers pulled up to his waist. And all I could do was stare at his chest. It was covered in lots of dark thick hair. " Shall we come back your majesty- when you are fully dressed?" Thomas asked in a hesitant tone. "No!" He shouted with a loud thunder. I shook with fear. "I will hear my song now! Thomas you may come back when I call for you!" "Yes your majesty." I grew even more nervous as I watched Thomas leave and close the doors behind him. "Come closer my child." He said cunningly as he swirled the red wine in his large chalice. He took a large gulp of his wine before burping obnoxiously. His head drooped to his chest and he quickly picked it back up again. " I'm very glad that you have come to stay with me in my palace dear girl." I moved forward only inches as I gazed at him in disgust. I watched him finish off his wine and then fill up his chalice for another drink. " This," he said staggeringly as he tried to get his words out clearly. " is a grown up drink." He held up his chalice as high as his arm would reach. " You c-c-cannot drink this until you are old enough. But don't worry. When you are, I will be the first to pour you a glass." He said before he took another large gulp of wine. His drunkenness saddened me. "A king should be merry and full of joy." I thought to myself. "Not drunk all by himself." "Yes, your majesty," I answered quickly. As not to spark the temper that I saw him flare when speaking with Thomas just moments before. "And another thing my dear!" He yelled as he raised his glass as if preparing to give a toast. "Come closer. Close enough so that I can reach you " He said slowly. I moved closer to his bed; next to the small table with his wine and handkerchief on it. I was just within hands reach of him. He reached out and stroked my head roughly. When you turn 18 you will be mine." He said in a low tone. I gasped and stepped back quickly "No!" I said. "No?" He shouted back at me. He quickly pulled back his covers to reveal his purple pajama pants. He sat up at the edge of his bed and quickly raised his right arm. " You insolent child!" He screamed. And then WHACK! He struck me across the face with the back of his fist so hard that it knocked me into his table. The table, the wine, and I all went tumbling to the floor. " I was trembling so fiercely as I lay on top of the table covered in wine . The moment he looked at me he let out a loud Growl of anger. "You dare tell me no! You are mine and you will quickly learn whose orders you wake to and fall asleep to!" He forcefully pulled me up by my left arm. And I stumbled to my feet. " Now sing The Angel Did Cry!" All I could do was cry and tremble in fear as I looked at him fearfully. "I said sing! That is an order!" He commanded in a loud tone. " But sir," I cried softly. I do not know that song." He let out another angry growl and raised his fist to me yet again. This time striking my left eye. I fell to the floor once more and lay there sobbing with my head in my hands. The king picked up the table as I lifted my head to take a peak. Just as he had the table in the air over my head ready to throw it at me, he paused to look at me. Then suddenly he turned around and threw it back onto the floor. Breaking it into pieces. I jumped at the sound. Suddenly the doors flew open and there was Thomas, coming to my rescue. " Your majesty, are you ok in here!" Thomas said frantically as he burst through the doors. I saw it as a perfect opportunity to get out of the king's reach. I did a crab crawl towards the door and slid my back up against the wall next to it to stand. Making sure that my eyes were on him the entire time so I would be ready if he decided to strike me again. "No!" The king screamed. I am the only one in this palace who is allowed to say no unless certain subjects have been ordered to say otherwise! This is my palace and my kingdom and it is under my rule! And this child has the gaulle to tell me no? As if she is an outsider to this kingdom? She is under my command! And I will not tolerate such disrespect!" He shouted wildly. "Your majesty," Thomas pleaded, "Could it just have been a simple misunderstanding? She is a child. And children do have a tendency to misinterpret things of the adult nature from time to ti-" "Nonsense" The king snapped. "She belongs to me!" "Well what was the disagreement about? Minor I'm sure." Thomas said, trying to calm the king down. "I told her that I will have her on her 18th birthday and she said no! Which is unacceptable! She is not a worker who can get fired or resign! I bought her with my money and she is my property. I own her and I will have her!" He was shouting so hysterically that a small crowd of staff formed in the corridor. As the servants began to stir, King Clyde continued to grow more and more unruly. "At that she doesn't even know Angel Did Cry! How is it that my songstress does not know the songs I wish to hear! I refuse to accept such disrespect! It is intolerable! The King's drunken rage was ear shattering. Enough to make any subject under his rule hide under a drawbridge. As he continued ranting he did not see that he was walking right into the table he had broken to pieces. And he tripped over it mid scream. " I am King Clyde the -" There was a loud thud as he hit the floor. He just laid there. I wasn't sure if he had hurt himself or if his drunkenness had just gotten the best of him. There was a moment of complete silence. "Your majesty?" Thomas asked as he slowly approached the king's motionless body. Just as he knelt down to get closer to see if he was unconscious-, the King quickly reached out and grabbed Thomas with two hands by his suit jacket and yanked him close to his face. So close that I could tell the smell if the king's breath was rancid from the wine sauerkraut and Venison the king had eaten at the banquet. Thomas squinted his eyes and crumbled his nose. "Now you listen to me." The king growled in an angry low tone. " If word of this ever gets out I will have you fired and anyone who mentions it." Still squinting Thomas answered the king as if he had been holding his breath. "Yes your majesty. Quite certainly your majesty." "And another thing." The king growled. " Elizabeth is to learn The Angel Did Cry. Do I make myself clear?" The king said, staring Thomas right in the eyes as they lay in the awkward position nose to nose. "Very clear, your majesty. Completely understood" Thomas said as if he were running out of air in his lungs. "Good." The king said in a tired worn out voice as he released Thomas's suit jacket. Thomas quickly stood back up to his straight posture and rushed over to where I was leaning up against the wall. " I will just escort Elizabeth back to her room for the evening so you can both get cleaned up. And I'll have the musicians go over Angel Did Cry with her first thing in the morning. Good night your majesty." he said quickly. And before the king could reply. Thomas picked me up by my waist, threw me over his right shoulder and rushed out of the room with me. As he was passing the nosy servants, he said in a whisper " Someone kindly close that door before we are all banned from this kingdom."As we got farther down the corridor, I looked up and saw one of the maids peak her head through the door before very quietly shutting the door. It wasn't long before we came to a stop and I heard a door opening. I didn't have the strength to hold my head up for long. My neck was so sore and my head was throbbing from the blows I took to the head. I saw my reflection in the mirror as we entered my room. My goodness I was black and blue all over. My left eye was red from a busted blood vessel. And all around the outside was black and blue and very swollen. My nose had blood dripping from it and my full lips were more than full. The bottom one was swollen with a deep cut to the far left side. And the top lip was even more swollen. Puffy as if it was swelling from the inside out. I closed my eyes so I didn't have to look anymore. I wanted all of the lights to be turned out. So I would never have to look at my disfigured reflection again. I felt myself slipping off of Thomas's shoulder. He placed me on the bed. I just stared into the ceiling as I heard his voice faintly say. "Everything is going to be alright." "Did you hear me? Everything is going to be alright." Horville said with a concerned look on his face. Unaware of the fact that I had drifted so deeply into my thoughts as I recalled my very first night in this room, I quickly sat up and snapped back to reality. "Oh! Yes, Horville. I'm so terribly sorry. I was just remembering the night of my very first song in the palace. And my very first night in my room. A room that will no longer be mine. And I... remember the pain in my head that night. And waking up the next morning to see that all of it was gone. Not a bruise or a scratch was left to be cared for." "Yes I do remember. That was quite a scene madam Elizabeth. It was quite astonishing how you healed so quickly that night. And every other night after that of course I am sorry Elizabeth. Although we all knew. There was nothing we could do. We...don't have the manpower to stop a power hungry king ." "It's ok Horville. I was just a girl then. But I am a woman now." And tonight is the last night that such pain will be inflicted on me." " Of course Miss. Happy birthday Madam Elizabeth. The young woman." 'Thank you Horville " I said, forcing a smile on my face. Yes, this was my last song for the king...but for the sake of my innocence it was one day too late. My last song- on my 18th birthday, the day that the king will have me. One more memory to try and forget. One last nightmare to wake up from. I have so many memories already that I wish to forget. I spent many nights singing for the King. I remember my second night with him just as clearly as the first. When I woke up that morning I was very sore. I could feel the puffiness in my eyes from crying myself to sleep the night before. They stung as I squeezed them open and shut. I opened them fully and looked around. I was tucked in neatly and dressed in a scarlet robe. And there was a damp cloth next to my pillow. I lifted my head up a little and tried to remember all that happened that night. I remember Thomas calling a maid to tend to me. She ran me a hot bath, cleaned me up, and helped me into my robe. And when she was finished Thomas brought me a cold cloth to sooth the wounds on my face. He also brought lavender oil and rubbed it on my neck. "To help with the soreness," he said in a calm voice. He tucked me into my bed and sang me to sleep. A beautiful song. One he called fear not. I had heard it before many times, but only while dreaming strangely enough. The last thing I remember is Thomas pulling back the curtains to reveal such a beautiful full moon. The moonlight shined down on me so clearly. I could tell it was perfectly clear outside. Not a cloud in sight." "