The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-106

When morning arrived, Madeline was filled with nothing but the angst of what was going to happen in the next couple of hours. She was worried for the servant man who had not been released because of the lack of evidence they had in favour of him when it came to his innocence, he would be made to walk up the scaffold. She was unhappy with the unfairness and even though she had known the servant for just a day, she had tried to do her best in finding out the culprit, but for a person who had been in the castle barely for five days, this was all she could do.

She had fallen asleep late in the night, which had resulted in her waking up late. Right now, she stood with her hands, holding one of the bedposts tightly as her corset was being pulled with the laces by the head maid.

Madeline flinched because of the tightness, and she wondered if the maid was trying to suffocate her to death, "I need to breathe," she reminded the maid because it looked like the head maid, Nicola, was trying to fit her into the corset.

"We need to get you fit into the dress, milady. As you will be going out with the King, it is only right that you look presentable," by choking her? Asked Madeline to herself on the head maid's words, "Please hold in your breath."

"The village we are going to is my hometown. I don't think they would think any less of me if I don't shape well with the dress," Madeline said, her head turning to the side to find the shadow of the girl on the ground without looking right at her face.

The head maid was a brunette with brown hair. A lady who was lean with less womanly curves than what Madeline had. Her hands were thin and so were her eyebrows that were arched up, "It is not about you but about the reputation of the King. Every lady who accompanies the King needs to follow protocols on how to behave and how to appear next to him. Anything less would be nothing but demeaning. It would help if you remembered that you are not a village girl anymore." So stop acting like one, thought the maid to herself, rolling her eyes.

"Where are you from?" asked Madeline when the maid again asked to hold in her breath.

"I am from Beriweness," answered Nicola.

Madeline flinched when the maid pulled one last time before tying the strings of the corset. She finally turned to look at the maid who had a lighter shade of red eyes compared to the King, "You are from the village too. By your words, I thought you were from the town."

Nicola stared at the human who had subtly taunted her. Madeline didn't realise that there were times when she quietly spoke words that had the ability to turn a person stunned, "I might have come from the village, but I have lived here for years now. I have been serving the King for some time, and as the head maid, I know what he prefers. It is my duty to follow what stays in the King's interest, and I hope you can do it too," came the clipped voice of the head maid.

The girls and women who the King brought to the castle to entertain himself always tended to be sweet and polite with their words. Even Lady Sophie, who was the King's cousin, was polite when it came to speaking to her as she wasn't a lowly servant but someone who had been promoted to the position of a head maid.

"Don't let the favour of power get into your head, milady. It hurts quite a lot when you realise you don't have the favour of the King," advised Nicola, her eyes looking at the girl's neck that was slender. It would take less than one second to snap the human's neck or to break it by falling from the stairs.

Madeline turned herself to look at the head maid who now picked up the skirt and helped her to wear it, "Are you speaking by experience?" she asked Nicola who stared back into her brown eyes.

The head maid smiled, a smile of pity on her lips as she said, "You can say that," she didn't hide the fact that long ago she had the favour of the King and it took Madeline by surprise. She didn't expect the person to admit it openly, but it was only both of them in the room and no one else to hear which was why, Nicola didn't see the point to hide it, "The King has bedded many women. Not only the girls and women of high status but even the servants in the castle. He has a large appetite, and you are just another person. So don't think too highly of yourself. As fast as you entered this castle, you will be thrown that much quicker," saying this, the head maid smiled to step back.

When Madeline heard this, she frowned. She didn't have to know about the King's debauchery. He was the King and somewhere she had figured it out, especially when the man was that shameless around her. She wasn't here to receive the King's favour nor was she interested in it.

She found it to be rather interesting that Nicola had mentioned about how she could easily be thrown out of the castle. Maybe that is what she has to pin on as her chance to leave the castle? Thought Madeline to herself.

When Madeline was finally dressed, her hair combed and tied, she left the room to make way down near the halls where she was led by the maid who had been helping her. She noticed that Sophie was already there, standing and waiting for the King.

"Lady Madeline! Good morning to you," Lady Sophie greeted and even though Madeline was not fond of the vampiress, she bowed her head.

"Good morning, Lady Sophie. How was your sleep?" asked Madeline, her tone polite and a small smile on her face.

Sophie smiled back like she was Madeline's well-wisher, "I had a wonderful sleep. Also dreamt of how I was crowned as the queen and you were there congratulating me," Madeline smiled hearing this.

"What a wonderful dream. I am sure dreams like that breaks your sleep faster as they are not real," came the words from Madeline's lips and the smile that was there on Sophie's lips faltered.

"How is your health? I heard you were unwell last evening and I didn't see you at dinner. I missed you there," Sophie said, placing her hand on Madeline's arm and Madeline couldn't help but wonder why Sophie was this sweet early in the morning. Every time the vampiress was kind, Madeline remembered the time when she was kicked out of the carriage.

"I feel much better now. Thank you for your concern," answered Madeline, not knowing that Sophie had come to visit her at her room when she wasn't there.

"That's good to hear. It would be worrisome if something happened to you. You should be careful," Sophie's words came out deliberately slow that had the human's attention.

Madeline was indeed careful with Sophie. It was because she didn't know what the vampiress was up to and after finding out about her interest in the crown and the King, she knew that Sophie took her to be a potential threat when in truth she wasn't.

"Good morning, ladies," came the King's voice and the people who were in the hall bowed their head including Madeline and Sophie, "A wonderful day to see the punishment handed down to the culprit."

At first, Madeline was not looking forward to it. But since last night, when Calhoun had spoken about the scaffold being set up in her village, she couldn't help but think that maybe she would be able to reunite with her family.

"Good morning, brother Calhoun! I hope you had a goodnight," greeted Sophie, her eyes gleaming in the excitement of having to see someone being beheaded today.

"I did, but I think I would have a better night with the woman in my bed," saying this, Calhoun's eyes fell on Madeline. His words openly directed to the human girl to have Madeline's narrow her eyes.