Zylith.

"Hmm, how about you go and try to subdue the servant legion from the Queen Dowager. That ought to pass some of your leisure time." Charming as he was, even angels would damn themselves for him. That wry meaningful smile of his depicted the true sense of the words, 'Clever-as-the-Devil-and-twice-as-pretty.'

This guy.

Who was looking at me viciously yet smiling enchantingly, to this day, I am clueless as to what goes on in this guy's head. He's like ten people packed in one body, and be like – Spin the wheel, buttercup. I felt he should be bragging if he hadn't had one of his mood swings in like, the next five minutes.

I guess some people are the human version of period cramps.

I didn't want to be in his presence any longer either, but when he so blatantly shoo-ed me off while taking the others away to have some of his secret discussions again, I felt I was the only one left out from the team. And that didn't make me feel very good. But he was the boss, and I couldn't really confute his orders. Also, like he said, I had to take care of those pesky spy-maids of the Queen Dowager.

God, why was my life so complicated?

"Your Highness, you are back." The lead maid, who looked more like a playground bully than a leader came forward to greet me when I came back to my quarters. I just wordlessly nodded at her and made way to my bed.

Yes, I won't deny that I'm a sloth, I just love my bed. There's really nothing anyone can do about it.

"Your Highness?" The head maid exclaimed in astonishment.

I sat huddled up in my bed and looked at her surprised face with indifference.

"Yes?" I almost glowered at her with a 'You-got-something-to-say?' face.

"N-No, It is nothing." She lowered her head in a fluster when she saw my sharp demeanour.

The maids in the background noticeably flinched at my tone. I didn't know I evoked such terror in the hearts of these girls. Not that it felt bad being at the top of the food-chain, but it would be hard cracking them up if they were so much on guard against me.

I raked my mind how to kick them out when suddenly my eyes fell upon the little redhead hiding at the back corner of the room.

"You there," I pointed out at her and commanded, "Come forth."

The girl visibly recoiled when she heard me call. She hunched her shoulders even more, as if she wanted to disappear into thin air. A moment passed, and then two. Very tentatively, she dragged her feet towards me, her head still ducking low.

I looked at her from head to toe, she looked nothing like the fierce reckless kid of that day. Rather, she was as meek as a kitten, so faint-hearted that I feared she would have a cardiac arrest if I were to say a few strong words.

"What is your name," I asked.

".... "

"Speak before your tongue is cut out girl!" Roared the bossy maid beside her. I frowned at the bossy maid_ no! scratch that, Bossy bitch in front of me in abhorrence. One thing I hated the most in life was bullies and bitches. And I found one right here amid the era of primordial flare. The worst of the kind, the ones who loved to feel the sickly surge of delight when they inflicted pain on another.

Unsurprisingly so, my bloodlust recurred. I wanted to give this tramp a taste of her own meds. My relapsing violent thoughts were interrupted by a squeaky intone, "M-My name is Liana Miller, Your Highness." The girl's voice was every bit the timid being she portrayed herself to be.

"Weren't you the girl who dared to barge in on us on the day of the offering regards ceremony?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-Your Highness." She abruptly got down on her knees as if they had turned into jelly due to her wrapped ghastly fear, she groveled on the ground while looking even more wretched. "Mercy Your Highness, Mercy!" Her quaking voice trembled all the more as she spoke.

I eyed her suspiciously, she really didn't seem like the gutsy fearless girl of that day. Neither did she look like she was my fan. More like a victim of my mischiefs. To make matters more dubious, I didn't even lay a hand on her yet. 'What is her deal?' I frowned. She wasn't some cliché timid twin of an otherwise bold sister, was she?

The bossy maid beside her, ruthlessly kicked her in her gut and snarled, "How pathetic. If you knew you made a mistake, you should have kowtowed and begged even before Her Highness called you out. What is the use of looking pitiful now you little harlot!"

All the while, I was glaring at this incredibly arrogant maid as she harassed the little redhead girl with harsh words and bitter rebukes. She was so engrossed in her conceited superiority and pleasure of abusing the weak that she didn't notice my ice-cold glower of menace. This foul tramp who fed off on the weak like an aphid on new spring growth, had already been crossed off my exclusive book of hitlist. She was going down and I would see to it that she would go out in the worst way possible.

"Enough!" I said in a stern tone, and the bullying wench stopped her harassment.

"But Your Highness..." She shut up when I glared at her like I would rip her apart and drink her blood if she uttered another peep.

"It is upto me how I deal with this maid, not you. UNDERSTAND?" I emphasized my words in a very firm manner, hammering each word into her head and showing her who the real superior here was. This snooty maid, who didn't seem to put me in her eyes at all at the beginning, winced a bit and backed away with a lowered head.

"YOU.." I eyed the little redhead maid, "Stay behind, and the rest of you lot, leave!"

"But Your Highness..." The nasty wench still had the gall to talk back. It seemed I really had to take care of her first.

"Who do you think you are?" I glared at her, my eyes promising many stories of bloody carnage if she dared to even whimper. "You dare to rebut my words? Not to mention you were audacious enough to act in front of me without even my approval. You don't seem to have grasp the fact that I am the authority around here now." I sneered at her trembling form.

"No! No My Liege... I'd never.."

"Do you think just because I am new and unaccustomed to this palace you can act however you want? Or do you think if you dared to offend me, the Queen Dow... No, Queen mother would have your back?" My face contorted into something that of a sinister kind. "I would like to see who Queen Mother would support if you were to fly in the face of me."

All the arrogance and snobbishness that this revolting maid wore around her like an armor fell off the ground like fragile glass, shattering into shabby pieces, and now she remained groveling amidst these pieces to beg for mercy.

"My, isn't this ironic. A minute ago, you were rebuking the young one beside you for being a groveling mongrel, but now look how the tables have turned." I coldly chuckled at her face.

"I... I was wrong Your Highness. I have offended greatly. Pleading your benevolence for forgiveness. I plead for your forgiveness, Highness!" In her agitation, she hit her head on the floor like she meant it. Looking at this despicable being brought me no gratification. She knew I couldn't really punish her heavily because she was a wedding gift from the Queen Dowager. At least not death penalty. So, I decided that her doom must be brought upon by the one who she had abused the most. I inwardly jeered as I looked at this cheap excuse of a human being.

"That is enough. Get up, both of you." I said. "I don't want any arguments or negation of my words in the future, understand? All of you are dismissed except for the offender maid."

And all of the terrified servants quickly left my quarters.

The little redhead maid remained behind all the while shuddering like a little lamb that was off to the abattoir.

"Raise your head and look at me." I said, and she slowly raised her head; now she was looking at me like I was the executioner of the abattoir. 'Oi Oi, where are the eyes of a fan? Aren't you supposed to be my fan? Why are you looking at me like that?' I couldn't help but rowdily scream inside my head, but I had to act the part of a majestic Queen, which was unexpectedly hard with all the twisted thoughts going on in my mind.

"What is your name again?" I asked.

"..Huh!? P-Pardon me Your Highness?" She looked more rattled than a rattle snake (Ghaaaa! Did that even make sense?)

"I asked for your name." Because I'm bad with names and I forgot yours girly.

"A-Ah! Li-Liana Miller Sire." She fumbled and faltered in her speech.

"Hmm, Liana Miller huh?" I eyed her intently, and in the very next instant she was on her knees once more, quivering and shaking in raw fear. At that moment, I really wanted a mirror to see if I looked so terrifying to have the little girl in such shambles.

Now I just felt like a bully myself. With a guilty conscience, I sighed to myself.

"Liana Miller," I said, "Why are you on the floor again?"

"I'm, I'm sorry Your Highness. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." She kept stuttering jumbled words of apology.

"If you were so scared of me, then why did you so gallantly go and volunteered yourself to be my maid in waiting?" I asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please have mercy." Were all I could hear from her mouth.

I knew now that my words were mere ignorable whispers to her horrified self. Panic and fear were blurring her mind and she wasn't even in her right mind. I sighed again in desolation. This was the maid for whom I had almost crossed the Queen Dowager?

Maybe somewhere deep in my mind I thought, if this girl was daring enough to risk her neck for me, I would at least be willing to offend the Queen Dowager maybe this once. Because life in this palace was, lonely. Not lonely in the literal sense, but lonely as in....(sigh) How should I put it? I felt like I was the only colour in this grey world. It would have been nice if I could gain at least a companion in this drab ancient realm.

I stared at her trembling frame in blatant disappointment, then slowly walked to her. She had her head drooped too low, not even daring to look at the sole of my feet. I slumped down on the floor in front of her, slouched in a sitting position and murmured slowly, "Listen here, I am not going to torture or kill you, okay?"

Her trembling form stilled for a moment, and I felt like this was my chance, "Do I look like such a heartless person to you? If I was so bad, I wouldn't have taken you away from the clutches of the Queen Dowager."

She didn't make a sound, but she at least stopped quivering in fear. "I don't want to punish you for something you were forced to do, but I will have to abide by the palace laws. However, I can always lighten your punishment depending on your statement. Do, you understand?"

She still didn't say a word, and her frame was still sagged. I sighed for the nth time and said, "If you refuse to tell me what exactly happened to you and why you were forced to act the way you did that day, I will be compelled to use drastic measures."

Then she finally snapped her head up and started crying... No, scratch that, she started wailing like a mistreated baby.

I awkwardly patted her back as she cried out her heart. It took a while, but she finally calmed down.

"Now can you tell me what's really going on with you? From your attitude, it doesn't seem like you are my fan, so why did you want to be my maid?" I asked again.

She was silent again for a minute, when I thought she was not going to answer my questions no matter how I probed, she finally opened her mouth, "....I was threatened against my will Sire."

That, I had already guessed. But I wanted to hear the details of the ordeal. So I gently urged her to continue with her tale of owe. However, she seemed unsure. Rather, she looked very conflicted, cynical and confused. She was like a ball of tangled yarn who had no means of unwinding itself. In a hesitant attitude, she spoke.

"I... Your Highness, if I tell you what had driven me to such dire extents...... will you promise me your unconditional protection?" She mumbled in an almost inaudible tone. I whereas, knitted my brows at the choice of her words. What had her so anxious as to ask for protection from the very being she feared the most(If you're wondering who it is, I mean me).

In an unhurried manner, I bobbed my head assenting her terms, "I understand."

"I-If Her Highness really wants to know, I_ this humble maid shall comply to your wishes." She murmured in a low hum, then she started in a timorous pace, "It happened before my mother became the head maid of Her Majesty, the Queen Dowager. She was just a lowly maid of the Brikenhead house without any status. But then, one night, something happened which altered my mother's life forever." I don't know why, but my gut was telling me I was about to discover another scandalous secret. At this point on, I was indecisive on whether I should let her continue or not.

"It was a stormy night when it all took place. My mother_"

"STOP!" I yelled out before I was compelled to hear something I shouldn't have.

To be Continued.........