Chapter Three: Assistance...

A few days passed since Glovia talked with Prince Stev. Since then, she had been over the moon and couldn't wait for her break time. She and her Prince may not have talked as much as they did the first time she spoke with him, but she made sure to check up on him whenever she came to the garden. Prince Stev always awarded her a charming grin that never ceased to make her heart flutter.

She was currently scrubbing the floors of Prince Luther's room. Unknown to her, the man had taken note of her expressions since she came to work for him that morning. He didn't feel comfortable that she was smiling about something that wasn't related to him. The more he thought of it, the more he wanted to push her to find out what made her happy. She had been working with him for a long time, and all she had expressed at his presence was fear. Suddenly, he stood up and walked to his closet.

"Prepare my bath." He commanded, opening it in search of his bathing robe. Glovia stood up and bowed, then quickly went to do as he had ordered.

The Prince's bathing room was huge. It had a wooden bath with some parts lined up with ceramic tiles. It was in a rectangular shape and almost took up half the whole room. It was big enough to contain up to twenty people. Royals were never misers when it came to themselves, Glovia tutted. She couldn't imagine being the only person to share a bath so big.

She turned a lever by the side, which caused all the taps to come on. She patiently waited for it to fill to the brim; she put her hand inside the giant tub and used her magic to heat it up. It was one of the basic magic moves she had been taught as a kid. She remembered dreaming to improve her powers once she reached the highest level. However, her hopes were temporarily dashed once she found out how much the courses cost. She simply began working to earn for herself and her parents. There were incidents where she picked up on new moves from the royals without them knowing, and she practiced whatever she learned in secret.

She hummed in satisfaction once the water reached the perfect temperature. She was about to leave the bathroom when she saw prince Luther staring at her from the doorway, his hands folded across his chest and a blank look on his face. She gulped, her hands shaking nervously as she folded it by her front.

"My lord, your bath is ready."

The Prince remained where he was, staring at her intensely. Slowly, he began to make his way toward her. Glovia couldn't move. She knew that she ought to, but it felt wrong for her to do so at that moment. Her chest hammered heavily when the Prince stripped in front of her. She released a soft sigh when he went past her, straight to the tub. She started to leave when the king commanded,

"Wait," he ordered, and she paused immediately.

"Bathe me." Prince Luther said. Those two words caused Glovia to erupt into a full-scale panic attack. Her heart hammered heavily, and her blood rushed to her head, yet she tried to calm it down, thinking that perhaps she hadn't heard the Prince well.

"M-My lord?" she questioned, her voice shaky.

"I do not like to repeat myself!" he reprimanded, raising his voice at her for the first time since she started working for him. She flinched at his harsh words, then briskly walked towards him, her nerves flying everywhere. She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all. Glovia reached where he sat in the tub, and her hands began to shake as she reached for the soap. Why did she have to bathe him? Even though he was the naked one, she felt violated. But she was a lowly maid; her objections couldn't be voiced out and to Prince Luther no less.

She took her time lathering the soap with her hands, hoping he would change his mind any minute. But the serene look the Prince had on his face made her hopes slowly disappear. She gulped, then quickly began what he had ordered her to do. Perhaps if she did it quickly, she wouldn't have to relive the nightmare.

"Gentle," the Prince ordered softly. "I do not want any marks on my skin."

Shakily, Glovia took her time washing the Prince. She avoided his privates, avoided looking at it totally. She felt used and violated. Never in her life had she felt so humiliated. No servant in the history of the realm had been recorded to bathe a grown royal, especially not one of the opposite sex. As she was also a servant, the action alone could cause her to lose her head.

She swallowed her indignation and continued her job. When the Prince's breathing changed, she knew she had to end it quickly. She rinsed him off and drained the water, then went several feet away from him.

"I am done, my lord." She said, bowing her head. She refused to look at the Prince as shame clouded her expression.

"Dry me." The Prince ordered. Without looking at him, she went straight for the drying cloth on the rod beside the tub, then returned to the Prince and began to dry him. When she was done, she returned the hanger back where it was always kept.

"Would that be all my lord?" she asked.

"You may leave." The Prince ordered drily. Glovia bowed and then quickly hurried out of the bathroom, trying to stop the tears that escaped her eyes.

Prince Luther watched as Glovia ran away from him, and his frown deepened. He didn't like the way she reacted to his order. So many people would be vying to be in the same position as her, and she was taking him for granted? How dare she react like that? He had given her the highest honor. If she did well, she could even end up becoming his queen. He had to teach her a lesson. He remembered the way her hands had caressed him, and he smiled.

A serious lesson indeed.

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Glovia ran straight for the garden close to where her Prince stayed. She didn't know why she felt like going there. The last person she wanted to see was Prince Stev, especially with how distraught she looked. She continuously dried her tears and sniffed, harshly weeding out the unwanted plants. In her anger, she had realized that she left the Prince's room without informing him. He might have commanded her to leave the bathroom, but not his room. But still, she couldn't bring herself to return. The job she did for Prince Luther was meant for who he hoped to share his bed with.

Was that why he called her to work for him? Was that his real plan for her? The more she thought of it, the more she became scared. It was a taboo for a royal to stay with a lowly maid like her, but Prince Luther was the supreme lord's favorite son. There was no way he would believe any accusation she laid on the Prince's head. In fact, such accusations were likely to cost her head. She didn't want to die, but she didn't come to the high realm just to be used as a body slave. If, for any reason, prince Luther behaved wrongly toward her, there was no one she could talk to. There was no one she could pour out her heart to. She took a deep breath, calming herself. She had to start thinking of a way to escape the palace. She doubted that Prince Luther would allow her to hand in her resignation.

Prince Stev waited for Glovia to greet him once he heard her in the garden. At first, he wondered why she didn't come to greet him immediately after she arrived. They had formed it as a habit of some sort since the day she helped him. He internally struggled between going to check on her or simply remaining where he was. The latter was to help him regain his pride as a prince. But worry and curiosity won in the end, and he went to meet her.

He was surprised to see her huddled on the ground, weeding out plants and crying silently. He felt his heart squeeze in pain. He was in turmoil. He had never had any experience with ladies, and Glovia, in a strange way, had become very special to him. He knew when she heard him because she stiffened and quickly wiped her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Your highness," she greeted, quickly getting on her feet and bowing to him.

Prince Stev walked towards her and gently touched her face, raising it to meet his gaze. "You have been crying. What happened?"

"I do not wish to worry you with such a small problem of mine, my lord."

"It's your choice if you do not want to tell me. But I was slowly coming to the conclusion that we were friends."

Glovia's eyes widened. "Friends?" she asked. The Prince simply smiled at her reaction.

"Yes, friends. I don't know if you noticed, but I don't really have any friend. I was beginning to enjoy the interaction between the both of us, no matter how brief."

"M-My lord," Glovia stammered, floored.

"I'll ask you again, what happened?" he asked, his expression filled with concern. He gently let go of her face as he waited for her to answer.

Glovia remained silent, contemplating how much she should tell him without outing his brother on what he had made her do.

"Don't think of hiding some parts from me. I am very good at finding out." He said, winking at her. She blushed at his actions and looked down to avoid embarrassing herself. If she wasn't careful, she would reveal the great crush she had on him.

After thinking for a while, she realized that Prince Stev was her only choice if she wanted to escape from the palace. So she decided to tell him the truth. She took a deep breath to calm herself, then spilled everything that had happened to her since she started working with Prince Luther.

The more he listened, the more his frown deepened, causing black lines to appear on his handsome face. He couldn't believe what this poor girl had suffered at the hands of his brother. Could it be that his perfect brother fell in love with a maid? No, it couldn't be. That would cause a dent in the image he created for himself. As Glovia was rounding off her tale, her tears fell rapidly. She was still shaken by the event that had taken place.

Stev felt bad that the innocence of the girl in front of him had been harshly taken away. He felt his fist tighten when she described the action he forced her to take earlier that day. Once she was done narrating her ordeal, she quickly wiped away her tears.

"That's all, my lord."

"Glovia," the Prince called out softly, his heart pained. "Do you wish for me to avenge you?"

"My lord!" Glovia exclaimed, her mouth agape as she looked at her Prince, surprise written all over her features. "My lord, I am honoured, that you would seek to avenge me, but please, for my sake, do not do it. That is not what I wish for."

Prince Stev sighed. He was not as powerful as Prince Luther, but he would go the extra mile to carry it out if she asked him to avenge her.

"What do you wish for then?"

Glovia looked up at him, hope shining through her eyes. "I don't know if it may be possible my lord, but I wish to leave the castle."

"What?" Prince exclaimed, his heart breaking. Glovia simply nodded.

"Had I still been under the head servant of the castle, I could have easily handed over my resignation whenever I felt uncomfortable. The pay in the castle is good, but I prefer my sanity over anything else. Prince Luther, unfortunately, made the head servant to hand over the authority over me to him. If I wish to resign, I'll have to tell him. I doubt he would accept that."

"Are you sure about your decision?" Prince Stev asked.

Glovia nodded. "I am sure."

He sighed. Though he could feel his heart slowly breaking into pieces, he smiled and said to her, "Then I'll help you if that is what you wish."