A princess on the run, Briar Aldrich has no choice but to take on the role of scullery maid when Lord Sterling Huntington stumbles upon her in the woods and doesn't recognize her. But how safe is she actually in his home? And how safe is her heart?
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Briar laid on her cot, staring up at the dirty ceiling above, thinking about her options. She had no weapons, no guards to defend her. The only man who knew who she truly was sat miles away defending a broken kingdom, a kingdom that she was supposed to inherit. She was the Princess of Isalovia, the rightful heir to the throne, she would be Queen someday. And she sat hiding in the servant's quarters of a country lord's holdfast, feigning illness. It angered her, this feeling of hopelessness, this fear. She felt hunted, like an animal. When the door to her room opened she flinched and then scolded herself for the weakness. It was only Elsie entering their shared space, a look of concern on her face that had remained there the past day or so.
"They're gone," she said and Briar nodded and sat up, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her chest. Elsie frowned and walked to her own cot. She sat on the edge of it and watched Briar, obviously in thought.
"What?" Briar asked, trying to keep the annoyance from her voice.
"Are you going to tell me why you were so afraid of those men?"
"I was ill."
"Brenna."
"Fine," Briar sighed, preparing herself to tell the lie that she had known she would have to tell ever since she asked Elsie to tell her when the rebels left. "They aren't just rebels. They are debt collectors too. I told you what happened to my father, how Lord Huntington found me. They are the ones that I was running from."
Elsie gasped and covered her mouth. Briar looked away, hoping that the girl believed her lie, hoping that her terror could pass for a girl who had not so long ago seen her father murdered and fled from his killers. The lie seemed to do the trick. Elsie stood from her own cot and joined Briar on hers, throwing her arms around her in an embrace of female friendship that Briar had never before experienced. She felt uncomfortable, unsure of how to react to the contact, but a strange sense of belonging at the same time. Even though this affection had been given based off of a lie, she felt security in it all the same. She turned to Elsie and smiled.
"Thank you," she said and she meant it.
"Mrs. Woods sent me to see how you were feeling. Are you up to getting back to work?"
Briar nodded and stood, her legs feeling a bit shaky after her day of being cooped up in her small room. She straightened herself up and followed Elsie out to the kitchens. They pulled their aprons on and Briar was greeted by a few of the servants with kind words and a gentle squeeze on the arm. She thanked them all and then headed over to Mrs. Woods for her day's assignments. Mrs. Woods smiled at her kindly as she approached the workbench she had been occupying. The old woman was busy with breakfast.
"Good morning, dear. Elsie says you're feeling better. Are you quite back to yourself?" she asked in a motherly way.
"I am, Mrs. Woods, thank you."
"Of course, dear," she said and she set down the small paring knife she had been using to peel potatoes and turned to focus on the porridge stewing in the pot behind her. Briar eyed the knife. It was no dagger, definitely not meant to be used as a weapon, but it could still cut the flesh of a man if he meant her harm. "You will help serve breakfast with Elsie this morning. I'm giving you a break from the ladies tea time. After your episode yesterday, I don't think Lady Cora is too eager to see you back to your serving. You'll use that time to clean your assigned rooms instead. Then you'll come and help me in the kitchens for dinner tonight."
