Royally F**cked

II:Duo

The castle was magnificent. Majesty personified with bricks and floating fires. Against its backdrop, Lavinia felt like nothing more than a speck of dust. Forgettable and easy to get rid of. Perhaps that was their intention, to build a giant castle to scare off people like her. The commoners. Those who weren't blessed with magic, like the rich elite.

The building itself was in tones of beige and gold, silver lining the windows, and flags of the Vespertine Kingdom atop its towering spires. Fires in a range of colours floated around the building on flying lanterns made of gold, courtesy of the nearby magic tower.

Vespertine was a Kingdom built from magic, from its sewers to its kitchens to its royal banquets. It was the blood flowing through the street veins. It was only natural that it was used to decorate the Kingdom's largest buildings. Besides the castle was something even more awe inspiring, in Lavinia's opinion. The Magic Tower, run by the ever elusive Crown Prince.

It was made from dark stone, a stark contrast from the bright castle, with two large spires protruding from the sides. The building was fairly simple, in comparison, but that was what Lavinia thought made it all the more beautiful.

She shook her head out of its reverie. It had taken her almost all morning to get here, her feet were blistering and bloody. Black hair strewn about in a mess, and clothes caked with dirt. She'd reached the village centre, heading straight to the notice board, with a one track mind, to look for jobs. There was only one.

Personal Maid for the Prince.

Well. She'd take what she could get. The money was more important to her than any of the rumours spread about by nosy villagers. Like how he killed maids for magic sacrifices, or how with one look at his ugly face you'd cry. It was ridiculous. Rolling her shoulders back, and pulling up the sleeves of her loose top, she stormed to the castle entrance.

Two guards stood to attention at the looming gates. Lavinia's lips set in a thin line, and her back straightened. "Hello?" Lavinia called out, grabbing their attention. With a thud they slammed their spears onto the floor, causing her to jump a little.

"State your business!" The guard on the left shouted. "Or take your leave!" The other guard finished. Lavinia would have chuckled at how in-sink the two were, had they not taken a threatening step forward, arms braced for attack.

Pacifically she raised her shaky arms up. "I'm, err, here for the job?" She stuttered, looking back and forth between the two. They stopped, tilting their heads at her in confusion then looking at each other for reassurance. "You know, the Personal Maid job for the Prince? It was on the village board?" Lavinia clarified.

A sudden look of recognition struck them both at the same time. The guard on the left spat out a laugh, spit flying everywhere, while the other one smirked. Lavinia scrunched her face, what on earth had the King thought putting these two as guard.

"Good luck." One of them hissed, nudging his friend in the side. "She isn't gonna last a day!". With a more subdued chuckle, his friend began to make his way behind the gate, through a small side door.

"Must be Frederick's doing, I'll go get him," the guard on the right side, finally drawing back his large spear. The one guard that was left gave her a criticising look, his large eyebrows drawing together as his mouth down turned.

"Why do you look like that?" He asked, looking at her with the same disdain as a piece of trash on the corner of the street. Lavinia made a face, assessing him with the same look.

"Like what?" Lavinia questioned, taking a hesitant step back. He looked at her a second more, before turning to fiddle with a piece of his leg armour disinterestedly.

"Like you've ran through the swamps with a cow." He stated bluntly. She froze in confusion, then looked down at herself. Yeah, she got a bit muddy making her way to Kingdom, but she didn't think she looked that bad. Before she could angrily retaliate, the other man was back, with a smartly dressed old man in tow.

The elder man pushed past the two guards with a vigour that was unexpected for someone his age. "You must be here for the job!" He enthused, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her towards the smaller side door. No use opening the large gate for just the two of them. Unwilling she let herself be pulled along.

"Ah!" He paused, stopping in his tracks, before turning to her and bowing deeply. "I forgot to introduce myself to my Lady. My name is Frederick Regalis, and I am the Head of Staff here in the castle,"

Lavinia waved her hands frantically, not used to such a royal treatment. "It's nice to meet you! But please stand up, there's no need to bow! My name is Lavinia Armertris, just call me Lavinia," She rushed, with a small smile. Frederick beamed back, and nodded at her.

"Of course, my Lady." Frederick smirked as he turned back around to lead her through the castle's main greeting room. She rolled her eyes, she had a feeling he would be a stickler for formalities no matter what Lavinia said. The castle was grande, filled with jewels, gold and intricate art.

She felt displaced as she was lead up red velvet lined stairs. Like every step she took, she was slowly dirtying something so pristine. Finally Frederick stopped at the large door, pushing it open slowly to reveal another waiting room. Two grande sofa's surrounded a large ebony table, and book cases lined the wall.

"Can I get you some tea?" Frederick asked, busying himself by tidying up loose forms that were strayed on the table. Lavinia shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood awkwardly by the sofa's. He stood back up, his jovial face turned serious. 

"This will be a hard and enduring job," Frederick intoned, "There is a reason the job was posted on the notice board, and we haven't just accepted a nobleman's daughter for the position,". Lavinia frowned at the tense atmosphere, she was here for the money to retain her family farm. It could be the hardest job in the world and she would still do it.

"But you seem like you're mad of tough stuff! I'm sure you'll be perfect for the position!" Like a flip of a switch he changed, back to his happy disposition as he fluttered past her and to the door. "Let me go get one of the maids to sort you out with a new uniform and you can start straight away!"

"But don't you need to know more about me! Aren't you going to ask questions or something?!" Lavinia called after him, her head spinning with the absurdity of the situation. Frederick stopped, a secretive smile lighting up his older features. He tapped his head.

"Of course not, my Lady. I already know everything there is to know. Magic surely is the most amazing feature of our Kingdom." He said, before spinning on his feet and leaving her to her own devices.

Lavinia began to pace around the room, in a few moments, once the maids sorted her out with new clothing she would be facing the Crown Prince. Delvin Vespertine. The object of society's rumours and dark words. She bit her plush lip and stared off out the window, not really focusing on the gorgeous scenery.

'Delvin Vespertine, just who are you really?'

Authors Note:   

Hey guys i hope you enjoyed the second chapter! Hope you're all doing okay! Next chapter Delvin and Lavinia will finally meet! How do you think it's gonna go? 

Thank you for reading!

Lots of love, 

Sam.E