The forsaken Princess

3. A Life for a Life

Viola hurried through the hallways of the castle. The seasons had changed but the spring evenings were still cold. She wrapped her thin linen cloak around herself tighter.

Her head rang with Sir Malik's words. "The king has summoned you into the dining chamber."

She had not spoken to the king the entire winter, and every step she took made her more nervous as her distance to the dining hall grew shorter.

She'd helped the cook and his servants prepare some of his finest meals in preparation for a special guest. It had taken her almost all day, and she couldn't piece together why she was now being summoned.

She stopped at the large oak doors leading to the dining room, as she tried to gather all the courage in the world. She'd found comfort in the fact that the king had seemingly completely forgotten about her these past few months.

Maybe the King would be selling her to someone or he'd changed his mind about keeping her alive. She had no idea what he wanted.

She reached out and gently knocked on the wood so quietly, she secretly hoped no one would notice.

To her dismay, she heard the familiarly stern voice of the King, "Enter."

Viola lowered her head as she pushed open the door only to carefully close it again after she'd slipped in. She didn't dare look up, although it seemed odd that she couldn't hear any voices inside the dining hall.

With her eyes glued to the ground, she felt like the silence grew louder with every second. The only noise she could make out was the crackling of a fire in the fireplace.

She shuffled her weight from one foot to the other as curiosity got the better of her. She lifted her head just enough to see the dining table, which had been decked neatly and filled with a buffet of various exquisite dishes she'd only known from when she was still a princess.

She tilted her head slightly to the right to find an empty chair, before looking to the left to find King Archer who sat cross-legged on the king's chair. Her eyes briefly met his cold, observative ones as she realized he was watching her.

She lifted her head, not breaking their gaze as she realized they were alone. The King scanned her from the face to her torso, to her feet, and back up again before saying, "Sit."

Viola swallowed the urge to call him out for talking to her like a dog, as she looked around for a place to sit.

King Archer leaned his head on the back of his hand as he watched her trying to figure out where to take a seat.

Unsure if he really meant for her to sit at the table where the dishes looked like they were prepared for a noble guest, she searched his eyes briefly. Impatiently he lifted a brow, resulting in Viola walking over to the oversized chair and cautiously taking a seat on the red cushion.

After another agonizing minute of silence and King Archer staring a hole into her soul, he finally spoke. "You must be hungry."

Viola grit her teeth. Suddenly the fact that she'd been getting less to eat for the past few days seemed to make more sense.

She knew that if she ate now, she'd feel like she owed him, so she decided against it. "I am not."

King Archer lowered his brows a little. Before the next silence would fill the hall, Viola chose to simply confront the king. "Why," She tried to find the right words, "Why am I here?"

Instead of answering her, the King reached for his chalice, which he gently stirred in his hand before taking a drink. He took his time placing it back on the table before folding his hands.