CROWN WORTHY

Chapter Five.

Last night after dinner, all I could think about was Lincoln. Even now, I can't seem to get him out of my mind... his caramel colored skin and dark brown curly hair... his worn out apron that he wears when he goes to work at the Pub... I miss him so very much.

When I came here to be interviewed by the King, I knew there was a chance that I would be chosen to be a servant but I don't think it truly dawned on me how being chosen meant that I would hardly ever see Lincoln again.

As I look over the letter that I just finished writing to him, I'm having mixed feelings about everything. I wish I could tell him about the King. Lincoln and I talked about literally everything together and not being able to tell him about what I've learned about the King is killing me inside. Or maybe I just want to tell him about the King to procrastinate on telling him about my true feelings for him.

Sighing deeply out of frustration, I quickly fold up the letter and slide it into the pocket of my apron before getting up from my vanity. After putting on my shoes, I leave my room and head downstairs.

      Walking past one of the castle's conference rooms, I see King Eron and King Romano talking with one another. I can't hear what they are saying, but after the conversation I had with Elijah, I'm beginning to wonder if the King is trying to figure out if the Delacroix's are going to be the family that he wants to give him kingdom to. I try to walk closer to eavesdrop, but I can feel eyes watching me. It's Bexley. I quickly look away and walk outside to the garden.

      I see an older woman tending to some of the flowers. When she sees me, she gets up and approaches me.

"You must be Zuri. I'm Valerie. I'll be teaching you everything you need to know about the garden."

      Valeries may be a lot older than me but she moves quickly. She honestly seems to move faster than servants half her age. I follow her to the center of the garden where the water fountain sits. It is in the shape of two Raven's with water pouring from both of their mouths.

"This fountain is one of the first things people see when they arrive here at the castle. You must be sure that the water is clean at all times. You can use this to pull thing out that you can't grip with your hand." She hands me a dark brown net with a handle.

      As I'm cleaning the fountain, I see a dog walking and sniffing around the garden. It must belong to Leo's family because King Eron has no pets. I want to ignore the dog, but I see it digging in one of the flower beds. I run over to stop it before Valerie, or anyone else, sees.

      I notice the dog has dug a rather deep hole in such a short about of time. I grab the dog and sit him down beside me. He's wagging his tail as he watches as I try to figure out how to fix the mess he's made.

"Why did you do this?" I ask.

      I'm talking to the dog as if it's going to speak back. I grab dirt and pat it back down into the hole but then... I start to think about why dogs dig holes in the first place. Maybe he was looking for something.

"Is that it? Did you smell something in there?" I say.

      The dog barks as if that was his way to say yes. I remove the dirt again and dig a little deeper before reaching my hand into the hole. I feel something. It feels like a chain. I pull whatever it is out from the hole and to my surprise, it's a necklace—a locket to be exact. It's heart shaped and has a flower engraved on the front.

"Bailey!" A voice yells.

      I turn around and see Leo walking in my direction. Bailey must be the dog's name because he turned around when Leo yelled it out. I quickly toss the locket into my apron pocket and put the dirt back into the hole again.