A Servant Lost (Alys Book #1)

Chapter 6

"Alys!" Esme sat up as soon as Alys came into their small room.

"You should be asleep," Alys said softly in reply, closing the door behind her and crossing to her bed.

"For heaven's sake, I was too worried to sleep!"

"Oh Esy," Alys pulled off her dress and slipped into her night one, "You should not have worried. Everything will be fine."

Esme sighed, "What happened?"

Alys paused. She did not quite know herself. She put out the torch and got into her bed.

"The prince asked me to be the mother of his child."

Esme gasped in the darkness.

"What did you say?" she demanded.

Alys sighed. What had she said? She had not said much, but she had nodded when he had asked her to consider it.

Would she? No- was she?

"He's my prince. I have to consider it." Alys whispered into the darkness.

"This could change your life Alys. You could get out of these dungeon walls."

"I-I would not do it for myself," she answered, "It would be to serve him."

"Still," Esme did not back down, "You would be more comfortable. You should consider it carefully."

Alys heard Esme roll over and pull her covers up.

She lay awake late into the night. Her mind would not rest and let her go to sleep. When she finally did sleep, it was a fitful one.

     Alys awoke in the morning exhausted from lack of good rest. She forced herself to get up and get moving. She tried her best to keep up with all the day's tasks, but her mind was distracted. She was useless in the kitchen, except to go through the motions of making bread. She managed to do the laundry easy enough, but her mind was far from her tasks, and whenever someone tried to speak with her, they had to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"You're distracted," Esme commented to Alys as the two of them headed back down to the kitchens to prepare the supper-time meals.

Alys shrugged, numbly walking down the stairs.

"Is this about the Prince?" Esme whispered.

Alys just shrugged again and continued to walk.

"You shouldn't let this affect you so," Esme said, "It's a simple yes or no answer."

Alys shook her head and walked faster. She did NOT wish to talk about the matter in earshot of the other servants. Esme must have caught the hint, because she did not bother Alys further.

While preparing the meal, Alys tried to focus her mind on other things. She kneaded dough, stirred the stews and chopped vegetables for salads. She tried to occupy her mind by thinking about the Fendrel's; how the baby cow was, how the chickens were, where Brom had taken off to.

As try as she did to fill her mind, it kept wandering back to the prince. How could she make such a decision? She did not want to let the prince down, but she did not want to go through the trials of having a child- least of all with a man she was not married to.

But this could be her one and only chance to get out of the kitchens and dungeons. A chance to live a healthier and more comfortable life. Sure, she would still have to earn her keep, raising the prince's child and doing other jobs here and there. But compared to working and sleeping in the cold, damp dungeons? That was more than Alys had ever dared to hope for.