The Island (girlxgirl)

Chapter 4

This was not what I had in mind for the day.

"You want me to do WHAT in front of the king?"

"Oh, hush. You're doing what any other servant would in your place: doing whatever I say. So be quiet and don't worry about the stares. Now that the question comes to my mind...who picked out the dress that drags?"

"'Oh hush.'"

"Your falsetto does not impress."

"Good thing, because that's not its job."

I immediately drew silent as Hachi threw the double doors into the dining room open. I was holding the tail of her dress, protecting it from dragging on the floor, and I walked behind her as she marched in. Hachi's other servants were scurrying into seats around the edge of the grand table.

I was getting so defensive about carrying the tail of Hachi's dress because it was a duty reserved for the highest maid. It was an absolute honor to do such a thing. I was the new girl and it would be considered very odd for me to be chosen in such a matter. I would be skewered by gossipers.

The hall was made of dark wood and stone. The King and Queen sat next to each other at the head of the table. Flanking them on the sides were the princes. There were six princes present, Cain, Sibley, Declan, Lafayette, Jathan, and Eamon, which meant that Sebastian Octavian wasn't here. Sebastian Octavian worked for the Psi Alpha Theta, so he was never supposed to be around anyway, but still...I wanted a chance to get to see him in person once. The man was the most mysterious legend of the island.

The other servants, who worked for either the king directly or one of the princes, were serving breakfast. I realized quickly that Hachi's servants were kept from doing menial labor for anyone but her. This explains why I don't have to do much of anything unless she tells me so. I was surprised though that they got to eat breakfast at tables next to the king and be served by the other servants.

The others of Hachi's servants were staring though, as I held Hachi's dress tail, as I guessed they would. Many were envious and I say "envious" from how Hachi defined the word. I met Pinky's eyes and she looked at my position with such longing that I just had to turn my eyes from her, not wanting to cause her such anguish. Pinky is completely in love with Hachi. What had happened in that jungle?

There was a certain table that Angel was at that gave me the strongest of envious glares. There were seven in all and although all of Hachi's servants were beautiful, they seemed to be some of the most gorgeous. Some were tall, some were short, some had long legs, some were girly, some were butch, and all gossiped to each other as I continued with Hachi. They've got to be the Favored.

We reach the royal table and even they are looking at me too. The King looks with kind interest, the Queen looks like she tasted something sour, Prince Cain made the hand gesture of, "You two girls should bang," under the table, Sibley eyed my skinniness that was of lack of food, Declan eyed the palms of my hands for calluses of hard work, Lafayette sniffed the air in seeking the scent of the salty brine about me, Jathan peered for evidence of ink stains across my hands, Eamon searched for paper cuts, and I have NO idea how I just did that. It seemed...instinctual.

Hachi sat down and I turned to head towards the rest of Hachi's servant tables, being no longer needed. Suddenly, a hand was on my shoulder, so I whipped my head around to see that it was Hachi's hand. She grinned at me and pulled out the seat next to her. I diverted my gaze to the ground and quietly took the place that shouldn't even be mine.

Hachi's servants let out audible gasps and a steady buzz of rumors started. It had been only stares with some gossip at the favored table, but now it was on. I think Hachi just marked my head for bullying.