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Chapter 11 My Bracelet

My eyes flew open before the sun was fully up. I remembered instantly where I was, and my interaction with Prince Theo weighed on my mind.

I took a few deep breaths, trying not to let his constantly irritated state get to me. I had slept well, had good dreams, and had a lot of energy pulsing through my veins. Why would I let his pessimism ruin my day before it had even begun?

I glanced down at my pillow and saw the flower that Prince Warren had given to me and instantly felt a rush of

adrenaline.

No wonder I’d gotten a good night of sleep. The blooms were slightly faded from the vibrancy they’d had when he’d first picked it and handed it over to me, but the fragrance still filled my lungs when I inhaled, and I thought it might last another day or two.

I quickly put the flower in the top drawer of the night stand and hopped up, ready to prepare for the day. Lots of hard manual labor lay in front of me, but I was mentally prepared for all of it.

After a few hours, I had almost finished wiping down the entire wing. Almost, because the ceiling was too high for me to reach. While I was pondering what I should do to get

myself up there, I had an overwhelming feeling that someone was watching me from behind.

I looked down the hallway and saw a tall, lean form coming toward me, and immediately, my heart knew who it was.

Quickly, I sprinkled some water on the floor so I’d have an excuse to speak to him. “Be careful, Your Highness!” I called. “The floor is wet here!”

“There you are!” Prince Warren greeted me as he approached, staying back from the area I’d just dampened. “I had wondered why you weren’t outside with the animals. So… you were chosen to be my brother’s personal attendant, huh?”

Something was slightly off about his tone. He was saying kind words, but he didn’t exactly seem happy about the news.

“This is my assignment, for now,” I said, keeping my head down. “It was… an accident… sort of.” I couldn’t quite explain to him how I happened to be at the pavilion at the same time that Prince Theo was expecting his attendant there.

“Well… congratulations.” His smile looked forced for some reason that I didn’t understand.

“Thank you,” I said. “But honestly… if I had a choice….” His eyebrows raised, and he took a step closer to me, as if he knew I was hesitant to say what I was trying to get out, which was true. “I wouldn’t have chosen to be Prince Theo’s attendant.”

I wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea to share my displeasure about one prince with another prince, but looking at Warren’s face, I knew I could trust him.

“Really?” His tone suddenly changed, and I thought I heard a bit of lightness to his voice. “Well, it looks like you’ve got quite

a bit of work to do, cleaning up this wing of the castle. You know, a personal attendant isn’t meant to be a maid.”

I felt my cheeks redden as I thought about how I had gone

| into Prince Theo’s room last night and ended up getting myself into this predicament. But at least I had something to do. “I don’t mind a bit of hard work,” I told him.

“Perhaps I could help you? I’ve never done much cleaning, but I can give it a try.” He flashed a kind smile to me that made my heart skip a beat, and I wondered if he could hear it.

me clean!” I had

the sound of it made my cheeks flare up again. “You’re not asking me, silly,” he reminded me. “I’m

was tempted to accept his offer to help, simply because I wanted to spend more time with him. I glanced around and suddenly realized exactly what I could ask him to do. “Well, I am having a bit of trouble

moment, his hand in his pocket as he studied the problem. He gave me a nod and smiled again. “I

pole, he moved over to the corner and climbed up, stretching to reach the webs in the

he did so, his sleeve

throat as I

I’d given away as a gift all those years ago, I could see some wear on one of the beads. I remembered scraping it on a rough tree trunk when I

looked away, but I couldn’t lose this opportunity to satisfy my curiosity.

an unique bracelet you have

said. “This?” He held it up so I could see it. His gaze seemed to get even softer as he said, “It

I asked, my heart thumping against my rib cage again. “From… whom?” I was fishing for information now. I needed

down off of the ladder and moved it to another corner so he could

another web above him.

Do you have fond memories

suppose I do. She’s a very important person to me.” He turned and looked at me, and I had to avert my eyes, grabbing the

“I-I was just curious.”

today before he got suspicious. I had to pretend like I didn’t know where it

who saved him in the woods all

an annoying voice hit my ear, and I suddenly

Look at her, girls. She’s supposed to be one of Prince Theo’s bride candidates, but here she is again, doing the dirty work that only maids would do! She must have embarrassed Prince Theo so much that

stand to be near

her friends gathered at her shoulders, all of them looking down their noses at me. Sophia bowed down to greet Prince Warren, “You Highness, please do not be deceived by her. She would bring you nothing but disgrace. She was supposed to serve Prince Theo, yet now, she is shamelessly throwing

off of the ladder. I couldn’t quite read his expression. Was he irritated

whore!” Sophia

frowned. “It’s not lady-like at all for you

that way. Likewise, you shouldn’t be spreading rumors and speaking unkindly about others. That’s not the job of

her mouth but then closed it again, dropping her eyes. She raised them to glare at me before she said, “Come along, ladies. Let’s get back to the clean part of the castle. Clearly, this girl is a terrible maid who doesn’t know how to keep

me, and I got the distinct feeling that she didn’t like me being

she was going to be making more trouble for me soon. I

gone, I turned to Prince Warren. “Thank you for

me briefly on the shoulder. “You’re quite welcome,

a tingle of

he finished his sentence. When he pulled away,

enjoyed his company. He was so different from his brother, so much more thoughtful and kind. I wished I had been assigned to be his personal attendant instead of Prince

||

7.