The next morning I was awakened by my maids and I was restless the second my eyes parted. I wanted to pull on men's pants and sprint around the castle until my heart and lungs couldn't take it. Then, when I was exhausted enough I would fall back asleep and this whole day would pass me by without consequence. However, that could not happen and my maids instructed me to get out of bed then helped me get dressed. They all ignored my behavior, hardly paying any attention to my twitching fingers and nervous habits. I wasn't sure if they didn't know what had occurred last night or if they simply didn't care but it was certainly not discussed.

"I would like to go to the barns again today." I announced as soon as I felt the final line of my corset tighten.

"The king has requested that you accompany him for breakfast this morning." The tall dark haired maid murmured, sounding completely unconcerned.

"What is your name?" I demanded, meeting her eyes strongly. I may have been a slave, but I was ready for a fight now, not with her but with the king. I was exhausted by his complete control over my days and my emotions. He kept me anxiously waiting all day yesterday and was now planning my schedule today. Or maybe I was just embarrassed about my stunt and couldn't admit it to myself. Regardless, it was becoming too much for me to bear.

"Lydia." The maid replied, raising her chin. She must've sensed my hostility.

"Well Lydia would you be so kind as to tell the king that I do not wish to have breakfast with him, I wish to go to the stables." I demanded.

All of the maids instantly paused whatever task they were doing and gawked at me, their mouths falling open in horror and shock. Lydia even took a step back and looked like she was going to place her hand over her heart. But she held herself together tightly, curtsied, then turned to walk out of my bedchamber. When the door clicked shut behind her and her footsteps faded away the other two maids stayed in the exact same position, not sure if they should move to redress me for my riding excursion or if they should leave me be as I began digging through armoire.

After a few seconds it seemed that they choose to leave me to my own devices which were not very fruitful. I was going head first into the beautiful wooden structure, desperately trying to find something more reasonable to wear, or at least something that didn't have a ten pound skirt attached to it. But the further I moved the more frustrated I became because I found nothing that even resembled pants. I was merely astounded by how many different fabrics and styles dresses came in. But I didn't have any time to comment about the lack of pants before Lydia burst back into the bedroom.

Me and the two other maids turned to look at her the instant we heard the door open. And when I saw her I stilled. Her fair complexion was even more pale than usual. She had always been the steady, firm one out of the three but now her hands were shaking at her sides and I was nearly certain that she was close to tears. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly like she had sprinted back to us.

"Lydia?" I prompted softly. I tried to be as careful as possible, but I still worried that my gentle voice would be too much and she would teeter over the edge into an emotional mess. I had never seen her like this.

"King Archer said that if you do not obey his orders he will punish all of your maids." She revealed.

Her words were churned over in my mind while I watched the other two maids react in terror. The small, timid, blonde maid began to cry. Her sobs were soft, restrained but she could not control it beyond that. Her shoulders shook and her hands were clasped tightly over her mouth. The other maid merely resembled a ghost. For a split second I worried she may faint because she didn't even inhale for a long time.

"Very well." I breathed, grabbing the skirt of my dress and lifting it. I strode to the door and flung it open, my eyes landing on James, "Can you take me to the king?" I asked.

James walked me to the dining room, staying relatively quiet the whole time. I did whisper a quick thank you to him and he gave me a tiny smile, but nothing else was mentioned. I took his note seriously, so I didn't gush to him about how good the food was. Not that I didn't want to talk, I thought discussing what was going on and what the king had said would've helped calm me down. In addition to this I also thought that James would be a good source of information, he would be able to tell me if the king would actually punish my maids for merely relaying information, and if he would then how severe the punishments would be. But I reminded myself that James had worked for the king far longer than he had worked for me, even if he had fed me and tried to obey my every wish. I didn't pay his wages and I had only been in the castle for a short while, there was no way I could expect him to be loyal to me yet.

"So you decided to spare your maids, how noble of you." The king announced when I entered the dining room. He didn't address the guard who walked me in, then disappeared as soon as he could.

"You wouldn't do anything to my maids and I know that." I retorted, but I still sat down at the opposing end of the table when a different man pulled out the chair for me. I ignored the gorgeous spread of food before me.

"Oh, of course not. I have people to do that for me." the king mused.

He carefully lifted a fork full of food to his mouth but those dark eyes never left me. He looked confident in his well fitted jacket and his face held nothing but calmness. He was challenging me and goading me into a fight. And even though I was aware of his games I was not above them.

"That is an awful and cruel thing to do." I snapped.

"You are here, so clearly it works well."

"You are a garish man!" I shouted, leaping to my feet.

I leaned over the table, watching him intently as I gripped the table linens in both hands. I was not an angry person but this man knew how to say all the right things to get my blood boiling and I hated him for it. I hated that he could bring out this ugly side of me and be so casual about it. And he only made those feelings more apparent when he slowly stood up and waved his hands, indicating that any guards or butlers should leave. Then, with slow precision, he stalked over to my side of the table, his boots hitting the floor with each step. I didn't straighten as he came nearer, I just watched him. Once he was within a couple feet of me he reached up and grabbed my jaw in his hand. I tried to flinch away, but a sudden feeling of pleasure washed over me and I actually ended up taking a step closer to him. I also notice that something flashed through his dark brown eyes when we touched, but I wasn't able to identify it before it vanished.

"You seem to forget that I am your husband and I am legally your owner. And even if I were neither I would still be your king. You have to obey me or there will be consequences. And I will choose if you should be punished or someone else in your place. Frankly, you should be delighted that I won't lay a hand on you for the scene you just created in front of my men. Consider this your last warning, wife." He whispered sweetly in my ear.

His tone didn't match the sharp words but I couldn't even force myself to notice as he placed his lips softly against my cheek. And slowly, ever so slowly, he moved his mouth across my cheek, edging closer to my lips. I let out a sound I had never heard from myself, a mix of frustration and pleasure when his mouth just brushed the edge of mine. I attempted to turn towards him, to press my mouth against his despite the fury that had run through me not a minute ago. But his hands held me still and he kissed my cheek, his lips barely touching the corner of mine. Then he released my jaw and took a calculated step away from me. He bobbed his head in a slight bow, then strode away, "I will see you at dinner."

The rest of the day went by quickly, presumably because I didn't want it to. I dreaded going to dinner tonight. I didn't want to see that man again so soon. In fact, if I had it my way I would never see him again. I would climb onto the back of that beautiful horse he kept locked away in the stables- much like he kept me locked away in my room- and I would ride fast and hard into the night. In the morning I would find a new city and hope to start a new life, one that did not hold me accountable for each of my actions. But that was just a fantasy, it could not happen yet as my last outing had been halted rather abruptly so now the king would be waiting for me to do something of that nature. I had to play it safe for a while and begin to gain his trust, as well as James's. If I wanted my attempt to be successful I would have to have someone on the inside working with me.

"I'm sorry." I proclaimed when my maids informed me that it was time to change for supper. "I had no idea that the king would come after you if I disobeyed him and it is entirely my fault. I never wanted to put you in that position and I wouldn't have said a single word if I had known."

The small blonde maid smiled at me gratefully, but it was Lydia one who spoke up first, "We are thankful you didn't allow him to follow through with his threat."

Supper was uneventful. We sat on opposing sides of the very long table so even if we wished to have a conversation it would be difficult. And after our conversation this morning I worried about how another one would end. So I smiled gently at the guards and butlers who served me and helped me along, because I knew my table manners were laughable and I ate as much food as I could possibly stuff into myself. The meats and vegetables and fruits and sweets seemed to go on and on forever. It almost made me regret missing this last night. But eventually I was so full that even the smell of food was enough to make me feel a little sick so I carefully dismissed myself and waddled back to my bedchamber with a guard.

My maids undressed me and didn't ask any questions as they did so. However, they did seem to be in a much better mood because they all hummed to themselves or had small grins on their faces as they helped me out of that awful corset and into my night gown. I wished them all a good night and they left quietly. All of the extra food in my stomach weighed me down and made me feel exhausted. Though the morning had been confusing and wretched the evening had been nothing but pleasant and I too hummed to myself as I doused the fire, slipped out of my –suddenly too tight night gown- and crawled into bed. I fell asleep quickly and easily, but I was awakened when I heard my bedroom door open and someone enter.