Brevity

                                    

                                          
Amethyst wasted no time getting to safety since it was not safe in the yard for a female servant. She climbed up to the stable loft where the remaining Male servants stayed to avoid being the night's entertainment. The following day, the boys helped her from the loft and took her to the kitchen. Catherin checked every bone in her body for damage.
"Catherin, I am fine. Nothing happened to me. I talked to Nikolai and slept in the loft."
"You can't fault me for worrying. I have been doing it for years." All Amethyst's life, Catherin had been her mother's maid, which also meant that she had been a part of her life. Sometimes, it surprises Amethyst that even now, she is not alone, and she never has been.
"I know, and I love you for it." Amethyst hugged Catherin, verging on tearful, but she would not let herself cry. One of the girls brought over the tray for Nikolai.
"Sorry to interrupt your... um... but you normally bring the prince his food." The girl struggled not to say Your Highness and adequately address her sovereign. Amethyst smiled.
"I'll take it, and when I get back, you might be able to help me learn how to do some of the work around here. That way, I can stop watching you all work." The girl's eyes widened, but she smiled. Amethyst made a flower and wrote 
'yes?' On one of the petals. She entered the room thinking he was standing by the window, but something was off. Nikolai comes over every time she opens the door. Then, there was something straighter in the way he stood, a loftier chin tilt. Amethyst froze with the tray in her arms; she had never been this close to the king of Vilencia before. The king walked over as she lowered herself into a curtsy.
"I see you are giving my son these... flowers." He grabbed the flower off the tray opening it up. "Yes? I wonder what that means?"
"Majesty?" Amethyst tried to make her voice as innocent as possible. She had to play this carefully.
"What does this mean?" He asked, getting very close to her face.
"Your majesty, I don't know what to say." 
 "Let us talk in my office, come along." His hand pressed into the small of her back, not giving her time to put the tray down. He smiled and talked considerately to all he passed, but there was fear in their eyes and a threat in every glance. "Come put my son's tray down and join me. Ignore my guards."
"Yes, Majesty," She placed the tray on his desk immediately, and he grabbed a biscuit and bit into it.
"So much better than the food in vilencia. Everything there is tougher from the harsh weather, but the grain grows plenty here. Not even common people miss a meal."
"Yes, majesty."
"Tell me about these flowers." He tossed all the flowers she made for Nikolai on the floor before her.
"A few years ago, Princess Amethyst learned to fold flowers from paper. She wanted to be better at it than her sister, so she constantly practiced with me."
"Beautiful story, but you are smart enough to know what I am asking."
"I don't think I can give you an answer that will not ruin my reputation."
"Oh, so you expect me to believe that my son has rendezvous with you, and you're what exactly, supporting his affections? Happy with the arrangement to the point where you seek him out?"
"Majesty, may I be honest?"
"That is what I have been asking for."
"On the night you arrive, many maids were cornered and attacked by soldiers. Some were left for dead. The arrangement I have with his highness provided an amount of security." The king laughed.