Chapter 4 How dare you

"How dare you disrespect Prince William and the Royal House!" Melody was in front of Doris within a blink, ready to land a loud slap against her cheek. Doris was too stunned to move, her embarrassment was almost worse than the pain that burned her cheek.

She could feel their gazes on her, every one of them made each second grow more terrible to bear. Doris slowly lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I apologize Prince William. It was an accident."

"Your name is Doris?" William asked.

Doris lifted her head, a feeling of panic bloomed inside her stomach once again. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Go to the garden and get a branch of flowers for me, right now!" William ordered indifferently.

"Your Highness, m-may I ask what kind of flowers would you prefer?" Doris asked intensely.

She didn't know why Prince William asked her to get some flowers. Did he recognize her and try to help her get out of trouble?

No, that's impossible. Prince William always treats his mistress cruelly, let alone a maid he marked when he was drunk. He didn't even know her name.

Thinking about how William's last lady suffered, Doris shivered uncontrollably.

At the same time, Cara, as well as other servants, were unsatisfied with the way William treated Doris. A maid who made mistakes was deserved to be punished. Get some flowers? Could it be a punishment?

Before Cara stopped it, William suddenly snapped,

"Whatever, get the hell out of here, right now."

Doris bowed and turned around, with her head down. She didn't need any more attention on her than there already was. She could've sworn she'd felt someone's gaze burn into her back as she left through the large doors.

With that, William stood up and left, to change his wet clothes.

Cara frowned and couldn't help complaining to Charles, "Look at him, it's impolite and ungracious." Then Charles gently comforted his wife.

Grace looked in the direction that Doris left. For no reason, she was devoured by envy and hatred. She had an intuitive sense of the relationship between William and Doris. She knew him well. William had no interest in flowers. He was just making an excuse to let Doris leave safely.

Why the hell did he protect this girl?!

"Babe, try this." Grace's husband, Martin, reached over with his plate, which was filled with chopped steak. As if he didn't notice what happened during the breakfast.

With a guilty conscience, Grace put on a fake smile and thanked her husband, but she didn't realize that she clenched her forks tightly.

In the Garden.

After taking a branch of flower to Prince William's palace, Doris sat on the grass, to enjoy her peaceful moment.

Unexpectedly, Beth panted as she ran towards Doris, "Doris, I'm here to let you know Mr. Carson came by the servants' quarters and requested that everyone to be present."

"Mr. Carson?" Doris almost squeaked. "Why would he be here?"

"No clue. Most likely to give us more orders. Anyway, dress yourself and don't be late." After saying that, Beth ran away, leaving Doris alone with her horrible thoughts.

Her mind raced the moment she went back to her bedroom. Why would Mr. Carson want to see all of them? Was it because of last night? Had he seen her and pretended he didn't?

Doris picked at her nails nervously, "What should I do?" She whispered and wrapped her arms around herself.

Freedom was something Doris had been looking forward to. Five long years inside the castle - of being told what to do and who to serve. She always made sure to keep her head down and out of trouble. The more invisible she was, the better. A maid like Doris wasn't even allowed outside of the Golden Palace without the Alpha King's amnesty. She was quite literally a slave to all those higher up than her.

But after what happened the night before, Doris couldn't help but feel as if her chance at freedom had just been shattered to a million pieces. All the nights she dreamed of a land far from the Golden Palace slipped from her mind as if the dream were already taken from her. How could she ever be foolish enough to think she could one day be free? Why did she ever allow herself to dream of another life when being a maid was all she'd ever known?

Doris touched the back of her neck, there was a mark left by William. As long as she could hide it from others, then no one could know that she was the girl. The very thought must have reinforced Doris's determination to keep what happened last night a secret.

She quickly opened her drawer and grabbed her cheap container of makeup to cover the mark. Her shaky hands dabbed at the bite, she could still see a sense of bruising that the makeup just couldn't seem to cover.

It felt as if she were marching to her own funeral when she finally arrived at where the servants' gathered. She could already hear the sounds of a chattering crowd. Whispers of gossip and quiet wonders of why they were gathered, Doris only hoped she remained unseen during this meeting as she slipped in through the back door.

In the front of the crowd, Mr. Carson stood with Melody Harford by his side. Doris did her best not to frown at the sight of her. She was only two years older than Doris, yet charmed her way into the position as the head of maids. Many of the others liked to claim it was because of her beauty, while Melody's friends said it was because she was smart and sociable. Doris begged to differ. Melody wasn't exactly the best or kindest maid here.

"What took you so long?" Beth appeared at Doris' side, it almost made her flinch. "Careful, someone might notice you're late." Beth whispered as she grabbed ahold of her arm and dragged Doris to the empty spot beside her. Reluctantly, Doris smiled at Beth and tried to blend into the eager crowd. She was surprised to see everyone else so awake when all she felt was exhausted. Though, she doubted any of them had been attacked like she was. She doubted they spent their busy night crying in a dark room.

Doris surveyed those around her while they waited. No one else looked nervous or scared like she was. Many had their heads bent in conversation with each other - just another normal day in the Palace.

Doris's wandering gaze had accidentally met the eyes of Mr. Carson when they swept across the room. The sight alone made her body shiver, she looked down at her hands in fear he might remember her from the night before. Had he been staring at her this whole time?

Was he here because of her? Her heart pounded louder than those around her.