Page 22 of The Queen

I started to push the coverlet off and realized I was still completely naked and covered in stale sweat and dried slick. A shower was needed immediately.

Violet saw my hesitation and marched to my bedside, grabbed the edge of the blanket and yanked it from the bed, leaving me bare in the middle of the mattress. Her eyes looked toward the ceiling as if begging for patience from the Stars.

“I see the two of you have been busy.” The irritated and yet somehow amused look on her face belied the pleasantly modulated tone. “Your Majesty, might I suggest a shower? Alexi, don’t you have duties to get to?”

Lex frowned, looking chastised but disinclined to be bossed around by the household help. Ignoring my blustering maid, he walked over and laid a blistering kiss on my lips, despite my wretched morning breath. “Valyx is in the hall if you need anything. I’ll be back later.”

With that, he left me alone with Violet, her hands planted on her hips and disapproving eyes boring into me. “Shower. Now.” She shooed me out of bed and into the bathroom.

I hated rinsing Lex’s sunshine and oak scent from me, but I was a mess, and pheromones were surely thick on my skin. I doused myself liberally with the scent-negating soap and washed the evidence of last night from my body. Before heading back out into the room, I cleaned my teeth thoroughly, grateful to have the sour taste out of my mouth.

There was no reason to be bashful. Violet had seen all there was to see. So, I didn’t bother covering up when I walked back into the bedchamber.

The industrious maid was hovering over a pair of dresses laid out on the bed, scrubbing at them furiously with a clothing brush, not bothering to glance in my direction. Dust billowed up from the fabric with every swipe, but the rich green fabric of both garments seemed otherwise clean to me. What did I know about fancy gowns?

“Here, let me help you.” I held out a hand, offering to take the brush from her.

“Absolutely not. Pick which one you like better.”

They looked very much the same to me. Any preference would have been a guess at best, so I picked the dress that she’d finished fussing over. Maybe I could save her some time.

“Good choice.” She spared me a glance while she continued to work. “Are you just going to stand there naked? Go put your underthings on.” She tutted and shooed me away.

I’d grown so used to being stuffed into my clothes by a legion of maids that I hadn’t been thinking. Was I turning into a spoiled brat? That was an uncomfortable idea. I hurried into the closet, grabbing what I thought they made me wear under those stuffy dresses.

When I came out in a long undershirt and tall stockings slouched down around my ankles, Violet did her best to hide her snicker.

“I couldn’t find the things that go at the top of the socks!” Imagining how ridiculous I must look, I made a valiant attempt to swallow down the laughter bubbling in my chest.

“It’s fine. Go sit down.” Violet’s eyes crinkled at the corners like they did when she was amused.

She reminded me of Lyrah when she smiled like that. My heart gave an unpleasant thud, thinking about my friend. I missed Lyrah, but she’d be here soon. I had faith in the upcoming rescue mission.

When Violet returned from rummaging around in the closet, she had a set of green and gold ribbons in her hands. She knelt at my side and pushed my long under-gown up my legs. I shifted, trying to help from my seated position.

“You are no end of trouble, and I’m mad at you.” She made no effort to hide the mirth in her eyes.

“What? What did I do?” I had a few ideas, but wondered what she had in mind specifically.

“What did you do?” she asked, as if shocked by my question.

“Well, there are a lot of things to choose from right now, so I figured I’d see which ones you were particularly upset about.”

She hmphed in a way that looked suspiciously like a laugh before tightening the garter around the stocking she’d wrestled into place. “You. You got caught! You weren’t supposed to get caught. Axion took my security code away. Now I have to knock on every door or request access from Fenix. EVERY DOOR!” she sputtered before bursting into giggles.

That was not what I’d expected her to say. I could see why she might be upset about that, but not what she found so funny. “Why are you laughing, then?” I asked, worried she was having some sort of episode.

She collected herself and took a breath as she continued fixing my other garter in place. “Stars, the look on your face.” She snorted. “I am annoyed that they deactivated my access, but I’m not really surprised. My code was laid out for you on a silver platter. I knew you’d take it, but to sneak into the military sector was genius. What did you do? And what happened to Hazel and Aster? Did you fire them?“ She motioned for me to get up so she could adjust my chemise.

As she tugged the cotton slip into place, I waved at the dust cloud floating in the air, threatening my face. “I didn’t fire anyone, but I am glad they’re not here.”

“Oh, really?” Her brows rose. “Why is that?”

In a hushed tone, I detailed my exploits from the evening before. We laughed together at the funny parts, but then grew quiet when I described what happened when I opened Ghost’s door. I was hurt and angry, but when I got to the maids’ reaction to my arrival, a snicker broke free, because let’s be honest, Hazel and Aster’s bare butts were pretty hilarious. When I thought about what it could mean, my heart sank and Violet grew quiet and stoic.

“That explains why Hazel is scrubbing pots and Aster is in the laundry. The other assistants have been sent back to their normal duties. I appreciated the help, but they mostly just got in the way,” Violet said as she hung up the dresses she’d been cleaning earlier, sending dust swirling into the air again.

Now I knew why she’d been brushing the fabric so diligently. Dirt was everywhere. They must have been a lot worse before she started. My nose wrinkled as I tried my best not to sneeze. “Where did these clothes come from?” I wondered out loud, not expecting Violet to know.

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