He loved her voice. It was like honeyed apricots or warm sunshine. He listened to her for a few moments then leaned over too close and whispered to her.

"Tell me about yourself," he let the words escape breathlessly.

Elly finished the song and opened her eyes "i...i can't" she said softly but still a bit nervous at how close the prince was to her. she picked up her fallen maid's hat and dusted it off lightly "it...it's complicated" she began to slowly put her cap back on.

"Are you denying your prince?" he whispered back to her as she hurried to put on the cap.

"Fine, but one day you'll regret it. If you want me to keep my mouth shut so you keep your job come to the east courtyard tonight and I'll tell you what you'll have to do!" He backed away and walked away from the stunned girl laughing.

Elly sighed 'i'll kick myself in the morning for this...' she though before shook her head a little "wh...wait!" she burst out as she looked up at him "i...i'll tell you, just not here..." she said before she looked away.

"Then where? and when?" he asked as he turned around.

"When can I meet you for a little chat?" he asked with a cat-full-of-canary grin.


((Gotta sleep, night!))

[[mkay! g'night!]]

Elly bit her fingers a little before looking in his direction "t...tonight, in my room... wait in there." she said as she pulled out a small slip of paper from her top "meet me there" she said as she looked up for a split second into his eyes before looking away.

Chrys woke up to the worst headache of her life. Her brain pounded relentlessly inside her skull, and she shut her eyes tight against the needle-sharp rays of light that filled the room.
The next torment that plagued her was the air pressure. The oxygen was almost liquid at this depth, though she was in too much pain to realize what was going on. All she knew was that the air congealed in her lungs like she was drowning. For several minutes, she truly thought that she was going to die. She squirmed in misery until finally she heard a door open and rough hands grabbed beneath her armpits. The sudden shift in position sent her into darkness.

Bennett waited outside the maid's room, announcing his arrival with a light tap at the door.

"Open the door," he whispered. The girl better get out of bed and let him in.

Elly woke up as she quickly threw on a green and violet shawl to cover her in her short nightgown, she slowly opened the door and saw him. she looked at her feet "goo.....good evening, your highness" she said softly as she got out of the way to let him in.

"Good evening," Bennett replied to the obviously uncomfortable girl. "So I guess you plan to tell me everything now and of course you're hoping I won't use it against you."

Bennett smirked imaging just how useful a court maid, the invisible eyes and ears could be.

"So, what is so secret?"

Elly closed the door behind him and took a seat on her bed. "we....well" she said nervously as she looked at her hands "d...do you know of Leutenant General Kawz III?" she asked as she looked up at him "he's....my father" she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"my dad got kicked out of the palace for being in love with my mother, a simple peasant from outside of the castle walls" she looked back down at her feet "th...this can't be let out... i'm supposed to be one of the people i serve"

Bennett practically smacked himself in the head. He knew he had seen something special in the maid. Some bearing, some carriage that came from far better breeding than most of the servants had.

"I apologize." He said earnestly in his courtly voice. "I had no idea and I treated you like a common prosti-- maid. It's inexcusable."

Bennett dropped his head. He knew what it was like to hide your true parentage and felt terrible for this girl whose path had been the complete opposite of his.

"Tell me about your father, all I have heard are the battle stories."

He sat next to the girl on the bed, without touching her. He refused to treat her like a possible conquest when he could understand her pain.

((Great twist, by the way!))

[[oh thank you :)]]

Elly looked up at him with her deep blue eyes "Well, my dad was one of the king's right-hand men..." she said softly "while he was out inspecting the town, he met my mother... mom told me that they just connected" she blushed a little "he would secretly slip out of the castle and meet with her every chance he could"

"then when dad found out that my mom was pregnant, the king found out and cast my dad out of the palace" she looked down and her hair fell in front of her face "my dad dissapeared and nobody has hear of him since then... and mom has been dead for 2 years, i...i coundn't even go to her feuneral" tears began to form in her eyes.

Gently Bennett reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. He didn't want her to think he was after anything, but they shared so much! He took her face in his hands.

"Listen, maybe there's a way to make things better for you. We could talk to my mother. See if she could resolve this problem, restore your father;s name and give you a seat at court." he winced at how pompous he sounded but wanted help and this was all he knew how to do.

Elly breathed a little heavy due to nervousness. she hasn't been this close to a male ever, not to mention a prince. she continued to look into his eyes a little worried about how this would turn out.

Bennett watched her with wide eyes. He hoped he hadn't scared her or been improper. Sensing how nervous she was he stood and started pacing the small room.

"It could be easy. We just got to the queen, prove your parentage and tell her what happened. She's not as bad as they all make her out to be. I'm sure she would see what you've been through."

Bennett looked at the girl, hoping the distance had calmed her.

Dammnit. I almost scared her off. Be careful, she's really fragile.

The word fragile stuck in his mind and he looked back at Elly, with eyes stinging. He didn't want to screw this up.

Elly looked back down at the floor "i....i'll try and talk to her tomorrow..." she said softly "but for now, both of us need to get some rest for tomorrow" she looked over at the clock. it was 1:00 in the morning and she had to be up by 7:30 that same morning.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up all night." he smiled shyly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Bennett turned to leave.

"Oh.. and Elly? Don't go see her without me. She wouldn't understand."

Bennett turned and walked out the door. He needed the rest as much as she did. He planned to be very busy tomorrow, planning a way to get Elly back in her rightful place.

Elly smiled "ok" she said softly "goodnight" she said a little while blushing. she felt like a stack of weights was taken off her shoulders, she closed the door behind him again as she took off the shawl that hid her low cut nightgown. she then climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep.

Bennett awoke with a start. He had talked to a courtier trapped as a maid last night. It almost seemed impossible! He immediately started planning the best way to get Elly back to court as a member not a servant.

He dressed quickly and raced down the hallway to meet his tutor. He was already late and knew that his tutor, Michael ((NPC)) would have a good idea about how to tackle the problem of Elly parentage.

Elly woke up as the light shone through to her window. she opened her eyes and smiled "today will be a good day" she said as she got out of bed and began to get ready. she stepped outside to see a lady in waiting outside of her door, "oh, hello dareyelle" she said as she looked down at the floor, dareyelle grabbed her by the neck and pushed her into Elly's room.

"listen bitch, what were you doing with the prince last night?" she said evily "i...i..." Elly said whilst being choked "if i see you with him ever again, i'll kill you" Dareyelle said as she slapped Elly "i want to be the next queen and i'll destroy anything that get's in my way" she let go of Elly's throat and let her drop to the ground before beating on Elly over and over again. Dareyelle than left and closed the door behind her.

Bennett's talk with Michael ahd gone well. He had convinced the older man to help him out with the more delicate areas of his plan. He also had him searching the archives for records of Elly's father's banishment.

Bennett strolled down the hall towards the servant quarters. He smiled and nodded at some lady-in-waiting that had lately been his mother's favorite. He didn't want to stop to speak, he couldn't remember her name and thought she was dull. She seemed to be in a hurry as well. She was flushed and practically running down the hall. Bennett watched her as she came and went.

Too bad she's dull as dishwater, he thought.

He drew to Elly's door and rapped on it.

Elly heard knocking on her door she looked up 'oh no.... i can't let him see me like this' she thought as she covered herself benetih her covers "go.....go away" she said scared as she shook beneith the covers. a cut on her face began to bleed onto her pillow.

"It's just me! Let me in, I've got some good news," he knocked on the door again, hoping she would answer.

Elly got up and took a deep breath before she covered her face with her hair before opening the door and her head facing down "h...hi" she said softly as she trembled a little. she tried to hold back her tears of pain as she cound't take the pain anymore and passed out in her room.