Chapter One – The Girl
Thunder rang in her ears as the interior light of the car flickered. The dim yellow light was hard enough as it was and the battery would be dead soon. Julia blinked blood out of her eyes as she cradled her best friend in her arms. Cynthia's breathing was labored, mewls of pain ripping from her with every breath she took. The backseat was soaked in blood. She was so weak she couldn't even lift her hand to stroke her son's head.
The newborn baby hardly made any noise, wrapped in an emergency blanket and lying on his mother's chest. Julia had tried to dry him off the best she could, but there was nothing she could do for Cynthia. Out here in the backroads, there was no cell service and the storm raged on over the ruined car that was wrapped around an old tree. It was a miracle that Julia hadn't been thrown through the windshield.
Cynthia hadn't been as lucky. Even if they could get a call out, the ambulance wouldn't get there in time.
"I'm sorry," Julia whispered, holding Cynthia's arms around her son. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't—don't blame yourself," Cynthia replied, gasping for breath after each word. "You couldn’t have seen . . . the truck."
"But—"
Cynthia shook her head, eyes fluttering closed.
"Cynthia!"
"Look after him. Look after my baby . . . my Henry."
Sobs ripped from Julia's throat and she pressed a kiss to Cynthia's forehead. "Of course. I'll take care of him. I won't let anybody take him from me. I promise."
Cynthia managed to move her head in the semblance of a nod before her arms went limp. Her pulse fluttered and Julia could hardly feel it. Then her eyes snapped open. A wild look came to them and she gripped Julia's wrist. Her breathing was more shallow and rapid as she licked her lips.
"His father," she gasped.
"His father? You didn't want him to know."
"The prince . . . Benjamin."
The Prince? Julia clutched at her friend. "Is that why you lost your job at the palace? Did he know you were pregnant and kick you out? Is he the reason for all of this?"
"Ju . . . "
Cynthia slumped back down, a deep, rattling noise coming from her limp body. The baby started to cry. Tears poured down Julia's face as she hugged little Henry to her chest, swearing that she would be the best mother he could have and that the prince would pay for what he had done to Cynthia.
***
The palace was resplendent. It was made from a cream-colored brick – quartz if Julia wasn't mistaken. It actually glittered in the sunlight. The inside was no less beautiful, richly decorated in warm colors, including a red carpet. The trimmings were dark, contrasting nicely with the golden frames that held portraits of old monarchs.
Julia smoothed the front of her new uniform. She had, ridiculously, expected some sort of sexy French maid outfit that would chafe her thighs as she walked and would only be good for the prince to flip out of the way when he wanted a girl. Instead, she found herself wearing sensible slacks paired with a white button-down top and a black skinny tie. Not bad, as far as uniforms go.
The HR manager who had hired her, Fredrick, stopped at a locked door and pressed a buzzer. Julia stopped fidgeting with her uniform and shifted Henry to her other hip. Beside the door was a big window that showed a large room full of toys and children. At six months, Henry was just old enough to be taken in at the palace daycare while she worked. Even better, nobody seemed to find it odd when she told them that he was half Dragon Shifter. The kingdom, Enderby, was ruled by the Dragoness Queen Maria, as were all the neighboring kingdoms, and there were plenty of lower-class Dragons to be Henry's potential father.
"We have an adult for every two children from the ages two to four," Fredrick said as they waited for the door to be answered. "For those under two, we provide one-on-one attention to make sure that they get the care they need."
Julia nodded. "I read the pamphlet."
Fredrick smiled warmly at her. "I understand. It's just a lot of moms have trouble dropping their children off for the first time. It's why we like you to come in early, so you can see the daycare and how it's run before you start work."
Another nod. Julia took a deep breath as the door opened. A round-faced woman with bright eyes greeted them and ushered them inside. After introducing herself, she took them to meet the woman who would be Henry's caregiver while Julia worked. She was a gray-haired woman with soft eyes and a gentle way about her. Still, handing over her precious baby made Julia's throat close over. What if something happened? What if they found out the truth?
"We'll page you if anything goes wrong," the daycare leader said, catching her expression. "And remember that you can come see your little one at any time. You have your identification?"
Julia pulled the lanyard out of her pocket. "I just have to show this, right?"
"Yes. We can also add fingerprint scanning if you're especially worried."
"No." Julia managed a smile. "It looks like you have good security here. I'm not worried about anything."
With one final kiss to Henry's forehead, she let Fredrick lead her away. She had already talked with the daycare staff thoroughly and was confident her boy was in good hands. It didn't make it easier to walk away, though. The past six months had been tumultuous at best, and she had never left Henry in anybody else's care.
"My two girls are in there as well," Fredrick told her with a smile. "Don't worry, we have a carefully vetted staff."
"Yeah. Well, we're working for royalty. You'd have to." Julia let out a deep sigh.
Luckily for her, she didn't have any sort of criminal record and she kept her internet profiles clean of any sort of anger towards the royal family. Not that she had anything bad to say about Queen Maria. In her opinion, if Maria could live forever, that would be just fine. It was her son that Julia had issues with. And it was him she was going to bring down.
"Natalie will be training you," Fredrick said as he took her to a back room that contained a computer, filing cabinets, and lists upon lists hanging on the walls. Sitting at a desk was a cute, chubby-cheeked blonde. She chewed on her pinky finger as they came in. Fredrick gestured between them. "Nat, this is Julia. Julia, Natalie. Natalie's in charge of all the housekeeping staff."
"Pleased to meet you," Natalie said. "Ready to start?"
Julia smiled, trying not to show her nerves. "Of course. I've worked in the hospitality sector since I was fourteen. My CPR is up to date, I've got training in food safety and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as the proper use of cleaning agents and—"
Natalie laughed and shook her head. "Yes, I saw your resume. My goodness, you are ready. That will make things much easier. There is some paperwork for you to fill out and then we can put you to work right away."
"I'll leave you ladies to it, then." Fredrick nodded. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the senior staff."
"I will. Thank you." Julia glanced around the room again as the HR manager left. "This is smaller than all the other rooms I've seen here so far."
Natalie shrugged. "You'll find that everything else in the palace is big. It's so that they can Shift if they need to. The royal family and the generals, I mean. They're all Dragons, you know. It's been a while since the queen has Shifted, but I've heard tell she measured thirty feet to the shoulder in her prime."
Something fluttered in Julia's stomach. If she hadn't been here on a mission, she would have been more excited to be so close to actual Dragons. She had seen air shows put on by the royal guard from time to time and often dreamed of flying on the back of a Dragon, but had never met one in real life. Some guys liked to pretend they were Dragons in the bars, but they couldn't even produce a puff of smoke, let alone anything else.
"You have a little boy, right?" Natalie asked as she pulled out some paperwork.
"Yeah. He's mine. Finally."
"Finally?" Natalie arched a brow. "Sign here."
Julia signed where the other woman pointed. "He was my best friend's baby but she . . . she passed shortly after she gave birth. Her family wanted to take him after cutting her off entirely for getting pregnant in the first place. I wasn't about to let such toxic people have him. The legal battles have been horrible, but in the end, I won and they've been forbidden from questioning my custody again. So he's my boy."
"And initial here." Natalie pointed, then sighed. "You're very brave, fighting like that. You must love him very much."
"He's the light of my life. I'd do anything for him."
"Well, I don't have a baby, but I do have a little niece whom I babysit from time to time. Maybe we should have some play dates." Natalie smiled brightly as she stacked the papers again. "That's all for now. I'll give you a quick tour and get you started."
She led Julia from the room, crossing from the giant hallway to one that was more reasonably sized. It was also more modestly decorated, and Julia figured this one must be for the cleaning staff. So that the royal family's visitors didn't have to run into them, no doubt. Julia saw that there were a lot of closets. Did the prince like to drag women into them while they were trying to work?
"We'll be starting you off on simple tasks in only a few rooms so you don't get overwhelmed at first. You'll find that we encourage a sense of community in our staff. We want everybody to be happy, but there are strict rules that you have to follow."
"Of course." Julia jogged to keep up with the petite blonde's steps. "So . . . Do you think I'll meet the royal family? Not the queen, of course. I heard she's mostly on bed rest these days but, the prince—"
Natalie stopped and gave her a dark look that didn't suit her childlike features. "That is one of the rules. Stay away from him. We will not have our staff fall in love with the prince. I've been here almost ten years. I've seen girls fall hard and become violent when he rejects them. Besides, servants could never become queen."
"I don't want to be queen."
"Good. So keep your distance. Understood?"
Julia snorted. "Trust me, I have no intention of falling in love with him."
No, the plan was to get him to fall in love with her. She was pretty, she knew that. Her curves were in all the right places, with a fairly flat stomach paired with large, bouncing breasts and a round, tight ass. Guys fell for her all the time, and if she played her cards right, Benjamin would be one of them. And then she would rip out his heart and stomp all over it like he had done to Cynthia.
And then, maybe, Julia would finally find some peace.