The next week was the best week of my life. Every day, I woke up and went straight to the royal kitchen. For every meal—all five of them, or more—I brought food to the Queen’s quarters and ate with her. The Queen seemed to like it when I talk, and so I did. I told her everything about my life: my childhood, what I remembered about my parents, my favorite food and animals. 

The Queen did not talk as much, but she encouraged me to ask her questions every time we meet. I kept my questions to the minimum; I was still afraid to ask too much. I did not feel that I was deserving to ask. Deserving to know more about her.

What little I had learned about her though, I held dear to my heart.

Her favorite animal was the black bear, but they were too dangerous to have as pets. She hated the idea of having a pet in general though, so I kept quiet about the fact that I had a pet rabbit once. Her favorite color was purple, and her favorite jewelry was a hairpin with a dark, round amethyst on the end. She wished to wear it more often but the gemstone was extremely rare to obtain, and she did not want to damage it. She had a lovely brother who practiced sword skills in order to protect her, and he visited her once every month to talk. She picked up her love for calligraphy in her childhood, but that was not all she knew how to do—she could also sing, dance, and play the zither. Her singing voice must be heavenly. I really wanted to hear it, but I did not have the bravery to ask her to sing for me.

Every day, I would spend time with the Queen. Every night, I would come back to the servants’ quarters and listen to Mi-Nyu talk about her day. Occasionally, Seul-Na would find me to tell me about hers. I had my sister, a good friend, and the best job in the world. That week, I was the happiest I had ever been in my life.

And then the news came—the King was visiting.

Everything was different in the servants’ quarters that day. The hustles and bustles were increased, with everyone appearing to have double the amount of work they usually had. As I stepped into the main meeting room, the head palace lady was screaming orders at every passing maid. Her eyes landed on mine and she made a beeline toward me.

“There you are, Seul-Ki! What took you so long?”

I tried to bow but she stopped my greeting with a furious tug on my arm.

“Come with me, you need to be present for this task,” she demanded as she strutted out of the building. 

I had to jog to keep up with her. “P- Present for what, Sanggung?”

“The bath for Her Majesty.”

I almost tripped over my feet. “Bath?”

“Yes, a bath. Have you never had one? This bath is different from the regular ones Her Majesty usually takes. There will also be a lot more work to do afterward, and Her Majesty typically gets impatient at them.” She glanced at me. “You are needed around for good luck.”

Good luck? I was not sure what she meant by that, but I knew better than to ask. By now, I was used to the head palace lady ordering me around for any issues regarding the Queen. 

We joined a group of maids in the public courtyard. Apparently, the head palace lady had made everyone wait for me. Whatever good luck she had thought I brought, she needed it.

After reaching the Queen’s quarters, we entered a room that I had never been in before: the Queen’s private bathroom. Just a glance around was enough for my cheeks to burn. 

In the middle of the room was a round, wooden bathtub. It looked just enough for one person to sit inside comfortably, with a height slightly below my waist and a diameter that was about the length of my legs. Paper screens separated the tub from a mini fireplace grate with a few copper buckets next to it.

The Sanggung split us up into groups. A few maids worked on heating the hot water and bringing them to the tub with the buckets. I worked with another maid to prepare the fragrances. We peeled flower petals, some for decorations, some for grinding into oils for the fullest aroma extractions. It took us a full hour to finish the preparations before the head palace lady chased everyone out of the room. Everyone but me.

And the two of us waited for the Queen’s arrival.

The wait was excruciating. It did not help that this was the most private room in the entire building, and my mind was spiraling with thoughts about the activities that took place in here. It also did not help that the air was fogged up with steam, and every breath I took reminded me of flowers in the summer, flowers as beautiful as the Queen. 

The familiar taps along the hallway jolted me back to focus. The Queen arrived. 

I frowned. From the sound of her walk, I could tell that the Queen’s mood was… different. There was a certain hesitancy to the usual gentleness of her steps.

I lowered my head to the floor as the door slammed open.

“Your Majesty,” the head palace lady greeted. “We have prepared your—“

“Leave,” came the immediate response. 

My heart sank. The Queen was very upset, for some reason. Ever since the first day I had met her, I had not heard her use a tone as harsh as this anymore. I could feel the Sanggung deflating next to me as well.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Bowing, the head palace lady stood to her feet in resignation. 

I scurried behind her, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me in my tracks.

“Not you,” the Queen said, in a much softer tone this time. “You stay here, Seul-Ki.” 

A small gasp escaped my throat. I… got to stay? Before the head palace lady could punish me for my insolence, I quickly forced out a, “Y- Yes, Your Majesty.”

I watched with widened eyes as the head palace lady gave me a hard look before closing the door on me. Her brows furrowed with worry, and her face screamed, “Make sure you get Her Majesty into the bath. No matter what!”

And then, I was alone with the Queen in her private bathroom. 

I gulped. This must be a dream. 

Turning to face the Queen, I greeted again, “Y- Your Majesty.” 

I expected to see a look of displeasure that matched her tone. Instead, the Queen seemed exhausted, despite it being midday. She stared at the bathtub with an oddly bitter expression, her pink lips pursing into a straight line.

“The bath is ready for you, Your Majesty,” I said, glancing at her simple, white robe. It was glistening in the steam; her pale skin was too. 

She turned to me. “Test the waters for me, Seul-Ki.”

“W- What?” 

“I don’t like it when it’s too hot,” the Queen continued as she sauntered into the room, her back towards me. Her hair was tied into a simple bun. A pull of the hairpin could cause her hair to tumble down. Just like how a pull of the string on her robe could entirely remove the fabric from her body.

I shook my head. What in the heavens was I thinking? “It’s- It’s warm to the touch, Your Majesty,” I muttered. “The other maids have tested it.”

“I want you to test it fully.” She tilted her head towards the tub. “Step inside for me.”

I blinked. Step… inside? It took a long time before I garnered the ability to speak again. “But- But… this… is for you, Your Majesty.” Surely, the Queen would not want a lowly maid to taint her clean, aromatic bathwater?

“Yes, and I want you to test it, Seul-Ki,” the Queen repeated. Shifting her body, she shot me a glare as if challenging me to disobey her.

I would never dare to.

Nodding, I stumbled towards the bathtub. Dipping my fingers into the water, I swirled them around. It was warm and heavily scented, as it should be. I lifted my leg, ready to step in. 

The Queen stopped me again, grabbing my arm. “What are you doing?”

“S- Stepping in, Your Majesty.”

“Are you stepping in with your clothes on?”

“I… I…” My head swirled. My raised feet staggered backward, but the Queen’s grip stopped me from moving too far away.

“Tell me, Seul-Ki. Do you want to step into the bath with your clothes on?”

I did not want to, but that was what I thought the Queen had wanted. And I did not want to disobey her orders. 

I stared into her dark, alluring eyes for a while, before finally admitting, “I’d… I’d rather not, Your Majesty…”

Her brows twitched. “Then take them off.”