“What?”
“The king is the only one with the right to summon his slaves, and they cannot disobey his command. He summoned her, and she responded. I do not see how this is her fault,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“How can you think that!?” Vetta couldn’t believe it. She was almost breathing fire from frustration.
Kamara crossed her arms. “Tell me, Mistress. Have you ever been in love?”
Vetta opened her mouth to shout to her that she loved the king! And that is why she was trying to keep him to herself! But telling the king’s future queen that you love the king was not a good idea. She kept her mouth shut.
“My guess is that you have never been in love,” Kamara continued. “You do not know what it’s like to be in love, Mistress. Maybe that is why you are so bitter.”
Vetta was taken aback. “Why are you insulting me!? How is this my fault!?”
Kamara cocked her head to the side in thought, her well-brushed hair falling in front of her. “Why do you hate the king’s slave so much? Shouldn’t you be happy that the king has only one slave? Only one mistress? Other kings have over twenty.”
Yes, but I bet they cannot have the king feeling so attracted to them. It’s almost like Danika has a powerful man like King Lucien in her control! And she is even King Cone’s daughter! Vetta swallowed those words. Instead, she replied, “I don’t hate her.”
“Liar,” Kamara whispered.
Vetta resumed walking. “Anyway, I saw something I know isn’t fair to you. That was why I came to call you. Obviously, I have done something so wrong for trying to bring such a disrespectful act to your attention.”
Kamara said nothing and resumed walking too.
Vetta felt satisfaction from the small victory. No matter how much the princess looked indifferent and what her reasons were for not wanting to take immediate actions, Vetta could swear that the princess felt disrespected. That was a victory on its own. The woman was a vixen. If she placed Danika on her bad side, that would be a terrible thing for the bitch. Vetta smiled.
At least she wouldn’t be the only one Princess Kamara hated. This woman hated her for reasons she didn’t understand. And the worst part of it was that the king was planning to get married to her. What in old bones would happen to her when this woman became the queen? She might even find a reason to order her death one day.
Maybe she should try making friends with her. If she was going to be the queen—IF—maybe she could try to be friends with the bitchy princess. It would also benefit her if the princess was on her side. Danika would suffer more, and together, they would push Danika away. Then she would push the princess away and the king would be hers alone. Again.
That thought intact in her head, Vetta slowed her steps so that the princess would catch up with her. “So, how is it back home?” she asked to make conversation.
“I do not understand,” Princess Kamara replied without sparing her a glance.
“I mean, what is it like back in your kingdom? I’ve never really known a lot of places, you see. The only place I know is Salem, and then Mombana, when we were taken into slavery. We really suffered, you know,” she confided.
Just as Vetta predicted, the princess lost some hard lines on her face. Pity always got more to people to her side. Vetta smiled inwardly and continued as they rounded a corner that led back to Kamara’s chambers. “It wasn’t easy being under the reign of Cone. He was—”
“King Cone.”
“What?”
Kamara spared her a glance. “He was King Cone. Just because he was wicked and brutal—and is dead—doesn’t make him any less of a king. He was a king. He was royalty. Address him as one.”
Vetta gritted her teeth. This princess was almost more annoying than Danika. Almost.
“It wasn’t easy being under the reign of… King Cone. He was a brutal and heartless man. He treated us like dirt because we were slaves.” They reached Kamara’s chambers as she continued. “I remember that time it became a routine for me to get whipped and beaten and raped and brutalized all in one day. It was so horrible—”
“And yet, you treat slaves that way now.”
“What?”
Kamara stopped and turned to her. “You treat slaves like there are not worth the leather shoes on your feet when you’ve been through being a slave. Shouldn’t you be kinder to them? I see the way you beat the maids and slap the slaves. I saw how you mistreated the former princess Danika, too, just because her status was reduced. Shouldn’t you be better? Kinder?” Princess Kamara paused, shaking her head. “When you treat people like that, you become a monster. Tell me… are you any different from King Cone?”
With that, Princess Kamara walked past her to her bedroom and closed the door.
.
.