CHANGED
anika was carrying the king’s child. She was pregnant by him.
As Vetta walked to the healer’s house, those words wouldn’t stop ringing in her ears. Her hands fisted at her side, and her eyes blazed in anger and banked-up rage.
How could something like this happen?
She had been trying for months now to carry the king’s child, and she hadn’t been able to achieve that.
Instead, she carried Karandy’s seed inside her.
It was a thought she didn’t enjoy remembering. The past few weeks hadn’t been good for her, only for Danika to come and ruin it completely.
As a slave—being treated like anything less than an animal—she swore to herself that she would never go back there again. And she would have no connection to such an unpleasant life again.
When she found out from the new healer uptown that she was carrying a child, a few thoughts came to her head, like pinning the child to the king and getting everything she wanted in life.
But it made her very uncomfortable. Not being found out, but carrying something so dirty inside her.
Any child that wasn’t from the king was one she did not want to carry. Over her dead body would the dirty child of that dirty bastard remain in her.
So, she’d gone to another healer named Monah, that healed best in the twelve kingdoms, and collected an herb to rid herself of the baby. Her plan was simple. Once the child was gone, she would return to the healer and take new fertility pills.
The next time around, she had confidence that it would work. According to Talia, her maid, many women from the village would testify to the healer’s herbs.
The healer had given her the herbs and assured her they would work. She was supposed to bleed for just one day, according to Monah. However, she bled for more than five days non-stop. That was two weeks ago. On the sixth day, she’d been ready to return to the healer, but the bleeding stopped. So she’d dismissed her concerns.
Now she needed to collect fertility herbs from Monah. She needed them for the night of the morrow to be intimate with the king. Already, Danika had gotten pregnant before her, and if she gave birth, that child could be recognized as the firstborn of the king.
Not that she would ever give birth to that child.
Vetta smiled at the thought as she rounded the corner that led to the healer’s house. Danika was foolish this time around.
Kamara reached her door, Danika standing beside her. She turned and faced Danika.
“I will go back to my father’s kingdom on the morning of the morrow. I will miss seeing you, Danika.”
“I will miss seeing you too, Kamara.” Danika shifted on her feet, already tired from standing for too long. “I wish you the best with your Callan.”
“I wish myself luck too. I still have a few weeks with him before the next step to my marriage, when King Lucien will come to ask for my hand.” Kamara’s lips curved sadly. “I wish a miracle would happen, and I’d be with Callan instead of King Lucien. But then again, wishes have never been horses.”
“Yes, they have never been,” Danika echoed, remembering her current situation. She shook her head. “I remember when I was a princess, too.”
“You should never forget something like that, Danika. You are royalty. Never forget that you are royalty. The mistress will do everything within her power to get rid of you and your baby. She hates you that much, and you cannot blame her because she wants the king too.” Kamara took a step forward and placed her hand on Danika’s cheek. Looking her in the eyes, she continued intensely. “But you should not forget that once upon a time you were the authority. Once upon a time, you commanded an army of princesses. You were brave! Very courageous! Do not forget that woman, Danika. Nobody could ever step on that princess.”
Danika remembered that woman vividly. It hurt thinking about the princess she once was. But she was a slave now. She began shaking her head miserably.
But Kamara only nodded. “I know you are a slave now, and you have limited choices. I know you must survive, my sister. You have survived this long, and I am so proud of you. I respect you for it. Any princess would be very proud of you and respect you for it because not all of us could survive one week in slavery. But I don’t want you to forget Princess Danika. Do not forget that brave, elegant, and sophisticated princess that raised her voice when she needed to be heard!” Kamara held her shoulders and shook her firmly. “A princess that commanded other princesses! This time, it’s no longer about you alone trying to survive in every way you can, but you have to protect your child, too. In every way you can.
“I keep praying that my marriage with the king will never work out. I don’t know what I will do if it works out, Danika. Because according to law, you and your child will either be killed, or banished, from the palace… because the queen’s child will always be the heir to the throne. There should be no elder children. It is the law in all twelve kingdoms. A law I hate, but will come to pass if I was made king Lucien’s queen.”
Danika knew that, too, and she wished a time would never come when such a law would force Kamara to be against her. She only wanted to be by the king’s side. That was all she wanted. The throne and its heir weren’t important to her.
Kamara let her go and turned towards her door. “I don’t even want to be queen, Danika. All my life, I’ve had that responsibility. It is not something I want anymore.” Kamara shook her head sadly. “I want to live a normal life with Callan. A simpler life without enormous responsibilities. Without the weight of the world resting on my shoulders. I want to be with him. I do not want the burden of the crown.”
Danika understood her words perfectly on a more personal level. Being a princess could be very tiring. “I hope everything works out for you in the end, Kamara. If anybody deserves to be happy, it is you.” She inclined her head in a respectful bow. “You are a good woman, and I’m glad I got to know you on a more personal level, Princess Kamara.”
Kamara smiled then—a beautiful, sincere, heartfelt smile as she pulled Danika closer to her for a hug. “Do not forget to fight for your child, and fight for yourself, any way you can.”
“I will not forget.” Kamara gave her strength to brave the future. Whatever that future may be.
“It was nice knowing you on a more personal level, Princess Danika,” Kamara whispered as she pulled back.
“I am no longer a prin---”
“Clothes change. Statuses change. But what you are will never change, Princess Danika.” Kamara said, then turned and entered her bedroom.