Remeta reached the palace gates and hesitated, her heart in her throat. So much guilt in her heart.
Beware of the three W’s.
If her queen had known that it meant beware of the Three Witnesses that witnessed her compromising position with the former slave Trainer, would it have changed a thing?
Remeta’s mother, the king, and his mistress had witnessed that day in the storeroom. The day that changed everything. Would it have changed a thing? Corna had told her in that tiny voice of his that it was not her fault and wouldn’t have changed anything.
She gathered enough strength, walked into the palace gates, and went straight to her mother’s bedroom.
Baski and Sally had just returned from the forest. They had spent hours picking different kinds of leaves and seeds. Sally was helping her grind the seeds, and Baski was stirring the mixed leaves when the door opened. Remeta stood behind it, looking so lost.
“Remeta!” Baski gasped, letting go of the stirring wood as if it burned her, and hurried out of the chair. She rushed to her and hugged her tightly. “Oh, Remeta, how could you do this!? How could you run away for three days!? You left me all worried and sick!”
“I’m so sorry, Mama. Remeta is so, so sorry!” she cried, holding onto her mother’s back and clinging to her embrace.
Sally walked closer and hugged her too from behind. “We’re glad to have you back, Remeta. My princess has missed you so much.”
Guilt flashed in her eyes. “I missed her so much too.”
Baski pulled back, looking sad. “A lot has happened in your absence, my child. Danika will be executed tomorrow morning.”
“I kn-know. It hurts Remeta too,” she admitted in a whisper.
Sally grabbed hold of her hands. “Oh, Remeta, will you be able to do something about it? Please help us. Please, help my princess; she has suffered so much!” Tears filled Sally’s eyes just at the thought of what Danika was going through. “The king wouldn’t hear us out. He wouldn’t even allow us to see him and plead on her b-behalf.”
“Remeta does not know what to do either.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Remeta is not supposed to interfere, but she wants to. Remeta cannot face the king; she feels so much fear, she will not be able to talk!”
Baski took her hand from Sally’s and grabbed her other hand. She knelt in front of her daughter, forcing all Remeta’s attention on her. “I know my daughter. I know the child I gave birth to; she is so brave. When King Cone made you the king’s slave years ago at just a tender age, you cannot know how badly it crushed me. Watching you do all those works that were never meant for a child of your age. Hearing your s-screams all those nights.”
“He made Remeta lie on the bed, and he would hurt her so badly.” Tears and terror filled Remeta’s eyes. “My queen promised me that there would be no more bed for Remeta, and she has kept her promise for so long. Wh-who will protect Remeta if her queen dies?”
“No one. I will never be able to do a good job at it, Remeta. I am your mother, but I wasn’t able to save you when you drifted away from me through madness.”
“You tried so hard. Stop feeling so sad. You tried your best to reach Remeta but you couldn’t. Remeta was feeling so lost—just like the king is feeling right now. The king repeatedly saved me from the monster king’s hands, and my queen helped me too. Who will help them? Who will help the king?”
Baski wiped the tears from her eyes. “No one. He’s all alone. So why don’t you go in there and sit with him?”
“If I talk about my queen, he will get angry at Remeta.”
Sally and Baski looked at each other and then turned back to her. “Then don’t talk about her. Just be there for him. Who knows, you might help calm him down long enough for me to get these herbs ready.”
“Which herbs are those?”
“A powerful one. I want to extract the remains of the pills used to drug Danika and show them to the king. It will make a strong case.”
Remeta hesitated, then she nodded her head. “Okay, Mama.”
Baski nodded, too, before she rose to her feet. “Where is your fox?” she asked curiously.
“Daain?” She looked around, but indeed, her companion was nowhere to be seen. “But she was with me at the palace gate.”
The door opened, and there the fox stooped, its beady eyes looking around. Beside the fox stood a little boy Baski had never seen before.
“Corna!” Remeta ran to the boy. “What are you doing here!? How did you get here?”
“It’s Daain. She bwought me here,” he responded, staring uncertainly at the two women inside the bedroom.
Remeta lifted her fox and rubbed their cheeks together. “Oh, Daain, when did you run away to get Corna? You did a good job!” Then she took the shy boy’s hand and introduced him to her mother, Baski, and then Sally. She told them that Corna was her new friend, and she had been staying with him for the past three days.
Baski thanked little Corna for taking care of her daughter and told him to extend her greeting to his family.
Remeta told Corna how she was going to the king’s chambers and how scared she was. Corna was scared too, but he agreed to follow her.
“Thank you so much, Corna, for helping Remeta.” Remeta squeezed the boy’s hand in gratitude.
Corna smiled, his small cheeks dimpled. “May the heavens and the spiwits guide us.”