Back To The Present.
"I can still remember that day—and every other day she saved me—like it was yesterday." King Lucien's voice was hoarse.
Danika couldn't see his face because he was facing away from her, his arms crossed behind him. Tears filled her eyes and overflowed. Uncontrollable tears. "What happened...after?" she asked when he went silent.
"She struck another deal with him. She was always 'dealing' with anyone harming me. I tried to prevent it whenever I could, but most times, I was in a state where I could do nothing about it. He continued. "I woke up three days later, in a nice bed for the first time in ages, my body was still a giant bruise, but I looked down myself to see that the royal healers had treated me. My heart shattered in my chest because that does not come with a small price. It never does." He lowered his head. "I searched for her with my eyes, for I couldn't move. I asked all the maids that brought in food or pills to help me find Vetta. But no one ever did a thing for me." He swallowed hoarsely. "Whatever they did to her would be unbearable, but I just needed to see her alive. They brought her in, in the evening. She was covered in blood. They'd all used her: Cone, Cardel, Kanaris and Coza. This was barely two weeks after she had her second miscarriage."
"Oh, my goodness," Danika cried.
"Her condition was critical. They laid her beside me and the healers began treating her. All that time, she cried. She was bawling her eyes out because of what they made her do, even before they did what they did to her."
"What did they make her do?" She dreaded the question, but she had to ask.
"It was the first time Cone gave such a mission. She killed a person. An innocent woman."
Danika lowered her head in shame. How did that monster father her?
"Cone gave her a mission to sneak into the home of a privileged and kill his wife. I don't have any idea why he would want the woman dead, but Cone had a lot of enemies. She couldn't get past that kill because the woman she was sent to kill was a woman she knew. A woman she cared for," he revealed in a low voice.
That was unexpected. "What!?"
He turned and faced her then, standing in the middle of the room while she was seated behind his desk to alleviate her hurting legs. "Vetta's parents were slaves owned by the Raskin family. Her mother died during childbirth, and her father fell sick and dropped dead while working the mines one day. In her teens, she...fancied the master of the Raskin household."
Fancying a master was never a good idea for any slave, but who was she to cast the first stone? Danika had that thought remorsefully. "And the master?"
"Gedony Raskin. He was in his early twenties and newly married to Yeaha, who was much older than him but very powerful in society. She was a princess. There were rumors among the aristocrats that Gedony Raskin developed feelings for Vetta too, but they were unfounded rumors. I have no idea what happened, but one day, Gedony Raskin came to my father and offered to sell Anarieveta. My father never wanted to have more slaves, but he bought her anyway."
"Why?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
"My father kept slaves closer. He said he could not help all slaves, for they are many, but he would help those he was able to. That is all he was capable of doing for them—at least until he was able to eradicate the laws of Introduction of Slaves and the Unjust Killing of Slaves."
"Your father is a good man," she let out softly.
He acknowledged with a nod, pain flashing in his eyes. He blinked it away and continued. "Anyway, that was how Anarieveta began working in the palace. She was this bright girl. So bright, so innocent, always happy." He raised his hands and stared at them. "She was just like your Sally. If not more."
"Really?" Somehow, Danika couldn't see the bitter mistress being like her Sally once upon a time.
“She was,” he confirmed. “I always watched her after trainings with my father. I would go out on a walk, and there she was, with other slaves...playing. Laughing. She taught the slaves how to play a lot of outdoor games.” His eyes glazed over in memory. “It was always fascinating watching her because she was a happy slave. It is hard to see a happy slave.”
“It is,” she seconded, thoughts of her lovely Sally filling her mind.
“I got close to her. I asked my father to put her directly under me so she would serve me alone, and she would not have to work the mines. He granted my request. We had two years together. She was seventeen and I was twenty when Cone struck.”
So sad. So alone. So pained. That was how he looked. His face stoic and inscrutable, and yet, she saw the raw pain behind that expressionless mask.
“At first, when she kept offering herself in place of me, in slavery, I thought it was because of the love she had for me as her master—just like Baski and Chad did.” He swallowed. “But she kept going to extremes. More extremes, just to make sure I did not suffer. It didn't take long for me to realize that she had feelings for me. Womanly feelings.
“Slavery broke her to pieces, Danika. After she killed Yeaha Raskin, she cried for several days. That woman was good to her when she was still under their family, and Cone made her kill the woman. She never recovered from that. But it didn't take long before Cone announced that he had found the perfect weapon for murder. Vetta was beautiful, and she had someone she wanted to protect at all costs. That made her the perfect weapon.
“Vetta stood in that podium and swore that she would rather die than kill another person for him. Cone only laughed.” Rage darkened his eyes at the memory. Danika shifted uncomfortably in her chair. This would be bad. “They prepared another torture session for me, and in the middle of it, she hopped in on one foot, and screamed at them. ‘I agree! I will do it!! Just leave him alone, please!’ she screamed repeatedly.”
The king's eyes found Danika's. “I...I know she let go of her humanity then, like I did mine, a long time ago. She began killing for Cone. Anybody who opposed him in court, he would send out Vetta to seduce and kill the aristocrat. Her deal with him kept me from tortures for four months. The longest of its kind since we came to slavery. Time enough for my body to recover from all the past tortures.”
She'd promised herself that she would be strong, but this was too much for Danika and she began crying—soft weeping she could no longer contain. It was too much. It was more than she expected.