The queen had waited and waited and waited, but Chad hadn't returned. She didn't see Baski and Sally either.
Her son must have heard her pleas and decided to have a little bit of mercy on her. Oh, the pain was still there—so much—but Danika was feeling just a little bit better. So she made her way out of the bathroom. In short, steady steps—the best she could muster—she walked down what remained of the long hallway that led to her bedroom, her hand clutching her aching waist, her belly hurting.
She could hear the war cries, but they sounded so far away from the royal chambers.
Worry gnawed at her, adding to her pains. Worry about her kingdom. Her Lucien. Baski. Chad. Sally. Her people. The ministers. How were they doing? Why hasn't Chad come back? Has something happened to Sally? To Baski? Terror gripped Danika's throat.
That was the only explanation to why none of them were already crowding her personal space, fussing over her, making sure she was alright and trying to protect her with their lives.
She had no idea how she was able to manage it, but she got to her bedroom. There were no guards to be seen anywhere. Everyone was out on the battlefield. Everyone was fighting for the kingdom.
Opening the door, Danika walked herself into her bedroom and closed the door. Leaning against it, she panted out her pains.
"Why am I not surprised?" A familiar feminine voice filled the bedroom. "The coward queen. She is hiding in her bedroom while everyone puts their life on the line to protect her kingdom."
Danika opened her eyes, glancing at Vetta through blurry eyes. The woman's voice in her bedroom and the sight of her sitting on her bed would have scared her if she wasn't hurting so much.
What felt like a punch or a stomp in her lower belly caused her to cry out again. "Ooooh!"
Vetta's eyes narrowed as she caught a better look at the heavily pregnant woman sweating profusely and panting in front of her. "Hell, you are in labor!" It dawned on her. Most of her antagonism disappeared like the wind as she watched Danika carefully. She looked nothing like the woman that always managed to look so elegant and sophisticated, even when she was a slave.
No, she looked wrecked. In pain. Streaks of tears outlined her cheeks.
"What...are you...doing here?" Danika let out in a pained moan.
Vetta kept silent. How did she answer that when she didn't even know the answer to that? She had no idea why she was there.
But she'd seen the messenger bird, and it was a message last night because it had come to her first before going to the Coza's general. She was supposed to be happy—in fact, she was, at first—after all, she hated Mombana so much. Finally, Mombana would go down.
So what was she doing there? It surely wasn't about the king. She is not worried about him—Lucien is a big bad wolf in the face of war; he could take care of himself.
So why is she here?
"I did tell you that I'll be back, didn't I?" Vetta cocked her head to the side, replying at last.
"Why? Are you here...to kill me?" Danika breathed out.
"Depends." She paused. "Where is my knife?" That was her gift from Cone. A constant reminder of what he made her to be.
"Safe." Danika felt better when that wave of agony passed. So she pushed away from the door and started deeper into the bedroom.
Vetta was most surprised when she walked towards her and lowered herself on the bed beside her.
"Uhm, what do you think you're doing?" Vetta asked her, bewildered. The woman was sitting too close to her.
"I need to rest...my feet. They hurt so bad."
Vetta looked at the said feet in question. Her huge, elegant gown covered her feet, stopping her from seeing anything. Not that she wanted to see anything.
"Your hurting feet, your business. Give me my knife. Let me get out of here." Swiveling her head, she spared Danika a glance. "I'll go to the battlefield first. Maybe I'll come back later."
"To kill me?" Queen Danika snorted. "You might stand a chance if I don't die...from this pain...first!" She cried out at the ache in her back. It felt like her back was being stomped on by horses.
Vetta's brows ached. She glanced at the woman again. "Are you even supposed to be alone? The men are on the battlefield, I understand. But what about your female sheep that follow you around like flocks of goats?" she asked flippantly.
A startled laughter bubbled from Queen Danika's throat, forgetting the pain for a second. "There is nothing...like flocks of goats. Just sheep. A flock of sheep."
Vetta shrugged. "You would know. After all, you're the educated one."
"Makes no difference. We are both human beings." Danika hit her shoulder repeatedly in an effort to reach her aching back.
"Nope. You are royalty, the daughter of the great monster Cone. And I'm a slave, a product created by the great monster Cone." She flashed Danika some teeth. "Poetic, isn't it?"
Even through her pains, Danika still saw the stark pain in the mistress's eyes. So she stopped hitting her back and reached out with her hand, taking Vetta's hand into hers.
"You are the only one that sees...yourself like that. To the world, you were a mistress to the most...powerful man in Salem. And now? You are a cared friend of the most powerful man...in Salem."
Vetta stared at their hands together. A hysterical laugh bubbled from her throat. "I am nothing but a woman that lost everything."
Danika opened her mouth to say something else, but Vetta snatched her hand away from hers.
She got up from the bed. "Just come and give me my knife, will you? Save me the sermons."
Queen Danika rose from the bed then. Walking steadily, she reached her wardrobe, opened it, and took out the knife from where she kept it. Then she walked back and handed it to Vetta.
She took it then crossed her arms. "You are not afraid that I will stab you with it?"
"No, I'm not. Not anymore." Danika shrugged.
Vetta opened her mouth to say a word, but Danika cried out. It was more painful this time. The queen grabbed her waist with both hands and screamed out.
Just then, her door burst open. Coza stormed into the bedroom, clutching tightly a sword that dripped with blood.