DESPAIRD
anika walked back to her bedroom after she left the king’s quarters. She couldn’t push the words he said to her away from her mind. “Just for the evening, I will be your king and not your master.”
It made her heart light just thinking about it. But then, her heart didn’t stay light for long.
How had she allowed herself to fall for him? She had fallen in love so deeply; it hurt just thinking about it.
She opened the door to her room to see Sally sitting on the bed, sewing a dress, deep in thought.
“My princess!” Sally smiled at Danika as she saw her standing at the door.
Danika tried to smile back, but it came out shaky. Her heart was hurting too much, squeezing the life out of her chest.
The smile disappeared from Sally’s face, replaced by concern and panic. “What’s wrong? Are you alright, my princess?”
Tears rolled down Danika’s cheeks. She ran across the room and threw herself into Sally’s arms. “Oh, Sally! What am I going to do!?” Danika sobbed, her body trembling.
Sally was shocked about her princess’s reaction, and she became more worried. She hugged her princess’s head to her chest and started stroking it in reassurance, even though Sally was becoming more panicked.
“What is the matter, my princess? Please, talk to me. Is it the wicked mistress? Did she hurt you again? Drag you by the hair? Is it the king? Did he punish you for yesterday?” Sally asked the last one with dread.
“Oh, Sally! Right now, I think it’s something worse,” Danika whispered, trying to get ahold of herself.
Sally let out a deep sigh of relief. The king hadn’t hurt her physically. That was a sure relief. But… “What is the problem?” Sally whispered, worried.
Danika pulled back and sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m in love with him,” she blurted out.
Sally blinked in confusion. “In love?” She said the words like they were foreign terms.
Danika nodded, sniffling again. “I’ve fallen in love with King Lucien, Sally.”
That was when it dawned on Sally. Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, no!”
Danika nodded miserably. “I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know. But it’s true; I can feel it!” She looked at Sally with eyes full of sorrow and pain. “How d-did this happen? How did I allow myself to fall for my master? Not just any master, but King Lucien?”
“Please, stop crying, my princess. It’s not a death sentence.” Sally tried to console Danika, even as her heart burned.
“It’s worse than a death sentence, Sally. My father hurt him beyond measure, and he hates me so much. He has hurt me a lot, and his eyes are so cold when they stare at me. How could I have fallen for him so deeply?” she cried. “This will not end well at all for me, Sally. He might order my execution when he finds out.”
Sally’s hand went to her wet cheek, and she forced her princess’s eyes to meet hers. “Listen to me, my princess. You’re overthinking this. The king is the most unpredictable man I know. No one can know what he will do next. So, instead of worrying yourself to death, why don’t you try to put it out of your mind and live in the moment? In the best way you can?”
Danika found herself nodding to her words. “You’re right; you’re right.” She started wiping her cheeks.
Sally nodded, helping her wipe her face clean. “Yes. You’re the one that always says that we shouldn’t waste time on things we can’t change. So, why don’t you do so now? And I want you to know that love is not an offense or a crime, too; you always say this to me.” She placed her hand on Danika’s chest. “It’s in here. Love. It’s yours. Your feeling. Your secret. You have fallen for the king. For your master. It’s okay, my princess. You have a big heart. It’s okay to love,” she whispered to her like a mother would console a child. “You have a pure heart. It’s okay to nurse these feelings for him. You cannot tell your heart whom to love. Everything is going to be alright. Everything.”
As Sally crooned to her in consolation, Danika felt a burden lift from her shoulders. Suddenly, she felt better.
It’s okay to love him. It’s okay to nurse these feelings for him. You cannot tell your heart whom to love. Everything will be fine.
“Oh, Sally. Thank you so much,” she whispered in sincere gratitude. She leaned up and kissed Sally tentatively beside her lips.
Sally glowed under the heartfelt tenderness. “You’re welcome, my princess.”
“You were in thought when I got in here,” Danika remembered. “Is everything alright? How is Chad?”
Sally started. Her cheeks reddened. “You knew?”
“That you have feelings for the king’s personal assistant and bodyguard? Yes, I do.”
“Oh, my princess. It’s so frightening, caring for such a man of status. Such a good and great man. I’m just a slave, and most of the maids in this palace find him attractive and always want to get his attention.”
“And does he give it? His attention?” Danika asked softly.
Sally shook her head, not having to think about it. She had never seen Sire Chad give his attention to any female at all.
“I thought as much. He’s such a gentleman, Sally. And I’ll tell you the truth. I think he has feelings for you, too.”
Sally gasped in disbelief. “That is just ridiculous, my princess. He… speaks to me with respect, and he is always a gentleman to me. But I wouldn’t mistake it for anything else.” There was sadness in her eyes as she spoke.
Danika wanted to reassure her, but she didn’t. She wasn’t sure of the big escort’s intentions towards her best friend, and the last thing she wanted was for Sally to get hurt. Just the thought of something like that happening filled her chest with dread. She changed the topic.
“Remeta is still with her mother, right?” Danika asked.
“Yes. Madam Baski took her into the forest to gather herb leaves and seeds.”
“Okay. The king invited me for an evening walk with him.” She finally confided the source of her inner joy to Sally.
Sally’s eyes widened. “Really!? He did!?”
Danika felt her cheeks heating. “Yes.”
“Oh, that is so great! I’m so happy, my princess! We must get you prepared. You need your slave’s outing wear, and you--”
“Calm down, Sally. I’ve not gotten my outing wear yet. Baski said the tailor would be done in a few noondays,” she reminded her excited best friend.
Sally waved her off, jumping up to her feet. “Not to worry about that. I have spare outing wear, and I also have some money with me.” She clapped her hands excitedly.
“Money for what?” Danika asked.
“To take the outfit to the tailor in town. We must get it designed with lace and a little silk.”
“But… You can’t do that, Sally. Only privileged people have laces and silks in their clothing.”
“There is no law that forbids that, my princess. The only problem slaves have is that there is no way for them to make money, and they are very expensive. But you don’t have to worry about that, my princess.” Sally waved her off, walking to her wardrobe to search for her outing wear.
Danika watched her silently as Sally attacked her bag with sharp hands. She couldn’t help the smile that touched her face. She also couldn’t imagine being able to survive here without Sally. She could never pay Sally back for everything she did for her, but she was not giving up.
“There. Found it.” Sally raised the plain green dress from her back. “I’m going downtown now. We need the tailor to put on some lace and a little silk. My princess must look so beautiful.”
Danika knew she was in thought and was talking to herself, so she didn’t say a word. Instead, she watched Sally with adoration.
“We need to get it ironed too. Yes, ironed. Mended and ironed. Then a bit of lace and silk!” Sally looked up at her princess “Oh, my princess—you’re going to be so beautiful!”
“Does it matter? If I am?” Danika sighed. She knew the king wouldn’t care one bit if she was.
“Oh, but it matters a lot!” Sally grinned at her in reassurance.
“What brings you here, Mistress?” Karandy asked, curiosity overriding everything else. He was kneeling before her and couldn’t stop wondering what the king’s mistress was doing there—visiting him.
Karandy wasn’t a privileged person; he was lowborn. The king’s mistress shouldn’t be near him, but there she was in his small living room.
She glanced around the house, but she looked deep in thought. Her big, beautiful corset dress covered the floor she stood on, sewed with lace, and glistening with diamonds. She smelled of money. Power. Privilege. Everything he had always wanted.
“Do you know the slave called Danika?” she asked him at last, her eyes resting on his face.
At the mention of her name, anger infused Karandy. Of course, he knew that bitch of a woman. That whore that almost got him killed!
“Yes, I know her, mistress.” He tried to keep his violent, loathing reaction to himself, but Vetta saw right through him and smiled in satisfaction.
“Oh, you’ll do.”
“What do you want from me, mistress?” Karandy asked.