Chapter 6-Queen of Nayak
“What?” I almost laughed at his expression. In fact, I did laugh. He looked like nobody had ever talked back to him before in his entire life and existence. His brows scrunched up in confusion and his mouth wide open in shock made my stomach rumble in laughter. His appearance suggested he was from Nayak; only their men kept their hair as long as women.
“You must think everyone is lazy brats like you? Unfortunately for you, some of us are tired after a long day’s journey and need to rest. I’m sorry I fell on you, and if you can’t accept my apology, you can shove it down your throat the opposite way.” I knew I was saying nonsense by calling him a brat. I should have just said asshole instead. Damn! It’s been a while since I sassed someone out.
The man stared at me as I continued to drag my heavy bag through the passageway.
“You? … You,” he pointed his fingers at me, as if unsure of what to say. I just ignored him and dragged my duffel bag with all my strength. I hoped he didn’t have temper issues like Patrick. If he laid a hand on me, that would be my end. But well, I could really use a bath at the moment.
“I will make sure you pay for this. I will find you and make your life hell,” he threatened, but I laughed out loudly. I dropped my bag and turned around, taking a few steps closer to him.
He moved backward with a confused expression, not sure why I would suddenly turn around.
I tipped up on my toes since he was taller than me and grabbed his face, pulling him closer to my sight. Grey eyes, smooth skin? What the hell was he? A royal? How could a man have such smooth skin?
“What the hell are you doing?” He said with a faltering voice. Oh, that’s a new one, though.
“Committing your face to my memory so I can remember the most petty human being I ever came across,” I said to him, and he stared at me with a weird look that secretly called me a weirdo, but who cares? No one is allowed to be pettier than me.
“Awwwn, you look so cute right now,” I cooed, pinching his nose. His face turned red instantly as he scooted away from me with a shocked expression, like I just scarred him for life by saying he looked cute. I was shocked too. Men and their need to ascertain their masculinity.
I left him while humming a soft tune back to my destination. I heard him mutter something like “psycho” under his breath, but I wondered how I got the courage to sass a man three times my size. I was too tired to find a comeback. I hope we never meet again.
As soon as I entered the room, I threw my duffel bag into a corner and started getting rid of the many layers of clothing I wore because the cold in the second village was too much for me to handle. Finally getting rid of the corset, I took a deep breath in relief. I wondered who made such rules that breasts should be caged. Foolish people, if you ask me.
The room wasn’t all that glamorous but nice enough to accommodate me for the whole night without a problem. The mattresses were super soft, and I loved the feeling of silk against my skin.
After removing every layer of clothing from my body, I applied the salves on the wounds Patrick gave me before I left Ruqgu. Some had already healed, but there were others that were still purplish, especially the choke marks on my neck. I hoped this would heal before I met the king. True queen or not, no king would want a scarred, broken woman like me.
I washed my face in the provided water basin in the room and also my legs before applying the salve to them as well. I put on my undergarments before crawling under the covers, waiting for my food to arrive. Before I could blink twice, I heard a knock on the door. While muttering that I was coming, I quickly located my robe and put it on over my undergarments, making sure I was appropriately covered. After that, I opened the door, and a young lady entered with a tray covered with silk cloths.
The hospitality at the inn was excellent, but I had no time to ponder it as I ate the rice and chicken soup like a starved animal.
I was starving anyway, and thankfully, I wasn’t in the presence of another person where I would have to adopt proper eating etiquette. I just gobbled down the food as fast as I could.
After I was done, I was too tired to even move, but I had to place the plates outside the door as I was told by the server, if I didn’t want to be disturbed.
I was about to lock the door and retire to a comfy, well-deserved sleep when someone barged into the room. I fell instantly on my butt. I couldn’t cry out as I was both scared and confused. Memories of my husband barging into my chambers to abuse me flooded my head, and I had to blink many times to prevent myself from crying.
I crawled over to the door, where a very drunk man lay, and I huffed in annoyance. I mean, I just wanted to sleep, not deal with this type of nasty piece of work when my entire body was screaming exhaustion.
He slowly raised himself up, but I couldn’t see his face clearly. I stood up and carried the candlestick to look at the intruder. Lo and behold, it was our Petty Wetty. Why was he drunk? None of my business. But what the hell was he doing in my room in the middle of the night? Was he here to take his revenge by forcing himself on me? My entire body shook as I suppressed the thoughts and acted the way I did earlier.
“Get … out!” He slurred, and I almost laughed at how cute he sounded. Just like a cat trying to roar. The sight chased all panic away from my body, but I tried to be nice, and I just told him to get out since it was my room in the first place. However, he wouldn’t even listen to me.
I wondered how much he had to drink to change from that cold, overbearing hunk who looked like he could devour me if I crossed his path earlier to a cute little boy who just wanted his mother.
“I’m not drunk. A king doesn’t get drunk,” he shouted, and I laughed. Awwn, he gets worse every time. A king my foot.
“Okay, Your Majesty, surely you’re not drunk. If you were, you wouldn’t call yourself a king when you’re just an ordinary young man, right?” Note the sarcasm.
“But you have to go to your own room. I have to sleep,” I said, helping him up, but we both fell hard on the floor. With the way we’ve been falling ever since we met, I hope we don’t fall in love.
“Get your filthy hands off me! No one touches the king of Nayak!” He yelled at me, with no attempt to push my hands away from his body. I didn’t have time for this nonsense. I still had my journey the next day. I almost screamed in frustration, but I held back.
“The king of Nayak, I see… then I’m the Queen of Nayak since we both want to jest,” I said angrily, trying to drag him out of my room, but the man was too big for me to even lift his leg.
I kicked him in frustration, but he made no attempt to make a sound. That must have hurt a lot because my leg hurt, but he lay still without a word. That was when I noticed something was strange.
He didn’t smell like alcohol, and I couldn’t detect opium on his body either. That meant he wasn’t drunk or intoxicated. Was he poisoned? I leaned down and checked his breathing. His breathing was there but unsteady But now I had a new problem to deal with: a half-conscious man in my room. Great.
I grabbed his legs and began to pull him towards the door, hoping to dump him outside where he belonged. “Come on, your majesty. Let’s get you back to your room,” I muttered under my breath. But that was when I noticed his unsteady breaths were slower and he looked as pale as a sheet. Fuck!