Chapter 11- Meisi
Annalise Scoffed but she maintained her natural Aura around the guard. I sighed not liking where all this is leading to one bit but I remained quiet.
” If she must be brought to the palace, where do you think I’m headed to?” Annalise said pointing her fingers at the guard who swallowed shakily.
” Apologies my lady, but this is a direct order from the king. All female strangers must be brought before him” The guard replied looking down at his shoes as he shifted uncomfortably. At this point, I was seeing a whole new persona of Annalise.
” I will take her to him myself so get the hell out of my face, My carriage is waiting,” Annalise said brushing the words of the guard away. I wondered what sort of a relationship she had with the king for everyone to be like this with her. Well, she did mention that she raised him but that doesn’t mean she is not a servant of the throne.
She grabbed my hand and led me through the gate and my gaze landed on what lies inside Nayak for the first time in my life. Although there were no houses near the gate I could see the beautiful city from afar, They had giant buildings for houses, and each house had to be three stories at least compared to the regular one-storey and large compounds that contain many quarters in Ruqgu. One compound only had one large building without any subordinate quarters.
Everywhere was quiet since we were not yet in the city, a carriage with two horses stood in front of the inner gate waiting for us. Annalise smiled at me as she helped me into the carriage and followed suit immediately while the two girls remained outside with the two riders.
” I am so sorry you had to go through the stress of journeying on foot. I’ll have a warm bath prepared for you immediately we get to the pavilion of women” She said immediately we settled in the carriage and soon enough it started moving slowly.
” Thank you so much. I will be very grateful for that.” I mean I stink more than stank at the moment.
” No, my lady. You don’t need to thank me, I am the one who put you in this condition and I must right my wrong” She said softly.
” Can I hug you?” she asked while spreading her arms, I nodded and she enveloped me into a very warm hug. I almost cried at how warm the guy was. She reminded me of my mother Although I don’t remember her face she gave great warm hugs and that brought tears to my eyes instantly.
” I’m sorry” She muttered with a broken voice as she patted my back gently.
” I… I still can’t believe this” I whispered as I wiped my tears with my sleeve.
” I know, it sounds crazy but it gets better from here” she replied while offering me her comfort by squeezing my palm once more.
Roughly a week ago, I had no idea who this lady in front of me was. I was the laughing stock in Ruqgu, a barren woman whose husband beats and abuses every given chance. It is funny how those few days on my journey to the same stranger I called crazy and delusional, were the longest I have lived peacefully in the past ten years of my life. Even though there was constant fear of being mauled by a wild animal or being attacked by a bandit on my way, I felt safer in the woods than in the Gattar Manor.
It gave me a sense of freedom and I never want to leave it at all but now I have to open another chapter of my life. It felt like an adventure but there was still a nagging feeling at the back of my head that I still have more to endure in the future. Will I go from the saucepan to the naked flame? I didn’t allow myself to ponder on the thought too much or my head would hurt more.
“So do you want to know anything about the king?” Annalise asked pushing me out of my thoughts for a while. I sighed, I didn’t think I was ready for that conversation at the moment. I don’t want to get involved with another man when I’m still broken and fragile. It might break me. But I’m there already and that was why I risked my life on this journey. I did not think I would be able to love this man with the broken shards under my lungs.
” I am I don’t know” I stuttered but she only gave me a soft gaze. The one a mother will give their child after finding out that she has started bleeding for the first time. That understanding but encouraging look.
” I understand this is quite a lot for you, with where you are coming from and all but let me assure you. His majesty may not know that you exist but he needs you a lot. The temple of Natalí has been closed for the past twenty-four years with no True Queen in sight.” She placed my right hand on her own larger palm while squeezing it gently. I sighed but I still didn’t have an idea what my fate was going to be.
” You said he needs me but he doesn’t know I exist?” I had to ask because I was confused.
” You are his true queen. He has been looking for you, without you the kingdom will never be balanced. Nati has been getting out of control. Without Natalí by his side, Nati would be enraged and his protection on the king would be revoked ending the king’s life instantly. He doesn’t know who you are but he has been looking for you” Annalise explained and I sighed once again, I didn’t get her explanation but I was too sleepy to care anymore.
The bustling city noises woke me up from my sleep. I tried to stretch after yawning but I realized I was in a carriage with Annalise. My head was on her shoulder and she didn’t seem to care as she stared into space quietly. I wondered what was going on in her mind.
” You are awake” she spoke out and I just hummed in response. The incident with that ungrateful idiot at the inn made me emotionally and mentally stressed so much that the sleep was very appreciated.
” We will soon reach the palace so you can have proper food and a bath,” She said patting my shoulder lightly. She seems to treat me like a sort of price. It’s hard to know where her loyalty lies, is it to the throne that remains sort of unbalanced because of my absence or to her late mistress and my mother who made an oath to the goddess? I tried not to ponder on the thought since she treated me so well like a daughter.
The carriage made a stop and she helped me out of the carriage. Immediately my feet landed on the floor, it wobbled a little bit before I regained my balance. I looked up to see a large building more like a mansion in front of me, this must be the palace. The gates were decorated with numerous accessories that might blind anybody if the sun hit too hard.
I blinked twice, How wealthy are people from Nayak to be able to decorate an ordinary gate like this? I noticed the golden decorations were some sort of motif that trailed around the door and met in the middle of the door where a blue stone lies. The blue stone looked oddly familiar. The art seemed too beautiful to be done by a human being.
” We should say hi to the one who brought you here?” Wait what? It wasn’t the palace?
I stared at the blue stone at the center of the door and it stirred right before my eyes like it was waking up from a deep slumber immediately after I touched the door.
” No no, please do not touch the door.” Annalise snatched my hand away from the door with a very alarmed look on her face. The blue stone went back to its original color as if nothing happened.
” Meisi has people around until the king knows about you. Nobody can know or you will be in danger” Annalise said with panic evident in her eyes. If there’s one person Annalise could fear like this, the person must be powerful.
Who is Meisi?