Chapter 39 Bright and colourful
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The next day…
Western Nayak
-Cave of wonders
Candlelight illuminated the dark cave as masked men dressed in black assembled in front of a woman dressed in all-black Nayaki clothing. She wore a veil connected to the large cape draped over her body. Her hair was rolled into a high bun with a golden hairpin holding the hair tower in place. Only her catlike eyes drowned with eyeliner were visible but the colors were lost to the partial darkness in the room. She was the second in command to the leader of the nameless, a group of rebels working against the throne. They seek to remove the Niamh ancestry from the throne and they have been working on it for the past three years. The identity of the woman is unknown just like the identity of every other member of the group.
They all share two things in common, hunger for power and hatred for the blessings of the Niamh ancestry. They want a new family to rule Nayak and maybe they can rid themselves of the prominent Nati religion and bring in another era of power. The Niamh family have done nothing but protect the kingdom for generations, they also brought Nayak to prosperity. With Nati and Natalí’s blessings, this family ruled Nayak with strength and brilliancy and that includes punishing every level of corruption in the kingdom and enforcing strict laws irrespective of status. The corrupted ones want the end of their reign to fulfill their insatiable greed even though it might lead to the nation crumbling, they don’t care.
” The king sent General Kim to the southern borders?!” The woman’s angry voice shook the entire cave as banged her fist on the wooden table.
” Yes.. he suddenly changed his mind, it caught us off guard too,” one of the masked men said, from his gruff tone, he was an old man probably from the king’s court.
” Your job is to influence him to lead the war against the barbarians! Not tell me ridiculous things like this” She breathed hard, calming herself down.
” We did! He dismissed the meeting yesterday briefly after the queen collapsed or something” Another raised his voice in defense of what the strange woman said. He breathed hard trying not to let his temper get the better of him.
” The Queen collapsed?” The woman’s eyes glinted with some hint of amusement. She loves the news as much as her perfect eyeliner.
” Yes at the temple, while healing a commoner” Another voice responded. The woman smiled, a wicked one, She stepped away from her position and walked a few paces forward to face them all directly.
” Here we are trying to lure him out so we can weaken him by Killing his new Queen but she collapsed? What a marvelous news. Is she still unconscious?”
” No, we couldn’t wait to hear that before coming here”
” You should have, now all we need is to make sure she doesn’t wake up,” The woman said with a sick smile.
” That won’t be necessary!” All eyes turned as a new voice echoed in the cave. It was a feminine voice that belonged to their leader. She was dressed in an all-black attire with a cloak that covered her entire face. Every masked member bowed at her and she strolled towards her second in command.
” The Queen is pregnant” She announced and a series of gasps followed the new Discovery. And soon murmurs followed which she had to silence with a raise of her black gloves hands.
” How…? But she is Barren. How is it possible?” The second in command choked out. ” That sneaky goddess”
Another series of murmurs ensued in the cave.
” It makes everything better,” The leader said calmly, her voice a hint of amusement.
” How does it make everything better?! The goal was to end Niamh’s ancestry with the King! How can we do that when another son is on the way?” The first old man said with fury, almost ripping his mask away as he stood face to face with the leader.
” Do not raise your voice at me!” The leader’s voice rang through the room with enough authority to silence the underlying murmurs. The old man stepped back involuntarily and every other man shifted uncontrollably. In a country dominated by patriarchy, it was funny to see men cowering under the gaze of a woman.
” What better way is there to bring the mighty and pompous king to his knees than killing his beloved and his heir at the same time?” The leader’s voice returned to her calm, authoritative tone.
” But won’t the gods be angry? We can’t kill the goddess chosen and the blessed heir, that is the biggest sin to Nati and Natalí, we will be punished by the heavens for this” A meek man voiced out. His voice shook at the mention of the gods.
” Heavens?” The leader cackled out loudly removing her gloves to reveal vivid black veins and pale fingers. ” I am also a goddess! The blood of Hwaja runs through my veins! You should fear me more than the heavens” Like a hiss of a predatory snake, her voice slithered through the room sending shivers down their spine. Walking towards the man who spoke earlier, she Raised her pale hands and placed them on the man’s forehead, just a little place between the mask material and his head. Black smoke erupted from his forehead to her hands as they started jerking violently. The dark veins around her hands disappeared and the man fell onto the ground lifeless. Cracking her neck loudly she went back to her original position.
” Now let’s discuss our next step. I believe he is on his way already”
…
” Amaranth right?” Annalise stopped in the hallway suddenly, she turned around to face the six maids behind her. The first one, closest to her nodded in reply. ” I hear you do prepare a calming tea for her Majesty is that right?”
” Yes, your ladyship” The young girl whispered not raising her head to look at the woman.
” Can you prepare it now? I think her Majesty needs it” Annalise said with a sweet smile and the girl nodded walking away from the straight line in the direction of the palace kitchen. Annalise’s smile disappeared watching the girl’s retreating figure. Two other maids followed Amaranth discreetly under her others. She turned back to her original direction, to the king’s chamber. The eunuchs opened the door after a loud announcement of her arrival. She stepped inside and the other maids stood outside the door with their heads bowed.
The small foyer inside the chamber has been transformed into gift shelves as different nobles all around Nayak sent gifts to the Queen to congratulate her on getting blessed by Natalí with a child. She could hear the Queen’s giggles and the king’s deep voice from the bedroom. She smiled at the happy at the happy atmosphere.
” Annalise is here, stop,” The Queen said with a pitched tone that sounded like she was smiling at whatever the king was saying. They both stepped out of the bedroom to the foyer with smiles on both of their faces. The king was dressed in a dark blue robe with sown in ornaments like sapphire, it was a simple design but he looked so handsome in it with his long hair brushed to the back and tied with a golden ribbon. The queen was dressed in a light blue two-piece dress, armless but with a sash covering her shoulders and arms.
” Congratulations once again your majesties” Annalise beamed with smiles immediately she saw them. Treven held his Queen tenderly like a precious gem. The Queen rushed forward, her silk sash falling on the way as she held Annalise’s hands. ” I’m so grateful for everything you have done Annalise,” She said trying not to give in to her pregnancy’s emotional hormones.
” If I didn’t do this, The late Queen and your mother would tear me apart immediately after I die, before sending me to hell,” Annalise said with a smile and hugged the Queen the way a proud mother would hug their daughter. She is the closest thing to a mother-in-law that Marilyn has in the palace and she has been nothing but sweet and helpful to her, unlike the king’s Aunt Princess Cixi who always tries to intimidate her every time. She was yet to congratulate them for the pregnancy, probably copped up in her liar practicing new ways to sneer at people.
” Thank you so much Annalise for looking for my Queen even though I behaved like an idiot in the past,” The King said with a smile, one which Annalise knew too well and missed seeing on him.
” Everything is ready Your Majesty,” Annalise said with a smile while the Queen blinked, confusion written all over her face.
” Lead the way, we are ready too,” The King said with a grin, His Queen whispered immediately Annalise turned away from them, ” What is ready?”
” It’s a surprise”
” I better love this surprise of yours” She muttered close to his ears as the doors to their Chambers opened.
” Of course you will, my Queen” He assured her and yes, she loved the surprise. She gasped as she stared at the makeshift tent beside the lotus pond at the spring palace, The entire place was decorated with colorful lanterns and freshly plucked flowers. Inside the tent were two loveseats and a small table filled with different delicacies and also a plate of snow rolls to Marilyn’s astonishment.
” Sweet Natalí! I love this” She cried moving closer to the tent. Treven grinned like a fill behind her as he helped her on one of the loveseats.
” You did all of this for me? Why?” She blinked back her tears as she grabbed his arms to prevent him from moving away from her. It’s funny how he always ends up doing sweet little things for her.
” You just made me the happiest man on Earth Marilyn, we should celebrate,” He said squatting beside her, she threw herself into his arms and he engulfed her in a warm hug.
” You also made me the happiest woman Treven, I don’t know where I would be right now if I’m not your Queen” She sniffed his scent, looking at his grey eyes again, she brought his head closer to her, and kissed him softly on the lips.
” No we can’t do that right now, let’s have dinner first,” He said placing a finger on her lips. She blushed and nodded. They ate silently and watched the stars. After eating up to their fill, Treven glanced at her like she was his dessert. ” Is that kiss still available?” He said walking toward her side of the table. He didn’t wait for her reply before crashing his lips on hers, her little moan drove him to the edge. His hands went to the straps of her blouse, he fumbled with it for a while before breaking the kiss, and he spoke out in frustration.
” How do I lose this thing?”
“Treven, not here we..” She moaned out but he cut off her words ” We have done this at almost every corner in the palace and this quiet pond is out of your limit? If you don’t tell me I will rip this thing off” He mused looking at her lust-clouded lashes.
” Fuck! This is how I got pregnant in the first place”