Unbidden memories of his days in captivity flooded his mind. As he watched her,
he finally understood how it was easy for his people to trust him-even when he was
filthy and nude as a slave.
Remeta moved out just a little from behind her and bowed her head to the waist.
“Good d-day, my king. R-Remeta is sorry about R-Remeta’s behaviour. Please
don’t p-punish Remeta,” she stammered out in fear.
“I won’t do that. How is Remeta doing today?” he asked, watching the girl who
had gone through so much. He wondered if she would ever heal completely.
“I’m doing so fine, m-my king,” she replied.
Danika prayed in her mind that Remeta wouldn’t slip and call her a queen in front
of the king. Her heart was in her throat.
King Lucien had never been the type to hold conversations. He had always
preferred silence to words, but with Remeta, he wanted to hear more from the girl.
“How do you feel being in the palace?” he asked, doing his best to keep the usual
hardness from his voice.
“Remeta feels good, Your Majesty. My queen said she’d keep her safe. That’s why
Remeta wants to be with her queen, because with her, Remeta can try to look
beautiful again without b-bed,” she whispered.
Danika’s heart dropped to the ground when she saw the king stiffen. Even Baski
looked like she wanted to disappear into the ground-maybe because of the explosion
she knew would come. Oh, Remeta… why did you have to call me your queen in
front of the king? Danika thought miserably. The silence was deafening.
“Is that who she is to you? Your queen?” the king finally asked, his face
unreadable.
Remeta nodded her head vigorously. “She’s royalty, Your Highness. She…” the
girl swallowed tightly, “she makes Remeta feel safe. Remeta wants to be close to
her.”
Danika shifted uncomfortably on her feet while the king watched Remeta. Her
heart took a dive in her chest when he finally raised his eyes and met hers. He didn’t
say a thing to her. Instead, he watched her. She lowered her head, her fingers
squeezing her hand nervously. In her mind, she repeated, Ohheavens, ohheavens,
ohheavens, ohheavens!
Lucien turned to a nervous-looking Baski, then said, “Tell the guards to move
Danika’s things to the royal quarters, four bedrooms away from mine.”
A shocked Baski forced herself to speak. “B-but that’s the bedroom of the l-late
princess,” she trailed off, almost sure that the king was joking.
No one was allowed in his sister’s bedroom-not even his mistress. That bedroom
was most sacred to him, and he let nobody in it. Ever.
He nodded. “That’s the bedroom. From today onwards, it belongs to my slave.”
Then he turned away and started leaving. Not before he gave his last command.
“To my chambers, Danika.”
.
.
Danika was in shock when she followed the king. Moved to the fourth bedroom-
to the royal quarters! Tears burned the back of her eyes when it finally sunk in.
Heavens. She had missed the floral scent of a royal bedroom. The sizeable space. The
vast room. She had missed all of this, and now they’d move her to a royal bedroom in
the royal quarters.
They cut through another hallway, and Danika tried her best not to panic because
of his summons, not knowing what was going through his head. Would he punish her?
She didn’t know if it would be a punishment for the way she put her hands on him in
court or punishment for the way Remeta was addressing her.
When they cut through another hallway, she noticed his steps got slower, his
breathing a labored, as if he had sprinted a mile.
His leg! She knew this instantly, and her gaze lowered to watch his right leg from
behind.
He seemed to be in great pain and needed a body to lean on to relieve the pressure
on that leg. But she knew that he’d never call for help.
Weaknesses were taboo to royalty-especially one as powerful as King Lucien.
Danika slowed her own steps and followed him. Then he took three more steps and
almost lost his balance. She rushed forward immediately without giving it any thought
and wrapped her arm around his waist in support. She leaned into him to take some of
his weight, and what a weight it was.
He stiffened from and pulled away from her. He glared at her; his cold eyes almost
angry-even as there was an underlying pain in his gaze. “Don’t ever try such a thing
again or I will have you whipped. Don’t ever put your hand on me like that,” he
snarled.
“I’m s-so so sorry, Master. Please forgive me,” she pleaded with her head bowed.
He said nothing and started forward again. Only this time, his steps were slower,
and he was almost groaning with each step he took.
They were almost at the royal quarters, but it was still quite a walk. He stumbled
on nothing again.
She pushed forward impulsively and wrapped her arms around him, doing it before
she could think and before her brain activated itself. She had her arms around him and
was taking most of his weight.
“Danika.” That one word held a lot of anger; it wasn’t looking good for her at all.
Well, if she’s going to perish, she might as well go all the way. “Please let me help,
Master.”
“I’m not weak,” he snapped through gritted teeth.
“No, you’re not. But even the strongest of men need support once in a while,
Master. Displaying weakness doesn’t make us weak; it makes us human.”
When the only answer Danika got was a grunt, she knew he must be in great pain.
When she took a step forward and he didn’t protest, she was relieved and took another
step forward. She supported him and he let her. She became his legs, and he walked
with her.