Vetta wanted her out. Out of the king’s life. Out of the palace. Out of Salem.
“He is sleeping already. Gently lay him out on the bed and get out!” Vetta hissed,
her shoulders shaking with barely controlled rage.
Danika saw the way the mistress was practically boiling over, even as she was
doing her best to hide it. She decided that it’d be good not to protest. “Yes Mistress,”
she muttered. Gently, she moved forward until the king’s head touched the bed. He
laid down on it and she raised his legs onto the bed.
Once done, Danika stepped back, but the mistress suddenly grabbed her arm. She
hauled her out of the bedroom until they were out of the king’s chambers.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” Vetta snarled at her.
Danika’s heart was beating out of her chest, but outside, she looked at the mistress
with a calm demeanor. “I did nothing, Mistress. I was only following the king’s
orders.”
Vetta grabbed hold of her hair and yanked so hard on it, she pulled several strands
from the root as she drew Danika’s face closer to hers. “Keep to your dirty, filthy
lane, you slave!” she hissed. “Do not put your hands on people who are in a higher
class than you are!”
As soon as Vetta grabbed her hair, Danika had expected her to drag her by it, so
when Vetta did, Danika didn’t cry out from the intense pain. Instead, she bit the
insides of her cheeks to keep from crying out. “I was only following the king’s
orders,” she repeated through gritted teeth.
“That’s a lie! You were intentionally messing with him! Who do you think you
are!?”
The hallway was empty, and the mistress’s hand in her hair was really hurting her.
Danika had had enough.
She grabbed Vetta’s hand and yanked it away from her hair. Vetta gasped, surprise
dulling the rage and anger for a bit. Danika arranged her curls by running her hand
through her hair, and she avoided her burning scalp, massaging her hair till it was
better.
Then her eyes met and held Vetta’s burning gaze. She squared her shoulders.”I am
Danika, Mistress. The king’s slave is who I am.”She started walking past an angry
Vetta and stopped a few steps past her. She swiveled her head to the side. “For
twenty-two years, I was Princess Danika, the princess of the Mombana kingdom. My
status has fallen, Mistress, but a few months didn’t take away years of upbringing and
conditioning-years of class. Please forgive me for putting my hands on people in a
better class than I am, but it was the king’s orders.” She turned her head and walked
away.
Vetta stood there with her mouth gaping open. That bitch yanked her hand away
from her hair! She dared speak to her about the past!? Did she just intentionally
remind Vetta that she was once a princess and she, Vetta, was once a slave!?
Did she just remind her that she was born royalty, and she, Vetta, was born a
slave!?
How. Dare. She!?
“I can’t believe this bedroom is ours now!” Sally cried with excitement hours after
she came back from the market.
At first, she’d been panicked when she saw their bedroom being emptied. But then
she’d heard that they were moving to the royal quarters, and she just couldn’t believe
it!
Danika smiled up at her, standing beside her, then they looked at Remeta, who was
sleeping on the bed.
Baski had brought lunch earlier for her and Remeta, and she’d made Remeta eat
hers. It made her mother thrilled, and when she’d asked her how the king was doing,
Danika also told her that the king was sleeping. The happiness in Baski’s face was
indescribable. The woman had tears of joy in her eyes, and after what the king told
her about his relationship with Baski, she finally understood on a personal level how
much the older woman loved the king so maternally.
Now, they watched Remeta lying on the bed. Sally bit her lip. “Now that we’re no
longer in the slave’s quarters, d-do you think the king will allow me to keep staying
with you, my princess?” Danika turned to her, seeing the helpless look in her eyes. “I
don’t want to stay away from you. I don’t want to. They will force me too,” she
continued.
Danika placed a hand on her shoulder. “All slaves, maids, and servants are under
Madam Baski, and she already knows that you’re here. If the king finds out…”she bit
her lip in thought, “We’ll cross that bridge later.”
Sally nodded her head. “Alright, my princess.” Her lips stretched in a smile. “We
live in the moment. No point thinking about tomorrow, right!?”
Danika nodded with a smile. “Exactly. How was your day at the market?”
Sally flushed a little and ducked her head.
Danika’s brows rose in question. “Sally?”
“Sire Chad saw me on the way, and he escorted me. He walked me to the market,
and even as I picked out my cottons, he stood there patiently and waited for me,”
Sally told her princess shyly, her face glowing.
Danika’s eyes widened. She tried to reconcile the image of the stoic, cool personal
guard of the king that didn’t care about looking at people’s faces, spending some time
with Sally and walking her to the market. It was a little hard to believe, but she wasn’t
surprised. Danika had seen the way the two of them stood together and talked.
Danika watched Sally’s glowing face and decided that her best friend did like Chad
a lot. She wished Sally happiness-anything that would make Sally happy would
make Danika happy.
“Oh, I heard that the wicked mistress went into the king’s chambers. Did she see
you there?” Sally suddenly asked, her eyes wide.