I am Reborn through Revenge

Who is Henchman

It was when I was out of the Queen’s quarters, that I realized how many hours I had spent. The sun had begun to rise and the morning dew was gone. The weather's visibility was crystal-clear and the blue sky had more shiny white clusters that made my eyes squint—thanks to the sun. I was confused on what I should do first—to confront Valerie or to find something nice, something strong to eat.

Unable to make a viable decision at the moment, I decided to go to my swimming pool just behind my quarters to relax and think. It had always been lonely there. It's not somewhere people visit most often though sometimes the guards come around for inspection.

The swimming pool was very close to the sacred bookshop of Zahrin. A place where wasn't accessible even to me as a Prince. There was only but one man who works there called Henchman. I have heard rumors about him. I heard that his name was not just ordinary, it was a name that was borne out of his character and personality. He had been a loyal follower of the royal family for ages. His loyalty according to rumours was never a flexible one. The bookshop is one of the most boring places in the palace but Henchman had worked there for more than three decades. He had no wife, no children, had been single all his life. In a day, only three people or three times might you see anyone in the bookshop, and the people that visit must be of royal blood.

I got to the swimming pool, I slowly removed my pants, my shirt and was only wearing my white-short. I dropped them on the floor. I gently slid into the pool. My body took a while to adjust itself to the new external changes. There was a balance between how cold and how hot the water felt. At first, my feet felt ticklish but they quickly adapted to the cold ripples the water produced. I thought I was going to think but the reverse was the case. I found myself floating on the water with my eyes closed. The relaxation and the feelings I get when I enter the pool suddenly overwhelmed me. I lost control of myself. Everything seemed vague to my sight. My ears were open and I could at least hear things but couldn’t see them.

Suddenly I heard a sound—“ouch”. It sounded like someone stumped on solid rock, accidentally. People rarely came around here so who could it be? Brady? I quickly shoot my eyes open and glided my eyes towards the side the sound came from. Goodness! Didn’t believe who I saw. “Marie!” I snorted.

She turned around and looked at me. I wonder how she heard her name which I called out in a low tone. She gasped and quickly turned around. “I am so sorry your Highness, maybe I am in the wrong place!” she was so fast to speak.

I felt embarrassed but I knew she would run away if I didn’t do anything to stop her. The expression on her face tells it all—her jaw dropped and her eyes were shut open like someone who committed suicide by hanging; revealing all her teeth. I had reasons to believe she was more embarrassed than I was. It was a good thing though if I was correct, so I thought.

I summoned courage. “Please, wait up!” I yelled. I wasn’t naked after all, I thought.

She was in a plain silky milky colored dress. But maybe because of the sun's increasing intensity, the dress was more creamy-white in appearance. It was obvious she was now a maid in the palace: a dream come true, perhaps.

She stopped in her tracks. But yet, she didn’t turn around. She didn’t dare. I came out from the pool, my hair looking like a wet rat and I realized I hadn’t come with any towel sort. I looked at her, maybe to know if she was peeping but she wasn’t, her shoulder was rather hanged—not relaxed. I could tell from behind that her body was almost shivering. I understood that. It was un-maiden-like to see a Prince half-naked let alone totally naked. Unless in some cases where the Prince requests for it. Maybe in a situation where a Prince wants to play around with a maid, he could easily ask the maid to help him with his bathe. Nightwinder's twin brother, Young m, was very notable for it. Unlike his brother who was rather more focused, less interested in girls, and had this over-serious or no-laugh face and attitude, Young, was rather the opposite side of the same coin. He might be garrulous and funny and might as well fool around most of the time with young girls but he could be ruthless too.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” I said. Wait! Are we that close? Why should this be the first question I would ask someone I barely know? I poked my head hard twice. She wasn’t looking, thanks to that. “How's your wound, have you fully recovered?” I asked.

She hesitated for a while. “Yes! I am healed, thank you, your Highness.” She sounded less nervous than she was when she saw me in the pool. It was a good thing though because I needed to speak to her.

I carefully looked at her again. I noticed some changes. Her long straight hair was already shortened neatly to the cape of her neck. I wondered which was better: the long hair she had before or the shortened hair she had now. The short hair revealed more of what was hidden—her glossy hairy neck. “That’s a piece of good news. You were later chosen after all. I would say your wishes came true.”

She gave an honest laugh. It was a pity I didn’t see the face laughing. It sounded so peaceful and carefree. But it seemed like she quickly rescinded the decision—her laugh was abruptly brought to a halt. “Thank you, your Highness!” Her voice sounded more formal.

“I don’t seem to see you around in the palace. Though I have not looked into the kitchen. Were you posted there?”

“No.”

“If you weren’t posted there, then where?” I asked. I wanted to utilize this time and ask her all I needed to know. Since nobody was going to come around, I had a good reason to vent out my questions as much as I could.

I looked at her hands. She seemed to be carrying some books. “My job description is not specific but I reckon I would be running errands for her Majesty.”

Goodness! This girl doesn’t speak like someone who wasn’t educated. With the precision of her words and how she choose and compose them even right from when I first saw her, she doesn’t look like someone who was a dunce. It came as a shock when I heard her said to the Queen that she was an illiterate.

“Does the errand include that which you are holding in your hands?” I asked. The scroll she was holding was wrapped in a gold foil. This means that it might have come directly from the King's office but the king wasn’t present at the moment. In other words, it came from Veronica. So why would Veronica entrust such a vital message encoded in a royal scroll to a new maid with an unknown background? I know that whatever must be in that document must be an extremely important message. The bookshop is revered. In fact, it was only the king and his most trusted subjects that could go in and out but a maid? I wouldn’t even be allowed to go in there without taking permission from Veronica unless of course, I am the Crown Prince.

“It does your Highness.”

“Hmm!” I squinted my eyes. I tried to think. I tried to read and link the connection.

“Why would the Queen give such a task to you?” I demanded. I wanted to know if her reply would help in the answers that I seek.

“I…” she paused. There was this confusion on how she spoke. “To be honest, I don’t know the reasons why she beckoned such job to me, your Highness.”

Okay. I wasn’t feeling too comfortable that I was speaking to someone who wasn’t exactly looking at me. I slid into my pants quickly while she spoke but left out my shirt. I didn’t want to get it wet.

“Could you please turn around?”

“Hmm!” she said, shockingly.

“Please!”

She grudged for a while but slowly, she turned, avoiding my eyes. I understand that. Maybe she was shy or maybe she was embarrassed to look at a Prince directly or maybe not. I wasn’t totally naked when she saw me in the pool so why…wait! My body was deep inside the pool when I saw her. So maybe she thought that I was still naked, I guessed.

Now she had turned, I have availed the opportunity to take a look at her once more. The new hairstyle was even more beautiful from the front view than the back view. It seemed as if she had grown thicker this few days—maybe the creamy saggy dress she wore played a role there, I wasn’t sure. The brush strokes on her hair were neat. Her hair was shorter at her forehead but more widespread and longer at the back of her ear—it allowed me to take a glimpse of her face once more. Her face was more detailed. Her beautiful set of pink lips was slightly opened. I believe it was because of the embarrassing moment. She had no makeup but yet her slim but deep black coloured brows were lined up as if she painted it with a spot of ink. Though Marie wasn’t as beautiful as Vera her innocent look which makes her appear like an angelic virtuous being can’t be totally ignored.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Don’t tell me that you are required to inspect this area too.” I tried to mellow my voice in the friendliest manner.

“No. I wasn’t your Highness. I—I was actually looking for a bookstore. I was told that it was around here. Wasn’t expecting difficulty in finding it. I found myself wandering in the wrong location.”

“Like you wandered the other day that almost got you killed.” I laughed.

She fought against her smile. Maybe she considered what I said funny but maybe for one reason or the other, she didn’t want to appear erratic. “Yes, your Highness,” she said, tightening her jaws, but her chin still popped up.

“You said you were told that there was a bookstore here. Who told you?”

“Angie!”

“Angie?”

“Yes. The head maid.”

Oh! The girl who lost a finger. But why wouldn’t she deliver this herself?

“Angie asked you to convey this message when she knows quite well that you are new. Why didn’t she do it herself?” I asked, studying her. She wasn’t still looking at me. Her gaze was fixed at the floor on her right as if she was searching for a lost item.

“I don’t know why but I…”

“But what?” I asked immediately. Patience wasn’t on my side. Besides, I wanted her to finish what she wanted to tell me.

“I believe it has everything to do with her Majesty. Angie told me that her Majesty picked me for this and not her.” She sounded sincere. Not like I was sure but my instinct told me so. My instinct never lies to me about something—sometimes.

“Does it mean you asked Angie this question?”

“Yes.”

“What did you ask her exactly?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I mean how did you ask her the question?”

“Other girls according to Angie was taken to the kitchen and some to the laundry. I wanted to know why mine was out of the ordinary so I kind of asked her and she told me that my job would be different from others. I also asked her why…” she said and stopped abruptly. Her eyes suddenly widened and her brows raised as she raised her head.

Why would she stop in the middle of a very important discussion? Did she see something?