The King's Pet

Chapter 2: A New King

Makita's P.O.V

When I heard I was being gifted to another Kingdom I was surprised. I thought Queen Kassandra liked me and when I was told I'd be moving, I thought I was being punished for something. But then, I got to the North-East Kingdom and was welcomed by the king with a level of conviviality and hospitality that I never imagined to receive. Despite me being given away once before, I'd never been quite so surprised by the new environment. For one, people in the new kingdom were educated and went to school. They also had low taxes and seemed to live independently of the monarchy. There was no obligatory army service and even servants in the castle were treated nicely. But the most surprising thing about the kingdom was it's King.

Hyunjin wasn't like other monarchs. He greeted me immediately on arrival like I was a noble guest and not a jester, he insisted I stay in the castle, showed me around on his own and even asked me to not use his title. He was nothing like any monarch I'd ever met and served before and it was a little scary. I didn't know how to feel because while he'd been so kind to me since my arrival, so was King Park Jian of my birth kingdom, the South-West Kingdom—and he didn't treat me well all the time. Honestly though, I didn't know how to feel about him or what to think of him. My inherently passive and trusting nature disallowed me from treating him as if he were cut from the same cloth as King Jian.

After all I had no reason to be weary of him specifically and from what I'd seen of his kingdom, he seemed genuinely nice. And it wasn't just him, the whole kingdom had nice and happy people. In the late afternoon of the day I arrived, Hyunjin showed me around the kingdom. It was nice walking with him, just the two of us in the clean environment without guards at our side like I expected there to be.

He told me about all the things to do and places to go and introduced me to various people in town. It was refreshing to be around inhabitants that looked healthy and pleased with their lives and who enjoyed a casual and friendly relationship with their king. It only made me feel more secure in trusting Hyunjin, which I desperately needed. The last thing I wanted was to be afraid.

After being gifted to Queen Kassandra as part of the peace treaty between her and King Jian I had finally known peace after fourteen years of being mistreated and terrorised by Jian. I didn't want to go back to being scared to breathe too loud or walk too fast.

When we got back to the castle and sat in the garden, I couldn't get one thing out of my mind and so I decided to ask a question. Or rather I requested the permission to ask a question and he told me I didn't have to ask to speak, which was another correction I had to keep in mind. I noted it and asked my question.

"My King, why are there no other pets here?" I asked. Through the tour of the castle and kingdom, all I had seen were cooks, cleaners, gardeners and various tradesmen and women. But no jesters, it was peculiar to me because I thought every kingdom had at least three jesters. "Well, I've never needed them. My grandmother had some when she was the Queen but things have long since changed." He responded. "Why is that my King?" I questioned, intrigued. "Well, when my father met my mom three years into his service as king, he wanted to make some changes to make her happy. She didn't like how servants and citizens were treated across the Continent and, while she loved my father, she refused to marry him unless he promised to make the kingdom better. For her that meant fair and equal treatment, just rule and the eradication of barbaric punishment methods and degrading jobs, like pets." He answered, seemingly happy that I was asking questions.

"Oh...and what do barbaric and degrading mean my King?" I asked as, at the time, I had no idea what they meant. In fact, I didn't know a lot of the words he would use in our conversations and it soon became a staple of our relationship for him to define such words for me. "Barbaric means very cruel and degrading is a form of the word degrade, which means to cause someone embarrassment." He answered very happily. I smiled, glad that he wasn't upset by all my questions. Usually I wasn't allowed to ask royals questions, just meant to follow orders and bother someone else if I really needed help. "Thank you for answering, my King." I expressed, bowing slightly in my seat.

"May I ask you a question now?" He asked gently and I nodded. "Why are you so unceasing in your use of honorifics whenever you speak?" He questioned. I blushed slightly, feeling silly for not knowing what he meant and having to ask for help again. "My apologies my King but what are honorifics?" I questioned with my voice low because of my embarrassment. It seemed to be funny to him because he chuckled softly before he answered. "It's okay to not know things Kita," He started, making use of the nickname he'd given me when we first met. I liked it.

"An honorific is a title given to an important person out of respect, like "your highness" and because there are many kinds we call them all honorifics. Does that make sense?" He explained. "Yes it does my King...is "my king" an honorific too?" I asked to make sure I understood. "Yes it is and you've been calling me that every time you've responded to me, why is that Kita?" He asked again. "Because you are my King and I was taught to never use a royal's name, would you like me to stop using it, my King?" I responded with a shaking voice, becoming a little nervous.

I didn't like the idea of calling him by his name out loud. It felt like a trap. Even though I didn't think he was like Jian, I couldn't help my instinct. When I was Jian's jester, he asked me to use his name once and I did-thinking it would please him. We were at dinner and all of his family and friends were there, everyone was shocked that I actually listened and even Jian was angry that I did. He had me lashed in the castle courtyard the next day, making an example out of me for all the other castle servants. I still had scars on my back, a constant reminder for me not to use his—or any other royal's—name.

"Are you comfortable calling me by my name?" Hyunjin asked, noticing the change in my cadence. I was nervous to answer out loud so I shook my head instead. "That's okay. When you become comfortable, you can use my name but let's make a deal: you can only use that honorific, no other one, sound good?" He offered considerately, making my nerves settle down. "That sounds good my King." I accepted, feeling safer. He smiled, pleased as well, before he called a cook to get us some food.

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