For Kingdom's Sake

Chapter Three: Unwanted (Part 1)

My eyes went wide as pain erupted in my belly, spreading like fire until it feels like it is consuming my heart. I fall to my knees, then collapse completely on the ground from the pain. Tears are streaming down my eyes as I try to gasp through the agony. My hands automatically clutch over my heart, my claws extending, scratching through my skin, though I can only feel the wet blood, not the pain, it is overshadowed by the rest.

"Why?" I choke out. There were so many possible reasons, but I would not have thought any significant enough to break the entire bond.

I barely registered the King crouching beside me through the turmoil tearing through me. His answer seemed to take much too long to come.

"I cannot have a servant ... as a Queen."

I felt like my whole body was tearing in two. How did anyone survive this pain? I didn't even know him. How much more did it hurt when you had truly developed that emotional connection?

"Accept the rejection, Fidelia."

My body shuddered at the way my name sounded on his lips. I wanted to give him everything. If he wanted to destroy the mate bond, I wanted to give that to him. But Winnie's voice piped up in the back of my mind. If the King's mate bond was destroyed, the entire Kingdom would be weakened, the King included. Could I do that to my kingdom? To the place I had grown up?

I gritted my teeth and forced down my cries as I pushed myself of the floor. I could feel dirt mixed with the tears on my face, but I ignored it. The only thing I could focus on was not giving in to the pain.

"If there is ever ... a war ..." - I swallowed hard, trying not to wince - "you may ... need ... the power."

I tried to breathe through it, but I was struggling.

"Accept it." The King's voice came out harsh and his eyebrows knitted in a frown.

"I am not ... dooming ... my ... kingdom."

The King raised to his feet, his face disappearing from my sight again.

"As your King, I order you to accept the rejection!" He commanded. But I knew I couldn't. If I did I would never forgive myself if something were to happen.

I pressed my lips in a firm line and shook my head. If I wasn't in so much agony at this moment, I may have been able to feel the fear coursing through my body at disobeying a direct order from the King. He growled, perhaps trying to escalate that fear, but I was still numb to anything except the pain.

"Guard!" He yelled. I vaguely wondered whether I was about the be thrown in the dungeons or executed for treason. He lowered his voice, "One order you MUST obey is that no one can know about this mate bond. Do you understand?"

I nodded. That was an order I could follow.

I heard a guard rush over, his armour clanking with his movement. I could see his hand on the hilt of his sword, but I couldn't keep my head raised any longer, I dropped it back down, falling onto my forearms as I did so.

"Your Majesty?" The guard addressed the King. I could hear the metallic slide as he partially drew his sword. Would I be executed right here?

"No need for that," the King instructed. "This maid has collapsed. Please take her to her chambers and ensure the relevant staff are aware that she has been pardoned from her duties and is required to rest."

"My King?"

There was a stretch of silence that seemed filled with something. Were they communicating through looks so I wouldn't understand? Would I be able to decipher their communication if I could see their faces? I didn't have the energy to look up and check.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard knelt down beside me and looped my arm around his neck. "Can you walk?"

I considered it for a second. Though the pain was still incredible, it did not feel quite as raw and sharp as it had before. Using my arm around the guard's cold, metal shoulders, I attempted to pull myself up. Then promptly collapsed.

The guard quickly wrapped his arm around me to prevent me falling to the floor. I looked up, but he was giving the King a confused look. The King just stood there, stoic expression on his face. The guard turned towards me and scooped his other arm under my legs, lifting me off the ground.

I looked over at the King's grim face, curling in on myself slightly to try and lessen the pain.

"Thank you for ... finding me ... assistance ... Your Majesty," I bowed my head at him. I wanted to add more, but a servant should not be addressing the King any further than I already had. He had already shown me great favour by ordering a guard to escort me, it would be even more suspicious if I tried to say more. After all, the King did not want anyone to know about our mate bond.

Despite my agony, I felt my burning heart sink. My mate, my fated mate, did not want me. He rejected me. He knew nothing more than my name and my station and decided, based on that information alone, that I was not worthy of him. I let a few more tears escape my eyes, mixing with the ones already on my face and the dirt there.

"Your Majesty," the guard bowed with me in his arms before turning abruptly and striding away, his cold metal armour freezing my skin anywhere it was uncovered. As he made his way towards the staff quarters, he turned his attention to me. "What is your station?"

"I ..." I grimaced as I was jostled in his arms. He suddenly looked concerned and I noticed the journey immediately became smoother. "I am a ... an attendant. A temporary ... lady's maid ... for the ball."

"You will need to point out your specific chambers when we get there, but I know the way to that area of the staff quarters," he announced, looking a little surprised. "I am rather surprised I have not seen you around the castle before."

"I came in ... with the latest ... graduates ... of the staff training program. There was ... an ... open position and ... they thought ... I was ready for it."

The guard seemed mildly impressed. He adjusted his grip, making some of his plate armour bite into me slightly. I winced and he quickly adjusted his grip again to one less painful.

"Do you need a doctor?" He asked. "You seem to be in a lot of pain. You should be getting it treated."

"No." A doctor would know what my pain was and questions would be too hard to answer right now without raising suspicion. "I know the cause, it just needs time to fade."

The guard looked a little worried. It was nice to know that Costas was not the only friendly guard in the castle.

It was not long before we reached the staff quarters, empty with all the staff either at the ball or grabbing dinner for the start of their break. I was thankful for the isolation, the last thing I needed was questions from curious gossipers.

"Okay, here you go," the guard said, gently laying me on my bed. "I am going to go retrieve you some dinner, some water, and a damp cloth to help with the sweating."

I looked down and realised my body was covered in sweat. It was shaking too. I had been oblivious while my mind was clouded by everything from the rejection. I nodded at him as he left the room. I never saw him return though, as the second I closed my eyes, my exhaustion won out over the pain and I drifted off into a fitfully restless sleep.