Betrothed To The King

Chapter32

"Ezra, how could you do this to her? This was not what I asked you to do! Yes, I asked you to punish her and give her a lot of work, but I did not ask you to hurt her to this extent!” King Theodore yelled angrily at Ezra, who stared at the floor with mixed feelings. The king might decide to lock him up, and it would be a shame to him if his slaves saw him.

“My king, I just…” he tried to say as a slap landed on his face.

“Do not say anything because you do not have a valid reason for doing this, Ezra. Do you know the damage you have caused? I have warned you to control your anger! This woman is royalty, and you know we are also using her as bait to get Archer.” He turned to Pearl, who lay unconscious on the bed. “Just pray she survives this. If not, this war will be much more intense and not easy. Guham has a lot of guards, and Archer can also get more guards from other kingdoms. Yes, they will definitely release their guards because Archer is respected and powerful. You do not want them marching into this kingdom with rage. If Pearl stays alive, Archer will have no choice but to humble himself and surrender to me. You see.”

“I am so sorry, my king. I will be careful with her,” Ezra pleaded with his head low.

“Just go and get the physician,” he said, staring at Pearl’s injured naked body. Her skin was pale and bloody, and between her legs, she was still bleeding, looking sore and disturbing.

King Theodore was in no way scared of Archer. He was, in fact, sure that he would end up killing Archer because they were both going to fight each other, but what he feared was that Pearl might have lost her baby.

If Pearl indeed lost her baby, then he would surely lose the fight because every kingdom would be against him and his kingdom. Pearl was not his property, which made it wrong for him to treat her this way, not to speak of making her miscarry her baby. That was a bad omen to him because he needed as much support as he could get.

***

“What’s going on, Seren and Rosamund?” Sage asked curiously as they locked the room door.

“I saw something not right today. Can you tell me if you know anything suspicious about Zinnia?” Seren said, sitting on the couch by the corner.

Sage could see that something was happening that she did not know about. The look on their faces was desperate.

“Well, uhm… I just have to spill this out,” Sage started as she nervously cracked her knuckles. She had to say it. She could not continue hiding the truth.

“Zinnia and I were prostitutes before coming into this castle,” Sage started as Seren turned to Rosamund in surprise. “Yes, I know it sounds like a bad reputation, but I did it to have a roof over my head, for money and shelter. But this is not about me.” She sighed as she tucked her hair behind her ears. “Zinnia and I worked in the same brothel where the king normally gets women. Although Zinnia and I were never friends, I knew her because she was the most requested.” Sage paused and turned to Seren and Rosamund, who stared back at her with curiosity.

FLASHBACK

Sage walked through the passage leading to the main hall. She was looking forward to getting a client for the night as she was not satisfied with what she had earned.

She never planned to become a prostitute, but she had no choice, as it was the only way to meet her needs.

She was thrown out by her husband because she could not bear him a child. She had no money and no place to sleep until a man helped her, which was how she got to the brothel and became a full time worker.

She was about to open the ballroom door when she heard whispers by the corner of the costume room. She was supposed to keep going as it was normal and not her business, but she had the urge to check what was happening.

She hid by the wall to eavesdrop on their conversation. She was surprised to see Zinnia with the king’s personal adviser.

Was he there to take her to the king? She wished she was Zinnia at that moment.

“Look, Fox, all I want from you is to get me married to the king. You already said it. He needs a wife, and he likes me, so why do you not take me to him? This will make our relationship stronger,” Zinnia said.

Hearing that Zinnia had a relationship with the king’s personal adviser surprised Sage. She wondered why Zinnia would want to marry the king when she was Fox’s lover.

“So I will still have you whenever I want?” Fox asked as Zinnia rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Fox, you are my man, and no other man can replace my love for you. I just want to get married to the king for the good life and fame.” That was a shocking revelation to Sage. How could Zinnia plan to use the king?

“Are you sure the king will not get married to another woman? I want to be the only one,” Zinnia asked curiously as Fox smiled.

“Yes, my love, the king just needs a wife to look responsible among other kings. King Archer is a Casanova and will not have much time for many wives,” Fox said as a smile curved on Zinnia’s lips. “Now come, let us have a good time together,” Fox said with a wild smile as he pulled Zinnia close.

END OF FLASHBACK

“Wow. Which means you already know they have something together. Zinnia is such a hypocrite,” Rosamund muttered in surprise at the revelation.

“Yes, she is. I suspect her in the sudden disappearance of my mistress. She never liked my mistress. A few days ago, she gave me a bad seed to put in my mistress’s coffee, a seed that causes miscarriage. I have forgotten the name of the seed though.” Rosamund and Seren turned to each other in shock at the sudden revelations.

“You did not put it in, right?” Seren asked.

“Of course, I did not. I know who Zinnia is and what she is capable of,” Sage said, rolling her eyes in disgust.

“How has Zinnia treated you, since she knows you both worked together?”

“I do not think Zinnia remembers me because she never acts like she does, and it does not look like she is pretending,” Sage said as she exhaled deeply.

“So what do you think we should do about her and Agent Fox now? Should we report them to the king when he is back?” Rosamund asked as Sage shook her head.

“We cannot tell the king just yet. That would be too much stress for him. We will wait and see what Zinnia and Fox are up to, and then we will know how to deal with them,” Sage said as she stood up.

“Are you going already?”

“Yes, it is my turn to cook, so I have to go and get it started,” Sage said and headed out.

“There are a lot of secrets in this castle, Rose,” Seren muttered as Rosamund pouted.

***

King Theodore watched the physician as he treated Pearl between her legs. She was still not awake, but at least she was breathing.

“What is wrong with her? Did she miscarry her baby?” King Theodore asked as the physician stood up and turned to him.

“No, my king, but she has a tear, and because of the stress on her body, it became sore, which caused the bleeding. Her baby is still intact,” the doctor said as King Theodore sighed.

“So why is she not waking up?” the king asked.

“She will be unconscious for some hours, but please, when she wakes up, make some coffee with these roots for her. She has to drink it every day,” the doctor said, stretching it toward the king, but a guard took the roots instead.

There was no way King Theodore would do all that. He brought her here to suffer, not to be pampered.

“I will leave now, my king.” The doctor bowed and headed out with his rusty aid box.

He was the doctor King Archer had sent to treat Pearl some months back. He was surprised to see Pearl in that condition. She did not look good at all, and it was humiliating to see her naked in front of the guards.

“King Archer would be so angry if he heard this,” the doctor thought as he walked out of the castle.

He wished they would give the queen the coffee he had prescribed. At least it would help her and her baby.

As the only English doctor within reach of four kingdoms, he was the one most often called because fewer people trusted local treatments.

Seeing Queen Pearl gave him something to report to his king. Yes, he was a Guhamian, and no one knew about it.