Secrets of Royal Blood

Episode 3

Prince Rhett the younger brother of King Dorian rose from his bed groggily, it was still in the early hours of morning but he had the habit of training together with the knights of the castle so he moved towards the door wanting to wake his male servant but the door opened before he reached it.

“Good morning my Lord” the young male servant greeted. Prince Rhett nodded and turned to the bath only to notice it was already filled with warm water. This happened every morning and it made him feel amused how timely this servant was every time.

Prince Rhett was King Dorian’s younger brother but while they shared the same father, they did not share the same mother’s. King Dorian’s mother was the previous Queen and the leader of their fathers Harem while Prince Rhett’s mother was only one of the lowly concubines. But while the Harem of their father was chaotic, only those two women had children, Rhett and Dorian and the two of them were close brothers who never fought among themselves like was common in Royal families.

They watched as the women of their fathers Harem fought for their fathers favor and it scared them to think that this was their inevitable future so they made a pact with each other. Dorian would become king while Rhett would be second to him, granted the title of a Prince but his title would not be a useless one, it would be one with authority. They grew up to uphold this pact that their father thought to be a joke. And now, their parents were gone save for a few women from their fathers Harem who still lives in the castle. It was just the two brothers ruling and controlling the annoying nobles of the court.

Rhett sighed as he thought about the future and soaked himself in the tub of warm water. He didn’t know what was added to it but he especially loved the scent of the water. It caused him to be relaxed so he just silently laid there. To prevent himself from having children, he limited his contact with women so he had to wash himself, but there was no need to hurry. He was Prince, he could be late to the court as long as he arrived before the king.

Rhett’s mind flashed back to that night when he and his brother had their biggest falling out since their childhood days.

**

It was a cold day in court, the nobles were acting up again but for the first time he supported them! King Dorian was much older than Rhett, he was already in his sixties but he had no child to succeed the throne. The people were getting anxious, they loved their king and they did not want a change in the Royal blood. The Queen was barren but King Dorian vehemently refused to take another wife! Prince Rhett argued heatedly with his brother that day, together with the nobles they wanted to force the king into taking another wife. It was for the king’s own sake, to make sure the throne would never leave his family. But King Dorian was determined and he threw them all out of the court.

He fought an inner battle with himself that day. If Dorian died, the throne would be his, but he didn’t want that! He wanted Dorian’s blood to keep rulling, Dorian was the best king for Baro in the past three hundred years and Rhett believed only his child could continue that legacy. While he battled with himself, wondering whether or not to fight for the throne, one of his servants rushed in to see him.

“I asked not to be disturbed” he ignored the servant behind him and kept his gaze into the distance outside his window.

“Forgive me My Lord but the Queen has taken a servant girl for the king” the anxious servant behind him reported.

Rhett turned around to face the servant with surprise in his face.

“Tell me in detail” he ordered.

“Yes” the servant bowed lower and continued.

“Queen Leilani hosted a banquet for the king to help his ease his mood. She kept feeding him wine until he was drunk and now she has sent in a servant girl to his room to serve him, she believes this is the only way to produce a child of King Dorian’s blood” the servant finished.

Rhett’s eyes flashed with hesitation wondering if to stop the Queen. It was these kinds of complications that made him choose to stay single and to serve his brother without fighting him. The complications Queen Leilani was about to cause. After all this time of avoiding it, were the finally going to have to face scheming in the king’s court? He sighed and turned back to the window. Queen Leilani was a wise strategist who had captured even the heart of the army. He believed to trust in her wisdom.

“Let her do what she wants” he ordered but after thinking for a moment he turned around.

“Bring the girl to me afterwards”

That day he had given the servant girl named Quinn his support. It was necessary because some nobles secretly wanted the king to die without an heir. If they learned that a servant was carrying his child, they would surely kill her!

***

Prince Rhett rose from the tub and dried himself. The young male servant approached and helped him dress. When he finished and was about to leave the room, a female servant entered making him furious. But when he saw who it was he calmed down.

“Why are you here Ser?” he asked.

A younger Serenity bowed low to him.

“Forgive me My Lord but I bring important news. Queen Leilani is pregnant”

Prince Rhett froze and a chill went up his spine making him tremble uncontrollably. All of a sudden he began to laugh loudly and without restraint.

Serenity and the male servant exchanged glum glances. They could hear the heavy bitterness in Rhett’s laughter and they knew why he was bitter. King Dorian, now had a harem! Only a month ago, that servant girl who Queen Leilani sent in to lie with the king was said to be pregnant and now, Queen Leilani too!

“So this is why Dorian never wanted a second wife. He never gave up on her… never gave up. But she gave up on herself. And now the King will have two children” Rhett began to mutter to himself. He sat by his eating table and turned to the male servant for food, he was not in the mood for any training today.

“How does Quinn feel about this?” he asked. Quinn was the servant girl who Leilani sent in to sleep with the king, she was pregnant also.

“She is anxious my Lord. She fears that the Queen will come for her life” Serenity reported.

Prince Rhett snorted. What a joke!

“Queen Leilani would never do such a thing”

“She doesn’t believe that My Lord. And other nobles are approaching her, she trusts them. I fear she might try for the Queen’s life” Serenity bowed even lower because she included her own opinion in that report.

“Queen Leilani is no fool. She knows what being pregnant means and she knows what king of a person Quinn is. The guards and entire military system of the country is hers to control. No one can go for her life” Rhett replied calmly taking no offence that a slave included her worries in a report.

“Should I take care of her, my Lord?” Serenity asked.

Prince Rhett finally turned to her with a stern look on his face.

“You will do no such thing!”

Serenity was not willing to back down though.

“My Lord, if the king learns that he was once given a servant girl and you have given her your support…”

Hesitation flooded Prince Rhett’s heart and he eventually sighed.

“Since we started. Let’s go all the way. Send some of our people to protect and follow Quinn’s orders whatever it may be” he ordered.

“Quinn? Do you plan to go against Queen Leilani?” Serenity asked, defiance burning in her eyes.

“You best know your place!” Prince Rhett’s expression turned dangerous but Serenity would not back down so he sighed again.

“For the sake of my little life, I must support both sides. Queen Leilani in the light and the servant girl in the dark. No matter which child survives, I would have helped them so they might spare my life” he explained his thinking process. He would not have bothered about that servant girl but many nobles were approaching her to support her. After all, she was bearing a child that could claim the throne. If they supported that child, when the child sat on the throne he would return their favor many times over!

What that meant was that the lowly servant girl Quinn was no longer lowly. She wielded power perhaps more than even himself.

His tone became more solemn as he continued.

“From now on, you will serve Quinn, whatever she asked of you, you must do. You must no harm her no matter what! But remember this, no one, except King Dorian or Queen Leilani, no one has the right to spill royal blood. Do you understand?”

“Yes my Lord” Serenity bowed.

Prince Rhett nodded, “Now go, you must not see my face again. From today, you are a free woman”

There was pain in his face when he said those words. Serenity was a slave, a female slave but she was perhaps the most respectable female slave in the castle. She would not offer her body to nobles and she was bold enough to practice the sword and defend herself before the king when she was caught. Nothing made his heart bleed more than losing her. Not even the mistake of allowing a servant wield power in the castle.