weeping Woman
751 Words
He rose.
And with gentle care, he set the pin back in her hair.
She flushed, caught between embarrassment and surprise.
"I... I am sorry," she faltered.
"For what do you apologize? It had merely fallen," Zaychari replied, his gaze steady as he tended to her hair.
"Beautiful lady."
"Th-thank you," she murmured, bowing her head lower still.
"What name do you bear, my lady?"
"It is... it is Lin—"
"The Prince summons you," a guard interjected, cutting her words short.
"Very well, I shall come," zaychari answered.
He departed swiftly.
"Lin—" Zaychari questioned, brows raised.
"Linda," she whispered.
"Beautiful."
"ZAYCHARI!" the Crown Prince bellowed.
Linda startled, fear plain upon her face.
"Then I shall take my leave, my lady."
He lifted her left hand and pressed a kiss to it.
She was left in wonder.
She watched him as he went.
That was the last I saw of her.
And from that moment, she never left my thoughts.
Not long after she had seen twenty years, she was brought to the Crown Prince as a concubine. It was done to preserve the amity between two kingdoms.
As her mother had been before her, she now stood upon the same page as those who once mocked her.
Even the other concubines laughed and made jests at her expense, for she was herself the daughter of a concubine.
Such was the irony.
Yet after she entered that gilded cage, she never let a tear fall where any might see. But I saw her.
Each night she wept beside the pond.
She would gaze upon her own reflection, then lift her eyes to the moon, and weep in silence.
But with each morning, she would be composed once more, as though the night had never touched her.
'Peaceful, once again.'
It had been many days since I last slept in peace.
I could not bear to let my lady weep alone. I dared not go to comfort her, yet I could not bring myself to abandon her either. She did not know that I watched over her, but I could not leave her to face the night alone.
Today the sun shone brighter than usual.
"Sir Knight, come here! We practiced the moves you taught us!"
A child came running, threw his arms around me, and pulled me toward the training grounds.
"There he goes again, teaching those girls," a soldier muttered.
"They’ll be wives soon enough, and mothers to children," another said.
"Ha. True."
"Ugh, whatever. He irritates me."
The second man made no effort to hide his scorn.
How could they speak so lightly of little girls who had not yet seen thirteen winters? Girls not yet grown, already weighed and measured for the wombs they would one day bear.
Such was the manner by which the kingdom endured.
"Thank you, Sir Knight."
"Farewell, Sir Knight."
It did not take long to finish the training of the soldiers. Evening had already come. The sun had not yet set, but it would soon.
Whenever I returned to my chambers, my path led me past the court of Linda.
"THIS WENCH CANNOT DO ANYTHING RIGHT!"
Voices rose from within this day.
"What has happened?" I wondered.
"HEY, go sit there!"
As I drew nearer, I heard it clearly
the maids scolding her mistress.
"What has happened?"
"Sir... sir, it is... nothing," the maid stammered, glaring at Linda, who sat drenched and shivering.
"Her Ladyship has bathed and would not let us dry her. She has not put on her nightclothes."
"Yes, and now she shivers so. She will catch a chill."
"We were only worried for her."
The maids looked alike, both freckled and with the same hair.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Sir, that I—"
"How dare you raise your voice to your mistress?"
My voice was cold, my anger plain, as I looked upon the woman weeping and trembling, her knees drawn to her chest on the cold marble floor.
"Sir..."
"This shall be dealt with."
I walked to Linda.
"We beg your pardon, sir. Please forgive us," the maids pleaded, falling to their knees.
"You may return to your rooms."
I dismissed them, my gaze unyielding.
Jaw clenched, I knelt before Linda and took her into my arms.
"All is well. You need not fear."
I did not wait for her words. I only sought to comfort her.
She had been mistreated by her maids.
Her body was cold as ice at midnight.
- Writer
