Chapter 19

“All you love is my exterior! You don’t know who I am, you don’t know the true me,” Iris cried.

“Then let me know you,” King Evander pleaded, desperate to have his love recuperated.

“Untie me,” Iris demanded.

“I don’t have to untie you to get to know you,” King Evander rejected her request, thinking she was taking him for a fool, planning an escape again.

“Please,” Iris tried again.

“So that you can escape again?” King Evander snorted, sitting down on his make-shift bed.

“You truly think I am going to escape here, in the middle of nowhere? What chances do I stand? I will just end up as a slave again,” Iris tried to convince him.

“You are still a slave, remember? I paid for you,” King Evander informed her.

Iris shot him a resentful look, “you will never know anything more than just what your eyes see, I hate you.”

King Evander got so mad at her words that he raised his hand ready to hit her with his open palm but then stopped mid-air and made a fist.

Iris looked at his fist and thought, ‘I will definitely not service that.’ Iris closed her eyes and waited for the blow but after a while when the blow didn’t come, she opened her eyes slowly and saw that King Evander was no longer standing in front of her.

Iris looked around in the poor lit tent as there was only one candle burning and saw that King Evander was lying on his makeshift bed, his hands under his head, staring up.

Iris was shifting around uncomfortably, wishing for the comfort of a bed, even if it was just a made shift one.

After a while, she heard King Evander breathing heavy with a soothing soft snore and got to work on rubbing through her restraints. Iris scraped her restraints up and down against the center pole of the tent and finally manage to break loose. She rubbed her wrist before sneaking out of the tent.

“Princess Cerena,” she whispered, searching for the princess. “Princess Cerena,” she tried a bit louder and got a fright when one of the guards startled.

Iris heard her own voice, happily chatting and laughing in whispers, and followed it all the way up to the second tent.

‘So much for Prince Remington being in-love with the princess,’ Iris thought as she sneaked back to King Evander’s tent.

“And there I thought I have to run after you at night,” King Evander said, giving Iris a fright when she tried to sneak back into the tent, not expecting King Evander to be awake and sitting upright.

“I needed to relieve myself,” Iris lied.

“Will you manage to tie yourself up or do you need help?” King Evander joked.

“I will manage,” Iris joked back.

Iris sat with her back next to the pole and folded her arm over her legs, her chin on her knees.

“Come over here,” King Evander demanded, padding his hand next to him on his bed, “I promise I will not do anything you don’t want me to do.”

“I am perfectly fine here,” Iris declined.

“Suit yourself,” King Evander said before lying down again.

The next morning Iris woke up and found herself in King Evander’s bed, alone. She sat up and looked around, “where is he?”

Iris stood up and wrapped one of the animal skins around her before stepping out of the tent. She found King Evander, Prince Remington, and Princesses Cerena around a fire while the guards had their own fire.

After breakfast that consisted of a few small game that was prepared by the guards, they continued their journey back home.

‘How does she do it?’ Iris wondered when she noticed that Princess Cerena, a slave on a horse. She had Prince Remington wrapped around her finger.

‘Perhaps he had real feelings for her and is in love with more than just her looks and now he is falling for what is inside,’ Iris drew her conclusion.

“See, a woman, even one as low as a slave made him forget all about you,” King Evander remarked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“At least he won’t force himself onto her,” Iris snapped back.

King Evander knew her words were true, “I guess asking for forgiveness won’t help?”

“Not asking for it just makes it worse,” Iris said, wishing her horse was not tied to his so that she can ride off and not have to talk to him all day long.

For the rest of the ride home, King Evander and Prince Remington shared a tent while the two women shared the second tent.

One evening Princess Cerena decided to share her plan with Iris, “we have to kill King Evander.”

“Are you crazy? How do you think I ended up in this mess in the first place? The worst part of all is that I didn’t even do anything. That stupid healer put stuff on my face that almost killed King Evander,” Iris said even though she wished it was that that easy to kill him.

“What healer?” Princess Cerena questioned.

“Someone pretended to be the King’s healer and put a healing mask on my face and when King Evander kissed me some of it went into his mouth and almost killed him,” Iris explained.

“Lacosta,” Princess Cerena said with a smile.

“So, he is one of yours? He said he does not know where you are and thought you might be dead, well you in my body,” Iris said, looking at herself.

“I waited for him at your family home, but he never showed, neither did my enchantress. I thought them both dead,” Princess Cerena said.

“How did my family die and how is it that only you survived?” Iris questioned.

“Your family did not die. It was a mutual agreement to hand ourselves over to the slaves, to at least get food in our bellies. Don’t worry we were not treated like other slaves. Giving ourselves away for free we ride with the Slavers and ate with them until we were sold to King Gerald,” Princess Cerena explained.

“What?! My family is with King Gerald??! Why do you only tell me this now?” Iris exclaimed in anger and relief.

“What would it have helped? And I don’t recall ever having a moment alone with you to tell you. Besides, I didn’t know they were your family. I woke up in your body and none of them seemed as if they liked you very much,” Princess Cerena stated, defending herself.

“What do you mean? We were all very close,” Iris stated, confused by the princess's words.

“If you say so,” Princess Cerena said. “You have to get the king to trust you, to fall deeply in love with you,” Princess Cerena changed the subject.

“I have to find my family first,” Iris said, walking over to the exit of the tent and peeked out.

“What are you doing?” Princess Cerena questioned.

“Escaping,” Iris said.

“What do you think the King will do to your family when he finds out you ran away to save a few slaves; slaves that don’t need saving?” Princess Cerena questioned.

“What do you mean by that?” Iris questioned walking back and sitting down again.

“Your father runs the farmers, and your mother works in the kitchen while your younger siblings play around all day. King Gerald noticed their values and put them to good use,” Princess Cerena lied. The truth was she does not know what happened to Iris’s family as she made the trade deal with the slavers, insuring she gets sold to a respectable King either than King Evander that will value her virtue. Iris’s family was sold off along the way to different buyers.

“You should leave them with King Gerald until King Evander is dead,” Princess Cerena suggested.

“I don’t know how to gain his trust and when I have it how will I kill him?” Iris questioned, wondering if she has in her to take another’s life.

“Make him love you,” Princess Cerena stated as if it was the easiest thing on earth.

“He already loves this exterior,” Iris said sarcastically.

“Sure, but if you make him believe that you love him back then he will love more than just the exterior,” Princess Cerena said.

That night Iris thought about the plan while waiting for sleep to come.



They arrived back at the kingdom and Princess Cerena followed Iris but then got stopped in her tracks by prince Remington, “my slave and I will be hitting the road.”

“I am to tired and I missed my home so dearly. Please can we stay for a bit?” Princess Cerena pleaded with her sweetest smile and batting lashes.

“You have me wrapped around your little finger,” Prince Remington said, pulling her in.

“This one?” Princess Cerena said, wiggling her pinkie.

Prince Remington mouthed her pinkie and on release, said, “the one and only.”

King Evander was a bit disgusted about the way his cousin showed affection to a slave.

“Prince Remington, cousin, why don’t you take my sister’s hand in marriage?” King Evander offered.

‘Oh, my word, please agree,’ Princess Cerena thought before turning away and running after Iris.