Chapter 9

That night after Marchelle enjoyed a guard between her legs she laid in bed, pondering over her next step.
‘Do I get rid of her tonight, or do I ask the guards for help? The longer I leave it the more he falls in love with her. Right now, she hates him so perhaps I can trick her to leave?’
Marchelle notched the guard next to her to wake up. “How do I get rid of the princess?” She whispered.
“Because of the visit from all the Kingdoms the slave market is around, and I think one of the slave owners will take her, especially since she is a princess,” the guard said, sitting up.
“Wait for me here,” Marchelle said before putting on her nightdress and making her way over to the princess’s room.
Marchelle walked into the princess’s room and found the servant girls sleeping on the floor.
“Princess Cerena, wake up,” Marchelle whispered, shaking the princess.
Before the princess could scream, Marchelle placed her hand over the princess’s mouth, “sssh, it is just me.”
Iris cannot see Marchelle’s face but recognized her whisper like that of a woman.
“I have been making arrangements for you to escape but we have to leave tonight,” Marchelle whispered.
“No, I don’t want to, my people need me here,” Iris protested in a whisper.
“Your people will be fine, I promise!” Marchelle whispered more aggressively.
Iris thought for a moment and then she remembered what the king did to another king today, thinking, ‘if he can do that to a king then what will he do to servants and no-bodies.’
“No, I am not going anywhere,” Iris said.
Marchelle is stunt but gives up, thinking, ‘I will have to find another way.’
“Where is the princess?” the guard asked when Marchelle crawled back into bed.
“Stupid woman does not want to escape,” Marchelle pouted.
“It is tonight or never,” the guard said.
“It is definitely not tonight. When are the slavers back?” Marchelle asked.
“Your brother might make the world believe that he is the king of slaves, but he does not like the sight of them. You seem to forget that your father saved him from slavery when he was young,” the guard reminded her.
“Only because my father was in love with his mother. That queen bitch replaced my mother!” Marchelle said, filled with anger.
“As far as I remember that queen brought you up as her own,” the guard said, sitting up.
“My mother was his first wife, yet he treated Evander’s mother as his first and put Evander before me! Evander is not even his blood!” Marchelle said, folding her arms over her chest.
“Well, your mother did make King Evander pay for it,” the guard said, remembering all the nights that the crazy queen will tie a young Evander up and torture him until he cries for mercy. Eventually, when Evander became of age with a man’s body the torture also ended in sex, since the crazy queen could not get it from her husband.
“And now I am paying for my mother’s sins against him,” Marchelle said.
“He did say tonight, ‘never again,’ so you should be happy,” the guard said, standing up from the bed and got dressed.
“I have not gone through hell all these years to be married off!” Marchelle protested.
“I will go meet with the salvers and find out what route they are taking. You befriend the princess and one night we will drug her and sell her to the slavers,” the guard said before leaving Marchelle’s room.
The next morning Iris was woken up early by the servants, “come, we need to get you ready for the breakfast table, the king is waiting.”
“He is? Why?” Iris asked as the servants got busy around her, not giving her time to react as they slip her out of her nightgown and into a petticoat followed by a dress.
“I think this is too much, the king likes me in almost nothing,” Iris said.
“He said this dress, he chose it himself,” one servant girl said, tying up the strings at the back.
After slipping shoes onto her feet and doing her hair the servants walked her to the breakfast room.
Iris noticed that King Evander and Marchelle’s food was untouched.
One of the footmen pulled out a chair for Iris right next to the king.
“Good morning my princess,” King Evander said with a smile.
Marchelle rolled her eyes at him before picking up her fork to eat.
“Good morning your majesty,” Iris said, wondering why the king is behaving so strangely.
While they were eating breakfast, a few well-dressed market people walked in with fabrics and decorative items for the King’s approval.
“Princess Cerena, you should choose the fabrics, since it is your wedding dress,” King Evander said before waving the merchants over to Iris’s side.
“Wedding dress?” Princess Cerena asked, choking on her food.
“Yes, we are getting married a fortnight from today,” King Evander said, this time making Marchelle choke on her food.
“Whatever pleases you, your majesty,” Iris managed to word.
“After breakfast I want you to show me the gardens,” King Evander demanded with a big smile on his face.
“The gardens?” Iris asked, confused, wondering why the king wants to see the gardens.
“Yes, the gardens,” the king repeated.
Iris lowered her eyes to her plate of food and picked in it with her fork, worrying in silence, ‘I don’t know anything about the gardens as I have never been in them.’
“After a stroll in the gardens we will go choose the décor for our wedding,” King Evander said.
“Don’t you think it is better to stick to your original timetable and get married in a years’ time?” Marchelle raised her opinion.
“I will decide what is better and whatnot,” King Evander said, taking a sip from his goblet before standing up from the table, holding out his hand to the princess, “come, the gardens are waiting.”
Iris placed her fork down and took the King’s hand before standing up, thinking, ‘is he acting like this because he took my virtue?’
After a long day by the king’s side, doing her best to answer all his questions about the Kingdom, her likes and dislikes Iris was exhausted.
That evening after dinner, King Evander stood up and Iris did as well.
“Let me see you to your room,” King Evander said, taking her hand and leaving the dining hall.
Iris was really confused by the King’s behavior and wondered if he is walking her to her room to make her cry by violating her womanhood that is still in pain from yesterday.
At her room, King Evander turned to face Iris and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her. Iris just stood there, not responding but also not rejecting him.
‘She hates me,’ King Evander thought to himself, anger building up in him. His anger was not against her but against himself for being a fool.
“Forgive me for what I have done to you,” King Evander said before leaving Iris.
‘What on earth is going on with him?’ Iris thought, confused.
As soon as King Evander left her room the servants came in and got her ready for bed.
That night Iris laid in bed, thinking about the day and the king’s interest in her, ‘did he destroy a whole kingdom for Princess Cerena? No, if you love someone you don’t do what he did. He killed her parents and is practically forcing her into marriage, forcing me into marriage. I will have to find an excuse to go check up on my family.’
The next morning at breakfast Iris tried her luck, “I would like to go see the villagers today, check-in on my people.”
“Really? You never did that before,” Marchelle stated, wondering what the princess is up to.
King Evander raised a brow at that but then much to everyone’s surprise agreed, “of course.”
Even Iris was surprised that he agreed so easily.
King Evander kept his eyes on Iris whose eyes are lowered to her food.
‘Is she planning to run? The village is outside the Kingdom walls. Will she deceit me?’ King Evander’s mind raised with questions.
After breakfast, Iris walked straight to the front doors of the castle and did her best to not seem too eager.
After she got helped into the carriage that was pulled by four white horses, she was surprised to see King Evander joining her.
“You really don’t have to come with me. Your guards will keep an eye on me,” Iris said, noticing the choker neckless and chain in the king’s hand.
“Do you take me for a fool?” King Evander asked, leaning forward and putting the choker neckless around her neck, the end of the chain already to his cuff.
“I am trying to be nice to you, but it seems that you don’t like nice,” King Evander said, holding his hand around her neck, forcing her face to his; his breath slapping her face as he speaks, “don’t push my kindness away.”
“I am not, I, I promise,” Iris stuttered in fear.
King Evander placed a forceful kiss on her lips before releasing her.
‘I knew it is too good to be true, he is a monster,’ Iris thought, looking at the king in anger.