Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty
Chapter 76: The Punishment (02)

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: The Punishment (02)

The courtyard was filled with stunned silence as Aurelia held Cassian’s bloodied body in her arms. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she gently stroked his cold face. Her tears mixing with the blood on his skin.

The crowd of servants guards and even a few nobles who had gathered to watch the punishment stared in stunned silence. No one had expected the princess to appear let alone risk everything for a mere servant. The whispers began to spread like wildfire.

"He’s just a servant what could she possibly see in him?"

"Did she really care for him or was it some kind of foolish rebellion?"

"I thought it was just a fantasy from the servant’s side to climb higher but who knows the princess is just as involved in it."

The murmurs spread quickly but they were drowned out by a sharp voice that cut through the air like a blade.

"What is this?"

The Queen’s voice rang out full of fury and Aurelia’s heart sank as she slowly looked up to meet her mother’s gaze.

Queen Selena sat high in her ornate chair her cold eyes burning with disgust as she took in the sight of her daughter kneeling beside the bloodied servant. Her lips curled into a sneer and her fingers tightened around the armrest her knuckles turning white.

"How dare you?" the queen seethed with rage and disbelief. "How dare you lower yourself to such a pitiful display? This is filth you’ve chosen to associate with Aurelia!"

Aurelia’s chest tightened as she met her mother’s icy stare but she refused to look away. Cassian needed her. He needed someone to fight for him.

"He is not filth," Aurelia said her voice shaking but firm. "He is kind and brave and he never once saw me as anything less than a person. Something you can never understand!"

The Queen’s face twisted in fury. She stood her robes flowing behind her like a storm.

"I understand perfectly," Selena snapped her voice cold and cutting. "I understand that you’ve thrown away everything for a worthless servant. Do you think this will not have consequences? Do you think I will allow you to disgrace this family for a man who doesn’t even belong in our presence?"

Aurelia stood up slowly refusing to be intimidated. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest but she wasn’t going to let her mother tear her down. Not this time.

"I’ve already made my decision," Aurelia said her voice steady but the pain of the situation still evident in her eyes. "Cassian is worth more than all the nobility in this kingdom combined. You may try to break him but you won’t break me."

The queen’s expression darkened her lips curling into a snarl. She raised her hand in a quick sharp gesture and two guards rushed forward grabbing Aurelia’s arms.

"Drag the princess away from that filth," the queen ordered through gritted teeth her face flushed with anger.

The guards hesitated for a moment uncertainty in their eyes as they looked from the queen to Aurelia but they didn’t dare disobey.

Aurelia’s blood boiled but she refused to be dragged away like a child. She twisted in the guards’ grasp yanking her arms free with a force that startled even them.

"Don’t touch me!" she snapped her voice firm with a conviction she didn’t even know she had.

Her eyes never left her mother’s face. The queen’s gaze faltered for just a moment but she quickly masked it with her usual icy exterior.

"You would defy me? In front of all these people?" Selena hissed stepping forward her heels clicking loudly on the stone floor.

Aurelia stood her ground the sting of her mother’s harsh words still burning in her chest but her resolve was clear.

"I will not let you destroy him," she said her voice rising. "I will not let you make him the scapegoat."

Selena’s eyes narrowed her nostrils flaring with rage. "*You think I have been cruel?" she spat. "You are the one who is cruel Aurelia. You have the nerve to choose him—a servant—with nothing to offer over your own mother over your own bloodline. Do you know what this will cost you?"

Aurelia’s eyes flashed her breath steadying as she took a step forward. "I choose love over fear," she declared. "And I will never apologize for that."

The Queen’s lips quivered with fury as she took a step back her eyes filled with contempt. "Love?" she mocked. "This is not love. This is weakness a childish fantasy you’ve constructed in your mind. You will never be a true queen with such foolishness in your heart. If you continue down this path you will have nothing left but regret. You think this servant will save you?"

"He’s already saved me," Aurelia said quietly her eyes softening. "He showed me that there’s more to life than power and status. He showed me that kindness matters. Something you will never understand Mother."

Selena’s face twisted with disgust but there was something else beneath her fury. It was the glint of fear. Fear of losing control. Fear of being replaced by a love she could never understand.

"Enough of this nonsense," the queen snapped. "This charade ends now. You will leave here and you will forget about this servant Aurelia. I will not have my daughter disgracing our family for a lowborn fool."

Aurelia’s jaw tightened. "No Mother," she said quietly but her voice rang with finality. "I will not abandon him. I will not abandon what I know is right."

The queen’s face flushed with rage. She took a step toward her daughter eyes blazing. "You will listen to me Aurelia. I am your mother. I am the queen!"

Aurelia lifted her chin meeting her mother’s wrathful gaze with a strength she hadn’t known she possessed.

"And I am the princess," she said her voice low and unyielding. "And I will not be silenced anymore."

A tense silence stretched between them.

The queen’s eyes flickered with something dark a warning that made Aurelia’s heart race but she didn’t flinch. She would not back down.

NO...

But her mother next action shocked her and a scream escaped her mouth as she looked at her mother in disbelief.