Kitanna
Chapter 46: GOODBYES

Chapter 46: GOODBYES

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: GOODBYE AND GOODBYE ~ BAEK A]

Kitanna was surprised to hear the following morning that Clephas wanted to retire immediately after his release. She thought it was also a good idea, but she never expected him to do it this soon.

Kitanna watched as Clephas packed his few belongings into his horse skin bag. The man’s hands were trembling.

"Clephas, what happened? Did anyone threaten you to leave the palace?" Kitanna asked worriedly because it was obvious that Clephas was afraid of something.

Clephas stopped what he was doing for a brief moment, he reached his hand and held Kitanna’s hands.

"Princess Kitanna... You...I..." Clephas couldn’t say what he knew, it was too heavy for him and the time was not yet right for the princess to know. He blinked back the tears in his eyes.

"Princess Kitanna, stay strong. Everything will be alright soon. Don’t ever fall to injustice, I will always send you a letter. It is also hard for me to leave your side at this point, but I am also doing it for your sake. I won’t have left if I didn’t see someone capable of protecting you," Clephas said, his voice trembling.

Kitanna did not understand what Clephas was trying to say, but she knew the man only did things for her own good. She decided to trust him.

When Clephas got to the palace main gate, he hugged Kitanna tightly.

"I will be fine. The mountains are where people from my tribe retire after working in the palace. It’s a place of solitude. And if heaven’s willing. I will return to your side one day," Clephas sobbed softly.

Kitanna could not find any words to say; she just stood there, hugging Clephas. The man who filled in the gap of a father in her life was leaving. Maybe he was scared that if he stayed any longer beside her, then he would lose his life. Kitanna thought to herself.

She couldn’t stand there anymore, so she removed herself from the hug and walked back into the palace.

Nix stood behind, watching Clephas cry as the princess entered the palace without saying any words of goodbye.

"Please protect her, you are the one she has right now," Clephas said, directing his words to Nix.

Nix opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he noticed another person carried into the carriage Clephas was using. The person was wrapped like a pile of clothes. But nothing ever escaped the sharp blue eyes of Nix, and he saw it was a person.

Nix turned his gaze back to Clephas. "If I sense that you left the palace because you betrayed the princess, I will come for you," his deep voice delivered a stern warning to Clephas.

Clephas smiled, happy that the princess had someone reliable like Nix. He bowed deeply before getting into the local carriage.

Kitanna walked through the garden; she couldn’t bear to see Clephas leave. If she had stayed there any longer, she was going to ask him to stay, and that would have been selfish.

As she walked further into the palace, she heard someone sobbing inside one of the storage rooms.

Kitanna slowly opened the door, and the maid who was crying quickly jumped up.

"Princess Kitanna," Bareea bowed deeply, using the back of her palm to clean her face.

Kitanna furrowed her brows, wondering why the maid was crying. She couldn’t help but wonder if Clephas had anything to do with it, and a thought even crossed her mind about Clephas having a secret lover.

Kitanna couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Clephas having a secret lover. This action startled Bareea, making her wonder if she was in trouble.

"What happened? Why are you crying?" Kitanna asked, curious about what could cause the maid such distress.

"Nothing that should bother you, My princess" Bareea said in a low voice.

"I did not know I have a minister who oversees things that should bother me or not. Speak lady, it’s not everyday I offer such listening services. I, myself, I’m feeling down maybe your story will help me feel better " Kitanna grinned.

Bareea seemed hesitant to share her troubles, but the princess insisted.

"Go on, talk," Kitanna encouraged.

"I- I feel dirty. I feel worst than human." Bareea finally confessed with fresh tears flowing freely from her eyes.

"And why is that?" Kitanna asked, interested in what the maid was about to say.

"I have been bedded by men I do not even remember, men that have done atrocious things. And none of them wants to keep me as even their concubine." The maid replied with a sad smile.

Kitanna moved to sit on one of the piled sacks of grain. She twitched her lips.

"What is your anger then?. The men were not good in bed? They are evil? Or they refused to keep you as a concubine" the princess asked causally, looking at the maid.

Bareea sighed, "I don’t even know. I just feel so bad."

"Were you forced to sleep with these men?" Kitanna asked, because she was sure no maid was subjected to spending nights with the officials. It was abolished years ago, except maids who decided to do it because of their own personal reasons.

The princess received a negative shake of head from the maid.

"Then why did you do it? I don’t need to hear your reason, but we all make mistakes. Life happens but what gives us an edge over life is to know when we want it all to stop." Kitanna said looking at Bareea.

"When to stop, is your atonement. Say goodbye to such lifestyle that makes you cry alone in a store. You can live better from now on, decide what you actually want" the princess advised.

"Do you think I can be forgiven? Do you think any man will want keep me as their woman after hearing my story?" Bareea asked sitting up.

"Ask people you have offended for forgiveness. There is a man matured enough out there that will always accept you. For you to know what you did wrong and cry about it means you are a good person."

Bareea smiled brightly when she heard the princess call her a good person. And at the mention of the matured person, she blushed deeply.

Bareea decided to leave her old life behind. She couldn’t believe that the man she had spent the night with was same man who attempted to kill the princess.

"I am sorry, Princess Kitanna, the man who attempted to assassinate you, I have bedded him before," Bareea confessed.

The princess didn’t mind and simply responded, "That’s no problem. I mean sleeping with Man-uel is enough punishment, I think. Now, let go and forgive yourself."

Bareea smiled dryly, " I did it because of the man I had feelings for, " the maid confessed.

"I see, a man you love. Is this man also here in the palace? Go ahead and confess your feelings instead of going through others. People never do anything for free. The only free cheese is in the mouse trap" Kitanna said, she stood up and straightened her crumpled gown.

"I tried confess my feelings by giving him my body but he refused me. Maybe I’m not pretty enough " Bareea sighed.

Kitanna who was ready to leave the the store room turned to look at the maid.

"I think you have a lot to work on. Why do you think throwing body on a man is an avenue for getting his feelings. My listening service ends here. Take care of yourself..." Kitanna tilted her head.

"Bareea " Bareea said her name to the princess.

"Take care of yourself Bareea. See you around but not in the store crying." Kitanna turned and exited the room.

Bareea smiled when the princess left. She was happy to have someone finally listen to her. She should have told the princess that the man who held her heart was her personal guard.

Bareea blushed, maybe she will tell the princess the next time, and receive help from the her. She nodded her head and walked out of the store room feeling lighter and more hopeful.

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