Kitanna
Chapter 80: THE KING’S MISTRESS

Chapter 80: THE KING’S MISTRESS

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: NO LONGER ~ NCT 127]

As the carriage left the palace, Almaria walked inside. She noticed Deonisia was watching them through the window.

Lady Deonisia turned her face away from the window when she saw Almaria coming towards her.

"You shouldn’t have let her go; I have a bad feeling about this," Deonisia knew what Kitanna was capable of, despite not being around in the palace for a long time. But the young girl posed a threat with just her words, which was always against Almaria.

"Don’t worry, I have someone watching them," Almaria announced to her cousin sister; she wasn’t so dumb as to let Kitanna leave the palace without putting a spy among them.

"You better know what you’re doing; if she attempted to get back her memory, that will only be because she’s suspecting something. Let’s just hope that she’s really dying because if she left the palace to restrategize, stopping her will be foolish," Deonisia said matter-of-factly. She has never trusted the words that left Kitanna’s lips. And watching her through the window, she tried to see if the girl was really acting, but that personal guard of hers kept blocking Kitanna with his body.

"Don’t worry, even if she remembers, I’m not sure there’s too much she can do. Her father is no more, Khelan and I have all the seals. The royal guards and ministers are all answerable to us. Kitanna will only be playing a losing game," Almaria spoke with all sureness. And to add to everything, nobody was going to allow a young unmarried princess who knows nothing about the throne to rule, especially when she used to be an assassin. The odds were all against Kitanna. Almaria grinned at the thought of it.

Deonisia nodded; it was true that they had the upper hand in everything, especially with Khelan expecting an heir. But one tiny stone can bring down a whole mountain. And Deonisia didn’t want to risk the chance of being brought down after her years of struggle to get to where they were now. Her eyes hardened at the thought of it; she wasn’t going to let a little girl who was still wet behind her ears bring them down.

[...Few days later...]

Bareea, who was now moved to the Queen’s chamber, was in charge of everything Larel used to be in charge of, even the palace servants. Her baby was growing healthily in her stomach, and she glowed like every pregnant woman would.

"Have you heard?" Gurit, the maid who was among the witnesses, said to her fellow maids as they washed close to the riverbank.

"Gurit, it’s always a wonder how you get the little information that flies around in the palace," another maid said as she hit the clothes with her washing stick.

Gurit let out a knowing laugh. Now that Axilla was absent, she was the one in charge of serving the women in the palace directly, so it’s obvious all the news would reach her first.

"Well, I saw Queen Larel last night; she came to the kitchen to have the leftovers," Gurit relayed her little gossip.

Other maids gasped at this; ever since the mistress was given higher power than the queen, she now lived most of her days inside her room without associating herself with the palace affairs.

"I knew Bareea had it in her! She not only went to bed with a married man, but she also pushed the wife away from her right. Women like that are mere foxes waiting to show their tails," another maid chipped in.

Misam, who was also washing with them, hit her stick harshly on the clothes, causing water to splash on the maids. They all gasped at this and turned furiously to attack whoever it was who did it.

"Lady Bareea is no longer a maid; know how to address her with respect, and you should watch your tongue if you don’t want to lose it," Misam warned them sternly.

The maids, together with Gurit, snickered at this, but they didn’t respond. As they finished their washing and made their way back to the main palace, they saw Bareea, who was now standing at the palace entrance with her hands resting on her waist.

The maids bowed as soon as they saw her, even the ones who had gossiped about her earlier at the riverbank.

"I’m surprised to see you all bow in respect after the gossips I have heard you speak with my name. Why will you bow to a woman who has soiled her body with so many men but now lives as the king’s first concubine?" Bareea spoke with so much authority, her eyes looking at each of the maids.

"From whom did you hear those atrocious words! We will never say such ill words about you, your highness. We all love you," Gurit, who was the gossip leader, defended.

Misam turned to look at the maid with both shock and disbelief written on her face; then she smiled and shook her head slightly.

"For sitting around and talking ill about the king’s concubine and the royal seed, I will see to it that you all are punished severely, starting by cutting down the meals you eat. Because I see that is the food we offer to you maids out of the kindness of the royal family that gives you energy to sprout rubbish." With this, Bareea turned and left the maids.

The maids grunted softly; their meals were barely enough, cutting it down only meant suffering. They didn’t stand around to talk again, and they left the place to assume their duty posts.

Misam, who was standing among the crowd, watched as Bareea entered the palace; she let out a subtle scoff before walking out of the place.

Bareea moved with her maids and guards who were behind her. She knew very well that she was hated among the maids because everyone felt that she was the reason the queen was now forgotten. But she didn’t let that deter her; she wasn’t going to let her old life define her. Bareea was determined to fight for her child; in the jungle, the weakest ones only get swallowed.

Deep in her thoughts, Bareea saw Larel walking towards her. The queen was now looking frail; if not looked at closely, she appeared to be an ordinary person with the absence of her jewelries and makeup. Even her dress was an ordinary one.

Larel saw the new mistress; she continued to go her way. Even when she passed, she noticed that the maids did not bow to greet her, and she was not bothered by this, not until someone spoke.

"I think it’s high time you end the pitiful act; you’re making me appear as a bad person," Bareea, who now stopped in her steps, turned and said to Larel.

Larel turned to face the young girl; her eyes trailed from her belly up to her ambitious face. "Is it me or your guilt that disturbs you? I’m sure I have done no wrong," Larel responded with a small smile.

Bareea sneered, she rubbed her stomach when she noticed the queen’s eyes were on it. "Larel—" this had the servants raise their faces, but they bowed immediately.

Larel was taken aback when her name was called, but she was already used to it, so she continued to smile.

"Are you surprised? I am not obliged to add any formalities to your name; we are women who now share the same husband," Bareea proclaimed.

"I agree with you; now can I be on my way?" Larel asked, turning her back to leave when Bareea said again.

"Larel, no matter what you do, my child will be the first child of Khelan and the one in line to the throne. So the earlier you get on my good side, the better for you," Bareea said with contempt. She hated the fact that the queen still had this condescending look every time she met her.

Larel nodded her head without turning back. "There’s no competition. It’s all yours, It’s all yours, except you’re implying that I should now bow to you," With this, she walked away from the place.

Leaving behind an angry and fuming mistress, Bareea stomped out of the passage, with the servants rushing behind her.