Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 60: A Lesson in Kindness

Chapter 60: A Lesson in Kindness

Daphne began to laugh, but it was nothing like the warm tinkling laughter that everyone was used to. Instead, it bordered on hysterical, with her nearly wheezing breathlessly. It was as though she was possessed. Daphne would take one look at Atticus and then break down into deranged laughter once more whenever it seemed as though she was about to calm down.

The hairs at the back of Atticus’s neck stood up.

"Your Highness. My apologies that your loyal knight managed to catch me before I fell on the floor. Once again, you have missed the chance to get rid of me," Daphne said, wiping a tear that formed from the corner of her eye.

This man had the nerve to break her heart and now accuse her of infidelity? The audacity of this man was absurd. Daphne could only laugh, because the alternative was to scream and tear her ― or his ― hair out.

"I know you probably cannot wait for me to perish, but please restrain yourself. I’m sure you’ll achieve your goal soon." Daphne continued with a high-pitched giggle that caused everyone to flinch. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

What had caused such a big change in her attitude towards Atticus? Sirona knew Atticus must have made her angry, but she expected a cold shoulder, not this manic polite vitriol spewed in Atticus’s direction.

Meanwhile Jonah just looked shell-shocked.

"Your Highness! How can you say that about Atticus?" Jonah asked, baffled. "He was very worried about you!"

Daphne snorted and gave Atticus a demeaning look as though he was no better than a stain of mud on her shoes.

"Oh look, your best friend is defending your actions, yet you had the nerve to accuse him of infidelity. Truly, to be your friend is almost as great a blessing as being your wife, oh wait, I mean, being your prisoner. Because for someone like you, there’s no difference."

"You―" Atticus was fit to explode, but Daphne didn’t care. She simply turned to Jonah and Sirona and continued.

"Don’t look so shocked. It’s not like you didn’t know what your beloved liege said to me."

She only got confused looks in response. Daphne let out a laugh of disbelief and shook her head.

"Your Highness, you didn’t tell them? Why? Are you ashamed?" She taunted.

A muscle twitched in Atticus’s jaw, but the words remain stuck in his throat. Daphne continued her tirade.

"Don’t be, Your Highness. It’s beneath a ruler to go back on their words. As you said, I’m just your prisoner, your little toy to play and discard when you’re bored. I’m not your guest, and certainly not your lover. If a discarded toy gets picked up by someone else, who are you to throw a tantrum?"

Daphne finished, glaring venomously into Atticus’s eyes.

"I’m your king!"

"Did you forget that you kidnapped me, Your Highness? I’m not from Vramid. You’re not my king, merely my jailer. Jonah, let’s go," Daphne said, turning around with her nose in the air.

Jonah’s eyes widened and his pupils darted anxiously between Atticus and Daphne, trying to decide on his next move. If he helped Daphne, Atticus would be angry. But Daphne was injured. Surely Atticus wouldn’t let her go off alone.

Just as he was about to take a step towards Daphne, Atticus spoke.

"Jonah! Don’t forget yourself." He seethed. How dare Jonah pick Daphne over him!

"Then I’ll walk on my own," Daphne said simply as if she already expected this course of events. She hadn’t truly expected Jonah to defy Atticus, even if he agreed to help her.

"If you’re lucky, I’ll fall down the stairs and break my neck, freeing myself from this farce of a marriage. Have a good day, Your Highness. One of us should since you most certainly ruined mine."

Jonah and Sirona flinched again. Daphne was hiding wickedly sharp claws under her gentle demeanor, and they drew blood with every swipe.

"Your Highness, you need rest. Please, come with me," Sirona said, going towards Daphne. "You shouldn’t be walking around like that with your injuries."

"I shouldn’t be a lot of things," Daphne retorted. "Especially here, as compared to a different kingdom belonging to my betrothed, who will at least treat me as an equal, if not his lover. So if you’ll excuse me."

Without another word, Daphne turned on her heels and left, lifting her skirts as she breezed through the halls. Her clothing had been thin and bare, since they were no more than a nightgown. Yet, even in the tremendous cold, she showed not a single sign of discomfort. It was almost as though the rage that boiled through her veins was enough to warm her up.

As soon as Daphne’s figure was gone, both Jonah and Sirona whipped their heads in Atticus’s direction. While Jonah looked downright depressed, Sirona’s face had turned scarlet from anger.

"What did you do?!" She all but screeched at him, tightly gripping onto the collars of his shirt.

Atticus roughly shook her hands off, refusing to look at them both in the eyes.

"I’ve never seen her so upset," Jonah added worriedly, glancing in the direction of Daphne’s retreating back.

"Nothing," Atticus said through gritted teeth.

"This again?" Sirona huffed, shaking her head in disapproval. "Did you forget everything I’ve told you? Grovel if you must. Grovel! Do you not know the meaning of the word? Has your vocabulary gone down into the flames of hell along with your rationality?"

"Maybe it’s something he didn’t do?" Jonah supplied.

Sirona scoffed. "He definitely said something that he shouldn’t have. Out with it. You obviously look miserable with things like this between you two. We can’t help you if you keep it shut behind those lips of yours when it could be used to do better things, like lip-lock with your wife."

"It’s just..."

All of a sudden, just like that, a dignified ruler of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world had turned into a stuttering, fumbling mess. He hated to admit it but...

"You’re right," he said to Sirona. "I said something I shouldn’t have and," he turned to Jonah, "I didn’t do anything to try and save it. I only made it worse."

"Acceptance is the first step in curing your emotional constipation," Sirona prompted. "Keep going."

Atticus then recounted everything that had transpired between them back in her quarters. Their conversation, the way it went haywire, as well as how the topic of a certain lord was the reason why the two had fallen out.

"I feel like you’ve exaggerated some things," Jonah uttered his observation, rubbing his chin. "Are you sure the facts aren’t twisted? Her Highness would never fall for Lord Attonson. She hated his guts when she thought that he had accidentally poisoned you."

Atticus winced. That event was another point in time that had helped this flame burn. "She has something for him. Why else would she be so worried for a random man?"

"Because she is kind, Atticus," Sirona answered.

Atticus’s expression darkened. "There’s no place for kindness in this world. The sooner she learns that, the safer she’ll be."

"Yes, but you cannot change who she is." Sirona sighed. "Just like how your past has shaped you into the king you are now, Queen Daphne was once a princess of Reaweth, someone that had to always play the role of a good daughter in order to get the attention of her family. If she was cold and ruthless as you are, she would never achieve that."

"And that’s the best example," Atticus retorted. "Her family has done nothing since she disappeared. They can’t be arsed to care, no matter how ’good’ and ’kind’ she had been to them."

"Kindness would not always reap rewards," Sirona reminded, "but karma will always know where to find those who have done evil. Maybe instead of reprimanding her for her desire to help others, you could play the role of a good husband and take care of her from the shadows so that she is free to do what she wishes without the risk of ever getting hurt."

Atticus fell silent in consideration.

"Instead, you went on to imply she was having an affair after you spat in the face of her kindness. No wonder she was hopping mad. If I married someone that accused me like this after saying he didn’t love me... " Sirona’s face darkened.

Jonah snorted. "You’ll be a newly made widow the very next morning. Atticus, aren’t you glad Daphne is a kind soul that doesn’t resort to murder?"

Atticus could only nod numbly in reply.

"I’ll go and check up on her now," Jonah said, giving Atticus a careful look. "Are you going to throw me into the dungeons with Attonson if I spend time with her?"

Atticus flushed in embarrassment. He had calmed down enough to realize that he behaved appallingly, both to his wife and his oldest friend. "...No."

Sirona sidled in close to Atticus, nearly sniggering as she whispered to him, "Maybe you should start small. First quell the fire of your best friend before attempting to engage with the flames of the fire-breathing dragon you have as a wife, aye?"

"Oh, piss off!"

Atticus could only roll his eyes, watching silently as Jonah stopped off into the dark, following after the same path Daphne had just taken, while Sirona practically cackled right by his side.

***

"Your Majesty! Where have you been?" Maisie exclaimed, almost near tears as she finally caught sight of her princess.

She had heard that the king was with her when she woke up, but then the princess was gone. Maisie went to Daphne’s room, waiting for the princess to arrive, but she never did. Since then, she had worn down the floors of the palace, scuttling everywhere in search of her.

"I thought we lost you again..."

"Maisie, just the woman I want to see," Daphne murmured, looking up. "Can you help me get a lot of bandages?"