Chapter 8
The kitten stayed in Alaric’s chambers. The steward brought reports it thrived, playing with silver bells and velvet mice.
I visited it secretly and saw that it was true.
I decided to give up trying to take it back.
After all, if I died, where would it go?
Come spring, the lords clamored for a queen…
Vivienne was determined to take the title.
Before it came true, she came to gloat.
“All those years as mistress, never wife. How it must sting! But Alaric promised you may serve at our wedding night-”
I was too tired to argue with her.
For some time, I had been suffering from recurring fevers, leaving me weak and exhausted.
Alaric visited me twice, but each time I was asleep.
He must have noticed something was wrong
The royal physician said it was due to stress, so in an act of mercy, Alaric allowed the kitten to be brought to me.
When the kitten arrived, I felt alive again, full of energy.
Ifed it, scratched its ears, and we napped together.
It snuggled in my arms, and for that moment, I felt complete.
The kitten clung to me, not wanting to leave.
I held onto it tightly and even bit Alaric’s arm when he tried to take it away.
He cursed me, “You little rogue.
And stormed off, leaving the kitten with me.
Vivienne found out and was furious with Alaric.
For the first time, he punished her.
Perhaps even the most cherished of women would grow tiresome with time.
Then one morning, Elara woke me with the news.
“Your Majesty, there’s fantastic news! Vivienne’s father has been arrested–charged with embezzling funds and kidnapping young women! He’s in prison now. She’ll never become the queen.
I sleepily muttered, “Who arrested him?”
“Who else? Of course, it was the one who loves you most and is the most loyal to the crown–your father!”
A small smile curled–on my lips, as I pulled the blanket around me.
In my childhood, my father always said that no matter how far someone was, If they wronged me, he would get revenge.
If it weren’t for Alaric being the king, I’m sure my father would have already taken care of him himself.
And if not for his royal status, I might have done it myself.
Ah.
Chapter 8
Today, I felt unusually lighthearted. I sipped from my bowl of goat’s milk.
Suddenly, a terrible cry echoed from the courtyard.
It sounded like a cat?
Elara rushed outside, and when I followed, she shielded my eyes, her face pale.
“Your Majesty… don’t look.”
But it was too late.
Isaw it
my kitten
It crawled toward me, dragging its broken hind leg, but it couldn’t move further.
It collapsed, spasming, foam bubbling from its mouth
Within moments, it lay still, lifeless
I held it close, gently shaking it, but it didn’t respond.
I hadn’t even named it, afraid to get too attached.
But now, I realized I couldn’t let go.
I looked down at it, its little body as cold as ice.
Why didn’t you listen? Why didn’t you stay with me?
My tears burned as they fell, mingling with my pain.
Vivienne. It was her.
It had to be.
She would die for this.
I grabbed the horsewhip and rushed to Vivienne’s quarters, hearing her laughter from far away.
“What’s the big deal with my father being caught? He took a little more money, added a couple of concubines what man hasn’t? That old fool is just trying to get back at me? Well, I won’t let his daughter be happy. I kill her cat today, and will kill her maid tomorrow. She won’t keep anything she cherishes.”
Vivienne seemed to have lost her mind.
And why not? What was once within her grasp had vanished like morning mist her, I, too, had nearly shattered.
a dream dissolving at dawn. When I first laid eyes on
But her madness was hers alone. It didn’t change the fact that I was going to beat her to death.
I don’t know where the strength came from, but I swung the riding crop again and again, each lash biting into her flesh. All I could see was my kitten’s mangled hind legs–sol aimed for Vivienne’s, striking with every ounce of fury I had.
Years of swallowed rage erupted in that moment, violent and unstoppable.The whip fell again and again until Vivienne’s once–perfect skin was a ruin of crimson streaks, her cries fading to whimpers
“Enough!”
Alaric ripped the lash from my hands–only then did I notice I’d torn through his royal surcoat, leaving two ragged gashes in the embroidered lions.
“Have you
lost your mind? Over a damned animal? Would you kill her for this?”
“YES!” My scream tore through the hall like shattered glass. “It’s all her fault! And yours! You broke me
MoboReele–Shant
I pressed a hand to my stinging lips. “That kitten wasn’t the beast here. You are. Both of you!”
Alaric’s face drained of color when he saw the blood.
“Sera,” his voice cracked like thin ice, “what’s-”
I looked down.
Scarlet stained the front of my gown in grotesque blossoms, dripping onto the flagstones. I clamped a hand over my mouth, but the coppery warmth seeped through my fingers…
No.
I won’t be pitied. Not by him. Never by him.
I turned to flee–only to crumple when my legs betrayed me. The cold stone rushed up to meet me.
And then came the pain.
A tidal wave of it, crushing my ribs, drowning my vision.
Father… Brother…
Through the red haze, I thought I heard Alaric shout for physicians. But all I could whisper was:
“It hurts…”
