by Leslie North
“Deny what? That I have been spending time with a maid? Yes, I have,” he said matter-of-factly.
“A maid, my King! Why would you have to lower yourself like that? A maid!”
“Lower myself? Do not look down upon people, Amira, I will not stand for it.” The King did not appreciate the queen talking about Zara that way.
“No, my King this cannot continue. It was bad enough you had to get a concubine. Do not tell me you want another. I will not allow it. It will not happen,” the queen was huffing in anger. The King looked down at her.
“Know your place, woman,” the King said in warning as he turned to walk away. Pausing, he looked at her, “You will stay away from her at all costs,” he ordered. The queen's jaw dropped open. Was he really ordering her to stay away from a lowly maid? This was ridiculous, absolutely and completely. She stormed out of his quarters and headed to the laundry. She had to see Zara for herself.
The laundry maids were surprised to see the queen walk into the laundry. They quickly bowed their heads to her as her maid asked where Zara was. Rachael went outside to warn her. She told her that the queen was there looking for her. “Run!” Rachael warned.
“Why would I run?” Zara asked.
“Well, because it's the queen. She is much scarier than Tiana and she does not look happy.” Rachael had a very bad feeling about the whole thing. Zara decided to see the queen and get it over and done with. If she did not speak with her now, she was going to have to speak with her another time.
Zara bowed her head to the queen as she walked in. The queen walked over to her. She was much taller than she was. She looked down at the little girl who was not even worth a second look. It did not make sense to her why the King would spend so much time with her. She was not his type. The queen slapped Zara across the face. The maids gasped. “Filthy slattern. You dare to be in his Majesty's company?” the queen demanded. Zara was looking at the ground holding her cheek.
“Your highness, I have only been around the King when he summoned me,” Zara defended herself.
“Summoned you? You think the King actually wants you? You're not good enough for him.” The queen slapped her again. “He is the King and you're only a maid. Leave now and never return to this palace. If I ever see you again, I will kill you with my bare hands,” the queen warned. Zara bowed her head and left the laundry. The queen had humiliated her in front of everyone. She was worse than Tiana.
Zara rushed out of the palace. She was happy to leave, as she had enough of the malicious gossip and the behaviour of the queen and Lady Tiana. She couldn’t imagine what they would think if they found out what really happened the night the King collapsed. She swallowed hard when she realised that she was not going to see the King again. She had not realised that she had grown so attached to him. She was surprised at how much fun he was to be around. It was so easy to forget everything that was going on when she was with him. While she was realistic in that she knew she never really had a chance with him, but for a short time, she was the fairy tale princess. She fought back tears as she walked out of the palace and headed home.
That night, Tiana found out about the King riding with Zara and that the queen had fired her. As Miriam relayed the events, she could not help but laugh. She was happy that it was the queen who got rid of her. That way, the King will be angry with Amira and not her.
“But why was the King riding with her?” Tiana speculated. She was not his type. She was exactly the opposite of her and the queen.
“I fail to understand it also, my lady,” Miriam replied.
“He refused to ride with me last week.” Tiana felt a little jealous and annoyed. The King had been spending less and less time with her. He refused to take her riding because he was busy but he found time to take this maid; Zara.
“Do not take it personally.”
“How could I not? He took her and refused me. And we still don’t know what happened that night. Everyone has been quiet about it, but yet SHE was there.”
Miriam could not answer her. There was nothing that she could say that was going to make her feel better because they were thinking the same thing. Why did the King refuse Tiana but then take Zara? It's one thing if it was the queen but he took a maid. Clearly, there was more going on.
Oo00oO
The King was sitting in his office when Alma walked in. He had sent her to summon Zara, as he wanted to have lunch with her and show her the painting. Alma returned to his office by herself. The King raised an eyebrow. “Why are you back alone?” he asked her. Alma shifted uncomfortably.
“Zara is not at the laundry,” Alma said.
“She is not working today?”
“No...” Alma's voice drifted off.
“What aren't you telling me?” the King leaned forward.
“The queen got to her yesterday and fired her.”
“She what!” the King roared as he stood up from his desk. Alma told the King what she had found out. The maids were talking about last night's events, when the queen visited Zara in the laundry room. It angered the King, for the queen had no right to do that. There was no need to treat Zara that way.
The King wanted to go to the queen's quarters immediately. He had told her to stay away from Zara but she disobeyed him. However, the King cared more about how Zara was feeling. She had been humiliated and mistreated in front of everyone. He sent Alma to find Zara's home address. He returned to his quarters to get ready.
“What took you so long?” the King demanded as soon as Alma walked into his quarters. She narrowed her gaze at him.
“Your Majesty, it has only been half an hour,” she replied.
“Felt longer than that.”
Alma smiled. “Does your Majesty have romantic feelings toward this woman?”
“I have no idea, why do you ask?”
“The impatience, the time you spend with her, you even had a dispute with the queen over her.”
The King grunted. He had no idea how he was feeling and did not know what to say. Alma had been in his service for almost twenty years and often pointed things out to him that he failed to see. She was always his voice of reason. No matter how hard he tried to ignore her, she would not allow him. Alma handed him the address as the King headed toward the door.
“Do you not need me to come with you?” Alma called out after him.
“No!” he replied as he left his quarters.
He gave the address to the driver as he climbed in the car. They arrived at Zara's house less than an hour later, but it felt longer than that. He got out of the car as soon as they parked as he was very anxious to see her.
Looking around her street, it was clear that Zara didn’t have money. The houses were very small and many looked like they’d been patched and repaired with whatever was available. One house appeared to have part of the roof made from a large metal sign. As he walked toward Zara’s door, he noticed that despite its shabbiness, the outside of Zara’s house was neat and tidy. Fledgling flowers bordered the walkway as small buds stretched in the warm sun. He couldn’t help but smile at their attempts to make something beautiful out of what they had. The King stood at the door and took a deep breath before he knocked. A small girl with curly hair opened the door. He knew straight away that it was Ruby, Zara’s sister. Before the King could even open his mouth, her eyes flew open and she screamed loudly.
Chapter 11
Zara was in the kitchen with Rachael when they heard Ruby screaming. They looked at each other and ran to her. “Oh, my gosh,” Ruby cried out.
“Ruby, what's wrong?” Zara called as she ran toward her little sister. Zara grabbed her sister from the door. Rachael pulled the door open. Both of them dropped their jaws when they saw why Ruby was screaming. The King was standing in the doorway.
“The King is here, at our house!” Ruby shouted with joy.
“Your Majesty?” Zara questioned. She stared at him wide-eyed. She blinked a couple times to make sure she was not dreaming.
“
May I come in?” the King asked. He was starting to feel awkward with the three of them staring at him.
“Yes, please come in,” Ruby said and pulled his hand. Zara shut the door after him. Ruby offered to get him a drink. The King held Zara by her shoulders and searched her eyes.
“Are you alright?” the King asked her. He looked worried.
“I am fine, what's going on?” Zara was confused. “What brings you by?”
“I heard what happened with the queen.”
“Oh that.” The King stroked her face. Rachael's mouth was open the entire time. She had never been this close to the King. Now, here he was touching her friend's face in her house. “I'm fine.” Zara added. The King pulled her into a tight embrace. Ruby gasped when she walked in. Rachael walked over to her and they left the room to give them some privacy, but couldn’t resist listening from the kitchen.
“I am so sorry.”
“It's not your fault.”
“But it is my fault; I brought you into all of this.”
Zara shook her head. It was not his fault. She allowed herself to be in this situation. She was just as responsible as he was. She rubbed his chest as if it was something she always did. He kissed her on the forehead. He pulled her closer and kissed her. She kissed him back. It was so natural. It was as if they always kissed. Rachael and Ruby watched from the kitchen. They had their hands on their mouths as they giggled silently.
The King and Zara sat down on the sofa. Ruby walked in with the drink and a big smile on her face. She gave the King the drink. He smiled and thanked her. She sat opposite him smiling. Rachael sat down next to Ruby. They both stared at the King smiling.
“Please stop,” Zara said to them.
“Stop what?” Ruby asked.
“With the goofy smiles, you're creepy.”
The King laughed. “It's okay, I can't help it if I'm good to look at,” he joked. Zara narrowed her gaze at him. He was being conceited again.
“Yes, you are,” Rachael said with a smile.
As they sat there, Ruby and Rachael rapidly fired questions at the King asking everything they could possibly think of. Zara had her face in her palms most of the time as she groaned with each new series of questions. She never questioned the King this much when she was with him. But he did not seem to mind as he answered each question, sometimes taking a moment to ponder his response. Most people were so formal around him, their childlike curiosity was new to him and he was enjoying speaking with the two of them. They were having so much fun that no one noticed Zara leave for the kitchen to cook dinner.
Almost an hour later, she reappeared in the living room. She told her sister to go set the table. “Your Majesty, come eat with us,” Zara said to him.
“I should probably be going; I’ve taken up too much of your time already.”
Giving him a cheeky grin, Zara couldn’t resist saying, “It wasn’t a request,” as she went to help her mother to the dining room. He flashed a big smile. This time the shoe was on the other foot. It was not him asking her to dine with him.
Her mother stared at the King as he came in. What could the King of Basrat be possibly doing in her living room? The King greeted her politely. She turned to look at her daughter in confusion; Zara told her that she would explain later. They all sat at the dinner table and began to eat. The mother was analysing the King.
“What are you to my daughter?” she asked him. Zara closed her eyes. Her family would not cease to embarrass her.
“I am whatever she wants me to be,” the King replied. He was not sure what she was to him much less what he wanted from her. All he knew is that he enjoyed her company much more than he had anticipated. She was sweet and funny. She was not materialistic; she was different from Tiana and Amira. She was a breath of fresh air, she was peaceful.
“Let us speak of something else,” Zara said.
“Aww, she turned red,” Ruby pointed out. Rachael and Ruby laughed at her.
“It's not funny.”
“My daughter is special, your Highness,” her mother said as she looked at Zara. “Both my girls are special, but Zara…she is important. Look after my girl, she always looks after others. She deserves someone to look after her for a change,” Zara's mother said.
“Yes, ma'am,” the King replied. He was a bit puzzled at her mother’s comment, but at Zara’s shrug, he let it go.
After dinner, Zara walked the King to the door and thanked him for coming to check on her. She did not deserve that at all. The King had come all this way to see her. “Why wouldn't I check on you?” the King asked. For him, it was exactly what he needed to do. He wished that he had come to her house sooner.
“Coming to see me will cause problems with Lady Tiana and the queen,” Zara said.
“Tiana?”
Zara realised that the King did not know about her little run-in with her. “I, erm, spoke to her a few days ago,” she said. “Nothing to worry about.”
“What do you mean nothing to worry about?”
“She did not say much, do not worry about it. Look at it from their point of view, they're not wrong. I am at fault here.”
The King sighed. She was so different. Tiana and Amira never admitted fault. They always blamed others. When the King first met Tiana, she was too eager to be the King's mistress. She never once considered the queen. Zara considered both of them and never over reached herself. The King kissed her on the forehead.
“You're beautiful inside and out,” he said. “Goodnight, I will see you soon.”
“Bye,” Zara's insides were all knotted up as she felt butterflies inside of her. She smiled and shut the door. She had not been expecting him, but she was glad that he had come to see her.
Oo00oO
The King summoned Tiana and Amira for breakfast the next morning, which surprised both of them. The King had made it clear that he did not want to be with the two of them at the same time. As they arrived, he was already at the table and gestured for them to sit down.
“Your Majesty-” Tiana tried to speak but the King raised his hand to stop her. He did not want any small talk.
They all ate silently. Amira and Tiana knew that the King had something on his mind. He was like that; he was not as hot tempered as his brother was, he took his time to speak. Toward the end of breakfast, he finally spoke.
“So the two of you know about Zara,” the King said calmly. As soon as he returned to the palace from Zara's house, Alma teased him for sneaking in late. The King ignored her comments and asked her to find out what happened between Zara and Tiana. “I do not appreciate the both of you laying your hands on her,” the King added.
“You defend her?” the queen snapped at him. Tiana's jaw hung open. She did not know that the King had been that invested in her.
“Don't you dare speak to me like that. I warned you to stay away from her and you did not listen,” the King roared. Tiana's eyes flew open. He rarely lost his temper.
“I beseech you, let her be. She is a maid.”
“No, I beseech you to obey me. Otherwise you will feel my wrath.” The King stood up and left his quarters for his office. Amira and Tiana stayed at the table. Tiana was more shocked than the queen was. She was speechless. She stood up and left the room in confusion.
Chapter 12
It had been several days since the King warned Tiana and Amira to leave Zara alone. They did not expect him to react that way as he rarely lost his temper. Since that breakfast, both women kept their distance from the King, although Amira did send a maid to check if Zara had been given her job back but she had not. The queen felt that she had gotten rid of her.
As James walked into the King’s office, he had a grim look on his face. “You don’t look like you have good news,” the King stated.
Scratching his head, “Well, I have bad news and interesting news,” James said, as he looked at his old friend.
“Let’s start with the interesting news.”
“Well, I am still waiting on final confi
rmation, but I’m close to completing that background check on Zara.”
“And? Why are you delaying this?”
“I think that she might be a princess.”
“What?”
“Did Zara ever tell you where she was from originally?” At the King’s look, James continued. “It took some doing, but I was able to piece together that Zara and her family are originally from el-Quaseem. I don’t know if you recall, but there was a coup there about a dozen years ago and the King was brutally murdered by members of his security. The queen and his daughter, his only child, disappeared and were never heard from again. The country never recovered and was eventually absorbed by their neighbours to the east.”