by L. S Bethel
“Are you sure?” She nodded. “I want to get out of the room, do something useful.” Kang-Dae watched her carefully gauging her state for himself. She looked capable, but he had a twinge of doubt. He agreed to it anyway, because it was what she wanted. After finishing their meal, Serenity helped him dress, another pleasant surprise. She saw him off, with a warm smile. Kang-Dae left the room praying this wasn't a fluke, but the beginning of what was to be their lives together.
When Min saw the King had emerged from his isolation, he was relieved. He’d been fearful the King would continue to neglect his duties in an effort to please the Queen. Now that it was clear she will be staying he had to determine what the future looked like and for the last couple of weeks, it had not looked good. His King was all out of sorts when it came to her. When he’d heard the King had was taking the Queen on a trip, he knew exactly what he was planning. Min wanted to dissuade him from it, but he knew his King would not receive that well. He touched the scar on his nose. His injuries had healed some but there was still some pain every now and then. The King’s feelings for her overshadowed everything including his senses. It made him fear for the King’s and kingdom’s future.
***
Amoli was helping her friend and fellow servant, Ah-Mei, bring in more silk into the workroom. Since the Queen had been in such a bad state for so long Amoli, had not been able to serve her as much as she used to. She wanted desperately to be around her Queen, but the King had insisted on her leaving them be. She had seen the way Serenity was as they returned from that's night. Her Queen had suffered a great loss. Amoli wanted to help her through it badly, but until the King allowed it, she could do nothing but attend to her other duties. Ah-Mei followed behind Amoli. As they approached the materials rack, she’d had a misstep due to the pile of silk blocking her sight and she fell over. The silk in her hand went flying landing on the still drying fabric hanging to the right. Ah-Mei rushed to remove it before it became stained with the dye, but it was too late. Amoli quickly deposited her materials and went over to her. Ah-Mei looked almost white with fear. “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know. Here give it to me. We may be able to fix it if we wash it in time.”
“Ah-Mei!” the loud and scratchy voice of the workshop’s overseer caused both women to freeze. The older woman stomped over to them. She snatched the cloth from Amoli’s hands and inspected it with a scowl. “Stupid girl! This silk was worth more than you. You are always causing trouble. I should have had you beaten from here long ago.!” Amoli could do nothing but watch helplessly as the woman berated her friend. “You have no purpose here or anywhere. If you want to help your family, you would do more as a corpse than the way you are now.”
Amoli watched as something went out in Ah-Mei’s eyes. They became dull and lifeless. “Madam is right,” she spoke in a calm yet cold tone. “Ah-Mei is unworthy of this life.” The overseer was quiet, probably just as unsettled by her tone and words as Amoli was. Ah-Mei stepped forward and the overseer stepped back. Bewildered by her friend’s behavior she only watched as Ah-Mei made her way to the closest workstation and grabbed one of the knitting needles. Amoli screamed out as Ah-Mei raised her needle high and rushed over, desperate to stop her.
***
“Final count for boots was only 4500. We still need another 1600.” Nasim nodded in agreement.
“The shoemakers fell behind due to a late shipment of supplies. The rest should be coming in by the next week.” Nasim explained.
“That’s good,” Serenity said.
“My Queen, we may need to send more medical supplies to the fort in Hansi.”
“Why, what happened?”
“Their food supply was contaminated. Many men fell ill, several died.
Serenity blinked, not believing she was completely unaware of this. “How did that happen?”
“We are unsure. It is still being investigated but nothing has been found. It is possible that it was just an unfortunate occurrence.”
“Random or not it should not have happened,” declared Serenity could feeling traces of guilt. She should have been on top of this, but she’d been too busy feeling sorry for herself. “From now on everything that goes out needs to be checked before it is shipped.”
“Yes, my Queen.”
“My Queen!” The sudden shout turned both Serenity and Nasim’s attention to the young maid running up to them. Panting and red-faced, she fell to her knees before Serenity. “My Queen, come quickly, it's Amoli!” Fear gripped at her hearing Amoli’s name. She didn’t hesitate to follow the servant. Numerous scenarios went through her mind as Serenity began to fear the worse. ‘Please God, I can’t handle anything else right now.’
The servant took her all the way to the back of the palace where the seamstresses worked. As she entered, she saw a line of female servants standing around whispering and staring at something. As soon as one of the women spotted Serenity, she announced her arrival causing all the women to turn and go to their knees. Ignoring all of them she headed past the crowd and stopped short. Her eyes widened at the scene before her.
Serenity couldn’t comprehend the blood covering her friend at that moment. Frozen in shock she could barely think let alone speak. Amoli was seated by the corpse of a fairly young woman. The large knitting needle sticking out of her neck was making Serenity feel sick. Another woman dressed in grey and yellow signifying her role as an overseer, stood by, looking as shocked as Serenity felt.
“I- I didn’t mean-,” the woman stammered. Serenity snapped out of her daze and carefully made her way over to Amoli, doing her best to avoid the large puddle of blood. She knelt down beside Amoli.
“Amoli,” she called out to her gently. Amoli slowly looked at her, tears staining her cheeks. Amoli's face crumbled and she threw her arms around Serenity. Serenity held her as she wept.
When Kang-Dae arrived he too was stopped by the sight in front of him. When one of the servants reported that Serenity had gone to deal with a matter involving a dead servant he’d rushed over as fast as he could. He’s been fearful it had been Amoli but seeing her safe provided little relief when taking in the body of another young woman. He recognized her as one of the servants who would clean his study regularly. She had always seemed like a sweet girl. Kang-Dae ordered his men to have someone come and remove the body.
Kang-Dae turned his attention to the overseer and demanded an explanation. “I-I, don’t know why she did this. She was a very troubled girl.”
“Liar!” Amoli screamed out wrenching herself from Serenity’s arms. She pushed herself up and pointed her finger in the woman’s face. “You were always so mean to her, calling her names, telling her how useless she was giving her ridiculous tasks and punishing her when she couldn’t fulfill them.” Amoli snatched the woman by the arm and forced her closer to the body. “You told her she was better off dead, now look at her! Look at her!” Serenity quickly pulled Amoli off the woman. She gave Kang-Dae a look. He nodded in understanding. Serenity led the hysterical Amoli away.
Kang-Dae turned his attention to the overseer who dropped to her knees.
“My King, I swear I did no harm to that girl. I may have been too harsh with her a few times, but it never bothered her this badly.”
“Stop talking,” commanded Kang-Dae effectively silencing the ranting woman. “Have her removed from the palace. She’s never to set a foot inside these grounds again,”
“My King, please! I meant her no harm!” She screamed as the guards dragged her away. Looking at the remaining blood on the floor Kang-Dae shook his head sadly.
“Have someone clean up. We’ll close down the workshop for a couple of days off. Tell everyone to go home.” he ordered.
“Yes, my King.”
***
“How is Amoli?” Kang-Dae asked.
“Devastated. I had to have Mehdi give her something to help her sleep. Please tell me that woman is gone.”
“I’ve had her expelled from the grounds.”
; “Good.” When Amoli had calmed a little she told Serenity how the woman berated Ah-Mei regularly. But according to Amoli, she had never let it bother her before. Amoli described the girl as kind and happy most of the time. It was only these past few weeks did her personality begin to change. Amoli said she’d become short-tempered and sad. Amoli lamented the two had argued earlier in the week and they stopped speaking for a few days. The younger girl had apologized saying she hadn’t been feeling well. Since then Amoli had been helping her with her duties.
“I will have her body sent home along with a formal apology. She worked in our home and I failed to have her properly looked after. They should be compensated, though I fear nothing will ever replace what they lost.”
“No, it won’t,” Serenity said solemnly. “but it’s the least we can do.” The sight of that poor girl’s body wouldn’t leave her brain. She was so young but she’d been beaten down so much she didn’t think she could get up again. The feeling was all too familiar to Serenity, just a few days ago she could directly relate to it. The sick soldiers, a suicide, her inability to return home, Serenity didn’t know if she could handle anymore misfortune.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Serenity was helping with the preparations for the Gi family celebration. It was a nightmare and made her want to pull her hair out in frustration. She would much rather be with Amoli. She was still grieving the loss of her friend. Serenity had to force her to take the week off and visit her family for a bit. She missed her, but Serenity knew she needed some time away with those that loved her. She had been a bit envious of her in that regard, but she put that feeling aside and focused on other things, like this already fury inducing event. She would be lying if she said she only agreed to be involved in the first place because she wanted to and not because she had no plans to be here for any of it, thinking she would have been home by now. Jae-Hwa was getting on her last nerve and her father was one demand away from getting from catching a beating. They kept wanting more and more extravagant things that Serenity would not agree to. How those two could ignore the fact that they had been this close to a famine was beyond her.
“I have already told you what we are willing to offer you. If it bothers you so much, we can always cancel the whole thing.” A flash of rage came across Jae-Hwa’s face, but she was quick to cover it with a false smile. Yoon, on the other hand, was turning red.
“How could you even suggest such a thing?” He demanded, outraged, his bushy eyebrows almost meeting.
“Father calm down. I am sure the Queen did not mean to make such an impulsive statement.” Jae-Hwa spoke calmly but she was purposely projecting enough so that those around would be privy to their conversation. Serenity gave her a hard stare.
“I absolutely meant it.”
“My Queen,” she began, her condescending tone coming through. “A house name celebration has been a tradition in our land for years. I know, as a foreigner, there are some things about our ways that are strange to you but there some things the people expect and look forward to.”
‘The audacity of this woman,’ Serenity thought. “Lady Gi,” Serenity addressed her in the same manner Jae-Hwa had. “Our country is being invaded. Every day we come closer and closer to war. I think ensuring the safety and well-being of our people is more important to them than a party.”
“Our people?” Yoon scoffed causing Serenity to cut her eyes at him. Arezoo, Nasreen, and Gyrui, who had been hanging back, all took a step forward, but Serenity stopped them. The man’s hatred of her was nothing new and she refused to waste any of her or anyone else’s time dealing with it.
“The country is about to be at war. I think all our time, energy, and resources, could be used for better things. For tradition’s sake, I am willing to allow this event to go on, but it will be on my terms. If that is an issue, you are more than welcome to pay for everything. I am sure the King would not mind.” Yoon stood with his mouth open like a fish, almost as if he were unable to process what she was telling him. Jae-Hwa’s false smile had dimmed leaving only a blank expression. Though people around them appeared busy it was obvious all of their attention was on the three of them. After several moments of tense silence, the hateful man stormed off with Jae-Hwa following behind him. Arezoo let out a string of insults that made Serenity laugh. “Couldn’t agree more.”
Kyril was suddenly next to her. “My Queen,” he greeted.
“Hi Kyril,” she returned cheerfully.
“Have they put the crown in debt yet?” Serenity laughed.
“Not yet.”
“What are their demands?”
“They wanted some troop to perform, from Ghalia. They wanted to use royal funds to pay to bring them over.” Kyril rolled his eyes.
“I told them they can pay for it themselves if they want it so bad.”
“I am sure they eagerly volunteered,” he said sarcastically.
“Oh of course,” she replied in the same tone. The two laughed.
“There’s a local troop in the city. They’ll come just for two silvers and a good meal. I will reach out to them.”
“You don’t have to,” Serenity told him, not wanting him to inconvenience himself for them. Kyril shrugged it off. “It’ll take some of their ire off you. Besides, they’re not that good, so that should make for an entertaining night.
Serenity let out a gasp of shock before chuckling. “Lord Kyril, when did you get so devious?”
“It is a hidden trait, I assure you.”
“Thank you for helping me with this. I know there are a million more important things you could be doing.”
“My duty is to serve you and my King. As long as I am useful, I will continue to do so.” Serenity appreciated it and him. With half the council still against her, it was nice to have the member Kang-Dae trusted most in her corner.
“Have you had any trouble sending out rations?”
“Not as of yet. So far we have only been able to go to the smaller villages. We don’t have enough men to spare to go into the city. They have to come out to us and a lot of them are unable. I also wanted to send some out to those closer to the blockade. They’re worse off than us, but Kang-Dae thinks it might be too much of a risk.”
“It is a difficult situation. I may be able to help.”
“Really?” she asked hopefully.
“I will speak to Amir, see if we can spare some men between the two of us. We will put it out to the council as well to see if anyone else would like to help.”
“Thank you, Kyril. That would great.”
Later that evening, when she informed Kang-Dae of what had happened between her, Yoon and Jae-Hwa, she had to stop him from going to confront the two right then. She honestly didn't care what the man said or what he thought of her. After what she went through it all seemed laughable now. One party to appease a couple of narcissists was child’s play. Besides, excluding the fact that it was in celebration of people she couldn't stand, it might be a fun evening. She could use a bit of fun.
***
“Kyril is helping her organize this charitable act of hers,” sneered Satori. “She’s been told over and over that it is an unnecessary risk and yet she continues. If it goes wrong, how many men do we lose in the process? Does she not realize we have to prioritize the countries needs for all our survival?”
“What are you expecting from a person like her? An ignorant leader makes ignorant decisions, to the detriment of all,” Yu said. The two sat alone in the council room a game between them. Satori made a move on the board.
“The king seems apprehensive about it at least. Perhaps she doesn’t have him completely under her control.”
“Don’t be too sure. His actions have proven he will go to extremes for her. In any case, we should prepare ourselves if we need to intervene.”
“Scheming again are we?” Both men turned to see Kyril walking up to them. The men shared a look before turning back to him.
“Do you not have somewhere to be? Maybe preparing to s
crub out the queen’s chamber pot, since you’re so willing to be at her service,” mocked Satori turning his attention back to the game.
“Funny that a councilmember, who is sworn to serve, has such a low opinion of it. What exactly was your intention when you took the job?”
Satori fell silent not liking the implication of his statement. He’d become a member to participate in making Xian a prosperous nation, like his father before him. It had been what he’d wanted from day one and he would continue to work for it as long as he served on the council. He may have been a young child during the war in the southern province, but he remembered the toll it had taken on his grandfather and father. It had been a bitter campaign that had ended up taking his grandfather’s life. All because of the whims of an incompetent ruler. When he was working to be a valued member of the court, he'd thought himself blessed to be under such a wise king. His fear of history repeating receded the more time he spent under his leadership. The King’s death had been a devastating blow, but he thought that things would be alright under Kang-Dae. He was his father's son after all, and he would have Satori any other members for guidance. But he was stubborn, unwilling to really listen to what was best for Xian. He had the idealness of his father but lacked the experience. Satori had always tried to take charge in hopes the young prince could learn from him and grow into a strong ruler, but he seemed to fight him at every turn. Now that he had married, he no longer listened to anyone. Satori feared for his country's future with every passing day.
