Chapter 23: Are You Jealous?
Freya looked back and right as she hid in a far corner. After what seemed like torture ended up running from Matilda's shackles.
She tried to convince Matilda that she didn't want to be a knight, but the latter was adamant to change her decision.
Why people didn't understand her? She wanted nothing but to escape from the palace. She didn't want to be bound to anyone. That would make it hard for her when she would leave.
Freya sighed as the footsteps faded. Stepping closer to the exit and walking toward her quarter. Catching a glimpse of Hank leaning on a tree and looking at the clear sky, she strode to him.
"Can I sit?" she asked, and he nodded, fixing his sitting poster. "I came to talk about our bet," she stated, walking through the green landscape.
Hank's face hardened for a while, and then he snickered. "You're such a heartless woman. How can you bring this topic after the mess you created," he said.
"It's not my fault that you lost," she retorted, sitting closer to Hank. "Now tell me," she ordered.
Hank sighed and said, "I will tell you. The king had sleeping difficulties as far as I know him. Although he was a prince, he suffered a lot."
'What! Is it what he talked about with the physician?' Freya pressed her lips. She knew this fact. 'Can you reveal another secret?' She wanted to ask but declined the thought, as it was rude if he knew she eavesdropped on his conversation. Although it was not deliberate, it seemed wrong.
"Did you know the king from a young age?" she asked, then bit the inside of her mouth. It was a strange thing for a maid to know about her king. 'Why ask such a question?' she reprimanded herself internally. As the king's knight, he was loyal to the king. 'What if he told him about what she said?'
Maybe that suspicious king would forge her words as he pleased, making wrong assumptions about her. Freya Wracked her head to think of an excuse.
"We joined the army at the same period, you can say. I was twelve, and he was fifteen years old—"
"You were so young," Freya exclaimed. Staring at the calm man, she sighed.
"Yes. I grew up in the streets. I didn't know who my parent was. I want to make a living, so volunteering in the military was the only option to have free food and lodging. At that time, the kingdom's army needed recruits. I met the king and Jun in the same camp. He was unapproachable and skilled in swordsmanship. The top of all of us. As we crawled into the ground with the brutal training, he ran as if nothing happened."
Meanwhile, Hank thought of the years that passed like a storm. "I tried hard to follow his steps. As I got closer and the opportunity to surpass him kicked in, he proved me wrong."
Hank's thought drifted back to the past.
The sixteen-year-old Hank trembled, clutching his sword. This was the first time; they sent their battalions to the battlefield. Nervousness and fear struck him back to reality. He bragged and laughed about whipping the enemies with his friend last night. The excitement turned into dread. They were not in the forefront, but the sounds of horses and men travelled to them alongside the scent of blood and the clinking of the swords. The ground quivered beneath them.
"An ambush," one of the knights cried. Horses, like the wind, stormed in their direction.
"Prepare yourself for the fight," Prince Fraser shouted as he took the lead.
With shaking legs, Hank could barely digest the fast incident happening. Knights fought beside him. Bodies fell like a banished tree. The dust spread higher than him. Hank unsheathed his sword and waited. Suddenly a sword made its way to his chest, but he moved a little to the left, blood oozing from his arm. Then another strike aimed at his head. He couldn't avoid it. His legs gave in.
"Why are you standing like that? Do you want to die? Get your ******* self up. We are at the battlefield," Fraser's voice woke him from his chock to discover a man's motionless body lying in front of him.
He watched as the young prince rode his black stallion, his sword and silver armour drenched with crimson blood.
At that moment, he found out that whatever he did. He would never be able to get near the shadow of the prince.
"Hey, you, are you fine?" Freya asked the man who was spacing for more than a while.
"What?" he said. "Did you say something?"
"I saw you deep in your thought. Did something happen?"
He shook his head. "We became friends after he saved my life. After he became the king, I and Jun followed to be his imperial knight."
"Good. The king had you beside him to protect him," Freya murmured.
"He doesn't need us. He was above all, in the military. No one can outperform him."
"Are you jealous?" Freya joked and chuckled. The man pressed his lips together and said nothing.
She got up and excused herself. "Can't you help the king?" he asked. Freya turned around and raised a brow.
"I heard your kingdom is more developed, forming healing derivatives. Can you find — or forget it," he said, turning his head away.
Freya returned to her chamber immersed in thought. "Felma."
Freya's heart trembled, hearing Nara's voice. She froze in her place, not daring to turn around.
"Felma, did you finish the task I told you to do?" Nara said, approaching her. As the head maid in her quarter and the king's spy, she was the last person Freya wished to meet.
Footsteps neared her. She sprinted to her room, ignoring the maid's shouts. As she closed the door behind her, she sighed.
Lying on the bed, she thought about Hnak's request. The Kurba's kingdom was known for its advanced healing treatment because of its fertile lands. Many plants grew in their territory which could never be found in other places.
It was kind for him to think about the king's wellbeing. Maybe if she contacted one of her acquaintances back in the kingdom, they would find a treatment.
But did she want to help the king?
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