Chapter 63: Her Majesty Is Missing
Joe stayed awake waiting for the queen to come back, but the sky's darkness was getting lighter as dawn was nearing.
"What should I do?" she whispered. Her voice trembled from anxiousness as the queen was getting longer outside this time. Walking back and forth in her Majesty's room endlessly.
'What if she encountered thieves or had an accident on the road?' Her thoughts swirled imagining bad things.
Joe's heart pounded in her chest. She felt an immense amount of helplessness and weakness. She was a maid and if she were to go and inform about the queen's missing, the outcome would hurt Her Majesty.
And she would never do that!
Remembering the queen's request to visit a knight named Matilda, she nodded and planned to visit her after dawn in case the queen was just late and not lost on some roads.
Joe calmed herself and patiently waited for any news. When she realized there was nothing else to do, she left the room and went to the storage room where she grabbed her cleaning products. She then began to mop the floor diligently.
Her mother had always taught her to do her duties with unflagging dedication, no matter how challenging they might seem. Her mother had been a loyal servant in the palace for many years until her untimely death seven years ago. Following in her footsteps, Joe had also joined the palace staff three years ago.
However, despite her best efforts and hard work, she had yet to be promoted from her lowly position at the bottom of the hierarchy. Some of her colleagues speculated that her quiet, submissive nature might be holding her back, but she remained steadfast in her determination to excel and prove her worth.
"Her Majesty's dog is here."
Joe stopped sweeping and glanced at Jenny, one of the maids, who was yawning. She ignored Jenny's gaze and continued with her work, completely accustomed to being called names by other maids. It was a common practice in the palace to address each other by such names.
But out of all the headmaids designated for the queen's quarter, Jenny was the most pretentious. She carried herself as someone superior to others and spent her time bossing people around.
"Why are you working this loud? You woke me up! Stop doing that and go clean the garden," Jenny ordered.
"Her Majesty didn't allow anyone to clean the garden without her order," Joe answered, collecting her things.
Feeling her hair being grabbed, Joe yelled, "Let go." Joe tried to free herself, but Jenny grabbed her even tighter. Tears flew from Joe's eyes. She gazed at the head maid's blazing orbs. Fear swelled in her chest.
"Don't ignore me when I am talking to you. I am the headmaid pointed out by the queen. How can a mere maid tell his opinion when the head-servant speaks? Now go and do what I asked," she hissed, freed her and hummed in arrogance. "Don't try to tell your queen. That woman had no statute in this kingdom let alone this quarter," she added, turning and walking away, head up.
Joe broke down in tears in an isolated corner. Her whole body trembled. 'It is unfair!' She kept chanting. What her mother taught her was cracking slowly. She once asked her mother if the work in the palace was enjoyable, and her mother answered with a simple yes. She was that dense not to understand the suffering behind her mother's smiling face and thought she was having a nice time meeting the king, the queen and the princes.
It was getting unbearable. Many times, she wanted to resign, but for her siblings' sake, she had to endure.
Instead of being weak, she wanted to learn how to be unaffected like the queen. Her Majesty was a strong person as she didn't care about anyone mocking her or complimenting her. She always kept an unfazed expression and treated people like air.
At first, when she started working under her, she felt a slight fear of how the queen would treat her. Was she going to bully her? As someone who experienced bullying from the highest-ranked maids, she thought it would be horrible to work under Her Majesty.
Days proved she was wrong. The queen never reprimanded her when she missed some tasks or broke items. She was always forgiving, silently sitting by the garden bench or on the sofa reading books.
She didn't make a fuzz about the food and often spent her time gazing at the horizon. There was always sadness and longing in her eyes. However, she never revealed her emotions.
If she was angry, her face would turn red, and her expression would scare her. The queen never smiled freely. It was often a forced one to share courtesy.
She would tell her she was way too kind for her own.
Joe agreed with Her Majesty.
Looking at the sky became a light colour of blue, Joe walked out of the quarter and headed to the knights' pavilion. As she stood gazing at the entrance with shaking hands, she peeked to see anyone passing to ask them but saw none.
"What are you waiting for young lady?"
Joe's body jolted as she heard a sound behind her. She turned around to face the man. He was tall with a rough, tanned face and sharp black eyes. His short black hair was loose, and he was dressed in a knight's suit.
"I am sorry. It isn't my intention to scare you," he said, calming her raging heartbeats. "Are you looking for someone?" he asked.
Joe nodded. "I — I am Looking for Matilda," she said in her low voice.
"Who are you?" he inquired.
"I came from H — Felma's side. I really need to find her can you show me the way," she nearly blurted out the queen's horrification.
"Follow me," he instructed, leading the way in.
Joe followed the man, jogging not to lose track of him. After they walked for a long, very long distance. The man stopped in front of a closed door. He kicked the door open. Joe gasped and took two steps back. Her heart leapt out of her chest.
"Jun! Where is Matilda?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Aren't you her husband? Shouldn't you know her itinerary? Or Did she divorce you?" the man said, chuckling.
"What nonsense are you spouting? She must be at the training ground at this time?"
Joe's heart calmed a bit, hearing the strange conversation between the two men.
"Let's go," he ordered, walking ahead.
Joe sighed and took tiny steps behind the man. The building was huge. She walked for a long time in the opposite direction.
"Over there. The woman with blonde hair standing in the middle is Matilda," he informed.
Joe thanked him and marched inside the sparkling sandy training ground toward Matilda who was training knights. Some of them were battling with swords and the others were running. Their breaths came into hitched sounds like they lacked air.
"Sir Matilda," Joe called in a low voice.
The blonde-haired woman gazed at her. "You! Aren't you the maid beside the queen?"
Joe spoke while playing with her hands, "Yes. I came to look for you for something urgent. The queen Had told me that if anything bad happened, I would look for you—"
"What happened," she interrupted.
"Her Majesty is missing."
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