Chapter 4

Queen Sonia woke up in the morning and looked outside the window. She could tell that it was still very early since the sun hadn't set yet and it was still dark. She turned around and stretched her hand to the other side of the bed to find it empty. Where was the King? she questioned herself.

  She had slept in the King's room the last night after their brief discussion, that she didn't even remember to check up on the maid whom she entrusted to care for the child. Standing up from the bed, she went to check the bathroom, At first, knocking but with no response, she opened it to find it also empty. Maybe he had gone to the court to handle matters concerning the kingdom. She asked again to herself and sighed. With so much work and duties to carry out as a ruler, he barely had time for family and even the little he had couldn't be well spent.

She left the room and out of the King's quarters before moving to the main parlour where she could see all the servants, fully awake and carrying out their daily activities as assigned. Whenever they caught sight of her, they would courtesy and greet her while addressing her title. As she turned around to go to her room, she peeped into the courtroom and noticed most of the chieftains were seated there. She was right. He was in the courtroom. She wondered what was so urgent or serious today that they couldn't wait for the day to break fully.

She climbed the stairs leading to the other corridor where her room was located when she saw the maid she had assigned the previous night to take care of the baby she found in the bush. Immediately the maid saw her, she immediately courtesied.

"Good morning My Queen." She bowed.

"Good morning, how are you?"

"I'm fine, my Queen." The maid answered.

"What about the child I put under your care, Paloma?" She asked.

"She is sleeping peacefully in your room, your Highness. I just checked on her." The maid confessed.

Queen Sonia simply nodded her head for the maid to follow her to the room where the baby lay and the maid quickly left what she was doing to lead the way.

When they got to the room, it was just as the maid said. The baby's little scratches had been treated and covered and the queen just watched her stir in her sleep as she lay peacefully.

Without the dirt and scratches on the little girl's face now, when she had been cleaned, she could see how pretty and good-looking the baby was, she almost looked like a sleeping goddess.....or maybe a sleeping beauty, she thought as she just stared at her.

Well, she wasn't going to be her daughter anymore so she needed to stop dreaming. By the way, she should be grateful for the ones she already had. 'There was nothing better than having your property that you could boast about', she remembered that saying.

She turned to the maid, this time her face looking serious which made the maid, Paloma also straighten up.

"Take her to the servant's headquarters. Tell the senior maid to store her name amongst maid apprentices. She is going to become a maid. So you are all going to train her starting from now." She ended and the maid was stunned for a moment before she quickly rushed to pick the little girl up from the bed.

She was about to leave when she heard "Hold on!" The queen stopped Paloma.

"Her name...her name is going to be Melina. You can give her a surname of your choice." She spoke and the maid nodded and left the room.