Chapter 7: Xenia

Xenia p.o.v.

The last few days went by with a huge mound of impediments over my little head; persuading the merchants felt harder than convincing the king himself. But at last, they agreed to give fifty sacks of bread and seventy sacks of cereal with cooking oil and coal too, in return for thirty-five per cent of tax relaxing in their every shipment throughout the winter, obviously, they are merchants, they never did something for free.

Tax relaxation will affect our treasury badly but not more than riots and rebellions so it was a great deal. However they wanted eighty per cent of tax relaxation and thought they could even achieve it as I am just a woman...who knows nothing, that's what they thought at the start of the meeting which turned out to be bad for them, as I was well aware of how much bad money those merchants have under there big bellies, hidden from the crown, father Nicholas taught me well.

Remembering Father Nicholas... he is getting lazier with every passing day. This man had done nothing to help rather than sitting at the corner and eating fruits or praying all day at the church. He basically spent his entire days and almost whole nights in worship, and only came home for food and bathe...sometimes just only for food.

Father Nicholas had been running away from me as if I am some ghost, who will devour him or perhaps one day, I will if he kept behaving like this. Maybe this all because I'd kissed his jaw, I swear it was pure excitement, just the kiss though, not biting my lips and visibly inhaling his scent, or staring at those hungry blue eyes, that were on purpose. I shouldn't have done that as he hadn't come downstairs for helping me that night, and since then he had been avoiding me like plague and giving all his time to prayers, morning mass, confession room and reading the bible...he didn't even come to train me at the morning anymore.

And if all these bad things weren't enough for me that now I had to deal with a proud lady, who hated me since we were kids, and the feeling was mutual. She was right in front of me, coquetting with father Nicholas. If this is some way of god punishing me for my sins...then this is not funny, and I prefer to be whipped rather than dealt with, Annie Alexandrovna of all people.

The cloak, mask and this slightly translucent hood were covering my entire body and face, but I'd still managed to see the glimmer of big diamonds and gold, flickering over Father Nicholas's face as Annie was purposely showing off her beauty to him.

According to her, jewels and fine clothes are the real beauty...she didn't have a beautiful face to gloat on anyway, ugh she has! And no...don't think I am envious or something, not even a little, not even when I'd stood there practically wrapped like a voodoo doll and she was there in front of my father Nicholas, wearing a dark red silk gown which raved her lustrous black hair perfectly...no cloak, no mask...no hood needed for her lightly tanned skin and wicked elegant face, she could flaunt her polished beauty however she wants, whoever she wants.

I, on the other hand, had to always hide inside this cloak and hood...maiden, they had called me. A pure maiden for a pure king... my skin, should never reveal to anyone else rather than the king and god himself. I still remember years ago when I'd come to this place, father Nicholas broke that constraint by allowing me to remove my hood, he thought every child is the same under the roof of our holy mother church. And it only took some weeks to spread that news in the entire kingdom, all the way to France and Vatican. Obviously, father Nicholas got a warning from his holiness that never do such reckless things and I was forced to wear a hood and a mask even inside these walls. No one actually knows that in the tower I'd never hide my face and Father Nicholas saw me every day, outside the tower, I always wear a hood...so no one ever saw clearly how I look.

Annie never had to do these ridiculous things, she could wear whatever she wants, could do whatever she pleased...Fine, I am envious of her, I'd always been and now more than ever as she came towards me, hand in hand with Father Nicholas, as if she owned him.

" Lady Annie...", I greeted politely, the red of her lipstick was so dark that it pierced my eyes even this hood couldn't protect me from the enchantment Annie always carried with her. I really loath my cousin... Why in God's name did she come here anyway?

" Lady...", Annie retorted, " Your grace.", she corrected, bowing a little.

The huge iron gates get close after some tall bulky men, wearing grey and red uniforms of royal guards enter. They hadn't come at the ground of our church though as entering with a weapon is prohibited here. I couldn't see them clearly but still could feel their gaze on me from afar...I am used to this by now, people watching me like I am some monument...some being just curious to see my face, some just needed a tale to tell, that they had finally gotten a glimpse of the white of my skin or red of my lips.

Seeing Annie here gave me this weird intuition that she came here to tell me some other request by my parents.

That french king, Aldrich definitely demanded these kinds of ridiculous things on purpose...to show his power over me, and it's not just about hiding my skin. Since I turned eighteen every three months some women came to examine me that I am still pure or not...and it's humiliating, it's even more disgraceful that the king and queen, my own parents agreed to that and I could do nothing rather than endure all this humiliation.

But not for long because soon, I'll be free like Annie, without this hood and cloak, I just have to play my cards right, even father Nicholas didn't know about my schemes, only I and my god knows what I am conspiring.

" I thought you might forget how to act appropriately by now."

Annie's sharp taunting voice made me glare back at her, however, she couldn't see my eyes so it was no use to scowl.

" And why is that.", I asked, following father Nicholas. We strolled behind the church, there were some spare guest rooms for particular situations like this...like some unannounced guest popping up in our doorway.

" Living with these peasants..."

" Lady Annie...", I interrupted, feeling offended, " believe me, people here are more appropriate than you and me or any other royal I'd met before."

" Then you didn't meet the real sovereignty, cousin.", Annie countered, making me huff in annoyance.

" I don't need to when I am a royal myself, aren't I?", I asked, raising my brow and then realised that she won't be able to see it...ugh, I hate when people like Annie couldn't see my evil angry face, if only they could, then they would have never dared to infuriate me in the first place.

When ignorant people like Annie behave superior to commoners, acting as if they are better than them...it just made my blood boil. I am a princess but the people here are more like family to me than my real noble household...however kids my age don't like me, but I still like them better than fake royalty like Annie, at least they didn't talk bad behind my back and show their emotions truly.

I even consider myself like them, they are orphans...like me, even though I have parents, they had just abandoned me. I'd been thrown out from the family like some dirty fly in a tea...sold away like some valuable thing...So perhaps, 'peasants' are more respectable than royal families like mine, at least they never sell their own blood and flesh to a cruel king.

" But...", Annie tried to counter again but I took some hurried steps, to catch up with Father Nicholas who had been running away...obviously from me.

" And father Nicholas here...", I said, "we both know, no one was more prominent than him, and I live with him in the same house...so, yeah I think I met enough royals by now."

" You still live with Father Nicholas...alone?", Annie asked, her voice high and alarmed, making me smirk. I knew she always liked Father Nicholas, she is some years older than me and when I was a kid she always came here to meet me before her marriage...but in reality, Annie only came here to stare at father Nicholas. So I deliberately mentioned that just to see her reaction.

" Yes...alone.", I repeated, taking a deep sigh as we finally reached the guest wing, at least now I can go back to our tower and relax...and also talk to Father Nicholas about his bizarre attitude towards me, I am sick of it now.

But all my plans were dashed in a second when Annie scampered towards us and held Father Nicholas' hand, peering up at him with her amber eyes, " Father...", she wailed, " I will stay with you in the tower today."

Great... I think god really hates me.