Worried Queen and a Fearsome King

Khalilah sat in her bed feeling restless, and tired, she was tired and hurt there were a lot of emotions building up inside her, and she didn't know how to react to every one of them. She felt bad for venting out her anger at Malia selfishly, she just felt like she needed some quietness and some time to gather her thoughts. 

She picked the letters her family gave to her and read through them again, it was just impossible to forgive them, and she didn't just see herself as the wife of the deranged King of Nosferatia. She had decided within herself, that she would find a way to escape from here and report the kidnapping to the police.

She got up from the bed and headed towards the window sill, there was only little she could see from here, she had lost count of how many days she had been here but for all those days, she hadn't been allowed to see the sun even once. 

She was no different than a prisoner and she wondered if this was the kind of life she would live if she was unable to escape the palace.

A life of solitude… 

There was a slight knock on the door and she turned in the direction of the door, the door opened slightly and a maid popped her head inside. 

"Your grace," She courtesied slightly, and Khalilah's eyes narrowed as they followed her every movement. "My name is Anna, and I will be filling the position of Malia in the meantime." 

"What?" She asked almost breathlessly, why were they suddenly bringing her another companion when she had already gotten used to Malia? "Where is Malia? What happened with her?" 

"She collapsed on her way to the kitchen and since the physician isn't so sure what's wrong with her, she is forbidden from coming into the inner palace until she gets better," Anna mentioned in detail and Khalilah's frown deepened, she got down from the steps that led to the window and headed for the door. 

"I demand to be taken to Malia at once." She ordered in a tight voice, but the maid only bowed her head slightly, Khalilah remembered this stance, Malia always did this when she was about to refuse a request. 

"You're not allowed to leave the inner palace, your grace." Her head bent a little more lowly and Khalilah rolled her eyes. 

"Who the fuck makes all these absurd rules?" She snapped in frustration; it may seem like she had total control of the maids that prowled the area but she was powerless in the real sense. "I don't know what Malia has and I need to see how she is doing." 

"The royal physician will attend to her, and as soon as she is better, she will be returned to you, my lady." She insisted, in a more formal way. "I will do my best to serve you even more than Malia." 

"I insist, I want to see her right now." Khalilah feared the worst, she feared she was probably arrested for insubordination, because Malia was fine, and just a few minutes of her absence she was suddenly in a critical condition… there was no way that was possible. 

"I repeat, my lady, you are not allowed to leave the inner palace." 

"On whose orders that is…" Khalilah raised her voice unintentionally, it was probably because she had the same name as her older sister, but Khalilah was already so used to Malia and she had formed a bond with her. "Tell me what is stopping me from leaving the inner palace." 

"The orders are that of His Royal Majesty, King Olive," Anna answered in a small shaky voice, according to the rumors she had been hearing, the queen was a kind-hearted human girl but on the contrary, she was quite scary. 

Khalilah pinched the bridge of her nose; it was getting even more annoying when he kept making dumb rules that restricted even her basic human rights. 

She drew in a sharp breath as she tried to remember the last conversation she had with Malia, and calm down, in case Malia was arrested her response and reaction could worsen or help her. 

"Tell him that I would like to see him." Her voice turned pleading. 

"My lady?" Anna raised her head slightly but didn't meet her eyes. 

"Tell the King that I would like to speak to him." She repeated with a slight frown on her face. 

 Khalilah's left thumb was stuck in between her teeth as she threaded down the silent, cold hallways that led to the King's relaxing flower court. She hadn't seen the bastard in quite a while now, and the anticipation was thick enough to drive her mad. 

She didn't expect to see him so soon, nor did she expect to be meeting him for the sake of Malia, and yes, she would use the opportunity to lay down her complaints to him. Even if he plans to marry her against her will, he is overdoing it. Taking away her basic right, for example, her right to freedom, to the point that she wasn't even allowed to take a step out of her bedroom unless he sent for her. 

It was no different than when she was living with her mother, it's almost as though she was a bird kept in a cage. 

It felt as though the only purpose she served was just a piece of entertainment, and she didn't know how she felt about that. They got in front of the eight-foot wooden gigantic door and the guards that were stationed in front of the entrance opened the door and from there on, the maid didn't follow her in. 

Khalilah felt her heart race, pounding aggressively against her ribcage as she entered further into the room, she could spot him lying down leisurely in a bathrobe on a chaise and he was holding a wine goblet in his hands. 

"I wasn't expecting an invite, so please pardon me." His voice rang out musically, and his snow-white hair was parked in a bun but some strands fell over his eyes, revealing the flawless and pale skin of his neck, Khalilah could see some details of his chest before they disappeared into the robe. 

He was a very attractive man his beauty was almost enchanting, he sat up properly, dropping the goblet on the tray sitting on the table at the right side of the Chaise and almost immediately a maid came to clear up after him. 

"Why have you requested to see me so suddenly?" His alluring voice was deep and it reverberated with so much pressure that Khalilah almost dropped to her knees; she felt every muscle in her body seize and her breathing became ragged.

She knew what this emotion was, no one needed to tell her that she was afraid of the man sitting in front of her. 

"Have you come here to just watch me?" He teased his lips curving up in a slight smirk. "If that's the case then I'm afraid that I have other pressing issues that I have to attend to, please return to your chambers."

He got up from the chair and he was about to leave when Khalilah found her voice. 

"N-No…" it was low, but loud enough for him to hear. 

"No?" He drawled as he turned towards her again. 

"I-I came here to ask for the p-permission to go out of the inner p-palace." She explained earnestly, looking away from his red eyes that frightened her; It resembled the thing that appeared to her in her dreams, she felt chills and goosebumps just from looking at him. 

Olive's eyebrows raised slightly. 

"And for what reason would you like to leave the inner palace?" His voice was relaxed and cool like death's call, Khalilah's lips quivered from the fear of his presence, this wasn't how she planned this meeting. 

"My maid, Malia is sick, yet no one knows what happened to her, I'm quite worried." She answered truthfully. "I was just talking to her until some minutes ago." 

"What do you intend to do for her?" He queried walking up to her and unintentionally, she took two steps back, making Olive scoff. "Are you a physician?" 

"I only want to see for myself how she is." She found the courage to argue back with him. "As soon as I confirm the seriousness of her illness, I will return to my chambers." 

"You're denied." He announced daringly and Khalilah felt her hands clenched, she wanted to insult him, but she could remember the incident with the guards and she didn't want anyone to hit her. 

"I feel it is quite unfair that I have been held here for quite some time, yet I have been denied almost everything, including the freedom to move." She complained and Olive's pale feet came into her field of vision because she had been staring down at her own feet. "It's no different than being in prison." 

"Then you are in prison." He teased and Khalilah felt anger rise again, but she held her tongue back trying her best not to say anything out of the ordinary for the sake of Malia. "I apologize my queen but you are not allowed to leave the inner palace, no queen of mine will nurse after a maid, who knows what she is sick with and if it's transmittable? A maid is dispensable, but you my queen, you are not." 

"But—" He interrupted her sharply. 

"Khalilah please," He snapped but his voice was still as neutral as it was. "Return to your chambers before I instruct the guards to drag you there."