... Expect The King... To Apologize...?

Ah! Milady is too kind and highly considerate indeed! Why should she think that lady Sigrid would find her to be a bother for requesting to be in her presence? Oletha reasoned within herself as she perceived the tint of eagerness reflecting brightly in her lady's curious eyes.

"No... milady," Oletha began her response, "I have no reason to perceive that lady Sigrid would find your presence a bother when she was the one who specifically told us to take you to her once you had woken up and carried out your bathing ceremony."

The mention of 'bathing ceremony' by Oletha almost caused Elizabeth to laugh out because her memory of her morning bath had actually felt like a ritual ceremony but she withheld her laughter in order not to annoy Oletha.

"Okay then, if you're certain that she will receive me in good graces, let us go."

As soon as Elizabeth announced her compliance, Oletha led the way and though it took some amount of time, they soon exited the enormous bedroom and went on their way.

Once outside the bedroom, as Elizabeth continued to walk beside her guide, Oletha, she began to have flashes of her memory from the night before.

That night after Ezekiel had muttered the words "You can not leave the Castle!", Beth's heart had instantly divorced her chest for fear of what meaning lay beneath Zeke's direct words.

She had pondered on so many reasons why the king had demanded to hold her back in the castle. She had thought only the worst of Briceus because for a man so cold and heartless to abandon her to rot in the Dordragon for as long as he wanted, Beth had formed quite a nasty opinion of the king's person.

So her thoughts had taken the turn down the darkest route. She had even assumed that the king having figured that he was wrong about her all along, had perhaps thought up a subtle way to have her assassinated secretly to afford him to save face.

'A man like him definitely has great pride reaching up even to the heavens and would he be so easy to give in to his pride or have me compensated either way? Won't it be less trouble for him if he just had someone sniff the life out of me in secret and no one would ever get to hear from her again? Because in all my life... I've never met such a person with darkness written so boldly about him, yet I can't blame him entirely because he might have his reasons...'

Those had been Elizabeth's thoughts as she cowered to Zeke's revelation about not leaving the castle that night under the king's command.

Meanwhile, to her utmost surprise, Zeke had mentioned something contrary being that she would be compensated after which he said nothing more in that regard but had some castle maid servants lead her to a vacant room which was neatly kept, in the upper floor of the Castle.

At first Elizabeth had resisted but once Zeke had informed her that due to the king's care for her safety, it would be better if she stayed the night, Beth finally succumbed to being led to the room.

Her last thoughts until she had slept were about Bessie and how she must have gotten in trouble with father and mother for sneaking her out of the house. To which, Elizabeth knew that her mother was the most unforgiving once she got disobeyed except if it had been Louisa, her own daughter who had disobeyed.

Elizabeth had thought so much of Bessie and her own potential punishment should she return home the next day, that she dreaded the thought altogether and cried scarcely until she had fallen asleep feeling hungry.

Even now that Beth walked with Oletha to locate the garden where Sigrid would be, she had her thoughts encroached sorely with thoughts of her Bessie.

Also what about Giselle? Would she not make the attempt to go by her house to request for her and get her in more trouble? Beth kept pondering.

Then she stopped walking because by now she remembered that Briceus had been the major reason for her being held back the previous day in the Castle because of his misunderstanding of her.

Oletha, recognizing that Beth had stopped walking, turned her attention to her lady to enquire the reason why.

"Milady, why have you suddenly stopped walking? Don't you wish to see the court lady to ask her your pressing questions any more?" asked Oletha.

Beth gave her a determined look instead, before speaking.

"I would like to know why the king after all this time could not even once appear before me and apologize for-"

"I'm sorry for cutting you there, milady but why would you expect that the king would come to apologize to you in person?" asked Oletha.

For a second there, she could not believe it was her lady that had just blurted out such foolish words. What was she thinking to expect the king of Aegremonth to apologize to her?

At this point, Oletha had to hold herself from laughing so that her actions wouldn't get misinterpreted for ridiculing her lady.

"...and why not? Why won't he?" Beth asked defiantly.

"Milady...Lord Briceus is a very hard man. You should count yourself lucky that he even had you pampered this much already. He cares for nobody—neither animals nor human beings..."

"Why?" asked Beth seemingly surprised.

"I can't say, milady but at the age of four... His Majesty—the late king had gotten him a little horse on his birthday. The animal was decorated in accordance with the celebration but that very night... while everyone slept... the young prince made sure the little horse got to breathe his last," said Oletha in a whisper in order to save her head.

"But why? Why did he hurt the animal and how did he go about it?"

By now, Beth was even more dreadful of the king. He seemed darker than she had perceived him to be.

"A certain stableman had woken up carelessly to check on the horses in the stable then he claimed that he had seen the young prince look at the animal with so much hate that it got set ablaze with just the look from the young prince's vicious gaze."

Elizabeth stood petrified at this news.

Set ablaze with just his gaze? What manner of sorcery was that? Even at that... a four-year-old could be so evil? But why? The horse didn't wrong him in any way. What could have fuelled such viciousness in him then?

"I don't believe you, Oletha and where is this stable man?"

"Oh, he went about running and telling everyone he met that the young prince was the devil... Therefore, the king had him found and beheaded for it. The young prince did the most unlikely things that the queen had her husband the late king, send him away at age six." Oletha concluded her revelation.

'My god! Even the former king was just as brutal? I have heard enough. Now I really want to go home because if he was that evil at an age where he—Lord Briceus ought to be innocent and a sweet little boy, imagine how much more havoc he could do now that he is older,' thought Elizabeth.

"I don't want to hear any more such tale, Oletha. Please just take me to the court lady. I was stupid to request that such a man should apologize to me in the first instance," Elizabeth revealed.

Suddenly some castle guards passed by them and both women hushed at once.

Later on, Oletha spoke.

"It's best we speak no more about the king milady, and forgive my carelessness just now because the king's bedroom is on this very floor with the one you had slept in... Once again, I am sorry." Oletha said apologetically while Beth thought...

'The king's room is also not far off from mine? Wow! Just wow!'

"It is okay, Oletha. Let us head on our way with less talks about the king," said Beth to Oletha who nodded accordingly.

Afterwards, they both walked in silence as they soon got to descend the stairs that were constructed neatly with beautifully carved stones.