Chapter 42

Kingdom of Alba...

Helga's pov;

It has been a few days since entering the palace and working as a maid in harem. My task is serving the queen directly everyday , along with two other ladies and the head maid who is an old lady called Marylin . So far I have been stuck here with the piles of work to do , I don't get the opportunity to search for my uncle. One thing I did learn is that he is King Tobias's advisor and is mostly in the main palace halls or with the king , I realized the king tends to visit the harem a lot , I learnt that the harem is for the concubines / wives of the king . We are in an ancient era so I am not so shocked of this polygamous practice.

"Come on ladies , get these plates to the dining area quickly" Marylin yells at us from across the corridor .

To put the current situation (her screaming) in context , Queen Thelma has invited the King's other wives for tea / brunch type of situation in her house. Oh that is another thing here, every wife has a designated house they call quarters / chambers and they all form the harem. Fancy much.

Anyways back to work I go.

A few hours later , the brunch starts and the Queen is here plus the other wives , they are sipping on their local wine or whatever and enjoying some delicacies of the region . I should be there with them , I definitely don't belong with the maids .

I mean who could have imagined , me Helga the daughter of a wealthy couple and heir of the biggest oil mining company in New York , working as a maid for some top notch royal. Unbelievable.

"Hey , did you see? Miss Ethera wasn't invited to the gathering. Weird right?" I hear some maids gossiping with each other.

Who is this Ethera? I haven't met her before and I am pretty sure I have met every concubine there is in the harem.

I slowly approach the girls to know more about this , "hey , who is this Ethera you mentioned?" I ask.

One of the girls gasp "You don't know who she is? She is the most popular wife of the king. At least , not for the good reasons" they both laugh.

"What did she do to become so popular? And if she really is then why isn't she here at the gathering?"

"Well for one , on the day of the banquet last month she wore the exact same color dress as the Queen which is a clear manifestation of challenging her then later she had to serve the Queen her drink as sign of respect as the youngest wife but instead she humiliated her majesty by pouring the wine all over her dress which ruined the whole feast , worst of all the King pretty much left her off the hook and dismissed the event." She says.

Then the other girl says "It doesn't even end there , a few days ago miss Ethera fell ill and the king rushed here to the harem to check up on her and they went on a romantic walk and spent basically hours walking around and showing off to the rest of the wives , so of course they are all against her, she is getting a lot more attention from the king than any of them have ever since the ladies arrived." Oh boy , this is real drama just like in historical series I be watching at home .

"Damn , that is really tough . She made it hard for herself and worst part is that she can't undo any of that , what is done is done and she will be hated for a long time. I guess that is the price to pay when you want to be center of attention" They both nod and we laugh at her misfortune cause why not , a little spice in this boring harem would be much appreciated.

That girl Ethera really brought that upon herself . That is what you get when you want to play main character by force. Pick me girl much . Ugh , reminds me of Avery , for some reason she thinks she is better than everyone else around her and she believes everything revolves around her life when in reality nobody gives a shit. Well mostly me but I can represent and speak for everybody else , I think I am the best for that if we count what I have endured my entire life because of having her in my life. What can I say , I just hate Avery man .

Ethera 's pov;

"Um , miss Ethera were you informed there was a brunch in the Queen's quarters happening right now?" A maid of mine asked while filing my nails. A brunch?

"No , I was not informed" I answer then call for someone to clarify , "Hygai!"

He enters and bows to me "Yes my lady , what shall I do for you?" he asks.

"Well I just learnt about a brunch being held for the king's wives in the Queen's quarters . I wasn't informed , why is that?" I ask genuinely curious. Why am I being left out of the sisterhood?

"Leave us" He tells the maids and they leave immediately. Why? I don't know.

He clears his throat and says "My lady , this is very sensitive and might be harsh , but the Queen said she wish not be in your presence today and that it was an intimate and calm brunch she didn't want ruined by your clumsiness and unpredictable behaviors" Wow that is definitely harsh.

"Um okay? would you please leave the room for a bit . Thank you for the information , that will be all" I say politely trying to not put my current frustration on him .

"Of course my lady , I will be outside in case you are in need of me" He bows and goes out of the room.

Now what do I do now? I feel like crying because of anger , frustration but most of all regret because I feel like the one time I messed up is never going to be forgotten and the Queen will keep holding a grudge on me. The thing is we already settled that incident and I sincerely thought it was over and that we were over that, plus it is quite childish to hold on to that and use it to isolate me. I feel so alone , isolated and just unwanted here even by the other ladies , they keep looking at me weird and sometimes I catch them whispering when I am passing and I know they are whispering about me .

Ugh , right now I need a friend , I need Heizel but unfortunately she is not here today because she went to visit her family that she missed , I don't want to be too clingy and selfish and stop her from enjoying her time with them to come comfort little old me. I can't .

Maybe Avery? I know I left things off badly but I need a friend and she is now a friend of mine , miles away or rather times away but still my friend.

Maybe she could even switch with me and turn the situation around plus I could use some alone time away from this right now.

I hold onto my amulet and try connecting my mind to Avery "Hey girl"

"Ethera? I thought you would never talk to me again after how things went down last time" she exclaims , I guess I was really harsh on her and made her feel like that , I feel bad.

"I am sorry I reacted that way last time , it is just that the societal pressure I am under sometimes gets me screwed up. I hope we can be cool again , I promise I won't lash out at you like that again" I say , meaning every word .

"It is all good. So what's up? Any new drama happening?" She asks.

"Today something of the sort happened actually . The Queen is holding a sort of brunch with the other consorts but she didn't invite me , actually she specifically sent Hygai to tell me that my presence was not needed there because I would be all over the place and ruin it"

"She said whatttt? She crazy , I tell you they are all a bunch of hypocrites even the other consorts should back you up , talk about sisterhood. That is a horrible excuse , I bet they are just jealous and want to gossip behind your back, don't mind them , they are not valid and don't deserve you" Avery says , she is always defending me and supporting me when I need it , she really is the better half of me I never knew I needed.

"Maybe but right now I don't want to be here , it is all a lot right now , I feel so alone and Heizel is not here . Would you mind switching?"

"Oh I don't mind , I am in my room right now so it won't be suspicious at all . Take your time and rest , don't worry I got this , they will know better than to mess with you" She says confidently , at least one of us is fearless.

I don't know what she is planning to do but I will leave it up to her , right now I couldn't care less . The amulet glows and once again Avery takes over my body.