SCARED OF THE KING

JAPANESE WORDS USED IN THESE CHAPTERS AND THEIR MEANINGS

Shuah. - King.

Shāhbāno. - Queen.

Donburi hachi - Earth made bowl.

Kami - God

Shōjo. - A little girl

Hai. - Yes

Saiai no yūjin. - Dearest friend

13:04pm 1608年3月16日 (15th March 1608)

Shuah Azar gasped as he knelt down, looking at the unconscious beauty before him. For him she is more beautiful than the winter sun above pristine snow. 

She is warmer than spring sunshine on soft new grass. 

She is more mesmerizing than the fall leaves. Yet for him, what she truly is is an eternal summer, for merely looking at her is very much compared to the perfect blue skies with love in the air. 

His inunderstandable attraction to her isn't because she is beautiful, though she was very much beautiful, it is the pure soul he sees in her, making her look more like a wonderful jewel she was inside.

She was like the Sun, a beautiful jewel having people orbiting around him; some were so close her ever burning nature burned them, some were so far they were the coldest they could be because they wanted to be closer. 

The lucky ones were in the perfect distance to feel her warmness and live with her peacefully. In one way or another all the people that may have met her will always feel attracted to her. 

And he sees himself as a system. He was Pluto: a strange, little cold planet that no one wanted around the Sun, but who oddly was spinning around her in circles, in the opposite direction as everyone else.

And how would the Sun notice Pluto if everyone else just said to that little planet that it would never be big enough or close enough to form part of his system?

He knew he had never been a good man all his life, but he had a bad past. He never even knew if he will ever be happy and now this beautiful maiden shows up suddenly, clasping her heart in her hands. He doesn't even know why he has this soft spot for her, it was unexplainable.

His heart went out for her the moment he saw her, in her battered and beaten state. He felt hurt when he saw hurt in her eyes, a sign that she was going through pain inside. 

He felt so angry when he had seen how badly she was hurt, and wanted to punish the person who had done this all to her making him punish the slave trader evenly.

What was happening to him?

His confusing answer was altered as a voice was heard behind him.

"What can be so important to send my king down to the ground,pleading for the poor soil who doesn't have a say in front of the King"

Shāhbāno Abreshmina, the last and favourite wife of Shuah Azar said as she walked to the King.

She was the last wife, thus the favourite wife of Shuah Azar. She was very beautiful to the point of being known as 'the most beautiful Queen of Shuah Azar'. 

Dressed in a beautiful grey regalia, she was beautifully endowed with accessories befitting a queen. Her crown was like that of the King but a little smaller to fit her head which housed her long and beautiful hair.

She was pregnant with the legal "King's heir" and because of that, she was very much respected.

"What are you doing here Abreshmina? It is not good to be roaming about, especially with my child. Go back to your chamber and rest" The King said as he shifted closer to Caulifla, trying to loosen the rope which was tied on her hands.

"I have the very right to see My King and the father of our unborn heir. Your favourite Queen misses her King and that is why i had graced you with my presence"

Abreshmina walked closer to see a girl lying unconscious on the floor. And with that, she gasped.

"I don't have the time for that none sense Abreshmina. A King is always busy with his official work and so get back to your room" The King ordered.

"You send your favourite Queen away because of a slave? His Royal Highness will never have time for a slave over his beautiful Queen. What has gotten over my Shush Azar?" She asked as she looked at him in confusion.

"It isn't your business Queen. Guards!"

Three slim guards walk into the throne room in a hurry covered in a light armor as if they were knights. Their hair looked all messed up and their faces showing signs of tiredness judging from the sleepless nights they've gone through.

"Carry this maiden to the guest room and get a servant to nurse her back to health" He ordered as he stood up, paving way for one of the guards to do as he had ordered.

One of the guards came forward to pick her up, but did that carelessly as he seemed to almost drop her back to the ground.

"Be careful! Do not let me repeat that again" Shuah Azar, who had noticed how carelessly he handled her said.

The guard tried his possible best to keep her stable as he made her stand on her feet.

"What are you doing? Can't you see she does not have energy to stand? Carry her" He ordered.

"But your majesty...."

"I said carry her in your arms. Do not question my authority. Now do so" He said as the guard hurriedly did as the King commanded, carrying Caulifla in his arms and finally making his way out of the throne room.

I hold my breath behind pursed lips to steel myself against the gales of jealousy that had taken over him. Seeing the guard carry her made him feel envious, resentful, and even invidious.

"You do not carry the maiden well" He said as the guard stopped and turned around with Caulifla in his arms.

"Give her to me" He said as he carried Caulifla from the guards arms and pushed closer to his chest, Making his way towards the guest room.

"Get me a female servant to tend to the girl. Make sure you tell her to meet me on the guest floor" He had said as he walked, not looking back as constant stares followed him till he was out of sight.

05:00 am 1608年3月18日 (18th March 1608)

When the stars come out to play and the evening takes on that aroma of the night, when the crickets sing for the joy of living, Caulifla dreams of a happy life. 

Tucked into a king sized bed that night, reverently rubbing her fingers along the silken mattress. She press her cheek to the cool, velvet pillows. The comforter was thick and irresistibly soft, like a billowing cloud, making her succumb to the call of sleep, 

Wrapped in profound sleep.

Buried in sleep,...

The sleep pooled on their eyelids, and the wooden building on top of the mountain close to the window in the room she slept was filled with the soft sounds of people sleeping. And the wind swooped up, over the heights, rushed and rustled through the tough mountain grasses, and gradually ebbed away through the crags to silence.

She was not aware of her unconscious state in the human world. A smile could be seen on her face as her dreams take her to a beautiful land which its beauty can't be described in a few words.

She sees herself holding a coin which was so old and covered in dirt, the engravings worn and the head of the king so tarnished as to be stolen from view. She held it in her left hand, watching the mud dirty on her skin. So close to her face the coin had the aroma of stale blood. 

She turns to her right hand and in the palm was a new spring leaf, crowned by a perfect sphere of dew, reflecting an image of my face, softened and relaxed. When she turned back to the coin, the image of the king had freed himself and journeyed over to the leaf, igniting the growth of strong roots and new foliage that reached for the sunlight, robust, virescent.

Her dreams become a blur as her thoughts began, slowing as a beautiful carousel, each dancing as ribbons from a kite string that reaches for sky, its colours embracing those lofty heights and inviting in the dreams that wear festival costumes and are formed of music. 

Waking up can be really harsh, especially if your dreams are better than reality. The saddest part of it is, though, that eventually even the memory of your dream will fade - if you are even lucky enough to remember it that is. 

Then you're left with this lonely feeling of detachment, left to explore in the empty void of emotions, the only proof that you ever had the dream to begin with.

Her dream ended abruptly, as she was shaken back into reality. Her eyes opened, her eyelashes faintly batting against her lids when she blinked.

She awoke to soft sheets, and the morning light trickled in through the blinds. Shedding herself of the remaining glimpses of a dream, her eyes were still shut as she soaked in the warmth of her covers before letting her blue eyes see the sun's rays.

Slowly and reluctantly, she uncover her face. She blink, close her eyes, and blink again. Streaks of sunlight penetrate the window and blind her. She sits up, noticing she was in a very strange environment. It looks like a room fit for a royal. It was even twice the size of her own room.

She closed her eyes as she remembered everything. It seems she had gone unconscious in front of the King?

Had he taken her here?

Was this how slaves were meant to be treated?

Suddenly, her head throbbed. The pain felt like someone had taken a knife to her skull. 

"Mizu ga hitsuyōdesu ka?" (Do you need water?)

A little voice that was like music under a summer breeze, that seems as if one was almost lost against the noise of the hustling and bustling of life but was suddenly found through that voice.

She raised her head to meet a girl stretching out a Donburi hachi to her.

The girl had a nose like a cartoon character, or one drawn by a lazy artist at least. The bridge was so low-profile as to be barely there at all; so that on a face of skin all the same honeyed hue, her nose was a bump, just above her dusky pink lips. There was no two ways about it, she was cute.

Her hair was as waves of pure earth, softly reflecting the light of the sun; each strand moving freely in an ocean born breeze, a compliment to her stillness. With eyes of river waters, in glossy serenity, giving beauty to her white linen which covered her beautiful figure.

"Mizu ga hitsuyōdesu ka?" (Do you need water?) She repeated innocently as she stretched her hands further.

"Arigatōgozaimashita" ( Thank you ) She said as she took the Donburi hachi from her and drank.

Finishing the water in it, she handed it over to the girl and the girl smiled.

"Anata wa watashi no gengo o hanashimasu, anata wa Nihon no teikoku no hitotsu kara kimashita ka?" 

( You speak my language, are you from one of the empires in Japan?) Caulifla asked as she looked at the girl.

" Hai. Watashi wa tsumagojuku kara kimashita, soshite anata wa watashi no ōjodesu Caulifla" 

(Yes. I am from Tsumago empire, and you are my Princess Caulifla) She said as she bowed.

"Hontōni? Perusha teikoku ni dono kurai imasu ka?" ( Really? How long have you been in the Persian empire?)

"2-Nen Ōjo Caulifla. Watashi wa koko de 2-nenkan aijin ni tsukaete imasu (Two years Princess Caulifla. I have worked in here serving my mistress for two years)

"Anata wa dorei to shite ura remashita ka?" ( You were sold as a slave?)

"Hai anata no megumi" (Yes your Grace)

"Gaikoku demo, anata wa watashi o sonkei shi, watashi o anata no ōjo to minashimasu. Watashi no teikoku wa anata ni betsu no hito ni ittaga, soredemo anata wa watashi o sonkei shite iru. Dōshite?"

( Even in a foreign country, you still respect me and take me as your Princess. My empire had told you to another and yet you still respect me. Why?)

Anata no megumi, watashi wa itsumo shitte imasu Kingu Akimitsu. Watashi no yuiitsu no ō to kōtei ni naru koto. Kare wa watashi no kōteidearu tame, watashi wa tsuneni kare o sonkei shi, sonkei shimasu. Anata ga watashi no ōjodearu tame, watashi wa tsuneni anata ni chūjitsudesu. Watashi wa betsu no ō ni tsukaete imasuga, kare no suriru wa watashi no yuiitsu no ōdeari kōtei no mamadesu" 

(Your Grace, i have always known Kingu Akimitsu to be my only king and Emperor. I will always honour and respect him because he is my emperor and i will always be loyal to you because you are my Princess. I serve another King but he still remains my only King and Emperor"

"Anata wa watashi no aisuruhito ni totemo chūjitsudesu. Onamaehanandesuka?" ( You are very loyal my dear. What is your name?)

"Asashi"

"Anata no onamae wa utsukushī. Dōshite sore ga watashida to shitta no?" (You have a beautiful name. How did you ever know it was me?)

"Watashi wa doko demo watashi no ōjo o shitte imasu. Anata wa itsumo anata no megumi o kiwadata semasu" ( I know My Princess anywhere. You always stand out your Grace)

"Asashi to issho ni jiyū ni natte kudasai. Watashi wa ima, shimei o motte imasu. Anata no sapōto ga hoshīdesu. Watashi ga daredearu ka ni tsuite darenimo iwanai koto o yakusoku shite kudasai" (Be free with me Asashi. I need your support. Promise me you will not tell anyone who i am) 

She said as she smiled.

Kanojo no denka ga nozomu yō ni ( As her highness wishes)

"Sā, futsū ni watashi to kōryū shite kudasai. Fōmarudearu hitsuyō wa arimasen. Watashi o karifura to yonde kudasai" ( Now please interact with me normally. You don't have to be formal. Call me Caulifla)

"Anata ga nozomu yō ni anata no taka-sa... ... Tsumari Caulifla"

(As you wish your High... I mean Caulifla)

"Thank you. Anata ga shitte iru koto subete o oshiete kuremasen ka Shuah Azar?" ( can you tell me everything you know about Shuah Azar).

"I know nothing about the King. I only serve my Mistress"

"Who is your Mistress?"

"Shāhbāno Abreshmina, the King's last wife. She is very rude and mean but she is the King's favourite. She carries the King's heir as it is believed"

"Have you been ever close to the King?"

"No Caulifla. I only see him on social gatherings. The ones who are permitted to see him are always his wives,especially Shāhbāno Abreshmina and his high court or if he sends for someone"

Silence ensued as Caulifla pondered on how to get close to the King. If she was going to get close to him to kill him then how?

"Caulifla?"

"Yes Asashi"

"I want to ask a question"

"Go on"

"Naze ō ni ura reta nodesu ka? Anata wa ōjonanode, naze dorei to shite ura reru no ka imi ga arimasen" ( Why were you sold to the King? You are a Princess so it does not make sense why you will be sold as a slave)

"My Emperor had sold me. I had committed crime and so he sold me" The lie slipped out, smooth and easy like melted butter running down toast.

Lies are swirling all around her, her lies even wanting to make her suffocate. The empty shape embedded inside her seems to steal her breath and now she seemed deprived of life,or more than dead.

Because of her mission she had told two lies, one to the slave traders and the other to this submissive girl. 

Caulifla lied, not trusting her with the secret.

"How cruel of My Emperor to sell one of his golden jewel. He will not know how important you are till he loses his jewel. 

"May my Kami judge him accordingly and show him the path he supposed to take. May he come to love his jewel dearly and treat you like a diamond,because you are priceless. He will come for you Caulifla. That i can promise you"

How she wished she knew that her father didn't sell her but she was sold out of her own free will. All she wanted was to find favour in the sight of her father. But if her father could come and take her away from here, she will be glad. She won't deny she was scared.

She was scared when those old fears being created by her huge family crosses her mind. It runs through her head, when she hear the taunting laughter of years past, when she was a Shōjo and punchline of her teenage jokes. 

She knew she always gets scared when these unwanted bad memories cut loose their chains and invade her confidence, eroding the person she had tried to build in her since she was able to differentiate from right and wrong, the beginning of her dark days. 

The fear comes most when she felt tired and flees in the nighttime, vanquished by the time she awakes from slumber every morning. 

So when her thoughts tumble into that abyss and the rope ladders burn, she goes to her solitude which was her room, drop all the curtains to avert the rays of daylight, and curl up into her own bed where it was dark and warm. 

For her dreams were her helicopter, her dream-self is the pilot, and she's waiting to take her out of her predicament the moment she lets it all go.

"Dakara soreha" ( So shall it be ) She said as she smiled at Asashi.

"I know you are not used to working and so if you need help, please don't fail to alert me, i will always help you"

"Thank you"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Caulifla and Asashi turned to the door which was at the far right hand side corner of the room.

The knock came quietly first and then there was silence. The knock was louder and faster the second time and Asashi stood up and walked to the door. Turning the door knob, she opened it and let whoever was knocking in.

It was a guard.

Caulifla stood up from the bed and greeted in the Person way, 

"Salaam alaykum" (May peace be upon you)" She said as she bowed. 

The guard did the same.

"Word from His Royal Highness Shuah Azar. He asks if you are strong now and have woken up from your deep slumber. 

"Since you are awake, the King has given you liberty into his quarters as one of his servants. He expects you in his quarters very soon as he is going to assign you your work and duties. Hope it is clear?"

"It is clear. Thank you for the message" she said as she bowed.

And with that,the guard took his leave.

"The King's quarters? That is very nice. It is a privilege to work for the Shuah." Asashi said as she smiled.

A privilege it was. Although she didn't understand why the King had given her such a privilege, she was glad it was given to her. Now she will be able to complete her mission quick and easy.

"Will you be heading for the King's quarters now?"

" Hai, We shall see later" Caulifla said as she hugged the girl.

"Watashitachi no kami ga anata to tomoni ora remasu yō ni. Atode karifura o mimasu. Ki o tsukete" (May our God be with you. We shall see later Caulifla. Take care).

"Asashi, Can you please show me the way to the King's quarters? I have never been here before and the magnitude of the palace can be able to swallow me and i will get lost" Caulifla had said.

"Ok Saiai no yūjin" She said as they both walked out of the room and into the huge maze of the Persian Empire.

08:00 am 1608年3月18日 (18th March 1608)

Shāhbāno Abreshmina paced back and forth her gorgeous furnished room, appearing to be in a thinking state. She had a flash back of all that had happened two days ago and it made her both angry and worried.

She had worked herself into the King's heart with great difficulty and work. She had secured him in one of Persia's festivals and he had taken her in. She supposed to be a used concubine but she tried to manipulate him, causing him to marry her.

She didn't want to suffer what last wives suffer and so she had created false lies against the other Queens which made the King despise them. He then always wanted to be with her, and she loved it.

But her plans failed again when he started giving his first wife a chance, mostly because she was the mother of his heir. She had thus killed not only the heir, but other sons of the other Queens so they won't have a heir for the King.

She had a night with the King again and as was expected, she became pregnant and it was assumed that the child she was carrying was his future heir.

She brushed about it to the other Queens who knew she was the cause of their children's death and the reason why their husband does not give them attention just like she was given attention.

Although the King has numerous concubines, he stopped just because of the claim that what he does hurts her and her baby. 

And now this slave girl has gotten his attention. Seeing the way he has looked at the girl hunts her. The jealousy she had seen in his actions when the guard carried this girl.

How he had carried her personally to the guest quarters? He had never carried her like that before nor looked so lovingly at her the way he had looked at that slave.

It seemed this slave will pose as a threat to her and she has to see that this girl was rightfully put in her place. She will make her life a lot miserable and she will make sure Shuah Azar hates her.

Because he was hers.

Shuah Azar is hers and hers alone.

09:00 am 1608年3月18日 (18th March 1608)

Caulifla admired the beautiful mansion she was in. Every wall being decorated with arts of Past rulers. The halls were dressed in gold and white and the tiles are a beautiful diamond board, with humans who live in this building as the pieces. 

The whole building sends a chill down her spine and reminds her of something out of her nightmares. 

"I do not want to be here, she thinks as she wraps her arms around her chilled and tensed body; this is the last place she wanted to be. But unfortunately, it is her fault for being here, her doing, her decision.

There is no going back now because she has set her goal and mission. She had made up her mind that if she could bring the head of her Empire's enemy, not only her siblings but her father will know her worth.

"This is the King's Quarters Caulifla. Be safe" Asashi said as she smiled at her. 

"I hope i will be"

"The King's personal room is the room at the middle"

"Ok bye then"

"Asashi smiled and walked away.

Caulifla heaved a sigh as she walked closer to the room.

"Where is the girl? I thought you said she was awake?" She heard someone who she suspect is the King say.

"She must be on her way your Grace. Please exercise patience"

"Don't tell how i manage my patience. Watch your mouth or i kill you"

"Sorry Shuah"

She met two guards at the front of the room who directed her inside. She walked in and there was an inunderstandable silence as she bowed to the King.

"Caulifla"The King said in a much softer voice which seemed strange because he had used an authoritative voice not that long ago.

"You work here in my room. You are the only servant that will work in my room. No other servant should enter this place out of free will except you. Now escort her her to her room" She said as a guard came to her front and touched her back so she will stand up.

How dare you touch her? Take him and give him thirty five whips" Shuah had said to the other guard who was standing at his right hand side, everyone looking at him in surprise.

"Didn't you hear what i said?" The right hand side guard hesitation no more as he took the other guard out of the King's chambers.

Caulifla could not understand why the King seem so possessive. They haven't even talked to each other talk more of telling a guard not to touch her. She did not see anything wrong with it.

"Caulifla is your name right?" She heard the voice of the King and she nodded, her head bowed.

"Look at me girl" He had said but she seemed afraid to because he might also punish her judging by the fact that a servant is not expected to look up at the King.

She killed out of her thoughts and her fear became heightened when she heard the King stand up from his throne and walk to her. 

He used his hand to raise her chin so her eyes could meet his.

His beautiful eyes.

"I am a good person, as long as you do not do anything that will upset me. I want you to be comfortable around me and not to be scared of me. I want you to always be free with me even though you are a servant here"

"Do not be scared of me Caulifla. It hurts to see you scared of me" He whispered as he removed his hands from under her chin.

She dropped her eyes to the ground again out of fear and she heard the King sigh in heightened frustration.

"Now you, take her to her room and make sure she is comfortable. Now leave my presence" He ordered as Caulifla quickly turned and made her way out of his chambers with a guard following her behind.

She didn't know what to think about him, despite how handsome he is.

She won't lie to herself.

She was scared of the King.