Hope Got Crushed

Freya's body shook. "Ma'am, ma'am," she kept hearing Joe's voice but couldn't shut it off.

"Ma'am, it's lunchtime. Wake up. I fetched your food." Freya sat on the bed when she heard the word 'food.'

Smelling the familiar aroma her eyes teared up from how much she missed her food. Although the meals distributed in her quarter were tasteless compared to the king's food, they tasted better in comparison to what the maids ate.

Freya devoured her meal, rubbed her protruding tummy when she finished and sat on her settee, sipping her herbal tea.

"Ma'am, are you going to attend the foundation grand party?" Joe asked as she cleaned the table.

The foundation festival of the Frowshire Kingdom was a lavish event organized every year. Its preparation began a month before. The palace would organize a grand party in which people would talk for months.

Freya put the cup on the table. "When did you see me joining these kinds of events?"

It was a happy incident in the kingdom, but she never attended it. The first year after she was crowned the queen, she wrote to the king to allow her to go.

The reply was beyond hatred. He sent her a note written in red ink. 'Stay dead like you were.' Her anger rose to the sky she wanted to go and put the missive in his mouth while watching him eat it.

She thought he would consider the 'relation' between them. They were newlywed, and only the palace's residents knew what kind of relationship they had. After that occasion, the citizens mocked her, and she became a topic nobles talked about in their leisure time.

From that time, she never bothered him again. The only reason she wanted to attend was because of boredom. Later she developed the hobby of sowing plants.

"But you are in a different situation," Joe murmured.

"You mean I will go there as the king's maid?" Freya asked. There was a chance to go to the foundation festival as one of the maids. 'It will be a good opportunity to see the party.'

"No. I mean, what if you convince his majesty to allow you to join the party as the queen," she said.

Freya shook her head. It seems that Joe is still thinking about her and the king as a couple. The reality was beyond dreams. They didn't have any common things that could tie them together. He hated her, and she would never forgive him. Because her brother and King Fraser made such a deal, she became the unwanted bride and the neglected queen.

If not for her brother threatening her with her mother's life, she would never agree to be the queen.

"Joe. Don't tire yourself thinking about me. I and the king will never be like a normal husband and wife. We are more comfortable living as strangers. That will be better, to never hurt each other."

Before coming to this kingdom, she met her mother who persuaded her to try working things up between her and the king. But what she saw from the king shrugged all the thoughts she promised her mother to do.

He rejected her from their first meeting, telling her he preferred lying in a pool of blood than sharing a bed with her.

Denying the obligations she had to do and the lodging she was supposed to live in. If she continued to beg for his attention, how could she face herself onward? Where would she put her self-esteem?

She had feelings and would never implant them in someone who didn't deserve them. She had the right to live in happiness.

"Ma'am, I will always stay by your side. If you ever felt lonely in the palace, call me whenever you want. I will accompany you," Joe's voice snapped her from her unwavering thoughts. She smiled. Her eyes tingled.

"What about Jules?" Freya joked, and Joe's face turned red.

"H- He is just a friend," she said, covering her red cheeks.

"Poor him," Freya said, snickering.

"Ma'am!" Joe said, pursing her lips. Freya laughed and stopped teasing the blushing woman.

After a good meal, Freya went to the king's working place. As she touched the cleaning rug to start her work, someone burst the door open.

"I heard you had a new slave, working near you, but I did not believe that until I saw it with my own eyes," Queen Lira said, sizing her from head to toe. Freya stepped back and lowered her head to escape from the Queen's piercing gaze.

She met Queen Lira days ago, and she feared her identity would be exposed.

"Mother, I do not need to inform you every decision I make," Fraser said.

Freya sneaked and stared at the mother-son. The same big eyes stared at each other. Like two black panthers fighting over the prey.

'I am far fit for being prey!'

Queen Lira turned her head toward her and shouted. "Get out." Closing her eyes, she clutched her dress tightly and froze in her place. "Leave," King Fraser said, and she fled from that heated place.

'Scary! The queen mother was scary.'

"Did you not hate them before? Why are you taking someone from them to your side? Or did you fall into her trap?" The loud voice of Queen Lira transmitted to the outside. Freya stared at the closed door.

"What do you mean by I can not? I will fire her and you will do nothing."

Freya stood there in astonishment. Her lips curved. 'Queen Lira, although I don't like you, I will accept your proposal. I'm waiting for you to fire me,' she thought, humming a song and walking away.

Time passed slowly, Freya bit her lips as she waited for the good news in the resting area, but no one came to look for her. Freya leaned on the chair, her eyelashes fluttered, feeling sleepy.

"Felma, the king is looking for you," Lucas said.

'Finally! I will get rid of the king's taunting.' she sprinted to the king's working room.

"You asked for my presence, Your Majesty," Freya said, her heartbeats rising from happiness. Painting the scenery of her new peaceful life. A smile printed on her face.

"Why are you smiling like a fool?" the king said, frowning.

'Patience Freya. Later you will not have to face the king anymore,' she soothed her irritation.

"Where did you go? Did I allow you to have a rest? Why are you slacking in your work? Did I pay you to hang around? Clean the room. The dust is all over the place," he said. The happy thoughts paled.

Freya's mouth twitched. "I will clean the room immediately," she spat her words.

'My hope crushed to pieces,' she thought indigently. She looked at the room as if it were her enemy while greeting her teeth.