13

Kohra

As a queen, some might say I had way too much time on my hands. They were partially right.

There are 300 states under the kingdom and they are equally divided into three prefectures; The upper, mid and lower prefecture.

The upper prefecture was made up of the states closer to the palace including the capital. The mid prefecture was in the middle of the kingdom and the lower prefecture was at the border.

For each prefecture, there is a leader called the Principal. The principal has 5 assistants governing 20 states each. The Governors report to the assistants who in turn reports to the principals who in turn report to me, the Queen.

Though the Principals always handled each issue in their prefectures, some of them cannot be solved by them so they have to bring them to me, hence morning court.

Everytime morning court is called, everyone of them are in attendance and I solve major issues. Aside that, I sign documents, deal with religious issues and national security.

The three principals were all members of the royal family. One was my half sister and the other two, my cousins. Fourty percent of the governors were of the royal family too. We had total control of the kingdom, which was for the best.

"You're quiet your majesty" one of the principals says before sipping her tea.

"You should've left but here you all are, watching me read a book like I'm a show to you all" I say, not taking my eyes off the book I'm reading. I must say the military strategies in this book are brilliant. 

"Come out with us your majesty. Let's go to the Lilith's pavilion" Another principal, my half sister, says. I don't reply her and flip the page.

"You have a consort now. One would assume you would've loosened up by now"

"No amount of loosening up would take me to a whorehouse"

"It's not a whore house. It's a place where art flourishes. The courtesans there are the best in the kingdom. They're extremely good at their craft" my half sister says dreamily.

"Yes, one can only imagine"

"If you're not going, we'll just take your consort under the guise he's picking out another consort for you. That ought to get on your nerves"

"Hearing you all talk already grates my nerves. Jayar is teaching him. I wish you luck on wrenching him from his hands"

"Oh, it wouldn't be so hard your majesty"

I snap the book I'm reading shut and portal out of the pavilion to my room. The principals were endlessly annoying.

The painting is still on my balcony and I'm drawn to it. I brush my hands on it and I'm lost in the beauty and serenity of the painting.

"That's beautiful. Where did you get it?"

"It's none of your business" I reply, snapping out of my trance.

I stare pointedly at the council member sitting on my bed. They couldn't portal in but that didn't mean they didn't have their ways of getting in.

"You're not showing any signs of conception your majesty"

"And that's a crime how?"

"You need a heir your majesty"

"I would get one in due time. You all have no rights to control my life because of some stupid title conferred on you. I'm Queen and I'll do anything I want"

"That's true but you're forgetting one thing. If you don't conceive before your 23rd birthday, you'd unleash the wrath of Muni on Ataliya. You wouldn't want that, right?"

"So you're telling me if I don't have a child within the next few months, Muni would destroy the kingdom she built with her hands for what? For ego sake?"

"She giveth and she taketh"

I give a laugh full of self derision.

"You've finally resorted to blackmail, eh? I wanted to see how far I could push all of you but I've truly seen how powerless I am and always been. I would do your bidding but don't think for one second I would let you get away with this"

"It'll do you good to not toy with forces greater than you, your majesty"

"Go to hell"

She leaves. I turn back to the painting to see it had been reduced to ash. My anger started to manifest with black marks appearing on my hands. The curse was breaking out. I couldn't think straight.

I grit my teeth and try to calm down. But I make one fatal mistake. I made a vow to myself to never be used again. It's a vow, I knew when I was clear headed, I couldn't keep.