Palace Prisoner- Chapter 34

“Kazzie?”

“Yes, your highness?” She says while twirling gauze in her hand.

“I’ll only be needing your help from now on.”

She nods. “I understand.”

“I need you to come back in a few fours to help me get ready for dinner.”

“Princess,” she gasps. “You’re in no condition to attend dinner.”

“I don’t have a choice. It was an order.” I turn my tear-stained face away.

Silence fills the air before Kazzie lets out a breath. “As you wish.”

The colors of the room swim in my field of vision. I close my eyes for just a moment and blackness envelops me.

---

“Princess.” I hear the words whispered. I don’t register them at first. I’m no princess. I’m just Mal.

“Princess, you need to wake up.” A hand touches my shoulder and I jolt awake. A Tearing pain rips through my back and I try to relax but the pain stays.

“I’m sorry. Are you alright?” Tears spring into my eyes and my arms shake with tremors of trying to control the pain.

“Let’s get you into the chair.” Kazzie extends her arms and I grip them like someone would a cane. It hurts to straighten. It’s agony to stay hunched over.

“The orange dress, that one won’t be tight on your figure.”

She pulls out the rust colored dress that I normally would be able to fasten myself and puts it on me like a mother dressing her child. She brushes out my hair and begins braiding it in two then forming buns as the braids wrap around themselves. She then smears pastes and creams on my face. “We need to hide the paleness on your face. As well as that nick on your cheek.”

Air gets caught as I breathe in. If I was anything less than perfect at dinner I don’t know what the king will do to me. My lip trembles as Kazzie swipes color onto them.

“Princess, you really should stay in bed.”

“I can’t.” My eyes betray me and produce tears.

Kazzie grabs a tissue and blots under my eyes so the hard work she has done is not ruined.

“Your makeup will be just like at the party. You will look fierce even if you don’t feel it.”

I barely nod along, afraid that any movement will strain the stitches keeping my mutilated back together.

“Help me to the dining hall, please.” I plead with her as she puts away the eye makeup.

“Of course.”

She helps me to stand and then I lean as much of my weight as I need to on her arm as she helps me into a simple pair of slippers. Down the halls she smiles and chatters away as if nothing were the matter. My eyelids only open to slits, as I have this walk memorized.

“Weylin is already building the nursery up for the baby.” Kazzie says. “I think it will be a boy personally, he has his money on a girl though. I’ll truly be happy with either. We just want a healthy baby and a safe delivery.”

“I wish that for you.” I somehow manage to speak.

“Thank you, your highness. I want the baby to have siblings. I enjoyed growing up with mine. Weylin is an only child so, I think he’s a bit nervous.”

“My siblings love has always outweighed the times I’ve wanted to strangle them.”

Kazzie laughs and she cuts it off short as we round the hall to the dining room’s entrance.

“You’ll wait in my quarters, won’t you?”

“Of course.” She pats my hand and bows as she leaves me on my own.

She strides off as I stare at the double door in front of me. I don’t look at the guards to open it, they know to do it.

Perspiration forms on every crease in my body as I walk on my own strength to the table. I’m not breathing properly as I take each step.

“Mallory.” The king’s voice booms and I want to turn and run. “So, nice of you to join us. I was about to send a search party for you.”

“Apologizes.” I dip my head and bite the inside of my lip so I don’t scream.

Jesse stands to pull my chair out for me and I plop down into it before he pushes my seat in.

“Let’s eat.” The king’s voice booms.

Breath escapes my mouth and I try to focus on something other than the pain pulsing across my back.

Food is placed in front of me. I can’t focus my eyesight enough to identify what it is before I stab my fork into in. I bring it to my mouth and chew. I repeat the motion until the food in front of me is gone.

I can’t breathe through my nose, I take small breathes through my mouth trying to manage the discomfort the back of the chair puts on my skin.

“Mallory.” My name on the king’s tongue makes me wince. “It’s good to see your appetite is back.”

“Indeed.” I try my best at a smile but I can tell it doesn’t come off well.

The plate is taken from me and I can feel the beads of sweat form on my head from all this exertion.

“Are you alright?” Jesse whisper to me as he takes a sip from whiskey glass. Not whiskey, he doesn’t drink whiskey. It’s tea. Chilled tea.

I only nod. Silently hoping anyone else will begin speaking and the attention can be taken off of me.

“Mallory.” The king’s voice sends a jolt of fear through me again. “Could you pass me the salt?”

I swallow down the scream.

“I can reach it for you dear.” Queen Malaya says.

“No.” The king’s fist pounds on the table. “I asked our lovely daughter-in-law to do it.”

“Of course.” The words squeak out of me. I stretch and every fiber of my being screams at me not to, but I have no choice. I move the salt shaker past Jesse, leaning to put it directly next to the king’s hand.

I sit down and a whimper escapes me. I shut my eyes. Please tell me no one heard that. Please just ignore me the rest of this awful meal.

“What is going on with you?” Jesse’s hushed voice is next to me, his arm drapes over the back of the chair dangerously close to my new wounds he doesn’t know exist.

“Womenly…cramps…” I breathe the lie out one word at a time.

“Do you wish for any tea?”

“No.” Please, please stop drawing attention to me. I don’t want to be the ball of yarn for the bobcat at this table to play with.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I seethe the word out. I want nothing more than for Jesse to stop talking to me. His hand retracks and a salad is put in front of us. I shovel a piece of lettuce and pickled beet into my mouth. Each bite I take is so vicious I’m afraid I’m going to break through my teeth.

No relief for me as the king batters me with idle questions. Each word from his lips feels like a sword thrown for me to dodge. A dance between the two if us but he had the ability to make me bleed more if my lies were not up to par.

“Mallory?” Rex’s little voice pipes up into the conversation mid-way through the final course.

“Yes, Rex?” I wipe a bead of sweat that threatens to roll down my face.

“Could you help me with the…thing tonight?”

“I’m sorry. Not tonight, another. I promise.” I attempt to smile but I can feel how shaky the motion is.

“Mallory,” the queens voice catches my attention. “I don’t believe we’d gotten a chance to give you our sincerest condolences for the loss of your father.”

“Thank you.” I set the fork down. The king was still leaving a few bites of food on his plate.

“Yes, it was truly an unforeseen tragedy he would pass so quickly.” King Demir meets my eyes and smiles. Like someone smiling at a child who had told the same joke a hundred times in a row.

My nails find the edge of the table and I sink them into the wood. A sliced up back was enough of a brutal blow. Lying to my face about my father was another level of pain.

“Father,” Scarlette cuts in. “I still wish to practice my piano before bed. May dinner be concluded?”

He glares at his daughter but dismisses us a moment later.

Jesse pulls my seat out and grasps my hand before I can make my getaway. “Do you need help back to-“

“Jesse,” the king interrupts us. “A few words about the up coming counsel meeting.”

“I’ll be fine.” I say and turn my back on him.

As soon as I’m on the other side of the doors I let a grimace come on my face. Let the guards think I was in grief and mourning. The pain went much deeper than that. The minute I walk into my quarters Kazzie is there taking me to the bed.

“Dinner went longer than usual.”

I nod. The tears silently flowing down my face.

She makes quick work of removing my updo and makeup along with my dress. She slips a pair of sleep clothes on me, never making me move the slightest.

“I’ll be back in the morning to change the bandages and help you get cleaned up some more.”

“Just you.” I remind her.

“Yes, of course.” She pulls the covers all the way to my neck, hiding the massacre that is my back.

“Goodnight, your highness.”

“Goodnight, Kazzie.”

Then I’m alone. I so desperately want to cry out but it would only mean more pain, and no guarantee I would feel any relief.