Some of the other concubines sighed and groaned when we could finally stand.
My knees shot painful pricks up and down my legs as I pushed myself off the ground. I turned around and grabbed a fistful of Marigold’s dress to steady myself.
“Arrg, don’t,” she groaned, chuckling when I arched my back and heard a pop. “I thought we’d never get up.”
“It seems like it’s a habit of His to keep us kneeling,” I mumbled.
We filtered out of Scarlet’s garden and everyone tried their best to keep their voices down as they speculated what was being discussed behind those doors. The concubines were a sea of multicoloured fabrics and perfume, linking arms with their friends and expressing their own surprise at learning of Scarlet’s pregnancy. I never bothered to get close to any of them during my time in the Pavilion. Marigold once called me a ‘snob’ for that but I saw no point in making friendships with people who considered me their competition for status in the Palace.
How many of them are already plotting their move against Scarlet and her unborn child?
“Well,” Marigold breathed, “they’re going to be in there for some time. I doubt we’ll get called back to bid His Majesty ‘farewell’. That’s good news for you.”
“Right back at you,” I laughed.
“Yes, but I’m not the one he hasn’t called into his bed yet.” She smirked and paused to pluck out a daisy from the ground beside us. She twirled the step between her fingers and started pulling out each petal one at a time. My eyes followed the delicate, white pieces as they drifted downwards, spinning and flipping in the wind.
“Don’t show off to me about how splendidly terrible you performed for Him,” I teased. “I’m sure He removed your nametag completely from the board.”
“Which is what you should have done 3 years ago. Now you’ve just been biting your nails and hoping he forgets you exist.”
She was right. I had been reluctantly impressed when Marigold came back from her night with the Emperor and re-laid to me how she made him lose interest in her by behaving like a clueless moron the entire evening. While they did have intercourse, His Majesty had been frustrated the entire evening and he sent her back to her room afterwards, instead of staying with her until the next day.
He never summoned her again.
“I suppose you’re right,” I admitted.
We continued to walk to our private residences, Marigold humming a pleasant tune while I gazed up at the clouds gathering above us.
Will it rain tonight?
I hoped it would not. Bad weather always had a tendency to delay very important plans…
“Well, I’m going to take a nap,” Marigold declared. We stopped in front of her adorable archway made of tangled daisies and hydrangeas. “Will you come over tonight?”
“Maybe tomorrow.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I’m still waiting for my medicine.”
Marigold’s mouthed an ‘oh’ before she smirked cheekily. “Let’s hope it gets here before His Majesty summons you. The way you bowed so low back there was so magnificent, it’s impossible for him not to have noticed.”
I gave an undignified snort and slapped her shoulder. A shadow passed over us when a particularly dark cloud covered the sun and I gave an audible sigh, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth.
“Hey, relax,” Marigold soothed, pocking my cheek. “Even if your ‘medicine’ doesn’t get here, we’ll steal some from Angelique. Goodness knows she has an entire pharmacy in her room.”
“Then we’ll owe her. That snake never forgets a favour.”
“True, but we could just rat her out if she pushes it.”
Marigold’s innocent smile masked the sly woman underneath. She always managed to get what she wanted in the Pavilion using thinly veiled threats to expose the more…undesirable acts that many concubines committed. I long stopped worrying about her turning on me, though. We both had an intimate knowledge of each other’s secrets and our sisterhood was the only thing keeping us alive in this jungle.
“Then I will relax,” I smiled back.
I was pulled out of my dreamless sleep by a loud creaking.
Shooting up, I clutched my blankets to my chest and pulled my knees up to my chest. My heart beat painfully in my chest as I whipped my head around, squinting through the darkness and silks of my canopy to see into the dark, empty room. I tried to keep my breathing low when nothing appeared out of place, straining my ears for any unnatural sounds.
The sounds pouring rain patted gently outside, almost succeeding to lull me back to sleep as it had when it started earlier that evening. I sought the covers of my bed for warmth, waiting for my visitor to arrive, and before I knew it, I was out like a light.
Was it thunder, maybe?
It couldn’t have been. There wasn’t a single flash of lighting and none of the reverberating echo that tended to follow after thunder.
A few moments went by before I gathered my wits and shifted off the bed, pushing aside the curtains and stepping down onto the cold, oak floor. My steps caused the floor to creak softly, echoing through the empty space. The moon’s light filtered through the decorative windows along the walls, stretching the patterns across the floor and making them appear more menacing than intended.
My room was comfortable, if not a little bland. Purple and grey silks hung from the high ceilings and the oak floors were always polished and bare. I had a small desk in the middle of the room with piles of scrolls and books scattered over it where I practiced my scripts. None of us were allowed to bring in any of our other belongings besides clothing and jewelry, so the books and other trinkets were gifts from His Majesty throughout the years.
None of them were personal. He was obligated to send his concubines presents for their birthdays and on the anniversary of our entry into the palace, but I’m almost certain that the head eunuch was the one who prepared the gifts. I picked up a sharp, metal paperweight from the desk, clutching it in my fist while a line scroll tumbled to the ground.
Seeing nothing amiss, I let out a tired sigh and thrummed my fingers over a hideous porcelain vase near me as I shuffled towards the clothing cabinet along the back of the room.
If there was anyone in here, they would be hiding inside of it.
I reached my hand out to grab the metal handle. Blood pumped through my ears and I tensed my body, ready to strike at anything I’d find-
A loud creak came up from behind me and my world was suddenly spinning. A large, calloused hand clamped over my mouth, preventing me from screaming, as my body was thrown against the very cabinet I had almost opened. It groaned as I tried to kick out at whoever was pinning me, but a thick thigh shoved its way between my legs and a warm, muscular body pressed itself against mine.
A familiar rich, deep voice chuckled at my struggling, causing me pausing my flailing. I stared into a large pair of amused, azure eyes framed with thick eyelashes. His face was beautiful; olive skin with thick, manicured eyebrows, a strong, straight nose and plump, pink lips curved up in a smirk. His long, dark hair was tied back in a messy bun, while his bangs framed his face and curled at the ends towards his collarbone.
A pair of ruby studs in his ears reflected the moon’s light, making them twinkle prettily.
“Did I scare you, little dove?” teased the third prince, Dante Luvero.
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