I scanned the crowd for him. For my father. My arm was linked to Kai's and I occasionally laughed when I heard him and the noble he was speaking to laugh.
"I have to say dear, you don't look so sick now." I looked to see the annoying woman from the Land of the Crows. I took in her obnoxious yellow dress and her strangled nest of hair and wondered how she was allowed to roam court. Even if I couldn't control my emotions, I could at least control my tongue.
"Do you think she's tired from all the socialising?" The woman looked at me with sympathy but addressed her words to Kai.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Kai looked slightly amused by this, I did my best not to roll my eyes. She looked at me with distaste.
"She doesn't seem like much does she? Her hips aren't quite wide enough for child birth." She sized me up and this time I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"If you'll excuse us. We're going to take this next dance." Kai led me away from her and into the center of dancing people. Amazing that I'd rather dance with the cruel king that small talk with nobility. At least Kai and I acknowledge our hatred of each other. Everyone else hid it behind your back, or tried to and failed like the Crow nobles.
Kai and I moved in sync with the couples around us and my eyes travelled the room around us. Where was he? Why was he hiding from me?
"Try to look a little happy." He spun me around and I managed to lift my mouth up into the remnant of a smile. "You're doing well, all things considered."
Was that a compliment? I tore my eyes away from the crowd to look at him. His face was the perfect mask of contentment. How could he pull it off so easily? I knew hatred for me was swimming just beneath the surface of this strange calm.
"No need to be so patronising." I snapped back. "There's something going on here."
"What you said yesterday..." He didn't finish his sentence. I looked at him and wondered which part he meant. I said quite a lot of things. "About being alone with your father."
"I was overreacting." I dipped with the other girls and Kai walked around me to the rhythm of the music. "There's nothing to worry about."
"I... Fine." He put his hand back on my waist and he spun in the sequence of twirling colours around us.
Then I saw her, standing still, eyes trained on me. His first concubine. Her dress was much too bright blue to be an ode to the Land of the Lotus, she made eye contact with me and nodded to the door.
The dance ended and Kai and I walked to the edge of the crowd.
"Excuse me a moment." I let go of him without further explaining myself.
I pushed through the crowd and followed her out of the room. She walked through the halls and into an empty room. It was a large reception room where my father was sitting in an armchair with two of his guards behind him. His concubine started to untie my dress.
"What are you doing?" I moved away from her.
"Do you want it ripped?" She asked. Unsure of what she meant I let untie the dress. She slipped it over my head and I saw the horse whips in the guards hands. I stumbled backward but she held me in place.
"What did you do to my mother?" I could barely speak.
"She was a traitor." He stood up. "She told me she was coming here to free you. She put the whole alliance at risk."
"She was upset." I blinked back tears. "What did you do to her?!"
"I had her publicly executed." He answered in a disinterested tone. I dropped to my knees.
YOU ARE READING
King of the Darkest Stars (EXO Kai ff)
Fantasy"Who are you?" I asked. "Why are you hiding?" "Who am I?" I could hear his scoff. "I'm not hiding. I don't need to hide in my own castle." His own... castle... The room was dimly lit but in the shadow of the dark room I could see his figure. I could...
