THE QUEEN'S SERVANT

21

Raja didn't sleep much at night. Rocky realized that as they were now sharing the same bed. She'd always get in before him, often falling asleep before Raja would even come to the bedroom. Other times, she'd be awakened by him and notice it was the midst of the night and that the boy was pacing in the room like a mad man, thinking. He would do it for hours before deciding to lay down and sleep.

That particular night, Rocky herself couldn't sleep despite being in bed for a long time. Adama told her that she'd managed to send out her letter to her parents. It would take a while before they received it but Rocky was relieved to know that help would come sooner or later. That's also what kept her awake, thinking of her parents' reaction when they would read her message. Her father's disappointed face...

The queen sighed but just as she was about to stir on her mattress, she heard the significant footsteps of Raja, coming into the bedroom. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

Raja opened the closet door, took off his shoes, and threw them inside without much care. He'd gotten rid of Hassan's belongings in the entire palace, replacing them with his own. He wanted nothing that would remind his people of their previous king. Yet, despite throwing away everything that belonged to his cousin, he still couldn't receive the same amount of respect and adoration.

He walked to the queen's side of the bed. The moon shining through the curtains lit her face. Her eyebrows were frowned and her fists tight. She couldn't even find peace in her dreams and that saddened Raja more than anything else. He dragged a chair and sat down closer to her, staring at her face and noticing the way her eyelids were trembling a bit.

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her cheek. She didn't move away like she'd do if she'd been awake. He remembered how she used to be before when she'd just arrived in the kingdom. All that joy was gone and it was because of him.

"I have no idea what I am doing." He whispered. "Being a king really isn't an easy task, huh?"

The queen's frown deepened and Raja moved his hand away from her cheek, not wanting to wake her up. He then changed his clothes, wore one of his pajama robes, and slid under the covers.

Rocky on the other side opened her eyes and let out a shaky breath. She hated when he'd just stare at her while she was pretending to sleep. Knowing he was struggling with his royal duties made her happy, thinking he deserved it all. Though, after a few minutes, her opinion changed when she heard him whimper.

Was he crying?

The queen opened her mouth in a silent gasp as she clearly heard the sound of the boy's cries, despite trying to muffle it. It broke her heart. Rocky bit her lower lip, angry at herself for still feeling bad for a person like Raja. There was just something about the weak side of him that made her lose her common senses.

Stop crying, she said in her own mind. But he didn't. Raja cried himself to sleep all while Rocky was listening and forcing herself to not comfort him in any way. Once she was sure that he was knocked out, she sat up on the bed and looked at him.

Sigh.

He was beautiful. The queen noticed the innocence in his traits, the innocence he charmed her with at first. If only she hadn't gotten too close to him. Now she really knew why it was forbidden for royals to make friends outside of their circle. She gave confidence to Raja. If it wasn't for her doing, he wouldn't have planned this rebellion. He would have remained an innocent little bean.

No longer able to resist her urges, the queen put her fingers in Raja's curls, feeling how soft they were. It only lasted a second before she snatched her hand away as if she'd been burnt. She laid back with tears in her eyes, realizing just how weak she was.