𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅

chapter forty-three

Emriana

It was my turn to take a few shaky steps back as the way he looked at me made me further uncomfortable. The unknown emotion brewing behind his gaze wasn't like anything I had ever seen. It was as if I was someone special to him, but I wasn't, I think.

"I-I... y-you got the w-wrong person," I managed to say as I broke our eye contact and looked away.

"Y-You d-don't know Tamina?" I shook my head, although I was starting to doubt my own answer. The woman whose name I kept hearing was an enigma. Who was she? What was my connection to her? Why did everyone know her except me?

Instant guilt invaded me as a single tear ran down his cheek at my answer. Why did it matter if I knew her?

"W-Wha," the King stuttered, bringing my attention back to him.

"A-Are you o-okay y-your M-Majesty?"

He didn't react to my question, and it somehow only made me spiral more into panic as the feeling of something pressing on my chest grew with each breath. My shaky inhale didn't go unnoticed.

He was about to say something when his eyes drifted to my neck, and something flashed through his eyes.

"Who gave you this?" I didn't have time to wonder what he was talking about because the next thing I knew, he was holding my necklace up to my face as he stood right in front of me. The hold he had on the jewelry pulled my neck forward, and the friction of the chain became painful.

"M-My," Black dots covered my vision.

"M-Mother," my voice was barely a whisper, but he seemed to hear as he released his hold on the chain. My whole body suddenly felt heavy, and my knees bent forward, sending me to the floor inelegantly.

My skin tore at the contact of the glass, and the oil burned as it entered the now-opened wounds, but I didn't care as the ground provided me with stability.

"Your Majesty, are you okay?" I heard a faint distant voice.

"Call the physician and leave us," he replied quickly, his voice shaky. The footsteps became faint, and soon, the heavy silence returned. The minutes passed as I tried to get my breathing under control. My eyes closed shut as I imagined I was anywhere except here.

After a few shaky but stronger exhale, I could start to relax a little. I kept repeating to myself that if the King wanted to hurt me, he would've done it already. That thought helped me calm down a little, even if my heart was still beating with force.

Footsteps made me blink open to see a man coming toward me. I immediately started to back away, but the King spoke.

"Don't," for somebody who was crying a few minutes ago, his voice was strong and confident. I stayed still as the man pulled me away from the glass.

"Careful, Gruto," the King warned with a serious tone. The man looked visibly nervous as he slowly pushed my dress to my knees. I winced at the burning sensation when the fabric scrapped my wounds.

"I said careful," the King snapped, and Gruto flinched a little.

He took a few bandages and a bottle of liquid from a small bag by my feet. He grabbed a pair of tweezers, and I shuddered, knowing what was coming.

"This is going to sting Miss," he warned me, and he was right. He started to remove the glass pieces from my legs, and I bit my lips, fighting the urge to cry. He worked fast, and I felt the King coming closer and closer until he stood right next to me.

"Show him your hands," I obliged the King and slowly opened my palm to reveal the injuries. He nodded before working on them. Soon, my wounds were cleaned and wrapped under a bandage.