Eros

Hail to the King - 10

A long while had passed since she got out of the bath, and Mila still couldn't bring herself even to dry her hair. She spent her life as a maid fantasizing about a taste of the wealth the people she served had.

I guess I should be careful what I wish for, she thought of the grim circumstances that had brought her to where she was.

She tried to relax, take in a deep breath, and get some rest. The mattress she sat on was so soft it felt as if it were pulling her in. But as soon as she shut her eyes, she saw Garus's face in the darkness: his pallid, scarred features twisting in an impatient frown, his dark eyes glinting with hunger, and his rough hands tearing her legs apart as if they were twigs.

She pulled her knees against her breast and wrapped the towel tighter around herself. She felt herself trembling, and the urge to cry washed over her like a tide. Panic jolted through her when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Queen Avina." Mila breathed out with a deep bow of her head. There was softness to the queen's eyes and smile. Brilliant blonde hair spilled down her back, few strands framing her elegant neck and gentle features.

"Why are you in this wet towel? Do you wish to catch a cold?" Avina scolded in a motherly tone. Mila's whole body tensed again when Avina tugged the towel from her. Ever since that night, she couldn't bear the sight of her own naked body, let alone the eyes of another person on it. To her relief, Avina soon wrapped her with a blanket.

"Thank you." Mila murmured. Avina sat beside her and ran her fingers slowly through the moist strands of her hair, combing them back.

"You did the right thing, you know." Avina said, her voice quiet. Mila cringed.

"I doubt it."

"Why so?" The queen perked an eyebrow.

"Because doing the right thing is supposed to..." Anger came out of nowhere. She clenched her fists and bit her lip hard enough to crack the skin. "Doing the right thing is supposed to feel good!"

The tone of her voice rose to the verge of yelling. She looked at Avina and tears filled her eyes. "Doesn't it..?"

"I-..I-.." Mila struggled with the words. "I don't feel good because I didn't do the right thing. What I did was anything but right... He hurt me, so I wanted to hurt him back, as much as I could... And-and..."

The last word she spoke hung in the air without a next when Avina pulled the girl into her embrace. Her arms circled her, and her palm nestled back of her head. Mila was shocked. She still felt angry, despaired, and helpless. But for the first time since that night, she felt safe.

"You revealed the truth about Garus," Avina stroked the back of Mila's head as she spoke quietly, yet firmly. "By doing so, you had him stripped of the power he had – power he used to harm others."

She cupped Mila's chin and guided her to meet her gaze. "Not only are you just, you're brave too." Avina's lips formed her reassuring smile again, and her thumb wiped a tear that rolled down Mila's cheek. "Not many would've had the courage to stand against a man like Garus. Because you revealed his true face, you rid the kingdom of a corrupt Ebonknight, and saved his future victims."

"But the king... I remember how things were before the unison... the hunger, the poverty, and constant wars and invasions. And now, because of me, the king who saved all of Anerock had his life put in danger... I don't understand. Why did he agree to duel a warrior as feared as Garus instead of just having him thrown to prison?" Remorse brought fresh tears to Mila's eyes as she looked to Avina.

"I had forgotten what innocence looked like." The queen's smile came again, but this time, carried sadness.

"Roxwell might have brought peace and prosperity to Anerock; but the deposed kings still hold grudge in his court, and many lords yet thirst for power.

"I think of Roxwell as a lion in a den of hyenas – his strength keeps them obedient, but they circle him. And they must not see him bleed. Garus was one of Delib's greatest warriors, the kingdom that opposed the unison the fiercest. Declining his challenge will undermine Roxwell's strength and make an opening for those who strive for his fall. Winning will make him more formidable than ever."

Mila couldn't understand the queen's point of view.

"But what does all of that matter if he will lose and die at the duel tomorrow?" Tears streamed down Mila's cheek as her voice rose with desperation.

"You worry too much about my husband," Avina snickered. "After all, he isn't known as the Bladeweaver for nothing."