A Night With The King

Sophie was woke by the sound of someone opening the gate. She sat up immediately in fear. She already knew who it was that was coming to see her and to be honest, she wasn’t ready to meet him, not after the way he looked at her the first time she was brought back to the palace. She wished they have just let her remain in prison, at least that way, she would not have to face the king. Well, he was here now and she should do well to prepare for the worse.

“You are awake,”

He said when he walked into the room in his commanding voice and presence. Even though she didn’t want to, she stood up and bowed before him, she dared not look at his face. He was dressed in his robes which means the day was over and he was here to make her speak before retiring to bed. A great way to end the day for him but a miserable day for her. She wanted him gone and hoped he would just disappear but he stood by the door. He must be looking at her but she couldn’t look at him.

“Your majesty,”

She greeted. She felt dizzy and had to fall to her knees. He took a few steps towards her and stopped. She waited for his harsh voice to address her. She couldn’t say a word and her head was heavy, she just wanted to close her eyes and let it all go.

“So? This is where we meet again? When I was sending you that errand couple of days ago, I never expected the next time we would be with each other alone to be like this. I never expected you to return as my prison and not my trusted worker,”

The king said. He sounded calm which was suspicious. She expected him to yell at her or something not ask her questions in a calm voice. She still did not dare to look at his face.

“I am talking to you Sophie, what happened? Why did you come back here as a prison?”

He asked again this time his voice was louder.

“I am sorry,”

She let out. She was so sure he didn’t hear her because he didn’t react to what she said. She wanted to look at his face and see how he was looking at her but she couldn’t do it for fear of being punished for looking at the king. It has happened before, not to her but to one of the other palace maids. She was punished and sent out of the palace for looking at the king while he was talking. Back then, Sophie had wondered why that was a thing, she had been new then but now, she knew better than to make that mistake.

“Sophie, is this what you wanted? Is this how you want to live? Where are the diamonds I gave to you to deliver for me, woman?”

The king let out. Sophie’s whole body trembled in fear at his voice. She could tell he was angry and trying to control himself but what would she tell him that would make him believe her? No one seem to want to hear her side of the story, would the king even listen?

“I am asking you! Don’t make me ask the guards to give you a beating before you start talking, for a thief, I am trying to be nice to you,”

The king roared.

“I didn’t steal it, please believe me, my king, I did not steal from you,”

She cried. She couldn’t look at him, she wasn’t supposed to look at the king’s face when he is talking so her head remained bowed.

“You liar, you bloody liar, you know where the diamonds are and I want you to tell me where they are,”

The king let out as he walked closer to her and grabbed her by the hair so that she was forced to look up at his face. She covered her face with her hands to avoid meeting his eyes but he didn’t let her as she yanked her hands off her face and her eyes met his fierce, piercing eyes that would make anyone tremble in fear, she lowered her eyes only after meeting his for a few seconds.

“Sophie, look at me when I talk to you, look at me,”

He yelled at her. He was too close to her. his face was too close to hers and her whole body was shaking in fear. How did he expect her to look at him when he was so close to her?

“Look at me Sophie and tell me you didn’t steal those diamonds, tell me to my face that you have no idea where those diamonds are,”

He yelled out.

“I don’t, I don’t know where they are, you have to believe me, I didn’t steal them, please listen to me,”

She pleaded but he didn’t look like he believed anything she was saying. He already concluded that she was the culprit and there was nothing she would say to him for him to believe her.

“Why did you steal from me, Sophie? Why did you break the trust I had for you? I trusted you that’s why I sent you. Why did you have to backstab me and was it worth it?”

He asked. He wasn’t yelling at her this time but it felt like it. His piercing eyes were doing the job even though his voice was calm.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“I don’t know what else you want me to say, I didn’t steal from you, I wasn’t the one that stole from you. The man you sent with me did it, he was the one that took the diamond and left me to die in the desert.”

She let out. She decided she was done begging him. No matter what she does, he would never believe her, and he refuses to listen to her pleas.

“How do you want me to believe that when the same man you are talking about came back to the palace before you with a gunshot wound and he is still receiving treatment as we speak,”

The king let out in a raised voice. Sophie heard from the officers that the man was in the hospital, surely, they didn’t believe that she shot him, right? That’s not even what happened. When the bastard left her, he was still okay.

“That’s not what happened, that’s not how it happened,”

She let out.

“What? Then what happened because it is clear to me that that’s what happened, you got him almost killed that he had to run for his life with a gunshot wound.

“Does that make sense to you? I didn’t do it, if I did why will I be the one to remain behind instead of returning to the palace to pretend nothing had happened and accuse him? I would have killed him if I even knew how to and if he is telling the truth then how come he is the one that got away with the car? It makes no sense that everyone buys his story when it is not true. when he left me behind, he didn’t have any gunshot wounds, he had a gun with him though. He threatened to kill me with it and left me in the middle of nowhere because he felt it would be more painful to die that way,”

Sophie cried. She hated that she couldn’t narrate what happened without crying. It was so painful that despite it being so clear to her that she was set up, no one else saw it that way.

“So, you expect me to believe what you are saying right now? But I don’t believe you, nothing you are saying right now is believable. Yes, he was lucky to have gotten away from you, why are you trying to twist the truth? You want me to believe you who is a foreigner and might have run away if the borders were not closed over someone who has been serving in this palace years before you came here?”

The king yelled at her. She was right about everything. He didn’t believe her just because she wasn’t part of the kingdom.

“I didn’t do it, I didn’t shoot him, I don’t even know how to handle a gun not to talk of shooting someone, I don’t know how to convince you that I am the victim here when it is clear that you already picked a side. Just because he is a native and I am out,”

Sophie let out. The king let her go and stood up. She thought he was leaving but he just stood there as if he was in deep thought. She waited for him to say what else he had to say to her. She already knew he would never believe her and that he was looking for the meanest words to use against her.

“Who is the father of your unborn child?”

The king asked and Sophie looked at him in shock and fear. She was aware.