Far away from where the three persons from Ziadne plotted their survival plan, inside the largest chamber in the palace, four ladies sat on the rugged floor with their heads staring down, with their backs facing the King.
"Your Majesty!" Lady Feyrne exclaimed with a trembling voice.
Neron raised his eyes lazily to look at the woman, his long fingernails holding up the pot he was smoking. Watching with boredom as the ashes dropped with ease onto the rug.
"Killing the officials was too extreme, and you know that." The woman knew she was screaming into the void. The young king was barely listening to her. His eyes dilated, and he drifted.
Neron moved to his side, pointing at the girls that waited for him. "Did you let me take four of your doves without intention of actually taking them?" he released a dragged dramatic sigh, shaking his head.
"I had wanted to end the event in silence, but then you insisted I killed those men, didn't you?"
Feyrne gritted her teeth before she retorted. "You know I didn't do that!" Seeing that the girls flinched when she raised her voice, the woman cleared her throat. Trying a softer tone.
"Your Majesty...you need to be seen as someone who can talk with his officials, smile with them and....and take their advice."
Neron dropped the pot, watching it fall onto the couch then it bounced on the floor. He noticed how Feyrne's eyes followed the object that fell on the floor.
"Why?" Neron asked, getting her attention back to his face.
"Because that is what a true king does! You have to act like you are royalty. Let the people see that in you." Feyrne replied, her eyes shaking. She wished the young king would stop trying to scare everyone around him.
The woman had watched the boy grow, she was there during his birth. The boy used to be so sweet, an adorable little thing. Watching him get corrupted by...it wasn't power. It was hate and Feyrne knew why.
"You mean to say I am acting because I am not royalty?" Neron scoffed, but his eyes held no such emotion. "I thought I had you on my side, Feyrne, but now....you also think I am not worthy to be king." He stood up from the couch, stretching his body to the side.
"You know very well I didn't mean it, Your Majesty." Feyrne tried to explain, but the king stopped her by raising his hand.
"Are you implying that your words are no longer truthful because you're getting old?" Neron's eyes lazily settled on the girls that were meant to serve him. He walked towards them.
Feyrne pressed her lips tightly. She hated this feeling. If anyone else turned their back on the king, she shouldn't. He was right, but she also couldn't deny he was getting worse. The hatred was making him blind...making him mad.
Getting to the girls, Neron exhaled tiredly before sitting on his heels. He stared at the girls, from the oldest to the youngest.
"Feyrne doesn't think I am fit to be king. To her, it doesn't matter if I have conquered half of the kingdoms around Zephyrus. I wonder what I have to do to get her approval." His eyes trailed, so did his hands.
Settling on the youngest girl among the four. The girl recoiled her body and flinched when Neron moved his hand.
"Shh...shh I won't hurt you." He promised softly. Reaching for the girl's hair, he gently parted it. "I won't hurt you," he reassured.
The girl, who had closed her eyes when the king came close, slowly opened them and instead of fear, she found comfort.
"Have you ever served a man?" Neron asked, letting go of her hair.
The girl glanced at Feyrne then at the King's huge palm before shaking her head slowly. "No, Your Majesty."
Feyrne's shoulders dropped tiredly.
Neron gasped, with his hand over his mouth. He patted the girl's hair. "You must have seen me as a monster, right?" When he turned to look at Feyrne, his eyes darkened.
"Or maybe someone is trying to test me."
Neron stood up, his height towering over the women. "Leave," he ordered the girl.
Thinking she had committed a grave offense, the girl got down on her knees. "Forgive me your majesty...."
"You did nothing wrong. Someone else will have to pay." Neron interrupted, on his lips was now a dry smile.
Feyrne didn't break eye-contact. "I didn't know about this," she tried to explain.
"Did you not also know about the red-head girl earlier? You and I know very well that girl has never served a man her entire life. Was she put there to know how much of a devil I have become? Answer me, Feyrne."
Neron shook his head. "Or is it your hate? You want to have me destroyed somehow, but you need a reason. Don't you? To make me just same as the monsters you dread so much. Tch, women." He sucked his teeth.
"Ne- Your Majesty!" Feyrne corrected. "I do not hate you!"
Neron pointed at the girl, who was now trembling. "Then what is she doing here? Do you want me to believe you've forgotten why you started everything and who even gave you the power you enjoy now? The sacrifices made! Do you-" he rubbed his eyes.
"It can't be that... Feyrne doesn't forget." Neron muttered, shaking his head. "It is hate or....jealousy? I heard women can go any length to have a man destroyed when they are jealous." He used his foot to tap the girl.
"Leave now before she burns both of us with her eyes." Neron gestured with his head without turning to look at Feyrne, who was glaring at him.
The girl glanced at the head courtesan first. It was a tough choice, but she needed to obey the king. The man didn't seem to be in his right mind. He kept saying things that was absurd to her. Bowing once more, the girl got on her feet, scrambling out of the room without making a sound.
"It seems you have really forgotten Feyrne." Neron continued after the door was closed. He stretched his hand for the other lady to take.
Feyrne bowed her head gently. "I apologize for missing details, Your Majesty. Forgive me. I will be more careful next time."
When Neron pulled the girl up, he grinned, tracing his hand on her face. "Don't get me wrong, Feyrne...you know why I do this....I don't want a mother losing her child again. Do you understand?"
Lady Feyrne gulped audibly. She knows a threat when she hears one. "I understand, Your Majesty." She replied with a bow.
Neron hummed, taking the girl with him to his bed. "If that is all, you can leave."
Feyrne inhaled deeply. "Your father has requested breakfast with every member of the family tomorrow."
"So you mean I shouldn't stay up late. Understood." Neron pushed the girl on the bed, when she bounced and giggled. He winked at her. "You heard her....she meant...don't keep me up all night, let's get it done quickly." He waved for the other two to join them.
The remaining girls hopped on the bed, discarding their dresses and letting their hair loose. Their laughter and giggling filling up the entire room.
Seeing this, Lady Feyrne slowly moved back with her head bowed and her palms pressed tightly together until she exited the room.
Neron's smile dropped when he heard the door close shut. Leaving the girls on the bed, he walked over to the couch. Neron picked up the pot he'd dropped earlier and placed it gently on the table.
"Another long night." Neron sighed, crashing onto the couch.
The girls on the bed watched in silence as the king left them on his enormous bed to curl up on the sofa.
Outside the room, Feyrne walked out of the passage, with her hands trembling. Her attempts to stop crying only made it worse. She didn't know why she had done what she did. She never gave her innocent girls away to men. That was what made her famous and most respected among others in her line of business. Why had she done that? Was the king right?
Was she trying to destroy the king if he had broken the last straw?
"Lady Feyrne, are you okay?" One woman who works with her caught sight of the woman. Quickly rushed to help her.
The woman always turned pale after seeing the King. Nobody was safe from the King's wrath, not even Lady Feyrne. The woman thought as she helped Feyrne from falling.
"The new girl, Rina, and others like her who have never served a man...take them to the kitchen starting from tomorrow." She whispered softly, her hands still shaking.