Chapter twelve: Everyone loves a black haired princess
Jamie enclosed both her hands over the stone castle. She was confused. Alexander was confusing. It was like he had two sides to him. The beast that had her lashed and the man that gifted her something that was obviously dear to him. She looked at the stone castle again before she safely tucked it under her pillow. Jamie plans to return it to Alexander.
Rachael ran a bath for her. She wondered how the young maid was able to arrange for such luxury bath in such a short period. Jamie watched as the girl poured in scent portions inside the water to make it pleasant.
"Her majesty, your bath awaits and I shall assist you" Rachael reached for something in a jar and Jamie recognized the scent.
"What are you holding in the Jar, Rachael?" Jamie asked her in a calm tone.
"It's white vinegar, her majesty. It is for your hair"
"Take it away. You can't ever use it on my hair, Rachael" Jamie cautioned her.
"Every upper class lady in Aradale uses it. It returns the hair to it natural color after a long day, Milady" Rachael bowed immediately. She had given the Queen of Aradale a piece of her mind without her asking. "I apologize, her majesty. I spoke out of turn"
"Rachael when we are in private, you are allowed to speak your mind. I like to think of you as my friend" Jamie needed a spy and who else than someone with access to the royal household. Someone that can come and go at will without drawing attention to her person.
"A friend of the Queen?" Rachael sounded puzzled.
"Yes. And friends look out for each other, right?" Jamie asked and the girl nodded vigorously.
"Then I will let you in on a secret, if you promise never to tell a soul" Jamie baited the young girl. It wasn't in Jamie's nature to lie and so, she picked a secret inside her secret box… a secret that wouldn't hurt the future Queen of Namura to tell her Lady's maid to gain her trust.
"I wouldn't tell a soul, her majesty. I promise. I will take your secret to the grave" The girl came closer to her.
"My hair naturally is the color of flames. I used a potent hair color portion to turn it to black. The only thing that can undo it, is white vinegar and so you must keep it away from me, Rachael" Jamie was serious.
She saw the shocked look on Rachael's face and bit down a smile.
"But Milady, everyone wants hair as bright as flame" Rachael always wished she was a red hair instead of blonde "Why did her majesty change her hair?"
Jamie wanted to tell her the truth but the truth sounded absurd. How can she tell the young girl that her father, the king of Namura wanted her to change her hair color? He paid a fortune to make it a reality.
"Who doesn't love a black haired princess?"
Rachael started to undress Jamie. Jamie didn't think it was a good idea for her lady's maid to see the lash marks on her body but it was inevitable. She was going to be known as the Queen the king had lashed. Jamie only wished it wasn't done in public.
"Everyone is talking about you, her majesty" Rachael was done unhooking her dress and she helped her step away from it.
"I know" Jamie murmured. She wasn't going to live down the shame.
"My brother, ginger he is the King's servant he said you must have given the King a portion"
Jamie turned around swiftly to face her lady's maid. What was she talking about? Alexander was the type that portion doesn't work on or Jamie had a good mind to give him a baldness portion.
Everyone in Derkal believed in magic even though only a handful of people had it and real magic was almost extinct.
"Why?" she asked instead.
"Ginger says her majesty almost killed his highness but somehow you are still alive." Rachael told her as she touched the water in the bathe to make sure it was the right temperature.
Jamie couldn't object. If the devil of Aradale kept her alive, it was for a reason. A reason she was yet to know.
"Milady, after your bathe, the king wants you to pick out a dress from the wardrobe. A dress befitting a Queen"
"Why?" Jamie asked. She wondered why Alexander was suddenly interested in her appearance.
"His highness wishes for you to meet the rest of the royal household, Milady"
Jamie could hear it in Rachael's voice that it wasn't the way Alexander framed the Question.
"Tell your King I humbly declined" Jamie said it with a mock bow like she didn't just insult the most powerful King in Derkal by refusing his invitation.
"I am sorry, her majesty but the king insisted"
"Well, tell Alexander that after lashing me in public the only thing I plan on doing is getting better, returning the favor and finding my way back to Namura"
Rachael wanted to tell her the truth. She wanted Queen Janessa to know that she wasn't lashed in public like she thought but she couldn't. The king forbade anyone from disclosing such sensitive information to his Queen. Rachael bites down on her tongue instead.
She liked the new Queen more than the old one. She remembered Queen Arabella as the young Queen who had a polite smile and sat quietly behind or beside the King but not this Queen. She speaks her mind and demands to be heard. Rachael liked her. Maybe she would change the King for the better.
"You have to go, Queen Janessa. You have to. No one refuses the king's invitation. The consequences is grave and dire"
Jamie soaked in the bath for a while. It was exactly what the doctor prescribed for her aching body. She closed her eyes temporarily. Jamie tried to imagine Alexander as a young happy child but she couldn't form an accurate picture. And so she spoke to Rachael.
"I won't go. And I don't want to hear another word about it, Rachael. Tell your King that the only way I am meeting the rest of the stuck up royal family is in chains"