Come daybreak and an urgent errand was waiting for Elyesa. She had been sent by the Head Cook to get some special herbs from across the Kingdom.
Along with two other maids and a guard, she went to get them.
Some days had passed and they finally returned to the palace with the special herbs but something about the palace felt really out of place. There were carriages everywhere, although there were no strangers walking around.
Elyesa made no comment about it though, she went into the kitchen, looking for the Head Cook in order to deliver to her the herbs.
She wouldn't have been the one to deliver the basket, if her companions hadn't bullied her into carrying that cross.
There were some maids in the kitchen, twos and threes, by the kitchen cabinet, the stove, everywhere. Immediately they saw her, they kept quiet, smiles they were fighting to suppress, plastered on their faces.
"You are back!" Caroline, one of the maids, declared in a somewhat exaggerated excitement.
Caroline just wasn't any maid, she was the head of all the young maids in the palace, although no one had actually crowned her that. She just naturally had the respect and commanded the fear. It could be because of her bewitching hourglass figure that would always get her the attention of any male servant or guard she wanted without batting an eye, or maybe it was the fact that she was the scary Head Cook's daughter.
Anyways, amongst them here, she was the one with the power.
"Y-yes. Good day t--"
"Where are the herbs?" The other asked quickly and Elyesa stretched her full basket to her.
That was Heather, Caroline's right hand woman.
She was a terrible bully herself and before Caroline came, some years ago, she would always pose as the Head of the young maids in the palace. When Caroline arrived though, knowing the power she had, Heather stepped down, gained herself an ally and a place, instead of being a loser and having against her a powerful enemy.
Heather had never really liked anyone for their person too, it had always been about what they had, what they could give her and if they had the needed power. If she could find all these in one person, then she would stick to that person like an irritating pest.
If she found someone with more power than Caroline in the next second, she would gladly ditch her.
They both knew that their friendship was just a facade.
Heather collected the basket, the smile on her face now a large blinding grin.
"A full basket of one of the rarest herbs." She turned to the rest showing it to them. "How dedicated! Isn't she just dedicated?"
"Worthy to be Queen."
"No wonder our dare Prince Guba saw her worthy," another added, jealousy thick in her voice.
"Our Queen," some said in unison, giving her a mocking bow before they all bursted out in laughter.
Elyesa bit her bottom lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She knew they were mocking her. The palace walls had ears and mouths, everyone must have known about her predicament by now, just as they had know about her relationship with the Prince years ago, even though neither had made a declaration of such back then.
Caroline snapped her fingers and silence reigned immediately, the laughter fading quickly into the walls.
"Hand me that," she requested for the basket which Heather quickly handed to her with an excited squeal.
"Tell me," her sharp voice went through Elyesa's mind.
She looked down at her hands, pinching her nails against one another, her heart pounding in her chest.
The last time they had ganged up on her like this was years ago, before his Highness had made it known to them through a subtly threatening command that he had found the act very displeasing. Ever since then, they had avoided clashing with her because of fear, only whispering their dirty remarks to their ears, never saying it to her face.
Now that they knew the situation she was stuck in, they were once again very bold.
Caroline turned the woven basket upside down, letting the herbs fall out of it to the dirty and mushy kitchen floor before stomping her feet on it.
Elyesa's heart raced with panic.
The Head Cook would definitely kill her for this.
"T--they t-they--- a--re..."
"What do you want to say?" Heather stepped forward, making her stagger back in fear. Her gaze planted to the ground, Heather shouting over her while poking her long fingers painfully against her shoulder over and over again. "Say it! Speak! You Stammering Idiot!"
Not satisfied with the little trembles of fear she was getting out of her, Heather pushed her roughly to the floor.
Elyesa fell with a thud, the rough floor leaving behind a large scratch, parts of her uniform now brown and smelly with whatever it was that made the kitchen floor the way it was. The tears that had welled up in her eyes, rolled down her cheeks, her lips vibrating from fear and sadness, her whole body shaking with terror.
These ladies had attacked her before, beaten her up, called her names, said she was an orphan because she had been the one to kill her mother, that she was a curse and that was why she had no family.
They had called her a witch and many more taunting names.
Although back then, they had all just been little girls, right now, she realized that nothing had changed.
They were still bullies and she was still a pitiful victim.
A rough hand yanked her hair, pulling it back. She bit down hard on her lips, forcing the harsh cry of pain that had formed at the depth of her throat to die there.
They had taught her this too, how to stay quiet while they tortured her.
Pain.
It was all she could think about. It felt like each strand of her hair was being plucked out, her head was filled with a jamming headache, as she tasted that vaguely familiar metallic liquid once again.
Caroline crouched in front of her, a snarl on her face.
"Do you think my mother had any need for your worthless herbs? You are such a fool."
"The Head C-cook," she spoke, her teeth bloodied, "s-she sent me---"
A sharp hiss from one of the maids cut her off, then loud mocking laughter.
Caroline snapped again.
Silence.
"There is a wedding at the Royal Grand Hall," she arched an eyebrow at her, picking through invisible dirt from her fingers. "Whose wedding could it be? Take a guess."
There was laughter all around her once again. This time around, it was so loud that it became deafening. Her mind went silent, save for the loud pounding of her heart. She felt the grip around her hair loosen and her head dropped, her gaze once again fixed on the dirty floor, tears rolling down her face.
No.
It couldn't be.
His Highness's wedding was the next Moon.
She had calculated the date herself before she went along on the journey of searching for those herbs and spices. It had been the next Moon, not next Week.
Next Moon!
She staggered up to her feet and ran, so fast that it felt like she was flying but even when she was already miles and miles away from the kitchen, she could still hear their laugh of mockery in head.
Two iron rods clashed against each other right in front of her, snapping her out of her deep thoughts.
She stopped, out of breath and gasping for air.
She didn't even know when she got here.
"There is a Royal Order forbidding that we grant you passage," one of the guards said before she could ask.
She blinked, her throat dry, her heart clenching painfully.
It was true then. They had tried to get rid of her will the wedding was over. They didn't need those herbs!
She absentmindedly started walking back, but she saw some people walking into the Grand Hall and she joined them. Her deceitful entrance hadn't gone unnoticed though. They chased after her and she ran like as if her life depended on it.
Her eyes searched for His Highness and she found him, walking down the aisle with a someone by his side.
She hadn't even had the chance to get close enough to him, before angry hands grabbed her, dragging her out of the Hall, hurting her in the process.
"P-please, let me go! I'm begging! P-plee.... Please!" She shouted from the depth of her throat. That was the loudest she had ever shouted in her whole life.
"Silence, you dirt!" The guard gritted out, raising his hand to hit her.
"Stop!" A voice commanded.
The guard looked back, dropping his hand.
Elyesa looked back at her savior too and her heart clenched even more painfully than it had the whole morning.
That face wasn't the one she had expected to see.