Someone was talking in the distance; Khalilah could hear noises and she could feel people moving around in the room.
Her body felt heavy, she couldn't move, but it was as though she was laid upon the softest bed in the world.
She wished she could sleep some more, but the noise in the room was disturbing.
Who was in the room? They are so damned loud and her ears hurt.
Grannie?? Or is it, Cherry?
She squeezed her eyes open, and the bright lights flooded into them, hurting them, she shut them back instantly as she waited for them to adjust to the bright lights that came from the sun streaming into the room.
Even though her eyes were now wide open she didn't seem to be awake because she didn't recognize her surroundings.
She was laid upon a queen-sized bed so big it was just like two of her beds at home.
Her eyes turned to survey the room but she could not recognize the room. It's almost as if she woke up in a fantasy novel.
The surrounding was like a picture from as old as the Victorian era.
"What happened? Where in hell is this?" she thought to herself as she groaned trying to get up but her body was still too weak.
"Did an apocalypse happen here or something?" She groaned a bit more loudly as she struggled even more to get up and that was when she caught the attention of whoever was in the room.
"Granny..." She cracked and the young ladies dressed in strange attire stopped in their tracks and turned their surprised faces in her direction.
"Her Highness is awake! We better go tell his majesty." One of the ladies squeals and runs out of the gigantic door.
"Did I hear them right?" She wondered, "Or did I imagine it?"
"By her highness, did they mean me?" She asked the other lady who was just a few centimeters away from the bed. "And who is his majesty?"
Just as she was asking one of the ladies slipped back into the room with a glass of water.
"How did she know I was thirsty?" She thought to herself again and the lady helped her sit up, resting her back against the headboard before handing the glass to Khalilah and she gulped down the water hurriedly.
She didn't know water tasted so good until now.
"E…Excuse I. Me." Khalilah asked curiously the break in her voice getting better. "What happened to me? Where am I?"
She asked but the lady only pretended she didn't hear her, it was almost as though she wasn't there, she simply picked up the empty glass and left.
What's going on? She tried getting off the bed but she was too weak, and her legs trembled as she walked towards the door; they buckled and gave out.
She tried to stand again and when she almost got to the door, the door burst open and some ladies swarmed in like bees, they were also dressed overly formally and in an old-fashioned style.
"Your Highness shouldn't move like that!" They helped her get on her feet and they walked her back to the bed.
"Why are you calling me, your Highness?" She asked curiously but just like the other lady, none of them answered her questions.
"His majesty requests she joins him for dinner, we have to be finished before dinner." They just kept discussing among themselves like Khalilah wasn't present; then sudden confusion surged through her.
'Why are they acting like I do not exist?' she asked herself, because it was almost as though she was invisible or she was now mute, it was as though her words passed through them; they didn't as much as react to anything she said or asked.
Soon enough they peeled her clothes off, at first, Khalilah resisted but then sooner than expected she ran out of energy and she just allowed them to do as they pleased with her body.
"Her skin is so dry," one of them commented and the other one laughed as they rubbed her in with some sweet-smelling oil. "She hadn't exfoliated in a while."
"Hello! I'm right here and I can hear everything," she snarled at the lady making fun of her dry skin but that didn't stop them from making all sorts of comments about how frizzy her hair is and sorts of.
She was soon soaked in a tub filled with hot water, with all sorts of herbs, fragrances, and flowers. Some of the strange rude ladies were massaging her hair with a type of perfumed oil and Khalilah couldn't help but question if she was in some kind of spa.
Another woman came in, she courtesies as soon as her eyes met with Khalilah's terrified golden eyes.
"His Majesty is getting ready for dinner in the next hour." They all bowed their heads slightly before they continued washing her up, this time with a bit more haste.
'Is this some kind of cult? Am I about to be sacrificed?'
She sniffed her armpit and concluded, that she smelled like perfume, she was dressed in a blue off-shoulder gown that was pretty much too long for her taste and they picked out some very pretty expensive jewelry for her to wear.
"Please…" Khalilah suddenly started to speak, after she had given up in the last twenty minutes. "Can you just please tell me what's going on?"
The lady putting on Khalilah's makeup stopped abruptly and stared at Khalilah for a bit with a piteous look on her face, she also seemed a bit nervous before she stared into the distance vacantly.
"I'm sorry, my lady, but we are not allowed to speak to you." She answered softly, not once meeting Khalilah's eyes. "I'll escort you to the dining area, his majesty, His Royal Majesty is waiting for you."
"Who is this Royal Majesty?" She asked again with wide eyes and the woman checked out vacantly.
"King Olive, but I am afraid I can't tell you anymore." She cleared.
"Can this person answer my questions?" Khalilah asked curiously, her sanity hanging by a thread now. She just nodded, still avoiding Khalilah's eyes.
They went along the hallway which had very exclusive décor and some foreign artifacts you'll only see in museums or certain documentaries.
Some ancient medieval paintings and portraits hanging on the wall. To be modest this place was incredibly beautiful, Khalilah had only seen halls like this in movies and read about them in books.
She also didn't fail to notice the armed men in some parts of the hall and some of them just patrolling the area; as soon as they saw her, they stopped and bowed slightly before moving on.
It was a bit disturbing for her.
Khalilah was led across the hall and towards a section, the section was a wide space that was mostly empty but it had a huge table that was big enough to fit twenty people; it also had different sorts of food and fruits displayed on it.
But apart from just Khalilah and the woman who brought her to the section, there was no one else in this room. "So where is this man?" She didn't reply to her, the lady was still on her guard not once relaxing she simply turned on her heels and left Khalilah alone, Khalilah was about to follow her when she heard an eerie voice.
"Please, take your seat."
She flinched at the suddenness of the order and her body swung in the direction of the voice. All she could see was the silhouette of a tall man standing in the shadows.
"Are you this Olive guy?" She asked curiously trying her very best to see if she could get a glimpse of this stranger.
"I'm not used to being called by my name." He answers bluntly, just standing there and not moving before he repeats kindly. "Please take your seat."
"Why am I here?" She asked him again now that she was sure he was King Olive or whatever because this was the first person to start a conversation with her, everyone else just cowered and nodded or ignored her.
This figure was different, he exuded authority and with his frame and the way he elegantly spoke, she could tell he was the one in power.
"We can discuss that over dinner," he answers nonchalantly, a shaky breath escaped her slightly parted lips, panic rising to her chest.
There was this aura around him that demanded total control, she couldn't explain it but it was a fearful one. So much so that she couldn't breathe properly out of fear.
He stepped out from the darkness that hiding his identity, into the bright lights of the chandelier and her jaw dropped as she backed away from him fearfully.
"You…. You were the one who assaulted me!" she continued to back away from him and he did not attempt to pursue her.
He just stood there looking at her, with an unpleasant gilt in his eyes.