As they all dropped their swords, I barged into the mistress's chamber, where I found them in bed together. There was no surprise on their faces, as if they had been expecting me.
"This is an insult to me and to my nation. How could you do this to me?" I demanded.
"You broke the rules by barging in. You're not permitted to visit me unless I send for you," he retorted.
"Really? If you're so strict with the rules, then you shouldn't be doing this when you haven't consummated your wedding with your queen."
"Now, the question is, is my queen ready for consummation or does she want something else, like her freedom?" He asked, sending a wave of shock through me. How did he know that I never wanted any of this and only desired my freedom? I struggled to find an answer.
"Since you can't answer my question, you should leave," he commanded.
"No, I'm not done talking," I insisted.
"LEAVE!" he thundered, his tone commanding and filled with anger. Fear surged through me. His mistress quickly got off the bed and knelt with her head bowed.
Without saying another word, I angrily left the room and rushed back to my chamber. Hugging my knees, tears streamed down my face as I wondered why I deserved such a fate. As I contemplated how to escape this misery, I heard a knock at the door, revealing the mistress standing there.
"I just came here to check on you and see if you're okay," she said with a bright smile, giving her an innocent appearance.
"You see, sometimes when things don't work out, you can just abandon them and seek what you want elsewhere," she continued as she approached me. Just then, Natasha entered, and upon seeing her, she immediately went down on her knees.
"What do you want?" I asked, sensing that her visit wasn't for a friendly chat.
"Leave and never return here. Do you even know why he chose you? I doubt you do. If you were to see his true form, you'd wet your bed and shiver in fear."
"Natasha, I want you to drag this whore out of my chamber right now," I commanded, but Natasha didn't move; she remained on her knees with her head bowed. This only fueled my anger, and I stood up from my bed to raise her, but I was met with a hard slap.
"How dare you..."
Another slap followed, and in my anger, I wanted to attack, but I caught Natasha's gaze, and she slightly nodded, signaling me not to touch her. I reluctantly withdrew, holding back my rage.
"Good girl," She said before turning around and leaving the room, signaling for Natasha to follow.
As Natasha obeyed, I angrily left the room and went to the king's chamber to inform him of how his mistress had disrespected me and taken my maid. However, upon reaching his doorstep, I hesitated as I heard his loud voice as he was arguing with someone.
"I will have her returned to her kingdom," He declared.
"You should give her a little time; she's your mate," His mother responded.
"No, I don't want such a mate. She is weak, and I won't allow her to be my weakness." He said in a finalizing tone.
I retraced my footsteps and ran with all my strength, without looking back. Now I am done with all of this. How dare he call me a weakling, does he know how many wars I have fought and conquered? He knew nothing about me, how could he gave such comment.
Upon reaching the palace gate, I saw tight security, but as if my prayers were answered, I spotted a carriage leaving the palace. I quickly entered and stayed hidden.
I remained in the carriage until it left the nation, and as soon as it was away from the gigantic gate, I jumped out. Though I sustained bruises, it was far less than what I endured on the battlefield. Now that I had escaped, I decided to find my way and headed east.
As I made my way through the thick forest, I suddenly started hearing animal sounds that sounded like growls. The sound was faint at first, but it became clearer as I kept walking. I quickly picked up a stick, cut it into two with my knees, and waited for the creature to reveal itself. Then I heard a low growl behind me, and I turned to see a wolf.
"I'm not scared of you. Defeating you is just like a piece of cake," I said, attempting to launch an attack on the wolf. But then I heard another growl from behind me and turned to see another wolf.
"Well, it seems you are not alone," I muttered, realizing I was in trouble and about to be attacked by the wolves.
Realizing I couldn't defeat them alone, I took off running, but I ended up hitting my head against a big tree. As I lay on the ground with my vision blurring, I saw the wolf beginning to transform into something else.
As its muscles ripped beneath the skin, seemingly without pain, its bones elongated, its paws turned into hands, and its fur became human skin. I watched in disbelief as the wolf transformed into a human.
"No, that's impossible. I must be losing my mind."