Valeria's mind raced. What should I do? What can I do?
"Your Majesty," she began, her voice steadier than she felt, "Gloria is just a simple maid. She's done nothing wrong. I ask you to send her and her daughter back, and we can all forget this."
She wouldn't let anything happen to Gloria or her daughter—not after everything the old woman had done for her. But the king merely chuckled, his gaze sharp and unyielding.
"Why should I?" he replied, amusement flickering in his cold eyes. "Don't look so worried, my dear. As I said, I'm only giving her a reward." He turned to his right-hand man. "Theodore, bring in Lord Hampton."
Valeria looked at him, confused, as Theodore left the room, only to return moments later with an older man. Lord Hampton was a rotund figure, his thinning gray hair slicked back, and his leering eyes shifting hungrily as he took in the scene before him. His fine clothes spoke of wealth, yet the greedy gleam in his eye revealed a man whose interests were anything but noble.
"Who… who is that? What does this mean?" Valeria asked, her voice thick with apprehension.
The king smiled, the expression more sinister than reassuring. "My reward for Gloria is that her lovely daughter will be married off to Lord Hampton here. He's a wealthy merchant; he'll provide her with a good life."
Valeria's eyes widened in horror. No… he couldn't…
She looked over to see Selena—Gloria's daughter—bursting into tears, clutching her mother. Gloria wrapped her arms protectively around the girl, her face twisted in anguish.
"Your Majesty, please!" Gloria cried, her voice cracking. "This is my fault! Don't do this to my daughter!"
"Silence! Did I allow you to speak?!" the king roared. One of the guards stepped forward and slapped Gloria, sending her reeling.
Valeria's heart pounded painfully. This must be a nightmare. It was her fault. Gloria's daughter was being forced into marriage with that lecherous old man because she had dared to show Valeria a small kindness.
She took a shaky breath and stepped forward. "You can't do this. She doesn't want to marry him! Is this because you're angry with me?! I won't allow it!"
The king's icy blue eyes narrowed as he advanced on her, looming over her until his shadow eclipsed her entirely. "Did I ask for your opinion, my dear?" he sneered. "I'm being generous—giving this girl a chance to rise from poverty, and you're all being ungrateful wretches. Now hold your tongue, before I truly lose my patience."
Valeria's defiance wavered, but she didn't back down. She watched in horror as the guards dragged Selena from her mother's arms, forcing her toward Lord Hampton. The man leered openly, his eyes raking over the terrified girl with undisguised lust.
"Thank you for this gift, Your Majesty," Lord Hampton said, his voice oily. "If you'll excuse us, I'll take my new property back to my estate."
The king nodded with a wicked grin, and Valeria's heart shattered as Selena was hauled, kicking and screaming, out of the throne room.
"Mom! Do something! I don't want this!" the girl cried, her voice fading as the doors shut behind her.
Gloria fought against the guards holding her, desperate to reach her daughter. "Stop! Please! Not my daughter!" Her broken sobs filled the silent hall.
Tears welled in Valeria's eyes. She was powerless, forced to watch the destruction of two innocent lives, all because they had shown her kindness. This was her fault.
The doors closed, sealing Selena's fate. Gloria collapsed to the floor, her body wracked with sobs. Finally, Valeria found her voice.
"Why are you doing this?" she demanded, anger breaking through her fear. "Gloria did nothing wrong—she only showed me a little compassion. And for that, you're punishing her and her daughter? Why are you such a cruel monster?"
She barely saw the blow coming. The king backhanded her, the force of it knocking her back. Pain exploded across her cheek as she raised a trembling hand to her stinging skin. He hit me… he actually hit me.
Before she could fully process it, he grabbed her chin roughly, pulling her face close to his, his cold eyes gleaming with fury. "Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?" he hissed, his breath hot against her skin. "You should be grateful I didn't do worse. That maid broke my rules—helping you, spending time with you. That could be considered treason. Perhaps the two of you were plotting against me. Maybe I should kill her, right here, right now."
Valeria's heart seized. "No! You can't do that. All she did was show me kindness while you locked me up like a prisoner!" She glared at him, her fear mixing with fury.
The king's gaze turned even colder. "Yes, that's exactly it. You're mine, and if I decide to keep you locked away, there's a reason for it! No one else is allowed to show you kindness. No one but me." His lips twisted into a cruel smile. "I warned you to hold your tongue, but you didn't listen. Now, you'll learn the consequences of defiance."
He released her, and before she could gather herself, he unsheathed his sword and turned to Gloria, who was still kneeling, sobbing uncontrollably on the ground.
"No! Stop! What are you doing?!" Valeria cried, rushing forward to grab his arm. He shoved her back roughly, but she scrambled forward again, her voice breaking with desperation. "Please! Don't do this! Punish me, hurt me—but leave her alone! I'm begging you!"
But Gloria's spirit seemed broken. She remained on her knees, numb with grief, as the guards held her down. Her sobs quieted, as if she had already resigned herself to her fate.
The king shot Valeria a scornful look. "You'll never forget this, my dear. You're mine now, and you'll learn to obey."
With one swift, brutal movement, he swung his sword. Blood sprayed across the floor, splattering Valeria's skirts as Gloria's head rolled to the ground.
Valeria stood there, frozen, staring at the lifeless body of the woman who had shown her nothing but kindness. The horror clawed at her insides, squeezing the breath from her lungs.
This… this is my fault. She'd destroyed the lives of two innocent people.
Her vision blurred as she sank to her knees, nausea twisting her stomach. She couldn't hold it back any longer—she doubled over, vomiting onto the cold stone floor as the full weight of her guilt and helplessness crashed down upon her.