Freya's eyes widened, her body momentarily still as she took in what Ophelia said to her.
Her queen?
Ophelia was taking her role too seriously already.
A small smile spread across Freya's face followed by laughter. She tried to hold it back but could not since it was all too funny that Ophelia was speaking back to her.
"My queen?" Freya touched her stomach as she laughed. Her right hand soon went to cover her mouth. "Are you serious?" She asked, her shoulders shaking with her laughter. "Say it again. Go on," she urged Ophelia.
Ophelia looked down at the floor. She was only playing into what they wanted. She was saving them the trouble of explaining why she had a bruise if Freya slapped her again.
Freya grabbed Ophelia's chin, forcing her to meet her eyes. "You can't say it again, my queen?" She asked in a mocking tone. "Don't become so foolish that you think you are queen. You're still a worthless runt who is good for the moment."
"Come," Freya grabbed Ophelia's hand, harshly pulling on it to drag Ophelia off the bed.
Ophelia tried to take the blanket with her to cover her body but a maid yanked it from her hands.
Freya shoved Ophelia to the floor in the bathing chamber. It pleased her to see Ophelia shiver due to the coldness of the floor, but she wasn't satisfied yet. Before Ophelia was ready to leave and head to the castle, she would know her place.
"The cold water," Freya said, stepping back to get out of the way.
It made Freya feel better to see Ophelia enter a state of shock when the water hit her skin. "Again," she ordered the maids. "Then scrub her body and do it again. You there," she faced one of the maids. "Get me a rope."
Ophelia tried to warm herself up by rubbing her arms but it wasn't of any use. She was lucky to have spent nights out in the cold to bear with this now but she would still catch a cold.
After nearly an hour of torment with the cold water thrown on her and the maids scrubbing her skin, Ophelia was dressed and ready to start her lessons.
"Not so fast," Freya took a rope from a maid. "We are missing the last part of your attire. I can either drag you around with this or hang you with it. Then we'll see if anyone cares to save the next queen. Which one should we start with? You decide since you're so mouthy."
Freya tied the rope around Ophelia's hands as she waited for an answer. As much as it would please her to tie it around Ophelia's neck, it might anger her father to see it.
Freya didn't understand why they didn't try to break Ophelia before she left their sight and went to the castle.
"Come," Freya tugged on the rope, forcibly pulling Ophelia with her. "It's time to show the queen around," she spoke in a mocking tone. "You should be thankful it is me who has to deal with you. If it were left to my brother, he'd have you crawling around naked with a chain around your neck, mocking the fact you can't shift."
Freya continued, "I am a saint for you in this home. It's thanks to me that you can now think of yourself as a queen and get to wear clothes you could only dream of. So, next time I will be more careful about how you speak to me."
Ophelia's gaze was on the floor. "It is thanks to you that I was taken from my home and forced to marry a man you all thought would kill me last night. You're as evil as everyone here."
Freya smiled since there was much Ophelia missed about how she got here. "You haven't spoken to my father enough or met with my brother to realise how wonderful I am. I look forward to you running to me. We're late," she said, tugging on the rope to have Ophelia follow.
Freya led the way to where Joel wanted the lessons to start. "You might hold the title of queen to outsiders, but you now belong to the Porter family. All we are asking is for you to take my place and to tell us who he speaks with. There will come a time when you will be free to go back to your sad pathetic life where someone might miss you."
Ophelia knew Freya wasn't being truthful now. There were only two ways she could leave the alpha's side. If she was accused of something terrible for him to no longer claim her as his mate or they were planning to kill him.
Either way, unless she had an escape plan, Ophelia knew she wouldn't survive. For now, she needed to keep her mouth shut until she got out of the Porter household.
'You must endure this,' Ophelia thought, trying to motivate herself.
"What is this, Freya?" Joel asked. This wasn't what he asked Freya to do.
"She was acting like she was better than me by saying she is now queen. I had to do something before she started to-"
Joel approached Freya to take the rope from her hands. If one of the alpha's men were here and saw this, their plans would be ruined. "I didn't tell you to do this. I am tangled up in this lie because you were too afraid. Don't act without my order."
Freya bit her tongue. He wouldn't act this way if it was her brother. "I'm sorry, father. I won't do it again."
"And you," Joel turned to Ophelia, delivering a slap which echoed, bouncing off the walls to travel further. "You don't get to speak to us how you like. You're a fake and you mustn't forget it."
Ophelia's view of Joel wasn't perfect since her hair was shifted to cover parts of her face. The blow was unexpected, leaving a sting on her cheek.
Ophelia blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. They had done plenty to her in such a short period but Ophelia refused to let them see her cry again. It was the least she could do to show they had not completely broken her.
Joel tugged on the rope to pull Ophelia to meet with important people who would help him with this plan. "I don't need you now, Freya. I'll send her back to you when I am done with the others."
"Yes, father," Freya replied, getting out of the way to let the two by.
The slap was enough to make Freya get over Ophelia dangling in her face that she was now queen. Once her father handed Ophelia back to her, Freya would continue her fun.