Chapter 10

" What are you doing?" Asked Kellen.

" Argh!! You scared me, never do that again! Okay?"

Nalani was still scared. They were not exactly out of the woods yet and here was Kellen scaring her to dead. What was she thinking following her here anyway?

" Why did you follow me?"

" I wanted to make sure you didn't break anything else, like I did"

Nalani rolled her eyes. If it was not for Kellen's clumsy hands they wouldn't be in this situation. Nalani placed the vase where it was supposed to be and grabbed Kellen's hand. She dragged her outside and straight to their room.

" Don't ever scare me like that again" commanded Nalani

" Sorry, I was just... worried"

" Kellen , we are in a place where mistakes are not tolerated. How are we supposed to survive if you break a vase on the very first day of work"

" I already said I am sorry"

While Nalani was pacing around their room, she didn't notice her friend was close to tears. She was too angry to comfort her.

" Maybe I should leave" suggested Kellen.

" What?"

" I don't want to cause any more trouble than I have. "

Nalani walked over to where she was seated, she took her hands and covered with her own.

" I am sorry for shouting at you. I was frustrated and I took it out on you"

" I deserved it"

" You don't deserve that. The vase fell by mistake. It wasn't your fault. Besides we replaced it with another, I don't think anyone will notice" Nalani tried comforting Kellen.

Kellen threw her arms around Nalani and pulled her in for a hug. While Kellen was happy the issue was resolved ,Nalani had her doubts. She prayed that neither the king nor his people will notice the new vase.

King Ambrose was wide awake at the wee hours of the morning. The sun was barely rising on the horizon but he didn't have a wink of sleep left. It annoyed him that he couldn't sleep yet he was tired. Today was going to be one of those days when he is extremely irritable. He wished he could order everyone to stay away from him but that was impossible.

After tossing and turning for thirty minutes, he gave up on any hopes of sleeping. He might as well start his day early like the rest of the people working in the castle. He sat on his table and looked through some scrolls sent by noble men from all over the Kingdom.

He kept a tight leach on matters happening in the kingdom . He didn't want the noble men thinking they ran his kingdom. In the past there have been people who have challenged his authority and they met their ends in the most creative ways possible.

He was aware of the nickname his people gave him. The cruel king. The cold king. He was and is still those names and he will not apologize for punishing people who deserved it. He didn't care what his people called him as long as they were safe and healthy. Only then will his goal as the king be achieved.

He read through a few financial reports and agricultural reports. The crops seem to be growing well and they were about to have a bountiful harvest. However his people were struggling financially, he wondered why ,yet he reduced the taxes to allow for financial growth. What was going on? Why were his people getting more desperate yet he reduced taxes and sent relief twice a year. Something was not adding up.

As he pondered on his people's situation, he lost count of time and the sun had already started rising. He had moved his thick curtains to allow light to get in before he started working. He heard the loud gong that was hit after every hour. It was seven o'clock. He opened one of the doors to the terrace facing the garden to get some fresh air. His mother's garden.

She hand picked and grew everything in the garden. She loved working there especially when matters of the kingdom became overwhelming. His mother was a sweet woman from what he can remember, even though she died young from a blood disease. At the time, medicine was not as advanced as it is now and the medicine women didn't know she was suffering from blood cancer.

He remembered how she got awfully tired after walking a few steps and she would often throw up everything she ate. She puked more food than she kept in her body. For the longest time he was angry at God , his father and even himself for not being able to save her. What was the point of being king if you can't keep your loved one's alive.

After her royal funeral, he came to the decision that he will never love another woman. He didn't want to get hurt and the best way to achieve that was to stay clear of love altogether. As he grew up women have thrown themselves at him and he tried his best to ignore them. It's not like they were not pretty or smart. He had absolutely no intentions of finding a wife.

His royal court always brought up the fact that he was unmarried. They kept insisting that he should cement his power by marrying and producing an heir. As if he was interested in any of that. They eventually got tired of asking and kept their mouths shut as they should have in the first place.

As he stared at the garden ,he noticed someone walk in. Not just anyone, a woman to be precise. She was wearing a servants dress. She seemed short and small as she tried to sneek around. Where has he seen her before? She looked awfully familiar to him. Perhaps he has seen her in the castle.

He watched her cut the purple flowers which were his mother's and his favourite. That was why they were displayed all over the castle especially in the throne room. They made him feel like his mother was present every time he looked at them. The poor girl cut the purple roses with her hand.

' she must have forgotten to bring a knife' he thought.

When she had enough, she ran out of the garden so fast that he could barely keep up with her. This was suspicious. The only person who was allowed to cut and tend to the flowers was the royal gardener. Apart from the king, he was the only one allowed in the garden. So what was a servant doing in his garden?

Maybe he was looking into it too much. She might have been lost for all we know. But why carry purple roses. The garden was filled with different types of flowers, why did she pick those ones specifically. Although he was curious, he let it go and focused on other pressing matters, like getting ready to go to court.

His personal maids came in and prepared him for the day. He took his breakfast quickly as he was late . The court members were sticklers for the rules. Even though they couldn't reprimand the king for his lateness, they certainly would show their displeasure on their faces.

He walked into the throne room in record time. He went straight to his throne and ordered them to begin. The first case was a land dispute between two families. The two families kept pushing the boundaries into each others land. It amused him how simple minded these people were.

He quickly gave a ruling on the issue and added that if they fought for the land again, he would seize both of their lands with a smile. They were shocked by the king's comment but they didn't show it. They were escorted out of the castle soon after.

The king went on with his day until he decided to take a break. He asked everyone to leave the throne room. He needed some alone time before they could continue. He rose from his seat and walked around the room to stretch his legs. He has been sitting on the throne for hours.

As he walked around he noticed one thing was out of place. He didn't know what exactly but as he continued his rounds, he stopped the vase.

" Was that vase always there?" He asked himself

It looked strangely different from when he saw it yesterday. He went closer to take a better look. He searched for the small crack he made when he was younger but it was nowhere to be found. Infact this vase was different from the one given to his mother. The patterns were all wrong and the flowers were different.

This was definitely a different vase.

" What happened to my mother's vase"

That vase was priceless. One of the things he inherited from his dead parents and he treasured them. Where was it? And who would dare try and fool him by exchanging it with another ugly looking vase. Did they think he wouldn't notice? The more he thought of it the more angry he got .

" Harry!!" the king yelled from the throne room.

Harry the announcer was standing outside the throne room. His job was to announce anyone who came to see the king. Whether it was in the throne room or his chambers. Harry opened the door and walked inside.

" You called my king" he bowed his head.

" Summon the housekeeper immediately"

Harry left in a hurry to look for the housekeeper. From the look on the king's face ,he was anger and Harry knew better than to stick around when the king was in such a mood. He ran all the way to the kitchen where he found Mrs Smith supervising everyone as usual.

He bowed his head in respect for the older woman.

" Mrs Smith"

" Harry, how are you? I rarely see you"

" I am doing well Mrs Smith, thanks for asking"

"How can I be of help today?" Asked a cheerful Mrs Smith

Harry felt sad that this woman was about to be scolded or worse. With the king you never know what you might get. What saddened him the most was he was the one to walk her to the chopping board.

" The king has summoned you"

" Me? Do you know why?"

" No ma'am, but we should hurry"

They both hurried back to the throne room. Harry announced Mrs Smith arrival and opened the door for her . He closed the door, returned to his position and prayed to God that the king will not allow his anger to get the best of him.

Mrs Smith walked to the bottom of the steps and went on her knees.

" You asked for me your majesty"

" Yes, you may rise" the king ordered

Mrs Smith rose to her feet but kept bowing her head. She might have raised the king since he was child but she certainly knew her place. She always saw the king as her son even though he didn't acknowledge it. He has asked for her advice on more than one occasion. The king trusted her and valued her opinion.

So why was she so scared that her mouth felt dry. Why did it feel like the king before her was not the child she helped raise?

"I want you to be honest with me or else....you don't want to know what else" the king threatened

" I will be honest your highness"

" Where is my mother's vase?" He asked bluntly

" W-what?"

" I am sure you heard me correctly. Where is my mother's vase?"

Mrs Smith thought of lying to protect the young girls but she also knew the king was not joking. He valued his mother's things more than anything. If she lied she will be severely punished and if she says the truth, the two women will be severely punished for an honest mistake . What should she do?

" Don't think about lying to me. Where is my mother's vase"

" Your highness, please come down. I will tell you what happened"

" I am waiting"

" Your mother's vase broke my accident as the throne room was being cleaned. It was an accident your majesty" she said in a panic

" Who was it" the king hissed

" Your majesty..."

" Who the hell broke my mother's vase!" He raised his voice.

" They are new your highness" Mrs Smith fell on her knees again and tried to beg for mercy " it was there first day, please your majesty have mercy"

" Harry!!!" The king's voice boomed

" Yes your majesty"

" Summon the servants who cleaned the throne room today" he commanded

" Yes your majesty "

Harry went back all the way to the kitchen to enquire who cleaned the throne room today. The king was not only angry but furious. He looked like he could kill someone. He soon found the two ladies who cleaned the throne room. They were indeed new since he has not seen them before and he felt bad that their first day would end like this.

He found the two women sorting cereals .

" Ms Nalani and Ms Kellen"

" Yes, how may we help you" asked Kellen with the usual bright smile on her face.

" You have been summoned by the king"

" W... what?"

" Why?"

" Follow me please, you will know when we get there"

The two women exchanged looks before they followed the handsome man. Nalani had a bad feeling about this. What was going to happen to them?

" Why do you think the king is asking for us" asked Kellen

" I don't know but I have this feeling at the pit of my stomach that this will not be a pleasant meeting" said Nalani

" If I were both of you, I would stop with the speculation and keep quiet. We are almost there" adviced the young man leading them to the throne room.

Harry knocked twice on the door before he opened the door.

" My king, they are here" he announced

" Let them in!"