Chapter 15
" You are late" announced the king
Nalani immediately located the king by his voice. He was casually leaning on a doorway that leads to another room. He was already dressed and ready for the day. The only thing remaining was his breakfast which came late because of her.
" Please forgive me your highness" she mumbled
" Mmh! Another mistake on your first day on the job"
" It was accident"
" You also said that last time" he frowned
" I swear,it is this time"
" Place my food on the table" the king pointed at the dinning table facing the balcony.
Nalani's legs shook with each step she took but she was determined to deliver the food. She couldn't afford to drop the king's breakfast again and this time in the presence of the king. She sighed when the tray was finally on the table.
The king moved to seat at the chair near the tray and waited. He waited for her to serve his food but she never did. Tired of waiting for someone who clearly doesn't know what they are doing, he voiced his displeasure.
" What are you waiting for?" He growled
" Huh??"
" Can't you do anything right!" He yelled
Nalani removed the silk clothe covering the food. She removed the food from on top of the tray and placed it in front of the king before she stepped back and awaited further instructions.
The king didn't say anything after that. He ate his breakfast in silence but his expression spoke volumes. He was displeased with her services. As the king chewed his food he wondered what to do to Nalani. He couldn't stand people who are incompetent and she was the most incompetent person he has ever met.
Immediately he was done with his breakfast he stood up and walked towards the door. He stopped himself from reaching for the door.
" You will clean this room. Make sure to do it correctly otherwise you will be punished. Do you understand?"
" Yes your highness"
When he achieved the response he wanted he left her in his chambers and headed for the throne room. He had a busy day ahead of him and he was already behind schedule thanks to that silly girl. He will make sure she pays for it.
He walked in the throne room and it was spotless just like he likes it. Maybe punishing that girl was not a bad move. The servants needed to be reminded that he was in charge. Satisfied with how clean and organized the throne room was he sat on his throne. He decided to put everything at the back of his mind and focus on court matters.
Nalani looked around the king's chambers. She opened the three doors in the room. One led to the balcony, the other led to a huge bathroom and the last on to the closet. The king's clothes were carefully hang according to colour.
She sorted the clothes quickly and moved towards the bathroom. The tiles in the bathroom were white and thus needed more time to scrub clean. She didn't bother worrying about her clothes as she knelt. She scrubbed with all her might until her hands ached and sweat flowed on her face.
When she was content with her work , she cleaned the last place. His bedroom. She changed the sheets to new ones and organized the room as much as possible . When everything was done she took the king's laundry to the wash ladies who did the laundry for everyone in the castle. However the king's clothes were washed separately and by specific people.
The king had sensitive skin so he would know when a new detergent was used to clean his clothes. Although Nalani didn't know who specifically washes the king's clothes , she assumed no one in the castle would lie. On the way to the laundry area she came across Heidi the girl who gave her advice during dinner.
" Heidi, hi, could you show me who does the king's laundry?"
" Ooh! Yes, I can take them to her. No need to worry about that"
" I wouldn't want to impose"
" No! No... I am free now and I am also heading there. No need for both of us to make the trip"
" I guess you're right"
" I'm sure you are very busy, you can hand them over to me and I will take care of it"
" Thank you so much Heidi, you are the best"
Nalani didn't take a second to think twice about Heidi's motive. Since she trusted her, she handed the king's laundry over to her. She turned around and headed back to her room to rest after a very tiring day.
Heidi watched Nalani leave with a smirk on her face. The girl was too stupid to distinguish between a friend and a foe and she planned to use her naivety against her. The king was hers to serve, no one else's. And certainly not the young, naive, short girl.
" He will be mine once more" she said out loud
The king left the throne room late in the evening. He felt tired and disturbed by the affairs of the country. The noble men were not listening to him and it frustrated him. Some of them were from the era of his father so they watched him grow up. But that doesn't excuse their disrespect to his decrees.
He introduced the land owners tax which was supposed to be paid by all land owners depending on the size of land you had. That was six months ago and yet it was not effective in most places in the Kingdom. He knew that the noble men would oppose it, as most of them owned big chunks of land but he didn't expect they would totally disregard his decree.
Watching them today trying to explain why it was not effective was pitiful. It only fueled his anger towards them. If he could, he would strip them all of their power and title. However at the moment, he was buying time to distinguish who were on his side and who would betray him. Introducing the land owners tax was like cheese to a mouse.
A ploy to see who was loyal to him and who wasn't. Out of a hundred noble men in his kingdom only twenty have followed the decree. Most of the twenty were noblemen from small districts but he appreciated their efforts either way. He will reward them after everything was over.
After he punished his arrogant nobles who thought they were above the law. He has been keeping tabs on all of them. He knew of their shady dealings with criminals. He knew that some of them excised their power in the wrong way.
He choose to be quiet for now and watch as they practically put the knife in his hand. He intended to use all the evidence he has found so far against them. He has been careful for the last year to not tip them off. Apart from him, only his friend knew of his scheme.
He was a secretive man . He carefully choose what to show others and what to hide. That's why he got the name the cold and cruel king. He was calculative and cold sometimes but he was warm when he wanted to. He will take everyone of them down . Even though it will take time, he was a patient man.
Annoyed by the noblemen's behavior he sat on the edge of his bed. He needed something to release his anger. Anything. He looked around the room. He stood up and paced around his room until he couldn't take it anymore. He threw one of the vases in his room down and it broke to pieces.
The soil spread through his bedroom floor and the flowers laid lifeless on the floor next to his feet.
" Anyone out there!"
" Yes your highness"
" Summon my personal maid"
" Yes your highness"
Outside was quiet for a while before he heard footsteps heading towards his chambers. She was here.
When Nalani came through the doors she couldn't help but gasp. What the hell happened to the clean room she left? Why was he torturing her?
" Do you call this clean?" The king growled
" The room was clean when I left your highness"
" Does it look clean to you?"
" No your highness but I..."
" So you want to say I did this?"
" No your highness...I didn't say that"
" So what do you want to say exactly?" Asked the furious king as he walked closer to Nalani
Nalani bit her tongue. From the looks of the king, he was angry and their was no need to add onto the anger. She was already on thin ice.
" It's my fault my king. I will clean it up" she bents her head.
" What are you waiting for!!"
Author's note:
Hello loves, I hope you are all doing good . So I will try to update as much as I can and as often as possible. I hope you enjoy this book .This is my first time writing this genre but I hope it comes out great. Thank you for the support. Anyway comments are welcome. Bye💜💜.