Chapter 20 Chapter 20
Thalina's POV
"Are your feet okay? I heard King Thaddeus even called Juliet to heal you. Why is that Thalina? It wasn't a life-threatening injury. Can't your wolf heal your own wounds?" Princess Atasha looked at me intently, her arms folded on her chest.
My heart beat doubled. I can feel fear settling on my chest but I concealed it with a smile. I should have just locked myself inside King Thaddeus' chamber. If I only knew that I would bump into Princess Atasha I would have just let myself die in thirst.
"Maybe King Thaddeus just cares for me too much. He wants to make sure that I will be fine so he called Juliet,"
Her lips parted. Eyebrows lifted looking at me in disbelief. Her expression immediately turned sour not expecting those words to slip off my lips.
She went silent and I was ready to pass by when she grabbed my arm putting me back in my place. "You are too confident, Thalina. Do you really think King Thaddeus cares for you? You are easy to fool no wonder Magnus threw you out. You are too naive...stupid..." she looked at me from head to toe flashing an insulting smile, "and weak,"
If she thinks those words would offend me then she's wrong. I have heard those words countless times. I am already numb to mistreatment. I won't let her childish banter get into me.
I stepped forward closing the distance between us. I fought her stare and flashed a smile, this time it was no longer forced. "Then why are you threatened, Princess Atasha? If it's true that I am naive, stupid, and weak then why are you looking at me like a big threat?"
She fell silent. She swallowed hard. Her nostrils flared. Her fist was tightly clenched. Her eyes burned with rage while looking at me. The veins on her neck were popping out as if they would burst but instead of saying a word she walked away forcefully bumping my shoulder.
“You will pay for this, bitch!” Her voice cut through the hall as she stormed past me.
I squared my shoulders. “We’ll see who pays first, Princess.” My voice was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care.
She stopped mid-way, her eyes narrowed, and stared at me like I had insulted her whole clan. “Bold. Very bold. You think you can just walk into my kingdom and take what’s mine?”
“I’m not taking anything,” I shot back. “I’m claiming what’s mine.”
She laughed, low and dangerous. “Claiming? You’re still trembling like a mouse. King Thaddeus picked you, yes—but that doesn’t mean he chose you.”
I felt my cheeks flush, but I refused to back down. “I’m standing here, aren’t I? I don’t need you to tell me what I can or can’t do.”
I don’t know what had gotten into me. Maybe I just have enough for today.
Her jaw tightened even more. “You’re still weak. You’ll never survive my training if all you do is talk back.”
The corner of my mouth instinctively rose, flashing a smirk. “Oh, I’ll survive,” I confidently uttered, stepping closer, refusing to lower my gaze. “And maybe one day, you’ll realize you’ve been fighting the wrong woman.”
Her lips twitched, like she wanted to say something cruel but couldn’t. I felt the fire inside me swell—I wouldn’t allow her to intimidate me.
I guess I will just have to ready myself for the physical torture she disguised as training.
Another morning came welcomed with drills, posture lessons, and endurance tests. Princess Atasha was relentless, barking orders, correcting every movement, every stance, even the way I breathe.
“Faster!” she snapped as I struggled to balance a heavy book on my head while walking across the courtyard. “You think King Thaddeus will present a queen who walks like a cripple?”
I gritted my teeth fighting the urge to talk back.
“I can do this,” I muttered under my breath.
She watched me with hawk-eyes, waiting for a moment that I would fall so she could insult me but this time I succeeded in reaching the end.
I turned to her beaming with pride.
“You think that was enough?” she asked, her eyebrows raised and arms folded on her chest. “You’re such a slow learner. It should have just taken hours to learn how to walk like royalty but it took you days and now you looked at me like you have achieved something?”
My smile dropped. Blood started to boil under my skin. I slammed the book down, startling her. This woman is getting on my nerves again.
“A teacher congratulates her student once she has achieved something. Shouldn’t you do the same?”
She scoffed, and a sarcastic smile formed on her lips. “Recognition is given to those who excel not to students who barely survive, Thalina."
Pulling her hair out of her scalp would be easier than talking back right?
I started walking towards her. She instinctively took a step back. Fear flashed in her eyes and I could see panic settling on her face.
“What are you doing?” she asked, panic evident in her voice.
I smiled instead of answering her question and the moment I got close I raised my hand—
She immediately covered her cheeks and shut her eyes.
“I’m just taking off the leaf fallen on your hair, Princess Atasha,”
She slowly opened her eyes. Her face was still pale but her eyes were already burning with rage.
I showed her the leaf while a playful smile was playing on my lips.
Her face turned red. She raised her hand but it hung in the air when King Thaddues' voice echoed in the hall.
“What’s happening here?” Princess Atasha lowered her trembling hands before turning to King Thaddeus. I saw how she forced a smile before facing the king.
The moment King Thaddeus reached us he immediately scanned me from head to toe before turning to Princess Atasha. “How’s the training? Did Thalina make any progress?”
Princess Atasha kept her pretentious sweet smile.
“She managed to walk a few meters without books falling off her head,”
I thought she would emphasize how bad I was but I am glad she mentioned my improvement.
“Good,” King Thaddeus replied, voice cold, flat, but approving. “Keep your focus. She’s learning. Don’t let her falter.”
Atasha blinked at him, momentarily stunned, but the spark in her eyes didn’t die. She turned back to me, her lips curling. “You hear that? Even the king doesn’t think you’re enough yet.”
I can’t help but let out a sarcastic chuckle. I don’t care if King Thaddeus will back her up. They can team up against me. The hell I care.
“I still have time. I can make it, Princess Atasha,” I firmly uttered facing her head-on.
“You’re brave… I’ll give you that,” she said, low, like a warning. “But bravery isn’t enough. You’ll fail in ways you don’t even know yet.”
I stepped forward, heart pounding, meeting her gaze without flinching. “I’ve survived worse than you can imagine. You think this palace, this training, even King Thaddeus, will break me? You’re wrong.”
The words had barely left my lips when she lunged, attempting to push me off balance. I stumbled but caught myself, glaring at her.
“You’re strong enough to stand,” Thaddeus commented from the side, his voice cutting through the tension like steel. He didn’t step closer, didn’t touch me, but his presence alone made me feel steadier.
Atasha froze, looking at King Thaddeus with evident disbelief. “You… you think she’s ready?”
“She’s learning,” he said simply. “And she’s not afraid to stand. That’s all I need to see for now.”
The tension was thick, every heartbeat echoing in my chest. Thaddeus’s eyes never left me, cold but calculating. I felt the weight of his stare—no comfort, no softness—but it was enough to keep me grounded.
“She’s just reckless, King Thaddeus,” Atasha spat.
“Maybe,” I admitted, meeting her glare without fear. “I have learned my lesson, Princess Atasha. Acting like a disobedient fool won’t get me anywhere. Don’t worry I will follow the palace rules but not at the cost of turning myself into someone to be easily pushed around,”
Thaddeus’s jaw tightened slightly, just the faintest sign of approval in the shadow of his stern expression. I caught it, a spark of reassurance hidden beneath his cold authority.
A long pause passed by broken by King Thaddeus' fake cough cutting the tension between me and Princess Atasha. We both watched him as he stepped into the center of the hall, towering and silent. His eyes swept over the training space, resting on me for just a moment.
“You’re standing when she tried to break you,” he said, low, measured. “That’s the start of being a queen. Don’t forget it. Every day, every insult, every push—use it. Learn from it. Don’t bend, don’t flinch.”
I nodded, chest tight with pride and fear. “I won’t.”
He gave a small nod, his approval fleeting but real. I know he watches my every move. He was silently watching me the whole time and that made me feel at ease for some reason. I feel like I wasn’t alone—but I was also aware that he wouldn’t make things easier for me.
He looked at me one last time before he exited the training hall. Atasha glared at me before following King Thaddues like she was some kind of dog.
She was probably dying to make me suffer again but I won’t be defeated.
The Blood Moon was coming. And when it rose, I would face it head-on—not as a fragile girl, not as someone discarded, not as a pawn in their games. I would stand. I would fight. I would take my place.
And no one—no one—would break me before that day.