Ileus: The Dark Prince

Jor'gas pulled Anastasia out of her reverie. She whipped her head towards her and asked, "What?" 

"The demon queen, Og'drath isn't here," Jor'gas repeated. 

Anastasia nodded, licking her dry lips. "What is the name of the princess?"

"That's Etaya, the fae princess," Jor'gas replied with a smirk. 

"Oh! That's... interesting." Anastasia still couldn't believe her eyes. Seraph looked at her with total adoration in his eyes, with total dedication and as if she was his world. "They love each other a lot. Are they— are they heart mates?" 

"Nonsense!" Jor'gas said in a low voice with forced distaste. "Our prince is smitten by her. That's all." 

"You mean she doesn't love him?" Anastasia enquired. 

"She says she loves him… a lot." A woman gave them a warning look and Jor'gas immediately became quiet. 

They looked at the crowd that was still cheering. The royal couple stood on the plateau for no more than fifteen minutes and then left. It was just a show for the common people to know that there was going to be a royal wedding soon. 

With a thousand more questions bouncing in her mind, Anastasia came back with Jor'gas and her son who had found her. Her room was in the palace premise near the stables. Hers was just one of the rooms for the servants. Her son quickly had his dinner and went off to sleep after jesting with Anastasia while Jor'gas busied herself in making bed for them. She got up to help her. 

Taking the opportunity, Anastasia asked her again, "Doesn't the fae princess love the prince?" 

Jor'gas gave a humorless chuckle. "She proclaims that she loves him a lot. Not only that, the fae princess has run away from her home to marry our prince. Prince Seraph risked his life to bring her to Zor'gan." 

"How did they meet?" Anastasia asked, bewildered. She stopped making the bed. It was highly unlikely that her father would have called Seraph in any of the common banquets. 

Jor'gas folded a sheet and then sat down on the mattress on the floor. "I don't know the details, but our queen, Og'drath doesn't like her." She pursed her lips. "I was the queen's handmaiden when on the king's request I was sent to work for Etaya." 

Anastasia remembered Og'drath standing next to Kar'den in her wedding ball. She looked… sad and submissive. "Why doesn't she like Etaya? I mean the fae princess is beautiful and lovely." 

"But she has a vicious mind," Jor'gas snapped. "She punishes her servants a lot. No one wants to be with her. One mistake and she gets you whipped." 

Anastasia's eyes became wide. No wonder Maple was like that. 

"I don't know but I find Etaya very ambitious. Just the other day she was asking Seraph to take away his share of the kingdom from his older brother. But our prince out rightly denied it. We don't have that kind of a policy in Zor'gan. Only the oldest of the heirs rule."

"So who is the oldest currently?" 

"Do you mean after King Kar'den?" 

"Yes…" 

"His daughter, Dolgra. She is the oldest child of Og'drath and Kar'den. She will be the ruler of Zor'gan," said Jor'gas with warmth in her eyes. 

Anastasia licked her lips. "So what about Etaya and Seraph?"

"What about them?" Jor'gas snapped. "They will continue to be the prince and princess." She dimmed the oil lamp next to them and then lied on the bed. "Do you know what is the sad part of all this?" 

Anastasia also lied down. She turned to her side and propped her elbow to hold her head on her palm. "Tell me…"

"King Kar'den has a harem, but only Og'drath is his legal wife. It is fine to have harems for a king, but the sad part is that he doesn't like Og'drath so much. After Seraph has found his wife, Kar'den is jealous of his brother and hates his wife all the more. It's like he listens to Etaya more than his wife. This situation has become extremely complicated and there is a lot of animosity in the royal house. Etaya knows this and has started taking advantage of the situation. I feel sad for the queen… she is a very kind woman…" 

To fathom Etaya's viciousness was beyond Anastasia's comprehension. The fact was that her aunt was clever, evil and knew how to manipulate people. She had run away from Vilinski not to make Seraph her husband, but to give fruition to her plans. Her ultimate aim was to rule the fae kingdom. "Why doesn't the king give them some of the territory to rule?" If that happens, then surely history will be rewritten. The situation that she faced would completely change. Her father would still be the ruler of Vilinski. 

"Natsya?" Jor'gas probed when Anastasia became absolutely quiet. 

"Yes?" 

"The queen needs a handmaiden. Would you come with me to meet her? I mean if you can earn, then it would be a little less of a burden on me," said Jor'gas with guilt in her voice. "I am sorry… but with my husband dead and a child to take care of, it is not easy to feed another mouth." 

Anastasia smiled. This was the perfect opportunity to enter the palace and find out more about Etaya. At least until she found a way to go back, she would investigate on her own. "Of course, I will," she said assuredly. 

"I will be forever grateful, Natsya," Jor'gas replied with a sigh of relief. 

Next day in the morning she helped Anastasia to get ready for the palace. "Queen Og'drath is very amiable but one thing that she loathes is, dishonesty. If you will serve her nicely, she will give you rewards, but if she sees that you are not honest with her, she will throw you in dungeons." 

Anastasia's lips quivered when she said, "I have no reasons to be dishonest." 

Jor'gas softly laughed. "Yes, I have told her that you don't remember anything. Just some 'Al'." 

Anastasia laughed with her. "Have you already told her about me?" 

"Of course. She knows about you and is eager to meet you."