Chapter 242: Hurtful Memories
Chapter 242: Hurtful Memories
"Your Majesty, please save my daughter."
The older female servant who was begging Lady Clarisa until a while ago for her daughter, immediately hurried towards the young Queen the moment she saw how their Queen had shut Lady Clarisa and begged for her daughter.
Seren glanced at the crying servant but her eyes held no emotions for her. She then looked at the young injured servant who was lifelessly kneeling after getting lashes from the whip.
Seren just looked at Lady Tyra. As if Lady Tyra could understand what her Queen meant, she nodded and looked at Lady Xena, "Get that servant to the physician."
Lady Xena nodded and Seren turned to leave. She didn't wish to stay in the place which reminded her of the similar memories from the past. She was unusually quiet and continued to walk out of the central hall as her servants followed her.
The other ladies in the Royal Harem too followed her out to respectfully see off their Queen. They wanted to talk to her but what she had done a while ago with Lady Clarisa in her unique way, made everyone feel wary of this Queen. She looked silent but they were intimidated as they couldn't see through her due to that veil. The rumors about her had reached everyone and it added to their fear.
Seren sat in her Carriage after the servants helped her and everyone bowed to the Queen till the Royal carriage left the Harem's main door.
Lady Tyra looked at her, "Your Majesty, apology for letting you witness such a scenario in Royal Harem on your first visit."
Seren said nothing and continued to look outside of the carriage's window silently. The memories from the past flashed in front of her eyes when she was hardly seven or eight years old. It was the King's birthday and like every year Martha took her out of the tower to be a part of the birthday celebration of the King of Abetha. It was just an excuse to allow her to be out of that tower and see the people around which happened every year.
No one talked to her. They stayed away from her calling her a witch while she quietly saw all the princesses, who were the same age as hers, playing with each other happily. She was always alone.
By any chance, if she got the opportunity to play with them, it always resulted in her being tricked into something by her half-sisters and creating an even worse image of herself.
Among all those annoying princesses and the daughters of the servants around their ages, there was one little girl who used to approach Seren and play with her. She was the daughter of one of the royal servants.
The images from that hurtful day were still engraved in her mind vividly. Martha had left her to play with other girls of her age on her own in the playing area, meant only for the princesses.
"Third Princess, will you play with me?" the little girl of the same age as Seren, smiled at her.
Seren nodded hesitantly. She knew this girl named Rene who had approached her on previous occasions too when Seren came out in the palace and the two started playing with their dolls. Seren looked at the doll in that girl's hand which looked prettier as she was dressed like a royal princess. Seren being a princess she didn't have such a pretty doll but the daughter of the servant had it.
"Your doll is so pretty, Rene," Seren said, observing it.
The girl smiled brightly, looking at her doll, and said, "Isn't it? The First Princess gave it to me."
It was something surprising for Seren as in her eyes her half-sisters were always mean to her and they were good to this girl to give her such a doll. The heart of little Seren sank in and she pouted slightly under her veil.
"Do you want to play with it, Third Princess?" the girl asked.
Seren immediately nodded and the girl passed her the doll. When Seren held the doll, she felt there was something wrong with one hand of the doll and looked for it. Just as she touched it, the hand came off. Seren's eyes were left wide open and she looked at the girl who herself was shocked to see it.
"I didn't do it," Seren said.
The girl turned calm and said, "It must be broken already. I will ask my mother to fix it."
"I..am sorry," Seren apologized.
"Third Princess, you don't need to apologize. It's…."
"You broke my doll?" The two heard the loud voice of a girl, a few years older than her.
That was the First Princess Giselle. She looked furious and came to Seren and the servant's daughter.
"F-First Princess…." the girl stood up immediately, seeing Giselle so furious.
"How dare you break my doll?" Giselle asked while all the other princesses and servant's daughters gathered around them feeling curious about this scenario.
Poor Rene shivered, "First Princess, you gave this doll to me…."
"I gave you to play with it for a while but not to break it. Do you know how precious this doll is? You lowly servant can't even afford to look at it. I pitied you and gave it to you but you broke it," Giselle sounded even more furious than before.
The little girl immediately kneeled, "A-Apologies, First Princess…."
"Your apology can't fix it. You need to get punished," Giselle declared.
"Yes sister, punish her nicely so next time no one will dare to touch our things," Second Princess Miera commented as she looked at Seren.
"Servant, bring the whip," Giselle ordered.
Seren, who was already scared, felt bad for the girl and said, "I...was the one who broke it. Don't punish her."
Giselle smirked, "Oh, so it's you, witch?"
Seren ignored what she called her as she was used to hearing everyone calling her a witch and said, "It was already broken but that hand happened to come off when I checked it."
"You liar. Though you are the one to break it, this servant girl will get the punishment. We can't hit one princess," Giselle grinned as she looked at the servant who brought the whip. Giselle got the whip and the next moment everyone heard the sound of the whip slashing the body of a little girl, who cried out in pain.
Just then the mother of that girl arrived there after knowing what was happening with her daughter.
She immediately kneeled next to her little daughter and faced Giselle, "Your highness, please forgive her. You can hit me instead."
"Get away from here or I will hit her more. Don't forget my mother can punish your entire family for offending me," Giselle warned and swung a whip at the little girl which hit her again.
The poor mother could only cry seeing her daughter in pain and the next moment everyone heard the loud angry voice that startled them.
"Stop hitting her. I told you it was me who broke your doll." Seren was angry.
Giselle didn't stop and instead laughed at angry Seren. "This is what she deserves for daring to play with a witch and forgetting her duty of accompanying only me and my sister."
'So this is the reason this little girl is being punished, just because she wanted to play with me,' Seren concluded and it angered her even more.
Just then Giselle hit the girl once more and she heard Seren shouting at her, "I told you to not hit her."
Everyone around felt scared seeing her angry but Giselle didn't seem to care. "Sister, I think you should stop," Miera said but Giselle didn't listen. By then Queen Niobe and Martha too arrived there and saw the commotion.
Martha hurried towards Seren but it was already very late. Just as Giselle wanted to hit the girl once again, the bottom of Giselle's clothes caught fire that shocked everyone.