The Rightful Queen

Fifteen

My astonishment increased when I saw where he was taking me. A tavern! The king was a party animal. I could hear the loud noises from outside and once we entered, I was met with the smell of ale, sweat, and grilled food.

    "Welcome to the nightlife of Vinadra," he grinned as the two of us sat down. Not once had I ever been to a tavern before. I did use to sneak out in Elendra, but I would usually just sit by the sea, go to the local markets or take long walks. This was all new to me and it was quite exciting.

    The music was loud and people were dancing, chatting, or enjoying their drinks.

    "You look like you just had a cultural shock. I thought you were adventurous, Nuriya," he smirked as he took a sip from his ale.

    "I am adventurous! But this is a whole new level of adventure!" I exclaimed, taking in everything around me. I looked at a group of women dancing and I really wanted to join them, but I didn't know the steps. I watched the way they moved their body and although their movements were messy, they looked incredibly happy.

    One of them noticed me looking and without hesitation, she strolled towards me, pulling me up from my place, not giving me the chance to object. I looked at Zain who motioned for me to join the women with a huge smile on his face.

    "I have never danced this dance before!" I told the woman who was still holding my hand.

    "Who cares!? Just have fun!" and so I did. I had fun. I danced along with them like there was no care in the world. I danced like I was a normal commoner who was out with her lover. I let myself get lost in this true feeling of happiness that I had never experienced before. I was on cloud nine, having the best time of my life. This feeling was unprecedented. It was so good that I wanted to live like this forever.

    "I see you're having fun!" I heard Zain's voice as he sneaked his arm around my waist, starting to dance with me. He knew his moves so well. He was used to this! I looked around and saw that men were already joining the women in dancing.

    "Thank you so much for letting me experience this!" I grinned, letting him twirl me around. The music was fast and his moves matched every beat. He knew the music by heart.

    After dancing for God knows how long, the two of us sat down for a bit.

    "So what do you think?" he wondered.

    "This is the best night I have ever spent in my entire life!" I exclaimed with a huge smile on my face. "We are going to do this again, right?" I couldn't help but ask. I wanted to spend another night like that one.

    "Only if you want." I nodded vigorously. "Would you like to have a walk? The weather is good outside," he suggested.

    "Yeah, I don't think I can dance anymore," I said and stood up when he did.

    As we ambled through the city, the wind kept messing with my hair, but I didn't mind. I loved everything about that night. Here I was, walking along the Great River of Vindara with the man I was supposed to hate the most, yet it was hard to hate him; he was making it almost impossible.

    "Wait a second," he said as he stopped and bought soft pretzels from a street vendor. I thanked him when he handed me one. It smelled amazing.

    "I bet the palace staff would lose their minds if they found you eating from street vendors," I commented, looking at him.

    "Good thing they're not here then, unless you plan on snitching," he joked, making me giggle.

    "My lips are sealed." I pulled an imaginary zip over my lips.

    "So... what do you think of Vinadra?" he wondered as the two of us sat on a bench.

    I looked around the city and as much as I hated to admit it, he was doing a good job at being the king. The city was clean and it was well-lit. "I like it. You're doing an amazing job as its king." The words should have been hard to be said, but they weren't and I hated that.

    "I'm a hated king," he sighed and I frowned. "People hate me for what my father had done." He looked down.

    "You mean... killing the original king and queen?" It was no secret. Everybody knew about the massacre.

    "Yes. I wasn't in control when that happened, you know? If I had a say, I would have prevented him from doing that. I hate the fact that I inherited a bloody throne."

    No, he wasn't supposed to say that. He wasn't supposed to be humane. He should have been a cruel bastard, so killing him would be easy. He was supposed to be a bad ruler, a cruel one that nobody would mourne.

    He was supposed to be a kha'en like his father.

    "I think... there's no use crying over spilt milk," I tried to be reasonable. "You can make up for your father's wrongdoings by being a good ruler," I told him.

    "I'm doing my best," he said and when I looked into his eyes, I found nothing but sincerity. "It's getting late. We should head back." I nodded even though I didn't want to leave, but he was right. It was late and the city was so quiet.

    I liked how he was holding my hand as we were walking. Butterflies filled my stomach and I realized how dangerous this was. He wasn't supposed to have such an effect on me. I was probably being stupid. He was the first man I got close to and this reaction was normal. It did not indicate anything.

    While we were walking, I felt somebody snatch me from behind, making me gasp. A cold metal got pressed over my neck and I sucked in a breath.

    "Your money or say bye bye to your girl."

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Published on July 22nd, 2022
Sara