Chapter Eight

I trudged after Aurora slowly. I couldn’t believe my ears. I had been locked up in a cell for almost a day without food and yet I was expected to go and serve the king? I knew it was Jonathan that had requested it, I knew he just wanted to humiliate me and embarrass me, I knew he was just being his hateful and disgusting self.

Venom spread from my thoughts to my chest and by the time I was in the kitchen, I had a newfound hatred for him. Juniper and some other slaves were already working around the kitchen and he immediately gave me a small smile as soon as he saw him but I couldn't return his smile.

“Why are you walking so sluggish?” Aurora snapped at me. I raised my eyes to meet her fierce ones and the reply at the edge of my mouth was swallowed back. I wanted to tell her that the only reason I was taking one step at one time was just because of the fact that I had not eaten anything all day yet I was expected to go and serve the king with little to no stamina. I also couldn’t even believe that I was still standing. If Juniper hadn’t brought that bread to me that afternoon, I was sure I would have fainted.

I would have never been in this kind of situation if only Jonathan hadn’t killed my parents. If when I chose to die, he had allowed me to die quietly. And me who had food served to her anytime I wanted and whatever food or dessert was carving was starving and eying the already made food wanting to gobble them up. I couldn’t believe what Jonathan had turned me into.

“Carry the tray of food once Tabitha is done” Aurora instructed and I turned to her nodding.

“No one is going to allow you to cook the King’s food. I doubt if you can cook, your horrendous food might make him faint” she taunted and I forced a smile at her, taking her aback.

If I ever got to cook for Alpha Jonathan, he was going to die.

At that thought, I slowly moved closer to where some of the slaves were working ignoring their glares and slowly picked up a knife, slipping it into my sleeve.

It was time to end everything. It was true that Jonathan’s warning was still lingering somewhere at the back of my mind, it had left a strong shadow on me and he didn’t say anything would happen if I tried to kill him. If he died, that would certainly be for the best, it wouldn’t matter if I was killed too, as long as my family was safe.

Tabitha soon finished arranging the food on the tray and she passed the tray to me nonchalantly. I immediately mounted the tray on my hands, wincing at how heavy it was. So many delicacies of food were arranged on the tray only for him.

He must have known that I was locked up and that I had not had any food to eat and yet he was requesting I serve him, carrying the tray that had food. He wanted to spite me and I lowered my head laughing softly. This was going to be the last time he was going to spite me because I was going to make sure that I kill her, once and for all.

Aurora walked in front of me as she led me towards the centre of the village. There was a stark difference between the slave arena and the actual village. The liveliness and the sight of the children running made my heart warm for some reason and it reminded me of home. The Berg Kingdom was truly a forbidden Kingdom but it was also home for a lot to people.

But Jonathan had taken that home and turned it to a hell hole for me. I didn’t dare imagine what my people would think of me now. Their words would get worse, they would blame everything that had happened on me, there was no one else at fault anyways. My stomach grumbled lightly and I winced hoping Aurora didn’t hear but since her steps didn’t falter; I figured out that she didn’t hear.

By the time we stepped into the King’s quarters, I was already tired but it didn’t matter since I was going to kill him. The fanciness didn’t faze me one bit, I was a Princess and the grandeur of his palace compared to my father’s fell short, really short.

Jonathan was seated at the table discussing with two other men I had never seen before when we arrived. As soon as they saw us, he waved them away and the two men bowed and walked out not before giving him snide looks and glaring hatefully at me.

I slowly placed the tray on the table, carefully removing the covers to the food. I could see Jonathan's eyes boring into me while I removed the covers. I immediately stepped back as soon as I was done.

“You do not greet your King?” He asked with sneer and yet again, against my better judgement I laughed.

“My King?” I asked feeling around the knife hidden in my sleeve, “You are anything but my King” I added and Jonathan’s eyes immediately hardened.

Aurora’s hand moved and the next second I could feel a stinging feeling on my cheek. She had slapped me again.

Slapping people was definitely a pastime she enjoyed. Or slapping me was definitely something she enjoyed.

“Apologize to the King and say your greetings” she instructed and I chuckled finally feeling the knife and slowly letting it through my sleeves.

“Apologize?” I asked, shaking my head as I laughed again, “He’s not my king, he’s my enemy and he killed my father. Apologize to him? Say my greetings?” I asked as the knife finally landed in my hands.

“I will not. Never!” I screeched as I moved deftly towards him with the knife but in one movement, he caught the knife in his palm and within seconds, blood was dripping from his palm onto the table and even into the food. 

“You want to kill me?” He asked in surprise and the moment I realized that he had caught the knife, I regretted it. I didn’t consider the fact that he would have faster or that I would be slower especially since I had no strength.

“You must be kidding me” Jonathan added while I desperately tried to drive the knife in but his grip was too tight and no matter how hard I tried he held firmly within his hands.

“I saved you and yet you want to kill me?” he asked, his eyes turning a shade of anger and I laughed yet again.

“Saved me? Did I ask you to save me? Did I ask you? You should have just let me die that day. It’s not my fault that your decision is coming back to bite you in the ass” I shot back at him and my words seemed to have angered him and in one movement, he flung the knife away and I stepped back from the impact. My head suddenly felt dizzy and the biting in my stomach got worse.

“You bitch!” Aurora screeched at me as Jonathan got up from his seat and walked towards me. I swallowed wondering what he was going to do but I knew the worse was that he would kill me. I wasn’t scared of dying but I was scared of my entire family dying. But my worries were short lived because using his bloodied hands, the next moment, Jonathan moved and he slapped me, slapped me so hard that the world spun so hard and so quickly that I fell and blacked out.

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My first trial of opening my eyes was abortive, all I could see was white. Was I dead? My second trial had flecks of lights in it and the third trial, I was finally able to open my eyes properly. I slowly tried to sit up only to realize that I was still in Jonathan’s dining hall.

The next moment, Aurora led one of the kitchen slaves I had seen working with a tray into the room and I scoffed inwardly. How many minutes did I black out for?

“Greetings my King. Here’s your dinner” the slave said and I froze.

I had fainted for a whole day and I was left on the ground there?

Aurora and the slave set the table and walked away. The two men in the morning and another woman were seated at the table and Jonathan’s eyes darted to me. His hand was bandaged slightly and I winced.

“I see you have finally decided to grace us with your presence Princess” He taunted and at the sound of the word Princess, my spin went rigid.

I remained huddled on the floor because I had no strength, no strength at all to get up from the floor. And worse, my stomach rumbles really loudly silencing the discussion of the people talking.

“Are you hungry?” Jonathan asked with an amused expression but I was yet to deny it when it rumbled not even once or three more times consecutively. Colour spread to my cheeks as all of them burst into loud raucous laughter. I lowered my head in embarrassment and in anger.

“I know you are hungry so I’ll let you eat some food” Jonathan said and I raised my head to meet his twinking, amused eyes.

There was no way Alpha Jonathan was going to let me eat.

I watched as Jonathan carried two plates of food and immediately poured them on the floor. He carried a few more plates pouring the food on the floor and a smile spread across his face.

“You can eat that. I won’t think of you any less than a princess” he added and the whole table roared with laughter again.

“Of course, she’ll be a princess dog” one of the men commented and the whole table roared with laughter.

I closed my eyes, forcing back the tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. I wasn’t going to cry. I had promised never to cry because of this bastard again.

My stomach rumbled loudly for the fifth time and the laughter got louder. Jonathan shook his head with laughter.

“Oh my Princess, if I were you, I would crawl here and get started on eating already” he taunted and I slowly opened my eyes, a small smile on my face.

“I would rather eat with pigs” the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.