Chapter Ten

I don’t know why but I am surprised when Jonathan doesn’t tease me further. My eyes were lowered to the ground while he ate. The sounds of his food crunching together filled my ears and I could hear the silent grumbles of my stomach. In over four days, I hadn’t eaten anything besides the bread Juniper had been sneaking for me and I was getting impoverished.

I stood throughout Jonathan’s eating process without a word and when he was done with his food I didn’t move because he hadn’t instructed me to but I was getting anxious, it would soon be time for the slaves to eat and I needed to eat, to put something in my stomach  no matter what.

I snuck anxious glances at him and Aurora but I didn’t dare say anything. After what seemed like eternity, Aurora finally asked me to pack the table and head back to the kitchen. Without a word, I quickly packed the table and carried the tray hurrying out of the hall before Jonathan remembered me and started calling me names.

My legs moved faster and by the time I reached the kitchen, very few slaves were left, all the pots were empty and I quickly hurried towards the hall. And by the time I walked into the hall and saw the long line, my heart sank to the bottom, I quietly prayed as the line moved that the food should be enough and it is.

I tried to flash a smile at the woman serving as soon as it got to my turn but unfortunately she wasn’t having it, she threw a spoon of food messily into my plate and looked at the next person. Knowing what happened the last time I tried to ask, I lowered my voice, wincing, “Could you please give me one more spoon, you gave more to others” I said softly trying to maintain my smile.

“Get lost” the woman replied with irritated eyes and I swallowed, refusing to get angry. It didn’t matter what she called me, what mattered was getting another spoon of food. 

“Please ma’am” I pleaded. I knew that the one spoon of food she had given me would do nothing in sating my hunger. Two spoons in fact would do nothing as well but it was a start.

“Is our Princess begging for food?” a voice rang in my ears and I sighed softly.

How did they always find me? 

I slowly came face to face with my roommates and I sighed, “Could you please just leave me alone?” I pleaded tired.

“C’mon guys” one of them started laughing, “Let her have some food, we don’t want her tearing her bed and eating it tonight” she continued and they all roared with laughter while I stood there staring at them.

“Well I don’t mind if she eats the foam, I mean she ate it without choking yesterday” another one chipped in and I rolled my eyes turning to the woman again.

“Please, you gave everyone else three spoons, two spoons, I deserve more than one spoon” I pleaded and the woman snorted.

“Do you realize that there are people behind the line waiting to eat?” she questioned, “Please get on with it” she added and I glanced behind me seeing the irritated and annoyed looks on the faces of the slaves and I swallowed choosing to manage with the one spoon, I didn’t want to get into another fight and get sent to prison.

I gripped my tray of food hard, walking past my roommates who were still making me the butt of their jokes but I didn’t see that one of them had stuck out her leg and the next second; I was on the floor, my precious spoon of food scattered all over the floor too.

I heard loud, unbridled laughter behind me as I tried to get up but once again, I ended up falling back the second time, this time around, the laughter rang across the hall and I stared at my food on the floor mashed together and unpalatable to eat. I spun and turned to my roommates, “Whyyyyyy?!” I screamed and the laughter died in an instant.

“Whyyyyyyyyy?” I screeched again as tears fell down my cheeks “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked as I broke into sobs, “Why won’t you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you people?” I continued asking as silence descended the hall.

“Why….” I stammered as the sobs racked through my whole body. I fell to the floor sobbing loudly, “Why won’t you leave me alone?” I asked again.

I was tired, I was famished, I was hungry and I hated my life. I hated that I was a slave whom everyone hated. I hated that one mistake that led to my life getting ruined, I hated that I had wanted to prove myself to my father. I should have allowed my younger sister to go for that mission, that way nothing would have happened to me, I would have been safe, my father would have been alive and my sister would have most likely gotten that spoilt crown prince to marry her, that way even Jonathan with his strong army would have to think twice before waging a war on us and everyone would be happy and be at peace but yet everything had gone wrong.

More tears ran down my cheeks at the thought of my life. All I wanted to do was to make my father proud of me, to make my family proud of me, to make our people proud of me but I hadn’t and instead; i got my father killed right in front of my very eyes, made our people scared and in danger and I myself had become a slave who was getting starved to death, who got bullied every single day. I couldn’t believe that it had come to this, that I had gone from being a Princess to a starved slave, those were odds that were too unfair.

“I heard you were kicking a fuss and you are really causing trouble” a very familiar voice said over my head and I raised my head to see Jonathan staring down at me with a displeased look.

“Do you have any idea how stupid you look sitting down there crying like a child?” He asked, “You look like you are throwing a tantrum and you are so stupid for doing that” he continued and I tried to wipe my tears to explain to him.

“Are you still unsure whether this is a dream Princess?” He asked and I froze, “You are a slave, that’s your new reality” he commented as he burst into laughter.

“Did you ever see the slaves back at your kingdom? Where they ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the kind of food they ate and how they lived their lives?” He asked and I almost nodded my head.

I did. I knew where they lived, I knew they kind of food they ate, and the kind of clothes they wore. I knew where their living quarters were and it was way better, the food wasn’t the same as the palace foods but it was good and it was filling, and nobody starved back at home.

“Oh my Princess, I’m sure you never did. Those people were most likely way below you and you couldn’t be found associating with them or even talking to you, does it give you a sense of regret now that you are one of them?” He said with a snarl, “And you aren’t just one of them, you are the lowest of them all” he added and tears streamed down my cheeks as I raised my head to face him.

“C’mon don’t cry” he said laughing, “But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do seeing you crying. If you are hungry you can come over later and I’ll give you some food, just like yesterday. Well that’s if you eat it. I did give you some food yesterday and you chose not to. You can also ask any of your friends to show you the way to the pigsty” he added as he burst into laughter.

Friends?

“Get a grip on yourself Princess, this isn’t your kingdom where you get to do anything, the way you like. Here you are a slave who listens to orders and does what she is told and will take what you are given. Don’t try to act smart with anyone here, no one cares and do throw less tantrums, I don’t have the time or energy to waste with you here everyday” He said in the most icy voice ever and I blinked my teary eyes at him.

He was a bastard and I hoped he died. I prayed he died a gruesome death. I hoped that he would hit his head against the wall and die. He was the sole cause of my situation and I wished hell upon him. My hatred had grown by leaps and leaps as I stared at him. I sighed as I opened my mouth.

“You shouldn’t have saved me” I said softly, “You should have let me die”