06

Desire was left in awe and bewilderment even after the Queen had left her room. She didn't have any good reason to convince herself of the fact that the event that took place a few minutes back was real and not that she was dreaming. 

She was the Queen and also her Master's elder sister. Why will such a royalty come to a filthy place like this? Even though the Harem was the closest building to the palace, she still couldn't believe the fact that the Queen of their Kingdom will stoop that low to mingle and befriend a Servant girl like her. 

The whole visit was strange. Maybe she was about to be killed for disobeying her master. All sorts of thoughts ran through her head and she couldn't think straight. 

It was recorded that the Harem was built so as to allow the king's men to satisfy themselves after their bloody wars and all day stress. Though it wasn't built for royalty, still some useless Ministers and their friends patronized the Harem like it was their second house. 

The late Prime Minister and his ancestors were the only one who hadn't visited the Harem from the start of their lives. Little did Desire know that things were about to change. 

She walked gingerly back to her door and locked it up before settling on the tattered bed given to her to rest for the day, hoping tomorrow will bring in a new light and maybe wake her up from her dream. 

She still couldn't believe the fact that the queen visited her. She was dazzled at how royal and majestic the lady was. She didn't even know if she'll be committing an offense by referring to her as Queen Naomi and not Her Royal highness. 

Not long after, she got lured into a deep slumber with different thoughts going on in her pretty head. 

The new day came in with a bright sun accompanying it and Desire stirred from her sleep to block the sun from entering her eyes. She couldn't believe she slept till sunrise. 

She stood up from the bed to check herself out in the mirror. Her skin was already getting whiter and she had lost a ton ever since that morning, her green eyes were dazzling and still had its shine while her long black hair ran down her back to settle on her waist and bounced anytime she walked. She ran her hand through her hair and tried to fix the locks. 

Her beauty was hidden behind her darkened eyes and the tattered servant's clothes she was putting on. 

She quickly took her bath and headed out of her room to see what was going on around her. 

On getting to the center of the building, she saw some girls about her age circling around another girl who was dancing to the beat of a drum. 

Little kids, belonging to unknown fathers, about ten in numbers were seen running around the Harem, chasing each other and laughing as if there's nothing worrisome going on around the world. 

Desire laughed bitterly, hoping they didn't end up the way their mothers did and hoped they had a better life than theirs. 

She joined the girls sitting in a circle and settled on the back of one of them. The girl sitting closer to the one Desire sat behind turned her head and smiled at her. Desire smiled back. Though it was a strange gesture, still Desire could make use of a friend. 

"Hi, I'm Kim Chui, what's your name?"

"I'm Desire" she replied curtly. 

"You're new here" She observed

"Yes"

"What's going on?" Desire inquired, pointing at the girl dancing in the circle. 

"That's Freda, she'll be performing at the King's banquet coming up and she's practicing. We're a group though and it'll be lovely if you could join us"

"I don't know if I can but let me see the way it goes. I'll make a decision and let you know before tomorrow"

"Make sure you do that. I'll help by teaching you the rest of the dance steps so you'll catch up with the rest of us" Kim faces her group back. 

Desire couldn't help but envy the happiness on their faces. Even though they're instruments to any man, they still find a way to make themselves happy. 

Desire got pulled out of her thought when suddenly she heard ruckus coming to the direction of where she was. 

Kim quickly pulled her to her feet and made her bow her head. 

"Do not look him in the face, Desire. You don't want to be picked. He's dangerous and not only does he rape women, he also makes his men rape them in his presence" Kim warned her as the man walked towards them. 

"Who's he?"

"He's the king's youngest brother. The worst of all animals God created" Fear crept into Desire's heart and she feared what might happen if he picked her up. 

"What do we have here?" She felt a hand on her shoulder and Kim held her hand, stopping her from turning or raising her head. 

"She's new, right?" He asked, placing his hand on her neck. 

"Yes" the Head lady spoke up. "But she's claimed and she's not like us, she's just here to serve a punishment"

"Well, I'll very much love to help in a way. I can help with the punishment too" His hand was already messing with her hair, twisting her ear and pushing her lip out of her mouth. 

"Her owner asked for her not to be touched, my Lord"

"Well, he can go to hell for all I care" he lifted Desire's head and shifted it sideways to get a better view. 

"Beautiful little thing....I can't wait to have you laid out on my table for dinner" he forced one of his fingers in her mouth, forcing her to lick it

Desire almost threw up from the disgusting finger being forced inside her mouth. 

"Her Master will not appreciate this, My lord" The Head lady advised. 

"Who the hell is this person who wants to deprive me of something that I desire the most at this moment, who the hell is he?" His hand grabbed the neck of Desire's cloth and tore the outer layer. 

He was about to proceed to the next layer, when he felt a dagger miss his hand by an inch, landing on the wall next to him and before he could turn around, he heard the voice that caused him nightmares, gave him headaches, the voice he wished never existed. 

"If you do that one more time, I swear on my life, You will not see the sun set!"