Chapter 7: He will pay with his Life.

~Seraffim's POV~

I am kneeling in my small garden when I hear footsteps coming toward me. My hands are dirty from digging in the soil, trying to grow vegetables to eat. They barely give me food here in this old, broken palace, so I have to grow my own or starve.

The vegetables are small and not very good, but they keep me alive. That's all that matters now.

The footsteps stop behind me. I don't turn around. I know what this is about. After two years of being locked away, they finally need me for something.

"The king needs you in the hall tonight," the guard says in a mean, nasty voice. "And you are to look your best."

I keep my hands in the dirt and don't say anything. Inside, anger burns in my chest. It felt like fire that would consume me if I don't keep in.

How dare this guard speak to me like I am nothing?! But I learned long ago that speaking back only brings more pain.

I was once Princess Seraffim Alfred of Otterman. My kingdom was known for its riches and wealth. We had gold mines and silk trade routes that made us one of the most powerful kingdoms in the underworld. We were better at trading than Salvatore kingdom which Ragel ruled.

When he came into power and started conquering lands, all the neighboring kingdoms heard about his ruthlessness.

They heard about how he destroyed anyone who stood against him. They heard about the crazy humans in the werewolf world who were causing chaos. And where looking for underworldians to kill and extracting their magical powers.

The kings decided to offer their daughters to Ragel to secure peace and safety. They thought if they gave him their most precious treasures, their princesses, he would protect them instead of destroying them.

I was one of those princesses. My father, King Alfred of Otterman, sent me here with chests full of gold, jewels, and silk, treasures even from the human world. He thought he was saving our kingdom. He thought he was being smart.

When I first came here, the people loved me. I was kind to the servants, generous with my wealth, and always tried to help those in need. I brought medicine for the sick and food for the hungry.

I was nothing like their nobles that didn't care about them. In Otterman, our people were everything, so when I came here and saw how the nobles treated their people and how lords treated their tenants and servants, I was appalled.

So to make for their recklessness and their endless taxes, I began helping with my endless wealth that I had brought with me.

Eventually my kindness made Queen Alvira angry. It made the other concubines jealous too not to talk of the nobles that said I was making their seifs to hate them.

They didn't like that the people loved me more than them. They didn't like that I was prettier and richer than them.

So when Alvira died, they saw their chance. I had mysteriously been lying next to her corpse. How I got there, what had happened, I still do not know.

The Nobles all ganged up on me like a pack of wild dogs. Even the people, I had cared about took to the sides of the nobles.

They lied about me. They said I was the one who betrayed the kingdom. They said I was working with the enemies. They said my father sent me to them so I could lead the chancellor to them.

And Ragel believed them.

He sent me to this old, broken palace and made me a slave in my own husband's home. He stripped me of my titles, my wealth, my dignity. Worst of all, he sealed my beast form, making me as weak as a human.

But that wasn't enough for his anger. He also murdered my parents to avenge his precious Alvira. Hung their heads on a spike at the castle gates for all to see.

He burned down my home kingdom and blamed me for everything.

This is something I will never, ever forgive him for. Never. Even if the last thing I do, Ragel Marcel Angilioleteo will pay with his life for what he did to me.

And he will forever regret not killing me when he had the chance. He will regret it, that I swear with everything I have.

"Did you hear me, concubine slave?" the guard says, pushing me hard on the shoulder. "Or do you still believe you are a princess?"

I still don't speak. I learned long ago that silence is the best answer to give to fools. I have practiced this art for so long because speaking only brings more pain and punishment that my weak body can't afford this moment.

"I will be ready," I finally say in a quiet voice. "But I need maids to help me look my best."

The guard laughs in a nasty way. "What does a slave need maids for?"

I know this guard. Everyone knows who Master Zahe is. He is the head of the kitchen and a strong soldier. He has muscles and scars from many battles.

Ever since I was taken from my position as concubine and made into a slave, Master Zahe has been making my life even more miserable. He gives me the worst jobs in the kitchen. He makes me clean the dirtiest pots and scrub the floors with my bare hands.

But worse than that, he has been making advances at me. He touches my arm when he walks by. He stands too close when he talks to me. He makes comments about my body that make my skin crawl.

Of course, this is forbidden. No one is allowed to touch or pursue the property of the king of Salvatore, even if that property has been disgraced. But Master Zahe doesn't seem to care about rules.

"Master Zahe," I say, keeping my voice calm and respectful even though I want to scream at him. "If I am to look my best for the king, then I need maids to help me."