His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 53

“Zen, I can’t…”

“Shh. Quiet!” Zen hissed as he jumped off the wall and landed in a crouch in the underbrush. He then swiftly turned around, raising his arms. Even though Raena was sitting on the top of the wall and he was quite tall, it was still a long way down. “I’ll definitely catch you, don’t worry!”

They had abandoned the carriage outside of the third prince’s residence and they had sneaked around until they found the blind spot her guard had mentioned on the way. It was a small part of the thirteen-foot-high wall surrounding the residence, close to the Concubines’ place where the wall entered the forest, next to which the third prince’s home was built. This section was apparently extremely hard to patrol because of the poor visibility, even though they had cleared most of the trees close to the stone barrier.

Zen had climbed it with Raena on his back, who kept whispering that she was never doing this again. She hated heights in her previous life, and it seemed like this one wasn’t going to be any different.

Raena took a deep breath and pushed herself off the wall, falling for a second before, just as he promised, he caught her effortlessly, setting her down on her feet. Without saying a word, he grabbed her hand and started pulling her through the thicket.

They walked in complete silence, staying away from the paths until they had no choice but to near the main one and cross it. Just as they were about to do that, Zen pulled her back, wrapping one hand around her, while pressing the other to her mouth. He flattened himself against one of the bigger trees, both of them listening in as a group of servants passed by.

Raena’s heart was drumming so loudly in h ears, she could barely hear anything else. Focusing on the slow, rhythmic thud-thud-thud of Zen’s heart, she gradually relaxed. They had already been caught once; she doubted he’d let that happen again. Especially after that last conversation in her bedroom.

“Yes, I heard she stole it, so that is why she is being punished!” one of the maids said, her voice trembling. Raena thought it was because of excitement at first, but realized that it might as well have been fear, considering they were talking about punishment. “I can’t believe they would give such a harsh punishment to a Head Maid! I know she is new, but still..”

Raena shifted, her curiosity spiking. New Head Maid? Could they have been talking about Kara or was there another new Head Maid? What kind of punishment was it, she didn’t remember hearing that part.

“Who knows? It’s Lady Lara, after all. Nobody can say a word to her or they might get fired. Or worse – beaten along with that poor girl!” another one said in a hushed voice. “I really don’t want to go, but they said everyone should witness what happens to thieves.”

Raena turned to look at Zen, who remained completely unfazed. She tried to push his hand off, but he just shook his head.

“What do you think the princess will do?” a third voice asked. “I heard she gets easily scared, and she doesn’t like to leave her residence out of fear somebody would bully her.”

“I heard the Head Maid keeps her there so she could control her.”

“There are so many rumors about the North Palace, I don’t know what to believe! I am just thankful I am not working there! Everybody knows that Lady Lara has taken it to herself to find faults with everyone in that place…”

“Hush! What if someone overhears? Do you have a death wish? Let’s hurry, or she’ll be dead before we get there! We are supposed to watch the punishment. I don’t want to be beaten!”

Their voices died down, and Zen finally let go of Raena. She stepped away, her knees shaking and her head buzzing with all kinds of emotions flooding all at once.

Kara stealing? That was impossible. Why would she want to in the first place? And even if she did, how was she caught so quickly? She wasn’t stupid, so she…

Somebody must have framed her. If Lara was involved, it wasn’t hard to guess what was going on.

“We need to find Kara! Now!” she hissed and Zen’s face hardened in the dim light.

“You said we shouldn’t be caught tonight.” He reminded her. “What if it is a trap? We don’t even know it was Kara they were talking about.” Raena blinked in surprise, a sudden calmness putting down the nerves that were threatening to make her throw up. Ever since she came to this place, Kara had been by her side. She knew her secrets, she knew her crazy plans, and she even listened to stories that probably made no sense to her. She never complained or blamed her or gave her even the slightest hint of falseness in her intentions. If there was one person in this world Raena couldn’t just abandon, it was Kara.

“How many Head Maids does the North Palace have, Zen?” Raena asked coldly. “l am going! Come or leave, I don’t care! Kara is my friend, and there is a way I am leaving her to suffer!”

“I told you, I’m not leaving your side again,” he whispered, his voice turning softer than before. “I’ll do as you say. Just make sure not to regret it.”

He strode in the direction the maids had disappeared, walking so fast that Raena had to jog to catch up. It took them no more than five minutes to reach the first house of the Concubines’ palace and from there on it was easy to find where everyone had gathered. Even before locating the group of servants on one of the small squares where the paths connected, Raena could hear painful cries and the loud, distinctive Slap! Slap! Slap! That echoed through the night.

Raena’s pace quickened without her realizing, her mind repeating Let me be wrong, let me be wrong!’ even though she herself didn’t believe it.

She pushed her way through the circle of maids and attendants, a few of them turning around to see who was so eager to get to the front. The ones who recognized her started to whisper, and by the time she found herself on the other side of the circle, everyone was staring at her.

Every thought for them disappeared as she took in the scene in front of her eyes. Lara was standing with her arms crossed and an unabashed expression on her cold, beautiful face as she watched two guards hold down a woman on her knees while her hands were stretched over the surface of a long rectangular table. A third guard was holding a washing paddle in his hands, its wooden surface now almost black from the hilt down.

The paddle fell again, slamming against the hands of the woman, and she let out a hoarse scream, pressing her forehead on the table while her shoulders shook with exhaustion and pain. The guard raised the paddle again.

“What the hell is going on here?” Raena demanded, her voice bringing Lara and the guards’ attention to her. Even the woman getting beaten finally raised her head, looking at Raena with a mix of horror and relief.

All hope of having misunderstood the maids’ conversation vanished as Raena stared at Kara’s face. One of her eyes was swollen shut; her l!p was cut and bloody and there were long scratches on her cheek. Her uniform was covered in b***d and dirt, and her white shirt sleeves were stained red.

Her hands were the worst – all ten fingers were sticking in odd angles and were dark blue in color, entirely unmoving even as the rest of her body shook. Tears streamed down from Kara’s good eye, and a cry for help had stuck on her parted l!ps.

“Raena?” Lara said with surprise, but not even a hint of panic or shame. “Oh, my! What are you doing here and at this hour?” Her eyes shot behind Raena, no doubt stopping on Zen. “You were confined to the North Palace by His Highness! Do you even know what the punishment is for not following his orders?”

“l asked you a question,” Raena said just as coldly, taking Lara by surprise. She had no strength, nor the mental capacity to play the fool this time, even if it meant blowing her cover. This night had exhausted all of her pretense, all of her fear and cautiousness. All she wanted right now was to take Kara home. “What do you think you’re doing to my maid?”

Her eyes went back to Kara, who was still being held down, and her b***d started to boil. Anger rose inside her, demanding retribution. She had never been a fan of violence or hurting people, but in that instant, she wanted to hurt Lara. She wanted to see her bleed and cry and beg.

Lara let her hands fall by her side, turning so she was fully facing Raena.

“You probably wouldn’t understand the severity of the situation, but let me try to explain,” Lara said with the sweetest smile and such a concerned expression, one would think she was making the greatest sacrifice for Raena’s sake. “Your maid was caught stealing something very precious to me. Despite being a person of such a high position, who should be giving a good example to those underneath her, her greedy nature made her reach out for something that wasn’t hers. If it was something small, I would have turned a blind eye and let her go with a reprimand, but we are talking about a precious necklace His Highness himself gifted me, one that used to belong to his departed mother.”

“I didn’t steal it!” Kara croaked from her place by the table. “It was delivered to the North Palace by mistake! I was returning it!” One of the guards holding her pressed her head down to prevent her from talking, and Raena gritted her teeth, her hands balling into fists.

“I have several witnesses that can confirm she entered the residence carrying nothing and left with the bag containing the necklace. My guards stopped her because they found it suspicious and discovered the necklace on her,” Lara said with the same sorrowful voice, throwing her hands in the air.

“I would never make up something so serious and take action without proper evidence!”

“Were those ‘witnesses’ your servants by any chance?” Raena asked with sarcasm dripping from her tone. Lara’s face stiffened, but she held onto her smile.

“I tried to return it!” Kara cried out with her face still pressed against the hard wooden surface. “Your servant said it wasn’t yours!” Lara sighed with exasperation.

“I don’t know how you educate your servants, dear Raena, but my attendants would never dare speak out of turn -let alone talk to me in such a disrespectful manner.” Lara’s eyes flashed threateningly, and her smile abruptly disappeared. Hit her again.”

The guard raised the paddle without hesitation and smashed Kara’s hands again, despite the Scream to stop that came from Raena’s mouth. The same guard stepped uncomfortably from one leg to the other and looked back at his mistress, who nodded. He prepared to hit again.

“Zen! Stop him!” Raena shouted in panic.

As if waiting for her command, Zen moved forward, his sword flying out of its sheath. Before the guard could hurt Kara again, Zen’s blade sliced through the back of his knees, sending b***d splattering on the ground. The man’s feet buckled and he fell with a surprised cry. Zen caught him from behind, one hand holding his head by the chin while the other pressed the blade to his neck. Zen’s eyes turned to Raena as if waiting for further instructions.

Everyone had grown so quiet, Raena wasn’t sure they were even breathing as they watched Zen with a mix of awe and fear. Lara’s calm mask cracked. Pulling some of Zen’s confidence for her own, Raena turned her eyes back to the concubine.

“I don’t care if my maid has stolen a leaf, a cookie, or your most prized p0ssession. I am asking you what gives you the right to touch my people without my permission?” Raena asked, taking a step toward the other woman. Despite being a head taller, Lara seemed much smaller at that moment, her eyes wide with shock. “You are just a bed warmer who I can have killed right this very second. And do you know what my husband will do to me then, Lara?” She stopped inches away from the dark-haired woman, holding her gaze and trying to make her feel all the anger and hate currently raging inside. “Nothing! He will do absolutely nothing! Do you know why? Because l am his wife and because he actually needs me! You. Are. Nothing!”

“Really?” Lara said with a trembling voice, but quickly composed herself. “Are you absolutely sure? Because last time he took my side and you were you are still confined to your pretty dollhouse!” She closed the remaining space between them, leaning down so she could look Raena directly in the eyes. “I will make sure your maid and that pretty boy over there both suffer before they are beaten to death. And you cannot do anything about..

Raena reacted without thinking, her body moving solely on instinct. Her hand balled into a fist, and a second later it connected heavily with Lara’s cheek. Lara let out an ear-splitting shriek as she flew back and tumbled to the ground, but Raena neither heard nor saw that, too busy fighting her own blinding pain that wrapped around her wrist likea shackle. Raena tried to move her hand, but the pain returned with full force, so she just pressed it against her body, moving her eyes to Lara, who stared at her as if she was seeing her for the first time.

“Stealing my husband was fine with me and I honestly have no interest in what you do with the harem,” Raena said, taking a step toward the dark-haired woman. Lara tried to crawl away but stopped when Raena put her foot on the skirts of the concubine’s dress, pinning her in place. “But you hurt someone l care about. So I am going to hurt you back!”

“You’re insane!” Lara whimpered, holding a hand to her face. Her left side had started to swell already, and by the looks of it, Raena had caused some serious damage. Maybe even broke something. The pain in her hand felt just a bit lighter now. “Stay away from me! You…”

Somebody from the crowd squealed, and the servants quickly parted, letting a tall, dark figure pass. Kassian’s face was a mask of cold anger, and his eyes wouldn’t stop darting around as if he was trying to assess the situation. He stopped a few paces away from them, looking down at Lara, then up at Raena. Shock and confusion overtook his face before the anger returned even stronger than before.

“Someone better start explaining this very second or I swear, heads will roll.”