"Wash me harder!" Consort Oliver snapped, her voice sharp and impatient.
The body wash maid flinched, nearly dropping the sponge in her hand. She leaned in and scrubbed with more pressure, her fingers shaking slightly as they moved over the Consort's skin.
Oliver sat naked in a large stone bath carved into the floor, warm water filled with flower petals swirling around her. The scent, something sweet and floral, clung to the air, thick enough to make Oliver's head feel light.
Red linen curtains perfectly decorated the wall, the golden candle holders cast a soft glow over everything.
The Body maid kept her eyes low. One wrong look, one clumsy slip, and she could be punished. Oliver sat there, her silk like skin already pink. She just closed her eyes and tilted her head back, as if the world outside her bath no longer existed.
The maid suddenly used her fingers and scrubbed her, giving her a little injury.
Oliver screamed, her voice laced with fear and anger. "Do you want to kill me? Did the Queen send you to kill me!!"
The Body wash maid immediately went on her knee, her hands together pleading.
"N..no…no…First Consort..I…I..didn't.." Her voice was shaky, her legs trembling like leaves.
Oliver rose from the water, droplets sliding down her bare skin as she reached for the sword resting beside the bath. The maid froze, wide-eyed, as the cold sword came to rest just below her chin.
"Do you hate me too?" Oliver's voice cracked, raw and shaking. "Do you all see me as some kind of witch?"
The maid didn't move. Her breath caught in her throat.
"I never asked for any of this," Oliver went on, her grip tightening on the sword. "I never wanted to be a consort. I never wanted to wear silk and smile for a king who burned my village to the ground. Who murdered my parents in cold blood!!"
Her voice rose now, trembling with rage and pain. "He slaughtered my people. Then dragged me here like a trophy. And now I'm supposed to stay quiet? Be sweet? Be grateful? Act like a saint?"
She took a step closer, lowering the sword slightly, her eyes burning with tears.
"If I don't fight, if I pretend to be weak and harmless, they'll kill me. Just like they did the others. I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to survive. I want to be Queen. I want to rule this kingdom!! Once I am Queen I will cut the King's head and place it under my bed and sleep on it!!"
Her voice dropped, hoarse. "So why do you all look at me like I drink blood in the dark? I'm not a monster… I'm just trying to stay alive."
"P…please…My Q..queen. don't kill me!!"
"Why do you think I shouldn't kill you when I just told you my secret? So you can go tell others? Only the dead can't speak!!"
"I..am..The Queen's servant ... .You can't kill me." The maid threatened.
She laughed wickedly, and bent down to the size of the maid. "Yes, I know you were sent by the Queen to watch.me. And that's why you need to die!!" She pulled the sword and slit the maids throat.
Oliver fell to the ground, laughing loudly. "I…killed…somebody..I just killed somebody." Her voice getting low and hoarsy.."I just killed someone." She burst into tears, and wrapped herself placing her head in between her knees.
Her Personal sword woman comes in, Her name is Lydia but she was dressed as a man. So she is called Hecter.
Hecter grabs her linen clothing and covers her body with it. Hecter pulls her in an embrace, "It's fine Oliver, don't worry I will get you home soon." She kissed her forehead.
Consort Oliver raises her head to see her, "Hecter.." She hugs her. "Hecter, the King was here last night, he touched my body. I feel so dirty Hecter. The same hands he used to murder my parents he used them to touch my body. What should I do Hecter? I want to die!!"
Her personal Maid Lulu, rushed in.
"My.Consort!!" She bows.
"Where did you go? Why did you leave your consort for such a disrespectful maid to serve?" Hecter barked.
"I am sorry Hecter. It's about the girl the consort needs. I just found out that the commander of the slave, Consort gave the mission is dead.
"What?!" Consort Oliver screams, and slumps to the ground.
"Really?" Hecter said, her face turned sour.
"Consort, What should.we do now? That plan has failed." Lulu said, with disappointment in her tone.
"How did he die? Who killed him?"
"Consort, that's the main issue. I think.the queen killed.him. Does she already know about your plans?" Lulu said, her voice filled with fear.
"No…I am.sure.no." Consort Oliver's voice is shaky and cold sweat on her forehead. "Why do you think she killed him?"
"He was cursed to death, his dead body has no blood. His lips were red like.he was poisoned with flowers. His pupil white, his fingers were eaten by termite..and the strange thing is that his manhood is missing. Apart from the last one the rest are signs of.being cursed to death." Lulu said, her voice low.
"Consort, those are signs of the Mio people how they kill. And rumors say that the Queen is holding the last Mio descendants. The last one remaining in the world." Hecter said, looking at the consort.
"It's not the Queen, if it was her they wouldn't have discovered the body. He will just go missing and his body will never be found..She doesn't play such a low game. The Mio people have been wiped out from history because of the powers in their tongue. A Death that looks like a curse but not a curse. No one knows how they kill but it's said to be poison. My mother said they poison people but no one knows how it's done." Consort said, in a calm tone.
"The head of the slave killed a girl, he said it was the girl that murdered him. But I don't believe a slave girl can kill such a big man." Lulu said, her tone steady.
"She is just a scapegoat, not possible she could kill him." Consort Oliver said, with a low voice. "So you mean, I can't find a girl to use for the mission?!"
"We just need to greet the new commander of the slaves," Hecter said with a smirk. "I heard the head of the slave's will be promoted as commander."
Consort Oliver's eyes narrowed. "Take me to the commander's body. I want to see it with my own eyes."
She turned slowly to the lifeless maid on the ground, her voice cold and calm. "As for her… throw her in the well at the Queen's manor."
A cruel smile curled on her lips.
"Let Her Majesty find the body herself. I want her to understand the message."