Hi sweethearts! Many thanks for your wonderful feedback and likes. Also, thank you so much for your patience, and my apologies for the delay. Chapter seven is below. :)
Chapter Seven
Maan tilted his ear toward Geet, as if he had not heard correctly. "Excuse me?" He dimly heard Adi suck in a gasp.
"Despite your accusations," Geet repeated slowly, deliberately. "I am not a trespasser from enemy land. I am a citizen of your kingdom. This kingdom."
"But . . . when the guards brought you in, they said you were from the enemy nation," said Maan. He flashbacked to when Geet was brought before him for the first time, clad in a torn dress and bound in chains.
Geet shrugged. "They just assumed that I was because they found me hidden in the staff quarters."
"Why didn't you correct them?" Maan demanded. He was starting to feel a bit dizzy. And why had she been hiding in the staff quarters in the first place?
She shrugged again. "Where I am from does not matter."
Maan stared at her in disbelief. How on earth could Geet think that her citizenship "does not matter"?
At that moment, a staff member knocked gently and poked her head inside the library. "My apologies for the interruption," she said. "But, Your Majesty, I believe you had told me to come and fetch Miss Geet at this time and take her up to the playroom?"
Maan swallowed. A multitude of questions swarmed his brain and he felt nearly tongue tied. Questioning Geet further might prove to be futile at this point.
"Yes, thank you for the reminder," said Maan. He motioned for Geet to follow the staff member.
"I said earlier that I would serve neither you nor your palace," said Geet, folding her arms across her chest.
"Uh, Miss Geet," Adi jumped in before Maan could respond, "the children in the playroom are delightful and sweet. Pinky always loved spending time with them."
Geet's face softened and Adi nodded encouragingly. "You might quite enjoy it, actually. I would assume that you have a way with children. You did display your impressive midwifery skills with Pinky just recently."
Geet bit her lip and diverted her eyes to the floor. Maan could practically see the battle raging within her. At last, she looked up and gave a nearly imperceptible nod of acquiescence.
---
The day passed in a blur for Maan. One hour he was executing various legal documents related to the estate, the next engaging in negotiations with a neighboring nation, and so on. He barely had time to gulp down his tea.
Still . . . still, somehow, Geet remained in the back of Maan's mind regardless of the task before him. It was a most disconcerting feeling, not being able to fully concentrate. Maan usually maintained a razor shop focus. He wondered how Geet was doing in the playroom and whether, as Adi had predicted, she was actually enjoying herself with the children. More importantly, he wondered how she could have kept it a secret for so long that she was really a citizen of his kingdom this entire time.
It was just before dinner when Maan stamped the last seal of approval of the day. He stood up from his desk and stretched, just as the staff member from that morning walked inside.
"Your Majesty, shall I bring Miss Geet for supper now?" she asked. "She has been in the playroom almost all day."
Maan was about to nod his consent, then stopped short. "Uh -- no, thank you, I will fetch her myself."
"Yourself? But isn't Your Majesty busy? I would be happy to bring her down to the dining room, Sire." The staff member appeared incredulous that Maan would take it upon himself to personally escort a commoner to dinner.
"No bother, thank you," said Maan. He nodded his confirmation and then strode out of the library and through the palace.
The double doors to the playroom were wide open, and Maan could see inside well before he arrived at the threshold. The room was quite massive, almost half the size of the dining hall. The walls were painted a bright, cheerful blue, and toys were scattered over the plush carpet. At first, Maan thought that the room was empty. He supposed that the children would have left by now for supper with their parents, but where was Geet? Maan scanned the room purposefully as he stepped inside, and his eyes finally landed on Geet, who was sitting in a wooden rocking chair in the corner and cradling an infant.
Maan felt his heart skip a beat and was momentarily disoriented. He shook his head. What was happening to him lately?
"Geet," Maan said authoritatively, walking toward her.
Geet looked up and held an index finger to her lips. "Please lower your voice," she said softly. "The baby is sleeping."
"It's time for dinner," said Maan, attempting to speak quietly -- *not* because Geet had asked him to do so, but out of interest for the baby, he assured himself. "Where is this child's parents?"
"They must be running a little late," Geet replied, shifting the baby in her arms. The infant was swathed in fluffy pink blankets. A girl, then, Maan assumed.
*Might as well take advantage of the time,* Maan thought. "While we're waiting," he began. "I think it would be prudent to discuss your, ah, confession this morning."
Geet stared at him blankly. "What confession'?"
Had she already forgotten? Maan fought the urge to shake his head out of exasperation. "That you lived in this kingdom. *My* kingdom."
Geet's face hardened slightly and she pull the baby closer to her chest, as if using the little girl as a shield. "What of it?"
"Well, for starters, why did you let us all believe for so long that you were a citizen of the enemy country? And why were you hiding in the staff quarters? It makes no sense!"
The baby was beginning to stir, and Geet shifted her once again, ignoring Maan.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"I always do," Geet said breezily.
Maan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "For goodness' sake," he muttered.
"I told you before," said Geet, adopting a more serious tone. "It doesn't matter why I was in the staff quarters. It doesn't matter from where I come. Or who I am."
"Why not?" How could she say these words? Maan's identity was nearly everything to him, stitched into the very fabric of his being.
"Because nothing matters," said Geet, her voice devoid of any real emotion. "Nothing at all. Not you, not me, nothing."
Maan cocked his eyebrow. "Not even me, you say? Not even the king?"
Geet looked down at the baby, refusing to meet Maan's eyes. "Please, just leave," she said at last. "The baby is sleeping and it's a wonder we haven't woken her yet."
"You always do this." Something suddenly rose inside of Maan, something stronger than exasperation.
"Do what?"
"Talk to me in riddles. Never answering my questions. You think you are so important, don't you? Traipsing around my home as if you own it, when, in reality, you're lucky to even -- to even be alive."
Geet stared at him.
"You are the most selfish person I have ever met." The words began to tumble out of Maan's mouth before he could stop them. "You trespass onto my land and I still give you food, a roof, and a way to earn your keep here by assisting in the playroom. And yet you still keep me at arms' distance, not revealing anything about yourself, refusing to answer the most basic of questions."
"Please feel free to get rid of me," said Geet, her gaze not wavering from his face. "I did not ask to be kept here under your conditions. I tried to leave, but *you* brought me back."
"Yes, because you were almost assaulted in the garden!" Maan exclaimed. "And *I* came to your assistance!"
Geet stood up suddenly. "I did not ask you to do so!" she cried. Immediately, the child awoke and began to wail in Geet's arms.
"You are a thankless, ungrateful brat," snapped Maan. "Adi and I have been more than gracious to you, considering the circumstances. Clearly, you were raised with no manners."
Geet narrowed her eyes as she attempted to rock the baby back to sleep. "Excuse me?"
"You heard what I said."
"What do you want from me, a medal?" Geet spat. "Oh, look at our most merciful king, so kind he is to not kill the girl brought before him in chains --"
"My child!" A staff member had darted inside with neither Geet nor Maan noticing. She snatched the crying infant from Geet's arms. "I understand that you are the king's mistress and you have special importance here in the palace," the staff member said angrily, "but I would entrust you to not endanger my child."
Geet's eyes widened. "I'm so, so sorry, ma'am," she said, her voice heavy with regret. "I -- I -- the king and I were just talking, and the baby --"
"Miss Geet is not my mistress," interrupted Maan, crossing his arms. "And I would advise you not to speak to her in that tone. Your child was not in danger, I assure you. Miss Geet is most capable of taking care of children. We, ah . . . we do apologize for waking the baby up with our conversation, however."
The staff member pressed her lips together tightly. "I shall take your leave, Your Majesty."
"Thank you," Geet said quietly, as mother and child exited the playroom.
"For?"
"For . . . defending me. And for clarifying that I am not your mistress."
Maan nodded curtly.
"I . . . I did enjoy attending to the playroom today," Geet admitted. "So, thank you for this opportunity. It certainly is a . . . distraction."
"Are you saying 'thank you' now only because I just called you an ungrateful brat?" Maan said, his tone almost teasing.
"Perhaps," said Geet. She smiled slightly, and Maan could have sworn that his heart skipped another beat.
---
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