A Night With The King

Sophie woke up feeling aches all over, she tried to get up from where she lay but realized she couldn’t move her right hand because it appeared to be tied to something, she opened her eyes and the light in the room almost blinded her, she closed her eyes again trying to remember where she was, the last thing she remembered was scrubbing the restroom where all the women as instructed by the self-acclaimed queen of the prison, how did she end up in a lighted room? She tried to remember but nothing came, all she remembered was that she felt dizzy and then there was darkness, she must have passed out or something.

“I see you are awake,”

She heard a man’s voice say and tried to open her eyes properly, the man was wearing a white robe and for a moment, Sophie feared she must have died in the restroom and she was now in heaven, it took a moment to realize the man was a doctor and when she finally did, she figured out where she was.

“Doctor? What happened to me? Why am I here?”

She managed to ask but her voice came out in tiny.

“You fainted and were rushed here, thankfully, you were brought here in time, how many fingers do you see?”

The doctor asked and Sophie stared at his raised fingers for several seconds before answering.

“Three,”

She whispered.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Doc? Is my baby okay?”

She asked, hoping that she was still here with her.

“Your baby is fine, that’s the reason you fainted, you are not getting enough nutrients for two people, I am guessing that’s because of your current situation,”

The doctor said and Sophie let out a sad sigh.

“Don’t worry, I will request that you be moved from the main prison to a better place, I think there is a space for pregnant women,”

The doctor said but Sophie already knew it was no different from where she was currently, plus if she goes there when her baby is born, she would have to give her up to foster care, and the foster care there was nothing to write about.

“Doctor? I am sorry, but can you keep the news of the pregnancy secret? I don’t really want anyone to know yet,”

She pleaded even though she knew the doctor answered to the king and might tell him.

“That’s not up to me, if the king request for your report, I would have to tell him, I am sorry dear, just rest,”

The doctor said and walked away, Sophie lay there thinking of what she could do to change her current situation but nothing seem to work, her mind went to the old woman who had helped her and she silently prayed she was okay.

Sophie was left on her own for the rest of the night, she couldn’t sleep as she was scared of what the next morning would bring, what would happen now? Would the king find out about the pregnancy and demand for her to be sent away from Otano for good or would he take her baby away like they did with his brother’s mistress? There was no way to find out what would happen and it kept her awake, she wished she could turn back the hands of time and go back to when she was just a regular palace maid doing her job.

The next morning, the nurses came to check up on her, she was able to take a bath and have a change of clothes after they examined her, after which they gave her food and for the first time in four days, she was able to eat without being disrupted.

“I see you are up and doing fine. Good,”

One of the king’s aid said as he walked into her hospital room, Sophie’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, her first thought was that the king was here and he might be aware of her pregnancy already, but no one else entered the room after him so she calmed down a little.

“You will be moved to the king’s personal dungeon as he instructed, the king wishes to deal with your case himself from now on,”

The man revealed, Sophie didn’t even know what to say, the king’s personal dungeon? Does that mean he knows about her pregnancy or did he just want to punish her himself, she had been in there once before but not as a prison and she didn’t like what she found there, she rather stay in the women’s prison even though it was hell for her there, no, she couldn’t face the king, he would show no mercy on her.

“Can I please be allowed back to the prison, please, don’t send me to the dungeon,”

She pleaded even though she knew it was hopeless.

“You don’t have a say in it, even I don’t have a say, if you want out, it will be best to confess and face the consequences once and for all, you keep claiming you are innocent but it doesn’t look like it,”

The man responded.

“Let’s go, I don’t have all day to spend with you,”

He instructed as he removed the cuff that held her hand to the bed, she stood up and almost fell to the ground because she suddenly felt dizzy again.

“Don’t even think about pretending to be sick, the doctor cleared you already,”

The man warned sternly.

“I am sorry,”

Sophie said as she allows him to cuff her hands again and she followed him out of the room into the hallway, there were a few people in the hallway and they all stopped what they were doing to look at her, she knew what must be going through their mind, she bowed her head to prevent her from making eye contact with anyone, they got to the car and she got in, they drove for a few minutes and came to a stop.

“Take her in, make sure they bring her food, the king wants her fed,”

The aid instructed the guard who she was handed to, Sophie followed him quietly to avoid being pushed, she already knew struggling with him would not be wise, her fate was sealed and whether she likes it or not, she would have to face the king now.

“Someone will bring you something to eat, welcome to your new prison,”

The palace guard said as he turned and left, she heard the door of the dungeon close, the dungeon was an underground prison and only the king and a few other people has access to it, it had over fifty rooms and she was kept in one of them, the room had a bed, which looked like it was recently cleaned and also, there was a table and a stole, it looked more like an isolated room than a prison, Sophie laid on the bed exhausted, she wanted to cry but she must have used up all her tears because they weren’t coming, she heard some noise and looked up scared that the king must be already here to see her.

“Sophie? I was sent to give you something to eat,”

Sophie heard a familiar voice say and she got up to see Emily one of her co-palace maids, at least it wasn’t the king.

“Emily,”

She tried to get up but she was too tired to bring herself to do it so she gave up and just watch as Emily set the food on the table.

“Sophie? I was told to bring you something to eat, I will come here twice a day with food, might not be only me, I am sorry if I ignore you but I am not allowed to have a conversation with you, I hope you get through this,”

Emily said and she was off leaving Sophie on her own again, she felt tears well up in her eyes again, she let out a sigh and got up, she needed to eat for herself and her baby, the doctor had told her earlier that she was malnourished and that wasn’t good for the baby.

She ate as much as she could before going back to lying on the bed, she knew it won’t take long for the king to come around and she would have to face him for the first time in several days, what would she tell him? She honestly considered just telling him that she was pregnant with his child but what would happen? He didn’t even remember sleeping with her, or maybe he did and pretended not to know.

“I don’t think that’s the case,”

She whispered to herself.

“I don’t know what to do, please help me, lord,”

She prayed even though she wasn’t the most religious person, what else could she do but pray, she has suffered enough and wished just this once that the maker would be on her side and help her find a way, she fell into a troubled sleep after toast and turning for about an hour.