Published at 23rd of December 2020 02:44:18 AM
Chapter 12
At her answer, the emperor waved his hand in satisfaction . Petra quickly left the study without saying goodbye . As she walked to her carriage waiting near the front gate of the imperial palace, she raised an eyebrow . There was a trace of a faint smile on her face . It wasn’t because of her relief about Apollonia, though .
“I need to find Safiro . ”
Before getting on the wagon, she whispered to her henchman .
“There’s someone that needs to be taken care of . ”
Wouldn’t it be better if she just took care of it herself?
——————–
Apollonia sat at her bedside, hugging her knees . Her mind was crowded with countless thoughts .
Tomorrow, Queen Catherine Loenheim would disappear from the palace . That was obvious; there was no way Petra would leave her alone, after what had happened . Catherine’s only advantage had been her greed . She had neither the ability nor the background to survive, so the battle was over even before she realized her opponent . But now wasn’t the time to worry about others .
Apollonia recalled something that had happened 7 years ago, when she was 10 years old…
“I want to ride that, Mother . ”
Gareth, Petra’s first son, pointed to Apollonia’s horse . He desired her beautiful pony, with a snow-white mane that fell in waves covering its entire body . Apollonia had been riding it ever since she had first learned horseback riding . She refused to give it away, because the pony hated to carry anyone other than Apollonia .
Petra grabbed Apollonia’s shoulders with the same gracious smile she had used at the funeral . She looked like a kind aunt who was taking care of the poor motherless princess, but the crushing strength of her hand gripping her shoulders seemed about to break them . Petra whispered in a sharp voice .
“It’s okay if you don’t want to give it to him, Nia . But one of your servants will be Gareth’s slave on behalf of that horse . Because of you they’ll have a hard time . ”
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Her voice was frigid . Her eyes stared deep into Apollonia’s .
“It was such an impertinent attitude towards Your Highness . Please forgive Gareth, Princess . Of course, how could you give away something so precious to another? It would be terrible if your dearest friend got hurt in the hand of Gareth . ”
Apollonia knew Petra was talking about her servant, not the pony . She gave the pony one last loving brush, then handed the reins to Gareth .
The pony, which had not opened its heart to its new owner, was found dead in a forest full of beasts two days later . One of its legs had been broken .
When Apollonia was 12 years old, Sir Kenneth, the leader of the imperial knights and Paris’s sword teacher, volunteered to teach her swordsmanship . Swordsmanship was a valuable skill with great symbolic value among nobles, as theirs was an empire that was always on the edge of war .
The Emperor looked at Kenneth, then asked Apollonia:
“Do you want to learn?”
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When she nodded, Petra, who was standing next to her, protested worriedly .
“I’m worried about what would happen if we teach such dangerous things to the princess . What if she makes a reckless mistake, or…”
She smiled chillingly at Apollonia .
“It would be bad if our precious princess got injured . ”
The emperor simply laughed, then said gently, “Let’s think about it a little more . ”
Ten days later, they sent Kenneth to the outskirts of the empire, under the pretext of exterminating the monsters . He quickly lost half his soldiers in the fierce battles against them and left the country soon after with a debilitating arm injury .
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Apollonia was 14 when Petra slapped her for the first and last time . Paris and Gareth had destroyed the book left behind by her mother Ellenia, and Apollonia had thrown them out of the palace .
Slap!
Apollonia’s head snapped to the right . Her tears were filled with anguish and shame . Yet it was her helplessness that outweighed her pain . Alone with Petra in her huge bedroom, Petra threatened her with a clear warning:
“Don’t stand out . ”
That evening, Gaius looked at her swollen cheeks and said nothing .
“Don’t ever think of keeping anything precious for yourself . ”