Jealousy 7...

Martha's mouth fell agape as she looked at the Queen.

Although, her mind had not been there, when the Queen opened her mouth to say something, she snapped back to her senses.

But when she heard what the Queen said, she didn't know when her mouth fell open as she stared at the Queen.

"M...M...M...M...M...My...My Queen?" Martha stammered all through.

The Queen smiled gently.

"You heard me." The Queen's response was gentle.

Martha couldn't help but smile as she used her hand to cover her mouth.

What had she done to deserve this?

She couldn't help but ask herself.

"I know what you might be thinking right now, 'What have I done to deserve this?' " The Queen said.

Placing her hand on her shoulder, the Queen said;

"And I would answer that question...!"

"Like I said, you have been through a lot of things, been to many different places, and therefore you are well-vast, plus, I know you would know a lot of delicious delicacies from different Kingdoms, therefore, I would like to try them all!" The Queen said.

Martha couldn't help but laugh. Then she said;

"Well, I'm afraid my Queen wouldn't be able to contain all of my delicacies in her beautiful flat stomach!"

Then the Queen got all serious as she asked;

"So you think, my stomach can't be able to contain all that you have prepared?"

Martha stopped laughing as  she got scared, stuttering, she said;

"N...N...Not so, M...M...My Queen, that was not what I meant!"

Pouting, the Queen held the look for a while, before bursting out into a gentle laugh.

"I was only playing with you, Martha...!" The Queen said.

Martha could feel her chest relaxing.

Sighing, Martha lowered her head, and then raised her head to find the Queen still looking down at her, with a gentle smile on her face.

"I am so blessed to have a maid servant like you!" The Queen said.

"God will bless the womb that bore you, for you were specially birthed for me...!" The Queen said.

Tears clouded the eyes of Martha as she raised her hand to wipe away the tears that had that had gathered in her eyes.

She had never felt so special in her whole life.

Now, not only was she being appreciated for being born, it was no just ordinary person, it was the Queen that was appreciating her existence!

What had she done to deserve this?

It was true what her Mother had taught her well...

Hard work in contentment and prayers with believing and hope, could get you anywhere...

She really hoped that she would live to enjoy all that has been kept for her by the Almighty...

But most times, in fact, everytime, who you mingle with, matters.

You could you have a friend that would fight with you, 'is' with you from the bottom of his/her heart, and loves you till eternity, but the time they show their true selves, you'd wish you could kill them with your bare hands and send them to hell!

(TL; But the above does not apply to everyone, though, as some could be angels...)

When she heard what the Queen said at the last part, she burst out laughing.

The Queen had just blessed her Mother's womb, and then said she was specially birthed for her?

Who says that?

But it was the Queen that we were dealing with here, so...

Afterwards, she thanked the Queen for the beautiful comment and was ready to dismiss herself when the Queen called her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Queen's voice was heard as she bowed and turned away.

Martha stood still like a statue as her head stiffened.

She didn't answer the Queen's question.

"Martha, where are your ears?" The asked smiled as she asked yet another question.

"My Queen?" Martha asked as she slowly turned to look back at the Queen before slowly turning to face her.

The Queen sighed as he walked past Martha as she said;

"You know, amongst the things that you're going to be doing, one of the most important one is to listen attentively when I call and that includes, making not repeat myself a second time...!"

"Is that clear Martha?" The Queen asked as she placed down one of her rules.

Making sure Martha got the information.

Martha lowered her head when she saw the Queen walk towards her only to discover the Queen was walking past her

She saw the Queen's gown flow past her.

Moving like the waters, it was a purple gown with black lining at the hem, it was so beautiful Martha couldn't help admiring it.

When the Queen walked past her, Martha kept her head lowered for some reason.

The Queen just made her the Chief Cook. Wouldn't that bring a lot of hatred amongst her fellow maidservants?

They already hated her, now giving her this position, is like adding fuel to an already burning fire!

Maybe she should reject the post for now, she's already trying to be on their good side, even the new younger maid, Sarah has been influenced already.

As if a disease had plagued her mind to hate her or something.

Ever since she stepped into the Palace, her conscience never really agreed with her, plus she had never actually spoken to her if not today when that incident happened...

She never had the time. She was a busy mule.

Or wait!

Martha frowned.

Could it be that the Queen already knows about it and she might be trying to put her in a position where she would have authority over them?

Martha raised her head up as her frown deepened and she was still wrapped around her thoughts.

The Queen did notice how they were all acting towards her, right?

So maybe the Queen wanted her to get revenge on them!

Wait was Queen helping her to go against her colleagues?

Martha raise her eyebrows in surprise.

Could that be the case?

Someone was watching her from the side.

As she turned her head to look at the person, she discovered that it was the Queen.

Martha pursed her lips as she smiled nervously.

Lowering her head down, Martha silently prayed with her eyes tightly closed.

The Queen stood there with her hands clasped together on front of her. The Queen studied her with her eyes slightly narrowed.

When Martha raised her head up a little, she saw that the Queen was still staring at her, so she quickly lowered her head.

"Why were you so deep in thoughts just now?" The Queen asked a she slightly turned her body to fully face her.

Raising her head, startled at the Queen's sudden question, Martha shook her head in a negation.

"Nothing My Queen!"

Her reply was fast.

The Queen looked at her for a moment before slowly turning back and saying;

"Follow me!"

Sighing very deeply, Martha looked up as she mouthed;

'Thank You!'

Then lowering her head back down, she could feel a piercing gaze.

Someone was looking at her.

Turning her head to her left, someone closed a door.

The bang was a very loud one.

It had the Queen turning to look too.

Martha looked for a moment before turning her head to look at the Queen.

That was when she saw the Queen looking at the door for a moment before slowly her head and continued walking.

"Are you with me, Martha?" The Queen asked without turning her head back to look at her.

"Yes, My Queen!"

Martha's voice was loud as she ran silently to stand behind the Queen.

Her footsteps were so fast that when the Queen turned to look behind her to confirm whether she was actually there, the Queen had a look of surprise.

She was certain that Martha was far away, but, how did she get here so fast?

The Queen was amazed.

"Weren't you far behind...?" The Queen asked with uncertainty and certainty both present in her voice.

Martha had an innocent look on her face as she slowly shook her head as she said;

"No, My Queen...!"

The Queen could sense the lowness in her voice but she just looked at her and then slowly turned her head back to continue walking.

"If we're going to be working together, I would need to have to trust you!" The Queen said all of a sudden, catching Martha's attention making her snap from her thought as she looked at the Queen.

She knew who the person was, and she knew that Martha knew who the person was too.

When they arrived at a particular room, the Queen stopped and then moved to the side as she turned to look at Martha who was behind her and was looking at her.

Tilting her head to the direction of the room, the Queen said;

"Go on, go in!"

Martha looked at the Queen for a second before looking at the door in front of which she stood.

The Queen looked down at her with a blank expression as she said;

"Go on, what are you waiting for?"

The Queen hated delay and that why she had to train her girls to always do things on time.

When she heard the Queen's promptness, she unconsciously took a step forward and then stopped to look at the Queen again.

What was behind the door?