Shattered Dreams

"Ensure you scrub my feet properly, Mezin. Have you no idea that I am about to be the queen of our great kingdom. We can't have my feet looking as ordinary as they used to be when I was just simple Zeep!" Zeep screamed at their maid, splashing water all over their backyard as Mezin washed her feet. 

"Zeep, come on she's been on your feet for hours now, let her do mine too!" Nena said in a pleading voice but Zeep only rolled her eyes at her as she continued to direct Mezin on how to wash her feet. 

"When you are done washing them properly, get some oil and apply it carefully for I plan to visit the prince one more time before our marriage day. You know, now I can go into the palace whenever I like because it's about to become my home" she laughed, thoroughly pleased with herself. 

As she laughed, Asha observed her with bitterness in her eyes. If only she understood the monster she was tied to, she wouldn't be so gleeful about being part of his life. Perhaps, Zeep and Mayo were a fitting pair, both indifferent to others' feelings and rather vexing.

Nena noticed Asha gazing at Zeep while neglecting the robe she had taken on herself to wash repeatedly. It was the same long wrapper she had worn to the royalty celebration day and she was scrubbing it as if attempting to rid it of an unremovable stain.

"Are you okay, Asha?"

"Yes, Nena. I am doing perfectly fine!"

"You don't look it. Your eyes seem like you've been crying all night!"

"I suppose some nights we wrestle certain demons in our nightmares, and this is the aftermath... red eyes," Asha smiled, trying hard to conceal her pain.

"You know, I wish to see the prince again. The last time wasn't a pleasant one but I plan to do things better this time. Maybe, try to see him in a public place!" Zeep shifted the conversation to be about her as if she hadn't heard a thing about Asha not being alright. 

Nena watched Asha for some time before she turned to speak to Zeep. 

"I don't think you should go anymore. I mean, he's yours already. The king has made the whole Maribah know, yiu are to be Prince Mayo's bride"

"I don't know. I don't like the way we left things between us last time. I think I should speak to him and see if he's happy about the marriage like I am"

"Hmppph," Asha scoffed, drawing the attention of Zeep and Nena.

 "What's that I hear? Are you somehow mocking my marriage to Prince Mayo or something?"

Asha was about to respond, but Nena signalled her with her eyes, cautioning her not to mention anything about Soma and Prince Mayo until she had all her facts right.

""I'm not mocking you, but searching for a romantic connection between you and the prince is amusing. We all know how the king married his wife. There's no romance in that household. What makes you think yours will be different?" Asha questioned. Zeep's eyes and nose widened in fury as she realized the implications of Asha's words. Prince Mayo might turn out to be a brute like his father, and she could end up as unhappy as their mother.

"Lower your voice when saying such things. Someone might hear you. And no one knows if the rumor is even true," Nena cautioned in a whisper.

"Listen, little sister, let me issue a warning! When I become queen, I'll punish anyone spreading lies about the loyal family, even if they are my siblings," Zeep threatened as she stood up carelessly, pushing the bowl of water Mezin had been using to wash her feet and walking over to Asha to forcefully grab her jaw.

"Leave me alone! You've never even been a sister to me! I don't care if you harm me when you're queen. You have been doing that since mother died" Asha confronted Zeep for the first time. The tension hung thick as Nena hurried to stand between them. Their father entered, surprising them, and they all feigned happiness.

Their father inquired about Asha's time with Prince Denna. She forced a smile and told him a lie. 

 "Good! Everything is going well. I'm happy. My service to the king is finally paying off. Zeep, I hope you are ready to learn all it means to be a queen."

Zeep straightened her neck, smiled, and their father departed after talking to Nena and reminding her that she was next. After he left, Zeep glared at Asha before taking her leave.

"Why are you so angry since after the celebration?" Nena asked.

"Nothing!" Asha replied and continued her washing.

———

"I genuinely believe that spending time together in the days leading up to our marriage will help us understand each other better," Zeep spoke softly to the prince in the palace's open garden. Her eyes fixed on the beauty of the garden while he watched with annoyance in his eyes. 

"Why do we need to understand each other better?" Mayo asked, still upset about being forced into marriage with the cold Zeep and not Soma. Since he had a taste of her fiery body, he believed she would make a better companion. 

"To make our marriage easier," she replied, taking a fruit from the prince's table. He slapped her hand, and she dropped it.

"I don't know what you think our marriage will be like. But let me be clear. You will be no different from my servants. The only difference is you will bear my children and carry the title of queen. However, your primary duty will be serving me! Keep that in mind and discard any fantasies about our marriage."

"My prince, if I have offended you in any way, please forgive me."

"I would like to be alone for now! There's no need to keep hovering around me. When it's time for our marriage, we will be together, and you can resume your duty of serving me. For now, I need to see less of you unless you have something more to offer me than all your silly talks," Prince Mayo declared.

Zeep understood the prince's meaning and felt deeply disappointed and hurt. Nevertheless, she bowed to him and left the palace, intending to go home and pretend she was excited for her impending marriage.

As soon as Zeep departed, Prince Mayo sent his guards to summon Soma to a private meeting place. When the guard arrived, Soma instructed her maid to inform him that she wasn't at home.

"What does he think I am? Someone to play games with and discard while he marries another?" Soma fumed. "He made me believe he would marry me! Me! He promised to speak to his father, only to disappoint me! I am furious with him and hate the Dramidis even more now. Zeep took my happiness away. And now I must settle for a lesser person in the royal house!"

""If I may speak, mistress," her maid asked politely, and Soma paused, folding her hands to hear what her maid had to say.

"If the prince still desires you more than he wants Zeep, I think you can use it to your advantage. It's obvious he's attracted to you. Use it as your means of power over him and his household, whether he marries you or not!"

"You mean I should be his mistress! A whole daughter of a chief!" 

"I am sorry but the king's mistress is way more powerful than the queen even though the queen wears the crown! You will be greater than Zeep and she will know it but can't do anything about it!"

"What are you even suggesting? Please get out of my room! And if I hear a word about this outside, I will end your life!" she screamed, and the servant ran off.

As Soma sat on her bed and carefully considered what the girl had said, she saw some wisdom in it. She could use her feminine charm on Prince Mayo to disrupt Zeep's marriage. But she must do it carefully!