Orlov rode the horse at an alarming speed, desperate to return to the city. The empress was barely hanging on, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck. Behind him, he heard the sound of horses approaching.
Of course they’d send pursuers. These people must really want the Empress dead. Orlov was in no position to stop and fight. The Empress needed medical attention, and he needed to protect her. His neck depended on it!
The pursuers were already neck to neck with Orlov. He released his only hand on the reins of the horse to grab his sword as the pursuer on the left slashed at him. His partner mirrored him, giving Orlov little time to defend from both sides. His boot kicked the horses back, forcing it to slow down. The pursuers ended up clashing with each other in an almost comical manner. Although Orlov was able to regroup, the pursuers were a
Ursa spent the next few days recovering. She stayed in bed and barred visitors, even the Emperor. Mostly because she was embarrassed about her face. A noblewoman’s biggest asset was her physical appearance, and Ursa had almost ruined it.All the way across the palace, a certain Emperor was bouncing his leg, shaking with anxiety. Why would Ursa not allow him to visit her? He had tried to bring gifts over to her, in hopes of lifting her spirits, but he was ruthlessly turned away by those blasted handmaidens! All Ivan could do was wait for her to get better. Even though he promised to stay by her side…“Your Majesty,” Orlov said as he knocked, “It’s time for morning court.” Ivan grumbled as he got up and followed Orlov to the throne room. Court had been pretty boring without Ursa to look at. She was the prettiest di
The weeks that passed after the revelation of Ursa’s five year plan and her visit to Lady Tatya were blissful. Either Lady Tatya learned her lesson, or she was plotting something for later, she stayed in line. Of course, she was also not invited to future tea parties hosted by the Empress.To the public, Lady Tatya was bitter towards Empress Vasil because of her quick rise to power, and Empress Vasil felt distaste toward anyone who defended the poor noble lady who got executed for masterminding a scheme to get rid of the Empress.Of course the kidnapping was never made public knowledge. Even the nobles were told a slightly different tale of what happened. Only those involved knew what really happened.But all that was moved to the back of Ursa’s mind. No one picked a fight with her for weeks. Inste
After Ursa returned to the palace successfully, she was quiet for the rest of the night. She laid in bed, unable to shut her eyes and let sleep take over her. What those men in the pub said kept replaying in her head over and over again, like a broken music stone.There was so much she still didn’t know about Ivan, and she was so easily blinded by his kind gestures and handsome face. She wanted to know more about him, especially if she was to live the rest of her life tied to him by the strings of Qader.Tossing back and forth, Ursa finally decided to get up and make her way to the library. It was the middle of the night, but that was nothing a small candle and a long shawl to cover herself with couldn’t fix. Cecily and Emery slept in the room opposite of the library, so she didn’t need to worry about waking her up. Avoiding the servants
Despite Ursa’s late night escapade to the library, she still managed to wake up on time for court. Ursa’s routine went as usual, bathing, grooming, dressing and the like, although this time when she was done, the Prime Minister himself Lord Kassio Orlov waited outside her door.“Lord Orlov,” Ursa greeted politely as soon as she was ready.“Your Majesty. Today I thought I would escort you to court, seeing as your husband returns today.” The moment Ursa got the news that Orlov was waiting for her, she knew something was up. Why else would he be here? Orlov knew something.Ursa smiled, holding her arm out to loop in his. “That sounds pleasant. Besides, I have a few questions, Lord Orlov.”Orlov quirked an eye
*TW: r*peA young girl, barely seventeen, was brought to her knees in front of the imposing king, sitting high and mighty on his throne. Her blonde, almost white locks of hair fell forward, covering her face.“Do you know why you have been brought here?” The scrawny attendant said with false authority. The girl shook her head, shivering from fear. How did she end up in this situation?Leila had come to Ichares with hope in her heart. There had been positions opening in the palace after some rumors had run rampant about the king’s behavior. However, Leila came from a poor family from the countryside, and her father was terribly sick and needed money for treatment. The moment Leila heard how much they would pay, she packed her bags and hopped on the first carriage out of her small v
It had been raining non stop since the king found out about her pregnancy. Leila was in despair, stroking her flat stomach.“It would be good if I didn’t have to bring you into the world,” she whispered softly.“You shouldn’t speak like that!” admonished a booming voice from the doorway. Leila swiftly looked up to see her torturer. He wore a grand fur cape with gold chains and broaches. “This child is a gift, you should be thankful you are able to serve your king in such a way.” Leila didn’t respond, only looking through the window at the downpour outside. The king, angered by being ignored by this woman, gripped her chin with his hand. He put some pressure just so he could hurt her. “Listen to me when I talk to you!” he roared.Her vacant
Leila couldn’t tell how long she had been walking, all she knew was that she had been walking for a long time. Her bare feet ached and were caked with mud, and her loose nightgown was torn at the edges. The sheet she had wrapped around her body was dragged through the dirt road, and smelled of animal feces and grass. Occasionally a carriage would pass by, and Leila would hide behind the nearest cover, be it a tree or a rock. The road was on the open, dead grass, and it was quite hard to hide all the time, so she covered her face with the disgusting sheet, despite its horrendous odor.It took the entire night for Leila to walk the twelve mile journey to the guard’s hometown. No doubt it would have been a shorter trip, if not for Leila’s fugitive status and the fact that she was heavily pregnant.When the sun rose over the horizon, L
Leila’s unexpected return was a surprise to her parents but also a celebration. But when they saw the pouch on her back with the small child with Vasil-like features, her mother could only speculate.Leila’s father was still bed-ridden and terribly ill. After all, he had been relying on Leila’s constant payments from her job as a maid in the palace being sent to the nearest town, where her mother would ride to pick it up. Mysteriously, those payments stopped around ten months ago… and the child was about a month old…No. Leila’s mother was just glad her precious only daughter had returned to their village. She had warned Leila of the outside world. How vicious cruel the reigning Vasils could be. Leila’s mother only hoped her daughter didn’t have to experience that cruelty first hand.