That afternoon, one of the older maids had gently suggested, “Since Her Majesty likes to read, perhaps a few more books would be a pleasant distraction?”

Naturally, Malyn had her doubts. Deep down, she knew that even if she acquired a hundred books, it wouldn’t quell the restlessness inside her. Something deeper, something unresolved, was stirring beneath the surface.

It wasn’t until after the birth that Malyn began to notice it – she would find herself watching the maids soothe her child while she sat in bed with a book in her hand. That’s when the restlessness began to creep in.

Her mind buzzed constantly, so much so that she’d interfere with the young maids as they starched and ironed clothes, sometimes even doing it herself. When draughts slipped through the cracks in the stone, she’d order straw and mud to seal them, wondering all the while why it bothered her so much. When she saw the stableboys carrying feed for the horses, she’d laugh, thinking the poor animals were in for a rough meal, only to feel a flicker of irritation afterwards, as if she hadn’t left her days as a servant behind her.

“I was just saying that roasting grains without burning them isn’t so different from knowing how to keep tea leaves from scorching. Burned tea leaves make the brew taste bitter… But I don’t want to think like that anymore.”

She said, flicking the water in frustration. Layla, who had been smiling, brushed her brown hair gently aside.

“I understand. I know exactly what you mean.”

Every place his fingers touched left a soft, tickling sensation. Although Malyn sulked, she didn’t push his hand away. Secretly, she often thought she could enjoy that soft, tingling feeling forever.

“Well, what is it?”

“Doesn’t it make you uncomfortable?”

“Me?”

Malyn’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Why would I be uncomfortable?”

Veldam was a large and prosperous kingdom, with loyal vassals and wealth. She was its queen, and her husband was as kind as could be. What reason could she have to feel uncomfortable?

“Sometimes I have thoughts similar to yours.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

“Well, for example, I feel jealous of the maids who serve you…”

“I can’t go for a fourth time. Not after the way you wore me out earlier.”

“It’s not that.”

Layla replied shyly, fidgeting with her hand in response to her sharp tone. 

“For example, why I insist on having this time with you to bathe you myself. I do it better than anyone else, don’t I?” 

“Do you have any conscience at all?”  

“At least you don’t mind, do you?” 

He wasn’t wrong, though she still felt a little confused. Resting her elbows on the edge of the tub, Malyn gestured for him to continue. 

“Not only do I enjoy bathing you,” he added, “but this is a time when I can just be myself, here with you.”

“….”

“It’s something that requires me to be completely myself.”

She blinked, her expression open but slightly puzzled. Talking to these overly introspective types was impossible. What was he trying to say anyway? Just as she was about to express her confusion, Layla spoke again.

“Did you know? Strangely enough, I felt fulfilled living as your servant.”

“What…?”

“Somehow, only in front of you did I feel like I was truly myself…”

His hand brushed gently down her arm, fingers tracing her collarbone and curving across her br*ast, but there was no greed in his touch. It was as if he remembered the first time he’d touched her skin. He alone understood why she felt this way.

Since his youth, Layla had lived with constant anxiety, always hiding parts of himself, afraid to reveal who he really was. Every day felt like wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit, hunching his shoulders and trying to rest despite his worries. In that way, he thought he and Malyn were similar. Though his life had never been as hard as hers – sleeping under the eaves, drenched in dew – they shared the experience of feeling out of place, never quite finding a place to call home.

A worthless life… There had been a time when he had thought his existence had no meaning. Then Malyn had come into his life. She’d probably claim she’d been swayed by a few coins, but Layla secretly believed she’d come into his life on purpose. Why else would she have slapped him so hard? If not, she would have left him on that mountain without a second thought.

Ironically, Malyn had discovered him by unleashing her anger, by despising him openly and without restraint. She didn’t resent the noble facade he wore – she despised Layla herself. But in time she came to pity him, and eventually to love him. And so, each time she pulled him out of his own fears, Layla found herself feeling…

“I always hope to be of some use to you.”

Malyn’s mouth parted slightly as she listened. It was as if a missing piece in her mind had finally fallen into place. Whether she’d been a pickpocket, a thief or an innkeeper, Malyn had never seen herself as someone the world really needed.

She was much like Layla – she lived simply because she was born, without any real purpose. When her mother told her to run, she did so, not knowing what else to do. Her biggest goal every day was simply not to go hungry. She knew well enough that the men who claimed to want her saw her only as an outlet for their own desires. And if they talked to her before they grabbed her by the hair, that was the best she could hope for. Sometimes she wondered why she’d been born a girl, forced to endure such hardship. She had never really liked her life, her situation, or even herself.

So this happiness and peace, coming after so much unhappiness and hardship, felt strangely unsettling. It felt like more than she deserved, like something just out of reach. The comfort she had now made her uneasy, as if at any moment someone might burst in, push her aside and say, “This isn’t yours. You have no right to it.”

She held a ripe wild strawberry between her lips and was surprised by its sweet, fully ripe taste – nothing sour or unripe, as she might have expected. By all logic, the things that had found their way into her life should have been the worst, not something so unexpectedly good.

But those fears crumbled like sand every night when he appeared – the man who couldn’t sleep without being by her side. Without him, Malyn might never have been able to bear it all. Still, she couldn’t fully embrace the happiness she had been given. She constantly sought reassurance of her worth, meddling with the servants’ laundry, critiquing the thatching of the stables, and finding small consolations in overseeing the iron pots.

But when she thought about it, those comforts weren’t fit for a queen; they belonged to maids, stableboys and kitchen workers. When she realised that, she threw the little comfort she’d found away like garbage, only to feel even more anxious afterwards.

“Malyn.”

Her name, spoken softly in his deep voice, brought her out of her thoughts.

“For me, there is no one else but you. If we’re talking about meaning, then nothing has meaning for me except you.”

“….”

“There may be countless women in the world who would make fine queens. But for my wife, there’s only you.”

His soft blue eyes held her gaze as if he understood every thought she’d struggled with. It didn’t matter that she had once been a lowly girl, a thief, or even a poor woman who lifted her skirts for anyone who asked.

“So don’t be afraid.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks – unlike the ones she often shed in bed. Malyn tried to lower her face into the now lukewarm bathwater, but Layla was quicker. He cupped her wet cheeks and kissed her gently, again and again.

“I want to hear something from you.”

“What is it…?”

She sniffled, trying to hide her tear streaked face, but he held her gently yet firmly, leaving her no choice. Between his soft kisses, her husband whispered softly.

“I became king of a strange land just to be by your side. But I can’t tell you that your place is here with me. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because you are my master.”

A mere servant can’t tell his master where his place is. So it’s you who must tell me.

To stay by your side.

Laughter broke through her lingering tears – a mixture of joy at the sudden relief from her long-held fears and a touch of frustration at letting such a simple truth weigh on her heart for so long. She also thought of another pair of blue eyes she had never quite allowed herself to look into.

Reaching out, Malyn wrapped her arms around the neck of the man she loved.

“I want to go out.”

“And what about the bath?”

Such things no longer mattered. She leaned in and whispered where she wanted to go, her voice soft against his ear.

She no longer cared about the bath. Instead, she leaned in close and whispered in his ear where she wanted to go. Layla’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly replied, “As you command,” and lifted her into his arms. Although it was almost dawn, it wasn’t difficult for the king and queen to dress and slip out of their chambers.

They soon found themselves in a small room – the warmest room in Veldam Castle. In the silent darkness, Malyn looked down for a long time at a head of golden hair that rose and fell with each soft breath.

Finally, she turned to her husband and whispered something. The maids who had been with them since dawn tried to listen curiously, but her voice was too low for any of them to catch the words.

In the end, it didn’t matter. Whether their masters whispered sweet nothings like children, or pressed their foreheads together and chuckled as if there were no greater happiness in the world, it was enough that their contentment meant ease for everyone else.

And so, deep in their hearts, the servants silently wished for one thing: that their king and queen would remain happy for a long time, that every day would be peaceful, and that everyone would live in harmony.

***THE END***