The Alpha King's Hated Slave

Part 2: Chapter 38

Baski shook Danika gently again. “You have to wake up, Danika. You need to eat.”

“Not hungry,” she moaned with her eyes closed.

“You need to eat, anyway. You can’t go on an empty stomach,” Baski persisted, touching a part of her arm that wasn’t bandaged.

But Danika had settled back into sleep again.

Baski glanced at the tray of food and noticed that Uyah hadn’t brought water. Uyah always forgot little things. Baski sighed and pulled away from Danika. She’d get the water before she came back again and woke her up.

Baski set the tray gently on the floor beside the bed before quietly walking out of the bedroom and closing the door. When she turned, she saw her daughter.

“Remeta. How---”

“The prince is in there.” Remeta came closer and whispered to her mother as if in a conspiracy. “He’s hanging in there but restless. He’s hurt; barely in there… needs his father, but he’s in there. Strong prince, like father!”

Baski watched her daughter, the pain blatant on her face. She couldn’t understand what Remeta was saying, and no matter how much she wanted Remeta to explain, her child never did that.

Baski swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, “Please explain it to me, Remeta. Please, my daughter?”

Remeta only giggled like an excited child and darted away.

Tears filled Baski’s eyes, and a strong headache suddenly developed. She closed her eyes tight and allowed the pain to wash over her. It was as if her child became more insane as the days passed. But who was she to hurt about it? Remeta might be losing it, but she made a huge recovery. It hurt Baski to admit that she preferred this Remeta to ‘the ghosted one’ she used to be.

Her child would be fine; she consoled herself as she watched Remeta clap her hands in excitement as she ran down the hallway.

The water and the food were ready, and Baski woke Danika. She was persistent about it. At last, Danika opened her eyes.

Baski pulled her up, helping Danika to lie in her arms. She supported Danika’s head against her bosom. “You have to eat to keep strong. Your wounds will heal faster, too.”

“Alright, Baski,” Danika whispered drowsily.

Baski spoon-fed her gently, and Danika ate obediently. In the silence that followed, Baski fed her the meal’s first course from the tray. When the plate became empty, Baski set it beside the bed and picked up a bowl of tomato bisque soup. She used the spoon to feed it to Danika. The more Danika ate, the more she felt better and less sleepy. She shifted uncomfortably on Baski’s body, and the older woman knew she wanted up.

“Alright, here we go.” Baski helped her to sit up. She got up behind her back and helped her lay her back on the headboard.

“Thank you, Madam Baski,” Danika whispered hoarsely.

“You don’t need to thank me for this, young lady. Thank me by getting better and getting back on your two feet with no scars on your flawless body. That’s the way to thank me,” she said sternly, but without vigor.

Danika felt her lips stretching into a little smile. “Alright, Madam Baski,” she whispered.

Baski pursed her lips and continued feeding her until the soup was gone. She reached to the tray and withdrew the third plate.

“I’m full,” Danika protested.

Baski glared at her and shook her head. “You’ve not had anything since morning. You’re eating all of it.”

Danika would have protested again, but she didn’t bother to waste her breath when she saw the stubborn set of the old woman’s jaw. Her mind returned to the night before, but her memory was hazy. Danika could have sworn that the king had been there with her. She tried to remember, but her memory remained foggy. The last event she could remember clearly was being beaten badly in the market. Sally screaming at the market women. Remeta crying over her. The highly painful cramps that suddenly attacked her lower body----

“My baby!” Danika cried out suddenly.

Baski paused in the middle of lifting the plate. All the blood drained from her face, and she stared at Danika.

Danika’s face was paler. Her eyes implored Baski. “My baby. I lost my baby, didn’t I?”

“You knew you were pregnant?” Baski’s voice was neutral, but her eyes suddenly looked… cold.

Danika closed her eyes and nodded her head as pain washed over her. “I found out yesterday morning.”

So, she’d been pregnant, and she’d lost the baby. Danika would not feel bad. She would not cry. It was for the best. The king would have Danka’s head if he’d found out. A slave did not get pregnant by her master. And she wasn’t just a slave, she was Cone’s daughter.

She would not cry. She would not cry. It was for the best.

But tears slipped from Danika’s closed eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “I thought I was protected. I never knew I’d get pregnant,” she whispered.

“Of course, you never knew.” Baski’s voice was cold. “Here, open your mouth and finish this meal. I have some work to do.” In her heart, part of her never believed that Danika would do something like that. She never acknowledged that part of her because it would be ridiculous to do so.

But now, Baski pushed the pain away. She wanted to get away from her because she didn’t think her poor heart could take Danika’s betrayal. It hurt her so much because she cared for Danika like she was her own child too, just like she cared for the king.

Danika’s eyes remained closed in a world of her own. A painful world. “It’s all for the best. This way, he’ll never find out I carried his child. I won’t have to die in such a humiliating way for that crime. The townspeople would just love to watch me die that way. For being stupid enough to let myself get pregnant by the king.” She whimpered as the words tumbled from her lips.

Baski sat frozen on the bed. The bowl fell from her hand and shattered on the ground; the soup splattered everywhere. “W-What!?”

Baski’s shout made Danika open her teary eyes, and she stared at Baski in confusion. “Huh?”

“What did you just say?” Surely, she hadn’t heard her clearly. Of course, she hadn’t heard her clearly. Her ears must be failing her in her old age. There was no way she heard her clearly.

“I know it’s stupid, too, to be crying,” Danika continued cluelessly, raising her hand to wipe her wet cheeks. “I should be happy—carrying the king’s child; it’s stupid. It’s a good thing the child is no longer in me.” But even as she said that, the tears wouldn’t stop falling from her eyes.

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