The Tyrant King's Queen

Chapter 34

      Time slowly drifted by,  the weather grew colder and fall seemed to have finally arrived. The incident now behind them, Maya devoted herself to her new duty and found out it was not as strenuous as it first appeared to be. The new workers Dexter hired for her turned out to be super helpful and she soon saw vast improvements in the quality of her work. Glad with the results, she was much happier and the tense air that seemed to have settled around her gradually lifted.

    Thanks to the punishment meted out to the nobles by the king, the atmosphere in the castle seemed to be stilted. Everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells around the king, afraid he would lash out on them but ran to seek favor from the Queen. Maya found it the whole situation amusing.

     Their relationship still remained the same. Unfortunately Maya was yet to tell him about the knight who had  visited her a while back and it was beginning to weigh on her mind.  Dexter too seemed to have something on his mind as well as occasionally she caught him lost in thought. Though she wondered what was wrong, she didn't press, not wanting to bother him.
 
     Fall had already arrived and the lush green trees of the summer had faded to to their golden glory.  Though the sun was high in the sky, it did nothing to warm up the cold, arid air. Maya was in her office, staring out at the view. Already bored from staying indoors for too long, she decided to go on a walk.
   
      Her hands maids who were never far dressed her in clothes suitable for the weather and she started out to the garden. In these past few days she'd grown closer to them and they've also warmed up to her.

       As Maya stepped into the garden, her eyes scanned everywhere. Fallen leaves filled everywhere and workers were hard at work on clearing them all up.  Maya spent some time there lounging around  before deciding to venture outside. She wanted to go to the lake Dexter had taken her before.

     She turned to her handmaids. "Do you think I can go outside of castle?" She asked. They glanced at each other, nodding affirmatively. "Well, of course your majesty. But you would need a knight accompanying us."

      " I don't mind." Maya replied.

    " Okay, then I shall make the preparations." Claire said, stepping forward. " Would you like to go on a carriage?" she asked.

     " That won't be necessary. I would prefer to walk." She answered.  Claire nodded, and hurried out of the garden. Moments later, she arrived to tell her that everything had been prepared.
 
      After confirming that they've told the King, they began their walk outside the castle. These days have been so peaceful, she'd almost forgotten that she was once treated like dirt. She took in a deep breath, rubbing her cold palms together in an attempt to warm it up. She gently strolled around,taking in the scenery, her handmaids and knights not far behind.

     It may be because they rode their earlier, but the lake seemed much farther than she had anticipated . "How much farther?" She asked Olivia who was behind her. The young maid glanced at her and smiled." Not much farther your highness."

     She nodded, looking forward. She'd only taken a few steps when something unexpected happened.  It happened too quickly, Maya could barely keep up. Someone shot tiny arrows at her handmaids, causing them to slump to the ground, completely out. A hooded figure dropped down from the trees and knocked her knights put as well, shooting them with the same tiny arrows. Maya's heart began pounding, her body shaking with fear.

     She was about to scream when the hooded figure motioned for her to keep quiet. Maya swallowed her screech, holding Olivia protectively against her." Who are you? And what do you want!" She screamed at the intruder, glaring defiantly at him.

     He pulled down his hood, revealing his face.  It was none other than Nicholas and he had come to seek her out again. Maya stood there, stunned.