Queen's Obsession

Chapter 75

*Suzanna's P.O.V*

I was still in quite a bit of pain for the rest of the day. My chest ached continuously and my sleep was fitful. Often I woke up in pain, my body shaking with pain. Draya was usually there to comfort me. Often I heard her speaking in another language and it sounded so familiar but I couldn't place it.

It seemed almost subconscious, like she was praying. I had caught her once or twice with her head bowed, her hands clasped together. She didn't strike me as the type who prayed a lot. It was kind of soothing to listen to. So soothing that I drifted off to sleep usually.

When I woke up again, it was dark. The candles had been extinguished except for one which was sitting on the infirmary balcony. I quickly realized that it was Pandora who was sitting out there. Curiosity made me get out of bed to investigate. I crept forward slowly, the nightgown I was wearing not keeping out the slight chill that had filled the night air.

The door was open and I slipped out, the scent of smoke filling the air. I was surprised to see Pandora smoking, a cigarette resting lightly between her fingers. She didn't even turn her head as she flicked the ash off it.

"Well you must be feeling better if you're feeling well enough to get out of bed," Pandora said. I nodded mutely, moving to sit next to her. She took a drag of her cigarette, glancing at me out of the corner of her eyes.

"I didn't know you smoked," I said quietly. She exhaled, the smoke getting carried away with the wind that was blowing.

"I don't do it often. It's a nasty habit," Pandora rolled her eyes as the words left her mouth. "Don't let my mother know that I still do it, she's already on my case enough," she stated.

"I could be bribed," I said simply. She chuckled softly as she flicked the cigarette ash off the end of her cigarette. "What language was it she was speaking in? It seemed like she was praying," I said.

"She was," Pandora said after a moment. "It was Kannada, she grew up speaking it," she said after a moment.

"Do you speak it?" I asked curiously.

"No, I never learned it. Sera speaks it," Pandora said as she tilted her head. "What languages do you speak?" she asked curiously.

"English and Telugu. A bit of Tamil," I shrugged. Pandora nodded her head, her eyes looking over the landscape.

"English, Urdu and Hindi," Pandora said after a moment. "Learned Hindi and Urdu from my father, could never pick up Kannada though. My brain decided that three was the max languages that I should know," she said.

"I've always wanted to learn more," I confessed after a moment. "My parents just didn't see the point in hiring anyone to teach me. My grandmother taught me Telugu when I was staying with her," I said as I rested my head on my hands.

"My mother would trade me out for you any day," Pandora answered. "She's always trying to find more people to learn languages, especially her native one," she stated.

"How many does she know?" I asked curiously, tilting my head.

"Eight," Pandora said after a moment. I sat up at that, my eyes wide in surprise. "She knows Urdu, Hindi, English, Kannada, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Assamese, and Bengali," she stated.

"How does she know so many?" I asked curiously.

"She travels, meets people who she learns from. She's pretty good at picking up languages," she stated as she put out her cigarette. I nodded my head.

"What about Seraphina?" I questioned.

"Not nearly as good as mother but she knows Kannada, English, Urdu, and Bengali," Pandora said. "Kamili speaks English, Arabic, and Swahili," she added after a moment.

"So everyone knows more languages than me," I pouted slightly, making Pandora chuckle.

"Don't worry kid, it's not as fun as you think. Half the time my mother will switch languages and not notice. Not to mention it's hell when you forget the name of something and can only remember the name in another language," Pandora admitted.

"I've never gotten much of a chance to speak Telugu. My parents preferred to stick to English," I said with a small frown on my lips. Pandora reached out, her hand resting on my arm as she rubbed it gently.

"Some of the guards speak it," Pandora said after a moment. "I could assign them to be part of your detail. So you could speak it now," she stated. My eyes burned suddenly and I realized I was crying, the tears falling down my cheeks slowly. No one had ever offered to do anything like that.

"Truly?" I questioned, almost not daring to believe it. No one had ever made such a nice offer.

"Of course. Sera always has guards that speak Bengali or Urdu. Sometimes a guard who speaks Kannada," Pandora said. I lunged from my seat, wrapping my arms around her tightly. She froze as my tears fell onto her shoulder, soaking the fabric on her shoulder. Her hand moved to rest on the back of my head.

"Thank you," I whispered. Pandora was clearly uncomfortable with being hugged and she cleared her throat, moving her hand to pat my back.

"You're welcome," Pandora said after a moment. "Now go back to bed, you need to rest," she muttered. I pulled away after a little bit.

"I was poisoned, I know that. Who did it?" I asked curiously.

"They've been taking care of," Pandora said stiffly. Clearly my question had made her uncomfortable.

"What happened to them?" I questioned as my eyebrows furrowed. Pandora nodded out into the darkness and I could still see smoke even in the night. It was coming from the center of the kingdom.

"Their bodies were burned in town square," Pandora answered. Her voice held no emotion and it gave me pause. I nodded after a moment, getting up. I went back to bed, feeling tired again all of a sudden. However it seemed peace wouldn't come to me, my mind haunted by the images of flames and people screaming.