The Duty of a Secret Regent

Chapter 3

The king's tent, adorned with a rich purple fabric, was situated in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a few tents where the hunted trophies and weapons were stored, and the soldiers stayed on guard. I first entered an empty looking tent at the edge of the clearing, through which I could bee-line to the royal tent. Changing my humble men's clothes, I wore a lightweight and durable armor over my bandaged chest, covering my hands up to the wrists with thick goat-skin gloves, so as not to show my feminine dainty hands nor leave any fingerprints behind. 

I silently gazed at the exit before slowly turning to look at the shining surface of an armor kept beside me, which provided me with a mirror because of its reflecting property and checked my disguise. Just what I predicted earlier, with my raven-locks, and light-brown complexion, coupled with the telltale royal burgundy cape and armor, I looked exactly like the king who just returned from an early morning hunt. My hair disheveled from my ride, and my haggard face added to the hardships of hunting, reducing the femininity of my features quite a lot, that shockingly made me look like the monarch. 

I was worried about my stature, regardless. King Miron was a man of over 175cm, and I was barely 171cm, it would be obvious to his men. I cursed myself heartily! Why didn't I see this coming? Did I come here for naught? Did all my plans go in vain? I really have to die like a coward in vain! 

Suddenly I heard a subtle clearing of throat, and gasped in fright as I looked at the doorway. A grim-faced butler stood there, silently looking at me with judgmental cold eyes. His gaze told me he had seen everything by now. 

"..." I opened my mouth to speak but no word came out. My blood was frozen inside my veins as I stared at him in horror.

The butler smiled cryptically and approached me leisurely, "Your Majesty? Fancy seeing you here. You must have been tired from the long hunt yet still came to check on our armory." 

I was shocked at his addressing but he gently held out his hand towards me, smiling and bowing at me in reverence to one's ruler and spoke in a low tone, "I have just the pair of boots you need." 

Grabbing my arm firmly yet gently enough, tucking it under his elbow, he led me to the far end of the tent where a stool was present. 

"Sit down, my king." He asked me again in the same gentle tone. 

Mechanically I sat down on the stool, as the puzzling butler retreated briefly to the far end of the tent, before walking back with a pair of shiny heeled boots that was a lot larger than my small feet; but he expertly put on some rags in the front and put them on me with absolute tenderness, as it fit like a glove, and soon I stood up, and realized, the heels indeed had increased my height exactly to the king's and nodded in affirmation to him. 

"You are ready my king. Go, you must not delay. You have about half an hour at hand." 

I looked at him, daring to ask what was happening but he did not give me a chance and whispered in my ear, "Not now. I'll guide you, follow me." 

Following the singular royal servant, I walked out of the tent, where many soldiers stood guard. They did not even spare a single glance at the butler, but looked at me, and with practiced ease, bowed to me, "Hail the sun of the kingdom." Easily letting us pass to the royal tent in the center. 

On entering the royal tent, I realized it was divided into makeshift chambers for privacy of the king. The butler placed a finger on my lips, shushing me and guided on. 

Gently lifting the curtain of a private compartment, he whispered to me in an inaudible tone, "May the God of Nation always serve you, my new king." 

I stared at him in shock for a moment before taking a deep breath, nodding at him respectfully. He smiled gently, nodding in return before giving me another piece of advice, "I'll guard the gates of the tent, go in fearlessly. Instead of stabbing, slice off his head clean from the behind, it would be easy with the scimitar, and then disfigure him enough, beyond recognition and call for the general. I have it all covered." 

Without understanding anything clearly, I went inside the area mechanically, yet silently, exercising every caution of a soldier which I had learned from my father since I was a child.

The king sat with his back to me, dozing while reading a document kept at the table, which I analyzed to be one of the duty ledgers. My heart was racing maddeningly inside my chest. It was ride or die at this moment, there was no going back. A woman who had never landed a slap on someone now had to put an end to the monarch of the kingdom, tyrant though he was. But then the last cries of my family rang in my ears yet again and before I could even formulate what I was doing, with every ounce of my skill in swordsmanship I had landed my scimitar on the man's neck and with an indistinct blunt thud I saw the body of a headless man lurch forward and fall on the ground, and warm blood from his severed shoulders spray all over me. 

I covered my mouth to stop myself from gasping out in horror at the massacre I had committed, but it was too late. 

The butler swiftly came running in the tent and embraced me tightly from behind, "Hush my lord, it is done my lord, calm down sire." He whispered on in my ears again and again, rocking my now exhausted form gently. 

I looked at him, my body drained and asked, "Why did you help me? I owed you nothing, yet why?"

He did not reply, as if he didn't hear anything, swooping down, taking my scimitar, he approached the severed head of the ex-king Miron and without a single speck of consideration, with the skill of an expert swordsman, stabbed his face again and again, not enough to make it disgusting, but enough to leave scars to make his face beyond recognition as I slipped on the ground, verging on unconsciousness. 

The clever butler approached me next, removed my goat-skin gloves, putting them on the now head-less corpse, tweaking its appearance here and there, and before we knew, instead of the king, there lay the corpse of an intruder who seemed to have entered to assassinate the king. 

The butler then approached me, gently wiping away the blood stains from my face before holding my hands, and supporting me up, leading me out of the chamber towards a washing area, wiping away any remaining bloodstains from my being personally, even changing my clothes into the kings, promising to burn mine in secret. 

His hands were gentle but firm, his greyish-blue eyes reflected sympathy for me as he unconditionally continued supporting me, leading me back to the royal bed-chamber before walking outside, but not before whispering in my ears again, "Fear nothing, my lord. I will always protect you as long as you live."

I asked in a drained voice now, in the tucked up position of a child which he had ushered me in, "Why are you doing this to me? What motive do you have?" 

He smiled wryly, "Story for some other day, little lady. All you need to do is keep up to the role from now." Bowing elegantly, walked out soundlessly.

I did not hear anything as the faithful butler carried on with removing the corpse from the floor of the study inside the tent. Slipping between horrific nightmares and a half-asleep delirious state, I rested on, as the cleaning operations continued outside. The butler had removed my earlier blood-stained clothes and dressed me in the king's light night-clothes, bidding me to sleep, so none dared to enter inside the bedchamber to not disturb their king. 

During one particularly horrific nightmare in my delirious state, I felt the touch of a gentle hand along with calm words of peace, urging me to break out of it, as I delved into deep slumber for the first time since I left home.