Rage and Reward

"Ah... look at this! Are you crying, my dear?" King Henry approached Raqueena again, wiping away her tears, but accompanied by a mocking sneer. Although in a state of closed eyes and seemingly unable to control the turmoil in her chest upon hearing King Henry's cruel words, Raqueena remained vigilant, sharpening her sense of hearing.

"How long will you pretend to be unconscious like this? Hm...?" King Henry uttered while caressing Raqueena's face with the tip of the silver pin he had used to injure himself. "Your life is now entirely in my grasp. Try to resist, and see what will happen next."

After issuing the warning, King Henry immediately rose from Raqueena's bed. Meanwhile, Raqueena, still in a trance and clinging to his deception, tried to concentrate more and sharpen her hearing. Ensuring the sound of King Henry's footsteps he walked away from the room and distanced himself from Raqueena's current confinement. The footsteps made her imagine a burden slowly fading away but leaving a bitter trace in her heart.

Silence. Raqueena opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Her gaze turned to the ceiling adorned with sparkling precious stones. "Hah, there's nothing left for me to hope for." She closed her eyes again, sinking into contemplation. "I thought it was a golden cage, but it turns out to be a trap filled with cursed thorns and poison. Now, what remains?"

Suddenly, Raqueena realized that there was still one thing left in her life that she must protect. Indeed! The baby growing inside her. The baby she had tried to lead to the gates of death just moments ago.

"You must still be lingering there. That heartless man can't leave me alone if you're not there." Raqueena held her stomach as if having a conversation with her unborn child. "Forgive me for trying to erase you. I won't repeat the same foolishness. For that, I will try to take you away from here."

Although her body still felt weak, and pain pierced through every movement, Raqueena tried to get up from her bed. The unfortunate woman staggered towards the large window at the end of the room, hoping that through it, she could escape the clutches of the cruel king masked in wisdom.

However, that hope vanished as soon as she opened the white curtains covering the window. The window was blocked by large crossed wooden planks, obstructing her view. Not giving up there, Raqueena staggered again while holding her injured stomach towards another window. However, the result was the same. She approached another window, and it was still the same until finally, at the last window, Raqueena, who refused to surrender, tried to find something to remove the wooden barrier.

Amid her effort to remove the wooden plank, King Henry suddenly returned. Unbeknownst to her, King Henry had witnessed every move from behind the door. He stepped forward from the shadows with a sarcastic smile, revealing his presence. "Raqueena, how pitiful to see you trying to escape," said King Henry in a mocking tone.

Instantly, Raqueena froze and halted her actions. She turned to face Henry, still wounded and weakened, glaring at him with eyes full of hatred. "You will never win!" she shouted with the remnants of her strength.

However, King Henry just laughed. "You have no strength left to fight, Raqueena. Look at yourself, wounded and trapped in this kingdom. Even the window cannot grant you freedom."

With hands marred by her injuries, Raqueena faced an increasingly dire situation. King Henry ordered his soldiers to capture and chain Raqueena's hands and feet, while the female servants were instructed to tend to her wounds coldly and without sympathy. Raqueena's condition became a pawn in the dark game that King Henry had orchestrated.

"What is this? Release me!" The chains began to jingle, becoming a symbol of the suffocating lack of freedom. King Henry, with a merciless expression, delivered a threat that echoed through the walls of the chamber.

"You no longer have the right to determine your fate, Raqueena," King Henry muttered, his voice piercing the air as if absorbing the palpable despair.

However, Raqueena remained undeterred. Despite being ensnared in chains, her rebellious spirit burned even brighter. Raqueena's eyes sparkled, and her screams shattered the silence. She refused to bow to the threats, resisting with all her might.

"You can imprison my body, but don't think you can restrain my soul!" Raqueena shouted with intense emotion, her voice echoing off the chamber walls that witnessed all these changes.

"Yes! Try everything you can. If necessary, try hurting your conscience for the second time, then you will see how much I can endure." King Henry immediately left the room, leaving Raqueena to glare at him with hatred and vengeance.

Although the chains confined Raqueena, it did not mean she was neglected, clad in tattered clothes, and deprived of food like a prisoner. On the contrary, servants came in and out regularly to bathe her, change her clothes, and provide meals.

Raqueena was truly treated like a sacrificial pet. However, since she had been treated this way for a week, it was also the same time when Raqueena started a hunger strike. She refused to eat anything offered by the servants.

One time, the servant responsible for Raqueena's meals was a different one. It was the first time. Raqueena looked at the new servant with a puzzled expression, full of question marks. Then, one of the observant servants suddenly said, "Why, Your Majesty? Are you looking for the servant who usually serves your meals and patiently persuades you to eat, but Your Majesty ignores them?"

Raqueena remained silent. The slightly wrinkled eyebrows smoothed out, and her beautiful face returned to an expressionless state.

"Cecilia—she will never come back. Just because she couldn't make Her Majesty the Queen eat, the unfortunate girl had to suffer the consequences of losing her right hand. Now, the girl who was always enthusiastic in serving you has no future left." It wasn't just an explanation; the servant even appeared to plead, seeking mercy so that Raqueena would be compassionate enough not to let other servants suffer the same fate as Cecilia.

So, did the servant manage to move Raqueena's heart? On the contrary, Raqueena burst into laughter.

"How amusing! You truly amuse me."

Raqueena's words, the first the servants had heard since her confinement, left everyone puzzled before she continued, "How can you ask for my mercy while the one who handed out the punishment and issued the orders for you is your king? Shouldn't you be begging the king instead?"

"But the wrath of His Majesty the King is caused by you, Her Majesty the Queen!" retorted another servant who dared to be bold with Raqueena. "We are here just to survive, not to seek death. We are just common people who know nothing about the feud that is happening. Like horses bowing before the sea of the king's wrath, even though innocent like flowers growing in the desert. So... we beg you, Your Majesty. Have mercy on us...."

In unison, the servants knelt and pleaded before Raqueena.

"Between blaming me or begging for mercy, what do you want to convey? Surviving? Do only you have the right to strive for life? Do you think I don't have the right to pursue the life I want?"

With her body bound by chains, Raqueena sat on her bed, but her anger exploded with an unstoppable force. Her voice flexed in the air, resounding loudly in the momentarily silent room. The servants kneeling before her felt the vibrations of a voice hinting at thunderous anger.

On the other side, behind the door of Raqueena's chamber, King Henry, accompanied by some of his warriors, stood listening to everything Raqueena declared. When he deemed it enough, King Henry promptly entered the room with firm steps, responding to the still-exploding anger from Raqueena. His serious gaze filled the room, silencing Raqueena instantly, as every step of King Henry echoed on the walls of the chamber that witnessed the Queen's inner turmoil.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty," said King Henry, his voice calm yet full of authority. "Does the head of a servant mean nothing to you? Perhaps you've forgotten, but they are part of our kingdom. Responsibility and justice should apply to all, even the lowest. Moreover... haven't you once been one of them? Have you forgotten your origins, my Queen?"

Raqueena turned, her gaze piercing. Her sharp smile reflected indifference to King Henry's threats. "Which justice are you talking about? In this kingdom, justice does not prevail, and the fate of the servants is not my concern. They are responsible for their destiny."

King Henry smirked, acknowledging Raqueena's courage. "You truly are surprising, Raqueena. However, I did not come to discuss that." He tossed a large box he brought in front of Raqueena.

"This is for you, Raqueena. Open it!" said King Henry with a tone of satisfaction. "I'm sure you'll be so moved that you might cry tears of joy. You deserve this gift as a sign of my love."

Raqueena stared at the gift in disbelief. While she tried to contain her curiosity, King Henry continued to explain how this happiness could be a catalyst for change in her life.