Three

After getting permission from the head house keeper, Arya went to her newly rented apartment to pick up her belongings. One of the male servants offered to drive her in a pickup as he had some things to pick up in town. He would go on as she packed up stuff and then would pick her when was done. When she got out, she walked straight towards the building and accidentally bumped into someone. Picking up her phone which fallen from her hands, she looked up at him.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Well done, Kalen.” she smiled. If someone was tracking her movements, they’d think this was a random encounter.

“Glad that went well,” he breathed. “So, how’s everything going? Have you studied the palace yet?”

“Not yet,” she shook her head, smiling as if she was enthralled with him. “I’m still settling and I don’t want to seem nosy. Besides, someone attacked me yesterday.”

“What!” he exclaimed. 

She stepped back as Kalen’s hands reached out for her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have told you that. You’ll put us in trouble. The queen mother is very particular on she hires and they could be following me right now. We agreed to act like it’s our first time meeting.”

“Arya, we can abandon this if you’re in danger. Your life is more precious to me than any revenge.” 

Arya face palmed before saw a man coming from the apartment building. “Ask for my number and call me Arya.”

“Maybe we could go out some time,” he said, ensuring the man passing by heard. “Can I have your number, Arya.”

“Sure, Kalen.” she smiled, pretending to admire his face. Not that it was hard not to admire it. She had been seeing it every day for the past fourteen years so she was used to his good looks.

He proffered his phone and she took it and typed random numbers. 

“Call me.” She yelled as she walked into the building. Kalen seemed hesitant to leave but he took a deep breath and walked away.

He was soft, Arya thought as she ascended the stairs. It was going to be hard keeping him focused on the goal. Growing up, he had been the one who wanted revenge more than she did but as he grew up he became softer she hardened. 

Kalen’s father and hers had been best friends when they were alive. Kalen was not his father’s child but the king’s. His mother who worked at the palace had an affair with the king. When the king died, his father had found out and confronted the queen mother who did not like the news. Hence he had been killed before realizing Peten, Arya’s father knew about it too. He had also been killed. The queen mother could have killed but she never had the chances as he was always with her son. Peten had helped them escape. 

After her father’s death, he and his mother had kept tabs on Peten’s wife and daughter. When they saw the mother was about to die, offered help and had raise Arya. The two had been inseparable for years and grew up planning their revenge. But Kalen, like his mother, was very kind at heart and crazy in love with her. All he cared was getting her love. Getting his birthrights and revenge had lost its importance to him and that made Arya uncomfortable.

He was strong but his love for her was making him weak and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like the fact that something so small could make him so vulnerable. She was sure that if the queen mother and king accepted him, he’d run into their arms, forgetting everything.

As she packed her bags, she hoped she was not falling into a trap set for her by the sneaky royals. She had a bad feeling but she concluded it was probably just anxiety due to what she was about to do. Moving into an enemy’s house can scare anyone.

She was zipping up a suit case, when her phone vibrated. Checking the caller ID, she saw Kalen’s name.

“Yes, Kalen.”

“I think you should quit that job, Arya.” He shot straight to the point.

“Kalen, I can’t do that. I’ve worked so hard to get where I am and I’m not going to let you ruin everything. If you don’t care about getting justice for your father, then back and go back home. I am going to bring those people own. At least you have your mother but I have nothing. I have lost everything because of this people, I have lived a beggar’s life and I will not let them get away with it without a scratch.”

“I understand but I don’t want you to lose your life as well.”

Arya wiped her face. “I have trained for this and I can defend myself. Yesterday was a surprise attack. I did not expect it but now I know that the palace is not safe for so I’ll be more careful. Besides, I think it was just the queen mother trying to scare me so I can quit the job.”

“You don’t know that,” he said. “I’m really worried. What if we find another job and you still continue with our plans?”

“Don’t you get it, I need to be close to them to destroy them. How am I going to destroy them from that tea factory where you work? You know what, Kalen. I thought you’d make me feel better but I was wrong.”

She ended the call and switched off her phone. Slumping on the bed, Arya sobbed. Her life was not getting better and things were more complicated that she thought they’d be. She pondered on Kalen’s idea of giving up it made her sadder. What was the point in everything she had done?

Through her life, she had been motivated by the idea of revenge. She had lived to get justice for her father. There were many times she wanted to give up on life, on everything. Arya stood up and wiped her tears. She had nothing more to lose so what was the point? She had not grown up among her family and they didn’t even know she existed. Her aunts and uncles as she’d seen a few days ago had moved on. Peten, his wife and daughter were forgotten, erased from her memories. She had nothing to go back to. 

This revenge was all she had and she didn’t intend to let Kalen take it away from her. Even if she abandoned the idea, she would never be happy. She would only be happy if Oriana and her children suffered as much as she had.