How He Became More Than Just Her King

by jellyfish137

This is the story about how Ishwari Ghale fell in love with the man she was sent to spy on, Pagan Min, the king of Kyrat.

1. Chapters 1-11

Chapter 1

"War is no place for women." All Ishwari could think about was what her husband thought about her, and not just her, but all women in general. In his mind, women were better kept at home cleaning and cooking meals for the men, and she hated it. She didn't like the thought of her only use in life was to make her husband happy and bare him children. She felt that anything so called "men" could do, she had the ability to do the same. For months she had asked her spouse Mohan to let her do some good in helping reclaim their stolen country for the usurper who went by the name Pagan Min.

Kyrat was already in bad shape before Pagan made his appearance, being in a civil war between the Nationalists and the Royalists. The Royalists supported the reign of a king, while the Nationalists wanted to overthrow the monarchy. Near the end it seemed as if the Nationalists were going to win, but the Royalists made an alliance with Pagan Min, who at the time seemed to have good intentions. With him, Pagan brought a distant heir to the throne and a small army that belonged to him personally, one he had created with the small fortune he owned. With Pagans help the Royalist defeated the Nationalists and victory was their's, but the joy soon turned to shock. When their guard was down, Pagan's army started slaughtering everyone in the palace, and the only heir to the throne had his life taken away from him by Pagan Min himself. Before they knew what happened, Kyrat was now ruled by a merciless dictator.

In hopes of recovering the poached throne, the Golden Path was formed by Mohan Ghale, hero of Kyrat and husband of the Taruan Matara. Ishwari was proud to be married to someone who carried such a big name to her country, and she herself also carried a big name as the Tauran Matara, goddess on earth and an embodiment of the land. Though people wouldn't recognized her now, since she was forced to go into hiding due to the war. She was in even more danger now that Pagan was in charge for he outlawed religion and her, being a religious figure herself would be executed right away if she was discovered. But that name was behind her, now she was just Ishwari, wife to Mohan and mother to their son Ajay.

Ishwari longed for adventure. If there was one thing that scared her, it was that all her life she would be staying in or around the house, being nothing more than a typical house wife. She wanted to see the world, go places, do great things. The closest thing she had to seeing the world was the books she collected. She loved to read and was exceptionally well at being a teacher to herself. She knew all about different countries around the world. She wanted action, danger, and excitement. Every time she finished reading about a new country, she would tell her husband all about it, though he didn't seem all that interested. Most of the time he'd just grunt and nod as if he actually heard a word she had just said.

Ishwari finally got the courage to start asking Mohan to let her go out and fight for the cause. She would ask him to let her do supply drops, cargo deliveries, or just protect outposts. Every time she brought it up, she would always get the same answer, and then a long speech about how it's against Kyrati tradition for women to fight. They would get into long arguments about it. They would get very frustrated with each other to the point Mohan would storm out of the house and disappear for hours at a time. Eventually Ishwari's constant persisting on helping the Golden Path reached Mohan and he decided to send her to the palace, into the tiger's den, as a spy to get whatever intelligence she could get her hands on to help in the war. He had only done this in hope that Ishwari would see the horrors of the world she so desperately wanted to be a part of.

Chapter 2

Ishwari walked down the dusty road, with baby Ajay on her back, proclating on how she was going convince them to let her in the palace. She was against bringing Ajay with her, not wanting to put her child in danger, but Mohan insisted that she bring him, saying it would help with her story. Her feet ached, she had already walked at least eight or nine miles, but on the plus side she was very close to the royal fortress. Mohan had one of the Golden Path members drop her off about ten miles from the fortress and made her walk the rest of the way, wanting her to be tired and as convincing as possible. Normally a walk like that wouldn't had bothered her in the slightest, but having a fussing, twenty pound baby strapped to her back made it tough.

She wanted to feel relieved when she saw the fortress gates come into sight in the distance, but she was far too nervous to feel appeased. She had fear that they would either not care a word of what she had to say, or they would see through her disguise and kill her and her son on sight. She paused for a moment to take a few deep breaths and work up the nerve to continue up the road, towards the big blue doors. "This is your moment, Ishwari. Prove to Mohan that you are not just some woman for him to do as he pleases" she quietly said to herself.

She made it within forty feet of the doors before she heard a guard yell at her telling her to stop and put her hands in the air. She quickly abided, and raised both hands up. Two guards walked up to her, one holding a gun steadily aimed at her, while the other patted her down for weapons. After discovering she was unarmed, they started questioning her.

"What business do you have here?" the guard who had just finished searching her asked.

Ishwari replied with a look of determination on her face "I come to seek shelter from my king. I have very little food and I am in need of a place to stay from the weather and predators. I only want my son to be safe."

Both guards began to chuckle, before the one responded "And what makes you think King Min will grant you shelter? You appear to be a nobody, what would he want with someone like you?"

Ishwari, still determined to convince them to give her a chance quickly answered. "I don't need a lot, in return I will do anything he asks of me. I am a fairly decent cook and I can clean. Even if I'm just a servant, just so long as I know my son is taken care of."

The guard who had been asking the questions got a somewhat scary smile on his face. "Well, truth be told I think the king recently had two of his servants executed for not doing something the way he had asked it to be done, so I believe there may be an opening for you. I tell you what, I'll send word to the palace and see if they need help. If they don't I'm sure some of my men down here will be willing to take care of you." He licked his lips in a wicked way.

Ishwari felt a shiver go down her spine as she nodded in agreement and she prayed that a good word would come back. They led her through the blue doors and into the first building on the right. She was asked to take a seat in the chair at the small wooden table, and she without hesitation obliged, sitting her son on her lap. The armed guard, remained in the room with her, not saying a word. After what seemed an eternity, the guard who seemed to be in charge returned.

"Well it seems I have some good news for you. Turns out they do need so help so they've agreed to grant you a job as a maid, and in return they will give you shelter with all the other servants, in the cabin they reside in." He informed her "If you come this way, I'll have one of my men drive you up to the palace."

Feeling very relieved, Ishwari proceeded to follow the guard to a red jeep and she climbed in. The guard who had just interrogated her leaned in close and spoke. "Word of advice, if you are told to do something, listen very close to the details of what is being asked and do everything with utmost perfection. King Min does not settle for anything less than the best. I've seen him kill countless of his men, just because they weren't able to live up to his standards. Also, for your sake I hope you have a quiet baby, because chances are the king hates crying brats." He chuckled as he shut the door behind her, and she watched the man in anguish as the car started to drive forward.

Chapter 3

The drive up to the palace was a long one. The driver was very quiet and never said a word, which in a way Ishwari was grateful, because it gave her time to think. She watched out the window at the scenery, discontented with the destroyed statues of worship of her people. She knew that the king hated their religious ways, but was it necessary for him to destroy her fellow Kyrati heritage? She soon recollected her thoughts and told herself that she should not worry about that now, all that mattered is that she obtained as much intel as possible. Mohan had forbidden her to return until the war was won, so she was intent on doing the best possible job she could.

Before she knew it, the car had come to a stop and the driver urged her out of the vehicle. She stepped out holding on to Ajay and walked toward the palace to see a woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties, wearing red pants with black shoes, and a white blouse, whom of which greeted her.

"So you must be our new maid! Thank heavens you've come, there used to be four of us, but unfortunately we recently lost two, so with just Augie and myself, it's been hard to keep up with the work. I'm the head maid, my name is Shanna and I will be the one who will show you around. And your name is?" She asked

"Oh yes, my name is Ishwari, and this here is my son Ajay. I hope I can be of help. I am so grateful to be able to work here in the palace" Ishwari answered her.

"Well, we're grateful to have you. Now if you just follow me I'll show you to the servant cabin, it's a little too late today to show you around the palace, most of the work has already been done, so you will be starting tomorrow" Shanna said as she started walking around to the back side of the palace and up a small path. "All maids are to be awake and ready to begin cleaning by seven every morning. We work until five every evening. Normally we have so much to do, being how big the palace is, so I usually only allow one hour break, but since you have a son you will probably need more time won't you?"

Ishwari spoke "Ajay is usually a quiet baby who isn't a handful, as long as he's fed and changed he's happy."

Shanna looked back at Ishwari thinking "hmm, well I suppose you could split your hour up into fifteen minute intervals or something like that. As long as you manage to get all your work done before five, I won't complain."

"That sounds manageable" Ishwari said with a smile.

Shanna nodded and held her arms out, pointing to their accommodation "Well here we are. It's not much, but we're not really in a position to complain. Over there is the outhouse and that small building next to it is the bath house. This right here is the main cabin" she said as she opened the door and allowed Ishwari to enter.

It was nothing more than a medium sized room with eight beds and a small dresser next to each one. On one of the beds there sat a woman, who's hair was up in a bun, and was playing some sort of a card game.

"Ishwari this here is the other maid I mentioned before, Augie. Augie, this here is our new maid, Ishwari and the small child she has attached to her back is Ajay." Shanna said acquainting the two women.

Augie slightly looked up and nodded at them acknowledging their presence.

"She takes some time to warm up to" Shanna laughed. "Now obviously the bed Augie is on is hers, and that one over there in the corner belongs to me. The one next to mine belongs to Laqueta and the one next to that Eldora. They're the woman in charge of setting the dinning room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Finally the bed on that end belongs to Everest the head chef. Neither of them are here right now because they are currently preparing dinner for the king. We eat after he finishes and they will bring us what ever is left over. But aside from that you may choose any of the empty beds as your own. You may want to go ahead and get settled, because you will have a busy day tomorrow"

Ishwari nods and heads to a vacant bed and lays Ajay on it. She grabs the bag she had been carrying with her and empties it out. In it contains necessities, such as Ajay's washable diapers, a few rags, a toothbrush, a hair brush, a bottle to hold water in, her notepad, her favorite pen and a book about London she had been reading. She laid the book on the dresser that now belonged to her to keep all of her personals in, and then proceeded to change Ajay. After he was all clean she sat on the bed and leaned up against the wall to begin feeding her hungry child. Ajay must have been as wore out as she was, because he was soon asleep after he had a tummy full of milk. After asking Shanna if she could use one of the spare pillows on the unused bed, she made Ajay a small bed in one of the empty dresser drawers and laid him in it, all wrapped up and snug. She soon walked outside to clean out Ajays previous used diaper and hung it to dry to be used the next day. When she is finally able to return to her bed, she drifts into a deep sleep almost instantly.

Chapter 4

Morning comes faster than she had wanted when she is woke up by Shanna handing her a set of work clothes and informing her she has only, but an hour to get ready. She sits up rubbing her eyes and stretching out, and then turning to check on her infant, who is awake and looking around at his environment. She then notices that there is a small platter of food sitting on the dresser next to her book and looks at Shanna in question.

"Ah yes, like I said Everest usually brings us leftovers from dinner each night. You happened to be asleep by the time he got here, so I just had him sit your food on your dresser, it should still be pretty good if you're hungry." Shanna tell her.

Ishwari nods not denying that she is in fact hungry, it feels like ages since she last ate. She picks up the plate and sits it on her lap, on the plate there is what looks like a slice of roast, some mashed potatoes covered in gravy and a little bit of corn on the side. It's cold, but still tastes very satisfying. She quickly woofs it down not wanting to be late and have to face consequences. As soon as she'd done she quickly changes her son's diaper, feeds him, and washes up his used diaper, so it doesn't smell up the cabin. With some time to spare before seven, she is able to make it to the bath house and brush her teeth, hair, and wash her face.

Once she feels she's ready to officially start this mission she's been sent on, she rushes out to meet Shanna patiently waiting for her outside the cabin.

"Oh good, so you're ready now? I have a lot to show you and I still have to be able to keep a deadline myself, so if you would, lets head on down to the palace."

Ishwari follows Shanna without any hesitation, down towards the huge building in which the king himself lives in. When they finally reach it, there are guards guarding every entrance. Shanna leads Ishwari to a side door, instructing her that door is the servant entrance. When they reach the door, a big man wearing red and black holding a gun stopped them.

Shanna smiled as she began to converse with the man "Hey Taveon, how are you today?"

The man just grunted at her and turned his attention to Ishwari "Who is she?"

"Oh yes, where are my manners? This here is Ishwari, she is the replacement for our recently lost maids." Shanna answered

The heavily armed man nodded at the explanation and let them inside. Once inside, Ishwari was astounded by all the expensive decor that filled the rooms. There were statues that looked like they should belong in important meuseums, very detailed paintings, oriental rugs and curtains, nothing inside looked cheap. She was soon pulled out of her amazement when Shanna started instructing her on the protocol of being a maid.

"There are twelve bedrooms in the palace, each of which has it's own bathroom, three bathrooms that don't have a bedroom to accompany them, a library, a massive sun room, the dinning room and bar, the main lobby, the sitting room, and downstairs is where the washers and dryers are kept, as well as all the cleaning supplies and anything you may need to do your job. We maids are expected to mop every floor, vacuum every carpet, wash every blanket on the bed, dust every shelf, and scrub every bathroom, every day. Essentially if it needs clean, then clean it." Shanna continues walking down a long narrow hallway and then stops at a pair of golden colored double doors. "This is the Kings room, I am the only maid allowed to enter this room, no other maid may clean it, the reason being if anything happens to any of his belongings then I am the only one he can blame. He knows that I am the only one who enters and even when I do, I have to have permission to do so. As long as you follow these rules you should be okay..."should" being the key word."

Ishwari stares at the golden doors, knowing that if there's any intel to be found, it would most likely be in there. "What do I do if the king talks to me?" she asks

Shanna looks over at her and laughs lightly "Chances are he won't. He doesn't usually talk to anybody below him, which in his case is practically everybody. Hell you probably won't even see him, half the time he's not in the palace, he's usually out somewhere on business, and when he is in the palace he stays in his room, only coming out to eat in the dinning room, which isn't often being as he prefers to eat in his room away from everyone. If by some off chance you do see him don't stare and if he does talk to you, I guess all I can say is be polite and answer whatever he asks. But no more of that, we have a lot of work to get done." She takes Ishwari down a hallway with three doors on the right side and two doors on the left. "Here are five of the twelve bedrooms I mentioned. I want you to clean all of them, including the bathrooms, and try to get it done so that you have enough time to mop this hallway floor as well, my advice to you is to wash all the blankets first so that they can be getting clean while you vacuum and dust. If you follow me I'll take you downstairs and show you where everything you'll need is."

Ishwari simply nods and follows Shanna down the hallways to a small staircase that leads below the palace. After seeing where everything is, she gathers all the necessary tools to do her required job and heads back up to the hallway she was instructed to clean. She basically did everything you would expect a maid to do, however with each room she swabbed, she discreetly looked through drawers, searching for anything that she could send back to the Mohan to help in the war, but she found nothing. In a way, she didn't expect to find much of anything, after all, why would they keep important information in random guest rooms. But in her her mind she was at least trying and that was what mattered. She was making pretty good time on getting all of her chores finished, occasionally stopping to feed and change Ajay. She had just finished mopping the hallway when Shanna appeared, surprised at the exceptionally well job her new recruit had done, telling her that it was now time to exit the palace for the day.

They made their way back up to the cabin and instantly Ishwari plopped on the bed the moment she reached it, exhausted from trying to finish all the cleaning within the deadline. She laid there for a while, before deciding that she, as well as her son were in much need of a bath. She grabbed a set of clean night clothes in which she had packed in her bag along with her other items and proceeded to the bath house. She had to wait outside until it opened up, being as Augie happened to reach it before she did. When she was finally able to take her turn, she sank down into the warm water that felt amazing on her aching body. Holding Ajay in one arm, she began to use the rag to wash off the grime that was on both of their bodies. After getting both herself and her boy spruced up, she sat back down on her bed and fed the young Ajay. She was relieved when he had finally fallen asleep and was able to lay him in the bed she had made for him. With some free time finally to herself she began reading the book in which she had brought with her, until Everest, Laqueta, and Eldora arrived with dinner. She ate it as she continued to read her book until eventually she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Chapter 5

The next few of weeks were basically the same routine. Wake up, go to the palace to clean, taking care of a baby periodically through out the day, then head back to the cabin to clean up and get ready for the next day. Ishwari was beginning to feel like a house wife again. She kept trying to figure out how in the world she was going to get close to Pagan Min to obtain some form of intel to send back to her husband. She couldn't even look around the palace for info, since there were guards everywhere, whom would instantly notice if she wasn't where she wasn't supposed to be. All she could do was pray to Kyra that something would go her way.

There was one day during the few weeks, when they were on their way to the palace and there was a young girl with bright pink in her hair, no older than eighteen, shouting orders to a few guards in the courtyard.

"Who was that exactly?" Ishwari leaned in asking Shanna who was walking beside her.

"That was Yuma, the kings younger sister. Though they're not blood related siblings, she was adopted into the kings family when they were young. From what I hear, she apparently has a thing for him, which I find strange." Shanna answered "They say that before long, she's going to be his lieutenant, and command a fraction of his army."

Ishwari didn't really see it as valuable information but it was the only intelligence she was able to provide. After all Mohan had never once mentioned anybody by the name of Yuma during all his war talk. That night Ishwari took out her notepad and wrote down a small note to her husband.

Mohan,

I learned today that Pagan Min has a sister by the name of Yuma. From what I see, the guards respect her, or they may be frightened by her, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. It's said that she will become the lieutenant of Pagan's army. It's not much, but I hope it helps.

Ishwari then followed Mohan's instructions and wrapped the note in some plastic that she snuck out of the supply closet. she found a reasonably good sized stick and tied it around it, and then snuck out to drop it in the small creek that ran from behind the palace down through a few villages. Mohan had told her that sending notes down river would be the best way to keep him updated. He informed her, she was not to write him, unless it was useful information, not wanting to risk being caught any more than she had to. She sat and watched as the note floated down river and she didn't leave until it was no longer in her sight, hoping that it would arrive to its destination smoothly. After it was gone, she returned to get into bed next to her sleeping son and dozed off herself.

Chapter 6

"Get up Ishwari! It's a new day!" Ishwari slowly opened her eyes and looked up to see Shanna talking to her, like she did every morning. Ishwari sat up and did the usual, taking care of the baby and then getting ready herself before strapping the small boy on her back and walking down to the palace to begin her duties.

The day went basically the same as any other day during the month she had been working there. She went to the lower level of the palace to gather all the cleaning chemicals needed to provide a spotless clean environment. Then she would return the same hallway she was appointed to and clean the same rooms she cleaned everyday, and just like always she saved the hall for last.

She had finally made it to her final chore for the day. She always started the hallway by wiping down all the pictures that lined the walls, making sure that none were left with streaks of any kinds. After that she moved onto the next step which was to begin dusting the few wooden tables that sat in the sides and the small figurines that were stationed on them. She was only but halfway through the second table when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Instantly she thought to herself that she had somehow lost track of time and that it was Shanna coming to tell her that it was time to head back. Ishwari looked up expecting to see her friend but instead she saw something else.

It was a tall slender man, of asian decent, walking towards her. He had a shaved head, with bleach blonde hair resting on the top. His left ear contained a silver piercing. He wore woman's make-up on his eyes, which brought out the beauteous brown color that they were. He was dressed in a royal blue suit, with a white button up shirt underneath and what looked like genuinely expensive shoes. It was at this moment Ishwari knew who she was looking at. It was the monster, in which she had come to spy on, a monster who against her will, struck her as rather handsome. She soon realized she was staring and quickly looked back at the figure she was dusting. She felt the air of him, as he walked past her and she could smell the scent that came off of him. He was wearing some form of mens cologne that made him that much more attractive. After he passed, Ishwari turned her head slightly to see him walking away, and she realized that he had not even noticed she was there.

Later that night, after she had cleaned up and put Ajay down for the night, she laid in her bed and just thought about what she had saw. It had caught her completely by surprise. The entire month she had been there, never had she once seen Pagan Min. Before she had only seen pictures of him and on the television. It was very much different to actually see him in person, even if it was just for a brief moment. What really bothered her was that he's supposed to be a monster. Monsters, in her definition were scary demons, with fangs and claws, an awful smell, overall horrible to look at. But what she saw was far from awful, he was actually very pleasant to look at. "What kind of monster possesses an image like that?" she asked herself. "No, I can't let his disguise fool me. Attractive or not, he's still the man who killed the true heir to the throne, and took over my homeland, like it belongs to him." She rolled over, rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes, completely lost in thought.

Chapter 7

The next day wasn't as eventful as the previous one. In a way Ishwari had hoped king Min would walk past her again, but he never did. She wanted to look at him again, thinking that maybe she had just imagined the whole experience and he really did look like a monster, though it was unlikely. What made her even more sick what the fact that she could not get him out of her mind. She told herself that it was because he was her mission and that's why she wanted to think about him, but it wasn't the truth. In reality, she had never seen a more beautiful man, she didn't even think it was physically possible for a man to be beautiful, but Pagan Min proved her wrong.

Five o'clock came faster than she expected, and she headed back to the cabins unsatisfied with that days experience. On the way back she started asking Shanna about the king. "What is King Min like?"

Shanna raised an eyebrow, looking at Ishwari. "umm, I guess he's everything you hear about him, personally I don't know, I've never really spoke with him. Why do you ask?"

Ishwari looked down at the ground "I guess I just want to know more about the man I call King. Is it true he's killed a bunch of people, just because they didn't live up to his standards?"

Shanna then got a look of dismay on her face "From what I have heard, he did kill the heir to the throne himself. He didn't use a gun, no, he says that's not very fun, he gets more amusement out of it if he stabs a person in the throat. They say he enjoys the way warm blood feels on his skin. That's the only person I've heard of him killing himself, everyone one else he's had executed, letting his soldiers do the dirty work. Personally it frightens me, because he could have that done to any of us, at anytime, for any reason."

"I see, as long as we don't get on his bad side or give him a reason we should be fine then?" Ishwari commented looking at Shanna

Shanna looked back at Ishwari, a bit worried. "well I guess you could say that, but you never know with him. For all I know he could have you executed, just because he's in a bad mood and you happen to be in his line of sight at the time. Like I said I've never really talked to him, so I can't say for sure."

Ishwari nodded her head and ended the conversation with that. When they reached their cabin, she told Shanna that she could go ahead and get her bath first, for she wanted to rest on the bed for a few minutes. As she waited for her turn in the bath house, she sat and played with her baby boy, making faces and noises at him, in attempt to get giggles, in which she succeeded. After Shanna had returned, Augie asked if it'd be okay if she was next in which Ishwari said she didn't mind. By the time she finally received her turn the sun was starting to go down. She quickly jumped in the bath and bathed her son and herself. Afterwards she continued with the usual and fed Ajay until he passed out.

Ishwari laid her child in his bed and headed outside to the faucet to clean out his diaper. She was just beginning to hang it on a tree limb when she heard someone, she turned around to see one of Pagan's guards walking towards her.

"Is there a problem, sir?" She politely asked

The guard looked at her, with the same hate that they all seemed to express "Yeah, King Min seems to have made a bit of a mess in his office and he requested that a maid come down and clean it up."

Ishwari's eyes widened "Oh, umm Shanna is asleep right now, I can go wake her up though if I need to"

The guard just stared at her as if she spoke in an unfamiliar language "Aren't you a maid?"

"Yeah, but I..." Ishwari was soon cut off by the man

"It doesn't matter who cleans it, it just needs to be done now"

Not wanting to argue with the man, she followed him without hesitation to the palace. The man led her through the servant entrance and towards the Kings chambers.

"I don't see why you need me to follow you down to the lower level to get what is needed to clean the spill, so I'll just wait here for you to return. Don't take too long, or I'll have to come look for you and you don't want that, understood?" the guard barked at her.

"Yes, sir" Ishwari replied shakily as she hurried down to get some towels and a mop. When she returned the guard stopped her and informed her that the king was still in the room and the spill happened after he threw a glass of scotch across the room, the result of him being in a bad mood, and that it'd be best to get in, get the job done, and get out.

Ishwari turned to face the golden doors, swallowed her fear and knocked. "come in." she heard from inside. She opened the door to find the king sitting at his desk, looking down at a piece of paper with look of concentration on his face. He never even raised his head to look at her, acting as if he was still in the room alone. Ishwari started examining the room looking for the location of the spill. To the right of the room there was a tall book shelf with a bunch of books on it, all of different genres. In the corner there was a brown leather chair with a matching foot rest and a small table with a bottle of scotch and an empty glass. Straight across from her was another set of double doors, most likely where his bed resided. She then looked over to the other side of the room where pagan sat at his large oak wood desk, it was then Ishwari noticed a liquid running down the wall to the left of Min, on which the same wall hung a rather large picture of some familiar gothic buildings.

"London?" Ishwari unknowingly whispered to herself

"Excuse me?"

Iswari turned to find the emensily attractive man looking at her. He had on maroon suit pants and another white button up shirt, the blazer that matched his pants hanging on the chair he sat in. She felt her face slightly turning red at the kings glare and quickly apologized "I'm sorry your highness, I was just talking to myself. I'll get to work on that spill." She started walking towards spot on the wall that was covered in the scotch and she felt his eyes follow her as she did. She did her best to ignore what had just happened, with her back facing him she wasn't sure, but she felt like he was still watching her. After a minute of wiping the wall down, she heard him speak.

"Do you know anything about London?"

She was a bit startled that he actually spoke to her, and wasn't sure if it should be considered a good thing or a bad thing. Knowing it would be incredibly rude to ignore him, she slowly turned around to look at him. "I...I've read a few books about it."

He just continued to look at her before saying "hmm" and looking back down at his work.

She got a feeling inside of her, when he spoke out to her. A feeling she had felt before, every time Mohan talked to her, when they first fell in love. She couldn't understand it, but she wanted to hear his voice again. "Have you ever been there?" She waited for a reply, but he just continued staring down at his desk, as if he didn't hear her. She was about to turn back around to continue scrubbing when he spoke once more.

"I actually attended school there...at least until I was sixteen, then I moved back to Hong Kong, where I'm originally from" not once looking up from his desk. "That picture you're currently cleaning is an image of the school I went to."

Ishwari turned back to examine the picture more thoroughly, continuing to wipe the wall as she did. "Did you enjoy it there?"

"I enjoyed being away from my father more than anything, but yes, it was a pleasant place to be." He replied

"There are so many places I'd love to visit, London is defiantly one of them." she said with a smile on her face.

"Then why don't you? What is stopping you?" He asked curiously

"Kyrati tradition prevents me from leaving. In this country, it is thought that women belong in the kitchen, pleasing men, not out exploring the world." She explained

He finally looked up from his desk, a slightly angered look on his face. "That is so stupid! Woman are just as capable of doing anything men can. As far as Kyrati tradition goes, I am your king now and I say if you want to go out and see places, explore the world, then go for it, I won't be the one to stop you." his angered expression eased up and he tilted his head slightly "you speak english rather well for a Kyrati woman"

She looked at him, pleased that he had noticed her as a human and not just some woman, he was the first to ever actually see her the way she wanted to be seen. "I enjoy reading, but most of the books I have are in english, so I sorta taught myself." She stood up and walked towards the door in which she leaned the mop, and then proceeded back to the mess.

"You are insanely intelligent. I have never met any Kyrati like you before." The king told her with surprise in his voice.

"Thank you" she replied with a smile, beginning to blush even more. She finished up the mopping and being satisfied with the clean area, she headed towards the door.

"If you don't mind, may I ask your name?" He said watching her.

"Ishwari" she told him

"Well Ishwari, I eminently enjoyed your company and our conversation. Thank you for cleaning up my mess, I will have to throw scotch glasses across the room more often." He chuckled "You have a good night."

"You do the same my king." Ishwari said as she walked out of the door, where the guard who escorted her in, was waiting to escort her back out. He of course didn't walk her all the way back to the cabin, just to the palace door. She walked up to the cabin, with a smile she couldn't get rid of. Just like that, the man she had believed to be nothing but a monster became her hero. She had never met a man in her life, who saw women as his equal. Everything that Mohan was against, Pagan stood up for. He managed to make her feel needed, where as Mohan made her feel useless. When she reached the cabin she crawled into bed, still smiling, knowing that she would dream of the moment she had just shared with her king.

Chapter 8

She awoke the next morning before anybody else, eager for seven to come around so she could head back down to the palace. She had already washed up, and taken care of Ajay for the morning, as well as eat a small bagel for breakfast, and still had at least thirty minutes before she had to leave. With her spare time, she picked up the her London book and began reading it. Even though she already found London to be a very intriguing place, it had become even more so since last night. She wanted to learn every possible thing she could about it.

Eventually seven did come around and she headed with the others down for their days chores. She once again proceeded with her daily routines, but very distracted as she did. No matter what she did, she could not get him out of her mind. She'd give anything to hear his voice again, but there was nothing she could do, so she continued to tidy up the rooms just as she did everyday. When she at last made it to the hallway, began wiping everything down, Ajay still strapped to her back. Every now and then she would look up to see if by chance he'd be walking down the hallway, like he had before. she was almost to her final table, when she heard the voice she had longed to hear all day.

"Ishwari! How are you this evening?" Pagan said with an enthusiastic voice as he waked towards her.

"Oh, I'm doing fine" she said in a somewhat shy tone.

"Awesome, I'm glad to hear it." he said stopping beside her "and who might this be" he looked at Ajay and held out his index finger allowing the infant to wrap his hand around his finger.

"umm, this is my son, his name is Ajay" Ishwari said, surprised that Pagan seemed to okay with the baby.

"It is very nice to meet you young Ajay" he said with a smile. "Anyways, I'm in somewhat of a hurry, being king is a very busy occupation, so I'll see you later Ishwari, please enjoy the rest of your day" He turned and proceeded down the hall, heading towards his office.

Ishwari wanted to reply back to him, but for some reason, she was unable to make the words come out. She just watched as he disappeared out of her sight. She soon realized she had a deadline to meet and continued working at a moderate pace in order to finish on time. After she had done everything that was needed, she headed back up to her accommodation. When she reached her destination, she laid Ajay on the bed, pulling him out of the sling she carried him in, on her back, and carried him to the bath house with her. Once they had finished, she headed back for Ajay's nightly feeding. She laid her son in his bed, once done and started clearing off items that were laying on her bed, making room for herself. She threw the sling that Ajay was in onto the floor, and instantly she heard something hard hit.

She picked up the sling, which had made the sound. She started to feel it, wondering why a piece of cloth, smacked the floor harder than it should have. She soon felt something hard inside it and reached in to inspect what it was. Never did she expect to pull out a small key chain of the famous clock tower in London, known as Big Ben. Wrapped around the trinket was a note held on with a rubber band.

Ishwari,

I'm not sure why I did it, but after you left last night, I opened my desk drawer and pulled out this souvenir I brought back with me from London. I sat and just stared at it, completely lost in the conversion we had just had. It was then I realized that you would probably be much happier with it than I would. After all, I haven't looked it in ages. I honestly don't even know why I bought the thing, but I'm glad I did, because now I can give it to you. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy giving it to you.

~Pagan Min~

She sat reading and rereading the note she had just received. She could feel herself blushing as she read it. It wasn't much, but the fact that he had thought about her after she had left made her very happy on the inside. She hadn't really talked or seen him much, but from what she had witnessed, he didn't seem to be as cruel as everybody made him out to be. It was then she remembered that she is supposed to be a spy for the Golden Path and this was the perfect opportunity for her to try to get close to him. She turned and looked over to her notepad and grabbed it, deciding to write a letter, in response.

King Min,

I greatly appreciate the gift you have given me. It caught me by surprise and completely made my night. Now every time I think of London, I shall think of you. What was even more enjoyable was the fact you took time to write me. I love to read, and nobody has ever written to me before, not many of my fellow Kyrati people know how to write, and the few that do see it as a waste of time. Thank you for making me smile in a way no one has ever done before.

~ Ishwari

She looked over the note, being satisfied with it, she folded it up and wrote "King Min" on it. She then placed it inside of her book about London, where it would be safe until morning. She laid back holding the key chain up and examined it. Noting every little detail about it, until her eyes, started feeling heavy and she drifted off into sleep, still holding the kings gift close to her.

Chapter 9

The next day, as she headed into the palace, she discreetly broke away form the other maids and made her way towards Pagan's room. Once she reached the golden doors, she looked around and when she found no one was paying attention, she slid the note she wrote for him the previous night under the door. She then turned and headed back to where she was supposed to be, and Shanna began asking where she had went. Ishwari quickly came up with an excuse telling her that Ajay, spit up and she had to rush to the nearest bathroom. Believing her Shanna nodded and headed off to do her required duties.

Hours passed and it seemed that the hallway was currently the place for excitement for Ishwari. Though it wasn't guaranteed, Ishwari tended to anticipate that King Min would walk down it and talk to her as he had before. That day unfortunately ended with disappointment, she did not get the chance to see or hear from him at all, before she had to head back up to the servant quarters, in which she did her usual routine and after putting Ajay to bed, she began reading more of her London book before heading to sleep herself.

She was beginning to lose hope of actually becoming connected with the king as another day was almost over. She moved out into the hallway and started cleaning off the picture frames hanging on the walls and then moving to the table that required dusting. After she had finished with that table, she moved on to the next. She picked up the small, elephant figurine that sat on it, to begin wiping it, when she found a small folded up paper underneath of it, with the name "Ishwari" written on it. She instantly began to feel a solace feeling inside of her. As much as she wanted to open it up and read it then and there she decided to wait and read it later that night, sticking it in her small bag she carried around with her and continuing her work.

It felt like forever before she was all cleaned up, with fed and sleeping baby in his bed next to hers. Finally able to relax, Ishwari pulled up her bag and took out the note, she had waited hours to read.

Ishwari,

I am exhilarated that you enjoyed the gift, and I am even more so that you enjoy receiving letters, and writing them in return. I feel more people should write letters to each other. It's just something about putting thoughts on paper, rather than saying them aloud. I could just be me, but I feel like words flow more amply, when a person can actually write them out and think about what is being said. I'm so grateful I met you the other night. It's been forever since I've been able to have deep conversations like this. Most people I talk to are complete buffoons, whom of which don't understand a thing I am talking about, unless the subject happens to be about war, cars, which lady looks the best, ect... I greatly wish to have your company again, but only if you wish for the same in return. Feel free to reply and inform me if you are up for my company, if so, I may just be seeing you tomorrow. I hope you have a fantastic night.

~ Pagan Min ~

Ishwari was overwhelmed by the fact that the king of Kyrat himself enjoyed her company and had wished to spend more time with her. She wanted to see this opportunity as a win for the Golden Path, being able to learn possible deep secrets about the enemy's commander, but she had trouble thinking about that. She was unable to see Min as the enemy, now all she saw was a man who understood her as much as she understood him. She placed his note with the prior one she received, in the dresser underneath some of her clothes and then reached up to the top dresser and picked up the notepad which lay on it and began writing to her king.

King Min,

I am very happy that you request my company. I would also like to talk with you more, it's nice to speak with someone, who doesn't worry about tradition, and makes me feel like an actual person, not just some woman. I can't wait to converse with you more. Until then, take care.

~ Ishwari

Chapter 10

On the walk down to the palace, she walked up to Shanna and asked her for a favor. "Hey Shanna, do you think you could do something for me?"

"Depends on what it is, I suppose" She replied

"Well i'm not sure yet, but something may come up sometime today and I may need someone to keep an eye on Ajay for a few hours" Ishwari told her, in hopes that she'd agree to watch him.

"What could you possibly be doing that you will need a babysitter for a few hours?" Shanna questioned her.

"I'd rather not discuss it right now, if that's alright" Ishwari said slightly blushing.

Shanna saw through her disguise and a smile grew on her face "I bet I know what's going on. One of the guards asked you out, didn't they?"

"Like I said, I'd rather not talk about it, not yet anyways." Ishwari said, looking down at her feet.

Inside the palace, Ishwari headed to the golden doors in which behind laid the kings room and slid the note underneath, this time waiting until after she had gathered her cleaning supplies, not wanting to have to explain why she disappeared again. After she made sure it was fully slid under the door, she headed to her wing of the palace to begin cleaning. The time seemed to go by slower than usual, inside her built up anticipation of her possible meeting with the king.

Five eventually arrived and she was eager to head up to the cabin and get cleaned up in case he decided to send a guard for her. When she walked inside, she instantly noticed a package wrapped up laying on her bed with her name written on it. She walked up to it and opened it up to find a white dress with red flowers along the bottom of it, with it was a note.

So you can dress nice. I will see you around seven.

"It is a date!" Shanna who was also in the room with her shouted "I don't know what guard you're seeing, but he's going all out."

Ishwari just looked at her friend as she proceeded to change her baby's diaper and feed him before going to the bath house to fix herself up for her evening with King Min. When she returned back to the cabin, wearing the dress that was left for her, her fellow maids seemed to be more excited than she was. They began complimenting how well she looked in the new dress, and Shanna began helping her fix her hair in a nice manner. Shanna had just finished braiding Ishwari's hair, when there was a knock at the door.

Chapter 11

"I'll get it!" Shanna said jumping up really fast. "I need to get a good look at this guy." as she opened the door to find Pagan Min standing before her, dressed in a beautiful silk, pink suit. Shanna's eyes widened and she practically lost all her breath "K...King Min" she stuttered just staring at the man hundreds of people, including herself feared.

"Oh, I apologized, it would seem that I have caught you by surprise." He said, staring intently at Shanna "I assumed Ishwari informed you that I would be making an appearance tonight. Speaking of, is she here?"

"Yes I'm right here." Ishwari said walking towards the door, where Shanna stood looking at her, still in shock. In a way Ishwari herself was also very surprised. She had never expected him to show up himself, she figured he'd send a guard to retrieve her and then they would meet up at the palace.

"Oh, delightful!" the king said as he saw his escort.

When Ishwari reached the door, she turned and looked at Shanna "Ajay has already been fed and changed, so he should be okay for the rest of the night. Thank you so much for watching him, and I promise to explain everything tomorrow morning." She then turned to look at King Min, who was still grinning.

"Excellent, Shall we?" he held out his arm for Ishwari to hold on to.

She gently rested her arm on his, which despite his appearance felt very masculine. "What do you exactly have planned for tonight?" she asked looking up at him.

"That my dear, is a surprise." He answered back, continuing to look forward.

"Oh" she said looking down at the dirt path that was beneath her feet. She then heard him start to chuckle and she quickly turned her attention back to him.

"Don't worry about it, I've set up something nice and I think you'll enjoy yourself. If you end up not having a good time, then let me know and I will kindly escort you back to your accommodations, no harsh feelings"

"Yes King Min." Ishwari agreed, even though if she did end up not enjoying herself she wouldn't tell him, for fear of upsetting him.

"One more thing, I must ask you to not call me "King Min". Please just call me Pagan, I insist."

"Yes, Pagan" Iswari said happily, liking the way his name felt on her lips. Wanting to keep the conversation going, she continued speaking. "I'm sorry I didn't tell the other maids you were coming."

"That's alright, in a way I'm glad you didn't, it actually made me happy to see how surprised they were. It showed that you didn't brag about being able to spend quality time with me. You didn't let it go to your head. I have been out with people before, who showed off the fact that they were asked to dinner by someone with a high social status, like the one I carry. It made me feel used, as if they only cared about where I stood in the world, and not just about me."

"I can't imagine how hard that must be, not knowing if someone is interested in you, or just your money" she looked at him, catching a glimpse of dismal on his face.

"Yes, it is very hard indeed, but lets not talk about that right now, I wish for this evening to be enjoyable and pleasant, not discussing sob stories. Besides we have arrived"

Ishwari looked ahead to see the courtyard, which now had a gazebo set up in the center, with torches around it, completely lighting the area. There was a stereo inside that was playing soft music, a small table covered in a white table cloth, a bottle of champagne with two wine glasses, and lit candles. With her arm still securely resting on his, he escorted her inside, pulling out a chair and allowing her to sit down. She was amazed at how polite he was, she has never seen anybody use manners the way Pagan did. She had only ever read stories that had characters whom were gentlemen, and now there was one standing in front of her, pouring her, along with himself a glass of champagne.

He sat down across from her and smiled "I hope you like this type of environment I have set up for our evening. I wanted to try to make it as nice as I could.

"It's incredible, you didn't really have to do all this. No one has ever...I've never been treated this way before, and i'm very grateful."

"You've obviously never met the right person. In my opinion, a man should treat a lady with the utmost respect and put her happiness before his own. That being said, I'm probably sounding extremely cocky right now, but I promise you I don't mean to, if I do. Afterall I'm pretty sure I've already charmed you, from the way you blush every time you see me." Ishwari once again felt her face start to turn red from the comment he had just made and he began to laugh "There it is again, I actually kind of like it. It's cute"

It was then Laqueta and Eldora walked out with dinner. They placed the food on the table and lifted up the silver covers to reveal their meal. It was some sort of orange colored meat with rice on the side. Ishwari stared at it for a moment before asking what had been placed in front of her. Pagan looked up at her. "That my dear is called general tso's chicken. It has an amusing taste to it, slightly spicy. Personally it's one of my favorites" Ishwari picked up the chopsticks that lay next to the plate and attempted to use them, but it was without success. Pagan seemed to notice her struggle and laughed "I'm assuming you have never used chopsticks before." He got up and walked over to her, placing one hand on her shoulder and with the other, took her hand into his. "You hold them like this" he positioned her fingers around the wooden sticks and showed her which finger to keep steady and which finger to move. With a little practice, she eventually got the hang of it and they continued their meal.

"I think I've read about this dish before in a book about China. Did you commonly eat this where you came from? she asked him

He pulled a napkin up to his mouth and swallowed the food he was eating before he spoke "Yes, it was one of the few foods I actually enjoy from my country. I tend to be a picky eater so there's not much I like from my homeland. My absolute favorite is crab ragoon, perhaps I can have it prepared if we decide to do this again sometime."

"I'd enjoy that." Ishwari smiled "So do you have any family?"

"Yuma is the closest thing to family I have. We're not related by blood, but we grew up as brother and sister. Her parents died when she was still young and my father, being a friend of her parents, took her in"

"And what about your parents?" She asked. Pagan's face got a look, as if he remembered something he didn't want to. Noticing that she had brought up a sore subject, she tried to take it back. "I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to"

"No, it's fine. I want to tell you, I just hope it doesn't change the way you see me. My father was a drug lord, and his profession drew in the wrong crowd, causing my mother to be shot and killed. I won't lie, I was a mama's boy growing up, and seeing my mother killed in cold blood, well it was a hard time for me. I didn't take it well at all. I remained angry at my father for years, until I couldn't take it anymore and I killed him. I inherited his fortune and that is how I ended up with my own personal army."

"That's sad, I'm sorry" Ishwari said with sympathy.

"Please, don't be. In a way I'm grateful because it made me into the man I am today. Though I do still miss my mother very much."

They continued talking for a while, about any and every thing. Pagan told her all about the different countries he's visited in his life time and which ones he recommends to go to, they talked about their beliefs and past. They even talked about how ridiculous some of his guards looked, before they knew it two hours had passed. Pagan noted that it was starting to get late and that he should return Ishwari back home getting up and offering her his arm.

"Before I walk you back up to that cabin, I'd like to show you something" He said helping her up.

"What is it?" She asked curiously

"You'll see" He said leading her around to the other side of the palace. He didn't lead her far before stopping. Together from the top of the mountain, they looked over the winding road that ran down to the fortress. She could see a bunch of tiny lights that lit it up. Past the fortress, she could see small glimmers of light, most likely bonfires in nearby villages. In the distance she could hear the sounds of a waterfall. They both remained quiet, just taking in the sight. After a while Pagan began to speak. "Kyrat is a beautiful place, it's peaceful. I'd love to learn as much about it as I can. I hope next time we have an evening together you can tell me more about it. My intentions may seem bad, but I really do want to help this country achieve the potential I know it's capable of. Would you be willing to help me with my goal Ishwari?"

Ishwari looked up at Pagan, who's blonde hair was shimmering in the moonlight. She still found it hard to believe that this man was the monster everyone made him out to be. She nodded "I'll do what ever I can to help"

He smiled back at her "Thank you" not looking away from her dark brown eyes. He continued to stare at her, as if lost in a trance. Finally he spoke "Let's go ahead and get you back up to the cabin so you can get some rest" He turned and led her all way back up, keeping quiet and taking in the final moments he had with her for the night. When they reached the door of the cabin, he grabbed her hands and turned to face her. "I really hope you enjoyed this evening as much as I did"

"I did, without a doubt. Like I said, no one has ever treated me the way you did tonight, and quiet frankly it's something I could get use to."

He smiled "I'm glad to hear it." It was then he leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. Ishwari was a bit surprised, but had desperately hoped that it would happen. When she began kissing back, Pagan slowly let go of her hands and grabbed a hold of her hips, pulling her closer to him. She then opened her mouth to invite him in and he took the invitation, sliding his tongue into her mouth and intertwining it with hers. He let out a low moan and pushed her back up against the wall of the cabin, resting one hand on it, while he kept the other on her hip. They continued their session for a good minute, before he finally released her, looking deep into her eyes. "Good Night Ishwari." he said before he turned and headed back down to the palace.

Ishwari quickly walked inside, being very quiet since everyone one was already asleep. She changed into her night clothes, also having to change her panties, for they were now very wet from her make out session with Pagan. She crawled into her bed, feeling better than she had in a long time. She licked her lips, still tasting her king on them, eventually closing her eyes and drifting off.