Chapter 36 Players and Games

Kiran was so close to snapping she wasn't sure whether to call in pathetic or insane. Her hands were twitching, her jaw was clenched so tight that there were visible signs, and her eyes were so hard that you could swear they wouldn't have been broken by diamonds.

All of that was visible from where Layla was standing a good thirty feet away, hiding behind a wall. Yet another testament to how obvious it was.

"Go fetch me some more wine."

Of course, the royal girl- Layla vaguely remembered her name as Aurera- didn't seem to notice, or just didn't care. The sparkle in her eyes every time she gave Kiran an order told Layla is was the latter.

Layla was just as irritated at seeing Kiran have to serve such a prissy, pompous, selfish bitch of a woman. Kiran, who took her in despite her less than stellar introduction. Kiran, who always seemed to put someone else before herself- whether she realized it or not. Kiran, who cared more about whether her punch was strong enough than perfectly taming her mane of hair. It was possible Layla was slightly biased, but all of it still held a certain degree of truth.

Layla didn't like seeing such a strong and independent woman serve someone so decidedly not. It grated at her nerves in the worst possible ways. Maybe it was because she could so easily draw a parallel between herself and Kiran. Layla, who despite all of her thoughts, adhered very strongly to morals, having to serve Ames who had absolutely none.

It just made her blood boil to see the woman who took her in, who she could very well say saved her, be forced to obediently serve such an obnoxious woman. At least some of that overwhelming rage, Layla knew was directed at Ramses.

After all, he was the reason Kiran was doing this. He was the one Kiran was doing this for. He was the one who made the mistake of bedding such a woman. It was his fault and yet Kiran was paying for it. She always did. Ramses was the reason Kiran ended up having to kill Ames- she had heard their conversation before he led her away, Ramses was the reason Kiran had come to her to complain and cry, Ramses was the reason Kiran was having to do this.

Ramses had never liked Layla, and now the feeling was mutual, and it would stay mutual until Ramses fixed the situation. Layla couldn't continue to be mad at him after that. He was, after all, the person with the biggest chance of successfully convincing Kiran to stay.

Layla turned around, taking her eyes off the pompous royal bitch, and walked away.

'You better do something, Ramses, or I will.'

Kiran sighed, trying to will her body to relax as she put the pitcher of wine on the tray. Being frustrated wouldn't help her and it certainly wouldn't help Ramses. Even if that awful fucking bitch was treating her like a damn slave. Kiran felt her blood boil at the very thought and growled as her body tensed up yet again.

It was just so hard not to be mad at the treatment she was receiving. Ever with her aunt, Kiran could at least snark back- and she did, a lot, as it seemed to her like her only defense against the woman- but with Aurera, she couldn't do that. It felt so demeaning. Especially for Kiran, who was so used to the upper class treatment she received in her time before she ended up here. Maybe Kiran would look back on all of it and call it humbling, but at the moment, it was really just infuriating.

Kiran balanced the tray as she walked back to Aurera.

She stepped gracefully over Hasina's outstretched foot as she did so, meeting the maid's failing smirk with a small lip-twitch of triumph. It was always important to acknowledge the lesser victories when you were having a hard time. Especially when the hard time you were dealing with had to do with a bitch who was exercising her right to order you around like a slave.

"Hurry up with that wine!" The- apparently naturally- honeyed voice of Aurera was starting to sound less like a sweet drip and more like a screeching banshee. Then again, it was possible Kiran was slightly biased. Slightly.

"Yes, my lady." Kiran answered as she gracefully poured the wine from the pitcher into the small cup and handed it to Aurera. Said woman was lounging in a way that- while it looked like sexy incarnate- couldn't have possibly been comfortable. Unfortunately, the moment she took pondering this left Kiran susceptible to be shoved by Hasina.

All at once, The pitcher and tray toppled over as Kiran just barely managed to stay standing herself. The burgundy liquid spilled over Aurera, turning her white silken gown an unsightly red. It was only Kiran's quick reflexes that kept the tray and pitcher from falling and injuring the obnoxious woman. Part of her was unsure of if that was really lucky, though. It was slightly satisfying to hear Aurera's indignant shriek at her makeover, courtesy of the wine. Still, Kiran registered that she didn't move out of that pose that she had been holding- laying on her side with her hip and chest showing off impressive curves while she propped her chin on her hand, her bare legs crossing nicely.

"Is there a problem?"

It was then that Kiran knew why. She turned slowly, with a sudden loss of any breath that had been filling her lungs. Ramses. There stood the great general that she had been trying so hard not to disgrace despite the humiliation she was having to endure. He stared on with cold dual-colored eyes- reminding her slightly of when they first met. Her anxious blue eyes met his own gold and brown ones.

"She poured wine on me!" Aurera's horrid voice intervened, "You should have her whipped for such a crime!"

Strangely, it wasn't Aurera's comment about her would-be punishment that affected Kiran. No, it was the realization of what was going on. The pose Aurera was in wasn't natural, and Hasina's making her spill the wine on her lady hadn't been an error in judgement. The answer felt like a slap to the face. Aurera had played her. Still, even with that realization there was a burning shame in Kiran's stomach for letting it happen. Kiran was forced to look away from Ramses' eyes before the shame leaked into her own.

She really should have realized what was going on, but she had let herself become too secure, too comfortable in her own abilities and Aurera's incompetence. Aurera didn't appear to be incompetent at all, though. Pathetic- with her incessant whining over Ramses like a dog for a bone- she was, and she certainly wasn't smart, but one didn't have to be smart to be cunning. Kiran should have known that, especially considering who she had for an aunt.

Kiran mentally heaved a heavy sigh- she had been played like a freaking fiddle. Alright, she would concede, it was her own fault for letting her guard down. The humiliation that followed would be a hard lesson learned.

"I apologize," Kiran turned her head to look Ramses in the eyes again, "it was my fault this happened and I will be willing to accept any punishment." The difficulty was less in the words than it was in suppressing the feeling of her dying ego.

Ramses face was like unwavering steel, but his eyes told a different story. He was unsure. Perhaps it could even be called unwilling. Maybe at another time Kiran would have found it endearing. Not at this moment. At this moment a decision needed to be made for the sake of Ramses' future. She had no idea when she became so invested in seeing him become king, but she had and she would protect that future any way she could- within reason. It was then that she turned her gaze to Seti.

As his hazel eyes met her blue ones, there was a silent exchange and he immediately understood. After all, they both had the same wish for Ramses. Seti closed his eyes for a moment and heaved a silent sigh.

"I'll deal with her." Seti spoke, walking up to Kiran and grabbing her arm in a way that wasn't painful, but still made her feel mortifyingly like a child being scolded. "Lord Ramses, Lady Aurera." Seti bowed to the two royals before walking, dragging Kiran along with him. Kiran childishly ignored Seti's apologetic look in attempt to save any last bit of her pride as she looked back over her shoulder.

Kiran watched as Aurera snaked her arm through Ramses' and began to walk with him down the hall in the opposite direction. But before they were out of sight, Kiran observed Aurera look over her own shoulder to meet her eyes. Then, she gave a mocking closed lip smile before turning back around and clinging to Ramses arm tighter as she leaned her head against him.

The burning feeling was back.

"Hmm...maybe I should get my sister before she causes too much trouble."

Extra- To Be King

Kiran held a deep admiration for Ramses before it could have been considered love by any stretch. She held an admiration for his military prowess and diplomatic acuity. In fact, Kiran had held this admiration before meeting the man.

"What are you reading?" Someone asked, Kiran didn't really know their name.

"The story of a great Egyptian King." Kiran answered, not looking up as she flipped to the next page.

"Ramses II?" The person asked. Kiran looked up at them with an annoyed look.

"No." Kiran said resolutely. "Ramses II's father was the one who laid the groundwork for him." She finally looked up to face the person. "I prefer to praise the one who built the empire, rather than the one who ruled it."

"But Ramses didn't actually build-"

"Yeah, yeah. It's a metaphor, get over it."

Did anyone even really remember that Kiran's a bit of an ancient history nut? Honestly, I think that even I forgot about it for a while.

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