8. a broken hand instead of a busted nose?

Draco pov “One more thing. If his nose was broken, how did it heal so soon?” the king questioned. “He is human. He can’t possibly heal himself.”  There was a pregnant pause. Was I supposed to say that a red-haired angel healed me? I continued to contemplate on whether I should answer that, but from the way he asked the question, I felt as if it was not addressed to me.  A slave doesn’t speak except when asked to, right? “Papa. I saw him bleeding profusely and I just couldn’t leave without helping him.” The girl replied, making my heart flutter.  It was her! It was her! The one who healed my busted nose. If not for her, I would have most probably lost a lot more blood. Maybe lose consciousness, and perhaps have a misshapen nose.  “Sasha. What did I tell you about wandering off away from your quarters?”  The stern voice of her mother, the queen questioned. I could feel the atmosphere getting tense. “Uh...that I shouldn’t wander off?” her voice was kind of timid. “But mama, he was barely conscious..... and I just couldn’t leave without helping him.....” she trailed off. “Sasha... Sasha.....I hope your soft nature doesn’t land you in trouble one day. I don’t want you to be weak. You will be the future queen! Just start acting like it.” The queen sounded disappointed.  So helping others was considered being weak? “From now on, there would be no need to do that Sasha.” The king told her. “Volga! If you hurt him, it is your responsibility to heal him.” That was a royal order. “Yes, your majesty.” He replied. More like muttering under his breath. He certainly didn’t sound happy.  Umm....so was this a good thing? I was not sure. He didn’t tell Volga not to hurt me. Well....... I better be super careful not to mess things up. I just hope I don’t get punished because Volga doesn’t seem happy about that last order. “Sasha. You are the princess. And you are engaged to Lord Killian. He certainly wouldn’t want his bride to be to engage with a human slave.” The queen reprimanded. “Mom.... I just healed his wound so that he wouldn’t drop dead on the spot. Nothing else.” I could feel her rolling her eyes.  “Fine! But no more wandering off young lady! Or else I will have to make sure you are being watched by a couple of your guards at all times.” The queen replied sternly. Wow. This queen is strict.  “Good morning your highness,” a voice said from behind me. Wait. I’ve heard that voice before. That was the one who spoke to the Volga earlier. He had encouraged Volga to ‘show me hell.’  “Good morning to you too, Lord Killian.” The king him. That was lord Killian! The one betrothed to the angel who saved my life? And perhaps the future king! Oh I’m doomed.  “You may leave Volga.” The king ordered. “And make sure the slave gets a proper set of clothes.” He added. “Yes. Your highness.” His reply was more like a grunt. He didn’t want to give me new clothes. But now he had no choice. Gesturing me to follow him, he took quick steps towards the exit of the grand room. “But your highness, why does he need new clothes? He is just a slave.”  I heard Lord Killian say as we walked out of the grand room. Oh boy. I was right. This guy is hell-bent on making my life miserable. If this guy becomes the ruler of this place, I was almost certain that it would be the end of people like me. I better find a way out before that.  “He has earned it.” was the reply I heard just as we got away from the earshot. I sighed inwardly, relieved that at least the present king had shown some kind of tenderness towards me. But I better learn how to protect myself. My future in this place looked gloomy. But what could I possibly do? These freaks possessed magical powers and could do unimaginable things with just a snap of their fingers. “Slave!” Volga’s harsh roar startled me, bringing me back to reality. He looked irritated and fed up with me. Well, the feeling was mutual.  “Today you must water the plants in the palace garden and trim them.” He told me, as he handed me a pair of scissors and led me out of the palace.  As I followed Volga out of the palace, I saw some people practising sword fighting. I was amazed by their skills. Never in my life had I seen people training like this. It was mesmerising to watch them gracefully dodge each other’s advances while creating counterattacks.  I watched in amazement as pairs and groups trained together. I suppose this was their training ground. But I was rudely interrupted by a tight slap on my face. “I said trim these extensions from the hedges and make sure you water all the plants. I don’t want to see a single leaf out of place. The whole garden must be cleaned and cleared by the time I come back.” Volga was pissed off.  “Oh, and I am giving you three hours. I will come back by then. And the. You will have to make lunch for everyone.” He added and left me in the garden.  Sighing, I looked at the overgrown hedges. Well, let’s just try my best. I started to trim the hedges, hoping that I would finish in time. Three hours huh? My stomach grumbled in protest. But I bit my lips and continued to work, ignoring the pangs of hunger I felt.  “I must do this right.” I kept grumbling to myself, trying to stay motivated. But it was hard. The work was tiring and the lack of a proper breakfast was not helping in any way. I trimmed the hedges and swept the leaves before going to get the water hose so that I could water the plants. As I walked, my eyes once again landed on the skilled swordsmen.  “Wow!” I murmured to myself awed by their skills. I wonder if I could do that. I made sure that I watched their moves as I watered the plants, studying how they held their swords.  “That looks fun,” I muttered as I aimed the hose at the plants.  By the time Volga had returned, I had managed to do all the work he had asked me to do, which I was grateful for. I humbly stayed at one side as he inspected the garden which I expected him to come back pleased by my work as usual.  But to my surprise, he glared at me, furious and unhappy.  “What is this?” he growled loudly.  Startled by his sudden outburst, I looked at what he was pointing to. He was pointing at a little twig that was poking out of the thick hedge. I was shocked. It was just a little piece of twig for heaven’s sake. I had done a pretty good job! But that didn’t matter to him. He wanted everything to be perfect. Does this mean I will be punished?  “I hate weaklings who cannot do the work right! I want to blow your nose again for this but the king has forbidden me from doing that. Show me your hand!” he ordered loudly. Gulping and shaking in fear, I held out my trembling hand, not knowing what he was going to do. He took out what looked like a metal rod from under the sleeve of his loose robe and held it up. Oh, he was going to hit me with that. So was I going to get a broken hand instead of a busted nose? I winced and squeezed my eyes shut, preparing myself for the stinging pain I would feel once it made contact with my skin.  “Ah!” I let out a small scream involuntarily and my eyes flew open, widening with the shock I felt. Oh, the pain was unbearable! He continued to hit my hand and with each lash, I felt a burning pain. My eyes stung with tears which blurred my vision. I couldn’t stop my painful cries and gasps after each lash. Once again, I squeezed my eyes shut, making the gathered tears roll out of my eyes. Oh that hurt like hell! “Enough Volga!” ordered an angelic voice, to my relief, making Volga finally stop.  I could feel my hand trembling uncontrollably. As I slowly opened my eyes, my first instinct was to look at my poor hand which was now red and swollen.  “What is going on?” she asked.  “Princes.....I..... he didn’t do a good job...”  Volga was stuttering? But that didn’t matter to me half as much as the pain in my hand.  “Heal him now!” she ordered. I heard a sigh before Volga placed his rough hand on my red one and muttered some words unknown to me. When he was done, I felt better in an instance but that didn’t remove the feeling of being inferior to them from my heart.  “From what I see he has done a pretty good job Volga. This punishment was unnecessary. Do you know punishing slave without reason is forbidden?” she questioned. I wanted to smile at her and show her my gratitude. I wanted to kiss her feet for being such a life saviour. But I kept my eyes fixed on the ground like I was told to.  “Volga must have a reason to do it.” Said a male voice, which now I know belonged to Lord Killian. “Now come with me, princess. We are here to get to know each other. I don’t want a lowly human slave to ruin it.” He practically spat the last sentence. I heard her sigh in response.  “Volga, have you arranged new clothes for him? If you haven’t, do it now. Or else I will complain to my father.” She threatened.  That’s it. I owe my life to this girl.