Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 240: Punishment Of The Tongue

Chapter 240: Punishment Of The Tongue

When the two conversing women glanced in her direction, their faces turned pale, as if unaware that they had spoken a bit too loudly to draw attention. Not just Samantha, but almost everyone present in the Boudoir was gazing at them, and that alone was enough to leave them feeling uncomfortable. Straightening up their shoulders and finding words that can save them from this mess, the other one named Elizabeth tried to speak,

"Sam..."

"Ladies," Samantha interrupted, her voice clear and assertive as she said, "I may have been a Courtesan once, but that is not all I am, nor do I owe anyone an explanation concerning how I lived my life. In case you’ve forgotten the reason why you’re here in the first place, it is because I am now the future Queen of this Kingdom, and I shall have your respect."

Not just the women, but everyone present was taken aback by Samantha’s confident response. Though her voice was low and assertive, every inch of her words sliced through the pride of the two women still sitting on the settee. They exchanged uncomfortable glances, clearly unprepared by her defiance.

"Please do not misjudge our comments." Elizabeth still dared to defend herself, her voice expressing her deign, but she made it sound as though she was being victimized. "You may have beauty, but can you handle a Kingdom? It is normal for me to be concerned about what will happen in the future days to come. You cannot use that against me."

"I agree that I may not have been born into nobility, but I have learned more about life’s hardships and strengths than you’ll ever know." She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes, "I have my own virtues and intelligence that brought the King to me, regardless of how awful you try to picture my existence... and right in front of me."

"We didn’t mean to be rude, Samantha."

"It’s Queen Samantha." She corrected firmly, arms folded, "and I expect you to treat me with the respect I deserve. Are we clear?"

The ladies, chastised and humbled, immediately lowered their eyes, unable to maintain their haughty facade. Lucy was on the verge of clapping her hands but had to stop herself. She had seen this coming but she never knew she’d enjoy watching Samantha make her comeback with such radiating confidence, whilst she wiped off the invisible tears from the corner of her eyes, feeling genuinely proud.

"You two are also here to honor my presence at my wedding, am I right?" Questioned Samantha, "well I will no longer be needing your fraudulent services. Lucy, kindly see them out, it takes one bad egg to ruin the whole crate, talk more of two, and I don’t want that."

"Yes, My Lady." Lucy bowed before approaching the two women whose faces were deeply flushed with embarrassment, humiliation taking over, and they could not contain their glare as they rose to her feet.

"Are you seriously kicking us out for a matter so minimal? You are barely married to His Majesty and you act like this?" Lady Penelope shook her head, as if disappointed, and Samantha, who had returned her attention to the dresses, was forced to look away and answer the women who were yet to leave her Boudoir.

"If I remember correctly this is MY Boudoir, and I have the right to decide who stays or leaves." She answered as a matter-of-fact, "you call it minimal whereas I’d like to see you stand and have someone refer to you as a whore, or have them criticize your background. I bet it won’t be a pleasant thing to hear, would it? Please take your leave while you still can, or I shall send for the guards outside to take you out themselves."

"How incorrigible!" Commented Lady Elizabeth, and they both grabbed their bags. Stealing glances at the remaining lady’s who had found something sweet to gist about when they’re gone, it only infuriated both women, their anger rising to their chest. Sending glowering stares at the lown Samantha’s direction, they exited the Boudoir.

"So what if you become Queen?" Said Lady Elizabeth who had exited with Penelope, but she allowed her anger to take control, and that made her turn around to leave Samantha with a few words. "You are a Courtesan, nonetheless, that leaves you impure and unsuitable of becoming the next Queen. No good will come in your reign, and I can vouch for it, let’s leave Penelope."

"That bit–" Lucy was about to cuss, but Samantha had stopped her from saying anything refuting.

"Do not waste your saliva on people like them, let it go." Samantha calmed Lucy who didn’t like the idea of them leaving after saying something so insulting to Samantha’s face, but it seemed, the matter wasn’t over.

As Penelope and Elizabeth left the boudoir, a force so powerful that they could hardly resist its control, sent them to their knees. It elicited a strangled cry from their lips when they were made to bow with their head touching the ground and their hands on each side. It happened so fast that they were unable to understand why they had been placed in this position. They tried to move, but as though an invisible energy was keeping them still, they could not, and it frightened them.

Before they could get a chance to ask what was going on, their hearts stopped beating when they heard a sonorous voice question them.

"What did you say to my wife?"

As if everyone had sensed the foreboding tension looming outside, they stepped out of the Boudoir to have a look. When Samantha and Lucy equally stepped out to see what the problem was, they were both stunned to see Ivan standing in front of the two women who had been made to bow before him. He wasn’t smiling, there was a silent fury burning in his crimson-red eyes, threatening to show no mercy, and a sight so ominous made the onlookers shudder, and some of them already felt pity for the two women.

"Speaking about the future Queen in that manner... who knows what will happen?" One of the lady’s whispered, but was instantly hushed by the rest.

Penelope’s eyes dilated in horror when she guessed the owner of that voice. Elizabeth had frozen up as well, and before they could explain themselves, they heard him speak.

"You were given the privilege to step into my Palace, into my wife’s private dressing room and what did we get in return? You spit venom at her face?" Ivan’s eyes momentarily darkened as he recalled what he just heard these women say to his beautiful wife.

"How dare you??"

"Ivan?" The vampire King, who was close to spilling blood without giving an ounce on who was watching, could feel his temper automatically calm upon hearing the euphonious voice that belonged to his little lamb. His hostile eyes, which wanted to tear these two women apart, switched into pure warmth and concern, whilst he looked up to see Samantha gazing at him, clearly surprised.

"My love." As though the two women in front of him were ghosts he could not see, he walked right past their middle, and his mind, which was still craving revenge for his wife, made him step on the fingers of both women who screamed in pain, startling everyone, but Ivan turned deaf ears as he approached his little lamb.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, his hands already cupping her face in his palm, and Samantha immediately grew flustered as he was displaying his tenderness in front of everyone. The once raging vampire, who looked like he could not be calmed until he dealt with the ones who had insulted his Queen, was immediately all over his wife, as if she had quenched his fury by merely calling his name.

"I’m fine, but... you’re here?" She asked, and Ivan answered with a simple nod before turning his eyes to the women who silently sobbed in the position he had rendered them in. Their fingers he mercilessly stepped on, trembled in pain, and they were unable to soothe it in their unmoved state.

"I missed you." Turning his attention to his soon-to-be wife, a doting smile curved his lips, "I wanted to make sure you were comfortable, as this is your first time but as expected, some folks chose to present themselves as... unremarkable women."

"But how did–"

"I came just in time, didn’t I?" He offered her a smile only she could see, and then he returned his stern gaze to the women who were still on their knees.

"Tell me this, is it considered an abomination to speak ill of your Queen? If it is, what is the punishment for badmouthing your only Queen? In her presence at that!" He asked the two women who could not raise their heads from the floor. They were both sweating out of fear, adrenaline rush coursing through their nerves, but before either of them could answer him, they heard a sharp click! As if someone just unsheathed a knife from its scabbard.

"They don’t know? Would either of you like to answer?"

"I believe the punishment is severing the tongue of the accused, so they will never have the ability to bad-mouth in the future." Answered Lucy, and upon hearing this, the two women began to plead instantly.

"Please your Majesty! We never meant a word we said! We were out of our minds for thinking we could speak ill of the Queen! We don’t know what came over us! Have mercy!!" Penelope pleaded for her tongue, and Elizabeth readily followed suit.

"You’re.... Elizabeth, right? The Wife of a courtier." Ivan’s eyes moved to the second woman, and the corner of his lips tilted into a wicked smile.

"Speaking of background, wasn’t your Father a cobbler who lived in those smaller villages, attending to people’s shoes?" He asked, and a murmur of gasp resonated within the corridor, "you certainly can’t forget the skills you were honed with from a tender age, regardless of your newfound position. It just happens that my lovely wife here would like to have her shoes maintained. Should I rip out your tongue? Or would you like to clean the Queen’s feet? Honestly speaking it sounds more like a privilege than a punishment, especially for a cobbler’s daughter." He hinted.

The two women could not refute or argue, and Elizabeth, whose background had been revealed, wished for the ground to open so the Earth would swallow her, but even if it did, His Majesty would not let her leave unscathed.

All of a sudden, Ivan snapped his fingers, "Lucy, find me two towels, and a bowl of water, they are going to clean underneath my wife’s feet."