The Childish Games
When Cassandra felt she had stayed in their sight for long enough, she took her basket back and left
without adding a word. Ignoring all the stares on her, she only went a bit further away, into another
garden, with a wider sample of vegetation and an artificial lake and fountain. There, she dipped her
bare feet in the shallow water, humming calmly.
Her plan was so simple, yet she wondered if itâd work. Most of the concubines had watched when she
washed her hands and saw the blue marks that wouldnât go away. Of course, it was on purpose.
Cassandra had washed laundry countless times before. She knew what colorants were the hardest to
wash away, especially without any kind of soap. If she wanted, she could have gotten rid of it, but this
was all part of her plan.
First, have the concubines and Princesses believe her story. Even if they didnât believe her at first, the
odd blue colour she couldnât seem to wash off her fingers and nails should have planted a seed of
doubt in their minds. That was all she needed. Just a little bit of doubt, ignorance mixed with a bit of
fear, and time for it to grow inside a narrow mind.
As she rested on her own by the lake, she was surprised to see three young women come to her side.
She frowned a bit. Those women seemed to be sneering between themselves while glancing her way.
Two of them had a red dress and only the one walking ahead had a pink one. She had seen those
women before. All of them were among the Fifth Princeâs concubines. How many did he have exactly?
âConcubine Cassandra, do you mind if we accompany you for a bit?â
Cassandra shook her head. Since those women were on the same level as her, she didnât have to
show any extra politeness, but she shouldnât be too rude either. Kareen had already scolded her many
times for acting too submissive when she didnât need to, and Cassandra was diligently trying to apply
her advice even more now that she was accounted for as a high-ranked concubine.
âWe were worried youâd feel unwelcome over there, with such a crowd. It must be suffocating to face so
many women at the same time,â said the one in a pink dress.
âItâs fine,â simply replied Cassandra.
She was wary of those women. She had no idea why they would want anything to do with her, the
newly brought concubine. If it was merely out of curiosity, it would be fine. All three of them sat within a
reasonable distance of her but, judging from the places they took, it was obvious the one with a pink
dress was the leader of the trio.
âIt is such a blessing to finally see a Concubine to the Third Prince. His Highness must be delighted to
have you.â
Cassandra couldnât help but wonder if her pregnancy was known to everyone yet. Unlike some of the
other women, she wasnât exposing her baby bump. Back in the previous garden, some of the
concubines were so proud of their pregnancies, they were showing off their big bellies. On the contrary,
Cassandra wasnât exposing as much skin. Her dress was fully covering her stomach, protecting it from
the sun and obvious stares. Not all the concubines had been there at the feast last night, but
Cassandra knew the chances were high that the news of her bearing the War Godâs child had probably
spread already.
âThanks.â
She didnât want to get too friendly with other concubines. None of them could have been there by
mistake. You couldnât stay a Princeâs concubine, residing in the Imperial Palace, if you couldnât take
care of yourself first. No woman in this place was as innocent as they looked.
For a few minutes, the three women pretended to talk between themselves, about trivial matters such
as the weather and their Princeâs latest concerns, but Cassandra knew they were observing her. She
pretended not to know and soaked her feet, ignoring them.
âLady Cassandra, what do you think of this?â
Wondering what topic they had finally decided to share with her, she turned her head to them. The
woman in a pink dress had a cunning smile Cassandra didnât like.
âMy servant made a mistake this morning. I thought I should punish her, but my friends thought I should
be nice to her and let it go. She has been a very nice servant of mine for a while butâ¦recently, Iâve
been thinking sheâs acting too much in front of my dearest Prince. I think maybe the little swine is trying
to seduce oneâs Prince. What do you think?â
Cassandra frowned a bit. It may have seemed like a trivial matter, but her words were heavier than they
seemed. Was she hinting at how a servant or a slave, like Cassandra, had dared to seduce a Prince?
She obviously had no idea. Cassandra sighed.
âI wonder why you should punish her. Isnât The Fifth Prince the one to have many concubines? If he
can split his love so easily, you should be used to His Highness welcoming one more every once in a
while, right?â
The concubineâs expression turned sour.
Cassandra was clear, though. She wouldnât let this woman imply they were in the same situation or that
Cassandra had stolen anyoneâs property. She couldnât compare her Prince with his womanizer of a
brother. Basically anyone could become the Fifth Princeâs concubine, with a good body and some
sense of seduction. No wonder those women were jealous to death and eager to start fights at any
given occasion. 3
âAt least she isnât some slave,â said one of those in a red dress, pretending to talk to her peer.
âIt has to be difficult, you know. We should even pity her,â said the other one. âI mean, the Imperial
Family can be so wilful. If itâs only a slave or a servant, they can be wiped out without blinking and no
one will even remember them.â
Cassandra ignored them, a bit annoyed. Were all concubines so petty? So childish? Did they think they
could toy with her? She wasnât a slave anymore, so why would she listen to this nonsense? Seeing
Cassandra wasnât flinching, the concubine in the pink dress clicked her tongue. She thought she had
found easy prey, but this wasnât as fun as she had thought.
âYou know, itâs been done before. Servants taken as concubines and forgotten the next day. Sent to
feed the dragons.â
âReally?â said Cassandra, her voice remaining very calm.
Her experience as âdragon foodâ probably was not the one they had imagined at all. Actually,
Cassandra smiled, remembering her first encounter with both Kairen and his dragon. Seeing her like
this, the concubine became red, annoyed at her passive response. Wasnât this bitch going to worry at
all! The War God wasnât anywhere in sight, so how could she keep acting so mighty! She wasnât even
that pretty!
âWell, slaves are meant to be tough after all.â
Once again, Cassandra ignored her. She couldnât be affected by such a petty attitude. Actually, she
thought this concubine was acting like an annoying flea, trying to bother her with baseless sentences
and a mighty attitude.
She couldnât be bothered by that, or she wouldnât be able to withstand one more day here. After dipping
her toes in the freshwater some more, turning a blind ear to their nonsense, Cassandra stood up,
brushing her hair a bit. To her surprise, the concubine stood up too and stepped closer.
âNow that I see you up closeâ¦â
Cassandra did not like this woman being so close. Aside from her Prince and his family, she hadnât
gotten used to anyone being so close. She took a step back and the concubine in pink smiled,
mistakenly thinking she was afraid.
âIfâ¦one was to disappearâ¦mysteriouslyâ¦I wonder how long it would take one to worry?â
Was this woman an idiot? Or did she think Cassandra was that weak? To be scared by such a childish
threat?
Cassandra had learned to be afraid of the Imperial Family. Whether it was a Princess or a Prince, she
would have definitely been scared. But a concubine was only a woman, like her.
âAre you threatening me?â she asked.
Her calm but cold voice was sending a warning. Only the two women in the red dresses understood
and carefully stepped back, looking pale and worried. Truth was, Cassandra herself wasnât scary at all,
but her calm and confidence in this situation was something their instincts couldnât underestimate.
Unfortunately, the other Concubine missed that warning, smiling like a cat once again. It was as if she
had found an easy prey to toy with, and would play until she had enough. Only, Cassandra wasnât in
the mood to be playing at all.
âWhy would I threaten you, Lady Cassandra? We are both concubines, after all. It would be a shame if
anything happenedâ¦by accident.â
Cassandra hated that word. No accident ever happened in the Imperial Palace. As the other woman
kept stepping forward, she kept retreating, closer and closer to the pond, until her heels were touching
the water,
âDo you thinkâ¦Iâm scared?â
Cassandraâs sudden question, said in a clear voice, finally managed to make her doubt. She frowned.
She had been retreating all this time, wasnât she scared
âStep back,â ordered Cassandra.
Her soft and gentle voice didnât match her words. Hence, the concubine didnât move and chuckled.
Donât you give me orders. You may wear a pink dress, but youâre still under me. As any slave. Youâre
under anyone here. Donât think this color willâ¦â
âStep back.â
As she said this for the second time, the concubine frowned, annoyed. Who was this bitch to give her
orders?! She had been a concubine for over five years here! She wouldnât listen to the orders of a
mereâ¦
Before she could add another word, a sudden flap of wings was heard, and she retreated in a hurry.
She barely had time to move before a giant claw ripped the grass she had stood on a couple of
seconds ago. (4)
If the concubine had been a bit more aware of her surroundings earlier, she would have seen the dark
shape that had been growing bigger in the sky, coming their way at a scary speed. Cassandra had
seen it coming from far away. Had the dragon gone hunting before looking for her?
Krai growled, wrapping its large body around Cassandra, putting its head right where her hand was, as
she gently patted and scratched the dark scales. The dragon was happily growling, glad to be reunited
with her, but to the three terrorized women, those sounds were horrifying. Moreover, the woman who
stood unaffected at the center of those mountains of scales was still staring at them, completely
fearless.
âYou got interrupted. Please continue.â 2
âI⦠Iâ¦â
Before she could gather her thoughts, Kraiâs large tail whipped in the pond, splashing them. All three
women got drenched, and yet, they didnât even dare scream.2
They tried to retreat, but to their surprise, Cassandra smiled softly.
âI believe you werenât done talking. Please stay.â
For the first time, they realized how scary this woman was. Because she could utter those words with
the softest voice, the gentlest smile, while a murderous beast was standing right next to her.
Cassandra hadnât really planned on cornering them, but Krai had come at the right time, and in a few
minutes, she had decided she shouldnât let such women make easy prey of her. They would be an
example, to show others she was no toy to play with. Like Kareen had told her, it would be better to
teach them she wasnât going to be someone to take lightly. She would have her hands full dealing with
the worst people already.
She had no spare time for the childish games of bored concubines.