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The King was sitting in his office when Alma walked in. He had sent her to summon Zara, as he wanted to have lunch with her and show her the painting. Alma returned to his office by herself. The King raised an eyebrow. “Why are you back alone?” he asked her. Alma shifted uncomfortably.
“Zara is not at the laundry,” Alma said.
“She is not working today?”
“No...” Alma's voice drifted off.
“What aren't you telling me?” the King leaned forward.
“The queen got to her yesterday and fired her.”
“She what!” the King roared as he stood up from his desk. Alma told the King what she had found out. The maids were talking about last night's events, when the queen visited Zara in the laundry room. It angered the King, for the queen had no right to do that. There was no need to treat Zara that way.
The King wanted to go to the queen's quarters immediately. He had told her to stay away from Zara but she disobeyed him. However, the King cared more about how Zara was feeling. She had been humiliated and mistreated in front of everyone. He sent Alma to find Zara's home address. He returned to his quarters to get ready.
“What took you so long?” the King demanded as soon as Alma walked into his quarters. She narrowed her gaze at him.
“Your Majesty, it has only been half an hour,” she replied.
“Felt longer than that.”
Alma smiled. “Does your Majesty have romantic feelings toward this woman?”
“I have no idea, why do you ask?”
“The impatience, the time you spend with her, you even had a dispute with the queen over her.”
The King grunted. He had no idea how he was feeling and did not know what to say. Alma had been in his service for almost twenty years and often pointed things out to him that he failed to see. She was always his voice of reason. No matter how hard he tried to ignore her, she would not allow him. Alma handed him the address as the King headed toward the door.
“Do you not need me to come with you?” Alma called out after him.
“No!” he replied as he left his quarters.
He gave the address to the driver as he climbed in the car. They arrived at Zara's house less than an hour later, but it felt longer than that. He got out of the car as soon as they parked as he was very anxious to see her.
Looking around her street, it was clear that Zara didn’t have money. The houses were very small and many looked like they’d been patched and repaired with whatever was available. One house appeared to have part of the roof made from a large metal sign. As he walked toward Zara’s door, he noticed that despite its shabbiness, the outside of Zara’s house was neat and tidy. Fledgling flowers bordered the walkway as small buds stretched in the warm sun. He couldn’t help but smile at their attempts to make something beautiful out of what they had. The King stood at the door and took a deep breath before he knocked. A small girl with curly hair opened the door. He knew straight away that it was Ruby, Zara’s sister. Before the King could even open his mouth, her eyes flew open and she screamed loudly.
Chapter 11
Zara was in the kitchen with Rachael when they heard Ruby screaming. They looked at each other and ran to her. “Oh, my gosh,” Ruby cried out.
“Ruby, what's wrong?” Zara called as she ran toward her little sister. Zara grabbed her sister from the door. Rachael pulled the door open. Both of them dropped their jaws when they saw why Ruby was screaming. The King was standing in the doorway.
“The King is here, at our house!” Ruby shouted with joy.
“Your Majesty?” Zara questioned. She stared at him wide-eyed. She blinked a couple times to make sure she was not dreaming.
“
May I come in?” the King asked. He was starting to feel awkward with the three of them staring at him.
“Yes, please come in,” Ruby said and pulled his hand. Zara shut the door after him. Ruby offered to get him a drink. The King held Zara by her shoulders and searched her eyes.
“Are you alright?” the King asked her. He looked worried.
“I am fine, what's going on?” Zara was confused. “What brings you by?”
“I heard what happened with the queen.”
