The Forgotten Heir

‘Midnight doesn’t scare me. I’ve lived a lifetime in shadows’— Author

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SMACK!

The sharp crack of a hand meeting a cheek echoed through the room, making every maid pause mid-task. They all turned to witness the unfolding scene.

"By the Gods, could you be any more useless?" Princess Raquel spat through gritted teeth, her voice seething with anger. Her eyes, fierce and unyielding, bore into the trembling handmaiden who stood before her.

The maid's disheveled white curls fell around her face, obscuring her flushed cheeks. She looked so beautiful despite her current state. 

She bit her lower lip so hard as she tried to keep the tears from falling causing it to bleed, a result of its chapped state.

"I told you to bring me the maroon gown, M-a-r-o-o-n!" Raquel's voice was sharp and commanding. “My goodness, you dimwit girl.”

In the princess's hand, she held a gown that sparkled under the light, adorned with intricate beadwork and delicate embroidery.

A satin ribbon belt cinched the waist, gracefully accentuating the lower corset. The bodice was encrusted with tiny diamonds, each one tinted a warm shade of purple, catching the light with every movement. The fabric of the gown was long and flowing, with a modest V-shaped neckline that hinted at elegance rather than immodesty.

The color of the dress was a rich, light maroon, though Raquel felt the need to protest.

If she had asked the others, the maids would have unanimously agreed on its maroon hue, but they knew better than to speak without being asked.

The maid, head bowed and eyes fixed on the white marble floor, remained silent.

Raquel's patience, already thin, snapped. She tossed the beautiful crumpled dress she had been clutching onto the maid's head. 

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself, you color-blind wench?" Silence hung heavily in the air, making the surrounding maids uneasy.

"Well, Sersi?" Raquel's voice was a venomous snap. The maid, crumpled and defeated on the floor, hesitated before lifting her head. She was angry but she released her bleeding lip and spoke quietly, "I’m sorry, Princess, but I was told it was maroon.

Before she could finish her statement, Raquel's hand grabbed a fistful of Sersi's white curls, yanking her head back.

Forcing the dress to slip from Sersi's head. Raquel leaned closer, her burning glare unyielding. Her piercing blue eyes offered no mercy, framed by a perfectly braided low bun of red hair that spoke of her impeccable standards.

“Listen to me here, Sersi. I don’t want to hear your excuses. I do not for a minute care if anyone told you this is maroon. Anyone with eyes can see that this hideous color is burgundy, not maroon!" Raquel's voice was a harsh command as she released her grip on Sersi's hair, letting her slump lower to the floor.

With a few more muttered curses, Raquel waved her hand dismissively at the other maids. They hurriedly left the elegant room, eager to escape the princess's wrath.

Once the room fell silent, leaving only Raquel and Sersi, she slowly lifted her head, keeping her gaze down. "I will do better next time, Princess. I promise."

Raquel paced the length of her red rug, looking at her manicured fingers absentmindedly—a habit she had indulged in since childhood.

Though Sersi had grown accustomed to these outbursts, it was clear that Raquel's anger wasn't truly about the color of the dress. The princess was simply taking her frustration out on her, using her as a convenient outlet for her displeasure.

Raquel needed an excuse to vent her frustrations, and Sersi provided the perfect outlet. As Sersi picked up the princess's dress and dusted it off, she winced from the lingering sting of the slap.

She never holds back, does she?

"I swear, you are so useless," Raquel continued, her voice dripping with disdain. "I can't understand why, out of every maid I have, you're the one who's supposed to be my number one. You have been with me since what, my early childhood yet you can't do anything right!"

Sersi's dark brown eyes, often compared to dirt by Raquel, narrowed slightly. The sting of the princess's words matched the pain in her cheek.

“You think I want to be here, at your side, and hear you complain all day? You are so pathetic!" She wanted to snap back, to yell but instead, she held her tongue, her huge chunk of saliva going down her throat as she chose to swallow her frustration and anger.

"Do you want me to go to the market today and make sure they give you the right shade?" Sersi offered, her tone subdued.

"Do you want me to go to the market today?" Raquel mimicked her in a voice that is so high pitched and fake, her frown deepening. "You’re so pathetic. Even if I didn’t say you should do that, your common brain is meant to tell you that you’re meant to go. And look here—"

She jabbed a finger at the cloth as Sersi followed the gesture. "If it isn’t the exact shade I envisioned, not only will I punish you severely, but I’ll also inform the king of your lackadaisical attitude in serving me!”

“Get out of my sight before I do something you might not like. Dimwit fool.” Racquel screamed at Sersi.

Leaving Raquel's room felt both freeing and exhausting for Sersi. The princess's constant whining and complaints over days on end always left her with a throbbing headache—one that had persisted since childhood.

The two had been together since Raquel was four and Sersi was six. Despite their close ages, they had never once gotten along.

Sersi was now twenty-two. Raquel took every opportunity to remind Sersi of her place, so tantrums like today were nothing new for her. Though they harbored deep resentment for each other, they had no choice but to endure it, for the king had bound them to this relationship, reasons best known to him, and his word was absolute.

In the palace, one might assume that being the maid closest to the princess since day one would come with high status, possibly even better treatment than an aristocrat. However, that was far from the case for Sersi.

Her arms tightened around the dress she held, the fabric crumpled and rough in her grip, as her face twisted with frustration. Sersi was bound to this fate because she carried a secret within her veins—a secret known only to the king and the princess.

Sersi possessed a trace of royal blood, a legacy of an affair between a maid and the king. But this made her an outcast, despised by the princess and shunned by the king due to her non-royal blood. Sersi assumed that the only reason she was still alive was because the king possessed some semblance of a heart. He wouldn't acknowledge her as his child, but he kept her alive—alive to serve as nothing more than a slave to his next heir, Sersi’s younger and only spoiled sister.

Sersi scrunched her nose in bitter sarcasm, "Yeah, much better."

She almost wished he had ended her life as a baby or that the woman who bore her had suffered a miscarriage. Living in the castle was a torment, a hellish existence. The other maids showed her no respect; bullying and whispers were her daily torture.

A deep, heavy sigh escaped her lips. It wasn't that she cared about or desired to be part of the royalty; her wishes mattered little within the palace.

Even if she were to reveal her true identity, no one would believe her. The royal family had distinct features: curly red hair and blue eyes. The only trait Sersi shared was her loose but prominent curls, a meager resemblance that wasn't enough to convince anyone including herself.

When Sersi was a child, she would often watch her mother sit on the windows, staring blankly outside. Her mother would mumble, "Why were you born with those features.. why couldn't you look like him, at least have a dome of his features? Maybe you would have been accepted" 

Those words etched themselves into Sersi's memory; they were nearly the only things she recalled her mother saying, as she repeated them so often. Sersi knew her mother had desperately wished for her to resemble the king. If she had, perhaps the king would have claimed her without question.

Perhaps instead of being looked down upon by everyone, she would be the one looking down on others. And maybe, just maybe, her mother wouldn't have been so shunned, driven to the point of her death. But that hope was too far-fetched. Sersi entered the kingdom of Tasnim with shiny, loose, curly white hair, dull brown oval eyes, a blend of cloudy brown and olive skin, and an average build.

As she walked through the palace halls toward the grand hall, bathed in its opulence, she was met by the familiar faces of two other maids.

"Oh My, my, my, if it isn't Sersi, the useless and pathetic maid" Evelyn said with a smirk. Her small, brown close-set eyes gleamed with malicious delight at Sersi's disheveled appearance. She stood alongside a brunette girl with long, straight bangs partially obscuring her face.

Both wore the traditional black-and-white maid uniforms, but unlike Sersi, they carried nothing in their hands and appeared to be idly slacking off. It was no surprise to Sersi—she had often caught them shirking their duties, offenses for which Princess Raquel routinely blamed her.

"Evelyn and... Nessa Pinkie," Sersi greeted with a hint of mockery. Nessa's shoulders tensed at Sersi's words, and as she shifted forward, her bangs lifted slightly, revealing her hazel eyes filled with embarrassment.

"It's Pinle! For the Gods' sake, one slip in front of the king and people start calling me Pinkie? It's not even an original name!" Nessa's voice wavered with frustration.

The corner of Sersi's mouth twitched with a hint of amusement, which didn't go unnoticed by Evelyn. Placing a reassuring hand on Nessa's shoulder, Evelyn's expression turned dark and mocking.

"Let it go, Nessa," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. Her face twisted into a vile sneer, tinged with a touch of shadow. "At least we haven’t been in the palace since birth and haven't been named as the worst maid in the palace, the one whom neither the king nor the princess can even bear to look at."

Here they go again, trying to get under my skin. Every time I get into the littlest of arguments with the princess, they emerge like gossiping parrots trying to annoy me, Sersi thought.

"It must be tough being such a failure," Evelyn laughed, and Nessa joined in, their laughter echoing with cruel amusement. 

Words simmered in Sersi's throat like a boiling pot, the pressure building as if her mouth might burst open any moment. She had learned long ago that retaliating only fueled their cruelty. But today, the bubbling frustration felt different, stronger, and harder to contain. Her mind screamed at her to stay silent, to keep her head down like she always did, but her heart pounded with a fiery defiance that refused to be silenced.

Stay calm, Stay Calm. Just because they know how to poke you on your worst side, It doesn't mean you should show it. Hold. Your. Tongue.

"It's such a pity to be hated by everyone, just like the maid who birthed you," Evelyn sneered. Nessa raised her hand to her lips as she let out a gasp, "Like mother, like daughter."

Immediately Nessa said it, the both of them laughed, their laughter echoed in the grand hall, Sersi took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. But instead of letting the heat of their words boil over, she let her voice drip with icy coolness as she spoke.

"You're right," Sersi said, her tone deceptively sweet. "It is tough to be a failure. But I'd rather be a failure than someone whose only accomplishment in life is licking and kissing the boots of others."

Evelyn placed her hand on her hip, her smirk widening. "Is that all you've got?"

Sersi stepped closer, her gaze unwavering. "I see how you cozy up to the knights and even the king himself, trying to get on their good side."

She closed the distance between them, her body closed in on her two huge breasts, their faces almost touching. "Enjoy it while you can. Because soon enough, that small, flat bottom of yours and these two watermelons will lose its allure. When every man you've flirted with turns their back on you, I'll be there.

Sersi lowered her head, her face shrouded in shadow. "Trust me. I will be there to watch it all unfold."

Evelyn's smirk faltered for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her eyes. Nessa glanced nervously between them, her earlier confidence waning in the tense silence that followed.

Sersi didn't move, as she spoke."You girls made it your mission to tear me down like all the others, but remember I was just like you, young and valued also put this at the back of your mind: when you're left with nothing when they all discard you like the empty shell that I am, You'll be just like me,” her voice steady and cold

"And when that day comes, every maid in this castle will turn their backs on you. So you might want to adjust that nasty attitude of yours before you both find yourselves completely alone."

Nessa stepped in with a sneer. "You think you're better than us? What a ridiculous fantasy," she scoffed, her voice dripping with contempt. "Sooner or later, the Princess will tire of you, and the King will realize he should never have made you her servant in the first place. You really think we'll be lower in status than you one day?"

Nessa’s lips twisted into a cruel smirk as she leaned in close to Sersi's hardened face. She jabbed her index finger into Sersi's shoulder, her voice rising. "Don't kid yourself for one second!"

Ugh, why am I wasting my time on these two? They are Idiots! Plus they are wasting my time!

Sersi opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word out, Evelyn cut her off with a sharp laugh. 

"Save it, Sersi. No one cares about your sad little speeches," she sneered, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You're nothing but a tool, something to be used and tossed aside when you're no longer needed. Just like your mother."

Her left eye twitched at their words. Like my mother...like my mother?! They keep saying like my mother.

The mere comparison made her stomach churn. She was nothing like her the thought of being linked to her mother made her feel utterly sick.

Tessa nodded in agreement, her eyes narrowing as she took a step back, crossing her arms. "So why don't you stop pretending like you have any power here and get back to doing what you're good at—being invisible."

She gritted her teeth, her mind racing with frustration. 

Evelyn and Nessa... what do they gain from this? Do they really think getting under my skin is a win right now?

Sersi wanted to rip off the maroon, no burgundy clothing as Raquel had called it, she didn't care about the color; she just wanted to throw it aside and lunge at them. Her thoughts were consumed with images of grabbing Evelyn’s brown ponytail, digging her fingers into the scalp, and yanking her to the ground to prove she wasn't weak like her mother.

Evelyn was bigger and taller, making her a prime target for the first strike. Nessa, on the other hand, was known for her clumsiness, making her an easy opponent to deal with afterward.

Sersi's fists tightened around the dress, her mind spinning with potential plans and the consequences of taking them down. As the maids continued their taunts, her hands trembled with barely contained rage. 

If I get caught and punished, I'll end up in the dungeon, she thought with a dark smile. But it will be worth it.

"What is the meaning of this?" came a voice, cutting through the air like a blade through silk. The authority in the tone made both the maids and Sersi instantly cease their movements.

"Y-Your Highness!" they both exclaimed in unison, bowing their heads. Sersi's body remained rigid, not out of submission, but from the simmering fury that had not yet dissipated. 

The voice... she knew it all too well. It was the only one that resonated like the rumble of thunder during a storm. The only voice her mother had yearned for, and the voice that belonged to the man whose blood she shared, condemning her to this miserable existence.

They told me to be calm. So I waited. And planned. And sharpened my teeth

———-

His heavy footsteps grew louder, echoing off the marble floor, and the clattering suggested he wasn't alone. A puff of steam escaped her mouth in frustration as her gaze fell on the maids, their heads bowed in deference. They knew all too well that the king was not to be trifled with; his patience and authority were beyond question.

So he's here.

Sersi’s black heels shifted to the right, and she slowly lifted her eyes.

The king's attire was a striking blend of regal splendor and commanding presence. He wore a deep, midnight blue tunic adorned with intricate gold embroidery that traced patterns of mythical creatures that if Sersi could recall were called dragons. His long, flowing cloak, edged with delicate gold trim, draped elegantly from his broad shoulders.

Golden threads wove th