Etaya snarled back. "I am your wife now. If you attempt to have a single woman in your harem, I will kill her. This is my warning to you." Suddenly her hands crackled with magic and she glared at Anastasia. 

Seraph said, "You will not harm Natsya." Then he turned his head over his shoulder and barked an order to her, "Leave the room now!"

Anastasia ran out of there without caring that the room was practically on fire. Feeling panicky, she walked as fast as possible from the west wing. Once she was out of that madness, she leaned against a pillar drenched in sweat, her breath shallow. "Find me, Ileus. I don't want to stay here," she murmured as tears stung in her eyes. Her body quivered and the tears rolled out. She clutched the medallion. "Find me!" she cried. All of a sudden, a sliver of black shadow caressed her arm. She turned to see it and took her fingers there to feel it. "Ileus?" The feeling was so surreal. "I am here," she said, trying to indicate her location. The shadow wrapped around her fingers and twirled, as if probing her.

"Natsya!" A voice came from the back and the shadow dispersed. 

"No!" Anastasia rasped. "Al, come back!" She tried to clasp the air where it disappeared but it just… vanished. Helpless, Anastasia cried aloud. 

Jor'gas came running to her. "Oh my god! You look like you have walked through a storm. What happened?" She held her shoulders tightly, realizing that the girl was shaking uncontrollably. "Why are you crying, Natsya?" She embraced her securely. "Shh. Don't cry." She stroked her on the back and stood there with her until she settled. When she lifted her face, she found it odd that her lips had swollen and were red like cherries. Quickly glancing at the corridor she found only two servants looking at them with interest. Then she used her drape to wipe her tears and said, "Let's go to the queen, and on the way you can tell me what happened." 

Anastasia sniffled like a baby for a while and when she felt better, she narrated what happened in the west wing. 

"Oh god!" Jor'gas exclaimed. "Is Seraph mad? This has to be mentioned to the queen," she said. Holding her hand, she walked through the corridors beside the throne hall from where they could hear loud voices of the king. They walked through the dining room and then rounded a corner to reach the landings of a stair. 

"How old is the prince?" asked Anastasia on an impulse. 

"Our king is about a thousand years old. Seraph was born to the second wife of their father. He is much younger, about three hundred years old only, but Kar'den treats him like his own." 

"Doesn't he already have a harem? I keep hearing that the king has one." 

Jor'gas laughed, which didn't reach her eyes. "Yes, he has a harem. Etaya did her best to disband it, but he hasn't. In our kingdom, it is a prestige point to have a harem. Now that Etaya is here, he doesn't visit his harem. She is very strict about it. But I don't think he will ever disband it."

"Where is it located… his harem?" 

"In the west wing's far corner. You can see the sun setting from there."

Anastasia shivered. That was where Seraph was planning on putting her. "I don't want to go there," she said in a choked voice. 

"Even I don't want you to go there, Natsya. But if Seraph has mentioned it, he is going to make sure that you go there even if Etaya has created a ruckus. After all, he is a prince and nothing that a prince says goes unheard. Let's talk to the queen about it." 

Anastasia was sure of one thing, if Seraph insisted or forced her, she would kill him. She didn't care if she was going to rewrite history or not. 

Og'drath ground her teeth when she listened to what Anastasia had gone through. She punched her fist into her palm and said, "That bastard!" She paced in her room feeling extremely agitated. "Did Etaya really say that she didn't want Dolgra on the throne?" 

"Yes, m'lady. She said she wants to see her children on the throne." Anastasia was appalled by Etaya's criminal mentality. She was trying to gain either Zor'gan or Vilinski. And she knew that her aunt was more interested in Vilinski. 

"You must tell it to the king," Jor'gas suggested. 

Og'drath narrowed her eyes. "Quiet!" she shouted at her. "Don't tell me what I have to say to the king!" 

Jor'gas stiffened with fear and then immediately lowered it. "I am sorry, m'lady. I shouldn't have crossed my limits." 

Og'drath looked at Anastasia and said, "From tomorrow you will be appointed as my personal handmaiden, and you will remain with me at all times." 

Anastasia blinked her eyes. She couldn't believe that the queen would go to this extent to save her. "Thank you, m'lady," she replied with a bow. 

"Today you will stay with Jor'gas in her room, but pack your bags because from tomorrow, you will stay in the servant room adjacent to my chamber." 

She bowed again and the girls were dismissed. 

Jor'gas smiled. "Didn't I tell you that the queen is a gem of a person?" 

"She surely is," Anastasia said. She learned a lot from Og'drath. The queen's values surpassed even the king's. She had her head on her shoulders and knew how to take care of her people. It was a valuable lesson. 

"But don't be too happy. When Seraph will notice your absence, he is not going to stay quiet. He will come after you. So stay cautious and don't venture out alone." 

"I won't," she replied as they walked towards the kitchen. 

That night, when everyone slept, in the dead of the night, Anastasia walked back to the dune where she was found. Strong gusts of hot wind shook the temporary sand dunes forcing them to shift. She shielded her hair with her drape as the rest of her drape emulated the sail of a ship on a windy day. She scanned the vast expanse of the dull gray sands of the desert. It was impossible to imagine how big it was. She hoped that the dune didn't shift. It was her only connection with Ileus. When she reached the spot, she was relieved to see that it was still there. She quickened her pace, and sprinted the last few meters. With a chuckle of relief, she just climbed it and sank on her knees. 

"Ileus!" she shouted. "I am here!" 

She removed her drape and let her hair catch the wind. "Come to me Ileus!" She said as she clutched her medallion. She spun her head to see if any shadow came near her but there was nothing. She shouted again, "Al! This is me. Anastasia!" 

The wind grew stronger and blew sand with it. If she didn't leave, she was in danger of getting buried under a shifting dune. She gave one last try. "Ileus, can you hear me?" She shouted as loud as she could. 

A shadow erupted in the air right in front of her face and her breath hitched. 

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