Chapter 7

• Sophie woke the next morning in shock, it took her a couple of minutes to remember what happened to her and where she was, she jumped up from the bed looking around, the previous night, she had been too exhausted to even be scared but now that she wasn’t so exhausted, she suddenly was scared of who the woman who had allowed her to stay this night at her place must be, it was all kinds of thoughts that gathered in her head and none of them was any better than the others, she couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse as to why an older lady was living alone in the middle of nowhere like there were no houses around, or maybe there was and she didn’t see it the night before, she walked out of the room.
• The house was empty when she got out, she wondered if she had imagined the old woman last night out of exhaustion but soon told herself to wake up because how would she imagine her if she was in her house right now?
• “You are awake? Good, you should take a bath,”
• The old woman said coming from behind her, Sophie turned around to greet her, she looked much younger now that she saw her in daylight and she looked really pretty too and could pass out as one of the rich and noble ones in the kingdom with the way she was dressed but the only issue here was why would she be in this part of the kingdom if she was a noble one?
• “Why are you standing there staring at me like that?”
• She asked bringing Sophie out of her thoughts.
• “Sorry, I was just lost in thoughts for a moment,”
• “Right, go take a bath and I will make you breakfast, a woman should bath early,”
• The old lady said she Sophie obeyed without any further words, once in the bathroom, she hurriedly took a bath and wore the clothes that were given to her to change into, when she came out again, there was an omelet and tea on the table, she sat with the woman and ate silently.
• “So? You want to tell me how and what you were doing out there alone so late last night? This isn’t a place where anyone can be so late at night, and you are a woman, what happened to you?”
• The old woman asked her after they finished eating, Sophie didn’t know if she should tell her the truth or just find an excuse, she still didn’t know who the woman was, and telling her the truth might get her in trouble but again, what excuse could she find for her being in the wild at that time of the night? There was no way to go about this rather than tell her what happened.
• “I work in the palace,”
• She revealed.
• “I know, it is obvious from the clothes you are wearing, so how did you get here?”
• She asked and Sophie told her everything that happened, from when the king sent her the errand to when the guy had done the evil he must have been sent to do.
• “You are lucky he didn’t kill you,”
• The woman said after she finished narrating everything to her but Sophie didn’t see herself as lucky, the king had warned her that what she carried was worth millions and now she couldn’t get back because she knew damn well they won’t believe her if she goes back to the palace, especially not with what the driver had said, she knew he would spread lies about her and make it seem like she did it, she didn’t know how she was going to prove that she was innocent yet, she wouldn’t even be able to pay back, even if she worked for years at the palace, it was impossible.
• “It’s better to leave this kingdom than go back to the palace my dear, I know you are not rump here, so you can just find a way to get out of this kingdom from here and go back to where you come from,”
• The old woman advised.
• “That’s not even an option,”
• She replied.
• “May I ask why you say that?”
• She agree but Sophie didn’t want to tell her why, she has never told anyone why, telling her will not only be exposing her deepest secrets but she would also have to tell her she was here under a false identity.
• “I guess you don’t want to tell me? Well, you don’t have to,”
• The older woman said when she saw Sophie wasn’t saying anything.
• “I am sorry,”
• She apologized politely.
• “It is okay, I shouldn’t have asked, you don’t know me so it is natural to feel the need to protect yourself, anyway, You can stay here until you recover your strength fully, I won’t ask you to go back now, but you know they will be looking for you right?”
• “I know that, it is a giving, I also know that I would probably go to jail because there is no way the king will overlook this,”
• “Which is why I am saying it is better to leave this kingdom, this country is good for the citizens but not for strangers, foreigners can come for vacation but living here? Not okay,”
• She said and Sophie wondered if she was a foreigner too, she looked and talked like a native but maybe years of living here made it like that, she couldn’t ask her so she just kept the thought to herself, Sophie had more problems than what would happen to her in the palace, she can’t leave this place, she would die if she does, two years without her cover blowing but once she steps her foot out of here, it will be gone.
• Then there is the baby too, too much has happened in just one day that it felt like it was ages ago when she had stared at the positive kits in the restroom, her baby, whatever happens, she didn’t want her baby to suffer.
• “Are you with child?”
• The old woman asked and Sophie looked her way in shock, how would she know that? She wasn’t even showing yet.
• “No, I am not, why will you think that?”
• She asked removing her hands from her stomach.
• “I thought you were because you keep holding your womb like you are with child and trying to shield it from the cruel world, I have seen a lot of pregnant women and know that gesture a little too well,”
• She said and Sophie realized how true it was, she has been subconsciously holding her tummy every two seconds, even when she hadn’t been thinking of the baby, she shouldn’t do that, if she could notice then anyone can too.
• “It’s just a habit I can’t get rid of, I am not pregnant, I don’t even leave the palace and certainly do not know anyone in this kingdom,”
• She lied, there was no point in telling her the truth, she already told her enough without knowing who she was, okay, it wasn’t all a lie, she didn’t know anyone for real, but if this lady finds out she had been sleeping with the king who was to marry another woman, she was sure she won’t be welcome here.
• “Good then because with the kind of troubles that awaits you, being with child right would not be nice, not only would the child be exposed to a harsh reality, he or she might not be able to escape it even if you try to help,”
• She added and Sophie's expression faded to one of pain, she wondered just what kind of future awaits her and her baby, she knew the road won’t be smooth going forward, no matter how she looked at it, it just wasn’t going to be, she didn’t even know which was worse, getting out of this place and facing death or staying here and still having the possibility of dying? No one was better than the other. Either way, she was going to suffer, maybe she should reconsider her options and just leave but the question is where would she possibly go to, and could she even leave the kingdom without getting noticed? Certainly, they would already be searching for her, what if she tries to leave and get in even bigger trouble?
• “You don’t need to frown like that now, just keep everything out of your head and just stay calm here for a while, I would help you stay here if I could but I can’t, I am sorry, I can only offer you a temporary shelter,”
• The old woman said, Sophie understood without asking any questions, she wanted so much to ask for her name but kept quiet, maybe she would when she finally leaves, which would be in the next couple of days or even tomorrow, it would be better to know fate sooner.