The sound of a shoe clicking against the marbled floor echoed in the room, catching Micah's attention.
She raised her gaze from the book she had been reading, and it landed on Selena.
Her eyes remained focused on Selena as she closed the book in her hand before rising to her feet. Crossing both hands behind her back, she strolled to where Selena stood beside the bed gazing upon her son.
"I heard he regained himself… last night."
Selena gulped; her throat bubbled as she talked.
"You heard well."
Micah replied, now standing beside her, eyes also fixed on the bed.
"Am I to believe that truly this was the work of your hands, or simply the fate the gods bestowed upon my son?"
Micah shrugged, fighting to suppress a laughter that she knew too well would be filled with mockery.
"I am sure you know the answers to your own question."
Her eyeballs slid to the corner, catching a glimpse of Selena.
"Then I am indebted to you."
Selena continued, with a wistful smile, her chest heaving.
"Take a break; I will prepare a bounty in honor of your service."
"There will be no need for that, queen regent."
Micah replied almost spitefully, but she was calm.
Selena's eyes rolled to the side before she fully turned to look at the woman standing before her.
"You refuse my offer?"
She asked as though Micah had committed an offense.
"A few days ago…"
She began turning away from Selena, the sound of her shoe striking the floor reverberating in the room.
"You came to me, bickering, beckoning me to repay my debt to the crown. To repay your son's kindness for saving my life."
Taking her seat, she crossed her legs elegantly.
"Is that what this is?"
Selena was astounded by Micah's words and couldn't come to terms as to why she would bring up such a matter that now dwelled in the past.
"Do not make me answer that question."
She remarked, opening the book in her hand.
"Don't make it sound as though I was doing the crown a favor, because I wasn't. Yes, I have repaid my debt, but even more, I have fulfilled my obligations to your son as a good wife.
If you really would like to show your appreciation, then you will stop treating me like the daughter-in-law you never had, the one that tainted the pure blood of royalty and came from the slums but was made to marry your son."
Her words were bitter, and Selena could hear the vengeance bleeding through every word. Only then did she understand that she had never really been good to Micah and always saw her as less, a nobody.
"Funny, isn't it? That you speak these bashful words to someone who has been in your shoes and had it worse."
She retorted before moving from the spot she had been standing. She shuffled across the room, her dark straight hair swaying and the blue gown she wore dragging along the floor.
"You think I despise you because of your background?"
She scowled before taking hold of a jar filled with wine. There were three golden cups beside the jar of wine on the table; she filled two cups with wine before setting the jar aside.
Micah had long kept the book in her hand aside and was now monitoring Selena's every move.
"Do you think I am a monster for trying to protect my son from the devastating life of having multiple wives?"
She questioned plainly, taking both the cups filled with wine in her hand as she made her way back to Micah.
"I do not pose any mother as a monster. Mothers are like lionesses; they would do anything to protect their cubs and the ones they truly love."
"Then you must believe me when I say that I have never frankly harbored any contempt towards you; I only despise your weakness."
She said, stretching a cup of wine towards Micah, who took it reluctantly, while still trying to recover from Selena's words.
"Weakness?"
She repeated, holding the cup of wine steady in one hand, then using the other hand, she supported herself as she rose to her feet.
"It follows you, clings to you like a second skin. I smell it, see it…."
She paused as she took a sip from her wine, the sweet taste causing her taste buds to tingle.
"As worrisome as it is, it has never occurred to me to make this known to you until now. You seek my respect so much…"
Selena paused, then turned to look at her daughter-in-law, the cup in her hand tilting.
The morning sun reflected sharply against the diamond necklace on her neck, making it more dazzling.
"How about I give you something more valuable, more worthy than any respect can ever give to you: wisdom."
She continued, her eyes sliding towards the bed where Ragaleon was, soundly asleep.
"The game we royalty play, it makes us, defines us, chases us, and hunts us, even till death. And weakness, it can prove to be fatal, and that is what I see every time I look at you, Micah."
Micah felt her throat dry up, words refusing to form.
"I have had my eyes on you and by now know that your betters, the likes of Jazell and Racheal, have more advantage and can easily overthrow you. But they have not made a move to do so, because they see you as irrelevant.
That is how insignificant you have become in their eyes."
Micah pressed her lips together before putting the cup of wine in her hand down.
"Have you come here to mock me?"
Already provoked, she still managed to ask and earned a smile from Selena in return.
"I have only come to warn you."
She replied, emptying the cup of wine in her hand.
"Why do you belittle yourself?"
Her dark brows arched as she directed her question at Micah.
Micah's lips pouted in an attempt to answer, but still her tongue remained tied.
"I was once like you, timid, fragile, and oblivious to the world around me, and I speak from experience; I learned it the hard way.
How to fight back, how to take what belongs to me even if it meant doing the most awful things."
"I do not want anything."
Micah interjected blankly.
"I have no desire for anything; there is nothing this household can offer me, because I never wanted to be here in the first place."
Selena scoffed while rolling her eyes. She turned away and made her way towards the jar of wine before proceeding to refill her cup.
"You do not have a purpose or ambition, another thing I have come to hate."
She said with relish.
"Do you know why you speak like this? Because you are yet to see the limits you can attain once you have tasted real power."
'I do not want anything?' Selena repeated Micah's exact words mockingly.
"There is no human that walks upon this earth that does not have wants, so you lie to yourself, Micah. You live in the shadows of the castle, withering away, refusing to rise like the Phoenix you can become, the Phoenix you refuse to be."
"I know the shrewd games you royalty play, and they are dirty. I will not partake in anything that has to do with bloodshed and have my integrity….."
"But you are royalty, Micah."
Selena intervened, abruptly.
"You became royalty the day you married my son. Need I remind you that you are a queen? Doesn't the word ring a bell?"
Selena paused, exhaled, and then, with a low voice,
"If truly you wanted to earn my respect, there are ways to go about it; telling me that it is what you seek will not change my mindset about you. If you want something, you fight for it."
"And what if I don't want to fight?"
"Then prepare yourself for your quick downfall. It won't be too long now; it draws nearer with every passing day you let your guard down."
Micah allowed her words to sink deep before reaching out for the cup of wine, and then she turned to leave.
"You are right, I do need that rest, don't I?"
Without waiting for a reply, she made to leave but heard her say,
"You know my words have meaning; don't resist it."
Micah's spirit remained relentless, unbroken in its resolve, as she listened attentively to Selena's words.
"Although you failed to take notice, you had already earned my respect the moment you had agreed to nurse my son back to health. You have not just my respect but also my loyalty and trust."
"Why are you telling me all these?"
Micah felt pained as she wore a fraught smile, trying to mask the frustration she was feeling.
"To let you know I am on your side."
"You stand on the side of a loser?"
She tilted her head, not turning fully.
"Do you believe you are a loser?"
Selena asked with a remarkable tone.
"Or did you choose to be one?"
She added, and Micah sighed; she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ears before turning around to face Selena.
"How can I possibly manifest in a place where I do not belong?"
"By choosing to do so. It won't take a thing away from you to try, and it would certainly do you some good to have an ally."
Selena could see her words were already beginning to yield fruit.
"The trick to getting an ally is easy: with someone of higher status, once you have risen above them, discard them and take up another ally with a higher influence. The truth is that survival lies in power."
"Such lovely words. Do you tell me all this because you think you have a better chance with me? All your daughters-in-law seem to have deserted you."
Selena pondered on her words for a moment.
"I have said a lot; I won't go further. For now I would like to celebrate my son's revival; my enemies shall not have the last laugh after all."
She said, raising the cup of wine in her hand in the air to acknowledge Micah before drinking it, a cunning grin playing at the corner of her lips.
Micah didn't say a word; she took her leave, making her way to her chamber to take some rest.
Selena didn't stop her this time; she watched keenly, already knowing she had sown a seed. A seed of rebellion that she might come to regret later.