Page 1 of Chosen

Chapter One

Truth

My blood turned to ice and my pulse pounded in my head when the blind man called my name. It was impossible. I hadn’t even put my name in the drawing. What business did a person like me have entering a lottery to be some wealthy, powerful man’s wife?

None!

I was born a slave. Freedom was a gift that I had strived for. I spent years trying to seduce first King Ozias and later King Sven for my freedom. In the end, it was their sister, Princess Gisla, who gave it to me in exchange for a simple friendship. I had no reason to seek a husband after that. I was content to finally be my own woman.

One look at Gisla’s smile, and I knew how my name got in there. All I could do was stare slack-jawed at the famous shieldmaiden. I inhaled deeply and forced myself to flash a smile to any who would see it, while purposefully averting my gaze from Sven and his queen. Eventually, I had no choice but to look at them or appear insulting. Sven was smirking, but his wife, Queen Ava looked like she might murder me in my sleep.

“My son cannot be married to a slave,” she kept repeating.

“She is free.” Gisla’s husband, Enzo, assured them. “Your sister freed Truth weeks ago.”

Sven led his wife away. She kept glaring over her shoulder. Thankfully, not everyone felt that way. The people around me were clasping my arms and taking my hand. A dozen kisses must have been pressed to my scarred knuckles.

I couldn’t help but stare at the faint line where King Sven had once tried to cut my fingers off. I’d been a slave then and had dared to touch a free woman. I could only wonder what he would do to me, now that he believed I aspired to reach for his son.

“You will be fine,” Gisla assured with a wink.

I couldn’t help but wonder if she was a mind reader when she took my shoulder and helped me away from the crowd. Gisla was perhaps my favorite person in the world. I couldn’t understand why she would put me in such a position. Surely, she knew the dangers on my end.

“You deserve this, Truth,” she whispered, giving me a quick embrace. “Take Cassandra. Have her draw you a bath and we will speak in the morning.”

Cassandra, my fellow lady-in-waiting hurried forward and steered me toward the door.

She led me to a chamber down the hall from Gisla’s.

“This is for foreign dignitaries… I suppose that is you now.” She nervously chuckled.

We’d served Gisla together. Only moments ago, we had been peers and now she was to serve me.

I couldn’t stand it.

“I am fine,” I whispered, once she had the door open and the fire stoked. “Please, go and see to our Mistress.”

“You know she is with her husband. She had no need of me. Let me pamper you, Truth. Let me do as I have been bid,” she pleaded.

I swallowed hard and gave a slow nod.

I’d never been served before. I was born on the raiding ship that took my mother to Thor’s Ridge. My existence was and always had been a humble one. My mother served King Ozias’s father and I grew up with the various other slave children in the back of the long hall. We played in the dirt and chased the chickens until we were old enough to be put to work ourselves.

Sometimes, I wish I could laze the day away chasing chickens without a care in the world again. Who was I kidding? Now that I was in a position of power, all the chickens would be chasing me. The clucking would be endless. Everyone around me would be pecking at granules of power.

I groaned and rubbed my temples.

Cassandra appeared behind me and started pulling at the laces of my corset.

“Oh.” My hands shot up to catch my top.

I didn’t have a modest bone in my body, but I still startled at the idea of being undressed by a servant. The woman was born higher than the likes of me, and yet here she was carefully disrobing me and warming my water.

I sank into the bath and brought my knees up to my chest. Baths were supposed to be relaxing but not this one. I couldn’t take my eyes off Cassandra. She fluttered about the room humming and straightening my things. It was unnerving.

It left me speechless. I wanted to tell her to stop, but it was useless. She was a woman on a mission. She loved Gisla as much as I did and wanted to see our Princess’s every whim fulfilled. So, I put my head down and let her wash my shoulders when the time came. Once she finished my hair, however, I decided it had gone far enough.

“Rest well, Cassandra. Early day tomorrow for us both, hm?” I hated how illiterate I sounded in their tongue.

I had grown up behind the long hall, but I was no fool. My mother saw to it that I could speak two languages. That of her birth land and that of Thor’s Ridge. I realized upon our first raid in Frankfort, that this southern land was her home.

I understood them plainly. I became of great use to King Ozias during that time. Even though my words were broken, they were better than his and Sven’s. Now, things had changed. They had studied with those who spoke properly, and as a result, they had gotten better while I still sounded terrible.

Cassandra frowned and swallowed before nodding in agreement.

“Do not fret, I will tell Gisla that you served me well,” I promised.

She smiled, gave a little curtsy, and took her leave.

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