The Commoner Consort: The Country's Respected Empress

Celina shakes her head and looks down ashamed.

Maya looks back at Sarah before turning to Celina again and asks "What happened to your feet?"

SOBS

Celina is still choked with sobs.

Maya is about to touch Celina's foot but Sarah and Celina both cries in unison.

Celina cries "No!"

Sarah gasps in an urge to stop her "Ma'am, you can't!!"

Kalki creases his eyebrows witnessing the scenes. For the first time ever he has shown some reaction. It's still a mystery what he thought in his mind.

Celina says hurriedly "How can you touch my foot?! You are the Queen!". She looks at Sarah fearfully and hopes that she could persuade Maya.

Maya just stares at Celina and holds her sprained ankle.

Celina gets astonished by Maya and looks at fuming Sarah in horror.

Maya caresses Celina's ankle and frowns worriedly "I can't help you as I don't know how to treat a sprain".

She looks back at Sarah but Sarah speaks before Maya could say something "I will help her to walk".

Maya nods and steps aside. Before Sarah could hold Celina, Maya adds sternly "Carefully. She is in pain. Your anger on her can't comfort her pain in any way".

Sarah grits her teeth ashamed and nods simply before helping Celina to walk.

After Celina has been taken to the sick room, Sarah was feeling guilty, angry and sad for everything happened.

She wants to talk to Maya and ask about everything but she couldn't as she couldn't face Maya.

She looks for Maya and sees her sitting in stairs which leads to the garden from the corridor of the Pavilion. 

Sarah sighs and walks towards her nervously. She fiddles her fingers and stops behind Maya.

Maya asks coldly "What do you want now?".

Sarah gets heartbroken by Maya's stern voice and she doesn't know how to justify her actions.

She starts explaining herself in the verge of crying "Ma'am. I-I beg your forgiveness. This servant deserves to be punished for disappointing Ma'am. I didn't slap her with any evil intentions! I was just scared for you. What do you expect me to do when Celina told me that you fell of from the cliff?!".

She stops suddenly realizing her high tone while ending that line and kneels down hurriedly "I beg your mercy! This servant-".

"You slapped her because of me?"

Maya asks in a daze as her mind was still thinking of her dinner 'invitation'. She also felt her left leg numb with no sense but ignores it thinking it would be fine in sometime.

Sarah nods and starts speaking in broken voice "Yes Ma'am! And I had to! It's my prime duty to take care of you and your safety. I didn't do anything wrong. I have been serving my Masters with utmost respect for my life and I couldn't take the thought that you hate me for doing my duty-".

Maya turns to see Sarah crying and asks blankly "Why are you crying?!".

Sarah shakes her head sadly "I-I feel wronged. It's my duty to worry for you, is it? How can you punish me by treating this way?".

Maya asks raising her eyebrows as she is surprised to hear Sarah's complaint "How did I treat you? Would you enlighten me?".

Sarah stutters as she usually wouldn't complaint to her Masters but Maya is different. She couldn't help stammer "Y-you..ignored me and even avoided touching me for... what I have done to Celina but you did everything indirectly.. I-I know you hate me now...but this is unfair! How can a Queen be unfair to her servants?!".

Maya speaks "Forget about the Queen. How can you be unfair to Celina?".

Sarah looks at Maya and justifies "B-But..Its my duty -".

Maya interrupts "Hurting others is not your duty, Sarah! And hurting your own people is unforgivable! If hurting others was your duty, then you would have been a soldier and fighting for your nation by hurting others!"

Sarah looks at Maya silently.

Maya continues sighing "You know how Celina is, don't you? Did you ask her anything before slapping her? She is still young! At least younger than us! How could you hurt her? How would you face her now?".

Sarah asks confused "You are worried about her?".

Maya shrugs "I should, shouldn't I?".

Sarah shakes her head and asks in disbelief "You fell from the cliff and now you are worried about her?! Now explain me what happened there?!".

Maya frowns at Sarah's sudden extreme opposite behaviour and blinks uncomfortably "I-I just ..*cough* ..someone saved me".

Sarah gets surprised "Who?!"

"The Royal Doctors has arrived!"

Maya frowns hearing the announcement and looks at even more confused Sarah.

Sarah stands hurriedly "I didn't call them. The Royal doctors could be summoned when the Royal members are sick. But how did they come when I didn't call them!".

Maya too gets confused but stays silent as she doesn't know anything about this Royal rules completely.

An old man enters the corridors of the Pavilion and stops before the sick room.

Sarah greets him and asks about the reason for their visit.

The old man bows looking at Maya "Long live The Queen of the Northern Country! We are summoned here to treat the injury in your left leg".

Maya "..."

The reply from the old man startled Maya more than Sarah. Maya was astonished by the old man's reply and looks at Sarah staring at something on the floor.

Maya follows Sarah's eyes and gasps seeing the floor imprinted with blood stains in the shape of footprints.

It was no doubt that were of Maya's and particularly her left leg's print.

Maya blurts in a complete shock "Am I injured?!".

Only then she recalls that she has been feeling discomfort in her left leg ever since she survived the fall from the cliff.

'But how did this man know about this?! Who informed him about my injury when I find this myself just now?! Was it Xavier?! But he doesn't know about this injury!'