Watch The Scar of Vengeance FULL Drama with English Subtitles.
They left him with nothing… but a scar he would never forget.
What was once pain becomes the source of his strength. Every moment, every memory fuels his return.
Now, he is no longer the same person. The one who suffered is gone—and what remains is something far more dangerous.
This action-driven drama tells a story of pain, transformation, and a revenge that cannot be stopped.
Follow his journey as he turns scars into power.
#Revenge #GodMode #ActionDrama #EngSub #FullEpisode #Unstoppable
They left him with nothing… but a scar he would never forget.
What was once pain becomes the source of his strength. Every moment, every memory fuels his return.
Now, he is no longer the same person. The one who suffered is gone—and what remains is something far more dangerous.
This action-driven drama tells a story of pain, transformation, and a revenge that cannot be stopped.
Follow his journey as he turns scars into power.
#Revenge #GodMode #ActionDrama #EngSub #FullEpisode #Unstoppable
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Short filmTranscript
00:00My sister died because the king said she was pretty. That's all it took. One compliment, and by nightfall, Chloe
00:07had driven a bronze stylus through her throat until she stopped breathing. They brought her home under white linen. I
00:13pulled it back myself. She was cold, already stiff. I held her until I had no more tears. What was
00:19left wasn't grief. It was revenge.
00:22To get to Chloe, I had to get inside the palace. I knew she suffered from the curse of Helios,
00:28the blinding headfire that comes without warning. So I spent a year learning the old remedies, the herbs, the pressure
00:34points the Thessalian healers passed down in silence.
00:37When the palace opened for servant selections, I stood in front of my mirror and painted a long, ugly scar
00:43down my left cheek. Purple-black. Grotesque. I walked in. I was assigned to the laundry quarters. I waited. Then
00:51Chloe's episodes came back, and the court physicians failed her. My turn. They brought me to her. She was gripping
00:57her own head, face twisted in agony.
01:00I can try, my lady. She looked at my scar. If you fail, I'll have your tongue. I pressed my
01:06fingers to the points along her skull, and ground the herbs into her temples with slow, deliberate circles. Her face
01:13relaxed within minutes.
01:14You're useful. Stay. She trusted me completely after that. My skills helped her. My face made her feel safe. She
01:23had no idea those were both lies. One night, the king sent it to her. She was preparing herself when
01:28the episode hit.
01:29She called me in. The king waited in the outer chamber. I could only see the edge of his robe.
01:34Deep, Tyrion purple. Heavy wool. I knelt at her side and worked the pressure sequence, one pass at a time.
01:41Then I reached into my case for the final compound. The one I had prepared weeks before. Odorless. Tasteless. It
01:48would not be felt in contact. But it would move. Slowly. Through her blood. Toward her heart. I just had
01:55to be patient.
01:55Her pain cleared. But the king had already lost interest and left. Chloe was furious. She smashed everything in the
02:03room. Then had three servants dragged out and beaten. I was one of them.
02:07Twenty strokes. Face down on a cold stone. I bit through my lip and didn't make a sound. Lying there,
02:13I thought about my sister. How she'd been in this same position. How she'd never done anything wrong.
02:18Killing Chloe isn't enough, I thought. I'm going to take everything she has first.
02:23The next day, the king came to check on her. The first time I saw his face. Dark robes, straight
02:30back, and handsome. Chloe had already ordered us to cover our bruises before he arrived. She didn't want him knowing
02:37what she was.
02:38As he turned to leave, I let my sleeve fall. He saw the marks on my arm.
02:42What happened to you?
02:43I looked up. Let my eyes fill. Used the voice I'd practiced a hundred times.
02:49Nothing, my king. Please don't worry. Just please visit her more often. When the pain comes, she gets upset.
02:57He was a king. He wasn't going to investigate a servant's bruises. But the seed was planted.
03:03Spring. The king's mother held a garden gathering. Chloe arrived late, leaning on my arm, and spent the first hour
03:10insulting every other woman at court.
03:12Those people were cheap. That hairstyle was sad. That woman had the taste of a fishwife.
03:19I was pouring her wine when I let my wrist tip, just slightly. The cup emptied across her skirt. She
03:25grabbed a cup of water and threw it in my face.
03:27You stupid girl. The scar dissolved on contact. I felt the pigment peel away. I had no time to think.
03:35I didn't bother. A voice from behind us.
03:38What's going on?
03:39The king. Chloe transformed instantly.
03:42My king. Just a clumsy servant.
03:45He glanced at her. Then at me. His gaze stayed one beat too long. I excused myself to change.
03:51I didn't go to my room. I went to the stone columns near his root back and waited. When I
03:56heard his footsteps, I started crying. Not loudly. Just enough.
04:01Who's there?
04:02I stumbled out and dropped to my knees.
04:06Forgive me. I didn't know you were passing.
04:09He recognized me.
04:10You. Chloe's healer.
04:13He was already moving on. I had seconds. I raised my face.
04:16Please. Pretend you didn't see me. Don't tell anyone what I really look like. I'm begging you.
04:24He looked down at me. A woman in the dirt. Tears on a face that wasn't scarred at all. A
04:29face he wasn't expecting.
04:30After a long moment.
04:32I won't say anything.
04:35What's your name?
04:36I shook my head. Said nothing. Let him wonder.
04:39I was nearly back when one of the younger servants came looking for me and called my name down the
04:44corridor.
04:45Behind me, I heard him say it quietly to himself.
04:48That was the first real move.
04:50Chloe hosted a feast. Three days later, the hall was full and loud.
04:55She sat in the place of honor wearing the king's gifts, and every woman there had to pretend to be
05:00happy for her.
05:01I stood behind her and remembered what day it was.
05:03One year ago today. This same hall.
05:06My sister. When the feast hit its loudest point, I slipped out to the garden pool at the far edge
05:11of the grounds.
05:12A few small oil lamps floating there by other servants for luck.
05:16I lit a bundle of dried laurel and lowered a plain white lamp into the water.
05:21Sister. Wait for me a little longer.
05:25I'll give it all back. Every bit of pain she put you through. A hundred times over.
05:30Footsteps. The king.
05:32I didn't turn around. I had about two seconds to decide.
05:35I stood up and stepped off the edge into the pool.
05:37It wasn't deep. Only waist height.
05:40But I went under. And when I came up, my scar had washed away completely.
05:44He was calling for someone to come help.
05:45Lamplight behind me. Hair loose and wet.
05:48I looked at him across the water with the expression I'd practiced until it felt like breathing.
05:52Someone who had run completely out of hope.
05:55Don't help me.
05:56I let him look, counted to three. Then I took a breath and went under. Swam hard along the bottom
06:01to the far bank. And was gone before anyone reached the water. By morning, the story was everywhere. The king
06:07had seen a woman appear in the garden pool and vanish. Searched all night. Hadn't slept. Chloe put her fist
06:13through her favorite friend's mirror.
06:14Some sorceress is working tricks on him. When I find her, she drowns. For real.
06:22I'm sure it was nothing, my lady. Even if it wasn't, I could make her disappear.
06:29A ghost, she called me. She was more right than she knew.
06:34After the garden, the king and I had a secret. Neither of us named it. He kept coming to see
06:39Chloe. I kept staying out of his line of sight. Or, keeping the scarred side toward him. Eyes down. Movements
06:46stiff and correct. Men like him were used to women who came to them. Distance was more interesting.
06:52Then came the royal hunt. The whole court rode out to the countryside. Banners. Horses. Noble suns showing off. Halfway
07:01through the morning, a storm hit fast. Cold and hard. Everyone scrambled back to the hunting lodge. That night, the
07:08king had a fever. The headfire came back with it. The court physicians failed him, one after another. Chloe paced
07:15the corridor outside his room, turning in circles. Then she grabbed my arm.
07:19You treat these episodes. Go! My face was her guarantee. She wasn't worried. The room smelled of medicine and sweat.
07:27The king was on the bed, flushed, jaw locked with pain. Chloe tried to go to him.
07:32My lady, he needs quiet. Perhaps the healer should work alone?
07:36Chloe didn't like it. Just me and two servants in the corner. I sat at the edge of the bed
07:41and opened my case. When my fingers touched his temple, he opened his eyes. Blurred with fever, but they found
07:48me.
07:49You. I'm going to help with the pain. I kept my hands moving. Ground herb paste into the points along
07:55his skull. Dipped my fingers in cool olive oil and worked down his neck. His breathing slowed. The tight lines
08:01around his mouth softened. I started to pull back.
08:04I'll leave you to rest, my king. His hand closed around my wrist. He pulled. I had no time to
08:10catch myself. I went backward and landed across the bed. His arm locking around me before I could move. Cedar
08:16and fever sweat. Close and overwhelming.
08:19His arm was around my waist. His weight behind me. His mouth near my ear. Don't go.
08:24The two servants had already slipped out and pulled the door shut. You still have a fever. Let me get
08:30you back on the pillow.
08:32He sat up instead, keeping me with him. His eyes moved over my face. The scar side. Then the other.
08:39Come serve me. Not her. Me.
08:42Too soon. Too easy. Easy things don't last. I tried to shift onto my knees to bow. He wouldn't let
08:49me move.
08:50My king, I'm grateful. But Chloe gave me a place when I had nothing. I can't repay that with betrayal.
08:55Please, let me keep this much.
08:57I looked at his face. Loyalty to someone who hurts you. That was the thing that would work on him.
09:03Every woman at court came toward him. A woman who held a line was something different.
09:08He looked at me for a long time. Something shifted behind his eyes. Frustration. And underneath it, sharper interest.
09:15He let me go. Fell back on the pillow. But his hand stayed loosely around my wrist. All night.
09:21His fever broke before dawn. His grip loosened. I fixed my robe and left quietly. Outside, Chloe was still waiting.
09:29How is he? The fever's down. The pain eased. He's sleeping.
09:34Then she slid a bracelet off her wrist and held it out. Plain carnelian beads on a copper wire.
09:40You did well. Go rest.
09:42I thanked her and walked away. A dead girl's blood is worth more than a string of carnelian, I thought.
09:48I said nothing.
09:49The hunt resumed two days later. Chloe was tired. And it showed. One of the other women at court noticed
09:55and smiled.
09:56You've been working so hard, sister. Why not ride out today? Show the king what you can do.
10:01Everyone knew Chloe couldn't ride. The woman was doing it to watch her fail. Chloe started to make an excuse.
10:07I stepped forward.
10:09My king. Lady Chloe hasn't been well. She shouldn't strain herself. I'd be honored to ride in her place.
10:16Every eye in the courtyard went to the scarred servant who'd just put herself forward in front of the king.
10:21Chloe caught on fast.
10:22She's rough, but she can ride, my king. Let her go.
10:26Permitted.
10:27I walked to the horse they'd brought out. Big, white, bad-tempered. It was stamping and tossing its head.
10:33The other women watched with expressions ranging from bored to amused. A scarred servant playing it hunting.
10:39I ran my hand along the horse's neck and pressed my thumb into the hollow below its jaw.
10:44The point my sister had shown me for calming animals. The horse stilled. Nuzzled my palm.
10:50I mounted and rode into the field. Fast and low. A hair broke from cover. I took the shot without
10:56thinking.
10:57Clean. Through the neck. I didn't go deeper. This wasn't about showing off.
11:02A king doesn't want a hunting dog. He wants something he can't fully predict.
11:06I brought the hair back and knelt. I hope it serves my king.
11:10He looked at me for longer than he needed to. Undisguised interest.
11:14Good instincts.
11:15Then he praised Chloe for keeping useful people around her. He praised her. Not me. Smart move.
11:22Chloe beamed. He gave her gifts. She looked at me differently after that. Like I was actually worth something.
11:28You did well, Daphne.
11:30She said back at the tent. And gave me two gold pins. I accepted them and bowed.
11:35That night, his summons came again. Another episode.
11:39Chloe waved me off without hesitating. The scar. The loyal servant. The safest woman in the palace.
11:45An attendant led me to a building at the back of the lodge. The thermal baths. Low light. Steam. Rose
11:52petals in the water.
11:53The king was already in the pool. Eyes closed. One shoulder bare. The attendant disappeared. The door closed.
12:00Your servant didn't know the king was bathing. I'll wait outside.
12:03Stay.
12:03I stopped. He stood up.
12:06Come here.
12:07My king, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to-
12:09A wet hand closed around my wrist. And I was in the water before I finished the sentence.
12:14Water over my face. My robe soaked through instantly. I came up coughing.
12:19He was right in front of me. The scar had washed off. Steam and lamplight.
12:24His eyes on my face. Fully. With no polite distance.
12:29My king. I'm a servant. Please let me go.
12:33He took my chin and turned me back. Then he kissed me. No question asked.
12:38I pressed both hands flat against his chest and pushed. Useless. He didn't move.
12:44The resistance seemed to interest him more. Eventually, he let me breathe. I shoved and
12:49got a foot of space between us. I belong to Chloe's household. She trusted me enough to
12:54send me here. I can't repay trust with betrayal. I hit hard on those last words. A king who commands
13:00everything is rarely told no. Someone who holds a line and means it is rare. Rare things are
13:06interesting. He didn't come closer. Go.
13:09The next morning, I was leaning over to pour Chloe's wine when her eyes stopped on my neck.
13:14Daphne! What is that?
13:19I didn't flinch.
13:20The bathwater was cold, my lady. I must have bruised myself on the tile. I'll cover it.
13:25She stared at me. At my face. At the scar. She was looking for a reason to be suspicious.
13:30She found none. My face did its job.
13:33Put some save on it.
13:35That evening, the king held a fire feast. Torchlight, roasting meat, the noise of people
13:40who'd been writing for three days. Chloe fed him from her plate and laughed too brightly
13:45and kept her body angled toward him. She needed his eyes on her. His eyes kept moving past her.
13:51I felt the direction of that gaze even with my back turned. I stepped half a pace to the
13:56left, behind her shoulder, and out of his sight. Chloe noticed him drifting. She looked
14:01around, found nothing. On the ride home, she sat in the carriage, complaining in the dark.
14:07He wasn't with me tonight. Some woman is pulling his attention. I can feel it.
14:12Her hand went to her temple, the head fire building.
14:15Come here.
14:16I pressed my fingers in, moved down her neck, her shoulders, to the base of her spine.
14:21I pressed one point. She cried out and spun around.
14:25What are you doing? Are you trying to cripple me? My lady, I'm so sorry. I felt a blockage.
14:31There's nothing there. You're just clumsy. Kneel here for the rest of the ride.
14:35Two hours on jolting wood in the dark, I smiled the whole way. The compound was moving faster
14:41than I'd planned.
14:42Good.
14:43Back in the palace, the king stopped coming as often. Chloe paced, like something caged. No child,
14:49no guarantee. Fifteen months of position, and nothing to show for it, that couldn't be taken
14:54away overnight. Without a child, I'm nothing. But I heard it. A few days later, she turned to me.
15:00Do you have more of that first remedy? The one that helped with my cycle? There it was.
15:04That compound is hard on the body. Using it again so soon could damage you. But I have another idea.
15:09I'd learned the king often walked alone in the palace gardens at dusk, down near the laurel pool.
15:15He went to think. Go to him. Not dressed for court. Go simply. Be there by chance. Bring your
15:20kyaka. I described exactly what to wear. Hair loose. Nothing showy. Just her and the music
15:26and the evening air. I pressed a small cloth pouch into her hand and a vial of oil.
15:31Bathe with these tonight. The oil on your wrists and throat. The pouch held dried crocus and iris root.
15:36The oil was infused with something older. Chloe took them. Hungry for it. The following evening
15:42she went. She found the spot, arranged herself with the kithara across her knees, and played.
15:47The king heard it. Sent his attendants back and followed the sound alone. I watched from the
15:52shadow of the colonnade across the water. He slowed down when he saw her. New dress. Dark water.
15:58Music in the still air. She looked up at exactly the right moment. Surprised. Composed. Quietly glad to see
16:05him. It worked. The lights in her chambers didn't go out until near dawn. I stood outside in the dark
16:10and waited. Before sunrise, I moved to a covered walkway near the crossing point between her
16:15chambers and the king's morning route. I arranged myself on a stone bench. Mies up. Arm under my head.
16:21Robes slightly disordered. I let my lips go pale. I didn't fake the cold. It was genuinely cold. I heard
16:27the chamber doors open. I slowed my breathing. Let my eyes go to half focus. The king crossed the
16:33courtyard. His gaze picked up the shape on the bench. I jolted awake, tried to stand, and let my
16:38knee buckle just enough to pitch me into him. His hands caught me. For a moment, I was very close
16:43to his face. He took in the loose hair, the crumpled robe, the pallor. I pulled back and tried
16:48to straighten myself. Forgive me, my king. I didn't hear you coming. I'll go. What are you doing out
16:54here? Waiting for Lady Chloe, in case she needed anything. I must have fallen asleep. All night? Please don't be
17:00angry with her. She doesn't know I stayed. I chose to. The more I defended Chloe, the worse she looked.
17:06I'd learned that. He was quiet, looking at me, pale, shaking slightly, defending the woman who'd put me
17:12out here. He turned and told his attendant to send a physician to check on me. Call the doctor.
17:19Before he left, he looked back once. I stood very still and watched his procession disappear around
17:24the corner. Then I smiled. Chloe, you were warm and comfortable all night. And this is what he saw
17:31this morning. Everything you don't know I'm doing costs you something. When Chloe came back,
17:39the head fire hit within hours. The remedy I'd blended for her had done its work. I worked the
17:44pressure sequence. Three minutes, and the worst of it broke. When she closed her eyes to rest,
17:49I pressed my fingers to her wrist. The pulse was there, and something else, deep in it. An irregular
17:55pull, faint but real. The compound had reached the edge of her chest cavity. Almost there. Chloe
18:01recovered. She complained that the episodes weren't going away for good. The symptoms I have are not
18:07gone yet. These old afflictions take time, I said. But you're improving. The frequency is down.
18:15Give it a few more months. Not a lie. Her episodes were improving. The physician said so too. No one
18:21was looking at the other thing. The king had been coming nearly every day since the garden evening.
18:26Chloe was pleased with herself. She thought she'd fixed it. She didn't know he came partly to find
18:31reasons to be in corridors and side rooms, while she sat in the main hall. For these moments, I was
18:37always exactly what he expected. Careful. Eyes down. Loyal. Slightly afraid. Never easy. Never coming
18:44toward him. Men who have everything want the one thing that won't come to them. I prepared a new
18:49compound for her evenings with the king. Something that would make the hours more vivid. He'd associate
18:54those feelings with her. It also contained something slower. Something she'd never taste. The poison was
19:00almost in her heart. The compound was building in her blood. Good things come to those who wait.
19:06A court feast. The hall was packed. Wine and music, and everyone pretending to enjoy themselves.
19:11I'd spent a week on two separate preparations. The first, Chloe had been wearing on her skin for
19:17weeks. Worked into the oils I gave her each night. The second, I carried on myself tonight,
19:22in a small cloth pouch. When the two met in the same space, they reacted. Slowly. Just a soft thickening
19:29of the air. I moved carefully through the banquet hall. Close to the king's table. Close to Chloe.
19:35Spreading the second scent as I went. The king's eyes went heavy. He excused himself to rest in the back
19:40rooms. Chloe watched him go. The haze was already working on her, too. She moved to follow. I
19:46intercepted her smoothly. Called her handmaiden. Suggested the side rooms. Guided her away without
19:51her noticing. Then I turned back. I picked up the shawl Chloe had left on her chair, and walked toward
19:56the king's rest chamber. I pushed the door open softly. My lady. Your shawl? He opened the eyes.
20:03Looked at me. I started backing out. Wrong room. I'm sorry. An arm came around my waist from behind.
20:09The second compound, suddenly this close, hit the first. The reaction was immediate. What
20:15followed was exactly what I'd planned. I lay still afterward, watching the door. Counting
20:19time. A crash. The door came in hard. She stared at the clothes scattered on the floor,
20:24and at us embracing on the bed. Her face went white.
20:30What is this?
20:48The king moved fast. He pulled me in and got the blanket over my face, before she could look
20:53at me directly. I lay still in the dark. I'd set this up down to the attendant I'd sent to
20:58put the
20:58idea in Chloe's head. A strange woman in his chambers. Knowing she'd come running. Knowing she
21:03couldn't stop herself. She lunged for the blanket. I felt her fingers grab at it. The king's hand shot
21:09out and shoved her back. She sat down hard on the floor. How dare you? How dare I? You do
21:14this and ask
21:15how I dare. Everything in this palace is mine. Every room. Every person in it. You pushed me.
21:20You've never pushed me before. Get out. Alexandra. Take her back. She doesn't leave her chambers until I
21:27say. I heard her footsteps. Fast. Then slower. Then running. Her crying fading down the corridor.
21:33The room went quiet. He lifted the blanket. I was trembling. I made sure of it. Are you hurt?
21:39I shook my head. Kept my eyes down. Let me give you a formal place here. You don't have to
21:43go back
21:43to her. My king. She was kind to me when I had nothing. Everyone will say I used her. Please
21:49let
21:50me go back. Please let me keep what little I have. Go. I dressed and walked back through the palace.
21:55When I came through Chloe's courtyard, her servants were kneeling in rows across the stones.
22:00Chloe stood above them on the step with a riding whip. I went through the gate and knelt. Chloe's
22:05eyes locked onto me. Where were you? Getting food from the kitchens, my lady. I heard something had
22:12happened and took a long way back. She stared. No holes in it. But her anger needed somewhere to go.
22:17The whip came down across my back. Then again. I pressed my forehead to the stone and made no sound.
22:23Hit harder, I thought. Every mark is evidence. She moved down the line. The courtyard was filled
22:29with crying and begging. She moved through it like the weather. Stop!
22:34Then from the gate, the king walked in. He stood still and took in the scene. The kneeling servants,
22:39the whip, my back. His face went flat. My king. These servants have been impossible today. I was just-
22:48I can
22:48see what you were doing. Alexandrus, I have every right to discipline my own- Not like this. He crossed
22:52the
22:53courtyard and looked at the blood on my robe. His jaw tightened. Not ever like this. Chloe started
23:00explaining herself. He didn't let her finish. He announced her confinement in front of all of them.
23:05One month. No exceptions. You should stay in your palace and reflect for a month. Chloe went pale.
23:11Then, she made the mistake of talking back.
23:26She said things she couldn't say. Old closeness is used as a weapon. She'd known him long enough to know
23:32where to cut. She forgot she was talking to a king. He slapped her. She fell. Grabbed at the column
23:37beside
23:37her. Then doubled over. Hand pressed to her chest. Face draining white. And went down. The servants
23:43screamed. The king stood there for one frozen second. Then he shouted for the physicians. The
23:49court physician ran in. Nelt beside her. Checked her- Once. Twice. Three times. Then he knelt lower.
23:56Very formal. My king. The lady Chloe is with child. Approximately one month. Silence. Chloe's eyes opened.
24:02The words reached her slowly. Then she started to cry. The real kind. Not the kind she performed.
24:09The king crossed to her immediately. He took her hands. Cancel the confinement. Send for gifts.
24:14I watched from the back of the room. A child, I thought. How convenient. From that day, Chloe treated
24:20the pregnancy like a siege. Triple tasted food. Four servants walked her from room to room. Someone at
24:26her bedside every night. She also became worse. Much worse. A handmaiden was flogged for
24:32sneezing during her rest. Another beaten for pulling a single hair while dressing her. I was
24:37punished several times. I kept counting. I kept preparing her medicine, too. The compound I was
24:42adding to her morning coffee was carefully measured. Just enough to hollow her out slowly
24:47while making her feel she was improving. Good days would keep her trusting me. Bad days would keep
24:52her scared enough to need me. The poison was almost at her heart. The child won't survive it. And after
24:58that, neither will you. The pregnancy was not peaceful. Within weeks, she bled three times.
25:04Physicians rotated through her room. They all said the same thing. Weakness. Rest. Strengthening
25:10herbs. None of them looked further. After the third episode, Chloe threw her medicine cup across
25:15the room. If I lose this child, every one of you dies with me. I swept up the pieces while
25:22she raged. Careful what you threaten. I thought. You'll be first. The physicians couldn't find what
25:29I'd put inside her. They weren't looking for a compound with no taste and no smell that had been
25:33building in her body for months. They weren't looking for a slow extraction from a root that grows
25:38in gorges no court physician ever visits. They just kept refilling her with remedies I kept
25:43quietly, undermining. She was pouring water into a cracked jar and calling it healing.
25:48One afternoon, she grabbed my hand. Her nails bit into my skin.
25:52Daphne, you have to save this baby. If you do this, I'll give you anything. Anything.
25:59I looked at her hollowed out eyes and her desperation.
26:02My lady, I said gently. I'll do everything I can.
26:05I added something new to her morning coffee that week. Something that would lift her energy
26:09for a few days. She noticed it within two days.
26:14You see? You're better than all of them. The lady is very strong.
26:20I said. Not for much longer.
26:24The coffee was making Chloe's temper savage in ways she couldn't control. She threw things away.
26:31She had her oldest attendant kneeling in the courtyard for two hours because of a single
26:35pulled hair while dressing her. She swung between rage and weeping with nothing in between. When the
26:41king visited, she managed to hold herself together. Barely. He came every day now, officially to check
26:48on her. In practice, he kept finding reasons to be in side rooms and corridors. I slipped out of the
26:54main hall one afternoon and had barely stepped into the adjoining room when he pulled me in by the
26:59wrist. She was half asleep in the next room. Her hearing had been getting worse for weeks.
27:04Another thing no one had connected to anything.
27:09He turned my arm over and looked at the bruising around my wrist.
27:14She did this?
27:16I was careless.
27:19Stop covering for her.
27:21From the main room.
27:24Daphne, where are you?
27:26I straightened my robe and stepped back through the doorway. Chloe looked at me with narrow eyes.
27:31What were you doing in there?
27:34Preparing your afternoon remedy, my lady.
27:36She stared. Then her face darkened and her hand came up. He stepped through the doorway.
27:41Who are you about to hit?
27:43Her hand froze in midair. She softened everything immediately.
27:47My king. Just correcting a servant.
27:50Rest, he said. Stop working yourself up.
27:54He left. She didn't hit me.
27:56She made me kneel in the corridor.
27:58I knelt in the afternoon sun and looked at nothing.
28:01Not much longer now, Chloe.
28:03The night she went into labor, the whole household fell apart.
28:07It started at midnight, screaming that carried across three courtyards.
28:11The queen mother sent her two best midwives.
28:13The king broke protocol and waited in the side room.
28:16Chloe's brother, who commanded armies on the border, rode through the night and stood in the outer courtyard.
28:21This was the first child. Nobody could afford it to go wrong.
28:25Chloe gripped the bed frame until her knuckles split.
28:27She begged the physicians to save the baby.
28:29She made promises to gods she hadn't thought about in years.
28:33The poison had been moving through her body for nine months.
28:36The compound had been layering in her blood since the beginning.
28:39The body she was fighting this birth with was already running on nothing.
28:42The midwives worked until the room smelled of blood and exhaustion.
28:45Near dawn, Chloe's screaming stopped.
28:48A midwife said,
28:49He is coming.
28:50The room went completely still.
28:52Everyone held their breath.
28:53We waited for the cry.
28:54It didn't come.
28:55The midwife's voice, when it came, was barely a voice at all.
28:59My king, the boy has no breath.
29:03The king pushed through the curtain.
29:05I stood near the wall and watched the midwife holding the small, still shape.
29:09Perfect hands, perfect mouth, not moving.
29:11There it is.
29:13Chloe turned her head.
29:15Let me see.
29:17They gave her the baby.
29:18She held him, and her whole body understood before her mind did.
29:22Then the sound came out of her.
29:23A single cry with nothing held back.
29:26Help!
29:27I dropped my head, under my breath, quiet enough that no one would ever hear.
29:31That is for my sister.
29:36Chloe held the dead child and couldn't be separated from him for hours.
29:40The king summoned every physician in the palace.
29:43They knelt in a row.
29:45Last month you told me everything was stable.
29:49Explain this.
29:50No one could.
29:51Chloe's brother was not the kind of man who accepted that.
29:54He wanted a cause.
29:56He wanted someone to blame.
29:58I waited three days.
29:59Then, while bringing Chloe her afternoon remedy,
30:02I deliberately let a folded piece of cloth slip from my hand.
30:06I moved to get it back quickly.
30:08One of the brother's men reached it first.
30:10The cloth held dried plant residue, dark-pedaled, with a faintly bitter smell.
30:16The court physician was brought to examine it.
30:18He held it to the light, then looked up.
30:20This is black hellebay, forbidden to pregnant women.
30:25Even a small amount causes repeated bleeding.
30:28It can prevent a child from surviving full term.
30:31Chloe turned to look at me.
30:32Everything she'd never let herself suspect landed on her face at once.
30:36Daphne.
30:37I stayed kneeling.
30:39I said nothing.
30:40The poison was at her heart now.
30:41She had days, maybe less.
30:43There was nothing useful left to say to her.
30:46She threw herself out of bed toward me.
30:48Her legs barely held.
30:49A cough ripped through her, and blood came with it.
30:53Dark, onto the white wool.
30:55She pointed at me from the floor.
30:58You.
30:59It was you.
31:02You killed my son.
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