For the rest of the night Ina kept thinking about what Gabriel had said. The true reason why her mother left Roja. Deep inside she felt that Gabriel was right, there was something fishy about her mom escaping. She wished she could just ask her uncle Ranado about it , however that somehow didn't feel like a good idea.
In the morning Ranado informed her about a party they were supposed to attend in two days.
"We are finishing our work here and will be leaving soon. We were invited to participate in a goodbye party which will be held by the Rivera family at their estate."
"Am I going to attend it too?" Ina asked as she wanted to be sure about it.
"Yes, you are a part of the royal family and it is high time for them to treat you accordingly. You might feel awkward among people who used to view you as a slave but you have practiced a lot and it is your time to show them the true Ina." He smiled and grabbed her hand for a moment. It was a warm touch that was reassuring her.
Later she learned that Gabriel wasn't invited. It was only for the three of them. Gabriel claimed it was fine but Ina knew he thought differently deep inside him.
The party came faster than expected and Ina, clad in white sparkling dress with golden accessories, was walking along with her uncle and Rinjo. Her heart was beating like crazy. They all knew her here as a slave, sex slave to be precise.
It was hard to face them again. Knowing what they did to her parents and what they wanted to do with her as well.
There were many people and they were staring at her, she was the new curiosity with the "from zero to hero" surprise element. Ina was holding her head high, walking along with her uncle Ranado. She noticed Jiha right away, he was sitting almost at the head of the table next to Lord Belor and Lord Gilob Riviera who was the host of today's party. The host raised from the chair to greet her uncle politely and then he greeted Ina. She noticed how stiff he was giving her his greetings. After all , she was still Frescot's slave in their eyes.
"Thank you for the invitation." Ina replied, hoping to sound confident.
"Please take your seats." The lord Gilob showed them to their places opposite to the Frescot family.
Ina sat down between the two Rojans, somehow she felt safer that way. She slowly raised her head only to meet Jiha's gaze. It was so intense that she looked away. Mentally she still was his slave.
"Dear lords, this party is our way to express the deep felt gratitude for helping us with the water system." Lord Gilob raised his cup, the rest followed.
"We are happy we could help." Ranado smiled before drinking a sip. Ina noticed a smirk on lord Belor's face. She knew as well that Rojan's help was very pricey.
"We have left some instructions about maintaining this water pump. It should be more efficient now and last longer." Rinjo added.
The talk went smoothly about the repair's difficulties, few remarks concerning the city and finally the beauty of the ladies sitting at the table. Ina remained silent, she felt Jiha's eyes on her body. That made her feel really uncomfortable.
"You even managed to find a lost member of the royal family." Lord Gilob noticed.
"True, that was very fortunate." Ranado grabbed Ina's hand for a moment and smiled warmly.
"Well that is a true change of life. From a sex slave to a princess." Lord Belmor words were stabbing like knives. Ina decided not to sit still.
"I think it's better that way than turning from a princess into a slave." Then she looked at her uncle and asked out of the blue.
"Uncle, what is the punishment for killing a member of royalty?"
Ranado looked at her before responding.
"It is death."
Ina looked back at lord Belmor.
"So how should lord Belmor be punished for killing my mother?"
For a moment there was an instant silence at the table before Ranado broke it.
"This is not the right place to discuss such matters. At that time nobody knew who your mother was. We have already settled it with Lord Belmor."
Ina was surprised, they settled it? How? She knew nothing about it.
"Anyway, where is this wine from? It tastes delicious." Ranado asking that silly question cut Ina off. She realised that she should be quiet and not inquire any longer. She felt anger even more when she noticed a smile on Adeline's face.
Ina was a princess but she had no power at all. She couldn't even avenge her mother or father's death. The only thing that changed for her was the fact she was sitting at a table and eating from her own plate and not kneeling next to her master's chair.
The food had suddenly lost all its taste and Ina was counting minutes till she leaves this place. To avoid those people only for a minute she decided to go to the bathroom. She rinsed her face to help her calm down. Ina wondered how they settled her parent's death? Money? Probably. Ina sighted she knew she had to go back to that table but wasn't eager to do so. She whipped her face, looked one last time in the mirror and left to slowly walk back to the table. The Rojans were gone, along with lord Belmor and lord Gilob. They were standing outside discussing something while Ina sat back only to face Adeline. The noble woman instantly leaned closer to Ina and asked.
"So, how does it feel to finally sit at a table?"
"It's better than kneeling, but on the other hand you have a worse view. You need to see some dull faces." Ina grabbed a glass with wine and sipped a bit to gain some time before she decided to add some more fire to their already filled with hatred conversation.
"How's your husband? Does he sleep with you more often now that I'm gone?"
"Stupid bitch." Adeline suddenly stood up and abruptly left the table, her steps were followed by light laughter. Ina's mood finally improved a bit.