Chapter Twenty-four
“They won’t catch you if you fall” he spoke. Nara blinked from the heaviness in her eyes and the pain in her skull. She stiffly turned and looked at him. The prince stood a safe distance away from her, studying her. “I don’t expect them to” She retorted, staring at the passerby’s once more below the balcony. She didn’t want to face him, knowing the moment she did her cheeks would heat from the embarrassment of how she acted back in the forest. She remained as she was, giving her back to him.
“Will you step away from there?” He ordered in his curt tone. Nara shuffled her feet till she was far from the balcony and the prince himself.
He did that thing again, the one thing that had her squirming like an eel on a fisher’s chop board whenever their eyes met. In a torturous silence, he regarded her with mere curiosity and hostility.
“The king will be expecting our audience soon.” He informed her.
She stilled and swallowed. “Must we meet the king?”
“Mmmh, yes we must” the prince replied.
“Alright,” she muttered tiredly.
“My mother will send servants to assist you” his eyes travelled over dirty clothing.
Chapter Twenty-Five
A servant walked in when the prince took his leave. The girl guided Nara to another room all the while remaining silent. They stopped when they reached a door. The girl pushed the door for her to step in the chamber. Being moved one place to another was beginning to take a toll on her. The room itself was enormous, thick carpets covered the floor, while lushly tapestries hang over the wall. Satin sheets sprawled on the inviting bed and pillows. There was also a table, and a chair placed close to the wall. Far at the end of the room, she spotted an alcove with a tub of steaming water.
“Her Majesty ordered to prepare a bath for you” the maid finally spoke. Nara turned and looked at her. “You speak Nyr?”
“Yes,” the maid nodded. “Will you like some assistance with your dress?”
“No, thank you I can do it myself” Nara replied. She was not going to let a stranger undress her.
Nara waited.
“Is something wrong?” the girl asked.
“Everything is fine. You may leave. I can wash myself.”
“Under the queen’s orders, I’m instructed not to leave you alone.” The maid replied.
“I told you I do not need help. I can manage by myself.” Nara gritted.
“It’s the queen’s orders” the girl insisted adamantly. The girl looked at her dead in the eyes, unmoving when she stared at her.
Nara’s lips thinned “And I said I don’t need your help.”
The girl didn’t budge.
“Turn around” she commanded the girl.
“I said turn around” Nara repeated, losing grip on the thread of calmness she was holding on. The girl gasped, huffed then spun to give her some semblance of privacy. Pride left as her only armour, she kept her chin high as she discarded her clothes, hurriedly walked toward the tub and sank in. Shamelessly her tired body thrilled in the warm water, feeling the ache rolling away. I’m in unknown territories I’m not supposed to enjoy this. She had to stop deluding herself. A weariness pressed her chest. As she scrubbed the dirt and grime away, the maid came toward her and started washing her hair ignoring her protest. Nara huffed and let her carry on. She was utterly exhausted that her body didn’t recoil from the girl’s contact.
“What is your name?” Nara asked trying to strike a conversation, as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Sleep was lulling her.
“Gilnith” the girl replied, pouring water on her hair and massaging her head. Nara bit back a moan.
“I am Nara,” she said feeling the need to introduce herself.
“I know, her Majesty told me.”
“How did you come to learn Nyr?” Nara asked. She could feel Gilnith hands still for a second in her hair, before resuming what she was doing. “I learnt it a long time ago.”
“Do you also visit Murisa during trade day?” perhaps that’s where she learnt to speak Nyr with such fluency-she must be a frequent visitor.
“No, I don’t. I had human friends a very long time ago. They taught me your language.” Gilnith walked toward a chair and grabbed a robe.
“And before you ask, I’m quite older than you, I witnessed the dark war.”
Oh.
Gilnith shook the robe toward her, bent her head so as not to see her nudity. Stiffly Nara rose, got out of the tub and wore the velvety robe-feeling warm in it.
“The scars on your body, how did you come to get them?” Gilnith looked at her inquisitively.
“I” Nara began but just then, two other maidservants one carrying what appeared to be clothes on her hand and the other a tray of food walked in, saving her from explaining herself. They were clothed in the same style as Gilnith, slit plain tunics with pants. Together they curtsied before Gilnith and tried hard enough not to gape at Nara.
“We have brought the dress and food lady Gilnith.” One of the girls spoke in elvish.
“Place the food on the table,” Gilnith ordered and motioned Nara toward the chair. “Come and eat” Nara walked toward the table and sat. There was quite a spread of delicacies, she decided to start on the delicious stew first to ease her growling stomach. She ignored the two girls’ wide-eyed stares and continued to eat until the empty growling in her belly ceased.
“Thank you” she mumbled. One of the girls who had brought the food picked up the tray, curtsied once again then left the room. Turning toward the other girl, Gilnith took the undergarments from her and handed them to Nara. “Wear this.”
“No, I’ll wear my clothes” she refused and turned to look at her pile of dirty clothes on the polished floor. She didn’t want to be indebted to them more than she was already. First the bath, food and now clothes. The queen was tying her hands slowly until she was in too deep to get out.
“It’s the queen’s orders,” the lady said flatly.
Nara’s fist clenched and unclenched, agitated. She stripped off the robe and wore the undergarments. Gilnith gave her a well-tailored gown. She slid the dress over the underclothing. The dress a soft dark yellow color with black lace that decorated the cuffs and collar.
“Good, it fits you well” Gilnith commented and the girl who brought the dress beamed with relief. Gilnith was worried it would not, since she was the one who was tasked by the queen to find the dress from the royal sewing room. The dress was a bit too long though, seeing it sweep the floor. It was not her fault the human was not tall like her kind. Once the girl tied the ribbon behind her, Gilnith hurried her to sit in front of a mirror, then started grooming her hair. Nara grimaced at her appearance. Although the bath had rid some of the fatigue, her face still looked tired, her eyes were dry and red with bags under them. Her mind began to wander.
“Your hair is beautiful, thick and long” Gilnith interrupted her thoughts as she combed it. Nara met her eyes in the mirror, stared at the lady’s own luscious black hair.
“Thank you.”
Silenced reigned in the room as Gilnith kept brushing her hair, more than once she met her eyes on the mirror-scrutinizing her face as if she wanted to say something but refrained herself. A moment after Gilnith placed the comb on the table and said. “Now you are ready to meet the king.”
***
Calemir stormed the corridors heading for the throne room. He had deluded himself he would get to leave without meeting His Majesty. Apparently, that won’t be happening. His father had awakened and has summoned him before he could escape this palace and its cold welcome. His face twisted tautly, restlessness seeped through his skin unto his bones. He fastened his strides.
“Rumor has it you have brought a human” the taunting voice had Calemir halting at the stairs leading to another tower.
“Yes,” Calemir said in elvish.
The lord glared at him with dispassion.
“Her presence here is a defilement of the house. Totally unacceptable by the council. I cannot allow this!” Lord Ivlisar railed on in elvish, his features twisting in disgust- a show of his abhorrence and hatred toward the humans. The high lord always seemed to forget his place or that whatever he or other high lord’s opinions ‘judgments’ meant nothing and had no influence on the house of Gwainor.
“Careful there or have you forgotten why you are still here at this position?” Calemir’s voice was laced with a warning as he took a step forward and straightened to his full height, towering over the lord. “You know better than to open your mouth. Live quiet as you have been doing back in Ontophen, be grateful that you are alive and you are not among the ones I hunt.” His voice had gone low with a sharp edge to it, coldly regarding the high lord’s face.
Lord Ivlisar stepped back and feigned a look of concern. “Where is my daughter, Leena?”
“Stay away from her” he warned grimly and spun on heels, leaving a terrified, a seething and a bitter high lord glaring his back.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nara’s heart raced while she followed Gilnith’s lead, rounding a corridor. Her whole skin felt clammy with a thin layer of sweat which rendered the bath she had useless. Her stomach churned with the apprehension of meeting His Majesty.
“We are here” Gilnith announced.
“Her Majesty requested to see lady Nara” Gilnith informed the two guards before them who stood upright and stared straight ahead over their heads. Nara held her breath as one of the guards knocked once to signal her arrival then pushed the doors open. Her feet were grounded, she couldn’t move.
“Do not keep Her Majesty waiting” Gilnith chided in a whisper, then shied back a step behind her. Nara casted a glance at her, wiped her palms on the dress and took a step forward, then another until she was inside. Her shoulders jerked slightly when the doors shut.
Tense and nervous, Nara did not give a critical eye over the grand room, tall ceilings overflowing with richness and opulence. She couldn’t even focus on anything other than slowing her heart down. Nara took a deep breath and looked at the front of the room. She met familiar intense green eyes that she quickly avoided. Prince Calemir stood a few feet from the throne.
“Come closer” King Gwainor’s orotund voice echoed throughout the chamber breaking the silence. He spoke in Nyr. His steely eyes were pale green advanced with experience and knowledge. His silvery hair fell around his stern face. His looks were an older form of the prince’s. He sat regally on the throne, larger than life itself. With a neutral face, Nara stepped forward and stopped near the high steps leading to the throne. She curtsied then lifted her head, she balanced on the balls of her heels under the king’s powerful gaze.
“I’m told you come from Murisa to seek help from us” the king spoke again.
“Yes, Your Majesty” surprisingly her voice came out steady, unaffected by the superiority of the king. The king turned his scrutinizing gaze at his silent son.
“King Lorenz of Murisa tried to strike an alliance with us for an army in return we could fetch from the well of Var. However, I declined” Calemir recounted the short visit to Vessener in elvish as the king was expecting him to do while keeping it short.
“Does the human king not know of the old rule of Var?” King Gwainor questioned.
“He is aware of the rule. Still, he disregarded it,” Calemir replied.
The king’s eyes slightly creased at the corners, his face a hard mask to know what was going in his mind. Calemir knew better, he knew his father well enough to see he wanted to query him farther about everything during his absence but chose not too for now.
“Your Majesties I request permission I and my wife to leave for Uruloki.”
His father looked at him to her.
“You’ve married her?” his mother asked, stunned.
“Yes, to save father I had no choice but to marry her or the king of Murisa wouldn’t have granted permission to take the water of Var” he replied, his gaze focused on his father as he said this. He baited his father to speak by challenging him with his eyes. To say his marriage to her displeased him. His father’s jaw tightened and said nothing except for the contempt which burned in his eyes let Calemir know what he felt. His father won’t say a thing because he just saved him.
Huh? What was new? He thought sarcastically. Same old feelings, nothing has changed his perception of him. It never matters what I do.
“What do you think of your new daughter?” the queen asked the king.
“She is a human,” the king said dully before changing the subject. “You cannot leave today. There are important matters concerning the kingdom that need to be discussed with the leaders of the houses.”
“Yes, Sire” Calemir responded.
The queen smiled, clapped her hands once and ordered the two guards in the room, “Then go spread the news of this union. The kingdom of Forod has gained a new princess.”
His mother’s enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed by him. He reserved the thought to ponder on it later.
“May we take our leave Your Majesties?” Calemir requested. The king turned his piercing eyes back to Nara before motioning to the doors with his fingers. Bowing once again, Calemir muttered to Nara, “Let us go” before trekking together from the room.
They found Gilnith waiting outside once the doors closed behind them. The prince ordered the maid to take her back to her room as he disappeared to whoever knows where. Nara stayed in the room and didn’t leave. Her only visitors were two maids who had come to bring her more clothes and took her clothing and feet measurements. It hadn’t been easy for the girl who was tasked with taking the measurements when she had made a mistake of touching her bare wrist and tried to make her stand in a certain pose. Nara had pulled back and hissed at her. Awkward and quickly, the maids hurried out after being done, leaving her alone to her devices. Taking a sit at the edge of the soft bed, Nara struggled to stay awake. She couldn’t allow herself in this strange room, surrounded by even more strange people she didn’t know whether to actually believe as allies or still enemies. Still to no avail, with each minute that ticked off, Nara yawned more and her eyes lulled until the blinking she was doing became useless. Reluctantly giving in, she laid on the bed and promised herself she would just take a short nap. It wasn’t until later in the evening did she jolt from her sleep with the knocking at her door. Looking dazed, she wondered where she was as she took in the big room, the strange feeling bed and everything that wasn’t hers. It didn’t take long for the events that occurred recently to dawn on her. She abruptly sat up and kept keen eyes on the door as she said, “Enter.”
Gilnith with two other women shadowed the doorway. One carried a chest box and another a robe. They bowed, and Gilnith spoke. “Your Highness we are here to assist you in getting ready for the celebration feast.”
“Feast?” she asked.
“Yours and His highness union” Gilnith answered. The three other servants whispered at that and suddenly dropped their gaze to the floor when Nara flicked a glance their way.
Gilnith for a second time bowed, “Please forgive me for my earlier incompetence of not addressing you correctly Your Highness. If I had known you’re a princess, I wouldn’t have done such a grave mistake.”
“Your apology is unnecessary. I’m also not a princess.” Nara corrected. Nara chewed on her lip irritably when Gilnith started giving the command to the one with the robe to wait for her in adjoining bathing chamber. The servant arranged a silvery- blue embroidered clothing and undergarments neatly on the bed.
Nara watched captivated for a second as the maid twisted and fiddled with the device mounted on the large bathtub until it released water. It was fascinating.
“What magic is this,” she asked, fascinated. The girl stared at her, not understanding what she said.
“It is no magic. It’s a tool that controls the flow of water from the hot springs in the mountains.” Gilnith replied instead, her voice light with mirth.
She waited for the tub to fill before removing her clothes. Nara hadn’t had to ask them to turn away so she could undress for the bath, Gilnith bets her to it when she ordered the girl to do it. The silence was awkward as the women tried not to look or assist in her bathing and occupied themselves in cleaning her bedchamber as she continued to soak in the bathtub. Stepping from the tub, Nara robbed herself and walked back into the sleeping room. She looked out the window and noticed the waning sun. The evening had begun to settle over the sky.
Gilnith gave her white undergarments once she dried herself. The women waited patiently as Nara dressed until she was satisfied her naked skin was covered from the curious eyes of the servant who stared at her like she was a strange being. Perhaps she was in their eyes, and by the look of their expression, Nara didn’t think the two maids had ever seen a human. As if following some form of procedure, Gilnith again handed her a splendid gilded silver lace tunic with encrusted crystals on its sleeve. Eyes sliding on the lush and heavily embellished with crystal jewelry, Nara couldn’t help appreciating the beauty of the delicate fabrics and its ornaments. “Beautiful” she muttered.
“Indeed, beautiful for the new princess of Forod” Gilnith added with a small smile.
Nara quietly wore the tunic then the skirt which Gilnith carefully helped cinch her in and close its button when she asked for her help. Gilnith spoke over her shoulder in elvish as she did the last button on her skirt. A long-gilded scarf hanged over her shoulder and was secured tightly around her waist with a thin gold belt. The woman who had carried the chest rushed toward them with a pair of good looking shoes. She placed the shoes at Nara’s feet before taking a step back. Nara slipped her bare feet into the fitting shoes.
“May you please sit here Your Highness,” said Gilnith, motioning to the chair at placed near dressing mirror.
Nara inhaled deeply, asking the gods for a bit of tolerance. The hair at her nape raised at the touching she was about to feel. Hands on her hair, face. Uhh… she shivered and swallowed painfully. She chewed on her lip as the uncomfortable ordeal began with one of the maids standing behind her with a comb and started brushing her hair. She counted randomly.
“Gently” she hissed when the woman combed too hard. Gilnith muttered something to the girl with a scowl, causing the girl to bow several times at her side while she repeated “Forgive me”.
Nara pursed her lips. What she felt like forever and painfully slow, the maids continued prettifying her with lavish jewelry. A head piece with a long gold chain and round pendant was tied on her parted hair which was secured to a bun. Staring at the mirror, the pendant hanged lightly on her forehead as did the long allodia earrings. Her face…the dark colors they applied on her face and lips, enhanced her features even more. Nara didn’t know what to feel about this appearance since she had never bothered to pretty herself as did the ladies back in the King’s wall.
The knock on the door saved her from deciding what to feel and from being poked, dabbed and prodded by the women. Nara welcomed the person in. Prince Calemir stood inside. The four women curtsied hastily.
“Ready?” the prince regarded her. Out of the riding clothes he wore in the journey, Calemir had changed into splendid formal garb. A fitting high collar shirt with long sleeves paired with a trouser and a long dark cloak with intricated woven gold pattern. A sheathed sword hanged on the side of his hip. His wavy hair tussled loosely down to his shoulders. Dangerously beautiful, the two words laid thick on her tongue.
“Yes, I am” Nara breathed, standing up.
“You look beautiful” he deep voice was whisper as his eyes travelled up and down her form before settling back on her face. A blush spread over her face, at the same time as the women pretended to look elsewhere.
“Walk with me” the prince stretched out his hand, palm open. Nara wiped her damp hands on her skirt, heartbeat picking up with apprehension setting in her stomach. She lifted her chin and met his gaze. Confidence and assurance gleamed back from them.
“Lead the way Your Highness” she ignored his strong fingers that were ready to clasp her own.