FOUR
Hildevar opened the door and stepped inside with an imperious air.
“Our future queen, her majesty, Bella, future woman of Rogan, son of Dagan, of the Tuatha-Muin Dragon Clan.”
All conversation stopped as Hildevar ushered Bella into the great hall. Bella tried to imitate Hildevar’s casual grace, but was sure she’d failed miserably. She quickly took her seat beside Rogan and looked over at the sea of questioning eyes that were busily examining her. She fidgeted a bit in her seat until Rogan placed a calming hand atop hers.
She looked over at him and smiled. A pleasant arc of electricity raced through her from him, and her smile faltered just a bit before she turned away. What was that? she asked herself before shaking off her musings and concentrating on the task at hand.
Men all over, and a few women, looked Bella over speculatively. She tried not to wilt beneath the press of so many gazes, some of them curious while many of them hostile. After a moment, servants hurried about with food and drink, and the din of eating, talking and the clang of utensils resumed.
“You can breathe now,” Rogan said to Bella quietly.
Bella snorted inelegantly but, nevertheless, shot him a smirk. “Nope, actually I can’t. Have you tried wearing a corset?”
Rogan roared with laughter. “You have wit. I like that.”
Bella resisted the urge to simper beneath his compliment and simply looked back at him.
“And you are…amazingly beautiful.”
Bella was taken aback by his admission. “T-Thanks,” she stammered and looked down at her plate that seemed to almost mysteriously materialize in front of her. She knew better, however, as she had caught a servant from the corner of her eye hightailing it away from their table with impressive speed.
“I like you better this way. You look more—feminine,” Rogan continued.
Bella cut her eyes at him, the warm feeling she had dissipating like steam.
“Whatever,” she told him and began to pick at the fare before her. There was some kind of meat in a brown gravy on her plate. She picked at it a moment, unsure of how she should proceed. She looked about her and noticed eyes still watching her. She took in a deep breath. Well, here goes, she thought, when in Rome….
She bit delicately into the succulent meat and then nearly moaned. It was delicious.
She leaned over to Rogan. “What is this?”
He smiled back. “It is mear meat. A kind of animal that grazes in the southern valley. The meat is very tender and good. It is hard to procure, however,” Rogan told her. Bella took another bite.
“Why?”
“They fly. Very fast, I may add. It is a delicacy amongst dragons as only the fastest among us can catch them.”
“And who is the fastest amongst you?” Bella queried, and Rogan shot a wide grin.
“I am. I caught this this morning.”
“Hm,” Bella told him nonchalantly. “Well, bully for you.”
Rogan grinned even wider and bit into his own plate of sumptuous meat. Light music then began filling the air with a backdrop of lute-like notes and some other unidentifiable stringed instruments. In the center of the great hall was a large space, and it quickly began to fill with couples performing intricate steps to the music.
“You dance?” Rogan asked, and Bella shook her head.
“No, but I sing,” she offered, and he dropped his utensil in amazement.
“You—sing?!” he said, and she nodded.
“Is that bad? I mean, I--”
“Would you sing for me? Now?” he asked urgently, and Bella nodded.
“I guess I could, but what’s the big deal--”
Rogan motioned to a servant who scurried over. He whispered in the servant’s ear, and the servant’s eyes went wide. The servant glanced over at Bella with awe, and he hurried over to another who stood near a wall. The servant then whispered in that servant’s ear, who in turn, whispered in another’s until the entire hall was buzzing with some kind of underlying excitement.
Bella tugged softly on Rogan’s sleeve. “What’s going on? Why are you acting so strange?”
Rogan gave her a huge smile. “My dear, you just gave me the best gift any wife could give a husband. Now, go….sing something worthy of the clan.”
Deep, melodic music filled the air as couples disengaged and turned to Bella with expectant eyes. Hildevar rushed over and reverently offered her hand, and Bella took it. Hildevar led Bella to the middle of the floor. Couples bowed and scraped as they moved away from the floor back to their tables, and soon Bella was alone. Hildevar made a few gestures with her hand, and Bella made a noise in her throat, surprised that the sound was now magnified.
Bella looked around, more nervous than at any performance she’d ever done. She took a deep breath and then closed her eyes, trying to find the song within her. She hummed along with the music and then finally lifted up her voice. She sang in clear, strong notes about flirting with the idea of love before finding it. Then, she built up the song to its climax, when love is found and all the hardest things about being in love, even the uncertainty and the fear, is all worth it, as true, real love meant feeling whole and complete.
She opened her eyes to see everyone watching her with rapt attention. Some had tears in their eyes, while others were openly sobbing. Couples embraced with passion, their eyes staring back at Bella with something akin to joyous abandon. Bella’s voice wound around notes like silk, taking all the listeners through the emotional journey with soft sighs, trills and then back up with high, hard notes. She reached the crescendo and kept the note suspended there, her voice ringing beautifully across the air and then down into the denouement.
When she had ended the final note, she was breathing hard. The great hall was absolutely silent. No one moved or made a sound. Bella swallowed and took a shaky breath. Did she do something wrong?
Suddenly, a servant shouted out,
“Long live the queen!”
Every servant, and even some within the dragon clans, bowed low and shouted, “Long live the queen!”
Soon, it became a soaring mantra, and then finally Rogan stood, wine glass in hand.
“With such a strong queen, we will surely be great and triumph over our enemies. To the queen!”
Everyone raised their glasses and then drank deeply. Hildevar came abreast of Bella and bowed so deeply that her hair grazed the floor. She came up and shot Bella a look of admiration before leading her back to her seat next to Rogan. There was long bit of scraping, bowing and looks before the mood lightened and the music began again.
Rogan was staring at Bella with a look she couldn’t decipher. She stared back, unable to think of something to say. Finally, Rogan broke their silence.
“You sing like a trill bird. Light, lovely and strong all at once.”
Bella was touched for some reason. “Thank you.”
Rogan nodded and then took a sip of wine. He glanced at her a few more times, and Bella looked down to see that her plate had been replaced with a dessert. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she dug into the light, flaky layers and enjoyed the smooth, velvety crème.
Before long, the heads of the dragon clans were bidding their adieu, but not before they graciously greeted Bella, with even the most hostile amongst them giving Bella a bit of grudging respect. Hildevar then came to lead Bella back to her chamber, and she turned to Rogan, who nodded at her.
“We will meet in the library,” he told her, and Bella followed Hildevar. As they walked down the corridor, Bella was trying but failing to figure out the significance of her singing. Hildevar was leading her into her chambers when Bella whirled around.
“Hildevar,” she began.
“Yes, my queen,” Hildevar said with a slight bow.
“Why—why is my singing such a surprise?”
HIldevar took a deep breath, closed the chamber door and walked deeper into the room.
“You do not yet understand how magic works here, I assume?”
Bella shook her head. “No. I mean I’ve been here what? A day and a half.”
Hildevar chewed her lip thoughtfully before answering. “You have deep magic, my queen. Deeper than any we have seen in many ages.”
“What does magic have to do with this?”
“Perhaps it is different in your world. Most do not sing here. It is a gift. A rare one. To sing is to be able to command great magic, to warp and change spells at will. It is powerful and highly sought after. Rich lords and barons have paid much to try to teach the skill to their daughters, and still, the gift is only given, not bought or stolen.”
“Wait, so you all don’t have singers? They’re all over my world.”
Hildevar’s eyes widened comically. “Your world must be powerful indeed!”
Bella guffawed. “Nope. Not even close. There’s nothing special about a singer these days.”
Hildevar stared at Bella with disbelief. “People sing in your world and no one reveres them?”
Bella chuckled. “Some of them. The famous ones, at least. But even some of them can’t really sing.”
Hildevar seemed at a loss for words. “But--I—How--”
Bella walked over to the full-length mirror. “I’ve been asking myself that question for a long time.”
Bella was trying to undo her dress and making no progress when Hildevar snapped out of her trance and rushed over.
“I will get Alannah to assist us. I apologize, my queen. I just—I am just surprised by the things in your world.”
Bella was pulling at the fabric of the dress and the corset beneath when Alannah seemed to appear out of the air beside her.
Startled, Bella looked over at the young redhead. “How did--,”
Alannah didn’t answer but expertly wove her hands beneath the silky fabric and slipped the gown from over Bella with ease and loosened the corset’s grip.
Relieved, Bella took in a deep breath. She examined her bruised ribs with irritation.
“Women wear this every day?” Bella asked, and Alannah nodded.
“They do, but it is hardly practical,” Alannah snarled.
“It is tradition,” Hildevar rebuked her softly, and Bella shot Alannah a grin over Hildevar’s bent head. Alannah’s face lit up with glee.
Emboldened, Alannah continued, “I heard you sang today, my queen.”
“I did. I didn’t see you there, though,” Bella remarked as Hildevar began unraveling her hair. “You heard about that?”
“Yes, my queen. I couldn’t attend. I was charged with laundry duties,” Alannah said, her face wrinkling with distaste. “But it’s all over the castle. All the servants from the clans were talking about it. You are the first queen to sing since—well, I believe you may be the first. You have powerful magic. I have never been so proud to be of the Tuatha-Muin! Every clan was jealous of us all. They say you could be powerful enough to break even the Alautha-De--”
“Enough!” Hildevar shouted. Both Alannah and Bella were startled. Alannah dropped her head.
“Go and see what the kitchens need.”
Chastised, Alannah dropped her head in shame, the first time that Bella had ever seen such an emotion from the proud young woman. Alannah rushed out the door, her shoulders slumped and heavy.
Bella rounded on Hildevar. “What was all that about, Hildevar?”
Hildevar swallowed and looked at Bella unwaveringly. “Alannah should watch her tongue, my queen.”
“And you should watch yours!” Bella told her.
“Yes, my queen.” A look of hurt flashed across Hildevar’s face, and Bella felt guilt well up inside her.
“Look, I don’t know how this whole world works. You’ve actually been the only one to ever give me any real help with this. I’m sorry I yelled. I just—it’s nice to be looked at as a normal person, you know. It felt kind of good to just gossip like a girl. But, Hildevar, promise me you won’t hide anything from me. I need to know everything, even the dark and dirty bits, okay?”
Hildevar looked into Bella’s face with an intensity she had never seen before. “My queen, I give you my solemn oath of loyalty, servitude, trust and respect. I will always tell you the truth, no matter how hurtful or dark.”
A glow surrounded the both of them and suffused Bella with a feeling of something soothingly soft, like fur rubbed on bare skin. Bella shivered.
“What the hell was that?!” Bella exclaimed.
“I just gave you my complete fealty, my queen.”
“Is—is that a huge deal?”
Hildevar smirked a bit. “Servants who have offered fealty to their betters often died alongside them in battle. It is a very huge—deal.”
“But why me?” Bella asked, puzzled, as Hildevar eased a soft but comfortable gown onto her frame.
“You will change things for the better. I am sure of it.”
Hildevar said nothing more, but led Bella to the library where Rogan sat, waiting.