Page 15 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)
Chapter fourteen
Ranger
P acing in front of the window that overlooks the manicured grounds, I think about what to do. I rub the back of my head, still surprised it was Draven who had hit me after Elora ran from the room. Apparently, he thought I was out of line. They all did.
I didn't mean to upset her, and technically , she had done nothing wrong. Touching the lords was completely in her right.
But the whole interaction between them got under my skin.
I hated her batting her eyelashes at them, and when she touched his arm, I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.
I don’t even know why I’m so upset. It’s why we’re here, helping her to find suitable husbands.
But she was moving too fast. A princess shouldn’t be so forward .
“Ranger?” Her soft voice startles me. I stop pacing and turn to stare at her. God, she’s stunning. She’s wearing a new green dress, her damp copper locks trailing down her back, as she looks at me nervously.
“I was wondering, since you seem to know way more about this than I do, would you… Would you teach me how to act around them?”
“There’s nothing wrong with the way you act,” Draven says with a frown, surprising everyone.
“Clearly there is,” she says, motioning to me.
“Draven, Arrow, go scope out the grounds, make sure everything is secure and find us escape routes in case of an emergency,” I tell them firmly.
Draven glares at me a moment before nodding, then he storms from the room.
Arrow shakes his head at me, a look of disappointment in his eyes as he follows.
I stare at Elora for a moment until Blaze comes out of the bathroom waving a comb at her.
“Come sit down, I’ll comb your hair by the fire so it can dry while Ranger instructs you.
” He gives me a look that’s somewhere between a frown and a smirk before moving one of the chairs closer to the fire and dropping a pillow to the ground in front of it.
He sits in the chair and motions to the pillow.
Without a word, she moves over and sits in front of him, then looks up to me expectantly. I drag a chair in front of her and take a seat .
“Let’s start with greetings. You don’t curtsey to anyone below you, which is everyone short of kings or queens. You could curtsy to a prince, but since there aren’t any besides your brothers, that’s a moot point.”
“Really? Who are the other royal families in Dyconia?”
“The Queen didn’t tell you about them?” Blaze asks in surprise.
“No, they didn’t tell me much, honestly.”
“Well, your family, as you know, is from the North. The Silverthorns. Your brothers, the princes, married Princess Freya Highcrest. Her family’s castle is located in the South, but her entire family was killed off by…”
“By the other Elora,” she finishes for me.
I nod before continuing. “The other castle is in the west. Queen Odessa Carmichael lives there with her husbands, who are now kings.”
“Carmichael? She’s related to the lords who live here?” she asks.
“Yes, she’s their sister. She was born a lady but married the previous kings. When they passed, she became Queen in her own right by freeing people from the previous king's tyranny. Then she remarried.”
“Wow, okay, and are there any other royal families?”
“There is the high queen and her husbands. Their castle is located in the central region. ”
“They don’t have any sons? I thought males were more common here?”
“It’s a complicated story, but no, she has no sons, and doesn’t seem to be able to bear any. And as she’s now in her sixties, it’s unlikely it will happen.”
“I see, so no other princes, but lots of lords?”
“I wouldn’t say lots, but there are a few unwed groups of men, yes. And for them, you do not curtsy. You can nod your head in greeting, but that’s it.”
“Okay, I can do that,” she says as Blaze combs gently through her hair.
“As for interacting with them, try to keep your hands to yourself. You can converse, of course, to get to know them. You should be less casual with any of the staff, though, including us.”
“What do you mean?”
“You thanked Edger several times; you don’t need to do that. Keep your interactions with him and us, to a minimum. At least in front of the lords.” She looks at me a moment as if she’s trying to understand my words, then she slowly nods her head.
We spend the next hour telling her what we can about how to act. Everything from what cutlery to use, to topics of conversation. When Draven and Arrow return, Blaze braids her hair and we head downstairs for the musical demonstration.
“Princess Elora, you look well refreshed,” Donald greets as we enter the large sitting room.
“Thank you, you have a wonderful home. ”
“Please take a seat wherever you like, we were just tuning our instruments, if you’re still interested in a demonstration?
” Archie asks. She smiles and nods as she takes a seat in the single armchair so none of them can sit beside her.
I don’t know if she did it on purpose, but it makes me smile.
She sits with her back ramrod straight and her legs crossed at the ankles, her hands clasped together in her lap.
Her appearance makes me frown. It’s exactly how I had told her to sit, so why does that make me unsettled?
Because it’s not her.
This isn’t how our Elora sits, or acts. It’s as if she’s playing a part, which I suppose she is, the part of an interested Princess. I frown as they start to play an upbeat tune for her. I expected them to play something a little more romantic.
After a couple songs, I notice her starting to fidget. Sitting like that is probably uncomfortable for so long. We expected them to play one song then talk to her, not a full concert while she sits there uncomfortably.
As soon as the song ends, I speak up. “Perhaps the Princess would like to stretch her legs? I’m sure she would enjoy a tour of the garden.”
“Yes, of course, we would be delighted to escort her,” Archie says, smiling at her as they all put down their instruments. Elora offers me a thankful smile. I dip my head in response and soon the group of us are heading out the attached doors to the garden .
Byron walks beside her, the other three trailing behind, with the four of us at the back. I don’t like having so many people between us, but there’s nothing technically wrong with this arrangement, so I bite my tongue.
Byron motions to a few of the plants we pass, telling her what they are and their origin.
After a while, Archie speaks up. “We have some business to attend to before dinner. You are welcome to continue strolling the gardens. We will see you at dinner, Your Highness,” he says with a bow.
“Oh, of course, thank you for the informative tour,” she says with a smile. We stay with her as the four men say their goodbyes and leave. “Was it me, or was that a rather abrupt departure?” she asks in confusion.
“That did seem a little weird,” Arrow says, narrowing his eyes in the direction the men left.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asks as her concerned eyes lift to mine.
It takes everything in me not to reach out and stroke her cheek. “No, Princess, you were perfect.” A small blush touches her cheek as she smiles and averts her eyes. “Would you like to keep exploring the grounds?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Not really, can we go relax in our room?” I try not to smile at the way she calls in ours , even though we have been given our own accommodations down the hall.
“Of course.” I motion back the way we came .
After a few minutes of walking in silence, she suddenly exclaims, “Oh!” She squats down and starts touching the plant in the garden beside her. “Blaze, is this that herb you used to make me tea a few days ago? Umm… what was it called again?”
He smiles, crouching down beside her and running a finger over a leaf. “Yes, this is dragon's breath. Good eye, Princess.”
“You don’t want to take any?” she asks, making him laugh.
“I don’t think it’s wise to pick plants from their garden. Though, they probably have a variety of tea available in the kitchen. We could go and see what they have, if you’d like?”
“Okay,” she says happily, then they stand and we continue towards the castle. When we get inside, it takes a few tries to find the hallway that leads to the kitchen. The two staff members seem surprised and nervous to see us there.
“Oh, is there something you need, Your Highness?” the older man asks nervously, his eyes darting to the back door as he wrings his hands.
“I was hoping for a cup of tea, for the five of us.”
“Of course. I’ll bring it up to your room shortly.”
“We were hoping you might have a selection we could choose from,” Blaze says, stepping to her side.
“Oh, ah, well—yes, of course,” he says, then practically runs to a cupboard and pulls out several canisters. He opens each and pushes them toward us. “I could make all of them so you can try each one?” he asks hopefully .
“What?” Elora asks with a laugh. “No, we don’t need a cup of each.
Let’s smell them all and choose one,” she says as she grabs the first canister and sniffs it before passing it to Blaze.
The man watches her nervously as he shifts from foot to foot, his eyes constantly flicking to the back door.
The hairs on my neck rise. There’s something he doesn’t want us to see.
His eyes meet those of the cook, who’s stirring a large pot on the stove.
The cook glances between the pot and the back window.
Slowly, I move around the room to see what’s caught his attention.
A man starts to come into view, and I quickly understand what has the cook so preoccupied.
Out in the garden, one man kisses a woman, while another man kisses her neck from behind.