Page 10

Chapter six

A soft knock on the door had me jolting out of my hollow state hours later. Uncurling myself from a ball on the floor, I wiped at my face and ran my fingers through my hair—trying my best to cover up the fact that I had just spent the last few hours crying.

I opened the door to find Ysabel carrying a basket of snacks, wine, and bath essentials. My eyes bugged slightly at the sight of the items before they shifted to study the woman before me. She looked to be only a few years older, but the gentle caring in her eyes made her seem beyond her years.

A warm smile lit up her face as she asked, “Would you like me to draw you a bath?”

Her words were like music to my ears. Doing my best to return the smile, I said, “I would love one.”

She led me to the ensuite bathroom, explaining, “That little spat from earlier got in the way of our tour, but I hope you are still willing for me to show you what Iredon has to offer you.”

I didn't answer.

Inside the door, I was met with a narrow curved privacy wall full of little paintings that came together to depict the bottom of a ship sailing through water and surrounded by dolphins. Behind it was a round tub in the floor big enough to be considered a pool with countless gold faucets around it.

A vanity and mirror scaled one side of the room, only stopping at a door that led to what had to be a toilet.

With the opposite side seemingly bare other than the gold trim and slim vertical lines running down it.

While the last wall was of more floor-to-ceiling, gold-framed windows overlooking the river.

So much gold.

I cast a glance at Ysabel with a questioning expression.

“The windows are special,” she clarified.

“So you can only see through them from the inside, and on the outside, it looks like the side of the castle. And this wall,” walking over to the white one, she pushed on it near a line.

A door appeared, revealing sparkling gowns as she finished, “Is a wardrobe.”

The little girl inside me squealed at the beautiful gowns that appeared.

I walked around the bath in a bit of a rush, grabbing the gray matte dress with sparkles appearing beneath the top sheer skirt that caught my eye.

Before I could stop, I found myself saying, “When I was younger, I saw a woman wearing a dress like this. She looked like a glimmer of light walking through the crowd with pure elegance and kindness in her eyes. That image of her has stayed with me to this day. . .” I paused, unsure if I should add the last part.

After a deep breath, I decided to continue, admitting aloud one of my personal secrets to a complete stranger, “She is what I imagined I could’ve been in another life. ”

There was no judgment on her face at my reveal, only understanding. “She is who you can be in this life. You could wear it tonight at dinner,” she offered.

My lips thinned as I shook my head. “This is too fancy for a dinner.”

Ysabel shrugged, “True, but for tonight's dinner, the king is hosting a ball for the former queen's birthday.”

The idea of attending a ball made my heart leap.

How could I go from living in the woods, barely able to afford food, to attending a ball in the next week?

This was all so surreal. If it weren’t for the fact that I was being tortured by the presence of Nickolai, I would think it was too good to be true.

“In any case, I don’t think I’ll be attending. Let alone staying here after earlier,” I chided.

“Everyone is asked to attend, but I can double-check in case you change your mind later,” she reassured, grabbing the dress to put it back on the rack.

I chose not to respond any further on the subject—not wanting to be rude after she had been so nice.

Ysabel moved to turn on each of the faucets and check the temperature of the water, which filled the bath in no time.

She was so graceful walking over to the vanity, grabbing salts and oils to fill the tub with magnificent scents that permeated throughout the room.

Dimming sunlight from the windows glinted off the rich, vibrant color of her hair, and the peaceful look on her face told me that there wasn’t anything she would rather be doing.

Once finished, she turned back to me, folding her hands in front of herself, “Would you like help undressing or with your bath?”

I reared my head back, taken off guard by her offers, before collecting myself, “Uh. . . sure, I could use some help with my hair.”

She nodded and smiled again, seeming grateful that I accepted her help.

After pouring me a glass of wine, and through much convincing, she joined me in a drink.

It was hard not to relax once the bubbles from the sparkling liquid tickled my tongue, joined by the flavors of sweet floral and raspberry.

And soon, I was soaking in the first perfectly warm bath I’d had in years.

Layers of filth accumulated over the years were scrubbed away with more effectiveness than what I could do in the river or the bath in my cottage.

My body was both plucked and shaved until all that remained was soft and smooth skin that became moisturized with vanilla-scented lotion.

The products that Ysabel put in my hair made it silky, and I was—for the first time in a long time—able to run my fingers through it without new tangles forming.

I felt pampered, and a piece of me wanted to soak up every second rather than fight it, even if it was only for a short time.

At the mention of a shop with more products in an abundance of scents, Ysabel convinced me to view the city up close, and we found ourselves navigating our way through the castle.

I wore a new pair of dark trousers and a light green tunic that perfectly clung to me with Airmathair back in its typical spot along my hip.

Ysabel guided me through the many turns and staircases, and I began to think about what my next move would be. It wasn’t like I could kill Nickolai now that he was the king. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be welcome in any of the other kingdoms without it causing a war to break out.

His death would secure mine.

Although I had my moments when I was ready for it to end, other times I reminded myself of the deaths that were meaninglessly taken, and the questions they brought forth. And as much as the world around me tried to convince me, it wasn’t quite my time.

While I didn’t like it, I was not going to get the answers I’d been looking for if I left the castle. Which meant I had to bide my time and look for information while doing what I could to ignore the first man to capture my heart and my body. That was if he allowed me to stay.

The buildings of Iredon came into view and I realized they weren’t made of new stone like the ones in Brenillin; these had more character and charm only given with age.

Which only became accentuated by the trees and plant life that were scattered throughout the city.

While cobblestone made up most of the streets here as well, this place had gardens with ponds and little bridges for people to explore.

Smiles filled the faces of almost all of the people that we passed—while few of them were too lost and concentrated on their work.

It was safe to say the city seemed to invoke a resounding happiness to all that lived and visited here.

It was an effort not to let myself get angry for all of those who weren't fortunate enough to be in the cities.

We worked our way through the street, eventually reaching the shop that through the large window I could already see was filled with wall after wall of lotions, oils, and perfumes for both men and women.

Walking in, the smells immediately overwhelmed me, both amazing and not.

We jumped into searching through all of the different scents, finding some for older, younger, more sophisticated palates, and those who like a delicate touch. The variety was never-ending.

Ysabel seemed to find the oddest scents, insisting that I smell them, and then laughing a melodic, girlish laugh when my face cringed.

Despite the fact that I should be sparing with my money, we eventually each found one item that trumped all the others and left with our new perfumes in hand, opting to stop for a quick bite to fill the hunger our shopping worked up.

Curiosity got the better of me as I asked around my mouthful of pineapple and white chocolate pudding, “How did you become a lady’s maid?”

Ysabel set down her spoon, having finished her dessert almost as soon as it hit the table. “Well the short version of the story is—I grew up in the city my whole life. The king's sister, at one point, took a liking to me, and the rest is history.”

“Oh, so you and the princess are like best friends?”

She grinned, shaking her head, “I wouldn’t say best friends, more like close acquaintances.” Her face fixed into a brief look of apprehension before adding, “The king and princess have their own inner circle of friends, but they each have many. . . close friends.”

I nodded in understanding even though my mind was still running over her words.

They each have many. . . close friends.

Thoughts of Nickolai and his many close friends started to take over, spurring a new wave of feelings that I didn’t want to even think about, let alone feel.

My attention was pulled by the sun starting to set.

The clouds above us turned pink and orange with a hint of red.

It was a sight that I had yet to see other than behind the comfort of a window.

I scanned the faces of those still milling about the streets.

None of them seemed bothered by the looming night or in a rush to get home.

In fact, some of them were stopping to look up at the sky with awe.

In Brenallin, such behavior would be baffling.

Even though there was a wall to protect most of the city, there was still, on rare occasions, a monster that made its way within, slaughtering anyone who dared to be out past curfew.

And I had yet to see a wall around Drine.

It was strange to see the difference, and it left me needing even more answers.

Answers that I needed sooner rather than later.