Page 14 of Veil of Vasara (Fate of the Five #1)

CHAPTER 14- NATHON

S he was shaking like a leaf desperately clutching to a branch in a storm. I had a feeling if I had taken my hands off her, she would have fallen to the ground as easily as one from a dying tree.

We stepped slowly into the room. We had clearly been cast in shadow by the doorframe, for once we stepped into the well-lit central walkway, the silence that had settled like a soft blanket over the magnificent space was shattered.

Gasps shred the silence in the space apart. People darted their eyes between Loria and me, muttering amongst themselves. Loria gripped my arm even harder. I in turn, gripped her hand tighter, and smiled as we grew closer to the throne, and Vasara’s Prince.

I had to admit it, the man looked reverential.

His blood red tunic perfectly matched the shade of his hair, which was slicked back and resting just below his ears. Its high neck rested just above his collarbones, bleeding against his pale skin. The crown he wore was partially fashioned in the shape of the sun's rays. It made the sharp cuts of his face look even more regal somehow.

I could hear Loria stop breathing as she fixed her eyes on him. He was staring at her now, not in the way I had seen men stare at women in bars, pleasure houses, or similar establishments. He was looking at her with an unrestrained curiosity.

Their eye contact was prolonged enough for a flourish of further whispers to hum behind us as we stopped at the established line in front of his throne. Loria curtsied and I bowed.

A man to our right held out a scroll and in a booming voice, far too loud for the hall shouted, “Princess Loria Albarsan and Prince Nathon Albarsan of Audra.”

The muttering that had slithered between the crowd like a silent snake became an uproar of shock. I smirked, Prince Eliel noticed, and slid his gaze away from Loria to look at me. I could feel Loria’s eyes on me too, as well as every other human being's in this hall.

The rumours about me had their advantages, sometimes.

Prince Eliel raised his hand in a casual, graceful gesture. His jaw clenched as he did. The muttering quieted down almost immediately, but stubbornly persisted in certain corners of the room. In response, Prince Eliel stood, slowly and deliberately, his blizzard blue eyes scanning the crowd for moving lips. The room became utterly still.

I turned around to look at the crowd and then back at him. He clearly commanded much authority here and… even fear perhaps. Something he and I had in common, it seemed.

If he did in fact command fear, I had to figure out why, and quickly. I had to figure out his strengths and his skills, so we could do what we were here to. I’d have to gather as much information as possible while Loria batted her eyelashes at him for weeks.

I didn’t envy her in the slightest. I’d much rather assassinate than seduce people.

Although, I would have been equally skilled at both, and I’d truly have preferred the option of doing neither.

“Welcome to Vasara,” Prince Eliel said, lowering his hand, but remaining standing. “It is an honour to have not one, but two members of Audra’s Royal Family here.” His voice was low but relaxed, like a stream from a hot spring. His emphasis on two made clear he was aware of the strange nature of my escorting Loria and would not soon forget it.

Loria lifted her chin proudly, but I could tell she was nervous when directly addressing the Prince. “The honour is all ours, Your Highness. My brother couldn’t refuse the opportunity to visit your Kingdom and witness such a historic event. He is rather restless, as I’m sure you may have heard.” She finished with a smile.

The look on the Prince’s face told me he was thinking almost, if not the exact same thing as I. Loria’s response had been unexpected, and incredibly intelligent. She had in a few sentences, accepted his welcome, complimented him, complimented his Kingdom, expressed our ‘delight’ at being here, and explained my presence away with a light-hearted remark.

Loria squeezed my arm gently under my hand. Her way of saying, " Let me do the talking." I squeezed her hand back, my way of saying, "He’s all yours."

Prince Eliel smiled slowly, staring at Loria in that same way again. “Yes. I feel I know much about your brother and very little about you.”

I feel. This man did not take rumour for fact then. Frustrating. Had he done so, that would have worked to our advantage.

“I look forward to correcting that, Prince,” Loria said confidently.

The Prince’s closed smile grew very slightly wider. “As do I, Princess.”

The silence now felt even thicker after their exchange. They kept their eyes on each other. I turned to notice several of the escorts whispering into the ears of the candidates they accompanied. I found myself wishing I could just kill the Prince right here and now and be done with it, simply to put an end to this grotesquely ridiculous farce.

The Prince slowly backed away and sat down on his throne.

“Let the festivities begin,” he declared.

He never took his eyes off Loria’s face.

We turned and walked towards the table and sat down in our allocated seats. It was only after Loria removed her hand from my arm that I could see how white her knuckles had turned from gripping it so tightly. I had barely felt it. That was hardly surprising, I’d developed a high pain tolerance over the years.

Sitting across from us was Vasara’s candidate and her escort. They were seated next to Dyna and the Captain. We were seated next to Jurasa’s candidate, and at the short end of the table, on two seats, sat Zeima’s candidate and her escort. The one who had informed me with her eyes she would gut me the second I so much as blinked in her charge’s direction.

At the other end of the table sat a few noblemen. Fargreaves was amongst them. There was one unoccupied Councilman’s seat and by the looks on the faces of Vasara’s Council, they were extremely displeased at the mystery individual’s absence.

“Nicely done,” I muttered into Loria’s ear. She jumped, visibly startled, which drew the attention of the others.

I remained indifferent for the sake of our fellow dinner guests, but I was concerned by her sudden outburst of fright.

“Are you quite alright Princess?” Zeima’s candidate said.

“Of course, thank you. I was just lost in thought,” Loria replied.

The Zeiman Candidate sipped her goblet of wine. “There is much to think about.” She looked at me briefly and then looked away.

“Who are you, may I ask?” I held her scuttling gaze. “Since we entered last, we are at a disadvantage. We didn’t learn your names.” I grabbed a goblet of wine and began to drink.

“I’m Rhana.”

“Ahhh, the Princess.”

“Yes.”

“And who’s your lovely friend?” I pointed at her escort.

Rhana nodded at her escort, giving her permission to answer herself. “I am Jayli, Your Highness.” She sounded starved of air.

“Are you quite alright Jayli?”

Jayli’s dark brown eyes narrowed. Rhana, who had been pleasantly polite up until that point, looked at me coldly.

“She’s probably afraid of you.” I turned to find Dyna speaking as she popped a grape into her mouth. “Did you hear them all when you walked in? They were all talking about you, Prince.”

“Are you… afraid of me Jayli?” I turned back to her curious.

“No, Your Highness.” She flicked her braided hair behind her shoulder.

“See…she’s not afraid of me,” I said, raising my glass in Dyna’s direction.

“She wouldn’t say yes if she were afraid of you, would she?” Dyna said teasingly, as if she had provided the most insightful comment of the century.

The Captain looked at Dyna, silently suggesting she stop talking.

“I, for one, was excited to meet you Prince.” Vasara's candidate gave me a cloying smile. "Tarren Lestor," she introduced herself.

Loria could barely suppress a snorting sound under her breath.

“Were you? Isn’t that nice.” I smiled back, beginning to place food onto my plate.

“I think many are excited to have you here,” she continued.

“You’ve asked them, have you?” I raised an eyebrow, sceptical of her inane friendliness.

“There is no need. A handsome and famous warrior such as yourself, and Royalty no less.” She leant further into the table, deliberately.

Loria jolted up suddenly, Tarren looked mortified.

“My Lady.” Loria sounded angry. I’d very rarely heard that. “I’m assuming your footwork was meant for my brother.”

“I…I... I don’t know what you mean, Your Highness.”

“I think you’ve got your Princes confused. I would suggest you save your manoeuvres and flattery for the one whose hand we are competing for.”

Tarren feigned outrage. “I would never…I…you are misunderstanding—"

“It would be hard for me to misunderstand your foot on my thigh,” Loria bit.

Rhana was smiling behind her goblet. Dyna’s mouth was gaping wide open. I held Tarren’s mortified gaze, raising one eyebrow.

“Apologies, it was not intentional.” She looked at me and Loria apologetically, but also with a newfound respect.

It would be all too easy to underestimate Lady Tarren as a jealous, ambitious young woman, but there was always more to someone than the obvious, than the easy conclusion of their personhood.

“It was,” Loria said, looking down at the plate she had now begun to fill herself.

“Was your outfit?” Tarren added.

Loria’s head spun back up.

“Intentional? It’s only…as you say, we are competing for Prince Eliel’s hand, and are you sure this is the best way to do it?” She looked at Loria’s cloak up and down.

“Thank you for your concern, My Lady,” Loria replied. “But I would prefer to keep my tactics a secret.”

“Of course, of course.” She smiled, feeling victorious at having shamed Loria so openly.

Tarren’s escort yanked on her sleeve and muttered something into her ear. If he had half a brain, he would be telling her to use the few brain cells she was clearly utilising at this moment to keep silent.

I glanced up at Prince Eliel. Somebody was bending behind his throne, having hurried to it with great haste. He was informing him of something, moving his hands in a way that indicated distress. I nudged Loria’s arm with my elbow and gestured with my chin at the scene. Her gaze followed mine.

The Prince furrowed his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose, casting his head downwards. He turned around to reply to the man, and just as he did, the doors of the throne room burst open with a loud thud.

A man walked in, completely underdressed for the occasion, in nothing but a thin white, crumpled tunic and dark red loose pants. He looked as if he had awoken less than an hour earlier. His hair was the same colour as Prince Eliel’s, only part of it was tied back at the top in a small bun, and the rest was longer, sitting just past his shoulders. He scratched his broad, stubbled jaw without reserve, and strolled down the centre of the aisle, winking at several of the ladies at the tables. He lifted his arms out in a warm gesture, then struck his own chest with a slap.

“Cousin. Pardon my lateness. I was busy.” He looked puzzled for a moment and then continued “Well, I wasn’t busy actually but…” He lowered his voice for dramatic effect, since everyone else could clearly still hear him, “You have to admit these things are fucking boring.”

He went on, “I wouldn’t have come, only this time, I heard some beautiful women would be here, from all across the world. All for…you.” He pointed at the Prince, who looked so furious, I thought he might spontaneously combust.

“Elias.” Prince Eliel greeted the man, a hostile edge to his tone.

Elias…this was the Prince’s cousin.

“What do you look so angry for, c’mon, c’mon, I came dinn… I?” He was slurring his words. He was drunk.

Elias paused for a moment in thought, and looked over at our table, surveying each of the women at it with a curious glare. “You only need one, right? You could leave me the others?” He pointed at us laughing and turned back to the Prince, who remained staring at him as if promising death itself.

“Why’s that one wearing a fucking cloak?” Elias blurted out, glaring at Loria with amusement. “What’s she got under there that’s so interesting? Maybe I could look for you and—"

The Prince rose from his throne so quickly, that by the time he appeared in front of his cousin, I’d barely had the time to blink. He grabbed him by the collar of his flimsy clothing, almost gently, then suddenly yanked him forwards, placing the other hand behind his cousin’s head. He said something directly into his ear that nobody could make out.

Prince Eliel pulled back carefully, Elias looked at him and grinned, clicking his tongue.

“Mmmmm… your wish is my command.” He stumbled towards the table. He was clearly extremely inebriated. He made his way towards the unoccupied Council chair and gradually, quiet conversation started up around the room again, most likely about him. Prince Eliel followed his cousin’s movements all the way to the table before turning back to talk to the man who had approached him just moments before.

Before Elias reached his chair however, he took a long and hard look at everyone seated at our end of the table.

His searching glances stopped at me.

“You?” He came closer. “What are you doing here?” He leant on the corner of the table, his arms crossed over his chest. His breath smelt of alcohol, in fact his whole body reeked of it.

“You should address him as ‘Your Highness’,” Tarren said.

I internally groaned at her comment.

“Or what?” Elias laughed, training his dark red eyes on me. “What’s he going to do? Kill me right here and now in front of all these guests?”

I smiled back slowly, “Don’t tempt me, My Lord.”

“No, no, no, that’s not your style though, is it?” He poked my shoulder.

I was beginning to wonder if my ‘style’ was worth changing.

“You’d kill me in the middle of the night or something. Or…or make me wait for months, thinking I was safe and sound. Then one evening, I’d be balls deep in some woman and you’d barge into my bed chambers and slit my throat, right?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. That’s far too messy,” I smiled.

He looked at me with a mixture of delight and bemusement. “Is it true you killed forty men at once, all by yourself at the Hysort Pass during those riots?” He leant forwards, closer to my face.

That wasn’t true, it had been more like ninety.

I didn’t say anything at first, momentarily distracted by the memory of that night.

“It’s not a hard question, is it?” His warm breath struck my face.

“Nor was it a hard task,” I lied. It was a scourge on my memory, on my soul, a stain that I would never get out.

“So, it is true.” The man covered his mouth with his hand “Shit, you really are a psychopath, aren’t you? Just like they say.”

“And you are…what exactly, a drunk, a circus act?” I clipped back.

Elias laughed heartily at that. “Look around you, Your Highness .” He used air quotation marks for my title. “All this, these people.” He made a circling motion with his finger. “This is the real fucking circus.”

“Maybe.” I glanced up at him. “But you’re either part of the show or you’re a prop. I’d rather have a leading role myself.”

He grimaced. “Would you really? Enjoying the show, are you?”

I remained silent.

“And what about your pretty companion here?” he said, looking at Loria.

Loria observed him with something akin to morbid fascination. She thought for a moment and spoke. “Props get used by those who have a leading role. I don’t want to be used.”

“What would you call your father sending you here to make lovely little babies with my cousin then?”

Loria’s mouth twitched slightly at the corner. The thought she would have to carry Eliel’s child against her own will as part of my father’s plan made me physically ill.

And I could tell she was thinking. Only that’s not what I was sent here for at all.

“An audition,” she replied. “For the leading part.”

“Fuckkkk.” Elias straightened up. “Please tell me the rest of you aren’t as strange as these two.”

Nobody replied to his question.

“What about you?” He pointed at Dyna. She looked up at him, her dark blue eyes the same colour as the details in her silver dress.

“What about me?” she asked him, searching his face.

“Are you…enjoying the show?” He gestured around the room again, this time placing one arm on the back of my chair.

I thought about all the ways I could and would remove his arm for him if he didn’t do so soon.

“Of course,” Dyna said.

“So well trained. You’re obviously fucking miserable.”

Suddenly the Captain spoke. “I think it is you, My Lord, who is the most miserable of us all.”

I couldn’t help but smile. The Captain had actually broken his stone-cold facade for this man.

Elias went quiet, looking at the Captain as if he had just pulled out his guts and laid them on the table in front of him. They continued to stare at one another. He dropped his hand from my chair.

“I think you should leave now… Lord Elias,” the Captain said. Dyna was obviously anxious, avoiding making eye contact with the man.

“I was just about to, don’t worry.” He gagged for a second and placed his fingers over his mouth. After regaining his composure, and presumably swallowing his sick, he added, “I won’t devour your maiden there, Kalnasan, rest assured.”

He looked at Dyna some more, then exclaimed, “Fuck how old is she?” He tilted his head down, as if trying to look at her from under her chestnut hair.

“Sixteen, My Lord,” Dyna replied, without meeting his eyes.

Unexpectedly, the man shook his head in disapproval. “Too young for this shit.” He huffed out a laugh. “Guess I better go, before my dear cousin strangles me.”

He sauntered over to his seat, dragging it across the floor before settling into it. He exchanged what sounded like barbed words with the fellow Councilmen.

“Delightful man,” Rhana said.

“It’s a shame we can’t marry him, ” Loria added.

I tensed up but was put back at ease when Rhana replied, chuckling, “I’m not even sure he’d be able to stay conscious during the nuptials.”

“Or what came afterwards,” Loria mumbled.

“That might be a good thing,” Rhana said.

They both laughed, as did Jayli, and even a frightened Dyna smiled slightly. Tarren watched the exchange between the two with what seemed like jealousy and disgust. I watched it with interest. It was good Loria was making an ally. We could use that later. We would.

I peered around the room and table for a few moments and noticed Jurasa’s candidate was still quiet. Loria noticed me watching and turned to the woman, who was sitting next to her.

“I like your ring, My Lady,” she said, referring to a turquoise gem that sat across the woman's index finger.

The woman looked up at her slowly, as if in a trance. “Thank you," then abruptly added, as if suddenly realising she was meant to speak to others at this event, “My brother gave it to me.”

“It’s… a very generous gift. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Loria said, staring at the woman’s hand.

“Neither have I. He’s very kind to me. He…” She tugged at the end of her hair nervously. “He was worried about sending me here.”

“He sounds…wise," Loria said carefully.

The woman looked at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with her the whole time. “He is.”

“What’s the stone?” Loria pointed at it again.

“I…I don’t know. I never thought to ask.”

“Well, maybe we could find out. We could ask a jeweller here. They may have seen it before.”

“Oh no, Your Highness. I wouldn’t wish to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble, I’m curious myself.” I didn’t detect any dishonesty in Loria’s statement.

The woman looked at Loria directly for the first time, and then at her neck, her necklace. “It’s like the ones we have at home.”

“Yes, I noticed that, how did you get emeralds in Audra?” Tarren piped up again.

I glanced at the Captain who seemed to have only just noticed Loria was wearing the necklace he sourced for me. It had been partially covered by her cloak. He squinted subtly at Loria’s throat and then fixed his eyes on me, clearly trying to figure out why I had gone to such trouble to get it for her.

I could only hope he thought me a doting brother, rather than a would-be King Killer.

“It was something I received a long time ago. I don’t remember how,” Loria fibbed.

This was not good. It would have been one thing for the Captain to know I was lying about where the necklace was from, but now he knew without a doubt, that Loria was lying too, and was likely trying to figure out why we would both bother to hide so much about a piece of jewellery.

“How unfortunate,” the Captain said. “It would have been interesting to know.”

I cut into my steak with my knife, looking at the Captain intently.

This will be me at your throat if you keep talking Captain.

He threw a surreptitious glance at the Noxstone attached to my torso, then looked at me.

I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine, Your Highness.

The rest of the evening passed quickly, with cordial, forced, and quiet conversation stirring amongst the hall. Prince Eliel remained a stoic picture of leadership the whole time. Elias drank enough wine to empty two whole jugs alone and Dyna continued to remain silent after his arrival. Towards the end of the meal, one of the Councilmen rose. He was old, short, bald, and sweaty, dabbing his neck with a handkerchief. He licked his lips before raising his goblet, and struck it with a spoon, announcing his speech.

“Thank you all, for coming to the opening ceremony of the ninety-eighth Courting Season.”

“Ninety-eighth?” Dyna said surprised, as a round of applause sounded across the hall.

“As per tradition, the Prince will now have a private audience with all five candidates and their escorts. Please follow the guards to leave the hall one table at a time.”

The Candidate from Jurasa turned to Loria and smiled nervously.

“What’s your name?” Loria asked her.

“Maiwen, Your Highness.”

“Your brother…is the Jurasan King?” Dyna asked, having overheard their exchange.

“Yes, he is.”

Next to myself, the Jurasan King was probably the most spoken about individual across the Five Kingdoms, but for a very different reason. Rumours surrounding me were based on my deeds, my skills, and my cruelty. Some of them were true, most of them were lies. But the rumours about the Jurasan King were based around the fact nobody really knew him at all.

He barely left his Castle, it was said. There had only ever been vague reports about his appearance, and they changed every few months. Those who had met him had nothing good to say about him, and he was known for being difficult to negotiate with, and speak to. Despite that, he had held the throne since he was very young, having been crowned at the age of thirteen, apparently. Many had predicted his failure, but under his leadership, Jurasa had become more powerful than it had ever been before.

I respected him. Strange I knew, considering I had never met him, but to keep your own secrets as one of the greatest and most successful rulers in the history of Athlion, was no small feat.

“Are his eyes actually green or are they blue? Some say one thing, some say another,” Dyna asked joyfully.

That question reminded me of her age. If I’d had one chance to ask a question about the Jurasan King, it certainly wouldn’t have been something as utterly useless as the colour of his eyes.

“They’re…it’s hard to say.” Maiwen sounded perplexed.

“But what would you say?” Dyna asked, her childish curiosity was so out of place in this hall.

“I’d say you can’t describe them with one colour.”

“How mysterious.” Dyna rested her hands on her chin. Her face fell as the Councilmen stood to leave.

Elias walked past us, winking as he did, “Good luck flirting, ladies.” He knocked against a table on his way out, lumbering towards the exit off balance.

The guards who had been standing behind us, holding our Kingdom's flags, directed us one by one to a spot in front of Prince Eliel’s throne. Eventually, all candidates and their escorts stood in front of him in a line.

Fargreaves, the short sweaty man, and another middle-aged man with dark facial hair, remained at the King’s side.

“The King will now appraise you one at a time. Candidates, please step forwards and escorts, please step back.”

Tarren bounded forwards immediately, Dyna did so soon afterwards, then Rhana.

Maiwen and Loria lagged behind. Loria took a deep breath.

“Don’t worry, you’ve covered everything up anyway.” I gave her a side glance.

She shot me a bitter look. I backed away with my hands up, and then put them behind my back. She stepped forwards, as did Maiwen.

My eyes found themselves on Fargreaves, I was still trying to remember where it was I had encountered him before.

I noticed the Captain watching me, staring at Fargreaves. I raised my eyebrows questioningly. Rather than looking irritated or deterred by my inquisition, he turned to squint at the auburn-haired man himself inquiringly, then looked back at me again in a similar manner.

Unusual.

Prince Eliel stood and made his way to the first candidate.

Time for the auditions to begin.