Page 63 of Veil of Vasara (Fate of the Five #1)

CHAPTER 63- HESTAN

“Y ou don’t have to be here,” I reassured Dyna as I glanced at the festival’s attractions.

It had only just been over a day since Dyna had awoken. She had recovered much faster than I had anticipated, most likely due to the Healer’s capabilities. The Palace’s own healers were stumped at the revelation that she had miraculously awoken from her slumber.

I, of course, had acted the same way, professing I had simply been sitting by her bedside when she had done so.

“It’s fine! It’s fine.” Dyna laughed nervously, twisting a lock of her hair with her right hand, her left arm locked into mine. “I’m feeling well,” she insisted.

“It’s not that,” I said under my breath.

Dyna gulped and looked away.

After she had awoken, she had been delirious with fright. She hadn’t been able to identify the figure who had threatened her. No matter how much, or what I questioned her, she simply replied with the same three phrases.

“I don’t know.”

“I didn’t see.”

“I can’t remember.”

But what she did remember, was that this person had stated it was her, or the lives of her siblings.

Dyna had seven siblings.

At first, she had insisted on fulfilling her side of the bargain with her own death. She had even got on her knees and begged me to kill her myself.

Seeing her that way, filled me with rage. Whoever had made her this afraid, this desperate, was utterly despicable.

What’s more, he would now know she was alive, and so Dyna was, despite acting boisterous, occupied with the thought her siblings were unsafe, and that she was the cause.

Once she had come to her senses, she had suggested she play dead, but such a scenario would be impossible with the frequency the healers of the Palace were coming to check in on her. If she simply disappeared, where would she go alone? If I went with her, it would be very obvious she had escaped and was thus, not dead at all.

And so, after some deliberation, and a long few hours spent trying to calm her, we agreed the best course of action was to wait, be cautious, to keep Dyna heavily watched, and guarded, and to alert King Dunlan of the threat. The latter I had done this morning.

I could only hope my letter would not be intercepted. There was a chance of that happening, but what choice did I have?

As much as Dyna wished to resume her normal activities, appearing in public like this, so soon after the incident, was a direct and blatant demonstration to her attacker that he had failed. I wasn’t sure if that was information we should be revealing so soon, so openly.

“You’re with me. As the Princess said, I’m lucky to have you. You’ll protect me.”

She sounded as if she were reciting a prayer to herself.

“I will, My Lady, but still, I could protect you from within the Palace walls as well.”

“Yes but…but…I don’t want to be there, for now.”

It was understandable. It was obvious now that she had said it. Nobody would enjoy lingering around the area they had been near-killed in.

“Besides, everyone’s been talking about the festival for weeks! The games, the parade, I want to see it all!”

“Very well, then I shall be beside you.”

“No! You must enjoy the festival as well!” Dyna insisted stubbornly.

I looked around. There were stalls everywhere. In front of us, villagers were throwing small chips into cups, competing for prizes. To the right, there were several stalls selling luxurious jewels, clothing, armour, and even weaponry. The best and finest merchants from across the Kingdom had all collated here.

Down a street to the left, there was a similar scene, only with a variety of stalls selling food, the rarest delicacies, and the largest cuts of meat. The aroma of their juices wafted through the air. The smell of cinnamon cut through that, insistently sweet, warring with the scent of spices. Stacks and trays of it all sat on silver and golden platters, glistening in the sunlight.

It was nothing like Kalnasa. In truth, I had never seen anything quite like it in my life. As much as I could appreciate and admire it, immersing myself in it was another matter altogether.

Soon there would be a Parade. The candidates as well as a variety of dancers, musicians, Chimeras, and the King himself would ride the streets atop adorned chariots.

But before that, at the very centre of Iloris, the area having been cleared out for the occasion, there would be the conduction of a tradition that had occurred at every Courting Season for centuries.

Dice of Desire, that is what the people called it here, but it was officially titled ‘Thrice Dice.’

Dyna and I were heading to the centre of the city now, where we would take our space at the table for the game. The closer we got, the denser the crowd grew, they parted for us. It was easy to identify us by the outfits we wore.

Dyna and I had arrived wearing a matching colour -mint green. Dyna’s dress was made from fine silk and near her abdomen, a dense sewing of silver thread formed swirls around her waist. I, meanwhile, wore a vest, its v line and lack of sleeves exposing my upper chest and arms. The heat was far too stifling to wear anything else. My hair was held in a top knot bun with a pin. Dyna’s was braided.

The crowd cast us glances as we walked by.

“The ladies are staring at you!” Dyna said joyfully.

There were, in fact, several women staring in my direction and whispering, some even laughing.

“Mm,” I replied.

“Oh, don’t be like that! My mother said she’s tried to arrange a marriage for you several times and you always refuse. Don’t you want a wife?” Dyna nudged me, urging me to glance in the women’s direction.

“No. I have no wish for a wife,” I said flatly, consciously looking in any direction not in line of sight of those women.

“No wish for a wife?” Dyna’s eyes were blank. She sounded as if I had declared myself to be a mass murderer.

“No.”

“Why?”

“I…I just don’t.”

“You’re strange,” Dyna sounded suspicious.

It was those who clamoured and rushed to get married to the first woman they met who had always seemed strange to me. Not that I would tell Dyna that, she was currently desperate to marry a man she barely knew.

The path cleared. In front of us was a large, hexagonal shaped table, lined with crimson velvet. The top of the shape was currently unoccupied, where the King would stand.

We walked to where we had been placed, which, if you were to stand in the King’s position, would be the top left edge of the hexagon, our sides to the crowd.

To our left, and at the base of the hexagon, completely facing away from the people, stood Maiwen and a new individual, who appeared to be a replacement for her escort. Jurasa must have known about the old one’s disappearance by now. I glanced away from him hurriedly. I had no intention of making eye contact with him again.

To our right stood Rhana and her escort Jayli, both of them were dressed in bright blue. Opposite them, stood Tarren and her escort dressed in blood red, and opposite us, there was an empty space, where Audra’s Prince and Princess would stand.

The crowd spoke in excitable whispers, in amongst them were those placing bets on the winners. Dyna gripped my arm tighter as we took in the scene.

The volume of the crowd’s whispers shifted, decreasing. At this change, everyone stilled, the crowd once again parted.

Opposite us, Audra’s Prince and Princess approached the table.

Each and every person who laid eyes on them was left speechless, unable to utter any words, incapable of looking away, but appearing as if they desperately wanted to. Loria arrived at the table first. Her dress was inky black, shaped in a vest that formed a high collar around her neck, clasped with a silver ornament. There were two slits at the dress’s waist, exposing her skin.

The Prince followed closely behind her.

He was wearing what resembled a jacket with no sleeves, it was black and had a stiff collar, but it dipped sharply into an almost straight line that exposed his bronze skin all the way to his waist. There were silver clasps near its bottom, and around his neck was a choker of a similar colour, the shape of a serpent, its head and tail at the edge of his collarbones.

The crowd slowly resumed talking once the two had reached the table.

“My Lady, I’m glad to see you well,” Loria addressed her. The table was wide, but the Albarsans were no further than three arms breadths away from us, and so could easily be heard, even over the noise.

Dyna stammered, staring at the Prince and Princess, the Prince in particular. “I…thank you, Your Highness.” She sounded nervous. She suspected everyone responsible for her most recent attack, especially the other candidates.

It dawned on me then, that I hadn’t even considered the Prince or Princess of Audra would be the responsible parties and that truthfully, I had no reason to absolve them of suspicion so quickly.

“Captain, you look different today.”

I looked up to see the Prince, staring at me.

His sister let out a small laugh. “Doesn’t everyone? We’re meant to adorn ourselves with the best attire for this occasion, aren’t we?” She raised one eyebrow at him, and the Prince furrowed his, looking down at her from the side, seemingly irritated.

“It’s because he normally looks boring,” Dyna interjected.

I slightly pulled away and looked down at her in shock.

The Prince’s laugh interrupted my state of confusion. He had his hand on his half bare abdomen.

I sighed and schooled my face back into blankness.

Dyna tried to soften her words. “No, not boring, I mean…it’s just that…he doesn’t like extravagant things.”

The Prince had stopped laughing now and replied, “Not boring, just—"

“Poor,” Tarren inserted herself into the conversation.

The Prince’s face fell, and he clicked his tongue, not hiding the scowl he threw her way.

Loria cleared her throat, trying to get his attention, but the Prince paid her no mind.

“Weren’t you the very person in doubt of Kalnasa’s dire financial situation during our last conversation? But now the Captain of the Hunt himself is poor?” He tutted. “If you’re going to spout nonsense, at least keep it consistent. How embarrassing for you.”

Tarren’s face flushed red, and she remained silent after that.

I couldn’t stop myself from watching the Prince, waiting for his gaze to return our way. As it did, I found him smiling at me. The sight stirred something strange in my chest.

His sister watched us silently. Dyna too.

“May I introduce myself to your esteemed selves?” Maiwen’s new escort spoke. “Lord Parlin, member of the King’s Royal guard.”

It seemed I wouldn’t be able to avoid his gaze after all. He looked at us all in turn, for a long time.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir,” Loria replied on our behalf.

“The honour of meeting you all, as well as being here, is entirely my own,” he replied.

“It’s a shame the last one didn’t share your sentiments,” the Prince said, wholeheartedly.

Maiwen who had been looking down, fidgeting with her hands, stopped doing so.

It was difficult not to make eye contact with the Prince at that moment, for the same reason Maiwen had stilled.

“Alas, Lord Beckett was an honourable man. His disappearance is truly a great pity." Fortunately, Lord Parlin didn’t seem to be able to sense the awkward air hanging around us.

“So why didn’t you look for him, instead of taking his place at the first chance you received?” the Prince asked.

This time I couldn’t help but make eye contact with the Prince and tighten my jaw. The Prince noticed, and a grin graced the edges of his lips.

The man seemed horrified. “Your Highness, I would never…He…Lord Beckett was a friend. I am but doing my duty as requested by the King and I would never—"

The Prince waved his hand in the air. “Alright, alright.”

Just at that moment, a chariot approached from our right.

The King was seated in a sedan, its dark red curtains semi-transparent, and moving in a gentle breeze. It was carried atop some horses, and the Palace servants who were riding them. The crowd grew even more agitated at seeing it approach.

Once it stopped, one of the Palace servants went to draw its curtain back, but before they could, the King stepped out.

Dyna gasped and the face of Audra’s Princess became awe stricken.

The King somehow managed to appear even more ethereal and God like each time he showed his face. He was dressed in resplendent gold, the sleeves of his upper clothing were long, but they were ballooned and cuffed at his wrists. The rest of the blouse-like garment wrapped around his body and stopped at his hip trailing down like a river across his darkened gold pants. His hair was for the first time I had seen it, tied into a small knot at the centre of the back of his head. It made all of his features look even stronger.

Behind him trailed Lord Elias. His brow was knitted, and he was dressed far more simply, in a dark red jacket, and pants.

Someone else stepped up behind us, grinning at the crowd. He raised his voice. “People of Athlion. Fair folk of this Kingdom. Welcome! To the ninety-eighth annual game of Dice of Desire!”

The crowd yelled in response, cheering, and waving flags, smiling at one another, shouting in each other’s ears.

“Here are the rules!” the man continued, his hands dancing, his mannerisms animated and theatrical. “One representative per Kingdom shall play. Before these noble competitors, are a set of two dice. The dice have six sides. Five of these sides contain the numbers one to five, the sixth side, however, contains a cross.”

He leant forwards, his finger outstretched.

“Each round, the players will agree on a number on which to bet. The player the furthest away from the number is last, the player the closest is first. In the event there is a tie, the players will roll until a winner is established. If, however, a player should roll a cross, they will automatically be eliminated from the entire game.”

The man lowered his voice for the final sentence, his every word sounding more dramatic than the last. I cast a glance over the others at the table. They were all watching him attentively.

“Round one is called ‘Ask that which I dare not answer.’ The winner of the round can ask the player who came last any question, and they must answer honestly!”

The crowd whispered at that, likely speculating, or discussing which answers they wished to hear. This round didn’t seem troublesome. Lying was the simple way around it, and there was no way in which to prove, in most cases, that the truth had not been told.

The man lifted up two fingers. “Round two is called ‘Give that which I dare not part with.’ The winner may ask the player in last place to give them something of theirs, which they desire.”

That round was worse.

“The final round!” The man paused, his head moving from side to side, making eye contact with several members of the crowd. “Is called…'Grant that which I dare not offer.’ The winner of the round can ask any wish of the player in last place, and they must fulfil it. The only wishes that cannot be granted is marriage to the King, or anything in violation of Athlion’s laws.”

That round was certainly the worst. Who knew what those around this table may ask of others, what positions they could place them in?

“And so! Keep your eyes open and your breathing quiet. For dice shall be rolled, desires shall be granted, and the deepest ones…revealed.”

The man slid away to the side, and the silence that dropped over the large space was filled by the King saying, “Who will play?”

Tarren stepped forwards, Maiwen also, Rhana too.

Dyna whispered to me. “You do it. Please?”

I looked at her. She appeared unnerved, still ill at ease with her surroundings. I nodded and stepped forwards closer to the table.

At that precise moment, Audra’s Prince did the same. When he saw that I too, had joined the game, he smirked. He spread both his arms out and held the edges of the table, leaning forwards.

“Who would like to choose the number?” the King asked.

“Five, Your Highness!” Tarren shouted, before anyone else could volunteer.

The King nodded. He reached forwards with his long fingers and grabbed the two dice in the crimson cup. He shook them.

We all followed his action. Each of our cups were a separate colour, corresponding to our Kingdoms. Vasara’s red, Zeima’s grey, Kalnasa’s blue, Jurasa’s green, and Audra’s gold.

The King lifted his cup first.

A three.

The crowd murmured a little but were silent swiftly after.

The dice were to be revealed in a clockwise direction to the King.

Next Rhana revealed…a seven.

It was my turn to lift the cup then. I placed my hand around the pale blue clay, my rings clanking against it sounding loudly in the quiet.

A six.

The crowd became more excited.

I hadn’t thought about what I might ask if I won any of these rounds, as I had assumed Dyna would play.

Maiwen was next, she lifted up her cups to reveal a two. One dot on each dice.

The Prince came after, he leant his head forwards, lifted one arm off the table from the leaning position it was in. Some of his dark tousled hair fell over his forehead. He lifted his golden cup very slightly and laughed a little.

A ten.

He looked up at me and seemed to say with his eyes, You better think about what you’ll ask me.

Tarren didn’t even spare a second before she yanked the lid of her cup up.

A five.

The crowd, clearly having waited until this round was over, began speaking to one another. Their lips rapidly moved as they glanced at the Prince and Tarren.

The Prince leant back and crossed his arms. He turned to his left slightly looking at Tarren, waiting.

The crowd, noticing he had changed position, hushed at once.

“Congratulations, ask away,” the Prince tilted his head at her.

Tarren turned to him and straightened her head exaggeratingly. She cleared her throat.

“Your Highness. I would like to know…” She paused, but it was clear she’d had a question in mind. The crowd held their breaths. The Prince looked unamused.

“If it’s true…” she continued.

The Prince raised his eyebrows nonchalantly.

“Whether or not you are betrothed!”

The wind, the slight breeze, felt suffocatingly loud at that moment.

“Surely not,” Dyna whispered, standing slightly behind me.

I furrowed my brow, the stretched-out silence, the lack of the Prince’s answer felt uncomfortable.

The Prince licked his lips and let out a light laugh once more. He tilted his head further to the side and raised his eyes for a second, in a gesture that looked as if he were contemplating his response.

Then he shrugged, his right arm escaped its crossed position to lean on the table again.

“Yes. That is true.”

The crowd exploded in a frenzy of shock.

The Prince was betrothed?

It seemed…impossible.

His blithe mannerisms in response to the question, his body language, his grin, all felt antagonistic.

How could the Prince have been betrothed without anyone knowing? Or was he lying about it? Was this a game to him?

It was a game, I had to remind myself. Not only these dice, but this whole Season.

Even the King seemed surprised, one of his eyebrows darting up quickly. The Prince’s sister was the most shocked however, her eyes wide.

Tarren clearly hadn’t expected that response, her mouth half open. “To whom?” she let out inadvertently.

The Prince wagged his finger from side to side. “One question. If you’d been clever, you could have asked me 'To whom are you betrothed Your Highness.' But you didn’t.” He shrugged again. “Hardly surprising though.”

Tarren was stunned and turned back to her escort, looking at him with confusion.

The Prince also turned back to the table. Loria tugged at his sleeve slightly as he did. They shared a silent look.

After which, the Prince met my eyes again. He didn’t grin, or smile however, he only examined my face thoughtfully for a moment.

“I’ll go next,” he announced, looking at me still. Then he turned to the King. “If you’ll allow me, Your Majesty.”

The King nodded slightly in response.

“A three,” the Prince said.

The King rolled…a seven.

Then Rhana… an eight.

I rolled. My mouth instantly dried.

A nine.

Maiwen rolled. She clasped her hand over her mouth as she saw her dice. She lifted it in the air and held it forwards to reveal that one of them had rolled to a cross.

So now, Maiwen could no longer benefit from this game, but she could no longer be exploited from it either.

A cross didn’t seem too awful.

The Prince rolled. He lifted his cup swiftly this time. His eyes glinted as it revealed one dot on each dice.

A two.

Dyna’ worried gaze settled on my face.

Tarren rolled, looking very intense as she shook her cup. She slowly and dramatically lifted her lid to reveal…a five.

Dyna murmured. “Doesn’t that mean?”

Yes. Yes, it did.

I had already given the Prince a great deal. My time, my health, risks to my own life, honour, position, and reputation.

But here I was, giving him something else.

A knot in my stomach was beginning to form, anticipation, nerves, uncertainty.

And yet, it was because of everything the Prince and I had already experienced, and exchanged, I did not feel particularly concerned.

Was it right to feel that way? The audience were all casting me sympathetic glances, as if they supposed the Prince might ask for my head.

He wouldn’t need to ask. He could easily take it himself.

“Captain…” the Prince began. He placed his hands behind his back and stepped even closer to the table. “What can you offer me?”

What did he expect me to say in response? I had nothing of value. I certainly didn’t have any money.

I placed my hands behind my back as well. “What is it that you want?”

The Prince’s mouth twitched.

The crowd began to shout out suggestions.

“His money!”

“His sword!”

“He doesn’t have a sword you dipshit…His spear!”

“His most prized possession!”

“A night with his wife!”

I flinched at that suggestion, and couldn’t help but look out towards the crowd, in search of the person who’d yelled it.

“His shield!”

“His horses!”

I didn’t have any horses.

The Prince’s eyes remained fixed on me. He seemed to be enjoying watching my increased perplexed reactions to their hollers, judging by the slight smile he wore.

Dyna said from behind me. “What are you going to—"

She stopped speaking as she overheard another audience member scream. “HIS HOUSE!”

“I don’t know,” I whispered very quietly, barely moving my lips.

“Captain, there must be something you’re willing to give me?” The Prince glanced at me expectantly.

I smiled tightly, politely. “I’m afraid not, Your Highness. I do not—"

“This!” Dyna exclaimed from behind me.

I turned over my shoulder, to see Dyna’s hand, high in the air, her fingers pointing at …my head?

The Prince’s eyes followed her hand.

“His pin!” she said proudly. “It’s made from the finest silver and…and…” She thought hard, scrunching her facial features up. “It has gems embellished on it which are only mined in Kalnasa like…” She looked up at the pin, standing on her toes. “It has amethysts and diamonds…yes!”

She smiled brightly, returned to the soles of her feet, and put her hand back down.

She looked at me as if expecting praise. She had suggested it because I had nothing else, suggested it to avoid the possibility of me needing to offer up something far worse or more valuable.

But it was a pin, and while it was true it was likely one of the only things of monetary value I owned, this game only happened once in a generation. The Prince was one of the only winners of one of these rounds in history. He could ask for anything, and I would be obliged to give it to him, without any question or escape. A pin would hardly suffice in this…

“Perfect,” the Prince said, smiling widely.

I jerked my head around and squinted at him incredulously.

The crowd seemed as confused as I was.

“A pin? He actually accepted a pin?”

“Is that it?”

“He could have asked for anything!”

“Fucking boring! Why don’t you –" a crowd member began.

At this, the Prince sharply turned towards the throng, his lips curling in a scowl. He was glaring at an individual, he must have met the man’s eyes instantly, as if he had been able to tell which lips each and every sentence had escaped from previously.

The man stopped speaking instantly, as did everyone else.

He turned back to me, his facial features returning to normal. I was still watching him with suspicion.

“Didn’t you hear her? Amethysts,” he said, smiling widely.

Deciding I didn’t wish to drag this out further, I replied, “Very well. If that is what you wish for.”

“It is. What I wish for,” the Prince replied, looking at me intently.

I turned sharply away, glancing at the King. “If you will, Your Majesty. A ten.”

The King nodded. “A ten,” he repeated.

He rolled first.

A three.

Rhana rolled.

A six. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing she was now guaranteed not to be the loser. This was after all, the round with the most to lose.

I took a deep breath, placed my hands around the top and bottom of the cup and shook, rolling the dice within.

I lifted it, my heart suddenly increasing in rate.

A nine.

I sucked in a breath.

The Prince rolled next, quickly, and casually as if he didn’t care about the game at all.

A four. Unlike Rhana, he didn’t seem to be so relieved at his safety.

Tarren rolled last, closing her eyes, and seeming to pray as she shook her cup.

She lifted her cup and let out a gasp of joy, slapping her hand against her chest.

A seven.

My body felt stiff, stuck. I stared down at the table, my gaze plastered to the nine I had rolled. The crowd perked up once more.

“Captain,” the King said. “You have won.”

I could ask the King anything. Anything of him I wanted.

I slowly turned to him. He was utterly calm, at least outwardly. He even looked a little riveted.

Dyna was still, quiet.

For she and I both knew what I would ask, what this opportunity could offer, one we could not ignore.

“Your Majesty,” I started, raising my voice as confidently as I could manage. “I request you form a new trade agreement with Kalnasa, that pertains to the supplies of food, medicine, crops, and water, in light of their…of our current situation.”

The crowd whispered softly, but they were tense. As was I.

The King didn’t speak for a few seconds. He frowned slightly. This game was a tradition in his Kingdom. By his own customs, he could not refuse, he could not go back on his word.

But that, I knew, was only in public. I had no idea what the King may, or may not do, when it came to this wish in private.

Still, I had to try.

Lord Elias seemed fretful and restless. He kept glancing at the King as if wishing he would turn around and speak to him.

“That is a very honourable request, Captain. One for your people, and not yourself. I should have expected it,” the King stated.

“Will you grant it, Your Majesty?” I asked.

The King smiled softly. “While such an arrangement will by no means, be born swiftly, and will be difficult, and arduous to settle, it is my duty, not only to abide by the traditions of this season, but also to help others in Athlion in time of need.”

And yet, Kalnasa was currently in crisis. Where was this help of which he spoke?

“I will fulfil your wish, Captain, but please, be mindful you will not see its fulfilment for quite some time.”

“I understand, Your Majesty. I am grateful.”

The crowd breathed out collectively, speaking to one another in hushed tones.

“The game is concluded!” The man who had introduced it returned to his position. “But that is not all! Fair folk go forth and enjoy all this festival has to offer and remember…today is a day where desire is yours to fulfil, and…reveal!”

The crowd cheered and clapped, whistled, and eventually dispersed.

The King was the first to leave, turning away, with Lord Elias following at his heels.

The others around the table began to leave with their escorts. I turned to Dyna and offered her my arm, stepping down from the platform.

“How are you feeling?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“I can’t believe the King agreed,” she muttered.

I, however, couldn’t believe he had truly agreed. Not just yet.

We walked through the thronging crowd, finding it difficult to get through. As before, many watched as we passed, commenting to one another, their eyes sweeping over our figures.

The crowd instantly stopped speaking and backed away. Naturally, Dyna and I halted, slowing our step in bafflement.

“Captain!” a voice called out from behind me.

I turned to find the Prince approaching. The crowd parted from him as if he were a river passing through a glen. Princess Loria strolled behind him with ease.

“Your Highness,” I addressed him cautiously.

The Prince stopped a few steps in front of us. “Where are you going?”

I side-eyed Dyna, who also looked at my face. “We were…going to explore the festival, Your Highness.”

“But you still haven’t granted me my wish.”

Ah. That. I didn’t think he would actually come to claim it. I had simply thought he had been amusing himself and the crowd with his declaration.

“You didn’t think I’d come for my reward?” he inquired.

“The reward is…poor, Your Highness. I am sure I can offer you something far more suitable in time, if you are willing to be patient.”

“I am not,” the Prince said, taking one step towards me.

Dyna let go of my arm, as if she were frightened of his closeness and presence, backing away.

I turned to her, then back to the Prince.

“Can I?” he asked.

He had his hands raised in the air, near my face.

I could easily remove the pin myself if he were so keen to possess it. But it was hardly as if I could refuse him with all of these people watching us.

During my silence, the Prince’s hand edged forwards slightly. It found its way around the back of my head. To reach, he had to move slightly closer. He pulled the pin out of my hair, which fell loosely at its undoing.

The Prince’s hand hovered there for a while. Too long. He watched as my hair escaped its former position, as the strands fell in front of my face. My eyes.

The crowd didn’t dare speak. Neither did I.

The Prince’s fingers clasped around the metal. He withdrew his hand then took several steps back. Slowly.

He spun the pin between his fingers. It danced between his digits as if he were flipping a blade threateningly. The purple amethysts caught the light of the sun, casting his fingers in fleeting sparks.

He threw it in the air. It twirled several times against the bright blue sky before it fell back into his palms. He didn’t look as he threw it, and caught it, again and again, grinning at me instead as he backed away. He let out a small laugh and turned around, still tossing the hairpin in the sky several times as he walked off.

Dyna came back to my side again, and gradually, the crowd began to resume a normal level of chatter and movement.

We remained in place as she said, “It doesn’t even have diamonds…what if he’s angry?”

“He knows that already,” I reassured her.

“What? Does he?” she said cluelessly.

Of course he knew. There were no diamonds, and the amethysts on that pin were of poor quality, and very small, very few. There was no true reason to wish for that pin.

“Yes, don’t be alarmed. The Prince is only—"

“Only what?” she asked, interested.

I shook my head, unable to finish my thought.

“It doesn’t matter. The pin doesn’t matter.”

“But…he came back and asked for it,” she protested, bewildered.

We spun around and began to stroll again.

“He had to. Those are the rules.”

“Oh.” Dyna didn’t sound convinced.

Truthfully, neither was I. The Prince didn’t seem someone who respected or followed rules, hence why I had assumed my exit would have been of little consequence.

“He’s betrothed! Can you believe it!” she hissed.

“It does not matter whether I believe it,” I replied with restraint.

But honestly, no I could not.

“That poor woman…having to marry… him .” Dyna’s eyes darted from left to right, she continued to whisper. “He’s terrifying.”

It was precisely for that reason it was difficult to imagine the Prince with someone. To imagine him being tender and caring towards them. Could hands that had been coated in blood touch another with reverence and softness? Could someone become a corpse or lover, under the same palms? Did he wear a smile when he killed? Was it the same as the one he’d worn pulling the pin from my hair? How would one sit upon his face, should it look upon someone he loved, I wondered…

Pictures of him tending to my wounds flashed before my eyes.

“Perhaps not always…” I spoke my thoughts aloud.

Dyna snorted. “When then?”

I turned away from her. It was hardly as if I could reply. “ When I was in his bed, and he put a cold compress to my forehead.”

Dyna mused aloud. “I wonder who she is. Probably one of the noblewomen from Audra. I wonder which one. There are a few his age. There’s Theadra, she’s supposedly very beautiful… oh and there’s also Lilian, she’s apparently the heir to a large fortune.”

Most likely Lilian then, considering the political benefits.

“There’s no use speculating, who can say, My Lady, why don’t we—"

“No!” Dyna blurted out before I could finish. “I don’t want to go back.”

I sighed. “I know, I wasn’t going to suggest that.”

“Alright…then let’s…” She turned around searching the streets. “Let’s eat something.”

I nodded. We made our way over to the food stalls.

Dyna froze as we grew closer.

She was afraid.

“We do not have to,” I told her.

She was afraid it was poisoned.

“Let’s do something else.” She sounded disappointed.

We turned in search of another activity when a woman approached us.

“My Lady! Sir! Thank you!”

Dyna was too stunned to respond. “For what Madam?” I asked her.

“Your wish, Captain!” The woman standing before us was Kalnasan. She must have travelled here specifically for the festival, to sell her merchandise, most likely.

“Thank you,” she repeated.

“It was the Captain’s idea!” Dyna insisted.

“My Lady would have asked the same.”

Dyna didn’t disagree with that.

“How…How is it there?” Dyna asked the woman wearily.

“Oh, My Lady, it’s…” Her voice quivered but she quickly composed herself. “Would you like to look at my stall?” She pointed over to a table with lush fabrics and clothes.

Dyna was about to protest. We didn’t have much money after all.

“Free! For you! As a thanks, to both of you.”

“Of course!” Dyna replied excitedly then. “The Captain needs some new clothes.”

I smiled at her encouragingly. I had no wish or desire for new garments but if this endeavour would ease her mind, I was willing to indulge her.

Dyna ran over to the stall, clutching at the fabric. The woman and I followed behind.

“Please madam,” I said. “Finish your sentence.”

The woman cleared her throat and tucked some of her long dark hair behind her ear.

“It’s…the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen.” Her voice was quiet and full of raw despair.

I had expected an answer that was negative, but not to this degree.

“What do you mean?” I rushed to ask before we reached Dyna.

“There’s no words that can describe the horror.”

“What horror?”

Her voice was distant. “They’re eating the children now.”

I stopped walking. I was normally remarkably controlled in my outward expression of shock, emotion, or displeasure, but I, with one foot in front of the other, stopped walking, and clenched my hands, which were clasped behind my back tighter together. I was staring at the woman with no reserve.

“The—" I started, my voice barely audible.

Dyna bounded over to us, holding a white robe. “This one, Captain! It would go so well with your hair!”

I was still stunned into a stupor. The woman had stopped walking as well and was watching me guiltily.

“Yes, Captain, it would suit you well,” she said.

It took a while before I looked at the garment. Dyna noticed something was amiss immediately and appeared anxious.

“What’s wrong? Did you see something? Is someone—"

“No, My Lady, you are safe, I apologise. It is only…the garment…I’ve not owned something like this for some time. I’m not…accustomed to it.” It was indeed very fine material, expensive.

When I was a child, living in squalor, I had not owned anything at all. Even when I did begin to own such extravagant and expensive items at around the age of eighteen, it had felt unusual. I had lost them all in recent years, but in truth I had not particularly missed them since I had grown accustomed to doing without them for over a decade.

Dyna frowned but quickly smiled again. “Oh! Then you must have it! Is that alright?” She turned to ask the woman. The woman seemed surprised to be asked for permission.

“Of course, My Lady, it’s yours.” She smiled warmly at her but sadly as well.

I understood. Watching Dyna, her brightness, her joy, her warmth, knowing those her age, or younger were possibly being offered up as food by their own people, their own families. It was enough to crush your soul as you regarded her.

Dyna threw the garment at me. I caught it. She ran back over to the stall again to select something for herself.

I looked at it mystified. I was still processing the woman’s words.

“Since when?” I asked her quietly.

“A month now.”

A month?

“The King, he’s—"

Her voice was full of disdain as she replied.

“The King hasn’t been seen since you left.”