Below the Peak (Sola)
Juliet Lili
Part One
Chapter One
At thirteen years
Nara
“King Azulé travelled with the army to the western border that separated Murisa and old Moren to negotiate peace with Roma, the king of Moren. Unbeknown to King Azulé and his entourage, the other king had planned to kill him that night, despite both kings to have sworn to no blood shed during the days of negotiations.” Rohi, the middle-aged scholar, paused to catch a breath. He looked at the sons and daughters of lords as resentment flashed in his eyes as it was quickly hidden. Most of them were not paying attention to the history lesson he was giving, not even matters concerning their kingdom, the kingdom that their lofty parents were already grooming them to fill their positions soon. The girls sitting near the library’s window giggled loudly, parroting about expensive clothes and jewellery their father just gifted them from faraway lands and if they would be accompanying their parents to the upcoming ball hosted at the king’s palace as the boys cracked at some crude joke.
Rohi scowled yet refrained from putting a stop to the loud chattering. He could not risk being summoned to the king’s court again, knowing the consequences it would bring. He had been warned what would happen if he was reported again for scolding the chief treasurer’s son Bas. ‘You are a hired help. You can be replaced any moment’ He was nobody of importance who had no right to chastise the children of the most highs. He might be a brilliant scholar who studied and could talk about historical events until his tongue and lips swelled and cracked, yet that is what he was all going to ever be in this society. All his passion wasted on spoilt and over-privileged brats. Rohi fisted his hands behind his back in anger. The thought of quitting came to his mind. He had thought about it often and yet here he still was because of the money he got paid for his service and fear of what would happen if he did quit. He cleared his throat and got back to the great tale of history.
“Can any of you tell me what happened?” He asked in a lifeless tone, missing the enthusiasm that managed to slip in his voice whenever he spoke of the favourite subject.
“Can any of you tell me what happened next?” he repeated sourly.
No one bothered to answer. One red-haired girl named Helle lifted her eyes to him, breaking from the conversation her friends were having and stared at him for a second. Her lips twitched and parted. Just when he was hoping she would answer, she turned her attention back where it was first. He sighed and let out a little-agitated sound. He moved his eyes over the room while thinking he should end the lesson early. The lessons always ended at noon, marked by the city bell. His eyes stopped at the girl sitting in the middle row. Her dark neatly braided head bent down, and hands tucked in her lap as she chewed her bottom lip repeatedly. If she kept that on, he feared it would start bleeding.
“Lady Nara, do you know what happened to King Azulé when he met with the king of Moren?”, He asked after a moment of cautious hesitation. She lifted her head and looked above his head, never meeting his eyes.
“Yes, I know”, the girl replied flatly.
There was a long pause between them that would not necessarily be there if the girl wasn’t so odd and understood the unlearnt cues of a good flow of a conversation that another person would pick up quickly. He cleared his throat and chose his next words carefully, “Please tell me what happened to him.”
“King Roma sent the Red assassins to the resting grounds of King Azulé at night, and they murdered the king” she replied.
“Yes, you’re correct” he nodded. He could always count on Nara listening even when she appeared distant, quaint with head bent down or looking out the window with a lost expression.
Very shy and peculiar.
“The Red assassins killed the king and his men except one who got away to report back to Vessener” he continued. I might wait till the bell ring after all. He decided.
“The soldier used a messenger bird to deliver the black scarf of death back to the castle”, the girl corrected directly, with a chastising frown on her brows. He shifted his eyes around; his lips pulled into an awkward twisted smile which resembled more to a grimace than a smile while his face became red and flustered from the forthright correction.
***
That was not very kind. Nara slightly frowned as she picked apart the teacher’s expression, the flush on his cheeks, the cast down of his eyes and the awkward smile. He was embarrassed. Sometimes she forgot to speak more politely or in consideration of another’s feelings. She wasn’t very good at understanding others’ feelings. Her shoulders cringed in self-chastisement. Nara looked top of his curly hair, feeling sorry for him to be often on the receiving end of her incompetence. A few days ago, Nara had criticised his clothing and told him without a second of thought that they were unflattering, too big for his gangly frame. She had been angry that day; everything was out of order since morning. The cook had not baked the cheese bread because there was no cheese left and instead served her the regular crusty bread. She’d cheese bread each morning as far she could remember and not having some that morning had thrown her off. Despite being upset about the sudden change, Nara had tried to remain calm and reasoned with herself that it was a good change and she would have cheese bread tomorrow, even making the cook promise ninth times. Telling herself, it was a good change didn’t help her when Ingrid accidentally poured milk on her just when she was about to leave for the lessons. Nara hated being untidy. It would’ve been so simple if the only thing she needed to do was get dressed in another clean tunic and get over it but it wasn’t just about changing, it was about choosing the right clothes to its colours and how it matched to each piece she put on from head to foot. That’s why she always planned beforehand, so she would not be rushed or look untidy and be late for that matter. Hence, when Nara had gotten to the library upset, and briefly glanced at the teacher and saw what he wore, anger got the best of her, and she let her tongue run rudely and humiliated him to the rest who were present in the library. Soon after, she felt extremely terrible and ridden with guilt. Why was she short tempered?