Below the Peak (Sola)(63)
“Thank you” she mumbled. One of the girls who had brought the food picked up the tray, curtsied once again then left the room. Turning toward the other girl, Gilnith took the undergarments from her and handed them to Nara. “Wear this.”
“No, I’ll wear my clothes” she refused and turned to look at her pile of dirty clothes on the polished floor. She didn’t want to be indebted to them more than she was already. First the bath, food and now clothes. The queen was tying her hands slowly until she was in too deep to get out.
“It’s the queen’s orders,” the lady said flatly.
Nara’s fist clenched and unclenched, agitated. She stripped off the robe and wore the undergarments. Gilnith gave her a well-tailored gown. She slid the dress over the underclothing. The dress a soft dark yellow color with black lace that decorated the cuffs and collar.
“Good, it fits you well” Gilnith commented and the girl who brought the dress beamed with relief. Gilnith was worried it would not, since she was the one who was tasked by the queen to find the dress from the royal sewing room. The dress was a bit too long though, seeing it sweep the floor. It was not her fault the human was not tall like her kind. Once the girl tied the ribbon behind her, Gilnith hurried her to sit in front of a mirror, then started grooming her hair. Nara grimaced at her appearance. Although the bath had rid some of the fatigue, her face still looked tired, her eyes were dry and red with bags under them. Her mind began to wander.
“Your hair is beautiful, thick and long” Gilnith interrupted her thoughts as she combed it. Nara met her eyes in the mirror, stared at the lady’s own luscious black hair.
“Thank you.”
Silenced reigned in the room as Gilnith kept brushing her hair, more than once she met her eyes on the mirror-scrutinizing her face as if she wanted to say something but refrained herself. A moment after Gilnith placed the comb on the table and said. “Now you are ready to meet the king.”
***
Calemir stormed the corridors heading for the throne room. He had deluded himself he would get to leave without meeting His Majesty. Apparently, that won’t be happening. His father had awakened and has summoned him before he could escape this palace and its cold welcome. His face twisted tautly, restlessness seeped through his skin unto his bones. He fastened his strides.
“Rumor has it you have brought a human” the taunting voice had Calemir halting at the stairs leading to another tower.
“Yes,” Calemir said in elvish.
The lord glared at him with dispassion.
“Her presence here is a defilement of the house. Totally unacceptable by the council. I cannot allow this!” Lord Ivlisar railed on in elvish, his features twisting in disgust-a show of his abhorrence and hatred toward the humans. The high lord always seemed to forget his place or that whatever he or other high lord’s opinions ‘judgments’ meant nothing and had no influence on the house of Gwainor.
“Careful there or have you forgotten why you are still here at this position?” Calemir’s voice was laced with a warning as he took a step forward and straightened to his full height, towering over the lord. “You know better than to open your mouth. Live quiet as you have been doing back in Ontophen, be grateful that you are alive and you are not among the ones I hunt.” His voice had gone low with a sharp edge to it, coldly regarding the high lord’s face.
Lord Ivlisar stepped back and feigned a look of concern. “Where is my daughter, Leena?”
“Stay away from her” he warned grimly and spun on heels, leaving a terrified, a seething and a bitter high lord glaring his back.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nara’s heart raced while she followed Gilnith’s lead, rounding a corridor. Her whole skin felt clammy with a thin layer of sweat which rendered the bath she had useless. Her stomach churned with the apprehension of meeting His Majesty.
“We are here” Gilnith announced.
“Her Majesty requested to see lady Nara” Gilnith informed the two guards before them who stood upright and stared straight ahead over their heads. Nara held her breath as one of the guards knocked once to signal her arrival then pushed the doors open. Her feet were grounded, she couldn’t move.
“Do not keep Her Majesty waiting” Gilnith chided in a whisper, then shied back a step behind her. Nara casted a glance at her, wiped her palms on the dress and took a step forward, then another until she was inside. Her shoulders jerked slightly when the doors shut.
Tense and nervous, Nara did not give a critical eye over the grand room, tall ceilings overflowing with richness and opulence. She couldn’t even focus on anything other than slowing her heart down. Nara took a deep breath and looked at the front of the room. She met familiar intense green eyes that she quickly avoided. Prince Calemir stood a few feet from the throne.
“Come closer” King Gwainor’s orotund voice echoed throughout the chamber breaking the silence. He spoke in Nyr. His steely eyes were pale green advanced with experience and knowledge. His silvery hair fell around his stern face. His looks were an older form of the prince’s. He sat regally on the throne, larger than life itself. With a neutral face, Nara stepped forward and stopped near the high steps leading to the throne. She curtsied then lifted her head, she balanced on the balls of her heels under the king’s powerful gaze.
“I’m told you come from Murisa to seek help from us” the king spoke again.