Chapter 21: Chapter 21
“You do realize that you two sounded like old couples when you argue, right? You remind me of my own mother and father back home,” Lady Khailis fancifully mentioned afterwards when the heat of their disagreement about the Mark of the Beast and the prince’s future have already dissipated. By then, his majesty had recovered enough of his strength, and they were now able to continue their journey back to the camp.
The two of them sat a top of the horse with Shia in front and his majesty controlling the reigns.
“The Mark of the Beast, I have seen it in Soccora,” Shia began to say after a while. She looked up and met his majesty’s remorseful stare. “If the story I had just heard was true, then you must have been under the Devil’s control three months ago when my parents and siblings died. That must be why you cannot remember any of it...”
“I-I’m sorry...” he began to say.
“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault. It was not you who killed them. It was the Devil who was trying to take over your body. You were probably fighting it with all your might... I’m sorry I had blamed you for their loss...”
She beamed to him as she continued. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll personally make sure the Devil pays with his crimes. So let’s start by finding a way to break your curse, your highness! I could just imagine how that would enrage the Devil in hell.”
Up close with her like this, the air was filled with the smell of Shia’s sweet lavender scent, and the numerous stars made her all the more beautiful in Langrion’s eyes. Even back in the cave and now after hearing his story, Shia was the first person who did not wish him to die. Her silly argument about killing the Devil made him smile too, despite of the grim circumstance that he is facing. Indeed, he would have given up everything in the world to make that night with her last a little bit longer.
It was a nice and sunny morning the day after the affair at the funeral pyre. The servants did not seem to mind that the prince and his bride were missing for some time in the night and that several dead leaves were found around the mattress where they were supposed to be resting. Apparently, the prince was known to be quite active in the night even in his youth, and since he would usually show up well and healthy the next morning, nobody bothered to ask where he went and why he would usually go out with Lady Khailis, and now with his new betrothed, once the dark settles in.
After taking a quick breakfast, Shia and Langrion took the carriage and rode the rest of the way to the village of Sensala. Being constantly deprived of sleep for several nights now, Shia immediately fell into a slumber inside the carriage in his majesty’s shoulders while tightly holding his hands. Langrion found her occasional bouts of snores quite amusing.
The next thing Shia knew, she was awakened by the shallow buzz of people’s voices.
“Uh,” Shia yawned, stretching her arms as wide as she can in the process, “are we there yet?”
“Yes, we have been here for quite some time now. It’s just that the roads are packed.”
Shia began to take a peak outside of the carriage window. She had never set foot in a town so packed with people like Sensala before. Sure, she can remember her own home town in Tightwater, but it has been decades since she had been there. Suddenly, a rush of excitement and fright of seeing new faces came into her as she sought to look out.
Gazing outside, she found that the streets were all lined up with so much people from left and right. She can hear the shouts of several merchants and can see throngs of men, women, and children carrying woods, cloths, and all sorts of different things while running up and about, trying to do their own businesses. It seems that every nook and cranny of the avenue was lined up with shops that sell everything from garments, to sea food, to lumber, and pastries. The sight was so positively vibrant and breathtaking that Shia couldn’t help but smile despite the heavy traffic.
“Are we at the marketplace? It seems quite busy,” she remarked.
“Indeed. Everyone is busy preparing for the debutant ball.”
“Debutant ball, what is that?”
“It’s the coming of age party for women. Young girls who would turn eighteen this year are invited to come where they will be introduced to society for possible prospects of marriage.”
“I see...” Shia said. “But isn’t there another party at the Capitol, the one where Lord Fincher is going?”
“That’s a different party,” his majesty said. “It’s my brother’s engagement party. It’s to announce his upcoming wedding.”
Shia frowned a little. Sensala had been the city’s old capital before Gaulane. It was only changed twenty years ago when King Caldwell started his ascension in the throne. As such, majority of the nobility, including his majesty, have kept their places of residence in the area. Perhaps it was only natural that the nobles would keep their age-old tradition of parties and gaiety every now and then, but she did not know that they were quite serious in following the olden tradition, including that of celebrating ostentatious debutant balls and engagement parties.
“I did not know that nobles crave parties so much,” Shia began to remark loudly, and the prince burst out laughing.
“You don’t even know half of it! In the Capitol, it is common to be invited to at least two or three parties in a week.”
“What a waste of time and resources!” Shia blurted out, which immediately set the prince laughing even harder.
After a few more hours, their carriage turned into a corner, and they started travelling to a dirt road leading up a hill. Shia could see a large, cheery-looking manor sitting at a distance.
“Is that where we are heading?” he asked Langrion.
“It is. That’s the Rubiyah Manor. It’s the place where I grew up.”
When they reached their destination, Shia and Langrion carefully stepped out of the carriage in front of the Rubiyah Manor, and they were instantly greeted by the sight of a large, marble fountain surrounded by a lush maze garden. The manor’s wide, oak door was held open, and they were cheerfully greeted by several servants, all lined up in front of the house.
Apparently, news of Prince Langrion and Shia’s engagement must have already been forwarded to the manor beforehand as the head butler and servants did not question Langrion or her about the nature of their relationship. They simply showed them into a single, spacious room decorated with scented candles and fresh rose petals scattered all over the floor and on the bed. It seemed too precisely prepared in a manner that befitted a newly-wed couple instead of a bachelor.
After taking a warm and calming bath, Shia was assisted by several servants to get dressed, but instead of the comfortable riding clothes that they had provided her at the campsite, the servants prepared an elaborate, teal dress.
Shia’s eyebrows shot up to the air. “Is it what I will be wearing today?”
“Yes, my lady...Is it not to your liking?”
“Well...”
Shia took another look at the dress. It has so much silk and lace on it that she was positive that the sheer amount of cloth used for this piece could have dressed an entire family. Despite hating the idea of dressing up, Shia felt so sorry for the servants and their well-meaning efforts. Not wanting to make any of them feel bad, she put on the dress without any further resistance.
Once they had finished setting her clothes and braiding her hair to one side, Shia took a look at herself in the mirror, and she could not believe it. The girl staring back at her did not look like the usual her at all. The dress fitted her like a glove and accentuated her curvy frame. Her hair made her look quite charming and lady-like. Shia finally had to admit to herself that she actually looked kind of lovely.
Shia’s musings were interrupted by Prince Langrion who suddenly entered the room.
“I just -.” His majesty’s speech was cut short when he looked up and saw her in the dress.
“I must look quite funny, right?” Shia said trying to laugh off her embarrassment.
“No, i-it suits you...” he said. He wanted to say that she looked positively mesmerizing in a dress and that her hair suited her beautiful face even more, but for the first time, Langrion’s tongue felt like it was made of jelly. He could not find the words to explain his thoughts exactly. He just stood there looking at her in awe.
“Thanks,” she replied, and she blushed a little. “Why were you looking for me?”
“Uh, right,” Langrion said seemingly able to recollect his thoughts at the moment. “Khailis and I just met with the made that the commander had sent. Take a look at this.”
He removed his mask and showed it to Shia.
Shia turned it around over her hand. The mask looked the same to her, but when she flipped it over for a second time, she saw that the gash in front of the mask was gone; only the gash on the underside of it remained.
“The mage was able to repair it... Well, at least some parts of it. He said I could probably wear it for about twelve hours in a day without worries,” he grinned.
“So does that mean we can sleep in separate rooms now?” Shia inquired.
“Of course not!” he yelled, and Shia was almost taken a back. “I-I mean, who knows who I would accidentally meet in my sleep? We cannot risk it,” he said clearing his throat.
“I see...” Shia replied. For a second, Shia thought that the days of spending awkward nights and sharing a mattress with his majesty would be over, but she guessed that it would have been such a far-fetched wish.
“There’s more,” he said, and he held her hand. “Come, I just received a response for my letter from the House of Andry. We shall be dining there tonight.”
Within half an hour, Shia found herself whisked off into the carriage once more with Prince Langrion and Lady Khailis as they drove off to the Littman Manor – the official residence of the House of Andry.
“How come you are not in a dress?” Shia protested to Khailis who was wearing her military riding uniform.
She laughed, “I’m here today as your guard and not as a noble.” Afterwards, she sighed deeply, “But I guess my knighting days are numbered. Once I participate in this year’s debutant ball, I may have to eventually marry and give up my position as his highness’ guard...”
“Why must you give it up for marriage? I think being a guard is way better than merely being someone’s wife.” Shia stated.
“Hah! Says the one betrothed to a prince,” Khailis pointed out in jest, and Shia pouted.
“But she does have a point,” Langrion replied. “You are the best swords woman in all of Gascone. You must never give up being my knight. Besides, anyone who asks for your hand in marriage has to go through me first. We have to make sure that he is a fitting person for someone like you.”
“If that is the case, I must be prepared to die utterly old and alone,” Khailis remarked, and the three of them laughed.
Just like earlier, their whole entourage were greeted by several servants when they arrived at the Littman Manor. For some strange reasons though, some of them gasped when they saw Shia. It was as if they were looking at a ghost.
“Is it just me, or are the people here a little...odd?” Shia whispered to his highness as they walked hand in hand inside the manor.
His lips curved into a smile, “You will find out soon enough why they are so shocked to see you.”
As they entered into the manor’s receiving room, Shia, Khailis and Langrion’s gaze fell into the life-size portrait of a woman that hung by the wall. She was probably in her late teens or early-twenties. She looked quite dignified in the commissioned portrait with her wavy, silver hair flowing against the wind.
Everybody was left speechless. Looking back at the portrait was a woman that looked exactly the same as Shia.