IVORY TOWERS
PROLOGUE
When I saw you, I fell in love, and you smiled, because you knew. – William Shakespeare
It starts small, with a glimpse of a smile and bright eyes meeting. Her eyes slide right past the prince's shoulder, fixate on the servant and she takes in his features – dark skin, messy hair, and green eyes the colour of grass after it rains, his lips curved up in a slight smile – and her heart leaps into her throat.
It starts small, with a princess entering a room and suddenly he can barely breathe. He stares at her, at her pale, flushed skin and pink lips, her curled hair and deep brown eyes, attentive, intelligent, beautiful. He forgets himself – forgets that he is a lowly servant, that his master is one of her suitors – and flashes her a quick smile without thinking.
It's only a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity when their eyes lock, and then her mother coughs and they tear their gazes away from one another, but it's too late: a connection is formed, irreversible, inexplicable, strong.
For better, or for worse.
CHAPTER ONE: The Servant's Name
I didn't choose you. I just took one look at you and then - there was no turning back. - Unknown
"Jinora!"
"Coming mother!"
It really was a hassle having all these stairs in a castle, yet having to go up and down them every single day in a gown clearly not made for the activity. Jinora yanked up her skirt so she wouldn't trip, and it was a relief when she reached the bottom of the stairs, her face flushed, slightly out of breath. Her mother was waiting for her.
"Sorry mother, I got caught up in the book I was reading," Jinora said. Pema tried to look stern but Jinora could see a smile peeking through. They looked alike, same brown hair, similar face, same smile, but Jinora's seriousness, her dedication to her duties, had come from her father, King Tenzin.
"Of course," Pema let a small smile shine through. "Now, let's get to the courtyard before we're late, shall we?"
Jinora smoothed down her dress. "Of course. Today's a big deal after all…" She let out a sigh.
She knew – had accepted – what was expected of her: to find a suitor, to get married, to take over for her father as ruler. It didn't mean she wasn't apprehensive, nor reluctant; on the contrary, it felt like she was being handed a jail sentence.
Pema swept Jinora's hair off her neck, redoing the bun her hair had been pulled hastily into. Pema made a soft, sympathetic noise. "We've given you as much time as possible, but you are of marrying age now."
"I know mother," Jinora sighed. "I'm fine… just a little nervous."
Pema kissed her daughter's forehead. "Understandable, my dear. Now, do you remember who's coming today?" They set off for the courtyard, the head of the servants, a plump woman named Poppy, walking behind them with some difficulty with her stubby little legs trying to keep up with their longer strides. Mako, a knight and Jinora's personal bodyguard and close friend, was also accompanying them.
Jinora wracked her brain. "Prince Sudhir…?" she guessed and Pema nodded. "He's the one you and father are leaning towards, I know. Wasn't I almost betrothed to him when I was born?" She shuddered at the thought of not even having a choice in who she married.
"He's King Sudhir now, his father passed away a few months ago. But yes, he was almost your beloved. Avatar Korra convinced us it would be best to wait," Pema said as they entered the courtyard. It was a bright sunny day and flowers were blooming vivid colours of crimson and sky blue in the flowerbeds all around them. Carefully trimmed hedges dotted the courtyard in the shapes of badgermoles or sky bison, and there was a flying boar, a symbol of their close partnership with the BeiFong family.
Jinora sent up a pointless thank you to Korra, the greatest warrior of the land. She was the one person that most kings and queens listened to, due to her skill and vast army that held unwavering loyal to her. She too was good friends with Jinora's family, the Gyatsos.
"The rest of the princes will be arriving within the week, correct?" Jinora said and Pema nodded again. "There's seven of them?"
"And they'll be staring here for six months, or at least, some of them will. Each month you'll send one of them home until there's two left, and the one you choose will be the one you marry," Pema explained. ""One arriving each day," she added.
This time, Jinora nodded, swallowing the information; it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Seven men, seven possible husbands, all vying for her attention and favour. Just thinking about it made her head hurt. Jinora swallowed the lump in her throat; there was no use dwelling on it. At least she was getting a choice, at least her parents were being helpful, understanding, even, to how she was feeling.
They walked up a cobblestone path, turned left at a bush trimmed like a platypus-bear and standing there was Prince – King Sudhir.
He was a good-looking man, with pale skin and dark, slicked back hair, and sharped, pleasant features, but Jinora's attention slid right past him and her gaze landed on the man behind him.
The man was handsome, far more handsome than anyone she had ever met, with messy hair, dark skin, and the brightest, most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt unable to look away. The man's eyes locked with her's, and he gave her a flash of a smile, and it made her heart flutter like a butterfly's wings.
Her mother coughed quietly, and it broke the moment - or whatever had happened, Jinora felt disorientated, dazed - and she tore her eyes away from the man, directing her attention to Sudhir. "Princess Jinora," Sudhir said smoothly, his voice deeper than Jinora had expected. "I am King Sudhir." Jinora curtsied, and Sudhir took her hand (without her permission, she thought irritably) and kissed the back of her hand. His lips were rough, hard, with no tenderness.
Jinora drew her hand away as quickly as possible, trying not to let her dislike show on her face. "It is a pleasure to meet you," she said with forced politeness. "I will have Poppy take you to where you will be staying for your time here. Will your... servant, be staying with you?"
"Yes," Sudhir said dismissively, without a backwards glance at the man, "for the time being. However, is it possible to set up separate quarters for him?"
"Of course," Poppy said promptly. "Right this way, King Sudhir."
Jinora wished Poppy had asked for her servant's name, she felt like she needed, at least, to know his name. As the servant walked away, hoisting up the straps of Sudhir's heavy looking bags on his shoulder, he glanced back at her. Jinora stared back, even though meeting his gaze this time felt almost impossible. She offered him a tiny smile and his face lit up like the night sky with stars, but he turned away from her when Sudhir barked, "Hurry up!"
Day one, prince one. Jinora sighed. This was going to be a long week, an even longer six months.
But, at the very least, she could find out the servant's name.
None of the other princes were very interesting, but they were more polite than Sudhir had been. That being said, the bar was still very low. There was Hiresh, a prince from the Fire Nation, Rinzen, from a small section of the Earth Kingdom, two princes who's names both begun with an 'r' and a couple of others. Seven in total. Jinora was grateful they were staying for such a long time - it meant she actually was allowed to have a life outside of the courtship, to read or to pursue other hobbies.
And currently, she was trying to track down Sudhir's servant. The castle was large and although Poppy had given her instructions to the servant's headquarters, nobody had answered the door when she had knocked. She needed to know his name; maybe then his eyes, his smile and the startling way her heart had skipped a beat would stop replaying in her mind and would leave her alone.
Jinora had been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't realized where she was going - and bumped shoulders with someone. She almost fell over if the stranger hadn't caught her by the hand, steadying her. It felt like arcs of lightning were shooting up from her hand and through the rest of her body, and she realized she had finally found Sudhir's servant.
He quickly let go of her hand, gulping, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Are you alright Princess Jinora?" His voice was smooth, low, overall pleasant sounding. Jinora felt suddenly nervous and distracted herself by hurriedly smoothing down her dress and staring at her shoes.
"I'm fine, thanks to you..." she trailed off, looking up at him expectantly.
He blinked, and then answered, "Kai. I'm Kai... Princess Jinora," he added hastily. "Master Sudhir has given me some time off, he wanted to go hunting alone this afternoon."
Jinora made a soft scathing noise: she had always hated hunting. Killing animals for food was necessary, but doing it for sport was inhumane. Kai seemed to share her sentiments, looking at her gently, his lips tugged down in a slight frown.
"Is there anything I can help you with Princess Jinora?" Kai asked.
"No, I'm fine, thank you for offering Kai," she paused, thinking hard. It was nice being able to see his name after driving herself crazy over the past week. "Actually, perhaps there is something. I was going to the library, and sometimes it is difficult for me to find the book I want, as it is so big. You don't suppose you'd be willing to help me find the book?"
A blatant lie, and some part of her wondered if he could see through it. Another part wondered that if he could see through it, would his answer remain the same as before?
"Of course Princess Jinora," Kai said immediately and she tried to ignore the way her heart got jammed in her throat.
They shared a smile.
When they arrived at the library, with its tall, domed ceilings, glass stained windows and rows upon rows of books, Jinora gave him a title. They didn't look for long before Kai peeled it off the shelf. "Is this the one Princess?" Kai said, holding the book up for her to see.
Jinora forced a smile on her face. As strange as it seemed, she really didn't want him to leave. "Yes, that's the one. Thank you Kai." Kai hovered by the bookshelf after he had handed it to her (after their fingers had brushed and the skin he had touched burned) and seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say. Jinora glanced down at the book in her hands. "Silly me, I've already read this one recently, I'd forgotten."
"I, erm, don't suppose you need help finding another book, Princess Jinora?" Kai said, sounding half-hopeful.
Jinora smiled kindly at him, shaking her head. "I'm afraid I don't Kai, although... I wouldn't mind making a new friend?"
Kai beamed at her and it was as blinding as the sun. "I'd be happy to help, Princess."
