Nixiesocean: I'm so sad! Only one person voted! Oh, well, thank you for your vote.
Lilyflowr33: Aww! But I want the reviewers to affect the story! Oh, well…
(Insert other responses because I am too lazy to actually do it). Onto the story!
Some of you may get angry, but it had to be done this way. I'm sorry. You'll understand later.
Chapter 4: A Taste of Freedom
I looked down the shaft of the arrow towards the target. Brian's "Captain of the Guard" had already shot all of his. They were all in the bull's eye. This was my last arrow. All of mine too, were in the red innermost circle. I drew the bowstring back and released. The arrow flew straight and true. Too true.
The arrow struck line. I had missed by less than a bare inch. I reviewed what I had done wrong. Nothing had been done wrong. I had aimed for the center of the target. I thought through my sequence. I had let the bow slide down my hands after releasing. I cursed silently.
Captain David's sound of triumph pierced my deep thoughts. "I won!" He yelled.
"Oh shut up," I said sourly. "You don't have to act so surprised. After all, I am a scrawny little thing." I stalked away, my pride hurt.
"Lilka," Brian said. "Come back." My challenge forced me to turn on my heel and come back.
"What does my lord request?" I asked with an accent on the title. I kept my eyes downcast, despite his earlier command. I was a servant, almost a slave.
"Captain David, you are dismissed. Speak not of this to your men." He commanded, every bit a prince. He turned back to me. "I'm not going to ask you to relinquish your past, but I will tell you to dress as a servant." I nodded. I was still irritated. This foreign man's Captain had beaten me, an Amazon, and the best archer at that! I blamed it on Captain David's bow, though I knew it was entirely my fault.
"Anything else, Prince?" I asked.
"Meet me in my room after you've changed." He said without blinking. I left, grabbing my practice sword and bow. I hid them deeply in my room so someone that was in my room couldn't find them. I left through the servant's door. Another servant was passing by.
"Excuse me," I said in Fr'ain, tapping his shoulder. He turned. He had brilliant blue eyes that were clouded by despair and blonde hair that was more brown from lack of sunlight. "Could you, um, tell me where I could get proper servant's garb?"
"Down the hall turn right when it dead-ends." He said quietly. "What are you here to do?"
"I, uhm, serve the prince." I said told the other servant. He laughed.
"You a mistress?" I asked. I saw he had pearly white teeth.
I had to remember what Brian had told me about that title, and his reaction to mine. "No, I, uh, lost a bet."
"A bet, eh? With the prince? What did you merit to speak with him?"
"I don't know, he was friendly." I told him, eye darting toward where I was to go. "I need to go." I turned to leave.
"What's your name?" The other servant asked me.
"Lilka." I told him.
"John Muller." I fixed John Muller's face into my brain. I left, going down the halls that seemed to go on forever. The walls, I noted, were bare stone. I was encased in stone. For some reason, that made me nervous. I was a daughter of the Isle, a free soul. I was bound my by own selfish pride. I was a servant, bound to serve Prince Brian, because of a lost bet. I was, somehow, happy. John Muller had been kind to me. Little did I know that the servant's tailor was the opposite of the kind John Muller.
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I had silently hoped Lilka would win. I couldn't help but feel sorry that I had accepted the bet. If Lilka was truly the Lilka she had shown me, then she would chafe at the restrictions placed on a servant. She was still new, probably lost in the intricate halls of the palace and the underwork of the servant's corridors. I was sitting on my bed reading a book when she emerged from the door in my room. She wore the brown dress of a servant girl. I tried not to notice her entrance, but she saw me.
"Am I to your satisfaction?" She asked.
"Please stop." I replied. She had an undertone of anger.
"Stop what? I lost a bet? I'm a servant. You're a prince. What did you need me for?" She replied. "Hordes of serving girls would just love to be your servant. Yet, here I am. A servant girl." She stared into my eyes. I swore she knew all me secrets, just the way her eyes looked into mine.
I diverted my eyes. I felt her hands on my chin. Where her fingers touched, I felt my skin burn. She turned my head to hers. "What does my lord request?" She asked plainly. I couldn't tell her what I wanted.
A week passed with her in my service. She had grown sour towards me. Yet, if I was quiet when I entered my room, I could hear her singing. I could see her brushing her hair and plaiting it. As soon as I made a noise, her joyous expression faded and she came to me, as a servant.
One night, during a game of Checkers (I asked her to play with me) I asked her.
"What makes you so happy?" I asked. She looked up startled but quickly recovered. "I come in normally by opening the door and making noise and you are sour and angry. When I come in silently, you're singing and happy. Why?"
"Since my lord asked to kindly," She said sarcastically. "I met a man. He is nice, he cares for me, I think."
I didn't know how to respond. A part of me was crushed. I hadn't thought she would find someone. "I see." I looked at the board. She had me pinned. "You win." I picked up the board and put it away. "Good night."
I shut my eyes and for the first time in a long time I wondered why Lilka slept in the borrowed bed rather than in front of the door as she had done for me since we were on the ship here. I opened them again, wishing for the hundredth time that she hadn't lost that bet. That she hadn't cleverly come up with it. When I shut my eyes, I saw her bitter look when I asked about her joy. I saw her wistfulness when she spoke of her male interest. I saw her face before she had left the Isle of the Amazons and I saw her face now. Less wild and free. More tame, almost like an animal conforming to its surroundings. She wasn't fearful like a caged animal, more annoyed at being roped to a stake. I tried to sleep, but such a luxury was denied to me.
Morning broke through the large windows. Lilka was awake and braiding her auburn hair that was darkening from less sunlight. I silently crept out of my bed but I stepped on a squeaky floorboard. Lilka heard.
"My lord, truly sneaking around is not your strong suit." She called. "What would you like me to do today?" Mostly I had sent her to the servant's Director of Tasks, but I was trying something new.
"Accompany me today." I pulled on a riding outfit. "Get on breeches, unless you'd rather ride sidesaddle?"
"My lord, a servant should not ride with royalty." She said plainly. It was an unembellished face that betrayed that she wanted to leave the palace and go riding.
"Then I'm not royalty today. Come on!" I urged, wanting the original Lilka to break free. She wasn't the person that I had known as my friend. I didn't know how much one person could change. "We'll stop by the-"
"I can't." She said, the light in her eyes fading. "I told the Director of Tasks I was working today." She attempted to move to the door.
"If you won't come, I shall be forced to ride with Lady Sera, who had been most earnest in her attempts to have me court her." I said. She glared at me, those eyes piercing my secrets. "Will you come?"
"I-" No sound came out of her mouth. She shuddered. "I'll- I'll come," I came up and took her hand. She took it out. "But first, tell me, is this a trick?"
"What would I gain by tricking you into coming?" Why did I want her to come? Lady Sera was nice enough. She wasn't dreadful, at least, not anymore. Before I had left, she had very nearly kissed me.
"I don't know. You seem to have something hidden. Something I can't see. Maybe you too have a female interest." Lilka mused aloud. "Lady Sera?"
I cursed myself for barely mentioning her. "Sure. What if I told you I'm in love?" I teased.
"I would ask you how you differentiate between love and lust." She replied. "After all, many men lust after women, never truly falling in love."
My mind was racing. How do you know about love and lust? They were so similar in feeling yet different in action. "I would tell you that if you can wait for someone, never failing in your feelings, then you are in love. But, if you desire them and cannot bear to wait, then you are being lustful." I spoke from the heart.
"I see." She said shortly. "I'm ready to accompany my lord riding." I sighed, knowing that she was slipping back into the Servant Lilka. I wanted that curious Lilka back. The one that didn't hide her feelings, the one I longed to see again.
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Brian showed me the way to the stables. He led the way, seeming very much to be a "commoner". I cursed myself for being so open. I had let him know I didn't know about love. I had showed him that my old self wasn't completely lost. Once we entered the stables, he acted very much like a prince. We took two horses. We mounted. I took the lead, seeing the open fields ahead of us. I kicked the mare I rode into a canter, feeling the wind in my hair.
The morning sun had not completely risen. The colors of blue and red fought over control of the sky. I rode hard, feeling the rising wind in my hair. I slowed my horse. I undid my hair. I heard the prince come up behind me. My hair reached the middle of my back. I kicked the horse into a gallop, the hard wind making my eyes tear up. I dared myself to let go of the reins and slow up the horse to a canter.
Lilka the Amazon broke free from the cage that had held her so long. I laughed into the wind, feeling the morning dew. Feeling that sense of freedom erase my fears. I forgot Lilka the Servant and allowed myself to embrace my long-hidden self. When I reached a forest, I dismounted and walked toward a stream, longing for the pure water to run over my hands and sip untainted water.
I walked toward the running water, so entranced by the gurgling sounds. I stopped at the edge of a deep pool and dropped my horses' reins. The water was cool. I dove in, feeling the cool water embrace me. I was deep in the bottom of the pool. Somehow in my swimming, some water-dwelling plants had entangled me.
I automatically reached for my absent belt knife. It was not there. The more I fought, the deeper I was taken. Feeling both of feet wrapped by the weeds. I fought harder. My arm was stuck. My lungs screamed for air. I was forced to blow out my precious air. I unintentionally took in water. I spat in out, desperately trying to break free. I lost. Just before losing my unstable grip on reality, I saw someone dive in, the bubbles streaming around his body.
"Please wake up." I heard a voice plead. "Please, wake up."
I awoke on the bank of the pool, the waterweeds still around my arm and legs. Brian's face was close to mine, pressing the water out of my lungs. I coughed out the last of the water that was in my lungs and breathed in deeply the wondrous air. It tasted sweet. The sun had reached far into the morning sky, not yet High Noon.
"Lilka," Brian breathed, seeing my eyes flutter and open. "Thank the gods."
"I'm not dead…" I said softly. His eyes showed concern. "Why are you sad? I'm alive." I reached up to touch his cheek. He took my hand in both of his. "Who was that? I saw someone dive in after me…"
"Me," He whispered. "I- Lilka, please. Promise me not to try that again."
"Why are you so worried?" I asked. "Why do you care?"
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My heart screamed 'Because I love you, Lilka!' My brain said something extraordinarily stupid. "You're my servant. I had to keep you alive."
Sometimes, Lilka showed an old woman's wisdom. "Was it truly that? Or was it something else? Something you keep hidden." She dropped her hand.
I tried to change the subject. "Who do you think likes you? I may have to remind him of your wild nature."
"Why?" She asked seriously. "Why deny me my happiness? I won't tell you who I think cares for me."
"Please tell me." I pleaded.
"Why do you want to deny me my happy ending? Why do you want me not to be happy?"
"Because," I whispered, "I want to be happy." I pressed my lips to hers. The ache in my heart was erased. If I could stop time, I would now. I felt her surprise. She recovered quickly. I felt her move her hands over my neck, pulling my face harder onto hers.
I removed my lips gently. Feeling embarrassment rise in me. She spoke first. "You," She whispered. "You're the one that likes me." I placed my lips lightly onto hers. We both heard someone entered the glade.
"Well, well, well." The person said. "Prince Brian and his "servant"." I recognized the voice of Lady Sera. Instantly, we were up and facing Lady Sera in a black dress with a half-dozen men behind her.
"Why are you here?" Brian demanded.
"Isn't it obvious?" She sneered. "Men!" The half-dozen men surrounded us; they grabbed Lilka's arms and holding them behind her. The men around me only held out swords, not daring to touch me. "I'm here to make a deal." One of the men holding Lilka drew a sword and placed it around her neck.
"And what is that?" I growled, now irritated with this court lady.
"If you offer marriage to me, the servant-girl lives. Should you refuse, she dies here and now and you'll marry me anyways."
I looked over at Lilka, not struggling against one of her captors' sword. She silently pleaded with me, but I couldn't betray her and marry this devil. When she tried to speak, the captor tightened the sword against her neck. I sighed, looking resigned. "What will you do to her if I accept?"
"That was not part of the agreement." Lady Sera snarled. "Make your choice, I am running short on time."
"I want to know where I am condemning her!" I hissed.
"You'll know once you offer!" The court-lady yelled.
It felt like a stone in my stomach. One way, I would condemn Lilka to an unknown punishment, the other she would die. One-way was selfless, the other selfish. I breathed in deeply. With eight words I sealed both our fates. "Lady Sera of Geraln will you marry me?"
