The room was rearranged so that my chair sat opposite the doors, so that I was the first thing to be seen upon entering the room. In their native tongue, the women had bickered among themselves as to either there should or shouldn't be pillows adored upon the seat as to give, I could only assume, contrast to myself. As humorous as I found the whole ordeal, Tus seemed slightly more nervous.
"Ladies." His stern voice caused them to stop bickering and turn their full attention back to the prince. "While I'm sure this may seem important, need I remind you my brother will be here any moment-" without saying another word the servants quickly organized themselves on either side of the chair. They had left a space on the right for Tus to stand beside me. "Perfect." With the situation dealt with Tus returned his attention to me. "Laleh." The prince extended his hand before me.
A moment of hesitation kept me still. This is it. After this moment, everything is set into motion. I broke away from my thoughts to stare into the eyes of the prince before me. Brown eyes…like his brother… as sincere as my resolve had been all it took was the mere thought of Garsiv to unnerve me. Internalizing my minor hiccup of resolve, my hand graciously slid into Tus' as he led me to my seat.
"Are you ready my dear?" Taking my place upon the seat, the soft cushion enveloped me comfortably.
"Is anyone every truly ready? It is not every day you become the sole concubine of a Persian prince." Tus laughed softly.
"That…is a fair point."
"I know. I made it." Smirking at the prince, we shared a small moment of silence. Tus placed his hand upon my shoulder once more, his grip both strong and gentle. Someday Prince Tus, you shall make a fine king.
A sudden knock at the door made everyone slightly jump, but our composure was quickly regained as the golden doors swung inward. The first to enter were two very muscular men outfitted once more in the colors of the Persian Royal Guard; they were dressed in a long sleeve black tunic with leather armor adorned upon their arms and chest as to allow the most movement. The leather was tanned to a deep chestnut color and the Persian seal branded upon their right shoulder pad. Black pants were tucked into mid-calve boots lined with armor atop the foot as well as the shin. Of course what was the real eye catcher was the massive scimitar strapped upon their hips. Golden tassels hung from the hilt of the blade, bouncing with each step.
Following them were the spear holders, dressed in an almost similar fashion, however they adorned more metal armor since they did not have to swing outrageously large pieces of metal around like those before them. Their polished armor gleamed in the torch light, the envy of any nation naturally. The wore traditional Persian helmets that gathered to a lethal point upon their heads that in the rights hands could do some damage if you happened to be unarmed.
Of the six guards that had entered the room, three took up each side of the door, with the men wielding the scimitar taking point of the spear wielders. Then there was Garsiv.
His stride was long and confident, each step showing the perfect grooming of a prince worthy of Persia. Garsiv had changed from the more informal clothing he had been wearing early when we first met into something more suiting for his title. While he did not wear any armor, his military prestige took clear president in his attire. The prince wore a fitted dark blue tunic with a high collar fashioned with small metal ornaments along the rim of the fabric. He wore the collar slightly open at the base of his neck with his collar bones just bare visible at the opening. Overtop of tunic he wore a slightly heavier black vest that ran down to just below his knee. Made of a fine linen, he too wore this open with the belt swaying at around his waist. Polished metal also adorned the rim of the vest as well fashioned in a similar pattern as the shirt.
There was a moment as Garsiv strode into the room I once more felt the sensation as if I was falling, but Tus' firm grip on my shoulder reminded me I was still very much sitting down. Fighting every nerve to look away from his brown eyes, I gazed upon Garsiv hoping that maybe this was all just a dream. Things like this don't happen to people like me. However, the longer the prince continued to stare the more I realized that this was indeed reality; this was really happening to me. Neither of us dared to move as our eyes locked and once again the world seemed to melt away into a blur.
I was warm. Not just physically. I looked up at Garsiv and… there was nothing. But not in the bad way. All of the things that had be haunting me seemed to vanish. My past. The deaths. Balthazar. This party. All of it was just…gone. And there he was standing in front of me, looking into my eyes. It filled my being with warmth. A gentle fire the stirred my soul, one I thought I would never be so lucky to find. I wanted to treasure this moment- as fleeting as I knew it would be.
"Garsiv! I was half worried you had managed to lose your way." And fleeting it was; Tus moved forward to embrace his brother breaking the trance that had settled over the room. The moment Garsiv looked away to return the embrace Tus, everything came rushing back to me. The weight resettled upon my mind, reiterating that fact that if I remained here this world would be destroyed by my past. It was a wonderful fleeting moment…
"I doubt I could truly get lost Tus." Garsiv smirked coly at his brother. "I grew up here too if you might recall."
"Oh yes, now that you mention it." The brothers shared a small laugh before returning their attention to me. "Now, I'm sure you'd be very interested to official meet the lady of the night." Tus reached out his hand for me.
For a moment I was worried my legs wouldn't work as I went to stand. As I moved to a standing position, the world felt firm below me giving me the confidence to move forward. Folding my hands in front of me I came before the two men, uncertain whom to stand next to.
"My lady Laleh," Tus seemed to pick up on the hesitation as he came to my aid. "may I introduce you formal to my younger brother, Prince Garsiv."
"Your majesty." I bowed my head down in respect to his title, playing my role as dutifully as I could muster.
"My lady. I am…pleased to make you acquaintance." Garsiv took my hand into his own and placed his lips upon my hand, faintly kissing the top of my hand. The heat rushed through my body so quickly it took all of my self-control to maintain composure even when my head was screaming and my heart pounded like a war drum.
"I am saddened to see you go, my lady, but I must hand you off now." Once more Tus brought me crashing back to reality. I tore my gaze away from Garsiv to look upon Tus again.
"Your majesty." I placed my hand upon his face gently. Tus rested his own hand over top mine as he stared into my eyes. "Our paths crossed by chance, but it has been the greatest pleasure being in your company." A genuine smile rested upon my lips as I though back to our early banter.
"You my dear, are a treasure." Tus softly kissed the palm of my hand as he held it in his own. "Take care of her Garsiv. She is the rarest gem I have ever laid my eyes upon."
"Of course brother." Came Garsiv's reply without hesitation. Slowly Tus released my hand and backed away, as if signaling for us to depart. My smile faded softly as in unison Garsiv and I made our way out of the room. Casting one final glance back at Tus my heart sank just a bit. You saved my life, Prince Tus. What ever becomes of me I will always be grateful to you.