I decided to post chapter 2 a bit early for all of you because I was reading chapter 1 and I was like, "Dang, ain't shit happened." and I thought that you all deserved a bit more. As always, let me know what you think. Chapter 3 will be up on Friday :)
Sharp wind cut across Helia's face as he sat atop his black horse. The banners of Hademort billowed through the breeze and the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore filled the air. Members of the royal guard surrounded him as he looked out at the sea, a large wooden ship coming into view. The same ship that carried his bride to be.
His horse moved his hooves in the snow, the cold getting to the large, black stallion. Helia tightened on the reins to still the horse and adjusted his own black, fur, cloak over his shoulders. He hoped that Princess Krystal came prepared with gowns suited for the cold temperatures of Hademort. He once again felt bad for the princess, knowing that Linphea was known for the lush, green vegetation and temperate climate. They had just entered into the month of June and snow still covered the ground with the sky signaling another snowfall.
"Your Highness," a member of the guard called up to him, "the ship is preparing to dock. Shall we ride down to the pier?"
Helia narrowed his eyes as he peered out on the water, watching the ship come in closer to the shore. He took a deep breath, his breath hanging in the air. Pulling on the reins, he turned his horse around, a silent answer to the guardsman's question.
Making his way down the sharp foothills of Hademort, he kept his eyes were trained on the ship as it came into the pier. The bright green sails becoming sharper and coming into focus. He could see the familiar black willow sigil and soon he could see small specks move around the top of the deck, the crew preparing the ship for docking.
Soon snow turned into wood as Helia landed on the wooden slats of the pier, the commotion of the stevedores unloading cargo from the large ships. The smell of foreign spices and salty fish filled the air. Helia was surprised that the piers had not been cleared for a more private ceremony for the arrival of the Princess of Hademort. However, that would mean a delay in business which would mean a delay of money, which meant a delay of power and might. His father would never allow for that to happen, especially for the arrival of some princess from a land that he had looked down on.
Clanging from the belltower at the docks signaled the arrival of ships into port, the people of the docks heading to the water's edge to prepare for the arriving ship. However, upon seeing the prince of their nation, the people stopped and stared as Helia rode on the wooden docks, sitting high and imposing on his horse, shrouded in black and matching the rumors associated with them.
Helia didn't care what the people said about him, his father telling him that the opinions of those who were lower than him should not be a concern to him. Besides, the rumors only added to the fear that his father and grandfather, King Aeron built for his family.
The ship pulled into the pier and Helia tightened on the reins again. Not so much for the horse to still but to help quell his nerves as he watched the ship land at the docks. This was it, the moment that he had been waiting two years for.
"We're here." Krystal breathlessly announced once again as she gazed out the window of her room on the ship as the ship slowed as the waves became smaller. She saw the commotion on the docks and snow-covered foothills of the Dearil Mountains. The people that she could see looked much like the people of Linphea but their skin had been a stark pale and their cheeks rosy from the cold. They were covered in furs and dark wool clothes, much like the material that Krystal was wearing.
"I will tell the porters to grab your things, Princess, and prepare to deboard." Flora smiled as she turned to walk out of the room.
"Wait," Krystal snapped her head around to look at her friend and handmaiden, "don't leave me."
Flora sighed and gave Krystal a sympathetic look, "Of course, Your Highness."
Krystal held out her hand, beckoning Flora to come closer. Flora walked across the room and grabbed Krystal's pale hand in her tan one. Her hand trembled under Flora's and gripped her slender fingers tightly.
"Please don't try to worry too much, Your Highness. I am sure that Prince Helia is just as nervous as you are."
"Why would he be nervous, Flora? He is not the one who has traveled away from everything that he has known to marry a person that he has not met."
"He does not know you either, Your Highness. If he is as truly awful as the rumors say that he is, best not to show him how nervous you are." Flora pulled her hand out of Krystal's grasp before placing her hand under Krystal's chin. "Now chin up and let Prince Helia know that you are the Princess of Linphea and you are as strong as you are beautiful."
Krystal looked fondly at her friend, "How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?"
"I have been at your side for quite some time, Princess," Flora smiled, "it just comes as second nature."
Flora turned and made her way over to the door of the bedroom, returning to her task of instructing the porters on what to do with the princess's luggage.
"Flora," Krystal called out to her as she reached the wooden threshold, "are you nervous at all?"
She wanted to tell Krystal the truth, that she was terrified of also leaving behind everything that she knew to be with Krystal. They both did not have a choice to come, Krystal being sent to fulfill a requirement of marriage and Flora as Krystal's handmaiden, a position that she held since the princess came of age at twenty-one. But Flora had been by Krystal's side when they were both teenagers, meeting in the halls of the palace as Krystal wandered away from her mother and tutors and as Flora did her best to avoid the scrutiny of the head maid of the palace.
But Flora would not let Krystal know how scared she was; that she too held onto an irrational fear of the prince and his father. While she had not been privy to the idle gossip of the teas that Krystal would have with other princesses, the walls of the palace whispered of the prince's cold demeanor.
"Not at all, Your Highness." Flora shot a soft smile to the young princess, doing her best not to let her fear show. "And I will be with you every step of the way."
Krystal gave Flora a nod before Flora turned around and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Her back on the hard wood, Flora closed her eyes and took a deep breath, allowing herself to prepare for when she would leave the familiarity of the ship and step foot on foreign soil. A fate that she did not think she would have to face as the Guardian of Linphea. But King Titus had commanded her to protect Princess Krystal and Flora could not say no.
Grabbing the dark green cloak from the small metal hook on the wall, Flora laid the cloak over her shoulders. Her hands shook as she tied the ribbons around her neck, not sure if it was from the cold or from her nervousness. She took another deep breath and steadied herself before emerging to the ship's deck to command the crew on the final preparations for Krystal's arrival.
Helia held his breath as the wide gangplank hit the edge of the wooden dock. He was sure that his knuckles were as white as the snow under his gloves as he gripped the reins. His teeth were clenched and his jaw was tight as he did his best to still his face. Was it from the cold or from the nervousness that he felt meeting the woman who would be his bride? He had heard of Princess Krystal's beauty, her odd colored hair and her green eyes became the subject of many palace servants' conversations. He wondered what she had heard about him. Nothing good he assumed.
It was as if time stood still as he looked up and saw the crew of the ship quickly form two parallel lines, clearing a path for the princess before she made her way off the boat. Helia gulped and did his best to train his face into one of indifference and strength. He could not let the princess or anyone else know that he was nervous. His father would never forgive him.
A small blare of a trumpet sounded before everything around him became silent. Green flags emblazoned with the sigil of the black willow appeared as flag bearers were the first off of the boat followed by a few members of Linphea's royal guard. Helia paid them no mind, his attention still fixed on the top of the boat as he waited for Krystal.
As the guard landed on the docks and took their positions, Helia's breath caught in his chest as his gaze fell upon green eyes and honey-colored hair. She had to be the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. While her hair had been the same color as the whiskey that he had drunk that same morning before breakfast with his father, he would not have called it 'odd' like the servants around the palace did. But when all the hair in Hademort had been dark, he supposed the caramel locks of the princess could have been seen as 'odd' and different.
He marveled at how her tan skin glowed against the soft pink of her light and airy gown. Though she wore a green cloak, was she not freezing? Her cheeks were stained pink and her lips tinted a light wine color from the cold. She looked like she was freezing but she did not show it. She walked with grace as she stepped down the gangplank, the light material of her pink gown flowing behind her. She looked as if she were walking on air.
Helia's eyes never left her as she walked closer to him. She stopped in front of his horse, her green eyes never meeting his, much to his disappointment because they had been the most striking thing about her. He held still as she lowered herself into a deep curtsy, staying down longer than he would have expected a princess to stay down. Her eyes were trained on the wood of the dock as she opened her mouth and Helia swore that his heart dropped to his stomach at the sound of her smooth voice.
"Your Highness," she snapped him out of the trance that she had placed him in, "may I present Princess Krystal of Linphea, First of Her Name, Daughter of King Titus and Queen Rachel."
Helia's eyes widened slightly in shock as he took in what the woman had just said. Was she not the princess? She had been the most beautiful and graceful woman that he had seen and she had not been the princess. Who was the princess then? Surely no woman could possibly match the beauty of the woman crouched down low in front of him.
His eyes snapped back up to the top of the boat where he saw a young woman with pale skin, green eyes, and her hair was a light shade of purple. Definitely more in line with what someone would consider to be 'odd'. She was dressed in a thick, wool gown, opposite to what the former woman was wearing. She too came down the gangplank gracefully but her thick gown did not add the sense of etherealness that the other woman did. Nevertheless, this woman was beautiful and Helia was contented to see her.
The first woman in front of him stayed down in her curtsied position as Krystal came to stand beside her. Krystal looked up at Helia, her lips pressed in a firm line and her eyes unsure as they met his blue. The poor princess looked scared but who could blame her? However, she best find a way to not let his father see.
The princess bowed her head slightly before raising it back up, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."
Helia's eyes moved from the woman on the ground to the young princess, still in a state of mild disbelief. But his eyes soon focused in on Krystal.
"The pleasure is all mine." Helia replied, his voice devoid of the pleasantness that he had hoped he would convey, "I hope that your journey was not too cumbersome."
"Not at all, Your Highness." Krystal gave him a small, polite smile. "The seas were rough at times but nothing that we could not handle."
"I am thankful to hear that," Helia replied as he looked out at the small crew that came with the princess.
Snow began to fall lightly on the water, he looked down to see the woman still crouched, small flakes of white beginning to fall on the top of her caramel-colored hair. They slowly melted on impact, tinging the spots a deep bronze. Yes, the princess had been beautiful but this woman who had joined her was breathtaking.
"You may stand." the young princess instructed the woman at her side. The woman rose up, slightly shorter than the princess. Her green eyes still focused on the wooden docks, sprinkled with a light dusting of the accumulating snow. They slowly rose to meet Helia's gaze and he quickly looked away, not wanting to appear that he had been staring at her. Though judging by her blush, he had not been quick enough.
"Oh, Your Highness," Krystal's voice called his attention back to her. She gestured to the woman at her side, "May I introduce you to Flora, Guardian of Linphea and Handmaiden to the Princess."
The woman, Flora, gave the prince another low bow. Helia did not say anything and he was certain from experience and from the look on Flora's face that his expression was anything but friendly. While he did not mean to be impolite, Helia was in shock. This woman had to be more than a lowly handmaiden. Not even a Lady in Waiting but a handmaiden. No noble blood ran through her veins, she owned nothing. She was nothing. She was a handmaiden and a guardian, whatever that was. How could someone so graceful and so beautiful be a nobody?
Helia cleared his throat, bringing his leather-gloved hand up to his mouth and turning away from the women on the ground.
"I have had a horse prepared for you for our journey back to the palace."
A white mare appeared in front of Krystal being led by one of the men in Helia's entourage. Krystal smiled as she gave the horse a gentle pat on the muzzle. Helia looked as Flora smiled fondly at the young princess causing his chest to tighten just slightly. What the Hell was wrong with him?
"We should get going." Helia flatly said as he turned his horse around and began heading back in the direction of the palace.
Krystal looked at Flora and exhaled. Flora placed a hand on Krystal's shoulder, "You did marvelously, Your Highness."
Krystal huffed as she continued to pet the horse, staring into its black eyes, "He didn't say much."
"No," Flora replied, "he did not. Though I suppose very little is better than very bad. Maybe he was just as nervous as you were, Your Highness."
"Do you think so?" Krystal asked as she turned her attention away from the white horse and to her friend.
"I do," Flora smiled, "perhaps he will say more when we arrive at the palace."
Flora turned to see Helia and his entourage had begun departing for the palace, leaving Krystal and the group from Linphea behind.
"We better follow," Flora remarked, "I don't think that either of us wants to be left out here in the cold."
Krystal nodded before mounting the white horse, looking down at Flora as she reached the top.
"Ride with me," Krystal commanded, though it came as more of a request.
"No, Your Highness," Flora looked up at Krystal before looking forward to the prince and the rest of the company who were on foot or rode their own horses, "I don't think that it would be wise of me to do so."
"Then I shall request that you have a horse as well."
"I doubt that Hademort would allow for a handmaiden to ride a horse at the same level as those of noble blood. I think that it would be better for me to walk beside you, Your Highness."
Krystal pouted as she looked down at Flora and then up ahead, "You are also the Guardian of Linphea which means-"
"Which means," Flora looked up at Krystal through a thick layer of eyelashes, "that I am more than capable of walking, Your Highness."
Flora rarely scolded Krystal and when she did, Krystal always hated it. Flora was only a year older and Krystal had regarded Flora as more of a friend than another mother. She thought that she had left her mother and father behind in Linphea, but she supposed that her parents really weren't that far when Flora was by her side.
Krystal gave a defiant humph, knowing that when Flora spoke like this to her that Flora had made up her mind, and even as a princess, Krystal knew not to argue the subject even further. Because she knew that Flora was right. Being a guardian meant nothing to the people of Hademort and being a handmaiden meant nothing to everyone.
"Well, when I am queen," Krystal said as she held up her chin, "I will make sure that you are equipped with the finest horses and that you, as the Guardian of Linphea and my best friend, never have to set foot on the snow."
Flora let out a laugh at Krystal's ridiculous decree, "Very well, Your Highness. I will want a horse with a coat the color of wheat that would shine like gold under the sun. His hair a pale white."
"As you wish, my dearest friend."
Flora continued to laugh, the sound covering the sounds of crunching snow as people stepped on the soft white blanket that covered the ground. Krystal always had a way of making her laugh. Her carefree spirit always a welcomed reprieve during the work that she would have to do around the palace when she was younger and then made the days seem shorter when she had become Krystal's handmaiden. Flora opened her eyes when she had finished laughing and looked ahead to see Helia and his men moving further away.
"Come, Your Highness," Flora said as she grabbed the horse's reins, "we better catch up to Prince Helia. This will give you two an opportunity to get to know one another a little better before arriving at the palace."
What an idiot, Helia chided to himself as he turned away from the princess and the rest of the Linpheans. How could he think that the other woman, Flora, was the princess? How could he think that a handmaiden was a princess? But then he remembered the way her hair cascaded down her back in smooth waves, how her green eyes held such a warmth despite their cool color, and how her body moved so demurely as she approached him. She showed no fear when she approached him, unlike the young princess.
But he had to erase that memory from his mind.
Krystal was the princess that he is to marry and Flora would remain a nobody as Krystal's handmaiden. The novelty of her beauty would wear off and her voice would join the everyday voices of all the other servants in the palace.
Lightly kicking the sides of his horse, Helia and the rest of the royal guard began their journey back to the palace. The wind blew through the foothills and down to the dark sea and Helia's mind went back to the woman in pink. The sheer material of her gown providing little coverage over her body. She must have been freezing but she did not show it. Helia had grown up under the relentless cold of Hademort but when the cold air of the mountains hit the sea even he would shiver. Did Linpheans not feel cold or did they have some way of keeping warm that Hademortians had not learned yet? But the princess was covered in wool as she stepped off the boat.
Shaking his head of the thought, Helia continued forward. The faster that he was back home in the palace, the faster that he was out of the cold. The snow began to fall faster and the flakes grew thicker as they hit the ground, the sound of crunching snow under hooves and boots filled the empty space of silence created by the foothills that shielded the sounds of the pier.
A bright sound bounced from behind him as he turned his head to look back at the princess and her handmaiden. The woman in pink was laughing at something that the princess must have said or done.
"Very well, Your Highness. I want a horse with a coat the color of wheat that would shine like gold under the sun. His hair a pale white."
Her teasing request was shrouded in sweet laughter as she looked up at the princess who was seated on top of the white horse that he had given her to ride. What had she said to her handmaiden? Why did her handmaiden tease her so readily? Did she not fear repercussions for her insubordination? Maybe his father was right, these Linpheans were a strange bunch.