Here's chapter 2! I hope you all enjoy, as always, let me know what you think! This has been fun to write and I'm enjoying the world.
~DDM~
She stayed in the bath longer than she usually would once she was alone. Usually, bathing was a quick activity, one done when no one else was around who might discover her secret. Now, she was open, and free to be as she was. After scrubbing herself down and washing her hair, she rose from the bath, grabbed a drying cloth and wrapped it around herself. As she exited the bathroom, she stopped; there were several people in her room. From their dress, she knew they were servants, picking up the mess left by the previous owner of the room. When they saw her, the all stopped and dropped to their knees.
"Forgive us," one of the women said, her brown eyes fixed in the floor. "Had we known you were bathing, we would have assisted you."
"Who are you?" Alexandra asked, tightening the cloth around her body.
"I am Nikia," the woman said, glancing up. "That is Meher and Sefta."
She pointed to the other women, still on their knees.
"Why are you in here?" she asked, though she was sure she already knew the answer.
"We served Master Kaf," Nikia said. "We now belong to and serve you, Mistress."
Alexandra stood, taking the information in, watching the scared body language of the servants and they dared not move, unsure what their new Mistress was going to be like. A female warrior was unheard of, surely, she must be crueler than any man.
"Stand." She said to the servants and they all did as they were told, still with their eyes down. "Do you know of any clothing here I can wear?"
"Yes, Mistress," Nikia said quickly, moving over to the large bed and lifting a beautiful red dress that had not been there when she'd first come in. "This is a gift, from the Prince, he wishes you to wear it to dinner tonight."
Alexandra moved closer, running her fingers over the soft fabric, it moved like liquid through her fingers, the color richer than the blood she'd spilled earlier.
"It's to long." She said with disapproval, turning away from the dress to go over to a large wooden wardrobe against one wall.
"The Prince expects…"
"He can expect whatever he likes," she said without looking back. "I am part of the royal guard now, I cannot do my duties in a dress like that."
"But…the Prince."
Alexandra looked back over her shoulder at the distressed servant. She glanced back at the dress thoughtfully and made a decision. Walking over to the wall where weapons off all kinds were displayed, she pulled down a wickedly sharp looking blade. The servant holding the dress cowered before her now armed, new Mistress. Without a word, she took the dress from the woman and laid it out on the stone floor. Her mother had been quite a seamstress and she remembered some of the lessons she'd been taught. She moved the hem of the dress so the back was long, and the front of the hem was shorter, then used the knife to slice through the thin fabric, creating an asymmetrical hemline. Once satisfied with the way it looked, she stood and held the dress out to the woman.
"Would you help me into it?" she asked the stunned servant, who quickly nodded and took the dress, laying it on the bed to undo the lacing on the back. It took only a moment to get into the newly designed dress and as she was being laced back into the garment, she looked around and spotted a leather sheath for a sword. Once in the dress, she moved away from the servant and over to the sheath, the sword in it was curved and sharp, the golden hilt glittered in the candle light.
She tested the strap of the sheath but it was to large to fit properly around her waist, so she looped it over one shoulder so it sat diagonally across her chest, the hilt not just over her right shoulder, easily within reach.
"Mistress?" Nikia asked, looking uncertain.
"Could you grab my boots." She asked, sitting on a chair.
"Of course." The older woman hurried to the bathroom where she'd left them. She looked at the other two women in the room, they had moved against one wall, eyes down and hands clasped before them. She observed them silently, they were nearly shaking, uncertain of what she would have them do. Nikia came hurrying back, black boots in her hands before dropping to her knees in front of her new Mistress.
"I can do that," Alexandra said, taking the boots and pulling them on, the familiar feel of their leather, going up to just under her knees was comforting. She stood and went to look into the mirror on one wall.
Her hair, while longer than it had been when she arrived, was still in choppy layers, hiding most of her eyes before she pulled it back behind her ear, revealing her face completely. The dress she was in was tight at the bodice and showed the figure she was used to having to hid. Despite only seeing each other close for the first time only a little bit ago, Prince Mehmed had chosen to send her a dress that was nearly her perfect size, despite the crease where it was stretched over the breasts she'd developed over the last few years. The color was flattering to her tanned skin, the fabric moved like liquid over her body, showing it off without being vulgar; though now the hem came to just above her knees, the back still long to the floor, allowing for better movement.
"Dinner should be ready, Mistress." Nikia said from behind her.
"Could you show me where to go?" she asked.
"Of course," she bowed then glanced at the other two.
"Could the two of you please pick up the mess here. It appears its previous owner wasn't much for keeping his space clean." She addressed the other two women in the room.
"He only allowed us to clean once every few days." Nikia said, almost in defense of the state of the place.
"I'm not blaming you for the mess." Alexandra said gently. "I prefer things to be neater, and will work to keep it that way once the initial mess is cleaned. If you could also go through his clothing and pull out anything you don't think will fit me, and others than can be altered to better suite me."
"I'm sure the Prince will provide more clothing." Nikia said as the other two sprang into action and began cleaning.
"Yes, but what he wants me to wear and what I'm more comfortable in are apparently two different things." She gestured to the dress.
As she walked down the hall, following after her new servant, she took in the beauty of the palace. She was used to living in the plain barracks with the others from her group, the quiet was going to take some getting used to. She could hear the noise coming from the main dining room as they approached. The noise died down as she entered, people of the court turning to stare at the strange newcomer. She ignored them as she approached the front of the room where the Sultan and his family sat.
"What did you do to that dress?" the prince asked, looking stunned.
"I fixed it." she said simply, dropping her eyes in respect to his father, who burst out laughing at the look on his son's face.
"Come, girl, you may sit with us." The sultan said imperiously, smile still on his lined face as he gestured her forward. She walked around to the end of the table, expecting that was where she was to sit. "No, come sit by me."
There was a hushed whisper in the room as she did as she was told, several courtiers sliding down the bench beside the Sultan to make room for her, her servant going to stand against the wall with the others lining the room. She did her best to ignore the people watching her as food was place in front of her.
"Tell me about yourself, girl." The Sultan said as he began eating again, everyone else following suite.
"My name is Alexandra," she said quietly. "I came with the group of boys nearly three years ago."
"How old are you?" Mehmed asked from his father's other side.
"Sixteen, almost seventeen." She answered as she reached for a goblet of water.
"Your father sacrificed you?" the Sultan asked, moving to block his son's view of the mysterious girl at his side; he felt like she was special, her reputation for brutality among the soldiers fascinated him. A woman who fought like a man, who had survived being trained in the arts of war, with commanders he knew did not teach gently.
"Yes, he was unwilling to let go of my brother, Vlad."
"His only daughter?"
"I was not as important as his heir." She said with a small shrug.
"He still should have protected you." Mehmed said, sounding displeased.
"I can protect myself now."
"So, you demonstrated earlier," the Sultan nodded. "You have now taken Kaf's place, though he was the head of my guard, I do not know enough about you to allow you to fully take that title without further testing."
"I understand. You have been kind enough to allow me to live, something my father was sure would not happen had I been found out."
"No, without the reputation you have among the troops, you would have had a different fate." The Sultan said seriously.
"Thank you for your mercy."
"I still think you'd be more comfortable installed in the harem." Mehmed said with a scowl, glancing over at the strange creature. He could see his father already becoming attached to the girl; curious what life would be like with her around from now on.
"Here's to a bright and interesting future." The Sultan said, raising his glass to her, she and the others around the room joined in.
Dinner went quickly, the conversation with the Sultan mostly revolving around her and her life before she became part of his army, moving on to how well she'd adapted to her new environment, how she'd managed to excel where most would fail. When dinner was over, she was dismissed, back to her room before her new duties would begin the next day.
Alexandra was walking down the hall, following Nikia when she heard her name. The Prince was making his way toward her, eyes bright with how much he'd drunk at dinner. He came to a stop next to her, her servant looked nervous to be so close to someone of his standing.
"What possessed you?" he asked, looking her up and down.
"I don't understand." She frowned at him.
He reached out and ran his finger down the leather belt that held the sword against her back, eyes following the neckline of the dress he'd given her.
"What possessed you to alter your dress that way?" he asked.
"I prefer pants," she said, batting his hand away as it began to follow the fabric of her neckline. "I wouldn't have been able to move properly in the dress as it was."
"There is nothing proper about it now." He shook his head. "Do you have other clothing that fits you?"
"I asked my new servants to look through Kaf's clothes to find things that might fit me or can be altered to fit."
"Don't bother," he smirked at her. "I'll have a seamstress come see you tomorrow and we'll see what we can do about getting clothes made for you."
"Do I get to decide what they look like?" she asked, not curious, but not willing to let him design her outfits.
"You don't like my taste?"
"The color is beautiful," she said, looking down at the dress. "But I don't think you know what makes me most comfortable."
"I'll have to learn then."
"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, but I think I'll tell the seamstress what I like best. Is there anything else?"
"No, strange creature," he said, looking her over and wondering what she was going to look like in whatever she'd have made. He'd given her the expensive dress as a gift, hoping to warm her to him but had been utterly shocked at how she'd changed it; though the tantalizing glimpse of leg he saw above her boot was worth the change.
"Good night, Price Mehmed."
"Good night," he nodded, turning to go back the way he'd come. "Oh, Alexandra."
"Yes?"
"Welcome to the family, I have a feeling life is about to change around here."
