Proof read by Danaye
Chapter 37
Walking from the training area alone didn't do Daine any good. She couldn't quite get the starlings' cry of warning out of her head.
She had ensured Onua that she was okay, which was clearly a lie, but what could she do? It wasn't as if she could tell someone she had only known for a few hours that something terrible was going to happen. They would consider her mad, just as they had back home.
No, there was no possible way for her to explain something that she, herself, didn't even understand. Even if she were to try, what dialogue would come of the conversation?
Daine could almost hear the doubtful words from Lord Halverson in her ears yet again. She could hear him dismissing her words and not believing anything she told him. In his eyes, she was the lowest of the lowest, an unnoticeable. Her words were of no value to a man like him.
"You've heard something — the starlings are telling you what, exactly?" Lord Halverson leaned forward in his chair. His huge desk was laden with papers and plates full of food.Here he was lounging amongst luxury while the people outside the castle fought to fill their stomachs and repair their houses. His blue eyes, cold and hard, had not drifted from her uncertain gaze.
"Ehm…they're letting me know that something isn't right. Something has set them off and I…"
Cutting her words off, he leaned back, "So they only say 'something', but not exactly 'what' is going to happen?"
'Starlings don't have the same terminology as we do. They only know that something is amiss. They do not have the same ability to comprehend as we do. For them, winter is equivalent to the Big Cold...'
Lord Halverson stopped her once again, only to stand and gesture to his squire, 'Please inform His Majesty that Mistress Sarrasri has something to tell the court...'
Absolutely not, Daine thought and shook her head as she walked the corridor, she was going to be quiet and keep this to herself.
The last time something like this had happened, she had been forced from the main hall in the Gallan castle. Everyone had laughed at her and shook their heads, not wanting to believe that a storm was descending over the castle. What she hadn't known about the storm was that it was the lightning the starlings had been warning her about. In the end, the lighting caused a huge fire that had consumed the queen.
Opening the door, she bit her the inside of her mouth. The warning could be anything or nothing at all, but she wasn't going to get herself ridiculed over it once more. They wouldn't believe such a thing coming from a newcomer. It was possible that her husband would believe her warning that something was askew, but he wasn't here, right when she needed him the most!
The storage room she had entered was the same she had first used when changing from her dress to breeches that very same morning. Earlier, she hadn't had the time to observe how large the room really was, nor had she realized that the room itself contained several large side-rooms where other storage-rooms were located.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she went to the room that was to the right. A large window allowed rays of light to enter the room and illuminate the area. The magical crystals were extinguished, but the sunlight enabled her to investigate just how wealthy the Tortallans really were.
After going through the three storage-rooms, Daine was overwhelmed. Her new home didn't lack anything.
In the storage units, there were items a Gallan would only dream of having. If they did own such things, they would most likely keep it a secret in fear of insulting the monarch. Knights, squires, pages, and even the servants serving under the Gallan Crown tended and mended their clothes. They patched up the holes they got instead of buying new clothes. Galla didn't have the finances to support such purchases. King Angus's coffers, during the past year, had been screaming for coins. Every Gallan knew this, and so did the Tortallan king.
The dowry from Anna, the deceased queen, hadn't lasted long enough, even though she had come from a wealthy Northern family. That was why Daine had been married off, and it must have been the reason as to why the Gallan king was now dead.
Daine lifted up new and unused clothes with a sigh. Would the king still be dead if he hadn't arranged her marriage, or did that have nothing to do with it?
She pushed away those thoughts, deciding that the king would be gone despite the state of her marital status. However, she couldn't help but wonder if there was a bigger meaning to everything that had happened.
Glancing around, she found herself surrounded by large boxes that boomed with new clothing. Here she was, picking out breeches as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She knew that her own, now burnt clothing, would have had patches almost everywhere.
During her time at the Gallan court, Rosalie had managed to keep Daine supplied with clothes for every occasion. Unfortunately, after her marriage and the birth of her own children, she couldn't afford to provide for both Daine and her own family.
Daine sighed once again, this time louder then before. After Rosalie left, Daine had been the one who once in a while had sent money to her foster-mother. It had been Daine's way to pay back and make sure that Rosalie could provide for her own children as she had once done for Daine.
Daine's fingers came to rest on a box containing new shirts. She added one on top of the breeches hanging on her arm before she moved from the side-room — only to stop in the middle of the main storage-room.
Dropping the clothes down on to a wooden box, she sat down and pulled of her boots. Lifting the last one, something fell to the floor. Glancing down beside her foot, the sight of cold metal met her eyes. The queen's dagger, with a single gem embedded in the handle, laid still on the stone-floor.
She shouldn't have accepted it from the horse-mistress. She should have insisted that she didn't want it near her and that it be returned to the queen. Instead, Daine carefully pushed it in between the two wooden boxes she sat on. For her, weapons only meant one thing — trouble. Therefore, she would leave it there and hope that the servants would find it later and return it to the rightful owner.
On sock-clad feet, Daine struggled out of the wet breeches, trying not to curse over the solidified state of the fabric. The wind she had been standing in had been colder than expected and she was chilled to the bone. She had left Onua with a promise that she would return to the dining area as soon she had changed her clothes. Unfortunately, at the slow rate she was going, she would be bringing the food to the training area instead of sitting down in a warm room, filled with Riders talking about everything and occasionally talking about her or her husband.
Speaking, even thinking about him, made her growl deeper. Why hadn't he prepared her for the odd nature of this court he had brought her to? He could have told her that everything she knew of etiquette and protocol would even apply here!
A queen in breeches, a king kissing his co-ruler in front of everyone...Daine stopped her movements with one leg inside her new breeches and the other leg outside. Was her husband just as spontaneous as the rest of them? Was that why he had left her without any further explanation?
From what she had overheard during the training, her husband wasn't exactly present by nature. Some of the Riders had talked about him being hidden away for long periods of time, only to emerge with some kind of new and dangerous spell. Sometimes his friends had to convince him that he was in need of some sunlight and fresh air.
"That vacuous, inattentive," Daine pulled on the fabric in order to get her breeches on as she cursed under her breath, "rude, mindless, attractive, bewitching, captivating man!" How was she to act when she never knew what was expected from her? And when would she be allowed to see him again, let alone have him kiss her…?
How could she not still be thinking about their kiss? Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to travel back to the paddock. She had wanted to do so for many hours during the training session with the Riders. What was it Cloud had said?
'The man who gets this funny expression on his face every time he looks at you'.
He had indeed looked deeply into her eyes as he had trailed his finger lazily down her jaw line. The touch had made her shiver. As his lips had parted hers, Numair had put his arm around her and placed his hand on the small of her back. He had pulled her to him and her breasts were pressed to his chest in an intimate, almost indecent manner. Well, if they had been back in Galla, the thing that had happened on the ground in the middle of the night would have been a scandal on catastrophic scale, but Daine hadn't minded it at all. In fact, she had welcomed it, feeling the attraction flare between them on a whole different level.
The moment his lips had captured hers, she had felt a strong, fluttering sensation in her belly along with the burn that flashed wherever their bodies touched. At first, the gentleness in his kiss had surprised her. The other times men had claimed her lips, their fierceness had left her lips swollen and bruised, but not when he had kissed her. He had deepened the kiss eagerly, but had waited for her to part her lips and give him access, which she had done willingly.
With her eyes still closed, she could almost feel the way his tongue had swept delicately inside, meeting hers. She had been insecure over her inexperience, but his actions had encouraged her.
Reliving every small gesture and every small touch he had given her body, Daine absently lifted up her shirt over her head, only to realize that a button had caught the chain of her necklace and entangled itself. Lowering the fabric, she took it carefully between her fingers and extracted it.
Smiling to herself, another memory flashed into her mind. Kissing hadn't been the only thing that had happened. Daine had been thankful that Cloud had been so offended over being kept away from Daine for several days, so she didn't witness the intimate touches that had been shared between her and Numair.
She had especially enjoyed how his hazel eyes had settled on her mouth. Her lips had parted due to her labored breathing and the shock at the desire in his eyes. They could have moved beyond the boundary, taking their marriage to another level that had yet to be reached, but he had withheld himself even though his want had been evident through the hardness of his body.
It was for her sake, and hers alone, that they hadn't done anything other than share kisses and touches. However, she doubted that he could restrain himself the next time. Would she mind it at all? Could she, herself, be the one who did the restraining when he sparked such unimaginable sensations inside her? Never had she thought that her body would ache to feel him again, pressing her solidly against him, taking her — claiming her.
Blushing deeply over her bold reflections and longings, Daine sighed loudly, glad that she was alone. She lifted up her shirt once more, only to hear a surprised gasp come from behind her.
Abruptly, Daine turned around. She was convinced that she had closed the door, but not sure if she had locked it. Standing with the door wide open, stood the heir to the crown, blushing a deep red while holding something in each of his hands. Daine clutched the fabric of the shirt against the upper part of her body as Prince Roald muttered under his breath, "I'm so sorry. Onua just told me that I could find you here – I didn't know that you were...ehm…" He struggled for words, "Indecent."
Daine struggled to keep herself composed, flustered over being caught changing by another man. Her upper body was half naked, though she was covered by a breast-band. She suddenly knew that protocol demanded her to acknowledge the crown prince in front of her and she dipped down in a low curtsy as he averted his eyes to the floor. "Your Highness, I was just...ehm."
"Don't," he interrupted, "I am the intruder here, and I should have knocked on the door before entering." Prince Roald took a step back, blushing deeply though she could detect a sparkle in his blue eyes. Mischief and embarrassment. It was a reaction one could expect from a young man who hadn't had the pleasure of a woman yet. Daine's cheeks flared once again, as she imagined him bursting in when her breeches were off!
Prince Roald clear his throat, "I will wait outside for you to finish." With that, the door was closed yet again with a loud thud. Daine was left to stare at the hard wood with a blank and disbelieving expression, not completely sure what to do with herself.
Not only had she spent the private time fantasizing over her husband, but also the fact that the crown prince had just walked in on her while her mind had been completely occupied was entirely wrong. If she had been back home, her reputation would have been ruined for life — with or without her being married. Society dictated that no woman from upper class was to be left alone with a man without a chaperone, unless it was her husband. Now, she had stood half naked in front of a man. Not just a young man — younger then her, but also the crown prince nonetheless!
Lifting the shirt over her head and lowering it down her upper body, Daine cursed under her breath, her mood flaring from lightly lecherous to utterly agitated, "I'm going to kill him for bringing me here and abandoning me!"
Her fingers were in the process of buttoning the shirt when a careful knock sounded on the door.
"Not to be rude," Prince Roald's voice sounded cautious, "but my horse is injured."
The heir to the Tortallan throne jumped back as the door was forcefully pulled open and Daine stood staring at him with urgency. "Hurt?" She questioned and hurried out of the storage-room. "Why didn't you just say that?"
Prince Roald nodded, his face crimson. "You were… busy. He caught a leg in a hole and is bleeding. I wasn't there to see it, but Lord Grayer came and fetched me from Sir Imrah..." He trailed off as Daine abruptly turned around, only to stare at him yet again. When would they learn that she hadn't lived at the palace for more than a couple of days? They all acted like she had been a part of their lives for years, which she wished she had, but that wasn't the reality.
The crown prince hurried on, explaining further. "Sir Imrah is my knight-master and Lord Grayer is the commander of the general army."
Daine realized that he was hoping that she would recognize the names, but neither of them rang a bell for her, "I don't know of them – just guide me to where I'm needed."
"Of course," Roald replied, hurrying past her to hold open the door. As Daine turned her back to the corridor, a shadow moved along the wall, only to sneak into the storage-room they had just exited.
Stepping outside, Daine heard Roald speak, but his words were faint and got lost in a loud roar from Sarge as he stormed towards the newly arrived groups of Riders. Turning back to him, she lifted her eyebrows in question, encouraging him to continue.
The words that left Roald's lips were not what she had expected. He was blushing deeply under his sunburnt cheeks. "I'm — " he hesitated as they walked beside each other, but a sideways glance from Daine had him talking again. "I hope that you can forgive me the interruption in the attic the other day," he said, referring to the time when Numair had nearly kissed her for the first time, "I hope that I didn't stop anything important?"
Behind them, as they left the training-area more, groups of riders were in process of dismounting their ponies. Daine was able to hide the blush in her cheeks as another thunderous roar split the air. Sarge was clearly dissatisfied over the arrangement of the Riders and in which order they had arrived in. She smiled to herself. The crown prince was obviously curious about the progress of her new relationship with the black robed mage. However, she could clearly understand by the way he spoke that it wasn't him asking the question, but another person he wouldn't name.
"Your Highness, you didn't interrupt anything that couldn't wait for another time," she replied, blushing deeply. She knew that she had indirectly given the information that her and Numair's relationship had progressed. Well, she hoped it would progress, seeing that he hadn't returned from wherever he went yet.
"Good," was his only reply and he seemed to be content with the information. Apparently, someone was eager to know if they had kissed or maybe consummated the marriage – which they hadn't yet.
They walked in silence the rest of the way and it didn't take long for her to feel the pain radiating from a horse in one of the stables. Glancing to the side, she waited for the crown prince to move inside the darkness of the large building. Inside, no ponies were to be found. Instead, huge warhorses stood in stalls that were larger than the one Cloud resided in.
As she stepped over the threshold of the stable, every one of the magnificent creatures greeted her in their own way. Walking behind Roald, every horse came forth and took in her scent. A few of them were stallions, other mares, but the majority were geldings – neutered to control their spirited temper.
Every horse showed signs of being used and cared for regularly. Their shiny coats of hair covered their muscular bodies. Daine breathed in sharply over the grandness of every horse. They eyed her from their stalls with their heads hanging out so she could touch each of them. However, she quickly made her way down to where a hurting sensation lingered in the air.
Roald came to a stop in front of her and pulled on the door to the stall. Opening it up, Daine could understand his deep frown and notable concern. They were both met with the sight of bloodied straw. She cursed under her breath and grabbed a hold of the prince as he started to move forward into the stall. "Don't," she warned him, pulling him back. The creatures black ears were laid back and an impatient scraping on the floor began.
"But…he knows me," Roald protested.
Shaking her head, she stepped in front of the prince with her back turned to the wounded stallion. However, her mind kept track of the animal's movements. A hurt animal was a dangerous animal. Without the right handling of the situation, things could get out of hand. "He's in pain," she said, "Who you are is irrelevant to him and so am I." Glancing back over her shoulder, she added softly, "The best thing for you to do is to fetch some water and cloths to wash away the blood."
The stallion had blood dripping down the front of his long, black legs. The metallic scent was strong in the air, and it was making the other horses nervous. In front of her, the prince stood, shifting from one foot to the other. He seemed to be insecure about leaving his horse. Daine met his deep blue eyes with a calm gaze, trying to be as reassuring as possible, "He's going to be alright."
Hearing her promise, Roald nodded and turned, walking away to collect the items she had requested.
Daine backed her way into the stall before turning slowly around. The stallion breathed in sharply at her scent and flicked his ears. He was very aware of the new creature that now stood inside his stall, radiating the same amount of dominance as he did.
Facing the animal, Daine paused. The stallion felt threatened by her presence, and she kept herself as still as possible. She grasped a small copper-thread inside her, mentally tossing it towards the horse.
She could see the instant change in the stallion as she linked their minds. She had never done the linking in such a way, but something about this situation was off and she suspected foul play.
What met her made her step back, startled. Images of a man, large and fierce, passed through her mind. He pushed open the door to the stall. Reaching out, Daine laid a hand upon a hair-covered muscle. She felt her magic being pulled from her and closed her eyes over the dizziness that hit her in waves. There wasn't enough time to do the healing properly and the stallion shifted underneath her touch.
Glued to the animal, flashes of the man erupted inside her mind along with confusing feelings. The crown prince's stallion felt recognition as the man slowly entered the stall, but soon weariness followed as the scent of anxiety hit his nostrils.
Daine swayed under the heavy load of information that was passed to her. The stallion had anticipated being led out of the stall and saddled. It had been routine for the time of the day. However, it puzzled him that it wasn't the small boy with fire burning inside him. When an apple had been offered, he had become suspicious, but the sweet smell of the autumn-fruit had lured him forth. He had leaned forward, wanting to snatch it from the sweaty hand. As his teeth had embedded themselves into the apple, a pain had erupted and he had reared, forcing the man to fall backwards...
"Roald?!" Daine shouted, troubled. She snatched her hand away from the horse and turned around. Someone had deliberately harmed the horse. As soon as she realized that it was a trap, she ran out of the stall. She was met with a terrible sight. A man, the same man from the stallion's mind, was fiercely pressing the blade of a familiar jeweled dagger into the throat of the crown prince.