Lila sat at a small table by the window. This room also had a floor of marble, but the walls were wood. The wood on the walls had raised frames along it; some filled with paintings, and others had ornate carvings of ships and the ocean right in the wall. She was admiring a carving of the forest, as she had never been to the forest and would truly like to see one up close, when the woman who was in charge came in followed by two girls pushing a cart. "Lunch will be in an hour, but we have some bread from this morning and a nice warm bowl of broth for you. You should eat before you meet the prince. I will come for you in fifteen minutes; these girls are here to help you should you need anything," and with that, the woman left. One of the girls lifted the lid while the other set a bowl in front of Lila, and a plate with bread.
"This is a light broth, milady. You can dip the bread or sip from the bowl." Lila dipped the bread in the bowl and placed it in her mouth. It was if she could see colors for the first time. And hot food! It was glorious. She finished just before the woman came back to the room, and the girls cleaned up as soon as she was done. She was bade to follow the woman, with the two girls behind her; before she knew it she was in the grandest room she had ever seen.
This room too had floors of marble. There were great high walls of carved stone, and large windows all around the room. Each window was framed in gilded relief work, and some were full of the most glorious colorful images Lila had ever seen- the sun shining through them cast a magical shadow in the room. There was a long carpeted walkway from the door to the other end of the room, with groups of people on either end facing away from Lila. The woman led Lila down the carpet; it had beautiful flowers framing scenes of dancing animals.
There was a small line of people in front of Lila, but she could see the prince. He was sitting on a grand throne, on a raised gilded platform. Lila watched each person or group as they were presented to the prince as she didn't want to show him anything but proper respect. When it was her turn to be presented to the prince, the woman stepped forward first to speak on her behalf, "Your Highness, this is the young girl we found washed ashore this morning."
"Ah, yes," the prince replied. "Let her come forward so I may see her." Lila stepped toward the prince and curtsied, as she had seen the ladies before her do. As graceful as she was, the curtsey made Lila want to scream. Her feet were in pain as though sliced by broken glass and blades; but Lila was more graceful in that one moment than any lady the prince had ever seen in his court. The prince studied Lila, "She was wearing finery, you say?"
"Yes your Highness," the woman spoke again as Lila could not speak for herself, "she was wearing a fine silk gown with pearls and beading. She was washed up in the tides this morning; her dress was beautiful, but it was ruined by the sea water."
"Does she not speak for herself?" the prince asked.
"Your Highness, no. I do not believe she can. She tried to speak to us this morning when we found her, poor dear, and no sound came from her lips. She seems to have had a shock. When she tried to speak and she heard no sound, she started crying at the loss of her voice."
"This is something I will consider; for now, she may join in court and attend dinner tonight." The woman nodded her head and gave a curtsey, and Lila gave another curtsey and followed.
Lila was given the two girls as escorts for her stay, and the woman left her. They took Lila to a large hall filled with young men and women. "This is the Courtier's Hall," the first girl said, "this is where you will eat most of your meals; unless they eat in the Grand Hall like they will tonight."
"They are having a great feast to celebrate His Highness returning to us from the sea. He was tossed from his ship during a great storm and was thought dead the next morning. But he was found alive, washed up on shore- just like you were today. And he has full recovered from his ordeal," replied the second.
"The people were mighty happy he was safe, for the prince is loved by all. He is very good to everyone. He will be a great king. Once he marries, that is."
"So tonight is the feast, and all week there will be a celebration in the town. Musicians, games, plays, and other festivities all provided for the people. The prince is going to celebrate with them, they were so happy to have him back and he loves to be with them."
"We won't get to eat with you; we have to eat in the next room. Once you sit, we will leave; you will be served and taken care of by the attendants there. They will let us know when you are done and we will escort you to the gardens from there." Lila walked into another beautiful room filled with several long tables and grand chairs. This room was all stone. There were rows of stone pillars between the tables and large stone carvings over the doorways. There were large paintings in gilded frames on the walls; paintings of people on horses or playing garden games. Above the tables were long gilded trays holding rows of candles lighting the room. The tables were long and dark; with ornately carved chairs that had red velvet tufted cushions.
Lila was brought to a table near another group of girls dressed finely, as she was now; she sat and was poured drink and swiftly brought a bowl of soup. The two that had been escorting her went through a door in the back to eat their own lunches. As she was about the lift the bowl to bring to her lips like earlier, Lila saw another girl using one of the pieces of silver from the table. Lila followed suit and ate in the same way as the other girls. Since she could not speak, she just listened to them talk about the fun they were going to have at the festival. As soon as she was done, the young boy pouring drinks came over and asked if she wanted her escorts, while another took her dishes away; Lila nodded and the boy went into the back and her escorts came right to her. "To the garden then, milady?" and Lila followed.
The garden was just as grand as anything in the palace. Lila's escorts brought her to a balcony before taking her outside, so she could get a view of the whole grounds. "Do you see that over there?" one asked, "That is the maze. Don't worry about getting lost in it though. It only comes up so high," she said, placing her hand near her hip, "and they give you a small flag to carry that you rise if you get stuck. Then someone comes in to fetch you." Lila thought the maze did look fun, but then she thought of her feet and winced. The girl looked at her, "It really is fun, I promise." They turned back and kept on their way to the garden.
The three girls walked about the path for a time, and came upon a small opening in the wall of greenery. Lila followed the girls through it, and there was a small table made of marble, all inlaid with different colors in a pattern and two rows of fancy carved stone pieces on either end. There were a few chairs around the table, and a small table for a beverage glass or book near each. The room- for though it was outside, Lila felt this was very much a room- was made of plants. There were walls and a ceiling, each made many years ago of branches woven together, right from the ground. Vines grew up each side and a canopy of flowers hung down from above.
A loud bell rang, like a small ship's bell, and Lila looked over and saw one of the girls pulling on a chain along the back. Lila would not have noticed it if not for her ringing it. The girls told Lila she could sit, for which Lila was very grateful. Another kitchen boy showed up a few minutes later and the girls asked for drinks. "Have you played chess, milady?" Lila shook her head. "It is supposed to be a 'thinking man's' game, but I have seen it played and could teach you. I think that since you cannot speak right now that it would be something you could do, if you like." Lila nodded and smiled. The girls made sure the pieces were set up in the proper places, and before they could start telling the rules, the kitchen boy came back with a tray of glasses and a pitcher for them. He poured their glasses, leaving the pitcher should they desire more. Lila took a sip; it was cool, it was tart, it was sweet. Lila had never had anything so good before. One girl was sitting across Lila, the other next to her- to help should she need it.