Marriage?
Chapter 4: max P.O.V.
Is stood at the window of my bedroom, my cold arms crossed over my chest, a fistful of my loose nightgown in both hands. I didn't know what I was looking for over the flat rooftops below me, but as the sun began to sink, and I heard a maid call to me that she was locking my door, but my eyes never left the window.
I watched as a white cloaked blob seemed to just appear through one of the roofs, my hand flew away from my nightgown to clutch the edge of my window, leaning forward. The figure darted agility over the rooftops, leaping from one to another without any effort. I watched as the figure leaped from a building, disappearing from sight. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in, and pull my shaking hands away from the window, my knuckles white from clinging to it so hard. Could it be that the figure I saw was Fang from this mourning? How many people could leap from building to building like that, other than a trained assassin? Not many, as far as I was aware. I continued to watch the sleeping city below me, searching for a flash of white, but saw none.
It became dark, and I sighed, the chances of me seeing anyone in this dark was low, and I turned away from the window, climbing into my bed, the heavy red comforter offering me no warmth, and I shivered under its weight. I found my mind wandering back to the warmth of the assassin who saved me in the city today gave off, how it seemed to radiate off him.
No, what the hell was I thinking?
"Get him out of your head Max!" I whispered to myself quietly under the sheets. And squeezed my eyes shut, trying so push the image of his black eyes out of my head. Those black eyes, cold, like he was missing something. Not like he was mental though.
I curled into a fetal position, shaking my head hard and yanking the blankets over my head. Who was I to adore him like I was starting to? He was free, had the whole world, could go anywhere he wanted, see anyone he wanted. He could have any girl, who on earth would he chose the frail, pathetic princess who wasn't even allowed to leave her castle. I was confined, he was as free as a falcon. I rolled over under the covers, poking my head out from under the dark red blankets, shivering from cold, falling asleep with black eyes and a dark face burned into the back of my eyelids.
I pulled on my shoes, fumbling with the left shoe as I rushed towards the door, my braid falling out, my skirt crooked again, and I was late for breakfast.
"Stupid Lissa." I grumbled as I rushed down the stairs, stupid maid never woke me up on time, and I knew it was intentional, I thought as I straightened my skirt and smoothed my hair.
I burst into the dining hall, and was greeted with more than the usual faces that sit at the table in the mourning. I plopped down at my spot at my fathers left, feeling a little shocked when he acknowledged me with a smile. I froze and smiled carefully back. My mother looked across the table at me distastefully, before turning to talk with the guests again. I ignored their chatter, and scooped potatoes onto my plate, eating without tasting the food.
Everything about my mother was sharp, her dark brown hair drawn up into a tall bun, brown narrow eyes, harsh features and an equally sharp tongue made her a force to be reckoned with, and to make it worse, she was never fond of me. More like despised me really, but I had grown used to it.
"Isn't that right Maximum?" My mothers loud voice made me jump in my seat.
"What?" I managed, and she huffed and looked annoyed.
"I said that you are not usually such a late sleeper, and like to engage in conversation." She said, shooting me a look that said, 'don't you even think of saying no.'
I nodded and sent a fake smile to the guests, a pretty blonde woman with several loose braids winding around her head like a crown, a sullen looking man with brown hair and another much older man, who smiled back at me sweetly.
I looked back at my food, being careful to remember my manners around my mother and take small bites.
"Maximum." My father addressed me, and I looked up at him.
"These are the Gunthers, governor of Florence." My father told me, motioning towards the mousy brown man across from the old man, who nodded at me. I offered up a forced smile, where were they going with this, usually when guests were coming, I was told to stay away from the main passages of the castle, but why was I being introduced?
"They arrived last night, and we spoke of you coming of age." I felt my heart drop, I should have known that this would be coming, my birthday was in three months. My mother would try to marry me off as soon as possible, I wasn't surprised, but i'm not saying it didn't hurt.
"You will go with them to Florence, to meet their son and live with them for three months, and then you will be brought back home for the wedding." My father told me with a genuine smile, as if he thought this was the best idea he had ever come up with. My pressed my lips together into a straight line, before spitting out.
"What home?" I watched the shock register on all their faces and silence fell over the hall, before I shoved my chair behind me so hard that it fell over backwards and skidded a little ways across the floor, the sound almost deafening in the silent hall, as I walked away, my footsteps loud against the stone floor.
Behind me, my mother screeched for me to call me back, but I ignored her, feeling a rebellious smile stretch over my face as I made my way up to my bedroom. I slammed the door to my room, and stood in the center of it, just looking around, my perfectly made bed, floor clean of my nightdress, the sun just streaming through the window. I felt tears prickle behind my eyes, and a lump rose in my throat, I let the tears fall as I went to my wardrobe, pulling out all my favorite dresses with tears running down my face, blurring my vision as I looked down at the pile of red and white dresses at my feet. I didn't want to go, I wanted to stay here and watch the falcons dart across the sky. I let the tears pool up in my eyes and run down my face.
I swiped them away, I wouldn't give my mother the satisfaction of seeing me cry. A small maid, who refused to made eye contact with me tiptoes into the room, carefully gathering up all the dresses I had thrown on the floor, and put them into a leather saddle bag, along with several new dresses that she had come into the room with. I didn't even bother to ask to see them, and went to the window, my face red as the tears slid down my face. I looked out again over Damascus, searching desperately for the white hooded figure racing gracefully over the rooftops. It had been weeks since I had seen Fang, no trace of him. I had snuck out too many times to carefully watch the monks, stayed up late watching the rooftops from my window.
I sighed and pushed away from the window, turning to the maid, who had stopped putting things into the bag, and stood patiently behind me.
"When am I leaving?" I asked her softly, and she seemed to shake before me.
"When you are ready." She replied, crossing her small toes that peeped out from under her brown skirt, holding out a black dress with leather bodice and cuffs. I took it gently from her, and she bolted out of the room, and I pulled off my flimsy blue dress, letting it fall to my ankles. This dress was a more durable fabric than I was usually allowed to wear, the skirt with slits in the front and back so that I could comfortably ride a horse squarely, instead of side saddle, with leather leggings and heavy field boots. I silently turned to admire the dress in the mirror, While I laced up the wrist bracers. I turned, picking up the drawstring bag laying on my bed, the sound of my long blonde hair swiping on my new leather dress with every step I took.
A man stood at the bottom the stairs, offering a hand for my heavy bag, which I happily handed over to him. He led my through the castle, to where the people from this mourning were waiting, mounted on horses, ready for the journey before us. I was led to a leggy grey dapple with a soft eye and a bow and arrow tied to the back of the saddle, the only weapon my mother had allowed me to train with when I was a child. Once I hit the age of thirteen, all horse and weapon training were out the window.
I shakily pulled myself up onto the horse, refusing any help from the stewards. I adjusted my feet in the stirrups as the group began to walk out of the stable and out into the city, the templars parting the sea of people, simply shoving them roughly out of the way. I rolled my eyes at them, how hard could it be to just ask them to move?
I tapped the grey with my heels, and he started forward into a smooth trot. I reined him out of the crowded group of royals and along the narrow outside of the group, until I was right behind the line of templars, who I simply shoved through like they had done to the people. They yelled out in protest, but quickly shut their mouths when they saw me on the horse.
I slowed back to a walk in front of the group, the people parting like the sea and watching as the rarely seen princess rode a horse through one of the busiest parts of the city. I heard someone behind me yell for me to get back into my guarded place in the "Parade." But I simply ignored the call, not even looking backwards. When we were led into the tunnel leading out to the outside world, I looked around with wide eyes, trying to drink in every aspect of the dry landscape, for I had never actually been outside Damascus before. I heard once again the angry cry of a guard for me to get back in my spot, by the governors wife told him loudly to let me ride ahead.
When she said that, I tapped my heels into the grey horse again, and he leaped forward into a cater, comfortably rolling over the dry, hard ground. A small smile spread over my sad face, the wind whipping through my loose blonde hair, the horses black mane brushing against my chest with its head held high, ears pricked forward enthusiastically.
I wanted to drop the reins and hold my arms out to my sides, the wind screaming past me. When I was little, I learned to ride a pony. My instructor told my parents I was a talented horse-woman. My father was delighted, but my mother was mortified at the rough work of keeping a horse was what I wanted. From then on I had no further contact with horses. I gripped the reins tight, ignoring the flash of white behind me. I rode fast past the tall guard towers, ignoring the guards above me, who called orders to each other from on top of the tall wooden towers. I continued to ride forward, maybe bandits were escaping through the area. I slowed to a walk, looking around for anything that might be alarming.
Seeing nothing, I picked up a gallop again, and entered the path. It was dug into the ground, both sides of the path tall earth, with trees on top. I slowed to a canter in the path, my hair swishing across my back annoyingly. I spotted a blotch of white ahead of me in the path, making me jerk back on the reins stiffly, causing the horse below me to rise up on its back legs. I knotted my fingers in its mane, watching the figure in the path walk towards me. The white robe with red trimmings, long sword clanking against his crossbow and collection, an assassin. I felt my heartbeat spike in my chest, my fingers slowly undoing the bindings of the bow strapped to my saddle.
There was a chance that the figure was Fang, but it was definitely possible for the figure to be an assassin sent to kill the useless princess. My heart hammered against my thin rib cage, but as the figure walked closer, I saw dark hair lining the white hood. For a second My heart stopped, could it be Fang? Was he sent to assassinate me, or was this just chance.
"Fang!" I called out to him, waving my hand at him and standing up in the stirrups, and his head bolted up, a small smirk playing on his lips, before it faded and he darted to the right, climbing up the side of the bank and disappearing in the trees. I let out a breath of disappointment, just before a band of templars burst through the trees on the other side, yelling with their swords drawn. One of them turned his helmeted head towards me, before barking if I saw a man in all white pass through here.
I quickly shook my head, but dread passed through me, what had he done to make so many templars chase after him?
They simply shook their heads and mumbled amongst themselves as they walked back into the trees. I urged the horse below me to walk again, and he set forewords dancing excitedly. MY brain spin inside my skull as I let the horse pick up a cater again, just fast enough to jump over a few logs that had fallen in the middle of the path.
I was in a daze until I reached the outside of florence, the huge, wooden gates blocking off the city from me. Two guards at the foot of the gate, eyed me, while I dismounted and took the bow and quiver of arrows from the saddle, slinging them over my back.
They pried open the heavy door, and let me in. I walked through the tall gate, taking in the new landscape. The grey stone castle on the highest part of the city, the group of four scholars slowly making their way up into the city, hawks circling up over the tall cliffs. i made my way through the crowds of people, shopkeepers calling out about the prices of their goods, a beggar woman leaped out from where she was leaning against a storefront, stopping me in my path, her dirty hands clenching my thin shoulders.
I flinched away from her as she shouted at me for money.
"I don't have any." I told her softly, and tried to move past her. I had told her the truth, my parents had money, not me. She ran in front of me again, pushing me roughly back, causing me to stumble in surprise. She continued to scream at me about how she was so sick, and needed money, until a hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her away from me.
"I believe she said she didn't have any money." The rough voice said, and the woman froze. I looked up at the white cloaked figure, his black eyes trained on me. The woman cried out and ran fast away from Fang. I folded my arms over my chest.
"Why are you following me?" I asked stubbornly, and he continued to watch me impassively.
"You looked like you could have used some help." He said, eyeing the people around us. I frowned, he was right. But I wasn't going to tell him that. I instead walked past him, brushing my hair out of my face.
"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked him when he jogged to catch up with me. He just smirked and didn't reply.
"So now you don't talk?" I asked him angrily, and he looked at me seriously.
"I'm being watched, and you're not exactly unknown." He said, and I nodded. He was using me as cover, for none of the guards would attack him when he was close to me.
"I'm going the same direction as you anyway, I'll walk you to the castle." I shot him a suspicious sideways glance.
"Not following me huh?" He rolled his eyes.
"Everyone knows you here to stay with the governors son until you get married to him." My eyes widened.
"Everyone knows that?" I whispered, and he smirked at me again.
"Everyone, they're having a parade from here until you get back to damascus for the wedding." I felt sick to my stomach, I didn't want a big wedding. I had hoped it would be something small, safe, and contained. mostly so I wouldn't have to pretend to be happy for the public eye. Fang smiled when he saw my expression.
"Glad to know I'm not the only one opposed to it." I sent him a confused look as we past the last stall selling fruit, and the huge castle loomed before us, the wire gates open and a templar standing on either side of the small entrance to the courtyard. I followed Fang past the templars, who sent him suspicious looks, their hands shooting to their long swords. I followed him into the courtyard where a boy with sandy blonde hair and sky blue eyes greeted me, in all his royal glory.
"Are you Maximum?" He asked me with a radient smile, I nodded, unsure about his enthusiasm. Out of the corner of my eye, Fang drifted away from me and the boy, who had pulled me into a hug. I froze up in his arms when Fang turned back to make eye contact with me before sliping past another gate and out of my sight. My stomach dropped in disappointment, but the boy pulled away, looking at me with concern on his face.
"That's Altair, he's a trained assassin with the guild. I want you to stay away from him." He comanded me, and I flinched slightly when he grasped my upper arm hard. I nodded and he let my arm drop and motioned for me to follow him. I sighed quietly and followed him in.
This was going to be one hell of three months.
And why the hell did he call Fang Altair?