After a short walk, Mású led Tás down a wide, well-lit corridor. A few servants moved here and there while going about their daily proceedings. Calé grew nervous at the sight of more strangers. She pulled back on the reins and tried to walk backwards down the narrow hall. Tás calmed her and slowly walked her forward toward the stables at the end of the hall way. There was no one in the stables when Mású opened the large metal doors. Calé was placed in a stall in the back. As Mású and Tás were about to leave, she began to slam her body against the walls of her unfamiliar stable. Again, Tás began to calm her.
"Could you find your way back to the courtyard if I leave you now? I need to meet someone."
"I think I'll manage. Calé seems really upset. She needs a little time to get used to this place. You can go meet your friend."
When Mású stepped into the hall, he saw Princess Níya walking toward him. He ran to her and bowed slightly.
"Milady, I'm terribly sorry I didn't show up. The Dákon Royal Family has arrived earlier than expected they have brought you a gift. Prince Tás wanted to personally bring it to the stables and I offered to show him where it was and that is why I didn't meet you. Please don't be upset with me." Mású rushed through his little explanation as though she grew angry the longer he spoke.
"If I look upset it is because you keep insisting on bowing to me every time I see you, even though I tell you not to. So, Prince Tás is in the stable with a present for me? That gives me an idea. Could you go wait for me in my chamber? In the foyer you'll find what I want to talk to you about. I'll be there later on this afternoon. I need to take care of something. Here, take my sac and cloak and place it on top of my bureau."
Mású was confused, but he complied anyways. He wouldn't dare ask her what she planned. If he did she would just look at him with a smirk and never tell him. If he didn't, she'll eventually reveal her secret. All he could do was wait.
Níya watched him turn around the corner before she walked into the stable. She could hear a male voice speaking quietly to an overly anxious horse that was bumping against the walls. Purposefully, she slammed the stable door. The whispering stopped for a second and then began again.
"Is someone there?" Níya said, walking toward the nearly inaudible voice.
"Yes, there is someone here. Who might you be?"
Tás stepped out of the stall to see who came into the stable. There before him stood a beautiful woman near his age in a simple Súri tunic. Once she saw him, she stumbled back, fell to her knees, and bowed low. (She tried her best to act surprised that he was there.)
"I'm very sorry for disturbing you, Your Highness. I had no idea you would still be in the stables. I heard you brought a horse for the Crown Princess and I wanted to see it. The servant who told me said it was that most beautiful horse he'd ever seen. I thought you would have joined your family by now and I just wanted to look at the horse. Again I'm sorry for intruding."
"That's alright, I'm almost done here. Calé gets a little spooked at times. She won't always be. She needs some training still and she'll be a great horse for Princess Níya. So, you didn't tell me who you are."
"My name is Sálin. My family and I are servants for the Royal Súri Family."
Tás again took up his endeavors of calming the frightened horse. Níya walked closer to horse's stall. Surprisingly, the horse grew calmer the closer Níya came.
"Usually Calé is spooked by strangers, but now she's not. That's interesting."
"I've worked with horses most of my life. I guess she can sense that. She really is a beautiful creature. Princess Níya sure is lucky to receive such a wonderful animal."
There was a weird feeling Tás couldn't get over. He felt there was something strange about this woman. He would try to figure it out later. For now he wanted to learn more about Princess Níya.
"So, what is the Crown Princess like? Is she sweet or mean, pretty or ugly, smart or dumb? Tell me something. Anything. I've heard rumors about her, but I've learned not to trust gossip." He tried really hard not to sound too desperate, but failed. Níya already thought the Dákon's coming was to see if she was anything like the rumors people told about her, and her suspicions were correct. Tás' anxiousness confirmed it.
"Well, many say she's the most beautiful woman in all of Kabíli, but she doesn't think so. She doesn't care about beauty. She thinks beauty is so fickle and Princess Níya is anything but fickle. I guess people think she's so gorgeous because beauty doesn't matter to her. Does that make any sense? I'm not sure if it does."
"I guess it does, if you've met her. But, I haven't met her so I really couldn't say. I've heard that everything about her is complex and a complete mystery."
This is a very interesting conversation. I guess the rumors about me are true. Níya didn't want to end this conversation, but she couldn't keep Mású waiting. All she had to do was figure out how to get Tás back to his family without hers seeing them. If her family saw them, her plan would be ruined.
"What else? Tell me more about her."
"You'll have to wait until you see her. I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to meet someone and I'm really late. You'll figure out what she's like pretty soon. Your family is probably in the East Wing Parlor with the Súri Royals. I'll show you where it's at and then I have to go."
They went to the main hall and followed it to the flight of stairs that lead to other narrower hall ways. Níya led Tás through a particular hall that was more ornate than the others. The guards were not standing in front of the doors, so Níya assumed the royal group had not assembled as she thought they had.
"This is the East Wing Parlor. It is the Royal Family's favorite room in the whole palace. The guards are not outside of the doors, so your family is not here yet with my….the Súri Royal Family."
Footsteps were then heard coming up the stairs mingled with the clanking of armor and a number of muffled voices. The royals would be there in moments. Níya needed to leave quickly if her scheme was to continue.
"Oh! Here they come!" Níya said with a very nervous smile. "Could you do me a favor? I wasn't really supposed to be at the stables today. I had a friend take care of my chores because I promised I'd do all hers tomorrow. Please don't mention that I saw you at the stables. In fact don't mention that I saw you at all. I would really appreciate it."
"Sure. I'll keep my mouth shut. If they ask how I got here I'll say I was admiring the architecture of the halls and ended up over here. Go ahead and meet your friend."
"Thank you so much! I'll repay you for this, I promise."
She dashed down another hall just as the procession reached the hall of the East Parlor. Tás quickly lifted his eyes to the designs and patterns etched and engraved into the ceiling and walked slowly toward the stairs.
"Tás, what are doing here?" asked his father, King Átris.
He told his fib and they all gathered into the parlor.