Her Reputation (The Empire: Book 1)

by Laura R Cole

CHAPTER 3

  The palace was in an uproar. Servants and courtiers alike swarmed through the courtyards and hallways like angry bees. The excitement and tension were almost palpable in the air. Everyone wanted to know about the visitors. Where were they from? How did they get here? What did they want?

  Phoenix stepped out of the way of a passing maid, pausing a moment to watch the confusion. The visitors were coming to the palace this afternoon, and everything had to be just so. She glanced back behind her – including a tripling of her guard. The captain of the guard, Dame Natalya, and her sister, Alina, had also been reassigned from the Queen to Phoenix. She didn’t mind their company – before they had gone up to the tribes they had been her occasional nursemaids – but it seemed excessive.

  Having them with her rekindled her curiosity, however. The two had spent years with the tribes, and though she had been too young to have the reasons explained to her, she understood that it was for healing. As adolescents, Natalya and Alina had spent their time split between their hometown of Hardonia and at the palace in Naoham. When Phoenix was maybe four or five, there had been rumors in the palace about a death in Hardonia, of a young man. She had been so small at the time that whenever she asked questions, the gossip would abruptly cease. Soon after this incident, Natalya and Alina had traveled north. After spending many years away, both had come back changed. Both had also become deadly, hence their usual place by her mother’s side, and Phoenix felt a twinge of guilt that her mother had sacrificed their expertise on her.

  This was the first time that Phoenix had spent more than fleeting moments in their company since their return excepting, of course, when they were on duty guarding her mother. When they came back from the tribes they were immediately assigned as the personal guards for her mother and father. They focused solely on their majesties’ safety and kept to themselves outside their duties. Alina had become a sort of enigma in the palace, for she always wore a black hooded cloak which covered her face, and rarely spoke. It was a far cry from the boisterous and happy young teenager Phoenix remembered patiently playing with her when she was young. She had more than once wondered what had happened to that girl, yet her instincts told her that questioning the woman wouldn’t turn out well. Whatever it was had taken years with the tribal healers to forget, and Phoenix had no wish to dredge up the memories.

  She motioned for Natalya to join her, and the woman complied, moving forward through the throng of guards. Alina appeared seemingly magically beside her sister, the guards around the mysterious woman moving almost imperceptibly farther away from her flowing black cloak. Alina seemed to sense Phoenix’s eyes on her, and she pulled the hood closer around her face. Despite the light that should have illuminated her features, they remained inexplicably blurred.

  “Do you know where the visitors are staying?” Phoenix asked Natalya, pulling her gaze from Alina’s darkened countenance.

  “I believe they are being housed in the western wing, Your Majesty,” the woman answered, bowing her head slightly to indicate the direction.

  “Hmm,” Phoenix murmured, “I should have known. It’s the easiest section to control.” She gave Natalya a wry smile, and the woman smiled back, a too-rare occurrence of late. Phoenix itched to ask why they had left and what had happened to them, but she knew that questions would only make the two retreat further into their seclusion. Even Natalya, who was much more open than her sister, would vehemently defend her sister’s privacy in the face of questions. Phoenix knew from her mother that during the Bricrui outbreak, Alina had gone through a terrible ordeal from which Natalya had helped save her. She’d been fervently protective of her since. “When will we be presented to the visitors?” she asked instead.

  “There will be a feast tonight to welcome them where all the introductions will be made.”

  “May we walk that way?” Phoenix inquired, suddenly feeling an urge to get another look at the party.

  Natalya fidgeted a moment, glanced back at the entourage of guards, and nodded stiffly. She led the way towards the western wing. More guards were stationed at the beginning of each of the hallways leading to it, keeping out curious, prying eyes. These stepped aside for their group, however, saluting Dame Natalya as she passed and bowing to Princess Phoenix.

  Phoenix nodded acknowledgment to each, pausing a moment to shake hands and introduce herself to several of the newest recruits, and thanking them for their service and loyalty. She inquired about Nathan’s infant daughter, and how Phillip’s mother’s sickness was.

  As they approached the visitors’ rooms, they heard voices around the corner. Phoenix was not near enough to hear what they were saying, but the slight accent betrayed their foreign tongue.

  A hushed command silenced the speakers and as Phoenix and her party rounded the corner, Heralds Siajan and Kedum stood beside a young man, flanked by their bodyguards on both sides.

  Herald Siajan spoke. “Ah, Princess, how lovely to meet you. I had thought we would not be meeting until tonight.” The way he pronounced certain sounds somehow made his words sound drastically different.

  “And yet you already know who I am,” Phoenix pointed out, extending a hand in greeting.

  Siajan smiled slyly as he brushed his lips over her skin and answered, “As I am sure you know us, Princess.”

  Phoenix withdrew her hand and inclined her head in acknowledgment. The residents of the palace had, of course, been briefed on the descriptions of the visitors and all relevant information that was known about them. She found herself enjoying this man’s boldness. “I do indeed know who you are, Herald Siajan” she said, “and you, Herald Kedum,” nodding her head to each. She turned to the young man standing with them.

  Phoenix curtsied to the boy, perhaps a year or so older than herself, and held out her hand. He hesitated a split second before taking it in his own and brushing his lips briefly over it. His eyes met hers, their dark centers staring resolutely back at her, his expression unreadable.

  “I am Princess Phoenix,” she offered, taking back her hand, to which he was still clinging gently, “but I’m afraid that in all the excitement, I don’t believe anyone has mentioned to me what your name is?”

  The boy’s eyes shifted to look at Herald Siajan expectantly.

  The older man gave Phoenix a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but the boy is unable to answer your question. You see, he was born with a malady which prevents him from communicating as you or I would.”

  “I’m very sorry,” Phoenix said, inclining her head towards the boy, then turned her gaze towards Herald Siajan once more. “I would still like to know his name, if I may.”

  “Of course, Your Highness,” the herald agreed. “It is Nathiwen.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nathiwen.”

  Herald Siajan, interjected, “As I said, he has a malady: he cannot answer you.”

  “But surely he can understand common courtesy,” Phoenix insisted, seeing the comprehension in the poor boy’s eyes.

  Herald Kedum spoke up, “My apologies, Highness, but we really must be getting to our rooms to begin preparations for tonight. I would expect that you also have somewhere to be? Surely, young women such as yourself do not make a habit of wandering the hallways unaccompanied.”

  The gentle reproach was not lost upon Phoenix, though she did not let it bother her. She turned her smile towards the man instead and laughed lightly. She glanced behind her at the multitude of guards. “I would hardly say that I am unaccompanied.” She winked at Nathiwen, who didn’t bat an eye. “But, you are correct. I won’t keep you from your duties. It was a pleasure to meet you,” she said to Nathiwen, though she received no response.

  Despite Herald Kedum’s obvious displeasure at her showing such an interest in Nathiwen, she couldn’t help but feel badly for the boy. She knew what it was like to be treated as though you were missing something that you should have, even if their situations were much different. />
  Phoenix and her entourage moved away from the west wing, and once they were out of hearing range, she motioned Natalya forward once more.

  “Did you notice anything strange about them?” she asked the woman, knowing she would have been examining them the entire conversation.

  “Alina is wary of their lack of obvious talent,” Natalya relayed. “It cannot be sensed within them, but there is an obvious aura of magic about them. She suspects that it is coming from the vials and bottles they wear.”

  “Backed up by the fact that one of these vials was smashed in order for them to transport back to their vessel when we first met them,” Phoenix added distractedly. “Clearly they are magical even if they can’t be sensed as such. So whatever type of magic they’re using, it is different from ours. We shall have to ask.”

  “The boy’s presence is also odd,” Natalya put in.

  “How so?”

  “Why bring him? Why is he in the company of the two Heralds?”

  Phoenix thought about this. “Perhaps he was one of their sons?”

  Natalya gave her a look. “Did either one of them appear to feel very fatherly towards him?”

  “No,” Phoenix admitted, “but then again, it’s hard to predict what a child’s malady will do to their relationship with their parents.”

  Natalya fell silent. The woman’s own parents had been killed when she was very young in the massacre of her hometown. Phoenix changed the subject.

  “How many people did they bring into the palace?”

  “The two heralds and the young man – they have twenty guards each and another fifty miscellaneous servants and workers. Some of these I suspect to also be guards, disguised as something they are not.”

  “I would expect so as well. It must be rather frightening to come into the palace of an unknown people with only a few of your own.”

  As they rounded a corner, Phoenix spied Regina up ahead, and she waved to the girl. Regina slowed her pace and waited for the princess to catch up. She was fidgeting even more than usual, her gaze flitting from Phoenix and back towards the guards. She kept fixating on Alina, and Phoenix bit back a sigh. She moved so that she blocked the girl’s view of the mysterious woman.

  “Regina,” she greeted her, giving her a small hug and kissing her on the cheeks. “Are you all ready for the feast tonight?”

  “I think so,” the girl said nervously. “I just wish I had your knack for dealing with people.” She suddenly looked even more uncomfortable and looked away when Phoenix met her eye. “I can never think of the right thing to say, and my father expects me to fill in…”

  She trailed off. Her mother had been struck down by illness and was currently unable to attend formal events. She had been a social butterfly, floating through crowds with ease. Phoenix understood hers were difficult shoes to fill.

  “You’ll be fine,” she told her friend, “Just remember to be yourself, and everyone will love you.”

  Regina smiled. “And you?” she asked. “Are you nervous to be sitting right next to the strangers? Who knows what they’ll do,” she paused again, looking flustered. Her gaze flew all over the place and she began twirling her braid around her fingers. “I mean, not that I think they’ll attack you or something, I-” she stopped talking altogether and locked her eyes on the floor a moment. She took a deep breath and looked back up at Phoenix. “I’m sure they won’t do anything,” she backtracked. “And besides, look at all the guards you have! Who would dare attack you?” She laughed nervously.

  “I’m more excited than nervous.” Phoenix answered Regina’s original question in an attempt to save Regina from the downward spiral she’d started herself on. “I want to know everything about where they’re from. Can you imagine how interesting it will be to learn about their homeland and their customs?” She hoped that during the feast she would be able to steal their attention for a bit to sate her curiosity.

  Regina nodded indulgently, but didn’t comment.

  For what seemed like the millionth time in the last few days, Phoenix wished for Wren’s friendship. He would be as enthusiastic as her, but she couldn’t push a relationship. She hadn’t even heard any more about the unicorn he’d seen, he’d so completely avoided her since she’d rejected his affections. Years ago, when they still had time for one another, they had stumbled across writings mentioning a unicorn. For a time they had spent every waking hour searching for additional stories involving the creatures. They eventually discovered that one such creature had possibly marched into the Treymayne council some eighteen years before, which sparked their excitement and sent them into a flurry of interviews.

  She and Wren spoke with everyone who had possibly seen it, but most couldn’t recall the encounter with any detail. They found it odd that anyone would be able to forget such a unique occurrence, and yet each one of them had. Even the Queen had been reluctant to talk about the incident. They had eventually come up empty-handed and abandoned the subject as other duties became more pressing.

  Regina suddenly waved excitedly to another girl, and then turned to Phoenix. “Would you excuse me, Your Majesty?”

  Phoenix nodded a dismissal and watched as Regina scurried towards the other girl with unrestrained excitement. No surreptitious glances around them to see if the guards were listening, no worry over the impropriety of girlish behavior. She sighed softly and made her way back to her rooms. No doubt her maids would be in a frenzy at her delay in returning. They had lots to do before releasing her for the feast.