Knight
Page 36
“Here we are.” Edeltraud remarked and they stopped before two, large, mahogany doors.
Valeriana eyed the symbol carved on the surface and furrowed her brows. Somehow, she had a feeling she saw it somewhere before. She knew it too well to miss it.
The trees of blooming roses and galloping deers and horses . . .
Where had she seen it?
Unconsciously, her fingers brushed the cold metal around her wrists. She brought her head to look at her jewelry, letting her gaze travel to the images portrayed on the surface. With her brows knitting on her forehead, Valeriana contemplated the similarities.
They were the same.
How odd.
She continued to examine her bracelet, trying to spot some differences until she heard the doors groaning as they were pushed open. The noisy creaking of the wood as it turned on its hinges caused Valeriana's attention to snap ahead of her.
She could only gape as the sight of the dining room came to view. Valeriana sucked in a breath and held it in before she found herself running out of air. She inhaled deeply to prevent herself from falling over due to oxygen deprivation.
With the odd surprises forgotten, the girl found herself astounded.
The room was softly lit by a hanging, crystal chandelier which was hoisted up on the high, domed ceiling which was painted with colorful illustrations of a winged knight holding up a glowing sword which repelled dark figures with glowing red eyes. The wide availability of space was swallowed up by the long dinner table made of polished wood and matching ornate chairs.
Needless to say, everything was grand and a bit too much for the girl to take in all at once. She didn't know where to look. Whether she should examine the glinting, sheathed swords held against the walls, or the beautiful, gigantic paintings that practically swallowed a great deal of space.
“Geez. That won't ever fit in my house.” She muttered.
It was supposedly a candlelit dinner. The candles on top of the table stood on equal distance from each other, and occasionally, some vases of flowers.
“Who eats in this place?” She asked.
“I usually do not dine here since it is quite big. My son and I dine together in a smaller room.” The king answered. “But, since this is a formal event, not to mention Lord Gavin will be with us tonight . . .”
“It's alright. I understand.”
“We sometimes have visitors, so they occupy the empty seats.” He continued. “It's crucial to have a long table, you see. We use it for banquets and special occasions. I assume you are not used to eating on such a long table?”
“Damn right. This is making me nervous.” She shakily answered.
“It'll be alright. A long table doesn't necessarily mean you have to sit so far away. We'll be taking our meal on one side. Let us take our seats.”
The king steered her towards the far end side of the table and pulled out the first chair on the right for the girl, patting her on the shoulder to encourage her to take her seat. Valeriana sat and flashed Laedin a grateful look before the latter took the seat that was commonly taken by those with high-ranking statuses—the seat that overlooked the whole dining table.
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for inviting me here.”
“You're most welcome, my child. Now, let us wait for my other guest. I'm sorry if I cannot give you my time alone this evening.”
“It's good, really. I'm surprised you even bothered about me.”
They went on like that for a few more minutes until the food was served. Valeriana's stomach audibly grumbled from the delicious aroma that the food gave off and she salivated at the enticing sight. The few servants—about nine of them—who heard chortled at her reaction and smiled at the girl genuinely. She smiled back at them and gave thumbs up.
“Aren't you going to join us?” She asked unwittingly, causing strange looks to be shot her way.
“Oh, dear . . .” The king hesitated, not knowing how he was supposed to break the news to her.
“We would've wanted to, young miss.” Answered a maid with a bright smile. “But our role is supposed to wait on you.”
“Aren't you hungry?”
“We've already eaten.”
“Oh, but this is quite a lot just for three people.” She muttered to herself. “I'll just have to eat a lot and stuff myself, then.”
It felt strange to have people waiting on her like they were doing, but she told herself to behave and not push the matter.
King Laedin and Valeriana started eating ahead of the apparently late guest. The girl was curious about the so-called cousin of Corvan he never really talked about and couldn't help but anticipate his arrival. Even so, she couldn't resist the delicious food that was laid out in front of her. Everything looked so delicious that she didn't know which one to put on her plate.
The king, needless to say, was amused by her eating habit. To see the girl practically shoving everything into her mouth reminded him of a famished child.
Without warning, the doors cracked open. Valeriana's head snapped to the direction of the sound and she saw a figure clad in red walk in. He was donned in white, cotton, dandy shirt with long sleeves. In similar style to the king's clothes, he topped it off with a red vest and had a cravat tied neatly around the collar of his top. He wore matching pants with each leg tucked into a pair of leather, brown boots.
The intricate, gold markings on his clothes brought out the crimson of his outfit. He had a pair of emerald green eyes which had a strong bearing to Corvan's. His blond hair was shorter than the first-ranker, but the masculinity and charisma he gave off wouldn't lose to his cousin.
“Please pardon my late arrival, Your Majesty.” He stopped and bowed by the door before he stood back up and glanced at Valeriana, who sat idly beside the king. “And lovely maiden.”
Valeriana went red at his comment. Somehow, if Corvan was more polite and not the cold-hearted bastard she knew, he would be this person.
He went over towards where they were seated and bowed at the monarch once again as per the customs. King Laedin stood and gave him a one-armed hug as a sign of respect and close camaraderie. Lord Gavin, in turn, nodded at Laedin before he walked towards the girl and flashed her a smile, the brightness of which made her feel faint. She was glad she was sitting or she would've probably crumpled, her legs rendered useless.
Trying to keep her exterior calm and composed—which sounded impossible at the moment but she was successful in any way—she gave him an equally bright smile, trying to look as ladylike as she could. She wouldn't want to disgrace herself in front of a person like this man.
He held out a hand to Valeriana. “I believe we haven't yet met each other, miss. My name is Gavin von Vaushna de la Wylden.”
“I'm Valeriana Kerrigan.” She placed her hand in his in an attempt to shake his hand, but it was instead gently pulled towards his face. A pair of soft lips kissed the back of her hand. She went even redder at this as the foreign sensation on her skin sent the hair on the back of her head standing to the very tip.
He slowly and gingerly gave Valeriana her hand back. “Such beautiful name fit for someone of your charm.”
“Uh . . . thank you, I guess.” She muttered, still feeling flustered.
Gavin took the seat situated right across the girl. He gracefully sat down on the ornate chair and casted another glance Valeriana's way, nodding his head at her. “I had pressing matters I had to attend to. I certainly hope you pardon me for my tardiness.”
“Do not worry, Lord Gavin.” The king said. “We perfectly understand your reasons. We started without you, though. I hope you don't mind.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty.”
“Valeriana,” the king said. “Now that you have met Lord Gavin, I do hope you get along with each other.”
“Well,” she grinned and chortled. “He's certainly not like someone I know.”
“And to whom do I have the honors of being compared to?” He asked her, grinning playfully.
“Oh, so you are acquainted with my cousin?” He raised a brow while he fixed a napkin on his lap.
“More or less.” She nodded. “We're in the same school after all.”
“I see. You attend Celeste Academy as well? That explains everything then.” He answered. “Do you hold a position among the Twelve, if I may ask?”
“Well, I guess you can say that.”
“What position do you hold?”
“Fifth, last time I checked.” She answered.
“Fifth?” He paused for a moment and mulled. “Then, you must be the rumored human who's attending the school?” He inquired before he realized the words he just said. “I apologize. I hope you're not offended.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It's nothing new. I have no reason to be offended since it's true anyway.”
“Then, I'm glad.” He sighed in relief which elicited a raised brow from the girl. “But it's unexpected, really. For a human to possess such unearthly beauty.”
She laughed at how absurd he sounded. Man, this guy was a big flirt. “That's a real exaggeration. You really aren't like Corvan, are you?”
She was glad she was able to handle a formal conversation with high-classes nobles. Being around stiff Charles and Corvan had its perks.
The corner of his lips curled up. “Corvan? I have never heard of a person who dared address my cousin with such familiarity and live.”
She placed a hand over her mouth, realizing that she wasn't addressing him by his title. Old habits sure die hard. “Uh . . . I'm sorry. I guess I got used to it.”
“No, I did not mean to make you uneasy.” He said. “It's just that it's a rare occasion. Lord Corvan is very strict when it comes to his position. He's a very proud noble, I must say. With the way you spoke of him, it makes me want to see how he reacted the first time you addressed him by his name without a title.”
“Well, he almost burned me to crisp.” She jokingly stated.
The king and Lord Gavin chuckled at her statement.
“Then, how did you survive?” Gavin jokingly humored her as he reached for the sweet fish in front of him, putting some on his plate. He looked more than interested with where the conversation was going.
She blushed as she reminisced what happened. “Uh, I think . . . I splashed him with water.” She told them, which made them stop dead on their tracks and look at her with wide eyes. “I thought he was on fire, so . . .”
The king and Lord Gavin exchanged glances before they suddenly broke out into a fit of wild laughter. Valeriana squirmed in her seat in discomfort and stared at the two with a face as red as a tomato. Just recalling what she did to the first-ranker during that time made her more embarrassed, and to think they reacted like this to that memory . . . she never felt humiliated her entire life.
“Ah,” Gavin breathed, clutching his stomach. “Just imagining what must've happened makes me want to die of laughter.”
The servants, who stood on the sidelines and had no choice but to listen closely to their conversation, tried to hide their amusement under stoic faces but the littlest smiles curved on their lips. One had his shoulders trembling from silent laughter, and face contorted in failed attempt to hide his reaction.
“Please,” Gavin beseeched while his laughter slowly began to die down. “Tell me, you are not serious, are you?”
She looked at him with a plain, grave expression. “I don't lie.”
Everything was silent.
Gavin covered his mouth, leaned to the side and hid his face. His shoulders shook and he tried so much to hold back his laughter, but they came out in short snickers instead. He held out a hand as a sign of apology and continued his fit in his seat.
The king, however, openly showed his amusement by striking his fist on the table, making everything on the surface clatter while his laughter boomed throughout the whole room. It appeared that they found her story more than funny and interesting. Corvan would be ashamed if he knew that Valeriana told them what happened before. But, he would kill her before she even got the chance to say anything.
“Please don't tell anyone.” She told them. “Corvan's attitude is enough the way it is. I don't want him treating me worse than now. Sooner or later, I'll find myself dead.”
She gave them a soft smile and they took it as an exaggerated plea. However, they did not even know half of it.
“You can trust that not a single word will get out.”
The girl gave her attention back to the food she was eating and, unusually, began to nibble on her food when she would normally devour it in one bite.
“Valeriana,” Gavin spoke in a gentle voice.
“Hm?” She looked up at the man.
This man was flirty and liked to flatter ladies—that was obvious. Valeriana knew, though, that he was just being playful. Some men just enjoy seeing the reaction of women when they were showered with gracious words.
“So, do tell, how is the life as a student in Celeste Academy?”
“Well, there are a lot of things I need to do. Lessons and other things.” She continued. “I'm far behind and I only have a very short amount of time to catch up.”
“I see.” Gavin nodded in understanding.
The two men somewhat had a feeling that Valeriana had been through a lot more than she was letting on since she came to their world, but still managed to smile, joke, and laugh in front of them. They noticed the healing scars from the battles she fought. No doubt that they were recent and continuously healed through the hands of a skilled healer.
“I know my cousin won't like it, but let me visit you once in a while.” He grinned. “I look forward to hearing more of your stories. It would be fun to hear something new, especially since you came from a different world.”
“There's really no need for you to do that.” She told him, reaching for a glass of water and bringing it up to her lips. She started drinking off of the glass greedily.
“Are you afraid that your suitors would drive me away? I seek only companionship and nothing romantic of any sort. You are a very wonderful lady, Valeriana, don't get me wrong—but you are the kind of woman that is not within the range of my preferences.”
Well, see? At least that was a relief knowing.
“But you are exactly perfect for my cousin.”
Wait. What?
Unconsciously, Valeriana gasped while she drank the contents of her glass—which then resulted to a very unfortunate turn of events. She choked on the water she was drinking and spilled the contents on her lap.
She coughed and stood up from her seat in shock. “I'm sorry.” She covered her mouth and continued to cough some more. She just embarrassed herself in front of two very important people and she felt more than humiliated to have been in such position.
“Are you alright, my dear?” The king inquired.
“Uh,” she fanned herself. “I need to go to the restroom. Please excuse me. Where do I go from here?”
“Head to the right and turn to the left. It should not be far. Do you need someone to guide you there?”
Valeriana shook her head but smiled gratefully at Laedin. “No, thank you. I should be able to find my way around by myself.”
With that, the girl walked out of the room.
Lord Gavin turned to the king as soon she went out of sight. “I must've done something wrong.”
Chapter Forty-Two ♣ We Meet Again
Valeriana remembered telling the king that she should be able to find her way around but, alas, what grave mistake it was. She underestimated the whole thing and got lost on her way to find the restroom. With the previously beautiful, silky, sky-blue dress now drenched in water that she spewed directly from her mouth, Valeriana felt uncomfortable to have her clothes sticking to her skin.
She tugged on the wet portion of the dress's skirts and grimaced. “Agh. Genius, Valeriana. Geni
us!” She threw her arms in the air in annoyance. “Now, I'm lost. Why does this place have to be so freaking big?”
It was poor judgment on her part. She should've taken up the king's offer to have a servant accompany her, but the girl was so embarrassed that she wanted to have some time to herself and recover from the humiliation.
She just had to cough up water in front of the table.
Letting her eyes get a gist of her surroundings, she found herself in a long and seemingly endless corridor with limitless options of twists and turns. The wall on her right side had large and arched windows in which the moonlight beamed through. The floor was the color of jade, made entirely out of polished marble. Although the interior of the palace was a sight to behold, her attention was once again captured by the sight of its exterior.
Why was it that the meadow of flowers right outside the palace seemed to bring her to a state of euphoria? She eyed the finite field of brightly-colored flowers of all variety. Unconsciously, she moved towards the window and placed her hand on the glass which felt cold. It was strangely comforting.
She saw a figure move from the corner of her eye. Valeriana instinctively followed the source and she saw a figure, draped in an elegant cloak of white silk trimmed with gold at the ends standing amongst the flowers. A wind blew and the cloth fluttered around the mysterious person, framing the figure of his legs from waist down. He held his hood in place, afraid that the wind would blow it off.
There was something familiar about him . . .
Curious, Valeriana looked around for a way outside. She walked, glancing about in search for a door but failed. She turned her attention to the windows again and got an idea. Eagerly walking towards the window closest to her, she unbolted and opened it wide before slipping through the narrow passage it managed to provide.
Once her feet landed on solid ground, she hiked up the skirt of her dress and started approach the lonely figure. She had a feeling she knew who it was, but it seemed unlikely and this could be another person for all she cared. Besides, judging from the clothes he was wearing, he must not be just anyone.