“You did accuse her of being entertainment. If that wasn't a fool move, I don't know what was,” Terran said.
Marek groaned and swore under his breath. He needed to get himself together, and he had a lot of back-pedaling to do. “What does she know?” he asked his friend, not having to go into detail, because Terran knew what he was asking.
“She knows the basics, but she doesn't know how the two of you are connected. She hasn't talked a lot about everything up to now, because she knows everyone is keeping secrets. I think after her meltdown earlier, she will start to get some answers, but we need to include her in any future decisions we make. She needs to feel like she is a part of this team, instead of an outsider.”
Marek turned sharply at those words. “She was an outsider in the other world? How is that even possible?”
Terran gave his friend a one shoulder shrug. “I don't know. You'd have to ask Emmett, or Dimitri. They spent more time in that world. Apparently, humans could sense her magic and automatically steered away from her, as if she were a leper. She is used to being on her own. If she is going to become the leader we need her to be, she needs to be involved.”
Marek nodded at those words. He was still in disbelief that Tatyanna was a loner. At the sight of her yesterday, he knew instantly he never wanted to be away from her again. She pulled to him, as if their souls knew something they did not. He wished she knew what they truly meant to one another, instead of having to attempt to tell her the truth.
“I've already decided to be completely honest with her tonight. I'm sure I will blunder through it, like I have with everything else concerning her, but you are right. She needs to know the truth first, to decide if she wants to continue on, or not.”
“What about the game? Aren't you one of the leaders?” Kwyk piped up.
Marek walked over to one of the windows and watched his young cousin spar with a new recruit. From his vantage point, one wouldn't be able to tell which one was the leader and which one was the recruit. They were both fumbling through the activity, but Marek had to test his cousin, and tonight was the perfect night to do it. “There will be a few twists tonight. You will see. Meet at the courtyard before nightfall, and you will see what the new plans are.” He turned to Terran and asked, “Are you planning on playing tonight?”
Terran grinned widely. “You bet. I haven't had this much fun in years. I can't wait to see if I can remember any of my old tricks.”
Marek grinned sadly, remembering the trials his friend had to go through to survive. He would enjoy the night, despite the twists Marek was going to throw to everyone. He just hoped the one person who mattered to him would be able to accept what he was about to tell her.
“Mama, Mama!” a little girl’s voice yelled through the castle, peaking in every room she passed.
The young girl glanced at her mom and tilted her head in thought. Her mom wasn’t looking so good, and she didn’t know why, or how, to ask. Instead, she held up a beautiful white dress to show her mom. “Is this for me?” she asked, practically jumping up and down.
Her mother’s gaze softened, and she said, “Yes. Let’s go back to my room, and we will dress you like a princess.”
The little girl was so excited, she barely heard the words come out of her mother’s mouth. She ran ahead of her, laughing with glee and narrowly missing the corners of the wall as she ran down the long corridor toward the Majesty’s Suite. Once there, she found a huge tub, filled to the brim with bubbles, and two maids waiting for her with pitchers in their hands. She wasn’t fond of having help when she bathed, but she was too excited to try on her new dress to complain. She happily let the two ladies strip her of her clothing and help her get into the tub.
She didn’t even complain as they tugged on her long hair, or moved to take a harsh washcloth to her ears. She was excited to be dressing up, and having her mother with her. Ever since the passing of her father, Mother has been different. Her color was grayer than she had ever seen it, and some days, she swore she could see through her mother, as if she were a ghost. But she just laughed at that thought. It was because she was stuck inside. She was seeing things, because she was unable to go outside and play with her friends.
Once the two maids deemed her clean, they helped to towel her dry and weaved her hair into several intricate braids, before finally placing her slightly too big crown on her head, and weaving the braids around the crown to hold it in place. They raised her arms, and gently put the dress on her, careful to not disturb her hair and then let her pick out the pearl drop earrings she always played with when her mother thought she was sleeping.
The little girl glanced at herself in the mirror, and she felt older than her young five years of age. She looked like a princess today, instead of a rag-tag, little girl.
“Now what, Mama?” the little girl asked, barely able to glance away from her reflection. Her mother held out her hand and walked the little girl out of the room toward the throne room. “Now, we will have a special ceremony.”
“What ceremony?” asked the little girl, purposely turning her hips causing her dress to sway around her small legs.
“A ceremony where a promise will be made.”
“What kind of promise?”
“A promise to love and to protect you, no matter what.”
The little girl nibbled at her bottom lip. She didn’t like the sounds of that. “Mama, I am only five. I am too young to be loved by someone. Boys are gross.”
“But, you play with Dimitri and Emmett. Are they gross?”
The little girl thought for a moment. “No, but they are Dimitri and Emmett. They are my friends.”
“Yes, dear, but they are also boys.”
The little girl thought of this, and suddenly brightened up. “Emmett can turn into different animals, I am sure he knows how to turn himself and Dimitri into a girl.” The mother laughed as she entered into the throne room at her daughter’s outrageous thoughts.
As soon as they entered the familiar throne room, the young girl saw a beautiful, tall warrior woman, the same one from the previous day, dressed as if she were able to stave off evil people, and an older boy next to her with chin length black hair and startling blue eyes. She didn’t know who these people were, or what they wanted. She knew the boy had lost his father the same day she had. She felt her mother drop her hand and step away, only to be replaced by the boy. She glanced at him, and saw that his clothes were just as nice as hers, but instead of wearing all white, he wore a suit composed of shades of reds, oranges, and yellows. Like a fire, she thought, finding the blends of colors mesmerizing.
The boy turned her gently to him, and spoke the following words, “I promise to love and to protect you, all the days of my life.” He then looked at her expectantly, but the little girl didn’t know what to say. She felt her mother nudge her in the back, but she didn’t understand what these words meant. She wanted to know who this beautiful boy was, and what they were doing being all serious, instead of enjoying the spacious room. When she felt her mom nudge her again, the boy spoke to her for the first time since he arrived at the castle.
“I watched you play with your friends, yesterday,” he said, stating an obvious fact.
“Yes, I know. I saw you there.” She turned her head to look anywhere but at the boy.
“Do you know why you are here?”
She looked down at her beautiful white dress, and shook her head. “I thought I was going to have a special night with Mama. She hasn’t been herself, but she brought me here and told me nothing. I don’t understand,” she said feeling tears well up in her eyes.
“There are bad things happening. We are here so that one day, if one of us needs help, the other will be there to help them.”
“Really?” the girl asked, her eyes lighting up. “I love helping people.”
The boy smiled even through his eyes stayed the same dull color. “I’m glad. Now, repeat the same words back to me.”
“I promise to love and to pr
otect you, all the days of my life,” she said, staring into his blue eyes, and feeling her life changing but not understanding why. She tried to pull back her hands since she did as requested, but he held on tight, and she watched in confused horror as a black phoenix appeared on her right wrist. She felt it burning her skin, as if an invisible hand was drawing the phoenix on her. Once the picture was complete, it disappeared.
“What happened?” she asked the boy.
“When you need my help, the phoenix will appear, and we will find each other again.”
The little girl pulled back her hands and moved her hands in front of her face, trying to see if she could make the phoenix appear. She hardly noticed as the boy stepped away from her to stand by her mother, but the last thing she remembered of that night, was her mother saying, “I am so proud of you, Tatyanna. I hope one day you will embrace this union, and not run from it.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Being Waited On
Tatyanna woke up with a scream when she opened her eyes. There was a face almost right up against her own. She jerked and banged her head against the edge of the tub, realizing she had fallen asleep.
“Oh, sorry. I thought you were dead,” a woman’s voice said, pulling back to reveal she was Galena.
Tatyanna made a second realization. She was naked in the tub of water. She tried to twist herself to cover up her private areas. “You could have just checked my pulse,” she said, looking down to make sure nothing important was exposed.
Galena waved her hand, grasping the tub with the other to push herself into a standing position. “I’ll leave that to the healers. You were sleeping so peacefully I couldn’t tell if you were breathing.”
“Okay,” she said slowly, wondering why Galena was there. When no explanation was given, she asked, “Is there a reason you are here?”
“Oh!” Galena exclaimed pressing her hand over her heart. “Where are my manners? It is getting late, and you missed dinner. I wondered if you needed help.”
Tatyanna groaned. “Did anyone notice I wasn’t there?”
Galena walked toward a wall and gently pushed on it to reveal a small door. She leaned into the small space and withdrew a towel and a white fur robe. “Soooo,” she said, drawing out the word with a hint of a smile on her lips, “You do like him.” She stood behind Tatyanna’s head, and gently pushed her head forward so she could gather up her wet hair. She twisted the towel around her head to hold it in place.
Galena moved to the side of the tub and held the robe up. “Come now. Your food is getting cold.”
Tatyanna eyed the robe suspiciously. “I can dry myself off.” She received a narrow-eyed stare from the other woman.
“You are a princess, let me serve you.”
“Galena,” Tatyanna plead. “I’ve been dressing myself for as long as I can remember. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
Galena placed the robe over one arm, as she towered over Tatyanna, with her hands on her hips. “You can plead all you want, m’lady, but it would be an honor to serve you. Do you dare deny me that honor?”
Tatyanna dropped her eyes, feeling ashamed for her behavior. She never thought there was honor in helping somebody get dressed, but obviously she was wrong. Tatyanna pinched her lips together when she saw Galena hold the robe up to her again. She looked at the robe, then her naked body.
“Oh, for goodness sakes, it’s not like I’ve never seen a naked body before. We both have the same body parts. Stop wasting time and stand so you can eat your food while it is still warm,” Galena snapped.
Tatyanna yelped as she felt the water in the tub instantly turn to ice. She quickly jumped up and thrust her arms into the robe. With Galena’s assistance, she climbed out of the tub.
“It’s about time,” Galena complained. The other woman led Tatyanna out of the bathroom and into a small sitting room. She pointed to a table where Tatyanna could smell something delicious, and she felt her stomach rumble loudly in response.
“I’m going to grab your clothes while you eat, and then we will get you ready for tonight.” Tatyanna didn’t need to be told twice. She picked up her spoon and ate the food as fast as she could, wondering how long it had been since her last meal.
Tatyanna hummed in pleasure as the warm liquid slid down her throat. She had no idea what she was eating, and she was fine with that. It tasted like heaven, and it reminded her of vegetable beef stew. She thought briefly of her previous life, and remembered how she and Lilah would always make it on cold nights. Tatyanna regretted not giving her sister a chance. She made a promise to try harder with other people, and she could start with Galena.
At that ending thought, Galena strolled into the room, happily humming a spirited tune, and placed several items on the back of a chair. Tatyanna would have just been fine with jeans and a t-shirt, but given women didn’t wear pants here, she knew that wouldn’t go over well.
“What is all that?” she asked Galena.
Galena looked at the pile and stated the obvious, as if Tatyanna should have known better. “Clothes.”
“I realize that, but do I really need so many items?”
“You had that huge bonfire to warm you the night before, and you slept under several covers, but it can get chilly here. With the game going on, you never know what will happen, and what powers you will see.”
Tatyanna nodded and wondered if there was a way she could pick up her bowl and sip the last of her broth without gaining the attention of Galena. She was sure the other woman wouldn’t approve. When, at last, the woman turned around, Tatyanna picked up the bowl and drank from it.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I saw that,” Galena said, smiling.
“I’m sorry, it was just so good, I didn’t want any of it to go to waste.”
“I’m glad you liked it. I’ll let the cooks know. They wanted to make you feel welcome, and so their normal cooking has taken on a whole new level.”
“What do you mean?”
“Normally, they just throw whatever together. The men will eat whatever is in front of them, and they aren’t that picky. But, to be in the presence of two royals, they had the chance to show off what they are capable of, and for you to express that will make them all the happier for doing it.”
Tatyanna clasped her hands together and tried to look innocent, “If that’s the case, could you ask them to have dessert delivered to my cabin for later? I don’t know what to expect tonight, but I’m sure I will have the appetite for some more delicious food.”
“What kind of cake do you like?”
Tatyanna didn’t have to think about it. “Chocolate.” Galena nodded, and said she would see what they could do.
“Now, enough time has passed. We have to make you presentable tonight.” She took Tatyanna’s tray, moving it to a hidden sideboard. She then unraveled the towel and started to run her fingers through the princess’s hair, reveling in how soft it felt. With quick fingers she was able to create several braids, and then started to interweave each one. “So, you and Marek? Huh. I’m glad he finally has someone who wants to be with him for who he is.”
“Who says I am with Marek?” Tatyanna asked, turning her head to look at Galena, but was stopped when she felt a sharp yank. Galena gently turned her head to face the front, and continued to weave new braids into her design.
“If you are worried he doesn’t feel the same way, you are sadly mistaken. He is like a besotted boy with his first crush. I had to reassure him several times during dinner that you were fine.”
Tatyanna smiled at the thought. There was something different about Marek. He made her feel safe. His kisses made her think of fireworks on a warm summer night, but after her dream, she wasn’t sure what to make of anything, and kept the thoughts to herself not sure how much she should reveal to the woman.
“Here you go,” Galena said, handing Tatyanna a mirror so she could check out her hair. She saw several intricate braids weaved in and out of other braids, and wasn’t sure where one began and
where one ended. Her blue streaks shone brightly against the dark of her hair, and she was glad to see it was off the back of her neck. She knew it was going to be a pain to take her hair down, and was afraid of the future act.
“Don’t worry about your hair. I’ll be here to help you, when you are ready,” Galena said softly, as if reading Tatyanna’s mind. She walked over to the chair and pulled a dark blue dress, shaking it a few times to get invisible wrinkles out.
Tatyanna stared at it in all. The color was so dark, it could almost past for black until it hit the light and then it shimmered like the moon would against the lake. She reached out to touch the material, and found it soft and smooth, wondering if it would keep her warm enough. The dress fell to her feet where she imagined it would drag slightly.
Galena held up the dress and slowly helped Tatyanna wiggle into it, without messing up her hair, and was pleased to see that it fit her perfectly. The bodice was snug to show off her slight curves, with a moderate neckline that showed the contrast of her pale skin against her dark hair coloring. The sleeves were long and loose around her hands.
“This would typically be your healer style dress during combat,” Galena explained. “But, Marek has different plans, and said that he wanted you to have easy movement so we are going to alter your dress.” She got down on her hands and knees, pulling out a pair of scissors from a pocket in her dress. She pulled the bottom of the dress toward her and slowly cut a slit into the dress up to Tatyanna’s mid-thigh. She repeated this process on the other side, and Tatyanna could see that now she had the ability to become more mobile, if need be.
Tatyanna held up the dress, and looked down at her bare legs, before looking back up at Galena. The other woman smiled, and handed her a pair of wool black leggings, once again helping to dress her. This time, Tatyanna did feel silly for rejecting the help earlier, and felt grateful for the assistance. Lastly came her midnight blue cape which smelled as if it had been freshly laundered. Galena clasped it to her shoulders and showed her how to pull it around her body if she should get a chill.
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