by Naomi Lane
“Um, you were saying something about the Royal Suite?”
“Yes. The Royal Suite is on the second floor on that side of the staircase.” She pointed in the westward direction. “It is absolutely off limits. Is that clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After walking down another hallway, they entered the dormitory chamber. It was all one long connected room with several beds along each side.
“Your bed will be here.” Mrs. Hawes pointed toward a bed in the middle of the chamber under a window. Jenna recognized her luggage. “You will have a chance to unpack this evening.” Jenna glanced around and everything seemed to have arrived safely. “You should also know that one of the proctors sleeps in the dormitory every night.”
“Do all of the Queen’s Ladies sleep here?”
“Either here or the other dormitory across the hall.”
“Then what are the other rooms we passed?”
“They are currently empty, but are generally used for palace guests.” Jenna sat on the bed to test it out; it was extremely soft. Mrs. Hawes gave her a quizzical look, but continued. “Servants do sweep and dust in here regularly and will take your laundry for washing, but you will be expected to keep your area tidy and your bed made. If you fail to follow this instruction or any instruction from the Queen, your teachers, or the proctors, you will face punishment such as cleaning duty or extra lessons.”
Mrs. Hawes then abruptly strode to the end of the dormitory and opened another door. “This is the bathing chamber. You should be pleased to find that indoor plumbing was installed during the recent renovations.” Jenna was happy to hear that since she had grown used to such luxury in her city home.
After leaving the dormitory, they went back down to the first floor, and Mrs. Hawes showed her the way to the Central Tower, where the central courtyard was bustling with activity as renovations were still proceeding around the outer wall. “This is where the King and Queen often have formal dinners as well as balls. There are two standard annual balls: one during winter and summer. The next will take place after the Midwinter Feast. However, Queen’s Ladies are not eligible to attend balls until after their fourteenth birthdays.”
Jenna was expecting this. She knew fourteen was the typical age for noble girls to come out in society. She also knew that the prime reason girls sought out positions among the Queen’s Ladies was to expand their social horizons at court and seek a good match. Competition would be fierce over the Queen’s three sons, now all teenagers. Jenna didn’t worry about that too much. She had a large dowry, and her parents would like it if she found a match among the nobility, but their main hopes for an advantageous match lay with her younger sister.
Mrs. Hawes indicated that most of the remaining parts of the Central Tower would be off-limits, though she pointed out the door to the throne room where coronations and royal weddings occurred. Jenna would only be allowed to see it if a major event took place during her stay.
There was one more part of the Central Tower she was allowed to see: the library. As they entered, Jenna was impressed by the number of books and scrolls, two stories worth. The room looked ancient, but was lit by many windows that looked newer. There were also mage lights along the walls. “You may come here in your free hours if you like. The Queen encourages her Ladies to expand their minds by reading.” Jenna caught from Mrs. Hawes’s tone of voice that she was not particularly fond of this arrangement. Jenna loved to read, however, and was glad she would have ample opportunity. “Most books may be checked out at the librarian’s desk over there.” She pointed to a large desk where some scribes were working at mending some texts. “But you must remember that past that desk there is a section of the library that is off-limits to you and is solely for the use of palace mages, scholars, and advisory staff. Is that clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. That should conclude the tour of the chambers you will normally deal with. I will now take you to where the Queen is at tea. You will also get the chance to meet the other Ladies.”
Mrs. Hawes led Jenna back into the East Wing of the palace. Overall, she was beginning to calm down. She liked what she had seen and started to think being a Lady wouldn’t be so bad. Mrs. Hawes opened the door into the sitting room where Jenna saw many young girls taking tea with the Queen. She had never seen so many nobles in one place before and was slightly awed by the sight of such elegant gowns, so much so that she did not see the step down into the sunken floor of the chamber. She tripped.
Chapter 2
Jenna’s foot came down awkwardly onto the sunken floor such that it slid off the heel of her shoe, throwing her off-balance. As her body leaned to the left, she reached out with her hands and grabbed for a pillar to the side of the entryway. With this she was able to avoid falling over completely, but could not avoid knocking over the expensive-looking glass vase that was positioned on top of the pillar. Luckily, Jenna had regained enough balance by this point to grab it before it shattered on the floor. She took two seconds to catch her breath before setting the vase back in its place.
A group of Ladies standing at the back of the room began giggling, causing Jenna to blush, but she had enough composure to walk to where the Queen was seated on a sofa and make a curtsy, apologizing at the same time. The Queen was wide-eyed with a bit of a smile on her face. “You must be careful of that last step. Many rooms in this palace have sunken floors for some reason.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jenna replied, slightly chagrined at the prospect of so many stair hazards.
“Miss Jenna Mallory, allow me to introduce you to the rest of my Ladies.” Jenna counted twelve others in all. The Queen pointed to each in turn, and Jenna exchanged curtsies. Two of the three girls in the back of the room that had giggled at Jenna’s gaffe were from the western coast. They had auburn hair and were cousins: Lady Becca and Lady Crystelle. One was about Jenna’s age, while the other was older, about fifteen. Standing next to them was a girl with sandy brown hair, who Jenna actually recognized because her father was the count ruling over the county where Jenna grew up. Although they were far from being on friendly terms, Jenna knew her name was Yolanda.
Two of the Ladies, each with striking red hair, were in exile from the kingdom of Tenarra to the north, which had been completely overrun by a commoner-led rebellion. The rebels were said to be forming a republic, and Jenna knew this put a major stress on the Crown, especially with the Sevalian army still guarding the northern border.
On a couch across from the Queen sat who Jenna thought to be the most beautiful of the girls there. She had long wavy blond hair, and her azure dress complemented her large blue eyes. Her name was Lady Aurelia, from the south like Jenna, but farther east than Salara. Jenna guessed she was thirteen.
Finally, the Queen introduced the last remaining noble girl in the room, who was sitting on the couch next to her. She looked about Jenna’s age, had black hair, and was wearing a diamond tiara. “Miss Mallory, meet Princess Aylin. She also just arrived this week after a long journey from her home in the Kingdom of Khazaran to the east.”
Jenna was stunned by this. She thought it strange that a Khazaran Princess would come to stay at the Sevalian court considering the two countries used to be enemies. Nevertheless, she knew that Khazaran was an increasingly important trading partner of Sevalia, so it made sense on some level, and she must be considered a marriage prospect for one of the princes. When Jenna finally got over her initial shock, she gave the Princess a slightly deeper curtsy and said in the Khazaran tongue, “A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”
This elicited some gasps from the Ladies in the room. Jenna had assumed that noble girls were given instruction in other languages just as she had been, but perhaps they were surprised that a commoner would know Khazaric. Princess Aylin said in accented Sevalian, “Please, we are all Queen’s Ladies here; call me Aylin.” Jenna just nodded.
The Queen invited Jenna to sit at her other side. “Tell me, Miss Mallory,” she said, whil
e pouring Jenna a cup of tea, “how did you learn to speak Khazaric?”
“My father taught me and my siblings,” Jenna replied. “We all speak four languages.”
The Queen’s eyes widened again. “Four? My goodness. What are the other two?”
“The Rahtani tongue, of course I learned that mainly from my mother. And Kelé, the northern common tongue.” Jenna then received glares from the Tenarran Ladies in exile, and she realized she probably shouldn’t have mentioned she knew that language. The nobles from the north all spoke Sevalian; only the commoners, the rebels, spoke Kelé. Her family spoke it mainly because her late paternal grandfather was an escaped Tenarran slave. In the future she would have to be more careful.
The Queen also looked a little bit shocked at her last statement, but she continued to ask questions. “How well do you speak all of these other languages?”
“I speak the Rahtani language fluently. The other two I don’t get as much practice with, so I actually read them better than I speak them.” One of the Ladies nearly choked on her tea. Jenna began to worry. She was obviously not doing a good job at blending in.
“You mean to say,” the Queen continued, “that you read and write all of these languages as well as speak them?”
“Yes.”
“And your father and mother taught you all of this?”
“Yes, Majesty.”
“My word.” There was a moment of silence. She saw many of the Ladies were now fanning themselves to combat the late afternoon sun. Many of them were also staring at her as if she had grown a third arm. Perhaps noble girls were not as well-educated as Jenna had assumed. Princess Aylin, or Aylin, had a smile on her face at least. “Regarding your mother,” said the Queen, changing topics, “correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t she the daughter of an important man among the Rahtani tribes?”
“Yes. My grandfather is the leader of the Hadast tribe.”
“And the tribal leaders are something like Kings among their people?” Jenna wondered if the Queen was trying to be helpful by making Jenna’s heritage sound impressive. She wasn’t sure it was working, but thought she might at least try to help herself out.
“They do wield considerable power over their tribes. My grandfather has now united three tribes under his rule, making him the most powerful among them.”
Lady Yolanda spoke. “My impression of the Rahtani leaders was that they kept their power in part by having many children, even so far as keeping multiple wives.”
“Yes. That’s true.” Jenna didn’t directly confirm her grandmother was a concubine, but she knew that with Yolanda there, all of the other Ladies would soon know. The Queen gave Yolanda a look of disapproval.
It was then that Aurelia, with a slight hint of desperation to her voice, changed the focus of conversation away from Jenna. “Aylin, tell us, did you encounter the Rahtani on your journey here?” Aylin had not come across the desert dwellers, but was still glad to tell some more tales about her sea voyage, even mentioning Salara, which was where she first set foot on Sevalian soil. Jenna helped Aylin out from time-to-time in finding the right Sevalian word. She knew she could have spoken more about her own voyages and even talked about Salara, but after her poor showing earlier felt it best to stay out of the spotlight for the rest of the day. More than ever, she felt her best bet at making it through her stay at court was to speak as little as possible.
Her plan appeared to work, at least for the rest of the afternoon, and the time passed quickly. All of the Ladies had supper in a room on the first floor of the East Wing, where they would take most meals together. The Queen mentioned that the next day would be different. There would be a formal dinner to welcome Aylin and the new Khazaran ambassador. Jenna tried not to think too much on it.
After the sun had set at last, Jenna was alone in her dormitory unpacking her things. She had already examined her course schedule, and it did not appear to be overly taxing compared to the studies she was used to at home. She had magic, riding, drawing, and needlework instruction three days a week alternated with dance, music, protocol, and weaving instruction with no classes on Sevdays. On those days, prayers were held in the central courtyard. It seemed she would have plenty of time to practice her skills and read books from the library. She was actually unpacking a few of the books she had brought with her when she spotted them; the sword and bow had once again ended up in her bags.
Jenna had a moment of panic and looked around the dormitory. None of the other Ladies had arrived yet, but she had to act quickly. She didn’t fully understand how they ended up in her luggage again and could have said they were her brother’s and had just gotten into her bags by mistake, but she did not want to draw attention to herself, especially considering it was illegal for Sevalian women to carry swords. Part of her also, deep down, knew that she resented Peter for being allowed to use them, but she cast those thoughts aside.
She needed a place to stash them. Most of her undergarments were stored in a chest by her bed, but only half of the chest was Jenna’s. The Lady she shared it with could discover them. There was also a linen chest, but the servants could get into it. Her gowns were stored in a wardrobe, also shared. Jenna considered attempting to get into one of the guest bedrooms across the hall and store them there. She couldn’t think of anything better, so she decided to risk it. She slung the bow and arrows over her back and grabbed the sword.
As she peered out into the hall, she was relieved to find that it was still quiet, so she quickly dashed across and opened one of the doors into a guest bedroom. The room was empty as expected, so she opened a chest and found it contained just a few dusty linens. Jenna thought it a decent hiding place.
Before burying them in the bottom of the chest, she took one small moment to admire their craftsmanship. It had been years since she had seen them. She didn’t know much about weapons, but these seemed particularly beautiful. The sword had a jeweled hilt and was made of glistening steel, with a slight curve to the blade. The bow was made of dark wood and elegantly carved. She said a small prayer that no servant would find them and that they would stay put, but she knew if servants did stumble across them, they may not be able to move the weapons. They burned everyone they touched except for herself, her brother, and possibly her mother. Jenna’s father had explained that the Rahtani could use magic to keep those without Rahtani blood from handling their weapons, but she assumed the spell would be wearing off by then.
She quickly darted back across the hall and into her dormitory again, where she stopped dead in her tracks. Becca and Crystelle were there talking to Aylin. They looked over at Jenna since she had just walked in. “Hello,” said Jenna.
“Jenna? I thought you were unpacking,” said Crystelle, the older cousin.
“I am. I, um, just decided to look across the hall at the other dormitory, see if it was the same as ours.” Jenna cursed at herself once again for being such a terrible liar.
The other girls looked at her with confused looks on their faces, but went back to their conversation. Jenna went back to her unpacking.
A couple of minutes later Crystelle asked, “Jenna, tell me. Do you like the other dormitory better? I love the tapestries.” She had a half smile on her face, but the other girls were giving Crystelle strange looks.
Jenna started to panic again. She had no idea what Crystelle was on about and, of course, hadn’t actually seen the other dormitory. She felt when in doubt it was best to act dumb. “Why, I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
Crystelle frowned, but once again began ignoring Jenna and struck up another conversation with the other girls. They had started brushing each other’s hair in preparation for retiring for the night. Jenna managed to finish unpacking and got ready to go to sleep herself, but as she climbed into bed, she found it difficult to relax. It didn’t help that she had always been a light sleeper, though it never seemed to make her tired.
She was one of seven Ladies sleeping in this dormitory along with the proctor, who soon
began to snore. Then Jenna heard whispers. “Why do I have to get stuck in the bed next to that awful woman? Doesn’t she know how to breathe?”
“Relax, Crystelle, I have some earplugs if you want them.”
“Whatever. I’m not really that tired.” There was a slight pause. “I could not believe that darkie today. What in the world did the Queen invite her for?”
“Crystelle!” said a third voice. “She might hear you.”
“Pah. She must be exhausted from her trip. So, I heard there are two of them.”
“Yes. I spotted their arrival,” said the second voice. “She came with her brother, who is training to be a knight, if you can believe it. Commoners running the military. Who needs rebels? The King may as well just give the Crown away.”
“Tell us, Yolanda,” said Crystelle again. “You have met them before. Are they really that wealthy?”
There was a pause; then Jenna heard the third voice, presumably Yolanda say, “Yes.”
“And her grandmother is a concubine?” asked the second voice.
“You mean her grandmother is a whore, Becca,” said Crystelle.
“It gets worse,” Yolanda replied. “Her father actually bought his wife. They say he paid an enormous sum.”
“No,” cried Crystelle with a harsh whisper. Then she started to giggle. “I’m sure they don’t expect to be able to sell her.”
The other girls had a little laugh. Then Yolanda said, “I assure you it’s quite the opposite. Her dowry is two thousand gold doubloons, and her sister’s is even higher.”
The other two girls gasped. “Not possible! I don’t even think Aurelia has such a dowry,” said Becca.