As I watched the poor thing scamper through the curtains with my blanket I felt horrible. I looked down at the bathwater. It had fresh rose petals floating in the crystal clear water, vapors rising from the hot liquid. The tall girl came up to me and took me by the hand and lead me up the small marble stairs that led to the tub. I stepped gently onto them as the warmth burnt my tender feet. I dipped my one toe gently into the bathwater, then submerged my foot, taking all of the time in the world before I finally stepped in, biting my bottom lip as the hot water almost burnt my skin. I held onto the tall girls’ hand as I steadied myself into the tub. I eased myself down and let the soothing, rose scented water pour over my entire body. I let out a sigh as I sat down on the bottom of the marble tub, its stone warm against my bare skin. For a moment I became lost in the soothing feeling of the water. All I could think about was how good it felt, how magnificent it smelled, and how in that moment I was the luckiest girl in the wo-, well in the Azure.
I leaned my head back against the hard marble edge of the tub when I felt a tapping on my shoulder. I looked up to see that it was the girl with the facial scars, I sat up wanting to ask her what it was that she wanted, but all she did was produce a soft, cotton, towel and placed it where my neck was. She took her filthy hand and leaned my head back against it. I felt my heart sink for her. She didn’t want my neck to be uncomfortable against the sharp edges of the marble.
Before she could get away I grabbed her hand. She jumped and looked terrified, her one good eye darting around the room wildly, as if she were in actual danger if I touched her.
“No, no..” I whispered to her in a soothing voice not wanting her to be scared. Her eye continued to dart around the room, I took my other hand and placed it on hers, rubbing them trying to calm her.
“Thank you,” I whispered to her, not wanting anyone to hear us.
The girl looked up at me and for a moment I could have sworn I almost saw a smile come across her face. I examined her features and could see that at one time she had been a great beauty. I tried to not look at her for too long for the fear of her getting self-conscious. I just rubbed her hands and said thank you one last time before the tall one came from behind the curtains and motioned her out of the room.
I eased myself back into the water and allowed myself to slip back into my own head. Back home I hadn’t even owned a bathtub, all I had was a stand-up shower and was happy enough to have that. The only time I had taken a bath was when I had visited my family at Christmas time every season, and even then it was a stressful bath. My father would eventually begin yelling about how I was going to run the house out of hot water, my mom would yell at him for being an ass, they would yell at each other for yelling at the one time of year when I was actually home. I would slide down under into the tub that had the signature yellow ring around it and throw a few more cheap, cinnamon smelling, plastic balls into the Luke warm water. I would sit in there until my fingers became pruned or the water became actually cold, whichever came first. I would towel off and hear one of my parents begin to sing some old Christmas tune, their singing voices flat and out of tune. I remembered how at those times I just wanted to go back to my apartment and be by myself, how I loathed the holidays and anything that involved family all together.
I would give up everything, and then some, just to hear them sing out of tune just one last time. I felt the tears begin to stream down my face and into the water as I reminisced about my life back on earth. My heart ached to go back, to see my parents and my coworkers. I sucked in deeply through my nostrils and drew in the thick rose fragrance. I pulled myself together and vowed to not ever cry about my life back on earth until I knew I had a way back, until then I was just going to have to learn how to adapt and try to find a way out, not waste my time on crying over something that might be impossible.
I leaned my head back and readjusted the towel behind my head when I heard the wooden door slam open. I heard all of the slave girls squeal and then the sound of a heavy metal pot being thrown around. I twisted my head back and tried to see what all of the commotion was, all I heard was a voice. “WHERE THE HELL ARE MY LINENS??!!!” The voice howled, its tone harsh and unkind. “WAS IT YOU THAT TOOK THEM?!!” I heard her screech again, something in my brain began to click. “WAS IT YOU THAT TOOK THEM FREAK SLAVE??!!” The voice bellowed. Through the bottom of the curtains I could see that the scared girl had been knocked to her knees and saw a heeled brown leather boot kick her straight in the stomach. The scared girl gaped trying to reclaim her breath as I saw the foot draw back for another blow. Without even thinking and using all of my might I pushed myself out of the tub and landed on the floor. “STOP IT!” I screamed to the unknown woman. I stumbled to my feet. “STOP IT RIGHT NOW OR I’LL TELL THE KING!!” I ran for the curtains and was about to grab at them when they were suddenly draw back. What I saw before me, nearly made me faint. “EVA???!!!” I screamed, my face only 10 inches from hers. “IZZY??!!” She bellowed.
I ran into her arms, naked and wet and embraced her as hard as I could. I felt her collapse to the ground, and I fell with her. Crying and sobbing we held each other on the marble floor, not an inch of space left between us. She held me and I held her, both of us looking into each other’s eyes, then shaking our head and embracing again. It was the happiest moment of my life.
Chapter 4
Reunited
I held Eva as tight as I could for as long as I can remember. It was one of those moments that truly were suspended in time. As she held me I saw the slave girls leaving the room one by one silently. I looked down at Eva’s feet and noticed that she was wearing the same kind of boot that had been kicking the poor girl. But it couldn’t have been her, I thought. We gained control of ourselves and Eva lifted me off of the floor. “I have so many questions for you,” She said shaking me by my shoulders. “But first let’s get you dressed,”
“I concur,” I laughed, wiping the residual tears from my eyes. “What are you doing in here anyway, you could get in big fucking trouble for this dude, big fucking trouble,” She said looking out the door and into the hallway.
“Well,” I started, “This is just where the girls took me,” I explained trying not to make anyone sound guilty. Eva turned and looked at me through her brows. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, those stupid fucking bitches, are they trying to get you killed? When I get my hand on them, arrgghhh…” She trailed off her voice sounding different. It didn’t sound like Eva, it sounded mean. “No, they were told to bring me here, by a guard,” I explained trying to calm her. Could it really have been her boot kicking the poor girl. “I’m afraid they misunderstood sweetie, no one is allowed in here but slaves and the Queen, you should be thankful I found you and not her. ” Eva cupped her hand and looked both ways down the hallway and then turned to me, “She’s an evil bitch, if you catch my drift.” I smiled and gave her a halfhearted laugh.
“HEY, HEYYYY!!!” Eva yelled into the hallway, her voice trailing off the high walls. Eva threw me a towel that sat on the back of the wooden chair and I covered myself with it. I heard the sound of boots as a guard ran in. He immediately embraced Eva, she seemed to almost recoil at his touch. She pushed him back, he looked me up and down and nodded his head. “Can you tell me,” Eva started, her finger pointing up towards his face, “Just what the hell those slave girls think they are doing? They just so happened to bring not just a friend but MY BEST FRIEND back here to bath and dress, would you mind telling me just what is going through their minds?” Eva stood there with her hand on her hip, staring at the guard who in turn stared at me. He took a couple steps towards me and stared me down. “Did you arrive here with the king today?” The guard asked me, his English seeming slow and broken. “Yes,” I said, my voice slightly shaken. “Were you with the prince before you left with king?” He added. “Y-Yes,” I said, starting to get scared. The guard quickly kneeled before me and took my hand in his. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” He said, his mask touching the
top of my hand. I looked up at Eva in confusion. I saw her looking down at the guard, clenching her jaw so tight it looked like it might just fall off all together, her eyes looked like they were on fire.
The guard lifted himself to his feet and walked over to the table, he picked up two fine cotton towel and pulled out a long, black silk dress from underneath them. “This is for you,” He said, pushing the dress into my arms. He hurried over to the door, Eva stopped him before he could leave. “Would you mind telling me just what is going on,” she breathed through her teeth, her voice sounded stretched and tense. “She is property of the prince and king,” the guard explained as if it were nothing, “Kings property right now, he holds on to her for the prince.” The guard leaned down to kiss Eva on the cheek and I could tell it was all she could do to keep from smacking him all together.
The guard rushed out and Eva stood there staring at the floor, her face looking contorted and confused.
“Is-is everything OK Eva,” I asked, almost scared of her response.
She looked up at me through her brows. I had never been scared of her, but something about the look in her eyes that she had then made me absolutely terrified of my own best friend. “Yeah, fine, get dressed, I’ll show you to the house.”
She turned quickly and slammed the door behind her, making one of the many painting on the wall fall to the floor.
I dropped my towel and threw on the dress the guard had given me. It was one of the softest dresses I had ever worn, its silk bodice caressing my breasts just right, the long velvet skirt just hitting the floor below me. It was, by far the finest thing I had ever worn.
I spun around in it a few times, making the skirt fly out below me. I stopped for a moment; Is this what could have gotten Eva so angry? That I was getting special treatment? She had never been the jealous type, if anything she embraced, almost celebrated when other people were doing well, that kind of behavior would be completely unlike her.
I shrugged it off and chalked it all up to her just having one of her “Eva” moments. I walked over to the table and pulled on the underwear that had been left for me, then the small white socks, then the small black leather boots that were not unlike Eva’s. I picked up the painting, a Monet, and hung it back on the wall straightening it meticulously before I turned to leave. I felt good in that moment; cleaned, dressed, reunited with my best friend. I walked towards the door and couldn’t wait for Eva to tell me of her journey.
That night Eva and I had walked the grounds together, I told her of everything that had happened to me; the prince, the fight, the carriage ride, the food, sleeping for two weeks. She was almost completely silent through all of it. When I asked her about her adventure all she could do was mumble about some “stupid guard” she had met or that “evil bitch” of a queen. She only perked up once when I brought up the slave girls.
“A bunch of worthless bitches is what they are Izzy,” she said, stopping in the middle of the courtyard as we were on the way to her house. It was almost night and the shadows cast down on her face, making her look even more cruel and hollow than she sounded.
“You can’t just come here and start making assumptions about the order of things, you have always done that. You always think that you know the right way to do everything, well Honey, here you don’t know anything, so just drop it OK?” She barked as she stormed off ahead of me, I hurried behind her not wanting to be left alone.
We walked into a small circular stone building, Eva slammed the door behind us, barley giving me enough time to make it in. I looked around, trying to get a proper layout of the house, but Eva turned down the lantern to only a flicker before I could get a good look. She grabbed some extra blankets off the end of her bed and pushed them into my arm. She pointed to another cot in the corner. “You sleep there,” She said, sounding almost caveman like. She jumped in her bed and turned her back to me, her frame small and delicate underneath the heavy blankets. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked at her, “Eva, is something wrong?” I asked, genuinely concerned. “No, go to sleep Izzy.” She muttered, sounding more than annoyed. I laid down and threw the heavy blankets over myself. I laid there awake for the longest time, listening to the noises outside of the window; a guards’ boot, chatter the occasional whinny of a horse in the distance. The one thing I didn’t hear, was Eva’s snoring. I had spent to many nights with her to know that that girl never fell asleep without sounding like a chainsaw was being started. I rolled over and looked at Eva, her back still turned to me. Her breathing was still small and fast, like it was in the courtyard. I could tell she wasn’t asleep. I began to wonder; What is wrong with my best friend?
Chapter 5
The Prince Speaks
I breathed your name into the wind as I stared up at these stars, my darling. I gazed endlessly into the abyss and wondered, if thousands of miles away, you may have been gazing at them as well. How could you have been torn from me so easily? Swept away like leaves in a rushing creek. Where have you gone? Where had he taken you? What is he doing to you? I stared up at these stars and swore on every one of them that I would return to you, that I would find you. No matter where he had hidden you, I would soon be at your side, it was only a matter of time. I could still feel your skin underneath my hands and it drove me wild. The thought of him touching you made me want to shriek, made me want to smash my own body. When I got my hands on him, he would kneel before me, and he would pay dearly for what he had done to you. I swore on every star and bet my kingdom on the moon; I would be there for you soon.
I just breathed your name into the cold night air, hoping maybe the wind would carry my voice to you.
All I could say was; “Izzy” “Izzy” “Izzy”
Book 4: Deceit
Chapter 1
Eva
I could hear her stirring in bed as I laid there staring at the stone wall. I could feel all of the blood in my body rushing to my ears, making them ring and pound, as if I had just gotten punched in the head. I clenched the blankets so hard I felt like my fingers were going to snap. I could hear her tossing and turning and tossing and turning, the sound of her occasional sigh made my feet numb with anger. I clenched my jaw and grinded my teeth, trying to block out the sound of her all together, but her every movement was nearly ear shattering. I felt a chill run through my body every time she moved and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will my mind to block her out entirely.
I heard her turn one last time, let out a deep sigh, and then settled, her breathing growing steady and predictable as I stared into the darkness. I swore that if she had not stopped moving in that moment, I really thought about throwing myself out of my bed and smothering her with my pillow. I could make it look like an accident, surly the creatures of the Azure, as progressive and advanced as they may be, would not be able to do a proper autopsy on a human.
Or, I could blame my guard. I could say that he busted down the door in the middle of the night, threatened to kill me before trying to have his way with her. He would have used the pillow to try to mask her screams and wound up killing her. That would take care of both of them at the same time. Or the shelf that hung above her head that was heavy with bowls, plates, knives and pitchers could fall on her, crushing her head completely.
Or, I could somehow get ahold of the poisonous pendant that the Queen wore around her skinny neck. I knew how much Izzy loved her evening cup of tea. She would sip it down as we talked about our new lives in this new land, where we were going to go and what we were going to do with ourselves. We would watch the bright lavender sun set across the land until darkness finally covered the valley of the kingdom.
Being the gracious host that I am, and always will be, I would offer to put on some water for tea, she would accept as she stared off at the stars that would have just appeared in the night sky. I would slip into the house and boil the water, add some of the strange herbs my guard had gifted to me as some kind of present, their taste bitter and unsettling. I would slip in some of the deep purple poi
son that the Queen wore, and come back out into the darkness. By the cover of night Izzy would never notice the difference in color. She would sip it down, still trying to make small talk, I would oblige her in her mindless banter, nod my head while smiling warmly.
The way friends do.
She would carry on about how she missed her pointless life on earth, when she really just lived in some crappy apartment in a ritzy neighborhood she didn’t belong in, no boyfriend of lover to speak of, spending those long nights on the roof of her building, gazing off into the stars like she was expecting an answer to reveal itself in the constellations above her? How she missed her shitty desk job and the cheap wine she would drink by herself at night. I would agree with her nonsense, indulge in her pitiful nostalgia. She would sip her tea and then begin to complain that her stomach hurt. I would help her into her bed where she would hold my hand tightly, scared of the pain she was in.
Maybe she would try to get up, I would have to hold her to the bed and let the poison do its work as I would watch the light slowly fade from her eyes.
She could get “kicked” by one of the horses if I hid the blood covered rock well enough.
Into the Azure: A Fantasy Bad Boy Romance Page 9