by Kelly Napoli
CHAPTER 26
FAVORS
Kiethara stood at the top of the staircase, trying to gather some courage. She could hear Navadar and Trinnia talking below, but she couldn’t make out the words. The hem of her dress swished against the wood as her bare toes tapped nervously on the cool wooden floor, which did not feel as nearly as nice as the carpet had. Her breathing was a bit shallow, too, but not because of nervousness. It was this corset that seemed to be attempting to squeeze all the air from her lungs. She really wished she could take a look at herself first, instead of judging her appearance on Navadar’s reaction.
And with Trinnia still down there, she was finding it impossible to get her feet moving forward. She could only imagine what the girl was telling Navadar right now, most likely tales of how the poor forest-girl upstairs didn’t even know how to dress herself properly, or pull her hair up like a normal girl.
She couldn’t just stand here, though.
Descending the stairs in the dress proved more of a challenge than she would have thought; she carefully lifted the hem above her ankles so she could make the safe journey down. She kept her eyes firmly focused on her feet, too, watching them till the last step. She heard their conversation quiet as she reached the bottom. Dropping her skirts, she raised her head up.
Navadar was looking up and down her with wide eyes. He himself had changed into a nice tunic for the occasion, this one a deep, rustic red.
Kiethara completely ignored Trinnia as she turned in a little circle. “Do I look like a normal girl now?”
Navadar laughed. “You look…well, I mean, you look like a stranger! But as for kingdom standards, I believe you’ll blend right in.”
“Good,” she said. “I certainly don’t need any more attention if I can help it. I’d rather not attract it.”
“You won’t,” he promised.
“According to those lovely tales of yours, though, it seemed to have already attracted quite an amount of attention,” Trinnia pointed out, smiling with her heart shaped lips.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Kiethara agreed with a forced smile of her own.
“Well, Kiethara, are you ready to go?” Navadar interrupted, looking back and forth between them a bit nervously. She nodded.
“Trinnia, feel free to treat yourself to anything here while we’re gone,” he continued.
“Where are you headed?” she asked politely.
“Oh, I’m just showing Miss Kiethara around the kingdom,” he answered off-handedly.
“Sounds charming,” she replied, but Kiethara heard the undercurrent under her tone.
“Well, we’ll be off. We won’t wander too far, if you need me,” he said, walking to the door and holding it open. Kiethara stepped through onto the porch, breathing a sigh of relief as Navadar shut it behind them. She could feel Trinnia’s murderous glare cutting into her back.
“Shall we?” Navadar asked with a sudden grin, his previous tension vanishing. He held his elbow out for her to take. She took it with a smile of her own.
“Definitely.”
They strolled off the porch and he turned her to the left, away from the sea. That disappointed her a little, but it was Navadar’s day today. She was here to enjoy it and follow along.
“I hope Trinnia wasn’t too bad while she dressed you,” he said as they rounded a corner.
“Oh, Trinnia I can handle,” she promised with a grin. “What I can’t handle is this bloody corset she put on me! Is it really that wrong to be able to breathe?”
“I never understood why they needed it, either,” Navadar laughed.
“Men are lucky.”
“Men aren’t obsessed with how thin they are. Women are insane about their appearance.”
“So, then, does that make me a man?” she giggled.
“That makes you a real human being, not bound by laws, limitations, or society,” he said with confidence.
“Navadar,” she said, surprised. “That was poetic!”
“I’m hurt,” he said. “You’re shocked that I could think of something like that!”
“Well, I thought I had you all figured out.”
“What are you talking about? I’m a man full of secrets and mystery.”
“Secrets and mystery, maybe, but are you really a man?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Navadar took his free arm to her waist and roughly pulled her closer to him.
“What did you say?” he growled in her ears.
“You heard me,” she giggled, struggling to get out of his strong grip. He relented slightly, letting her support most of her weight.
“You dare insult me in my own kingdom? Do you not realize that I hold so much more power over you?” he asked.
“You don’t have any power over me!” she scoffed.
“Oh yes, I do,” he said, and turned another corner. Kiethara looked up, surprised. She hadn’t been paying attention to where they had been going, and now they were in a completely different area. The houses were fewer, yet still grand and large tents had been set up before them. One thing that attracted her eye right away was the floral; she could smell the scent of flowers in the air.
“Navadar,” she said breathlessly. “These tents have—“
“Flowers, yes. We have some nature here too, for people to decorate their houses with, or bestow upon a loved one.”
“Can we look?” she begged. “Please?”
Navadar laughed and pulled her towards the large red tent, shaking his head. “Why do you think I brought you here? To torture you?”
They walked into the entrance of the tent to find long, wooden tables placed throughout, with potted plants and trimmed flowers bulked onto their surfaces.
A lady sat in the corner, molding a shapeless lump of clay into what Kiethara suspected to be another pot. She looked up at them and then back down to her work, clearly uninterested. Kiethara slowed, unsure of how to proceed with that welcoming, but Navadar, who was not phased, tugged her forward.
She walked along the tables lining the area inside the tent, naming each flower she walked by as she stroked their petals. Sunflowers, baby’s breath, marigolds, tulips, roses…Navadar walked very close behind her. She could feel the warm movements of his chest.
Kiethara made sure to make her way around the whole tent, but her crystals remained as dark as ever.
She had thought being near something that resembled the forest would have allotted her some power back. It had been a foolish wish, really; Aaron had told her that only the forest was pure enough to create its own magic. These flowers here were pretty, but nothing compared to the luscious blooms she was used to. They did not come from the forest.
“You’re very knowledgeable about these flowers,” the woman noted, causing the two of them to turn.
“Oh, um, yes,” Kiethara said offhandedly, turning red.
“I could use a girl like you,” she continued.
“I’m sorry,” Kiethara said. “I do not live in this kingdom, I am only visiting. I would have been honored to help you, though.”
“That’s a shame,” she commented before going back to her work.
Kiethara turned and beckoned to the door with a pointed look at Navadar. The lady was unnerving. No wonder the tent was empty.
“Don’t you want one?” he mouthed at her. She shook her head.
They exited the tent quickly, arm in arm, and Navadar steered her down the road.