“If you continue to fiddle with your outfit, Highness, you will be.” Mushira pushed Adrienne’s hands out of the way, then resituated the fabric to its original position.
“Do I have to show off this much skin?” Adrienne asked. She looked down at the hip-high slits on either side of her body. The ribbons from her slippers that crisscrossed up her legs to mid-thigh peeked out at her.
“You have a beautiful body and shouldn’t be ashamed to display it.”
“I’m not ashamed. I’m modest.” She moved the fabric on her shoulders again.
Mushira pushed her hands away and moved the fabric back. Tiny pins appeared in her hand. She placed one at strategic points on the fabric to keep it in place. “There. Now stop touching it.”
“Is her hair to your liking, Mushira?” Hani asked.
“Say yes,” Adrienne demanded. “She’s not taking it down again. My scalp hurts.”
Mushira fingered one of the interwoven braids atop Adrienne’s head. She nodded. “Yes, this is best. It shows off your long neck.”
“Thank God.”
“Which one?”
“What? You have more than one god on Bron?”
Malik entered the room before Mushira could answer, with Qamar and Khursid two steps behind him. All three came to an abrupt halt and stared at Adrienne.
“What?” she asked. Their reactions embarrassed her. She looked down to make sure one of her breasts hadn’t popped out or something equally mortifying.
Malik smiled slowly. “You are beautiful, my lady,” he whispered in awe.
“Agreed,” voiced Khursid before he could stop himself. A blush rose up his neck to land right on his face.
Qamar added, “Mushira, you have outdone yourself this night and will be hard-pressed to top this accomplishment. Princess Adrienne will surely outshine all present.”
Adrienne smiled at all of them in turn. “Thanks,” she said in a breathy voice.
Malik offered her his arm but Adrienne hesitated.
Mushira prompted, “It’s all right, Highness. You needn’t worry about your gloves. They are stronger than they look. If, however, they do rip, I will be with you tonight to fix them.”
That wasn’t why Adrienne hesitated, but she took the out Mushira gave her. She placed her hand on Malik’s arm and he nodded to her. She waited for the familiar feeling of warm oil drizzling over her skin but it didn’t come. Either her outfit didn’t impress Malik as much as he said, or he was controlling himself.
Either way, she appreciated the reprieve, and relaxed. “Let’s do this before I change my mind.”
Malik chuckled. He gave her hand a pat and proceeded out the door with Qamar taking the lead.
Hani asked, “We are walking the entire way to the dining hall, Majesty?”
“I thought it best,” Malik answered in a tone that sounded final.
“I did not mean to question you, My King.” Hani bowed her head.
“Huh? How else would we get there if we didn’t walk?” Adrienne asked. Malik didn’t answer. She looked over her shoulder at Hani to see if the girl would volunteer the explanation.
She didn’t get the chance to ask her question again. A few paces behind Khursid, who brought up the rear, three men shadowed the group. Instant fear froze Adrienne’s feet to the floor and stopped the forward progress of the group.
“Who are you?” She didn’t like unknown people following her, especially unknown people no one acknowledged.
The three men came forward and went to one knee before Malik and Adrienne. No one spoke, which confused her. Adrienne looked down at them in complete confusion. Was this some kind of answer? She looked at Malik for an explanation.
He obliged. “These three men are my personal guards. As I consider myself a fairly good warrior, my guards are mostly for show. However, each of these three men are the most deadly you will ever meet. They are not only first blades, they are also eleventh-level mages.” He pointed to each man in turn and introduced, “Bayard, Indivar and Flavian.”
The introduction happened too quickly for Adrienne. She was horrible with names. Add in her growing anxiety at the upcoming dinner, and her memory turned to mush. “How do I remember which is which?”
Malik tried to continue down the hall without answering but Adrienne wouldn’t budge. He gave a little sigh before answering, “You need not remember their names, my lady. They are unimportant, as I said. Merely for show.”
“Humor me,” she clipped out through her teeth. Couldn’t this dope see she was stalling? Most men would figure that out and let her do it. But no, Malik was too thick for that.
“They wear the primary colors as they are my primary guards. Bayard is always seen in blue; likewise, Indivar in yellow and Flavian in red. Does that help, my lady?” His tone betrayed his slight annoyance over the delay.
Malik felt Adrienne’s curiosity shouldn’t be for something as trivial as his personal guards. He could protect himself with either sword or magicks quite well. His guards represented one of the only times Malik had ever conceded an argument to his chancellors. Only then did the men leave off the subject, as he hoped Adrienne would do now that he had answered her question.
“Guess it makes it easy to get dressed in the morning if all your clothes are the same color,” she said.
Malik jerked his head slightly. The movement sent the Primaries back to the rear of the group where Adrienne couldn’t question them. He then urged her into motion again. He glanced down at her in hopes that looking at her would aid in his understanding of the current emotion he felt coming from her. All he saw was her beauty, and it reminded him of how much he wanted her in his bed. A barrier spell kept the emotion to himself since Adrienne didn’t need his emotions adding to her agitation.
Adrienne stopped the procession to the dining hall five more times. Malik had to explain the significance of tapestries adorning the walls and point out the high chancellor’s room, which was located on the fourth floor of the palace along with the royal wing and their entourages’ chambers. He was happy he hadn’t placed the royal wing on the sixth floor as his chancellors had wanted, or else the trip to the dining hall on the second floor might have taken longer. Each new floor meant more stairs and even more questions from Adrienne, and he answered them as patiently as he could.
Malik finally realized the problem when he felt Adrienne’s nails. Every step they took made her grip on his arm tighten that much more. Her hold on him loosened whenever they stopped to allow Adrienne to explore, only to have her tighten her grip when they started walking again.
He stopped the group and turned to Adrienne, this time really looking at her. She had a scared, cornered look in her eyes. Fantasizing about the many ways he could strip off Adrienne’s outfit without using his hands had kept him from noticing her growing agitation.
“You have nothing to fear from this dinner, my lady. Be at your ease,” he said. Mushira started forward but he stopped her with a gesture. He didn’t need help soothing his bride.
“Calm down. There’s an idea. Why didn’t I think of that?” Adrienne asked.
“You’re shaking, Princess,” Hani observed.
Adrienne glared at Hani. Malik was about to weave a calming spell around Adrienne when a chair appeared, making Nimat gasp and jump back. From Adrienne’s thankful look, Malik guessed she had summoned it. He went to one knee as Adrienne lowered herself to the chair.
She said, “I can’t do this. I don’t know these people. What do I say? I don’t know how to be a queen.”
“You will be fine,” Malik replied. He reached for her hands to keep her from hurting herself. Her nails were probably imprinted on his arm. He didn’t want such marks on her body.
His smile turned to surprise when he felt her hands. “Karasi above! Your hands are like ice. It is not cold enough in this hall or your rooms to cause such a chill.”
He enveloped her hands in his, but it didn’t help. She seemed to be leeching his heat but not getting warmer. He started generati
ng a light heat spell in his hands.
Adrienne couldn’t feel her feet, and her fingers were numb. Small quakes shook her body and she wanted to cry. The magicks had to be behind it all. Her anxiety attacks were never this bad, nor lasted this long.
She tried to present her case to Malik again. “There’s no way this is going to work. I don’t have a handle on my abilities or I wouldn’t be trying to turn myself into a snowman.”
“What has you nervous, my lady?”
“I can’t do this. I don’t know the customs. Hell, I don’t even know if there is a different language spoken here.”
Malik smiled. He raised her hands to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. “Adrienne, you are not speaking English.”
“Yes, I am…I…” she stopped in mid-sentence.
For the first time, she actually listened to the words that left her mouth. They weren’t English. And that wasn’t all. She had the distinct impression she could speak many other languages fluently should she have the need.
In English she asked, “What have I been speaking?” The words felt foreign after so many days. She had to force herself to focus on her mother language.
Malik answered in kind. “The language of Ulan, of course. Each kingdom has its own language and customs. You know all of them.”
“How?”
“I gave them to you when I healed your body. From the moment you awoke until now, you have spoken only Ulanian. You never noticed?”
“No,” she squeaked. She looked at the others—her constant companions for four days, and she had never noticed they weren’t speaking English.
She switched back to Ulanian and asked, “What do you mean ‘gave’ them to me? Gave me what exactly?”
The heat spell started working. Adrienne stopped worrying about her lack of knowledge and her anxiety alleviated.
Malik answered in Ulanian. “Languages, writings, customs and laws of all fourteen kingdoms. You are to be queen. These are things you need to know. It would have taken too long to teach you in the conventional manner. As such, I put the information into your mind.”
She didn’t know what to say. How had she not noticed fourteen kingdoms’ worth of info floating around her head? Easy answer—she’d never needed it. She hadn’t met anyone from any other kingdom.
Malik stood. He pulled Adrienne to her feet and sent the chair back to wherever she had summoned it from. “Does that solve your dilemma, my lady?”
Adrienne didn’t answer. Malik got the group moving again while she cycled through her newfound knowledge. It was a bit much to take in all at once: She knew histories, royal lineages and what made the fourteen kingdoms unique from each other. The info dump even had a map she could focus on if she closed her eyes, which she did, and trusted Malik not to walk her into any walls.
The map in her mind’s eye showed that Ulan encompassed Japan, Mongolia, the greater part of China and all the smaller countries between China and the ocean. That explained why everyone looked Asian. They were in Asia—Bron’s Asia. The Ulanian royal palace was situated in the very middle of Japan.
After a while, Adrienne stopped going through what Malik had given her and started worrying about whether he had taken anything away. She still had her memories—some she didn’t particularly want, but that couldn’t be helped. So far as she could tell, everything was there.
But people don’t destroy the originals when they make a copy. Malik could have delved into her most personal desires and dirtiest secrets and she would never know unless he told her.
Worrying about Malik peeking into her past made her forget her anxiety until the doors to the dining hall opened. The sounds of dozens of people conversing and the smells of varying foods jarred her back to the present.
Silence descended over the room when everyone noticed the royal couple. Men bowed and women curtsied, the servants lower than everyone else.
Adrienne looked at all the people in wonder. She thought dinner would consist of a handful of servants and a group of five or six. This was more like five or six hundred.
“Who are all these people?” she asked in disbelief. She didn’t realize she had spoken out loud until Malik answered her.
“There are the chancellors, the entire Elite guard, generals of my armies, and nobles from my kingdom who are currently courting my…our favor.”
He had to adjust to think in terms of “we” instead of “me”. Ruling alone and with complete authority for so many years would make that hard. As much as he wanted Adrienne for his bride, he didn’t know how well he would handle sharing his kingdom.
“Why so many?” she whispered.
“Our wedding.”
Malik noticed how Adrienne pressed against his side. It made him happy that she saw him as a source of protection.
He led her through the crowd to the inner dining hall where the tables were located.
Saj already waited atop the two-step dais with Adrienne’s seat pulled back for her. She smiled in greeting and he bowed before helping her to her seat. Malik seated himself.
Mushira, Hani and Nimat took up positions standing behind the royal couple. Saj joined them while Malik dismissed the guards.
Adrienne asked in alarm, “Where are they going?”
“To eat with the other Elite guards,” Malik answered. He indicated the table to their immediate right. There were fifteen men and women already seated at the table. With the addition of the Primaries and Khursid and Qamar, that made twenty Elite guards in all.
Adrienne watched the people file into the dining hall. It reminded her of a graduation procession. The Elite guards had been first and the chancellors followed after them to sit at the table on the left.
The room was situated in a giant “U” with the royal table placed at the curve. Thanks to the knowledge Malik had given her, Adrienne knew the closer tables were reserved for constant members of the palace household. She didn’t mind that in the least. Temporary guests should be kept as far away as possible since one of them might be an assassin in disguise.
If Adrienne thought the people of Ulan would be upset at a non-Asian queen, she changed that thought upon seeing the varied races that entered the room. The majority of the people looked Asian, but one of the chancellors was black and many of the nobles looked Eastern European.
Malik said, “At present there are thirty-two noble couples—some in the accompaniment of their children—in attendance and more arrive every day.”
Out of the side of her mouth, Adrienne whispered, “You didn’t tell me there would be so many people. I don’t like surprises like this.”
“You would have used the information as an excuse to not attend.”
Adrienne looked at him. In a low voice, she asked, “Do you really think you should start out our relationship by lying to me?”
“Omission is not lying.”
“According to what dictionary?”
Malik chuckled.
Murmuring started in the back of the room and rolled over the crowd. To Adrienne’s ears the murmurs didn’t sound friendly. One woman blatantly pointed at her while her companion shook her head in a pitying manner. Were they comparing her to the past queens of Ulan?
They were all beautiful. Dione, Malik’s mother, had led the pack, which explained Malik’s devastating good looks. Adrienne didn’t want anyone comparing her looks to someone else’s. Soon they would be comparing her way of ruling to the other queens.
The food arrived and distracted Adrienne from spiraling into another magicks-induced anxiety attack. Everything looked wonderful and smelled even better, but her appetite waned under the scrutiny of Ulan’s nobility.
Mushira served the first course, all the while explaining the dish and, in a low voice, how it should be eaten. The first course was a soup with large chunks of vegetables and meat in a thick brown broth. As silly as it sounded, the meat and vegetables were only decoration for the broth and shouldn’t be eaten. Adrienne knew that already but she was thankful for th
e reminder.
She tried her best to ignore all the talking, but most of it was about her, and that made it hard. She also concentrated heavily on not using any magicks subconsciously. This wasn’t the time to find out what her unconscious mind wanted to happen to the people speaking badly about her.
From the sea of faces came a high-pitched female voice. “It is good to see our future queen has a good appetite. That bodes well for the health of any children she will provide.” Rumblings of concurrence came from several others.
Adrienne looked at her plate. It was empty. She kept her face relaxed so the horror of her mistake wouldn’t show. It went against her upbringing to leave food on her plate, but eating everything the cook offered guaranteed she wouldn’t make it through the next four courses.
Another woman, across the table from the first, added, “It is a shame the future queen isn’t more particular about the foods she eats. I remember Queen Dione would barely touch the first three courses because she felt the cook rushed them in order to give the main course enough time to finish.”
What was this “eat like a bird” nonsense? Had Malik brought Adrienne to the Civil War South and forgotten to tell her? She looked at the first woman who had spoken.
The woman, dripping with jewels that looked like they weighed more than she did, had less meat on her than a French runway model.
A man at the chancellors’ table said, “To be fair, Lady Gen, Princess Adrienne must eat more. How else could she maintain her lovely figure? If Her Highness ate like you, her breasts would shrink—as yours obviously have.” He smiled at Lady Gen’s angered look.
Oh, this man was on her Christmas card list from now on. She asked, “And you are?”
The man stood and bowed with his arm swept out to the side. He didn’t notice—or didn’t care—that he nearly hit the man sitting next to him. His deep red robes made his amber eyes and tawny shoulder-length hair look almost golden. As he straightened from his bow, he ran his fingers over the thin mustache that adorned his upper lip. It curved around the outline of his mouth, dangling to his collar.
“I am Chancellor Valah, Highness. And, while I oft times speak out of turn, I hope King Malik will not perceive my words as impertinent?”
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