"So are you princess, mesmerizing that is," his gaze held hers with genuine intrigue in the depths of his eyes, but not fully masking his cruelty.
"Thank you," she replied, lowering her gaze.
“Is something on your mind?”
Ruby looked up suddenly, feeling hopeful, “actually your majesty, you have shown me much of the city and I do appreciate it, from what I could see from the confines of your carriage, Dravia has a beautifully advanced city.”
“But?” the Prince asked, arching an eyebrow at her with a good-natured smirk.
“I was really hoping to see the poorer side of town…”
“You mean the peasant’s village, Arduway?”
“Yes, I have wanted to since I came. I have heard so much stories about motherless and fatherless children in need of help.”
The prince bristled, “you do not have those in Aldor?”
“Oh no, that is not what I mean. It is just that my father, he… never really let me do much for them. There are so many rules for a princess and he is so protective. I just thought that…”
“You could do more good here,” the prince said matter-of-factly.
Ruby was surprised at the understanding she saw in his eyes.
“Yes,” she replied, “I long for a sense of purpose in this life and I love to help children, especially ones like…” she stopped abruptly, surprised at her near slip of tongue.
She tended to get a bit loose lipped when speaking of the things she cared about.
“Children like who?”
Of course, the perceptive prince missed nothing. Now he was looking at her with those calculating eyes. Ruby shook her head.
“Oh nothing… I am not sure where I was going with that,” she said with a nervous chuckle.
The prince nodded, “I see.”
He stepped around her and leaned up against the balcony, before turning those unnerving eyes her way again.
“You are different than I expected,” he said, his tone holding a hint of suspicion, “You present yourself as the daughter of the king of Aldor, but you look nothing like your people. The slant of your eyes, the complexion of your skin…”
Ruby looked away, feeling like she could shrink. Of course, he would question her origin, everyone did.
“Like many of Aldor’s inhabitants I am of mixed heritage.”
“Ahhh yes, I recall Aldor’s inclination towards refugees, but I did not think the king had a taste for them himself.”
Ruby’s gaze snapped back to his, his tone belied the disrespect of his statement. With one sentence he had offended both her and her father, and she was not sure how she should respond. To deny that her father, as king had taken someone other than his queen would place her rights as princess under further scrutiny and may remove from her the only protection she had against anything the prince might try.
“You do not seem very much like your people either,” she said, deciding to direct the conversation away from her and her disturbing heritage.
The prince nodded, “yes, the secrets our parents keep,” he replied, smiling knowingly at her. They stood in silence for a moment, staring out at the view from the balcony, with Ruby seeing nothing.
Finally, the prince broke into her silent panic attack, drawing her attention back to where she stood beside him.
"I find it quite," he paused, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together thoughtfully, "serendipitous that you should show up at my palace at such a time as this."
Her eyes narrowed instantly, "and what time would this be exactly?" she queried.
He smirked, "you like to get right to it. Me too," he said.
Ruby had not been in his presence very long but already she knew he was a man who loved the sound of his own voice. Gradually, her fantasy of being wooed by the prince of Dravia was becoming a nightmare that she wanted to escape from.
"I will get right to it then. I am looking for a queen," he replied holding her eyes, a slight smile teasing the corners of his lips.
It was one of those rare moments where Ruby was lost for words, even though she had always thought she would know exactly what she would say to something like this. Serin did not even cross her mind, it was the look on her father's face the last time she'd seen him, the ring he had fashioned for her held out in his burly hand. She blinked rapidly, lifting a hand to calm the panicked fluttering in her stomach. The prince did not seem like a man who was often rejected and so she knew that her response would be met with disapproval. What she was not sure of was what he would do when he did not approve of her answer.
The prince walked around her like a vulture, once again adding to her unease, "Do you believe in magic princess?”
Ruby swallowed hard, and her words failed her as she wondered where he was now taking this conversation. “We have an annual three-day celebration coming up,” he continued, “and that is when the magic really happens, I think you will truly enjoy it. My intention was to announce my desire to find a bride. But with you here, I am hoping to make a different announcement," he smiled sweetly.
"As my bride, my queen, all of this will be yours,” he waved his hand over in the direction of the city, “and the magic I speak of, you could hold it in your very hands,” as he said this he took hold of her hands clasped them together and pressed them to his lips.
When he released her hands and she opened them a colourful butterfly flew out of it and flew above them. Ruby looked up at it in awe, down at her empty hands then back at the smiling prince.
“How did you…”
“Magic,” he interjected, “You do not have anything like that in Aldor do you… just blind faith if I recall correctly. Here in Dravia seeing is believing. Imagine how much of those poor children you could save with such power. My mother tried for years to get my father to understand it, but he was always so narrow minded. Love can be such a blinding emotion, it caused him to favour his first wife over my mother and my brother over me. But now, where are any of them…”
He snapped his fingers, causing Ruby to jump involuntarily, “dead, forgotten. What say you princess? You and I, we can rule this world.”
“I… I…” she stammered, feeling like invisible walls were closing in on her. Seeing her distress, the prince took a step back,
“No need to give me a reply now," he said, lifting a finger to tilt her chin upward.
"But I will say princess," he crooned, "if you were to choose to stay here with me, as my bride. There will be no question as to where you belong, or what is rightfully yours."
Ruby blinked, her mouth had gone dry, "Who says there is a question of that now?"
His cunning grin grew deeper, "I know the king, quite well in fact. Did he tell you how he and my mother once had an… amicable relationship? Yes, they did, until yet again a father’s conditional love drove them apart, made them enemies."
He did not wait for her to reply but continued to look down at her with those cunning blue eyes, "I know how a... passionate woman of the world like yourself would only be met with his disapproval, his need to control," he sighed, his face masked with mock sympathy.
"I could make things a lot easier for you and you will rule with me, now that I am to be king.” He smiled at her and stepped back, "think about it... Princess Ruby of Aldor," he said as he retreated.
Ruby stepped back, reaching behind her to grip the stone wall for support. It was the darkness he carried that always seemed to choke her, now that he put distance between them she felt like she could breathe again. She had been so excited about the prince’s warm welcome yesterday. He had invited them to dinner and had set them up with their own chambers in the castle and with his attentions on merely being a good host, it was easy for her to overlook the uneasiness his dark nature wrought in her. But now that he had turned his attention on her directly, revealing that he knew more about her than she had expected, panic rose up within her. A great part of her knew that Serin would probably be in danger if the Prince learned of their affections towa
rds each other. That meant that it was her duty now to protect him.
✽ ✽ ✽
Serin stepped out into her chambers, a worried look on his handsome face, "One of the servants told me you wanted to see me urgently. Are you alright?"
At the look on her face, he closed the distance between them in seconds, reaching up to take hold of her shoulders, "you look like you've seen a ghost."
After her conversation with the prince on the balcony, she had immediately gone in search of Serin only to be informed that he was seeing the captain of the guard. Her anxiety only worsened at what that meant. Serin was looking into fitting in here, just when she as looking to get out.
She lifted watery eyes to his, "Serin what have we done? This place... it is... chilling. The prince, he frightens me!"
Serin nodded, "I get it, it is a new place. You just have to give yourself time to get used to it. That is all."
"He asked me to marry him," she blurted.
Serin's eyes widened, "oh, but surely you told him about us."
"I did not. He frightens me Serin and I do not want you to get hurt."
"He cannot hurt me. I am still a citizen of Aldor, an officer of the court."
"Serin you fool!" She turned away from him sharply, throwing up her hands in exasperation.
“None of that matters here, not even the fact that I am king Kalgary's daughter. We are in the deep end of the water now. I do not know what we will do, but for sure I cannot marry a self-absorbed pagan prince."
Serin stepped behind her, placing his hand on her upper arm, "we will be fine. If you want to return to Aldor. I will take you there," he whispered soothingly, "the king will not punish you..."
She turned to him now, her brown eyes soft with affection. The reality of his statement lingered in the air. The king may not punish her, but Serin's fate would not be as sure. He really did love her. She remembered what Bianca had told her, true love makes sacrifices. Maybe it was time for her to make a sacrifice of her own.
"Oh Serin, I have something that I must tell you.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Deswald woke up to the sounds of an awakened city and bright light streaming through a slit between the heavy curtains hanging in the window. He tossed the covers aside and got to his feet, it was so unlike him to oversleep, but it had been awhile since he had been so sleep-deprived. Being a palace guard might have made him a bit soft, he thought.
"Ben get up," he commanded, as he made his way to the window.
He peered out at the busy streets of Arduway, it was not unlike Aldor on a weekday, except for the people clad in dirty worn clothing scurrying through the streets like ants. He pressed his lips together; his parents had grown up somewhere in this kingdom and he would have too. But they had escaped while he had rested in his mother's womb, safe from all they had to endure, free from all the worry and fear they had had to carry for his sake. He could have family here, cousins, uncles, aunts, maybe even grandparents, a part of him longed to know. And if he was not so bound by his loyalty to the king and his concern for the princess he might have been tempted to seek them out. His father was an Arnell, a duke of royal heritage, he had worked as an inventor and weapons expert for the army of Dravia, until he could no longer stomach the schemes of the King and Queen, who had used their authority to rise to a level befitting of the gods they served, at least that is what his father told him. The king and queen had used the people’s dedication to the lifeless gods they worshipped to rise to unprecedented power, making the people completely subject to them.
"I hope that you are safe dear princess," he whispered, resting his head against the window frame. He turned to the immobile lump next to the cot he had just vacated.
"Ben come on man, we have got to get a move on!"
He rolled his eyes and went to the sleeping lump, but when he drew back the covers there was no one there. He might have concluded that Ben had awoken before him and was outside waiting for him if it was not for the carefully placed pillows. Ben wanted him to believe he was beside him the whole time.
Deswald pulled on the clothes Nyla had gotten him hurriedly, and dashed out of the room, his distress mounting. No doubt Ben’s curiosity had gotten the best of him, but it annoyed him that he would risk the wellbeing of the princess for it.
"Nyla!" he shouted as he entered the cozy living area of Stiller's home, he was still pulling on his tunic and did not see the couple and a frowning Nyla looking up at him from the small dining table. Their brows were raised quizzically at his boisterous interruption of their quiet breakfast.
"Where is Ben?" he inquired, the urgency in his voice was enough to get their attention.
Nyla got up, her locked hair was piled high atop her head and folded into a haphazard bun, and she wore the same dress from last night.
"He is not in bed?" she asked, concern etched into her face.
"He is gone," Deswald said.
Stiller slammed his fist against the table top, making the dishes do a little jump along with his amiable wife.
"I know I smelled weakness on that one," he grumbled.
"What do you mean?" Nyla questioned.
Stiller got to his feet, "many who come to Dravia are captured by its charms, it is like the music of a siren that draws fishermen to their deaths. Not many have the strength to resist it. It draws on their deepest darkest hidden desires, many a good soldier have fallen prey to it. That is why have dedicated our lives to the task of bringing El’s light into this darkness here.”
Deswald frowned, “are there many followers of El here in Dravia?”
Stiller nodded, “more than you would expect and mostly peasants, we are based in Arduway. We help people who are no longer captivated by these charms get out of Dravia and take refuge in Aldor, if that is their desire. And we try to help those who remain captive to see the light of El’s love. But we often lose many to violence and dark sacrifices."
“Sacrifices!” Deswald exclaimed, his parents had taught him nothing about dark sacrifices.
“Yes, to the gods. Dravians have many gods, that serve many different purposes, but Rah is the main God of Dravia. Many children, men and women have lost their lives for the sake of blood offerings. This is a dark place Deswald, darker than many truly know.”
“But… Ben does not know about any of that. He is just… curious,” Deswald pleaded.
His wife, Stacia lowered her head, "such a lovely young man,"
"No!" Deswald exclaimed, "we have to find him, convince him to return with us, just as we intend to do with Ruby!"
"Oh it is Ruby now?" Nyla regarded him with raised brows of suspicion.
He waved her off, noting his own slip of the tongue with much chagrin, "Ben is the captain's son, we cannot return without him."
Stiller regarded him sympathetically, "has it occurred to you that this was your friend's plan all along, to use you as an excuse to run away from Aldor. Many have done it, many find Dravia more satisfying, but are too cowardly to admit it or make the journey on their own."
Deswald turned to Nyla, "Nyla you know Ben, tell them he would not do such a thing. He probably just wandered off, he does things like that."
Nyla sighed, her eyes saying that she too doubted Ben's initial motives, yet when she spoke, her words betrayed the truth in her eyes.
"Deswald is right. We should find him, there has to be an explanation. At least one we can bring back to his father."
Stiller turned his back to them and hunched over the wooden counter, "this will set us back. The princess is our first priority and I have received word that she is a guest at the palace. We only have one day to prepare, there is no way we will have time to look for Ben after we get to her."
"Then we get Ben first."
Stiller turned to face Deswald with aggravation in his dark eyes, "there is no time. The festival begins tomorrow, and high society do not celebrate with peasants. We have one window to get in among them, we spoke about this. Who knows who your friend will spill h
is guts to about our plans. Staying past tomorrow night could prove detrimental."
Deswald drew his hand down the length of his face, "then we split up," he said matter of factly, "Nyla will search for Ben and you and I will prepare to infiltrate the castle."
Stiller grumbled, he clearly did not like the idea, but it was obvious that there was no talking them out of this. He walked over to a wooden chest across the room, raised the heavy lid and withdrew a black mask with dark feathers and tossed it on the table.
"You will need this. Not only is it required for this festival but it will keep your identity safe and conceal your reactions to the sights you will encounter."
Deswald picked up the mask, running his thumb across the velvety material, "my parents have told me stories," he said.
Stiller smirked, "you are a brave lad, but you grew up within the walls of Aldor, no number of stories can prepare you for the level of evil that exists in this place. But we are not alone, we have allies to our cause all over the city, as we speak we have a spy placed within the palace, watching the princess. You will get to meet the others after prayers.”
“Prayers?”
Stacia stood to clear off her breakfast dishes, “Stiller and I secretly hold meetings at the back of our bakery. We know a bakery is no temple, but we make do with what we have and El has not forsaken us.”
Deswald nodded in understanding, “you two are doing a good thing here. We shall join you for prayers, we greatly need El’s favour.”
He looked down at the mask in his hand, “and afterwards, we go save our princess and our friend.”
CHAPTER 15
Ruby woke up with the sun in her eyes and a bothersome feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her squinted gaze shifted from the partially opened window to the new dress hanging on the other side of the room. Every day since she had arrived, she had awoken to a new dress hanging on the wall facing her bed. It was always too extravagant and never in a colour she fancied; today it was a hideous mauve with a slim waist that she was sure, required her to wear a hated corset. Dravian ways dictated an attention to extravagant materialism and self-presentation that far outdid Aldor’s modest ways.
Kingdom of Refuge (Gemstone Royals Book 1) Page 13