"Bianca, why so excited?"
Bianca released her, holding her at arm's length, her big brown eyes glistening with excitement, "have you not heard?"
"Heard what?"
"The king announced a grand celebration, a second coming of age feast if you will."
Ruby sighed, "Yes he told me. I still do not understand why he would not just let it go. My birthday has long passed, and I have come more of age than I imagined I would in my brief time in that wretched place."
She slipped off her cloak and tossed it aside as she made her way to her bed.
Bianca turned to look at her, with understanding eyes. "Your father knows how important a coming of age celebration is for you. It is not just about you, turning eighteen but it is about presenting you to the kingdoms of the land as an eligible bride. Suitors from all over the kingdom will be coming and from them you will have your pick. You may not be able to rule here, but out there the possibilities are endless."
"You mean my father will have his pick."
Bianca frowned, "you are not still unhappy about the ways of the kingdom, are you?"
Ruby sighed, "no that is not it. I trust my father and the will of El. I am simply not myself these days, I just keep thinking about how my actions affected everyone else and how the ways of our kingdom are limiting so much amazing people. I do not really care about being a princess anymore, I just want to be able to make a difference in people’s lives."
Her friend smiled knowingly, "ahh but it is a good look for you princess."
Ruby turned to look at her now, "whatever do you mean, come out with it!" she snapped.
Biana chuckled, "you have grown up my friend. Your view of life has changed. It is no longer just about you and what you want, and it weighs on you."
She shrugged, "I do not know Bee. Maybe you are right but explain my unhappiness."
Bianca plopped down beside her, "Oh that is easy. Your guard, your soldier, your hero," she sang.
Ruby grimaced, "Deswald?"
"Oh yes, the one and only," Bianca clapped her hands in excitement.
"Your joy is lost on me. I have not heard nor seen him since we returned."
"So I am right," Bianca said, "he is the reason for your melancholy."
Ruby shook her head, "I will not make the mistake of rushing into love again."
"Who said anything about rushing? Who said anything about love?"
Bianca stood up, beaming down at her friend, "all will be well Ruby. You will see. I have called for your bath to be prepared and your dress for the ball will arrive from the dressmaker soon. We can try it on and brainstorm hair styles for you. Finally, we get to showcase my talent and your beautiful hair to the rest of the world.”
Ruby smiled at her friend’s excitement, it was good to be home again. To lay down in safety and to wake up to people who genuinely knew and cared for her. The sharp rap on the door brought an abrupt end to Bianca’s monologue. Ruby looked at her with tired eyes.
“Can you get it? I just want to lie down.”
Bianca went to the door and returned with an envelope, “it is from Arit, it bares your father’s seal.”
Ruby reached for it, shaking her head, “leave it to father to send officially sealed envelopes across the wings of the castle. He is probably requesting that I not be late for dinner again.”
Bianca chuckled as Ruby broke the seal of her father’s letter. She withdrew a card with his handwriting dancing across it.
“Ruby,” she read, “my beautiful girl. I have been longing to spend some time with you since your return. By now I believe that you are thoroughly rested and able to endure a lengthy and utterly boring carriage ride with your old father. There is a place that is very dear to me, has been for a very long time. I would like to show it to you. If you accept my invitation send me word quickly. I would like for us to leave as soon as possible. I do not want you to miss a thing. Love father.”
Ruby looked up at Bianca, who was listening intently as she read. Bianca was grinning widely.
“Oh, that is so sweet. Will you go?”
“Even if I did not want to, I could not defy my father. He is still my king.”
Bianca rolled her eyes, “and some things never change. Why can’t you say yes or no, like normal people. Should I lay out a travel dress for you?”
“I think I would prefer my riding trousers and boots.”
Since her time at Dravia, fashion had lost it’s thrill. Now she always aimed to dress as practically as possible, as if expecting to have to run for her life at any moment.
Bianca bowed, “as you wish my lady.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Ruby followed her father past the large gates and stoic looking guards and stepped into what looked like a large elaborate garden, but not quite. From the landscape and fixtures she could tell that it had once been something more. She walked behind him, looking about her with wide eyes. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen, even the air smelled sweet; like rose petals and rain. Strangely she felt a strange longing tug against her heart.
Her father was right the carriage ride was lengthy but the route they traveled was mesmerizing. Ruby had not been to any place in Aldor so beautiful. Despite his bold invitation her father was disturbingly quiet the whole ride. Looking out at the passing scenery, tugging on his beard thoughtfully. Ruby thought that he was still worried about Jasper, who had not quite been himself since his return from Dravia. But once they stopped off at what looked to be an elaborate and heavily guarded garden, she realized that he grew even tenser. It was not about Jasper it was about this place that he wanted to show her.
“Come along,” her father said. She turned to find him looking at her with an odd smile on his face. He stretched out his hand and tentatively she took it. If he was mad at her for running away he was doing a good job of not showing it.
“Father what is this place?” she asked, falling into step with him as they walked side by side, hand in hand along a pathway flanked by neatly trimmed blooming hedges.
Her father looked down at her with sad eyes, his grey eyes almost looking like wet stone, “somewhere I should have brought you a long time ago,” he said.
They walked along the path until they came to a bridge, it was a curved wooden bridge over a raging river. The water below it looked treacherous, greatly contrasting the serene natural beauty that was everything else around it. Ruby crossed tentatively, watching her feet on the wooden planks as her father walked ahead of her.
“Here we are,” he said, and gestured to a cave, with a stone doorway. Two more stoic guards stood by it, dropping to their knees reverently at the sight of the king.
“Your majesty,” they greeted.
“As you were,” the king said, “roll away the door.”
The guards with bulging biceps proceeded to roll away the gigantic doorway and stepped aside. The king turned to Ruby and gestured for her to follow him. They stepped into a well-lit cave, the air was clean and crisp and Ruby found herself looking around for the source of ventilation. She could still hear the roaring river outside, but it was more like a soothing hum, strangely she felt a sense of comfort and familiarity at the sound.
“I do not understand,” she said, “why did you bring me here?”
A feeling of dread grabbed hold of her gut and she felt herself subconsciously retreating toward the entrance. Did he intend to imprison her here for her actions? Her father seemed to sense the direction of her thoughts and it seemed to pain him to know that she thought he would do such a thing.
“Ruby,” he said, “I brought you here, because I think it is time for you to you know who you are.”
Ruby froze, “I… I do not understand.”
The king extended his hand, “Tomorrow, I will be presenting you to the kingdom and I intend to officially announce your heritage. But before I do that I know that I owe you an explanation, it is imperative that you understand that all I have ever done was to protect you from the sordid truth of your past. But in
doing so I have kept you from a key piece of your identity.”
Ruby felt a ball forming in her throat, this is what she had dreamed of for so long. She would finally know who she was, but by the sadness in her father’s eyes a part of her dreaded the truth.
“Just about eighteen years ago,” her father continued, “I found a newborn baby here. She was guarded by lions, careful wrapped up and lying serenely in a hand-woven basket. She wore the most precious smile I had ever seen,” he had closed the distance between them and was looking down at her with a gaze so tender, it brought tears to Ruby’s eyes.
“I fell in love with her instantly, like any father would when he lays eyes on his child for the first time.”
Ruby’s eyes were bright with unshed tears, “what are you saying?”
He reached out and took a strand of her hair in his hands lovingly, “that baby was you Ruby.”
Ruby gasped as the tears tumbled from her eyes, “what am I?” she whispered.
The king brushed his thumb over the tears running down her cheek, “you are a princess,” he said, “Just not an Aldorian one.”
Ruby lifted her gaze to his and he smiled, “I knew your mother and I have longed to tell you that I see her in you more and more every day. Your parents had just taken over as rulers of this small kingdom. Your lands ran from this valley to the mountains over Aldor, they were a peaceful, loving, industrious people. But they had something kings everywhere desperately wanted. The light stones of El, that is what it was called; precious rubies that only your people had the eyes to identify and skills to find. Our kingdom and theirs were close, our alliance was a strong one. We gave protection, they gave us the stones that protects us. This is who you are Ruby. This was your people.”
Ruby turned to look around her, on the walls of the caves were drawings and writings in a language she did not understand, pain burst from of her chest at the realization of what he father was telling her.
“They are all gone?” she sobbed, turning around into his embrace.
She felt the movement of his head where he held her, as he nodded, “I am sorry my dear one, you are the last of your people.”
Ruby sobbed loudly, feeling the pain of loss as deep as if it she was standing among the corpses of her people. Finally, she lifted her tearful eyes to her father.
“How did I survive?”
The king smiled sadly, “your parents must have devised a way to protect you, but I know for sure that it was El who watched over you. I had a dream that told me to come here. I was too late to save my friends, but I was just in time to find you. You were guarded by lions and you know they say, lions are the guardians of El.”
He sighed and reached into his pocket. He withdrew a satchel and opened it up slowly.
“On your birthday I gave you a ring. Just as I had your other siblings, but what I should have truly given you was this.”
He pulled out a necklace with a beautiful ruby pendant. It was the shape of a water droplet and framed in gold. Ruby’s eyes bulged at the sight of it. She had never been intrigued by jewels, but there was something magical about what her father held up to her, she felt it’s beauty and power deep within her.
“This was your mother’s. It is a very rare shaped light stone. It was with you when I found you. She must have wanted you to have it.”
He walked around her and placed it around her neck. Ruby reached up and touched it, feeling the warmth of it seep through her fingers. It felt like home, love and power all in one.
“Thank you, father. For telling me this.”
The king planted a kiss on her temple, “you deserve to know the truth and you are more than ready to face what comes with it.”
Ruby sighed, “prince Haddin,” she said matter-of-factly, “that is why he was so interested in me.”
The king nodded, “it was his mother who came against your people… my father’s half-sister. Because who they were and what they could do posed a threat to her agenda in Saharia. And because of my emotional connection to them, they posed a threat to my father’s reign, he knew that if I had them on my side, I would have been able to take his throne from him when I wanted to.”
He sighed, “I have no doubt that Haddin has the same agenda as his mother. And that means that he will stop at nothing to destroy you.”
Ruby turned to look at him, her eyes hard, “we can never let him win father.”
The king nodded, “With El on our side, he never will.”
Ruby lowered her gaze, “does that mean that you are not going to marry off to a man of your choice.”
The king chuckled, “oh my dear girl, I would never do that. Now that you have matured and grown in your faith, I trust you to find a life partner that suits you. You can take as long as you want to do that.”
“Okay, because I do not feel like I would like to pursue that now. There is a lot I do not know about these…”
“Nerubians.”
“Right. Now that I know that I am Nerubian, I must understand what that means. You said El preserved me, then there is something he has preserved me for. I want to know what that is.”
The king smiled proudly at his daughter, “oh my girl. I know he has a great purpose for you. You can take all the time you want.”
CHAPTER 33
Deswald tugged at his gloves and smoothed his hand over his new doublet. The rich navy blue was so unlike what he often wore, which was the uniform of a low-ranking castle guard, now he was leader of the Special Integration Unit and attending a palace ball as a guest. His new position still felt so surreal, not only did the king promote him and his friends but he had made him the leader. Now that he was so much closer to his dream, he felt strangely disconnected to it. He had always thought that he would find purpose in being a knight. But being in Dravia and seeing the community in Arduway and Stiller and his wife’s dedication to a cause so great and so dangerous, he realized that there was more to serving his kingdom than wearing fancy armor and being honoured by everyone he met. This experience gave him clarity, even being close to death he realized how much his life still lacked and these days he kept thinking about Stiller’s talk of El’s light and the strange dream he had had while in Dravia. He knew that there was more to pursue, but for right now, there was one event he dared not miss; Ruby’s ball.
His mother had gone to such great lengths to ensure he was perfectly attired for the evening's event, from his new trousers to his polished shoes. They had requested that Evra live with them until she could complete her citizenship training and it had lifted his mother's spirits having her around. It brought him great joy to hear her humming as she went about preparing his outfit. He had not heard her sing since his father died. Since his return from Dravia he had stayed at home, grooming Ryder and lounging pitifully about their home. Until his mother forced it out of him.
"It is a girl is it not?" She asked one evening.
"I do not know what you are talking about mother" he countered, furrowing his brows.
"Only unrequited love could leave a man so lost in his mind," she replied.
"Why do you think it is unrequited?"
"Tis either that or you are too much of a coward to let the lady know," she winked at him and he cringed.
He shook his head, "if it were any other woman..." he stopped, unsure of how to put his thoughts into words.
At that moment Evra had entered the house with a basket of freshly picked flowers, "aye he still sobs over the princess."
"The princess?" his mother exclaimed, "oh my, Des."
He had glared at Evra who had only chuckled, "Do not look so shocked Aunt Hilda. It is only a tragedy if she does not return his affections."
"Oh well Deswald, if she cares for you too what is the problem?" his mother had asked, her eyes wide, "You simply must go to her."
So here he was, he had not needed much convincing after that. Because if he had not done something he would have never been able to return home again.
The castle ballroom wa
s alive with celebratory music. The kingdom's flag decorated the stone walls with golden lanterns lighting the path to the large wooden doors. Ben and Nyla met him at the entrance. They too had traded in their uniforms, like Deswald, Ben wore his sword at his side. His gaze swept over Nyla, dressed in a lavish teal gown with her thick locks swept up onto her head. He guessed she hid a weapon of some kind somewhere on her person, if she did not her name would not be Nyla.
"Ah ha!" Ben exclaimed, "the man of the hour."
Deswald grinned, "it is you who have accomplished no easy feat," he winked at Nyla and she glared at him.
Ben grinned, "ahh but very worth it," he replied, extending his arm to Nyla.
“My lady love,” he said with a smirk, earning him an affectionate glare from the woman on his arm.
The doors opened before them and they entered the brightly lit ballroom. Rich music flooded the room, as the castle minstrels played with fervor on Aldorian instruments. Already there were a few guests dancing about. One thing about Aldorians Deswald always admired, was their love for dancing and music. At the core of everything they did it was honouring El, even in dancing.
"Wow," Ben breathed, "my first ball as an honoured guest. Feels like a dream."
He beamed down at Nyla, "a dance my lady."
“Can you keep up?” Nyla teased, surprising Deswald. He watched Ben whisk Nyla unto the dance floor, still shocked that she had said yes. He smirked at how she beamed at Ben outshining his stiff movements with her graceful movements. If Nyla could find love why couldn't he take a chance. But he knew the answer to that, Ruby was no ordinary woman. Regardless, he had to know where she stood. He scanned the room like he was on guard duty and not a guest of honour here to stake his claim on the celebrated heiress. She was nowhere around as was to be expected. She would only make an appearance when she is announced and then his plan was to join the line of suitors seeking a first dance. It all seemed so simple, but his heart drummed loudly, and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. What if she did not return his affections?
Then he heard it, the loud trump heralding the king's arrival. He sucked in a breath and took his place before the ornate stairs.
Kingdom of Refuge (Gemstone Royals Book 1) Page 28