by Bridie Blake
“Leave me.”
When she was finally alone in the confines of her room, she let the tears escape her eyes. They rolled, thick and fast, down her creamy cheeks and over red lips. Her big brown eyes that gave away her every emotion flashed in anger as she cursed Nicolass.
Cursed him for making her feel like the savage people thought she was. That they wrongfully thought her people were. When would people learn that judging someone because of the color of their skin would only get them so far?
She kicked out at the water, sending droplets flying across the room. Normally taking a hot bath helped ease her anger, but this was doing nothing for her temper. The anger pulsed through her. Its heat building up. And there was only one thing that would ease it. One way to let it out.
She pulled herself out of the tub and padded over to her bed, reaching underneath to where she hid it. She unsheathed her dagger, holding the hilt firmly in her hand as she pressed it to her thigh, the blade biting into her skin. She stood there, water dripping off her naked body and mixing with the blood that now seeped out of the open wound on her leg. Her breathing slowed as she felt the release.
Zadi would have to clean the blood off the floor but at this moment she did not care. She saw nothing beyond the sudden sense of calm she now felt.
—
The first bouquet of flowers was delivered the next day and every day after that for a week. All with a note written in Nicolass’ neat script. Each one begging for her forgiveness. And each card ended up in the hearth, slowly blackening until it was nothing but ash.
It was normally a footman who came bearing his apologies until the seventh day, and she found Teddy in the drawing room instead.
“Where’s Hema?” She asked, referring to the footman. “We were becoming fast friends.”
Teddy laughed and placed the flowers on the table. He had outdone himself with the arrangement this time. She leant forward and breathed in the beautiful aroma that wafted up from the blue and red flowers.
“I think he hoped you would listen to reason if I told you he was sorry,” he said. “We both are.”
Tempani smiled at him and patted his hand. “Oh Teddy, I know you didn’t believe it for a moment. Your brother on the other hand, I’m not so sure.”
“He didn’t either, but he had a duty to uphold. It’s not easy for him you know. It’s been drilled into him since he was a boy that his title comes first.”
“I understand and I’m not mad at him anymore, but it doesn’t mean that I have any desire to be friendly with him.”
“For now that will have to do. I doubt he’s giving up though. You seem to have made quite the impression on him.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled her cloak over her shoulders, fastening it under her chin. “I am due to meet Dahlia and Madoc in Fenella. Do you want to join us?”
“So you weren’t the slightest bit flattered by his apologies?” Teddy asked as they rode towards the city. “I saw the notes. They were awfully romantic.”
“Not the slightest. His arrogance far outweighs any charm he has.”
Though truth be told she did feel something each time Hema dropped by. At first it was anger, but as the days ticked by it became a mild annoyance before it turned into something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. An unusual feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had never felt it before, and for all she knew, it was simply a reaction to something she’d eaten, but it was there nonetheless.
Their lunch lay before them at the Grand Moat Tavern, but she found she didn’t have much of an appetite as she gazed out the window and watched the patrons of the inn across the way. It seemed to only cater for men as she saw no woman enter or exit the doors.
“What is that place?” She asked, pointing to the inn.
Madoc’s cheeks reddened. “Um, it’s The Night Owl.”
“It’s for the men,” Dahlia whispered as she leaned across their table. “They are entertained by what we call Ladies of the Night.”
“Whores?”
Madoc spluttered on his drink. “You shouldn’t say that word.”
“Why? That’s what they are.”
“You’re a lady.”
“One moment I’m a lady, the next a savage. You Kamaris need to make your minds up.”
She turned back to the inn. She had heard of these places, always mentioned in hushed voices. To actually see one though was something different. Part of her had secretly hoped that the stories she heard weren’t true. That men didn’t come here to seek a warm body outside of their marital beds or to pass their time before finding a betrothed.
She wondered what type of woman would sell her body. Was it a choice they made willingly or were they forced into it against their will? She couldn’t help but think of the parents of these girls. The mothers in particular. Tempani couldn’t imagine that this was the life they wished for their baby girls.
She stiffened when she glimpsed one of the girls. She was waving off a man who was old enough to be her father, his belly protruding over his breeches. As she moved to go back inside she noticed Tempani watching her. This girl was not much older than Tempani and wore her brown hair loose. A slap in the face to the men she serviced. She lifted her head up high and glared at the young noblewoman, a smirk on her lips. And then Tempani saw it. The stolen broach lay pinned to the girl’s breast and glistened as the afternoon sun hit it. The girl’s eyes narrowed, as if daring her to turn her in. Tempani knew she should, if only to clear her own name, but there was something that held her back. There was something about the way she held herself, a fire in her eyes that Tempani admired.
“What?” Tempani turned back to her friends.
“Are you looking forward to Princess Ellsje’s birthday celebrations?” Dahlia asked again.
“Of course,” she said. “It’s hard to imagine she’s turning twelve.”
“Even harder for mother to imagine,” said Teddy. “She knows it won’t be long before father starts talking about sending her off to forge an alliance through marriage.”
Dahlia frowned. “One of the pitfalls of being a princess. I don’t think I could handle being sent to marry a stranger in a foreign land.”
“Perhaps the men are better elsewhere. Present company excluded, of course.”
Teddy gave Tempani a gentle shove and laughed. “Don’t let Nic hear you say that.”
“You could do worse, you know,” said Madoc.
“His pursuit of me is pointless. They will never allow a Kalaowin to be his queen.”
She was right. They knew it, and Nic would know it too. It was silly of him to think for even a moment that they could be together. King Wimarc would never allow it. He didn’t even allow Otto to marry Hamalia. They were married in a Kalaowin ceremony but were never recognized by the Kamari law. King Wimarc held firm on his belief that Kamaris should not marry them. There was no way he’d allow Nic to make one his queen.
“What a pleasant surprise this is,” Chae said as he approached their table, Nic at his heel. “We were just taking a stroll through the city, and then I remembered that you were all here having lunch so I suggested to Nic that we should pop in and say hello.”
“We were just leaving,” Tempani said as she rose to her feet.
“Perfect timing,” said Chae. “We can all walk together.”
She opened her mouth to object but copped an elbow from Teddy. “I thought you’d forgiven him,” he murmured.
She smiled at her brother. “Lovely.” She turned back to Teddy and glared at him until he offered his arm. She placed her hand on it and couldn’t resist digging her fingernails into his skin to show her displeasure.
The streets were busy, but the crowds parted as the nobles approached, as history had taught them that getting too close to nobility meant a harsh beating at the hands of the King’s Guard, who patrolled the city.
A little girl waved at the group and dropped into a clumsy curtsey. Nic smiled and offered a bow in return. Chae turned around to Tempa
ni with a knowing smile on his face. She rolled her eyes at him. He did one kind thing to a commoner, she wanted to say. It didn’t make him a saint.
Tempani watched the little girl dart off in glee and run towards an alley. She clambered at the knee of a young woman, desperate to tell her of her encounter with their future king. The commoners in the vicinity all lifted their heads. Their hollow eyes were large in their grimy, sunken faces as they watched the young nobles pass. Their tattered clothing hung off their bony frames. Tempani wasn’t sure if she should look away and avoid their pleading stares as they sent a flash of anger through her. In the distance she heard the deep boom of thunder.
She fumbled in her purse for some coins, desperate to give them all she had.
Teddy placed a hand on her arm and shook his head. “Don’t,” he murmured softly. “You’ll be seen as funding the riots.”
“They’re hungry.”
“There’s nothing you can do for them.”
“It’s not fair,” she hissed, too angry to bother keeping her voice low.
Nic stopped in front of them and turned. ‘What isn’t fair?”
“These people are hungry.” She ignored Teddy’s squeeze on her arm.
Nic sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “There’s not much we can do about it.”
“You can feed them.”
“If we feed them, we’ll have to feed everyone,” he explained. “If they can’t afford to eat…”
“They can’t afford to eat because you tax them! You keep taking from those who have nothing to give.”
“And what would you know of it? You’ve been gone for five years.”
“I know that you should increase your nobles’ taxes.”
“And have them revolt?”
“Your commoners are already revolting! Or does that not matter because you don’t need to keep them on side?”
“Tempani,” Chae warned.
Nic closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his patience wearing thin. “All of my people are important,” he said and opened his eyes, matching her steely gaze. “You may think me arrogant but never doubt my compassion for my people. Ever.”
He turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving the others to stare at his departing back.
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him,” said Chae.
“He should be doing more to help his people.”
“You have no idea what it’s like for him. The pressure he is under.”
“No, I don’t. But I can’t see how he can walk past this and not want to act.”
“And what makes you think he isn’t?” Madoc asked. “He is a good man, and he will be a good king.”
“Just when I think he might be halfway decent, he says something that frustrates me. He did as a child also.”
“If anyone else spoke to a royal the way you did, you would be brought before the Master Priest for questioning,” said Chae. “Surely that says something of his character.”
“I guess.”
Chae squeezed her hand. “Give him a chance. Let him show you that he is not the man you think he is.”
Tempani and Dahlia bid the men farewell and headed to Leandra’s shop for a final fitting of their gowns for Ellsje’s birthday. The two girls had commissioned a few gowns from her and were growing quite fond of the dressmaker and her healer husband.
They were cautious not to make their friendship with them too obvious as it was not exactly common in Kamara for nobles and commoners to be friendly. The hostilities between the two classes were at an all-time high. The riot that had broken out before she arrived in Fenella had sparked during a protest over the law preventing the commoners from attending the university. One person had been trampled to death.
According to the whispers at court, the commoners were starting to worry the king. Over the past three years they had become more vocal about the injustices they felt they faced. And the last thing he needed was the lower class turning on him. Not when they were already at war with the Kalaowins. A war that had been raging since the beginning of time.
Tempani wondered why the commoners didn’t join forces with the Kalaowins and fight as one.
“Because it is ingrained in them to hate one another,” Darby explained when she asked him one afternoon. “The crown has done everything in their power to fuel that hatred, hoping that they can keep them both too busy fighting one another instead of fighting the root of their problems.”
“But it’s happened before hasn’t it?” She asked. “During the Grand War?”
“What do you know of the Grand War?”
“That our people, Kamaris and Kalaowin alike, united under one banner and fought against the Euphemian rule. And then King Raleigh was crowned and the Kalaowins were forced back to the mountains.”
“It’s true. We did stand united and brought an end to almost thirty years under the Euphemians. It was an interesting time in Kamara,” he said. “Only those nobles who chose to align themselves with the invaders were permitted to keep their titles and lands. All others were stripped of their titles and forced into servitude.”
“So at one point all of our people were equal?”
“It’s hard to believe isn’t it? When the Kalaowins were hunted down and brought closer to civilization, the Kamari commoners were the first to open their arms. Kalaowins, Kamari nobles and commoners were comrades in arms when Raleigh of Lenthir, once one of the noblest families, led the rebellion against the Euphemians.
“I would have thought that when King Raleigh rose to power he would have fought to keep a united kingdom.”
“Greed is a powerful thing Tempani. King Raleigh reinstated the nobles their riches, and with their titles back, they no longer had a need for the commoners or the Kalaowins.”
“So we went back to the mountains?”
He frowned. “More or less,” he said slowly. “There were a handful of tribes that evaded capture during the Euphemian reign. Among those was the Shiasa’s tribe, and there was a rumor that Raleigh made a promise to the Shiasa that he would wed her daughter and finally unite the kingdom if she in return forced those in hiding to fight with them. Two races, one crown. No more bloodshed.”
“The Shiasa?”
They both looked up, startled to find Teddy had been standing in the doorway listening in on their conversation.
“The Kalaowins don’t have a king or queen,” Tempani explained, ignoring the panic flitter across Darby’s face. “We are made up of tribes, each with their own tribe leader. These leaders are responsible for their own tribes but are governed by the Shiasa. She has final say in all matters.”
“They allow a female to rule?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he joined them. “So he didn’t keep his word?”
Darby hesitated, his gaze lingering on the young prince. “Some say the might of the Kalaowins during the Grand War scared him. The way they fought was ruthless, a real art form. So we could deduce that he worried that by having a Kalaowin as his queen he would run the risk of fuelling their thirst for total domination.”
Tempani sighed in disgust. “So he turned the commoners against us? Created the divide that has only gotten stronger?”
“It wouldn’t have been difficult,” he explained. “People were hurting and wanted stability on the throne. He was a hero so they believed him when he said that the Kalaowins had plans to take control of the kingdom. They were run out of the city, and we believed they were the savages he told us they were.”
“All we want is to coexist,” she whispered. “We only fight back because we are attacked. Our people captured and sold into slavery.”
“They are not completely blameless. There have been reports of unprovoked attacks.”
“If we feel under threat what do you expect us to do? Lie down and take it and run the risk of our children being captured?”
“The situation is not an easy one. There is no clear right or wrong in this. But it explains why the Kalaowins and Kamari commoners do not stand united.”
&
nbsp; “It’s definitely food for thought,” Teddy said, rising from his seat. “If all of your chats are this educational I may need to drop by more often.” He headed out the door.
“I know he is your friend Tempani, but he is also a prince and you must be mindful of what you say around him.”
She patted the older man’s hand. “Teddy is my most trusted friend. One of the few people I am free to speak my mind around.”
She waved goodbye and rushed outside to find Teddy waiting to escort her home. He gave her a warm smile as he helped her mount Mincha, and they rode home together, joking as they went.
Tempani lay awake in bed that night, her conversation with Darby running through her mind. Would somebody ever be able to unite this kingdom? End the suffering and bloodshed? She couldn’t help but imagine how different things would have been had king Raleigh kept his promise and wed the Shiasa’s daughter. Two races, one crown.
Back then it could have happened. He could have made a difference. Instead he had begun a long-running feud.
She rolled over, reached under her bed and pulled out the little box she kept there. It contained old letters from Chae and a few letters her father had written to her mother that she’d been able to sneak out of his study. On top of these was the last letter Nic had written to her, seeking her forgiveness. All others she had destroyed but she couldn’t bring herself to burn this one.
She smoothed it open and held it under the flickering light of the candle.
My dearest Tempani,
Words cannot express the deep sorrow I feel knowing I have hurt you. My actions are inexcusable, and I now understand if you cannot find a way to forgive me. This will be my last attempt to apologize. After this I will leave you alone, which is clearly what you wish. I do want you to know that my feelings for you are sincere, and I hoped that one day you would return my affections. The future I saw for us was bright, but I understand that the mistakes I made as a boy and as a man may have threatened our chance. You will always hold my heart.