by A. Kingsley
She sheathed Amicus and made her way inside of the cool hall. She nodded at the guard on her way inside, wiping the sweat off of her brown as she walked. There was no time to bathe, she would have to face her mother like this. Brown cargo pants, an olive green tank top that was soaked with sweat and brown boots covered in dust and filth. Even her face was dirty. She had a habit of touching things and then proceeding to touch her face.
Upon her entrance to the hall, Gracielle sighed, “For future reference, a lady does not show up to dinner like this.”
Sage began to unwrap the white cloth on her left wrist. She had injured it the other day and while she practiced and now she was required by Gracielle to wear the tight cloth when training to keep everything in place and ‘prevent further injury.’ She didn’t dare to roll her eyes, but she was desperately resisting the urge. After she dropped the wrap into the trash bin, she joined her mother on the other side of the table.
“What? A lady does not show up to dinner both late and covered in sweat? How odd.” She was about to sit herself down, but her mother grabbed her good wrist.
“As the queen you must gesture for everyone else present to sit down, once they are all seated, then you sit. For tonight you are the queen, so go ahead.”
Sage raised an eyebrow looking at her as if she were mad, she then shrugged her shoulders and lazily waved her hand up and then down.
Gracielle sat and then Sage sat promptly afterwards. “Next time move your hand with grace. Not so lazy and quick.”
Sage took a deep breath. Preparing to be a queen was a lot of work, she could hardly imagine what it would be like to take over the position entirely. Clare was already so graceful, she wondered how her mother allowed her oldest daughter to be this ‘rude’ for so long. Gracielle gestured to the knives and forks beside her plate. “You know this well, but a reminder. The big fork is for your main course, the little fork is for your appetizer. The big spoon is for soup and the little spoon is for dessert. The big knife is for meat and the smaller knife is for your butter. Make sure to keep your napkin on your lap. You hold the fork in your right and you hold the knife with your left, no elbows on the table, but keep your hands visible at all times.”
As she looked down at the food in front of her, a cut of meat with some vegetables, Sage delicately cut her steak with the big knife and used the big fork to take a bite of the broccoli. If she had been on her own, she would have tried to eat the steak with her hands, but that was only when no one was watching.
“Now what sort of conversations do you think are appropriate at the dinner table? Not the ones you like to make, but the actual conversations you should be having,” Gracielle asked.
Sage spoke between chewing a mouthful of steak, “I don't know, politics and pleasantries.”
“Yes, subtle politics, nothing that will get anyone heated, the state of the kingdom, what the weather is like, the little aspects of your day, speak of nothing that will get emotions high. Chew with your mouth closed please.”
Sage sighed and swallowed the bite in her mouth. “Seems rather dull, but alright. What else is there to learn?”
“You are the queen, you are allowed to interrupt if you please. Others still find it rude, but you are allowed to do it. You always offer and have dessert ready for your guests. Even if they say no, you must bring it out anyways. No talk of sex at the table. Though I doubt you would do that, it is a rule to keep in mind when you are in a formal setting. Other than that, smile, look happy and enjoy your meal respectfully.”
The rest of dinner Sage had to practice what her mother had taught her. They talked about the music that they fancied and the changing weather outside. It was a nice change of pace, but something she didn’t wish to do often. When they had finished the lemon tart, Gracielle dismissed her daughter up to bed. “Go make sure Esmeralda took care of all your things, we leave early tomorrow. Do not stay up too late, tomorrow will be a busy day and you will want to make a good impression. Bags under your eyes won’t impress anyone.”
Sage waved goodbye to her mother and then headed up the staircase. At the top of stairs and around the corner, she saw Esmeralda and Phoebe holding hands. The two of them were whispering, their faces touching. Sage didn’t wish to ruin their moment, so she waited until they went their separate ways to continue. Esmeralda turned the corner to see Sage, her dark brown eyes wide. “Oh, Sage! Don’t worry I have packed all of your things, you are not behind schedule, in fact you are ahead. I drew you a bath with eucalyptus and laid out your clothes. Earlier I made conchas, I know you might have had dessert, but have another one, you deserve it.”
Sage grinned at her, “I will have another dessert, thank you, go along for the night. If my things are already packed, then you have a free evening to yourself.” Normally Esmeralda might have protested because she wanted to spend more time with her, but Sage could tell that other plans had been made.
“I will see you in the morning!” Esmeralda said happily, she grabbed the bottom of her flat, long cream dress and then took off in a sprint.
Like Esmeralda had promised, the bath was set. The water was cool and refreshing against her skin. Of course she was glad to be able to spend time with Julius tomorrow, she always was happy to see him, but she was more happy to see her sister. She needed to see her, she needed the reassurance that she was alright, that she wasn’t bruised and that she didn’t have markings along her skin Sage hoped that tomorrow Clare would look relatively happy with Cassius and not miserably upset. If Clare was going to run off with Cassius in an attempt to find out where her magic came from, Sage needed to be sure that he was of no true threat. She also wanted to study Antoine. Though Clare had taken a liking to him, she wanted to see for herself. ‘Would her sister and Antoine meet again?’ If they did, it certainly would not be good. Their appearance together would create a large danger for Antoine and a reasonable amount of trouble for Clare as well. Sage hoped that there would be downtime at the event to talk because she had so much to tell her sister. Such as how many books she had read and how incredibly boring they all were, along with the fact that Phoebe and Esmeralda were now either hooking up or dating. It would all have to wait until tomorrow. Sage sunk her head below the water and focused on the soft flow of the bubbles instead of the weight of the world crashing down on her.
The arena
Clare had spent the past weeks navigating a maze of emotions. While Cassius was off training, her and Cisily would spend most of their mornings and afternoons together. Cisily had been fond of taking her out to the city to shop and it had gotten rather tiring. Whenever they were out in public, Cisily usually picked out a dress so large that Clare could not see her feet. The guards would follow them as they walked the streets. Her prior perceptions of the city had been debunked. She thought the people were unhappy, suffering, drowning in a pool of no color, their lives bleak and bland, but she was wrong, those who were in the middle class seemed happy. The conditions in the poorest areas of the three kingdoms had gone down recently, it was not just Excidium. Cisily had made sure to pass out food at the end of each outing and Clare had done the same. By the time that Clare and Cassius would have to leave for the event, the people would fall in love with Clare. It was a feeling that she had been used to at home, but was surprised to receive inside of Excidium. She wondered how Sage would have been perceived by these people. ‘Oh Sage. How was her sister doing?’ Hopefully well, but if not she would see her soon. When the two girls would arrive back at the castle, Clare would change out of her large dress and then sit on Cisily’s bed. During their time together, she taught the girl how to paint. It might have been an excuse to finally paint something for Antoine, but Cisily had gotten a good amount of fun out of it.
Clare objected at first because the girl might get paint on her white covers, but Cisily insisted they paint there anyways. Clare taught her the different brush strokes and how to blend her paint, then they set off to make their own designs. While Cisily had painted what appeared to
be a dog, Clare drew the stables and the horses that she and Antoine had taken care of when they met. Clare had finished around the same time as Cisily and Clare’s was far more put together. Though their skill level was quite different, they enjoyed painting together.
Then after she spent time with Cisily, she had a few minutes of alone time before Cassius burst into the door, his hair sweaty, his clothes soaked. He would always greet her with a hello and bring her a snack before heading to the bath without another word. Her evenings were spent with him. They would walk the gardens, mostly in silence, a few words about their day here and there. He would then accompany her to the library where she read and he pretended to. Dinners were reserved for time with the queen and the king. Every day King Erebus had more questions that she had to answer. Cassius was often chatty at the dinner table. He seemed to ignore his father whenever he could and strike up a conversation with his mother. After dinner, they would retire to his bedroom. There were no more cute dates. Cassius would fill out documents that he would not let her see while she would read and then they would fall asleep on opposite sides of the bed. Thankfully in the mornings they remained separated. Every now and then something out of the usual would happen, Cassius would become over protective of her or the green glow would spark from her fingertips. Her magic was so uncontrollable that he now made her wear gloves when he was not there to hold her hand. They avoided the topic of magic in public and limited it to the bedroom where he would theorize and she would quietly hush him, explaining that soon their entire life would revolve around magic, so why not take a break from it.
As Cassius had promised, Clare had a day at the spa a few days before their departure to Deus. He took a day off from the spa to join her. The two of them woke up early that day and headed to the part of the castle where the spa was located. A woman greeted them at the door and guided them to separate rooms. There she instructed them to strip of everything but their undergarments. She gave them a robe to cover their bodies. The two of them rejoined in the middle of the spa, Cassius hesitantly eyeing Clare. Though one might assume a prince would keep pampered and have the occasional spa day, Cassius did not. His father thought it was too girly of an activity for his son to partake in. Secretly Cassius had always wanted to go, but he was still nervous, he had never done something so relaxing, so freeing.
“It’ll be alright,” Clare told him as she followed him into the room with the two massage tables.
The massages lasted sixty minutes. The two of them talked occasionally, but they mostly enjoyed one another’s silent company as they laid face down on the cushioned tables. Then they had gotten facials and finally, they relaxed in the sauna with their robes still on.
“I’m glad you kept your promise, I needed something like this,” Clare said honestly as she leaned against the hot wood.
He was admiring her from a few feet away, his fingers running over the space next to him. “Yeah, I’m glad I could keep my promise to you. I needed this too, I’m sure you could sense that. You seem to be pretty good at reading my emotions whether I want you to or not.”
“Sadly I do know that you are more than the stoic prince you try to be perceived as,” she said.
“Whatever,” he grumbled. “I’m just glad we can get along with one another. I’d hate to end up like my parents. One day I want to love you, I don’t just want to tolerate you.” He slowly inched closer to her and when she didn’t move away, he relaxed by her side. Close company, the two of them could manage this. Of course they slept close in their sleep, but that was a necessity, it wasn’t necessarily a choice. This was different. To sit close willingly, was a step in the right direction. While Clare still thought of Antoine day and night, her dreams filled with the image of his blonde hair and spectacles, Cassius was only thinking of the girl beside him.
“Yeah, I’m glad we get along too,” she smiled at him. Her hands folded in her lap and she closed her eyes to savor the one of the few last normal moments of her life.
The morning finally came to leave for Deus and they left the castle before the sun came up. King Maximus would be awaiting the arrival of both Excidium and Pax et Lux before noon. Clare woke up that morning anxious to see her sister and Antoine’s sweet face. She packed up all of her belongings including her new paintings and a brand new handbag. She handed her things over to the servant who trudged her bags down the stairs, and then she got ready for the day. She had chosen a royal blue dress for the occasion. The colors of the Demetrias family were ruby red and a midnight royal blue with the wolf as their symbol, it was only appropriate to fit in.
Cassius handed her a pair of gloves to match, she slipped them on and helped him straighten his tie. He had been wearing a red suit jacket with a black tie to match his dark hair that was gelled into a comb over. His boots were the same dark shade as his hair and his sword was clipped onto the leather black belt that was resting on top of his silk red trousers.
Clare took his hand. “I can not believe that after tonight I am basically running away with you,” Cassius said.
“It is quite bonkers, but at least we finally know where to start our journey,” Clare mused, but she quickly changed the subject. “What does Excidium do when all of the royal family leaves at once? We personally keep our flag raised so it appears as if we are still there and then we increase the guards. Incase of emergency, my mother’s advisor takes over.”
“Same here, that is the basic foundation of running a country in Europe. Did you eat breakfast or should I grab you something to eat before we leave?”
“I ate,” she said shortly. Her eyes rolled in response to the way that he talked to her. Just because he was a man did not mean he knew everything and it did not mean he had to make her feel stupid. It was simply one question that she didn’t know the answer to.
“Good, come along then,” he said as he led her out to the carriages. Clare hugged Cisily and Theo goodbye and then joined Cassius in the first carriage. It was just the two of them.
Clare leaned her head back against the plush, velvet, black cushion. She moved her long hair out of her face and sighed. “What is it?” Cassius asked. He was sitting criss cross in his seat to avoid the fluff of her dress.
She looked over to him, her eyes half closed. “I am not in the mood to interact with anyone today. I am drained. I would like to see Sage, but I don’t need two sets of mothers watching me with prying eyes.”
Cassius scoffed, “Prying please, I am sure they will be too busy watching the fights and won’t pay too much attention to you. If anything you can sit between your sister and I and say nothing. I am rather good at talking for you remember?” he joked.
“My sister will not want to sit next to you,” she said honestly. “Plus I have business to take care of.”
“You do? What sort of business awaits you? Surely not another suitor? Should I keep you close today?”
Clare felt her heart sink. “No,” she choked out, “Sage and I just need to take care of some things together, that is all. Now are you going to let me nap on the ride there or are you going to chat my ear off?” She watched his smile falter, he looked like a hurt puppy and though he annoyed her at times, she felt bad. She placed a hand on his leg.
“Sorry.”
“It’s alright. Sleep and I will wake you when we get there.”
The carriage arrived hours later. Clare did not need Cassius to wake her. She had woken up half way through the ride and he was the one sleeping now. She decided to sketch him on her notepad. When the ink dried she shoved the picture of sleepy Cassius away and decided she wouldn’t tell him about the doodle. The carriage jolted to a halt outside of the large castle. The Deus castle was built out of a sandy brown stone and had lots of towers. The stone was adorned with gold along the exterior and a large flag that was half red and half blue with a wolf head in the middle, flew from the tallest of the many castle towers.
Clare noticed that the white carriages from her home had already arrived. She watched as Cassius’s ey
es fluttered open but she didn’t bother to wait for his hand. She rudely ignored him and leapt out of the carriage.
Her sister was facing the other direction, but she bounded for her. Upon hearing her distinct footsteps, Sage whirled around and embraced her sister in the tightest hug that she could give. Sage had been wearing a long olive green dress, but it was simple and nowhere near as big as Clare’s. She held her sister close and examined her skin, once she was deemed okay, she spoke. “What is up with the ball gown and gloves?”
“It is their way of dressing and well I’m sure you can predict the reason for the gloves. I’ve missed you Sage.”
“I have missed you too,” Sage said as she peered her head around Clare’s shoulder and saw Cassius sauntering towards them, his hands in his pockets.
“You act as if I have killed her Sage,” he called out.
“Anything is possible. Now don’t talk to me,” she replied.
Gracielle appeared behind the two girls and wrapped her arms around their shoulders. Gracielle grinned at Cassius. “Sage has learned so much recently, she will be kind to you.”
“I will?” Sage asked in shock.
“She will?” Cassius echoed in confusion.
“She has?” Clare asked.
Sage grabbed her sister’s hands when Gracielle let them go and walked away. “When we have a moment, I will tell you everything. Mum worked me like a dog while you were away and Phoebe and Esmeralda kissed,” she giggled as they walked up the steps of the castle.
King Maximus stood at the front entrance. He was serene and god like, Clare could have sworn she saw Oralee herself in him, but it couldn’t be. As someone who harnessed magic, she felt connected to the goddesses and when she was around Julius she felt a deep tug, when she was around Maximus she felt a godly shimmer. If only it were an appropriate matter to bring up, then she could express to them how she felt. She had a feeling that maybe she was not the only one with a secret. Maximus’s ginger hair was gelled to perfection. His eyes were dusted with gold eyeshadow, his lashes painted and elongated. He was wearing gold jewelry that decorated his neck and his wrists. His suit was that same gold and she was sure it was almost all real. He was wearing rose red trousers. There was no weapon clipped to his belt, but on his head there was a large glittering gold leaf crown.