by R J Kaldanis
The long path to the conical shell shaped entrance door was made of white marble and inflected with small blue glass pebbles, continuing the pattern of waves that cascaded down the building. Sonas skipped along trying to only stay on the pebbles and hummed to herself as she did. Large fountains flanked either side of the path and every now and then, they would spurt water across to each other just above the heads of the group. Aardriyah couldn't help the smile now tugging at the side of her face feeling just a little bit blessed to be in such a magical place that so few had the privilege of ever seeing. The large shell shaped door at the end of the path opened and a tall, slender, white haired man knelt to the ground with his arms opened wide as he cried,
"SONNNNNYYYY" Embracing his little sister as she finished running towards him. It was uncanny how similar they were in mannerisms and in appearance; Sonas was almost a carbon copy of Chastion. Though Sonas’ face still held some childlike softness, Chastion’s was sharp and serious, honed through years of political diplomacy no doubt. His hair was much shorter than Sonas’, but carried the waves and curls that seemed to bless all Verosian’s. As the remaining company edged towards the door Chastion rose and reached towards his father. Pateras grabbed his son in a warm embrace, patting him on the back and saying,
"It's good to see you again son."
"You too." Chastion replied. When the men finally let go of each other, Chastion extended a long slender hand towards Old Man Teme, who curtly took it and bowed. Aardriyah found it odd that someone she considered to be her oldest friend, a member of the family almost, was relegated to such a formal and odd way of greeting her brother. Chastion looked now towards her, his deep blue eyes piercing her and she felt all sense of blessing from being in this magical place disappear. She remembered this was just one of his homes, and he was the reason she was even allowed in such a place. She decided to follow Old Man Teme's lead and curtseyed towards her brother. He reached out a hand to pause her and simply said,
"Come on Aardy." As defeat spread across his face.
What did he want her to do? Run up to him and embrace him just as Sonas had? Or give him a warm firm hug just as her father had? She couldn't - she didn't want to. He was Prince Chastion, the most blessed man in water magic and most powerful in the kingdom. He wasn't her brother and hadn't been for a long time, so anything other than formal introductions would feel odd. He didn't seem to push her for anything more and instead simply stated he was glad she made it. She rolled her eyes, perhaps a little too nonchalantly, forgetting the company she was in as Pateras jabbed her side slightly in disapproval.
Sonas thankfully interrupted the awkward exchange by grabbing Chastion's hand and telling him all about her lessons in water magic and the incredible things she had mastered at school. Listening on in avid fascination, he led the party inside the building into the large entrance hall. The walls inside were smooth white marble from floor to ceiling. Several ice sculptures lined the sides of the halls, while royal portraits hung in silver and blue frames of grand proportions. Aardriyah had been here once as a child but it was so long ago she had forgotten just how decadent the lodge was. Pateras had demanded that Chastion spend the holidays at their house on the island, so he would have some understanding of what life was really like for the majority of the poor island nation. Although Chastion could provide Pateras and his sisters with the best medics, plentiful supplies of food and clothing beyond their wildest dreams Pateras refused. It used to upset Aardriyah that she was still living in poverty when it could so easily be changed. After all, her brother had destroyed her parents’ marriage so why couldn't they accept some form of payment as atonement? She wasn't sure if it was pride or ego that saw Pateras refuse each time Chastion offered a helping hand. Regardless, their way of life didn't change in spite of her brothers’ sudden membership to the royal family.
Aardriyah stopped in front of a portrait of the queens’ from what must be a much earlier time given their youthful faces. Queen Iber from the Sia nation of the north east, was always the more dominant of the leaders. She was thicker and had sharp features that made her seem formidable. Her skin was ice white and her hair was always cut short, shaved on one side with tribal marks carefully carved in. She had a fringe that seemed to always flop over the right-hand side of her face, and ice blue eyes slightly curved up at the end. She was standing behind her wife, a hand upon her shoulder. Queen Elin was a stark contrast, having hailed from the Hala Nation of the north west. She had a mass of thick curly white hair that framed her face, her skin much darker in colour. Both women were adorned in traditional dress from the home nations, patterns and styles that were so foreign to anything Aardriyah had ever seen.
Queen Iber wore a sleeveless floor length tunic, deep blue in colour. The tunic was cut right through the middle, revealing a long sleeved under dress of simple white fur, stretching from the top of the neck to the floor. A belt of silver and crystals was fastened around the two dresses, making them appear as one. Upon her head was an arch shaped crown made of long pieces of what she assumed to be ice. In the centre was a large marquise shaped sapphire that appeared to shine right through the painting.
Queen Elin on the other hand wore a much looser flowing garment. Several pieces of differing colours of blue satin made a floor length dress, secured to a gold ring at the nape of her neck. Two pieces on each side also secured to similar gold rings on her wrists. A white cape of thin material hung over her back. Her crown was much simpler, a gold halo atop her head, with several smaller halos. Linking the halos together were braids of satin material similar to those in her dress. The most eye-catching part of her whole outfit, was dangling to the centre of her forehead - a pear shaped aquamarine stone contrasting beautifully against her dark skin.
It was a pity, Aardriyah thought, that they weren't able to conceive a child of their own. It would have been one of the most enigmatic children to ever live, formidable in strength and cunning from Iber while inheriting beauty and charm from Elin. She wondered if it ever troubled them that they were unable to conceive a child of their own. She knew many of the simple villagers struggled and suffered, but it seemed to be beneath royalty to ever suffer such. Still, their money and power surely comforted them if they ever did require solace from the painful truth; after all they still ended up with two children who were moulded into being as close to their own as possible. Something that was definitely not possible for simple villagers in the same situation.
Aardriyah realised she had fallen behind the group, and quickly picked up her pace towards the large doors at the end of the hall. Two servants opened the doors for the guests before bowing to their prince. Inside the room, a grand table was set up with enough cutlery and crockery to feed an army. They made their way inside and stood in a row behind the chairs, waiting patiently for the formalities of the dinner entrance to occur before taking a seat. Chastion left them apologising for how over top it all seemed, when they were family and this was just a simple family dinner. A few moments later, a servant announced the entrance of Princess Kibo and Prince Chastion. He ushered the timid woman inside holding her hand and leading her to a chair. His non-royal family all curtseyed and bowed accordingly lowering their gaze as required. The same servant then announced the entrance of the Queens Iber and Elin before the two women appeared hand in hand. They were just as Aardriyah had remembered - Iber almost making the ground shake with each of her threatening steps while Elin seemed to float through to her chair at the opposite end of the table.
The queens were dressed in more traditional Verosian attire for the evening, a stark contrast to the fashion in the portrait. Queen Elin, still the far more glamorous of the two, wore a satin pleated sky-blue dress, cinched at the waist with an intricately weaved, thick silver belt. Queen Iber wore a far simpler outfit, a ruched and gathered royal blue dress, draped over one shoulder and billowing out at the bottom. They both wore their travelling crowns, Queen Iber’s a small headband with three blue shining crystals pointin
g towards the sky, while Queen Elin wore a circlet with one single crystal in the centre.
Once the queen’s arrived at their seats, they offered thanks to the goddess Undina before sitting. The remainder of the party sat and servants started to bring out various dishes of the finest seafood. Several large trays of oysters, scallops, squid and shelled delicacies were spread across the table covered in an array of colourful herbs, sauces and oils. It was more food than Aardriyah had ever seen and she didn't know where to begin first. She grabbed a bit of everything, keen to try as much as she could not knowing when she'd get this opportunity again. Her father nudged her slightly to alert her to the fact that she had missed some cue. She looked up and around at the other guests at the table, as Sonas let out a small giggle.
What had she missed? Surely nothing too important considering who she was and who they all were. All the same, she looked up at her brother and apologised - hoping this was the right response. Chastion sighed and smirked, before remarking,
"We were simply wondering if you had any traditional recipes for squid that you would like to share?"
Aardriyah was shocked, they were asking if she had a suggestion, if she had a recommendation on something they could easily pay someone else to give to them. She looked down the table at Queen Elin, who was watching her closely with a smile on her face.
"Ahh well -" she realised she had started speaking before swallowing her food, so stopped midway to take a large gulp.
"I don't really… I'm more involved in the cleaning than the cooking at the inn." Assuming that's where they thought she must have learnt a recipe for squid.
"Are you not a kitchen hand? Training to be a cook, I thought?" Elin asked in a soft, eloquent voice, seeming somewhat interested in Aardriyah's response.
"Well yes but -"
"Then you tell them - I no longer clean; I cook or I leave!" Queen Iber boomed from the other end of the table in a thick and harsh accent. Aardriyah smiled at this, at how simple it must seem for royalty to just always get what they want and not understand that the world doesn't work that way for everyone else. She was fairly certain that if she gave Miss Farrow, the manager of the inn, that ultimatum, she would be dismissed without a second thought. It would be nice though, to put her in her place and make her stay true to her promise of training her in the art of the food preparation.
"You are unblessed, no? You need some skill otherwise what good you do for world?" Queen Iber followed on, completely unaware of the dagger she had just pierced into Aardriyah's heart. One thing you could always count on Sian's for was there uncanny ability to tell it how it was, they were upfront and abrupt. Aardriyah felt she couldn't blame Queen Iber for mannerisms that were so inherent in her culture - but it still hurt, more than she would ever admit.
Old Man Teme spoke up unexpectedly,
"Our little …"
Don't say it, don't call me firecracker, Aardriyah thought to herself, gripping her eyes closed.
"Aardy is talented in so many ways that -"
"Yeah ! Like she does my hair so pretty all the time and she always tells me the best stories and she comes up with the funnest games for us to play together" Sonas chimed in, hardly stopping for a moment of breath.
The rest of the party at the table let out small giggles as Aardriyah looked over to her little saviour of a sister and mouthed,
"Thank you." Though she didn’t need to now or ever. Sonas didn’t care that her big sister was unblessed or worked cleaning waste rooms. To her, she was admirable just for being her big sister. She loved Aardriyah unconditionally and unequivocally, as any little sister does.
Several servants poured through the large doors and brought in the main meal which was a serving of fried squid with green vegetables.
"Broccoli? Really? Is all we have ? Why not some beets or carrot or anything but this damn broccoli!" Queen Iber questioned the poor servant who had just placed the plate in front of her. Queen Elin chimed in quickly, apologising to the servant and offering an explanation to the table frozen in motion.
"We've never seen the Moons Exhalation this strong on the islands before. Our poor gardeners are struggling with the harvest and it seems the only thing to make it through is our broccoli; we are grateful all the same. It is more than most have."
"Not us!" Sonas responded, unaware of the sentimentality of the moment,
"Old Man Teme is the best gardener on the island! He always brings us fresh fruits and vegetables so we always have lots of food."
"Next time, you bring to us, we pay you, then unblessed girl can cook and I no more eat broccoli. We all win!" Queen Iber remarked with a smile, sure that she had solved everyone's problems.
"Of course, your highness." Old Man Teme remarked with a nod of his head.
"That is provided this little one doesn't eat my garden bare" he continued, winking in Sonas' direction.
Dinner continued with the usual small talk, Queen Iber relished in quick repertoire with Sonas while Queen Elin and Old Man Teme discussed gardening techniques. Prince Chastion and his father were conversing over the upcoming Arche celebrations and all the places he was to visit along the way. However, Princess Kibo and Aardriyah hardly spoke a word - in fact Princess Kibo didn't speak any words that Aardriyah could recall. They sat in silence, aware of the world around them, but separate and forgotten. At least Aardriyah could blame her silence on the fact that she wasn't considered 'blessed' enough to be worthy of thought, but Princess Kibo - what was her excuse?
Aardriyah studied the other woman a while, she was a couple of years older than her but possessed an other-worldly calm and wisdom as if she had roamed the planet for centuries. There was no doubting she was beautiful, her almond shaped eyes of ice blue complemented her petite nose and full lips of the palest pink. Her skin was almost as white as snow with not a single imperfection in sight. The princess was dressed in a long cloak of midnight blue so dark it almost passed as black. Silver and navy blue ribbon traversed the hem of the cloak, filigreed with light blue patterns. The large midnight blue, bell sleeves shone whenever the light lit up the insides, baring a glimpse of silver sea dragons swimming within. Her white hair was in a high bun a top of her head with a large starfish clip fastened to each side. The clips had three strings of dark pearls on silver strands, matching the simple necklace she wore. Aardriyah stopped admiring the silent Princess when she noticed her father and brother were now engaged in an intense conversation over Sonas.
"She's earned the right to be there!" Chastion responded strongly to his father, now shaking his head and trying to dismiss the conversation.
"Chastion, I'm her father. I make the decisions and I am not ready for her to be-"
"Have you even talked to her mother? Does she have a say in it? Do I have a say in it?"
"Look, Aardy and I have discussed it and we don't think -" Chastion scoffed at this, interrupting Pateras again.
"Why does she get a say in it? She's never going to leave that,” he motioned with his arms splayed and face curled in disgust, “this place and she doesn't want anyone else to either."
"And what's wrong with this place?" Aardriyah quickly retorted, sending her brother a glare of a thousand daggers.
"Is it not one of your nations? Are you not the Prince of that, this… place?" she imitated his previous hand gestures.
"Yes, I am and you'd do well to remember that!" He authoritatively responded while rising from the table, placing his fists down strongly.
"Of course, your highness." Aardriyah responded, bowing in sarcastic retort. This was who he was now - completely arrogant and already lording authority over matters he genuinely had no understanding of. Aardriyah simmered staring at him, begging him to take the bait, begging him to prove exactly how unfit he was to be the level-headed king they assumed he would be. Chastion glared back, leering over the table at his impetuous sister - how could someone with so little life experience, someone with no magic in their body think they
had any idea of what was best for their water blessed young sister. The waring sibling’s attention was broken by their father wiping his mouth and placing the napkin on the empty plate in front of him.
"Let's not do this now. How about tomorrow we all discuss this over tea. I don't think there is an easy answer or decision to make right now. But if you feel so passionately about this, Chastion, I think we need to discuss it further. As a family."
Chastion was the first break eye contact with Aardriyah, and she gleefully relished in him breaking before her, having not heard a word of what her father had said.
"Thank you, Pateras. I'd appreciate it." He smiled at his father, before turning to face his youngest sister. Sonas was confused, as her eyes had filled with tears due to the abrupt change in the mood of the table moments earlier.