They spoke about how the wall impacted his father as he had been a fisherman and his mother a trader as Ember took out the box of beads and gems Cindrea had acquired for her. Ember pointed out the unique characteristics of each. One of the only topics they didn’t brooch was Jedoriah and her birth mom. Ember knew she would have to tell him about her condition, but she didn’t want to bring it up just yet.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come back in five minutes!” Noor called from their bed, jumping up to sit cross-legged on the sheets. A sound of agreement came from the door. Ember couldn’t tell who from the distance.
“We have some kissing to do, Princess,” Noor said to Ember as if speaking about some other necessary thing.
“Oh really?” She questioned with a quirked brow before immediately lowering it. She did not think she was good at flirting. She threw the covers over her head, hiding the reddening of her face.
“Nope, this isn't the time for hiding. I'm here to woo you!” He pulled himself under the covers as well and tickled Ember’s sides, who squeaked and tried to shuffle away.
“Alright! Alright!” she squealed.
“Alright, what?” He asked, his hands settling on her hips. His face lay only a few inches from hers, both of them hot beneath the covers after the sun had risen.
“I do want to kiss you,” Ember whispered to him, her chest heating. She absently scratched her scales. Ember realized they had yet to talk about her scales. She immediately pulled down her hand. He glanced at them but didn’t comment. Ember realized that may have only been the second time he glanced at them. Was he purposely ignoring them? Did they disgust him?
Ember dropped the covers from her face and sat up. Her hair was a fluff of volume and tangles from last night, but she was glad she took a moment to wash her face before laying down. Her arms, however, she hadn't cleaned last night, so she was still decorated in gold shimmering powder. Gold dust was all over the sheets.
He scooted closer and Ember felt his warmth surround her. He leaned into her.
“Is it okay?” Ember asked, scared to bring up the part of herself that she feared for so long.
His eyes found hers, confused.
“Is what okay?”
“That I’m deformed,” Ember whispered, voice cracking.
She hadn’t said those words aloud since she was a kid, crying at the fact that she had no friends. Her scales had made her identifiable to palace guards as the Princess by sight. If it weren’t for this unwanted birthright, she’d likely still be living life as a jewelry apprentice. Maybe she would have met Noor on his way to the castle. He could have come to Amlin’s store to buy a necklace for his mother or bumped into her outside the bakery as Amir had.
But neither of those scenarios happened. Instead, she had been in the palace.
“You are not deformed, Ember. That is one thing I would never think about you,” he said, reaching his hand behind her neck.
His thumb rubbed along her skin and inched up to her shorter hair.
“Is this okay?” he asked, mirroring her question and learning her boundaries.
“Yes,” she whispered back. His hand tangled up in her hair as he pulled her forward.
His lips were soft and full, covering her thin lips with a delicate kiss. Ember’s skin sung at the contact. He pulled back to look into her eyes for a reaction. He found joy there, and he smiled before pulling their faces together again.
Ember didn’t know what to do with her hands. Should they be on his shoulders? His waist? She fumbled for a second as she lost her breath and wits; she put them around his neck.
She didn't want it to stop, but Noor pulled away only seconds later. His absence felt like a loss, and she hoped he would never pull away again. So this time, she reached forward and their lips lapped together. Her whole body hummed in his arms, and she knew that if she had ever felt the sea like Noor’s father had, it would feel like this kiss. A cascade of waves, salt, and hunger.
“I never want to leave this bedroom,” Noor said huskily to her, and she found herself nodding into his neck, burrowing herself in his warmth as they fell back onto the bed. If only they could lock themselves up in this tower, away from the world around them. No responsibilities, only breath. Or at the very least - bread, honesty, beads, and sleep.
A knock sounded at the door again, a hesitant tap tap. Ember closed her eyes, and Noor groaned. His curls tickled Ember’s face.
“Dragon Daughter?” Amir called from the door, “We need to go over security measures with Noorworth Knight.”
Cindrea’s voice echoed afterward.
“We need to get you two ready for breakfast with your family and some officials from the ball.”
Noor kissed her nose lightly and mustered the will to get up first. He extended his hand to pull her up, the rumpled shirt and pants from the night before making Ember smile.
“I can’t wait to get to know you,” Ember said as she removed herself from the bed.
“Me too,” he said sincerely. Ember pulled on her robe and they walked hand in hand outside of the bedroom and through the living and dining area. Behind the door stood the three people she expected; Cindrea, Amir, and Wally.
“What a weird week this has been,” Noor commented absently before addressing the two guards.
“Do you guys have any spare clothes?” Noor asked.
“Can I ask you a question?” Ember asked her lady in waiting, staring into the fire instead of her eyes. They would be leaving with Noor to breakfast shortly, but first more security briefing. Being a Knight started immediately. Good thing he had training as a guard to fall back on.
“Of course,” Cindrea said as she finished brushing Ember's hair. The shorter length didn't seem to change how much time it took to detangle each morning.
Ember opened her mouth and hesitated. Her face flushed, and she curled her legs under each other on the couch.
“I promise not to repeat whatever it is you want to ask me,” Cindrea responded, seeing the change in color to Ember's cheeks. Cindrea put down the comb and sat down beside her, looking her in the eyes.
“The consummation of the fating, does it usually happen right away?" Ember asked, wondering if she was strange for wanting a little more time to get to know him. She trusted Cindrea. While she wasn't yet fated, she was observant and wise. Ember knew she could trust her with this question. Though now that she was bringing it up, Ember hoped it wasn't something that would hurt her. Being unpaired at her age wasn't as common. At least, it hadn't been before the fateless. Now she wasn't sure about the averages.
“No, the timeline is up to you and Noor," Cindrea assured. "Not every fated pair is intimate in that way. Not if they don’t want to be. It’s like the blessing. Mutrien doesn’t punish those that don’t want children. Aaleia would never punish anyone that did or did not want to be physically intimate. Noor can be your life partner, your closest friend, and nothing more if that is what you both want.”
Ember nodded. She knew she did want that step but was glad it didn't need to be right away.
“Everything is okay, Ember, whatever does or does not happen between you two,” Cindrea said, grabbing her hand for a gentle squeeze.
“Thank you, Cindrea.”
The door creaked open and Noorworth came in, wearing a uniform slightly too big with a smile just as wide.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes,” Ember replied happily. While she was dressed, she did not feel ready at all to go outside the confines of her room. Official training would now begin, and she would have less time than ever to just... be.
Cindrea pulled out a paper from her pocket.
“I have your schedule for the week," she said.
Noor put his hand out for the paper, his face not leaving Ember’s. He quirked an eyebrow at her as if asking why she was still sitting. Ember stood up and joined him.
Walking hand in hand, two half hearts came together as one and approached the day t
ogether.
"Oh look," Noor joked in the hall as he glanced over the paper.
"It seems like we get to spend the whole day together."
"Why do I have a feeling that isn't what it says?" Ember asked. They walked down the narrow stairs.
"Because it doesn't say that," Noor admitted, "but I think we'll get an exception so that you can show me around."
Fourteen
Wisdom of Scribes
“I told you I could get us out of lessons today," Noor boasted. He was proud to have already delivered some peace to his pair. For the rest of her life, he would help her rule. She found herself not minding the companionship. She wouldn't have been able to say that a few days ago. Today would be a day to reorient herself and talk to Noor about one particularly important bit of information. She wasn't looking forward to the later.
“Here we are,” Ember said as Noor continued to swing their arms back and forth. She enjoyed his playful banter. He smiled as he observed the stables around him.
“Which one is yours?” he asked.
Ember pointed to the black horse at the end. His coat shimmered in the light that bounced off the white and brown stable house. Stone and wood blended together to house the combination of anchoris and horses. Her own horse was only partly so. Oma had brought him from her own stables in Cruelindime.
“He is part unicorn, one of a kind like you.”
She pet the anchoris as she passed each of their stalls.
“What’s his name?” he asked, reaching the tall and slim horse-beast first. He had a subtle, almost unnoticeable mark on his forehead where the horn would have been had he been full unicorn. Ember wondered if she would ever see one, if there would ever be a time to cross these walls.
“I haven’t decided. We haven’t been able to interact much yet.”
Ember stopped before him, and the horse looked quizzically at her. When she first saw him, she felt like he could help take her away. He wanted to fly as well. But there was no way she could do that now. She had a bigger role to play.
“Noor, before we go, I need to tell you something.” Ember fiddled with the hem of her cream linen pants. She couldn’t look him in the eye.
“What is it?” He asked, his hands immediately moving around her waist. She dared to look up and his eyes spoke to her that he wanted to hear her. Every day, he would want to hear what she had to say. She'd never be able to keep a secret again, not with the care she saw reflected back at her.
“The Queen…” she hesitated, her mouth drying up, “is fateless.”
Noor’s eyes widened and breath rushed into his lungs. His hands gripped her waist tighter.
“How?” he whispered.
“It was before I was born. The merfolk. Oma thinks they did this to her. That they started this, somehow.” Ember brought her arms onto Noor’s shoulders.
“But she has a pair. She was blessed with you," he said, his face leaning closer to hers for fear of being overheard. Wally and Amir were getting horses ready on the other end of the stables, still far enough to not hear them. Though she wondered, as she often did, how much they knew after years of service.
“She may have been the first. Or the fact that she is part dragon impacts her differently. We are not sure.”
Ember shook her head, upset that she didn't have more answers to give him. Or even, more answers for herself. Despite the cruelty of it, she understood now why Jedoriah stated the news to her so simply before walking away.
His eyes glanced down to her scales, peeking up from her lower collared shirt. They held the same thought as he kissed her lips.
If the Queen, someone of dragon decent, could become fateless after being paired and blessed - then so could Ember. She was not safe. Maybe no one was.
“Thank you for trusting me with this,” Noor whispered on her lips, one of his bouncy curls unleashed from behind his ear. Ember smiled and closed her eyes, feeling a lift from her chest. One day he would know everything about her, and she’d know everything about him.
“Are you guys done kissing yet?” Wally asked as he trotted to them on a sugar white mare, interrupting what they had yet to say.
“We’ve barely started!” Noor joked, lightly pecking Ember on the nose before he asked the stable hand to assist them with her horse.
Ember knew that in the times before a heart was fated to another, men and women were meant to navigate finding and committing to that one person on their own. Conception was even different, determined by how your bodies reacted to one another rather than a divine gift from Mutrien. It seemed chaotic, to be torn and never sure if your love was true. Love was different now, a term used only for family. For your pair, it was more than love.
She felt those distinctions now. Noor sat behind her on her horse, whispering at different intervals as Ember steered them down the path that led to Azororion’s marketplace. Wally and a few other guards led the way, Amir Captain and more behind her.
When they arrived and tied up the horses, intermittent hushes of quiet and excitement pulled them forward. Men and women bowed as they passed and Ember felt immediately overwhelmed, wishing she had something to hide her appearance. It was easier to see the crowds from the balcony the night before, but in the daylight, it was a lot harder to bare her scales. The last time she was in a market, she was running for her life.
Sensing her discomfort, Noor suggested, “How about a scribe shop?”
He pointed to one not too far away, red-curtained windows fluttering inside.
“Yes,” came Ember’s quick reply.
Amir and Wally followed them into the small room, other guardsmen and women waited outside to keep other shoppers from entering. The room smelled like musty books, old paper, and pine - Ember’s favorite scents. She took a deep breath upon entering, Noor inches in front of her.
An older man, hunchbacked with a kind smile, shuffled forward from behind a book stack. He started speaking before he looked up to greet them.
“Hello, welcome - Oh, Embrence Dragon Daughter. What an honor! Welcome to Mangriole’s Book Shop! I’m Jardano Scribe. Let me know if you need help finding anything. We have a great selection on dragon lore in the back if you’d like.”
“Thank you, I’d enjoy that,” Ember replied.
Ember and Noor followed behind the man. Noor tucked a hair behind Ember’s ear, and she blushed.
“Oh, a recent fating, yes? How lovely. I heard a rumor. Happy to see it’s true.” The wizened man said, glancing back as he brought them to the dragon book display.
“Here you are, might I recommend this book?” Jardano pulled one out from the shelf, a book with a cracked spine that read Mysteries of the Dragon King. Ember accepted the book and started leafing through.
“It’s very interesting, very interesting, all garbage and hearsay, but interesting to read.” He chuckled. Ember decided she liked this man.
“I appreciate someone with humor,” Noor said. “Hi, I’m Noorworth Guard. Sorry, Noorworth Knight.”
Noor stretched out his hand and Jardano shook it.
“A pleasure! How lovely, a fating at the debut ball. The last time that happened was with Omanox Dragon Matron.” He nodded, his hands clasped together. Ember made a note to ask Oma about that, so little was discussed about her grandmother’s deceased pair.
A rustling sound was heard further in the shop. Jardano glanced back but resumed talking quickly.
“You’d probably also like to read this,” he handed her another book. “This one,” another was added to the pile, “and this one is great for information on our gods.”
The third book was heavier than the rest. Ember rearranged them in her arms.
“Why thank you, Jardano. I’ve always been one to appreciate the guidance of the scribes," Noor said, nonchalant as he took the heavy book to hold for Ember.
Jardano blinked, staring at Noor as if he didn’t expect the compliment.
“Of course, it is my purpose. Blessed may you reign,” he replied, his eyes
darting between the two. A book fell, and Wally stammered an apology behind them.
After a few minutes of conversations and many more suggested books later, Noor and Ember exited the store.
“We’ll meet again, I’m sure,” Noor commented and Jardano nodded his head enthusiastically. Amir gave him a pat on the back and exchanged a few words on the way out.
Noor reached for her hand and lead her down the u-shaped market. Knowing the layout, Ember quickly realized they were getting closer to the jewelry stalls. A giddy feeling built in her chest.
He made a big show of picking up pieces and bringing them up to Ember’s face to see how they would look against her skin. She laughed at the serious expression his features took on as he compared different pieces. The shopkeeper laughed as well.
After several minutes, Noor pretended to throw up his hands in frustration.
“Luciana, you must help me. I need a piece of jewelry as unique and rare as my queen. Have you any suggestions?”
The crowd oohed at the near treasonous term of endearment. Ember blushed, the red spreading across her face and chest. She hid under his shoulder, both enjoying and worrying over the attention.
The white-haired and dark skinned woman took a moment to look pensive, playing up the act. She stared at Ember with slitted eyes before she had a eureka moment.
“I have just the thing!” she exclaimed, running into the back room.
“You are silly, I don’t need anything,” Ember said to Noor when the woman disappeared. Though she was happily thrilled about someone picking jewelry for her. This was her first gift from her pair.
“I am, thank you. That's my favorite thing about myself.” His smile was almost crooked in its glee.
Royalty Fantasy Boxset: Ember Dragon Daughter & Hasley Fateless (Fated Tales Series 1 & 1.5) (The Fated Tales Series: YA Royalty Fantasy) Page 12
