by Jamie Gandy
I swallow all the anger and pride I was just feeling to return to my mother’s hug. “I promise mother,” I vow.
“Thank you, Kage.” When she steps away from us, she smiles. “You should go get washed up and rest.”
“He does stink something awful,” Esther teases.
I send her a scolding glare before shrugging my shoulders helplessly. “It has been a long ride; I should wash the dirt and grime off.” I turn on my heels towards the door. “I will see you at dinner.”
“You and dad sure looked a lot alike just now,” Esther states once the Throne Room door closes behind us. “It was a bit intimidating.”
“Intimidating huh?” Absently my arms fold across my chest. ‘If she thought father and I were intimidating just now, she would have died with terror at the mere sight of the Ifrits.’ I shake the thought away and grin at her. “You have nothing to worry about, sister.” I slide an arm around her shoulders. “As much as I hate to admit it, I do have a little too much of him in me. Good thing we have you and mother here to keep us in line.”
“It is very fortunate indeed,” she agrees. When we reach my chambers, I come to a stop. “I will call for a servant to come to draw your bath for you.”
“Thanks, sister,” I call after her as she continues walking off down the hall. “I will see you at dinner.” I watch her for a moment longer for disappearing into my chambers.
Chapter Fifteen:
♕ Esther Tora: ♕
“Are you excited, darling?” my mother, the Queen, gently inquires. She stands directly behind me, carefully running the bristles of the brush through my long black hair. Her soothing hum makes me smile as I look into the envy mirror to meet her beautiful royal blue eyes. Eyes that I was blessed to have inherited from her.
“Yes! I have been excited about our birthday ball since you first told us about it!” I exclaim. “It will be the best thirteenth birthday party ever held at TigersKeep!”
The softness of her laughter makes me feel even happier. Seeing her eyes shining with affection and warmth comforts me in more ways than I can possibly imagine. “It will surely be the most splendorous birthday ball to ever be held at TigersKeep.” When she finishes putting my hair up into a beautiful spiral bun she steps back. “I have something to give you,” my mother says. She walks over to the bed to pick up one of two small velvet boxes she had laid there when she first entered my chambers. She grabs the small purple velvet jewelry box. “My mother gave this to me on my thirteenth birthday, and her mother gave it to her on hers.” She returns to my side, my eyes not leaving her for even a second. “Happy birthday, Esther.”
I take the beautiful velvet box carefully into my hands and slowly open the lid. Resting within the box is a stunning Amethyst perfectly confined by a sterling silver chain necklace. “Oh, mother! I love it!” I gently take the necklace out and turn to look up at her. “Will you help me put it on?”
With a slow nod of her head, she takes the necklace from me and slides the chain around my neck to clip the clasp. When she steps back, I look at the envy mirror.
“It looks beautiful on you, Esther.”
“Thank you so much!” I return my eyes to her and smile. “I will treasure it forever!”
“I know you will.” She wraps her arms around my body and kisses me on the forehead. “You are getting so grown up so fast,” she whispers quietly.
“Come on mom, do not sound so sad about it.” I reach up to brush a stray tear off of her cheek. “I may be growing up, but I will always be your little girl. I love you so much.”
The radiating glow of her responding smile makes my heart fill with so much happiness. “I love you too, darling.” She kisses my forehead one more time before turning towards the door at the sound of a knock. When she pulls open the wooden door, I can hear Adir’s voice greet her.
“Your Majesty, I have summoned the Prince, as you requested.”
“Thank you, Adir, you can both come in.” I watch as she steps away from the door to allow both Kage and Adir into my chambers. As she returns to the bed to grab the remaining velvet box, which is a dark blue color, I notice Kage’s new haircut. His jet-black hair that had been nearly as long as my own, is now neatly cropped to the base of his neck. It makes him look even older than his thirteen years. I want to say something and to tease him, but I know this is not the right moment.
“Son,” our mother begins as she faces Kage. “I wanted to give you your present before the ball.” She holds the box out towards him. He breaks the distance to accept the gift. “Happy birthday, son.”
Kage opens the lid and instantly his navy-blue eyes widen in surprise. He pulls out a golden compass with the TigerKeeps emblem on the front of it. He carefully reads whatever words that are inscribed on the back. A large grin lifts both corners of his lips as he looks up to meet our mother’s eyes. “Thank you, mother. I will keep it close to me, always.” He takes the golden chain that is secured in the compass’ loop and slips it over his head.
“Now when you go off on your little adventures you will always be able to find your way back to TigersKeep.” She affectionately rests her hand on his shoulder. “I love you, Kage. I know one day you will make a wonderful King in your father’s place.”
I walk up to the two of them and grab both of their hands. “Thankfully that is a long way off before Kage becomes King. He still has so much growing up to do first,” I teasingly comment.
He sends me a disapproving glare. “You are one to speak.”
“You both still have much to learn, but I know if you two remain each other’s guiding light you will lead this Kingdom into the future. One day.” She gently squeezes both of our hands before she turns her focus to Adir. “Adir please escort me to my chambers, I need to get ready for my children’s birthday celebration.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Adir steps to the side to allow my mother to walk past him out of the room before he follows after her.
Kage and I wait in silence for a few moments before his eyes move to my neck. “The necklace looks beautiful on you.”
“Thanks.” I point to his compass. “What does it say?”
Kage looks down at the compass and lifts it off his chest to read the back of it. “To Kage. Whenever you are lost and don’t know what to do, look to this compass and know I am always with you. I love you, my son.” His attention returns to me after he tucks the compass under his blue royal vest. “I am not really looking forward to this birthday ball.”
“Really? Why not?” I inquire.
“Too many people, too much dancing. It is going to drag on and on.” He shrugs his shoulders. “At least Hector and Sebastian will be there to entertain me.”
I cannot hide the smile on my face at the mention of the brothers. “You have been spending a lot more time with them lately,” I calmly remark.
“I suppose so. They are a lot more interesting than most of the other noble boys. They do not treat me like I am a weak kid that needs to be coddled. They speak their minds and do not hold back when facing me. I like that. I hope when I am King one day that they will remain by my side, with Gideon and you.” A genuine grin touches his lips. “I think I would be able to rule this Kingdom without doubt or judgment towards myself if I had each of you supporting me.”
I grab his hands as I step closer. “I will always support you, brother. I know Gideon and the others will too. I may tease you sometimes, but I do believe in you.” His hands squeeze mine in response.
“Thanks, Esther. I appreciate that.” After a moment he releases my hands and runs his fingers through his short jet-black hair.
“What made you decide to cut your hair off? You look so… different.” I inquire.
He helplessly shrugs his shoulders. “Father and I were talking last night about it. He suggested that it was time for me to have it cut, that it will make my appearance as TigersKeep’s Prince more respectable.”
“It does make you look a little older. No one could ever get us mixe
d up again,” I laugh.
“True. Not that that has been a problem lately. You remember that one time when a noblewoman thought I was you all evening… that was horrible. She bored me to tears. Yet, for some reason, I did not have the heart to confess that I was not you.”
“Or when Gideon first arrived in TigersKeep we would constantly tease him and pretend to be each other? I will never forget how frustrated he was at us.”
“He finally had to ask Sir Adir to make us stop,” Kage chuckles.
A single knock sounds on the door, interrupting our conversation. “I am coming in cousin,” Catherine says as she pushes open the door. She stops briefly when she sees Kage. “Good, you are here too. Gideon and I were told to escort you to the ballroom. The guests are starting to arrive.” She raises an eyebrow at Kage as soon as she notices his hair or lack thereof. “What happened to you?”
Kage and I respond by laughing in unison. “I had to mature somehow, I figured I would do it with my looks and not my personality.” He offers out his arm to me and I accept it. “Come, let us enjoy our birthday.” As we step out of my chambers, I spot Gideon waiting in the hall with his arms crossed. He wears a new maroon tunic with the Knight’s symbol engraved on the front.
“You look nice, Gideon,” I compliment as we walk past him.
“I tried to talk my way out of wearing something so formal, but Sir Adir would not allow it.” I catch the scolding glance from Catherine directed at Gideon, making him stop for a moment. “Did the Queen give you that necklace?” he inquires.
“Yes, she did.” I carefully brush my fingers against the amethyst stone with my free hand. “She said it has been passed down for generations,” I explain.
“It looks beautiful on you. It compliments your lavender dress very nicely,” he thoughtfully comments. His words incite my cheeks to blush.
“Thanks.”
“Look at you, getting flustered by Gideon,” Kage teases me, only loud enough for my ears alone to hear. I glance at him. “How cute.”
“Oh, shut up!” I quietly scold him.
His laugh bounces off the walls that guide us down the hall.
“What is so funny?” Catherine curiously questions from her spot at my other side.
“My sister,” he simply answers. As if to avoid our cousin from asking anything else, he turns his attention to Gideon. “Did you take that dancing class that Adir suggested?”
“Of course not!”
“Pity how are you going to properly dance with my sister now?” he teases.
“Kage!” I smack his arm. “Shut up!” I chastise him.
Kage shrugs his shoulders innocently. “Such a shame,” he mumbles.
I glance at Gideon and notice a touch of pink coloring his cheeks. For a brief moment our eyes lock, but just as quickly we break the connection and look away in embarrassment.
Chapter Sixteen:
♞ Sebastian Ari: ♞
“That belt looks ridiculous,” Hector remarks as he steps around the corner of my bed. He stops in front of me and takes ahold of the black leather belt. “Are you ever going to learn how to properly tie this thing?”
“It seems like such a pointless part of my attire,” I mutter. He easily loops the leather and knots it into place to constrict around my waist. Once he finishes, he turns me around to face the mirror along the wall across from the bed. I stare into the reflection of us. His pure white brocade doublet is hugged against his athletic frame with a thin brown leather belt. His small buttons that keep his clothing clasped together are in the shape of golden lion heads. His black pants go just above his ankles, which are covered by his leather black boots. His jet-black hair is smoothed back against his scalp, which is contained to the back of his head by a ponytail.
Though my own boots and pants nearly perfectly match his, my fitted brocade doublet is golden with unique maroon designs and patterns all throughout it. The clasps to my doublet are also in the shape of golden lion heads, which are much harder to notice because they blend in with the fabric. My short fiery hair is slicked back against my head.
At length, I exhale a tired breath as I grab my black leather gauntlets and slide them onto my hands.
“If we are talking about pointless, it would be those gauntlets.” He pats me on the shoulder. “I will never understand why you wear those.”
“I have my reasons. “ I choose to refrain from telling him that my father is the one that gave them to me during one of our training sessions. It is such a senseless reminder of my connection to the man. I walk over to the nightstand and pick up the small velvet box.
“What is that?” Hector inquires as he notices the box.
“A gift for Esther,” I answer simply. I slide it into the pocket of my pants. When our eyes meet, I see the smirk creeping up his lips. “What?”
“Your sensitive side is refreshing to see.” I watch as he turns to lead the way to the door. “Did you get anything for Prince Kage?”
I hesitate for only a second before nodding. “Yes, I did.”
“What is it?” he presses.
“You will see.” We walk down the halls for a few minutes before we arrive at the entrance to the Ballroom that two Guards stand in front of.
“There you two are!” the sound of our father’s voice stops us. In unison, we turn our eyes to him as he hurries over. A big smile stretching along his face, yet only Hector and I notice the fact it does not reach his eyes. “You two look marvelous! I remember when your mother made those for you. It would make her so happy to see you two in them tonight!”
The raw ache in my heart stings at the thought of our mother. With it the memory of her dying flashes through my mind.
“Thanks, father,” Hector speaks up from my side. He nudges me in the shoulder softly to distract me. Together the three of us enter the Ballroom and make our way through the crowd of people to the King and Queen. In unison, we bow our heads in honor of them.
“Greetings, Sir Richard,” the King comments merrily to our father. His dark navy colored eyes shift to Hector and I. “I have not had the chance to thank you two for bringing my children back to the Castle safely. Kage and Esther both told us about all that happened.”
“Anyone would have done the same thing, Your Majesty. We were simply doing our duty as their loyal subjects,” I remark humbly. My head remains bowed for a moment longer before slowly lifting my gaze as the Queen steps forward to rest a hand along both of our shoulders. Her beautiful royal blue eyes, eyes that Esther clearly inherited, are gleaming with affection.
“Courage cannot be taught or trained into someone, either the Creator gifts you with it or He does not. It is clear that He has blessed you both with it.” She leans down to place a single kiss to Hector’s and then to my cheek. “Thank you.” As she steps away, she looks at our father. “You have truly raised two outstanding young men, Sir Richard.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
“Mother, mother, Sir Adir finally danced with me!” the sound of the Princess’ sing-song voice breaks into the conversation as she makes her away over to us through the crowd of people. I cannot help noticing her regal lavender silk gown that brushes against the floor. Around her neck is an extravagant necklace. Catherine follows a couple of steps behind her, wearing a stunning jade green dress that stops just above her ankles. Both of them are truly the two most beautiful girls I have seen before. As soon as the Princess spots us her smile brightness even more. “Oh, hey Hector, hey Sebastian!”
“Happy birthday, Princess,” I comment. I fish into my pocket and pull out the small box and offer it to her. “I got this for you.”
“You did not have to do that.” She lifts the lid of the box and gasps as she pulls out an elegant hair comb. This comb is adorned with Swarovski aquamarines and elegant diamonds. At the bass of the comb is a single tiger symbol. I grin as joy-filled tears brim in her beautiful eyes. “Oh, Sebastian! I absolutely love it!” She lifts the comb above her head and fashions the accessory into
her hair. “How does it look?” she inquires as she turns to the Queen.
“Breathtaking,” I whisper under my breath.
“Such a lady’s man,” Hector silently chuckles as he elbows me in the ribs. “I have no elegant jewelry for you, Princess Esther, but it would be my greatest pleasure if you would allow my birthday gift to you to be a dance.”
Her head bobs up and down in answer to him. “I would love that!” For a brief moment, her eyes lock on me once again. “Thank you, Sebastian,” she says before following my brother onto the dance floor.
“That was incredibly nice of you,” Catherine comments. I turn to her and return the smile she gives me. I ignore responding to her words, instead, I reach out my hand to her.
“Can I have this dance, Lady Catherine?” The instant show of pink that burns her cheeks makes my smile grow even wider.
“Su… sure.” The moment she accepts my offer by resting her hand inside my own, I regret ever wearing my gauntlets. I carefully guide her through the crowd of people to the dance floor. When we reach the other dancers, I slowly turn around to face the beautiful girl in front of me. I keep ahold of her hand and place my other hand along her waist, while she places her hand on my shoulder. Her yellow-green eyes peer up at me with a shyness I have not seen in her.
“How did you learn to dance so well?” she finally starts the conversation after a few moments in silence.
“My mother. She adored dancing, so she would always ask me to dance with her. My father has two left feet so he would avoid dancing unless he had to.” The tug of sorrow pulls on my heart once again. “To be honest, I loved dancing with her. It was the best part of my day every time I got to share those moments with her. Together we would learn new dancing styles.”
