Below the Peak (Sola)

by Juliet Lili

  Nara watched captivated for a second as the maid twisted and fiddled with the device mounted on the large bathtub until it released water. It was fascinating.

  “What magic is this,” she asked, fascinated. The girl stared at her, not understanding what she said.

  “It is no magic. It’s a tool that controls the flow of water from the hot springs in the mountains.” Gilnith replied instead, her voice light with mirth.

  She waited for the tub to fill before removing her clothes. Nara hadn’t had to ask them to turn away so she could undress for the bath, Gilnith bets her to it when she ordered the girl to do it. The silence was awkward as the women tried not to look or assist in her bathing and occupied themselves in cleaning her bedchamber as she continued to soak in the bathtub. Stepping from the tub, Nara robbed herself and walked back into the sleeping room. She looked out the window and noticed the waning sun. The evening had begun to settle over the sky.

  Gilnith gave her white undergarments once she dried herself. The women waited patiently as Nara dressed until she was satisfied her naked skin was covered from the curious eyes of the servant who stared at her like she was a strange being. Perhaps she was in their eyes, and by the look of their expression, Nara didn’t think the two maids had ever seen a human. As if following some form of procedure, Gilnith again handed her a splendid gilded silver lace tunic with encrusted crystals on its sleeve. Eyes sliding on the lush and heavily embellished with crystal jewelry, Nara couldn’t help appreciating the beauty of the delicate fabrics and its ornaments. “Beautiful” she muttered.

  “Indeed, beautiful for the new princess of Forod” Gilnith added with a small smile.

  Nara quietly wore the tunic then the skirt which Gilnith carefully helped cinch her in and close its button when she asked for her help. Gilnith spoke over her shoulder in elvish as she did the last button on her skirt. A long-gilded scarf hanged over her shoulder and was secured tightly around her waist with a thin gold belt. The woman who had carried the chest rushed toward them with a pair of good looking shoes. She placed the shoes at Nara’s feet before taking a step back. Nara slipped her bare feet into the fitting shoes.

  “May you please sit here Your Highness,” said Gilnith, motioning to the chair at placed near dressing mirror.

  Nara inhaled deeply, asking the gods for a bit of tolerance. The hair at her nape raised at the touching she was about to feel. Hands on her hair, face. Uhh… she shivered and swallowed painfully. She chewed on her lip as the uncomfortable ordeal began with one of the maids standing behind her with a comb and started brushing her hair. She counted randomly.

  “Gently” she hissed when the woman combed too hard. Gilnith muttered something to the girl with a scowl, causing the girl to bow several times at her side while she repeated “Forgive me”.

  Nara pursed her lips. What she felt like forever and painfully slow, the maids continued prettifying her with lavish jewelry. A head piece with a long gold chain and round pendant was tied on her parted hair which was secured to a bun. Staring at the mirror, the pendant hanged lightly on her forehead as did the long allodia earrings. Her face…the dark colors they applied on her face and lips, enhanced her features even more. Nara didn’t know what to feel about this appearance since she had never bothered to pretty herself as did the ladies back in the King’s wall.

  The knock on the door saved her from deciding what to feel and from being poked, dabbed and prodded by the women. Nara welcomed the person in. Prince Calemir stood inside. The four women curtsied hastily.

  “Ready?” the prince regarded her. Out of the riding clothes he wore in the journey, Calemir had changed into splendid formal garb. A fitting high collar shirt with long sleeves paired with a trouser and a long dark cloak with intricated woven gold pattern. A sheathed sword hanged on the side of his hip. His wavy hair tussled loosely down to his shoulders. Dangerously beautiful, the two words laid thick on her tongue.

  “Yes, I am” Nara breathed, standing up.

  “You look beautiful” he deep voice was whisper as his eyes travelled up and down her form before settling back on her face. A blush spread over her face, at the same time as the women pretended to look elsewhere.

  “Walk with me” the prince stretched out his hand, palm open. Nara wiped her damp hands on her skirt, heartbeat picking up with apprehension setting in her stomach. She lifted her chin and met his gaze. Confidence and assurance gleamed back from them.

  “Lead the way Your Highness” she ignored his strong fingers that were ready to clasp her own.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Calemir

  The dining hall looked majestic, fit to host a king and queen. His mother hadn’t disappointed with the preparation despite the limited time. The dining room was lavishly decorated with lively flowers which hang in garlands over the silk curtains draping from the walls and windows. Candles flickered from crystal lamps and chandeliers around the room. A variety of food prepared to be feasted on sat warm on the large table.

  He approached the high table with his human wife on his side and accompanied by the nobles unveiled stares. His wife…was dressed splendidly in the tradition elvish clothes looking beautiful and even more captivating with her chin high, back straightened and shoulders back. She wore her expression blank, a mask that fitted her well but Calemir felt her anxiety. The nobles stood and bowed as he and Nara found their seats amongst them. Looking at her from the corner of his eye, he saw her chewing her lips, her body rigid with tension.

  This girl is going to be a problem He thought as the restlessness exuding from her stirring his senses. Just a little…He drew her emotions into him. A little that it wouldn’t be easy to note the difference except he could. The girl’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, her knuckles that turned white from clenching tightly, flushed with color with the ease of her fingers.

  Just shortly after their entrance, the king and queen’s arrival was announced. The chatter ceased in the hall, and everyone stood and straightened as the king and queen walked in.

  The majesties found their place at the high table. The feast commenced by servers moving around filling plates and goblets with wine for the royal family and the invited guests.

  “Welcome,” the king’s voice carried across the room once the commotion died down. “Today we celebrate my son not only as the prince and warrior of our great kingdom but as a married man to lady Nara Jae Thani.” He paused. “May their union mark the beginning of a peaceful alliance between our nation and kingdom of Murisa.” Rising his goblet to the crowd and then directing his solemn eyes at him, the king toasted. “To new beginnings.”

  The king spoke in the elves native tongue. Nara couldn’t understand a word except for her name when he mentioned it.

  “To new beginnings” Calemir echoed back with a cup of his own lifted, his skin prickling under the weight of his father’s stare. It was a custom that father and his new married son to drink first before anyone. His gaze not wavering once, he drank the strong wine in one gulp. The alcohol burned his chest, but he kept his chin high defiantly. The king did the same, the corner of eyes narrowing at him over the rim of the crystal gold goblet.

  The end of the little ritual was followed by eating. They ate in almost complete silence except for the numerous voiceless questions eating the lords’ minds. The torturing need to know why he really married a human was said in side eye glances and angled body postures at him. Calemir had met the council member with his father soon after he and his wife had been summoned in the court room. King Gwainor had let them know that his marriage to the girl was a turn of a new leaf. To bring an end to years of hostility and welcoming favorable alliance between the two kingdoms. Of course, not all understood this sudden move and voiced their confusion. The king sold the council the idea of freedom of trade without the need of smuggling human goods inside the kingdom like so many elves did including the high lords themselves who used gang elves. When the king pointed that, some of the high lords chocked. The king promised
all laws that hindered any relationship with their neighbor Murisa were annulled. The king hadn’t mention of Var in their new ally’s kingdom. His father was cautious of his council members. The queen must have told the king of some of the high lords wavering loyalty. Calemir reflected.

  Calemir leaned, cocked his head to her ear and whispered. “Do not drink the wine.”

  Nara almost jumped from her seat at his nearness. She tilted to the side, their cheeks an inch apart, her breath fanning his jaw.

  Brows narrowing, Nara whispered back, “Why shouldn’t I?”

  “The alcohol is too strong for humans. You will not wake up for two days if you drink.”

  Nara slightly leaned back, skepticism and curiosity playing over features. Apparently, she did not trust him. And for an unknown reason, he was a little disappointed but then proud of her at the same time for not. She shouldn’t trust easily not him or anyone.

  “Don’t” he murmured, placing his fingers on top of hers which was near the cup, causing her to hold her breath. Strong…warm… Nara glanced at where they touched and back at his face. “We leave at dawn, you need to be awake” his fingers retracted to his own cup.

  Calemir ignored the audience and whispers their display had attracted by continuing to eat. His wife seemed unaffected to the attention they had gotten. Instead, the place between her brows scrunched, her eyes distant as if she was contemplating something serious.

  Once dinner was over, the servants cleared the table to be spotless. One of the queen’s maid entered a room, carrying a crown on a velvety pillow. The servant approached where the Majesties sat and curtsied then lifted the pillow to the queen.

  Queen Val rose, and every voice in the room fell. Anticipation filled the room. Watching Nara, Val spoke. “Come here, child.”

  “She summons you” Calemir murmured, catching her perplexed expression. Nara swallowed. Standing, he slid her chair back so she could move more freely. Calemir smelled her fear as she walked past him and the watchful gaze of the guests. He kept his gaze on her as she walked toward the queen, her steps sure and confident.

  ****

  Her pulse thrummed at the base of her neck as halted in front of the queen. Nara mastered and maintained her composure as the queen picked up the silver crown which looked like woven twigs from the rich people. It was a stunning headpiece.

  “It is my delight to crown my new daughter as a princess of Forod” Val proclaimed. Nara watched the queen warily as she placed the crown on her head. “Welcome to our kingdom princess Nara.” The queen spoke in Nyr, lips stretching to a smile as she gazed down on her face.

  At his seat, Calemir watched the whole exchange closely. His misgiving for the queen growing as the baffled crowd clapped. Shortly after, the queen and king quit the hall, leaving Calemir and his new wife to deal with the nobles, who like hungry wolves descended on them to appraise the human he married in disguise of wedding congratulations and offering of gifts. Most of the nobles scurried away after only just getting one word with him. His haughty glare warned them not to stall around him and stalk his bride like a prize in an auction. He also believed his wife’s inability to speak his common tongue contributed to the fast retirement of the hall by the high lords.

  “Congratulation is in order” it was none other than lord Ivlisar, approaching them.

  “We have had enough of those, not hearing one wouldn’t hurt” the prince replied, his tone curt. Nara stayed close to him. She silently prayed for this man before they would be the last one congratulating them. Nara was exhausted nodding and pretending she was happy to receive the faux felicitations. She might not know the elvish tongue and have poor social skills, but she knew when to call out bogus in people. Forod court wasn’t extremely different from her home in Vessener. Many of the bluebloods that approached her were foxes in sheep’s skin. Noting the prince’s cold stance suggested this lord wasn’t an angel either despite greeting them in a friendly tone.

  The man chuckled and said something back in elvish. Her husband’s fingers twitched slightly near hers, Nara barely felt it graze her own. She was standing very close to him, she could feel the warmth of the heat radiating from his body. He held it the moment the guest started marching to them after the banquet ended. At first, irritation flared within her, her skin tightening uncomfortably at the touch but strangely the prickling sensation faded slowly into just a ghostly feeling. Cocking her head, she watched his lips curl at the corner wickedly as he leaned closer to the lord and muttered something in a low tone. The lord’s nose flared angrily. He hissed something, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously then stormed off.

  Sharing the same sentiment to have had it with the guest, she and the prince made an escape for the hallway. They walked side by side each with their own thoughts.

  “Teach me your language” Nara spoke suddenly as they halted at her bedroom. “It is best I understand if I’m going to be living in your land,” she continued when Calemir didn’t say anything.

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Nara nodded.

  “Be ready at dawn” were his parting words as he left her standing at the door.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Early before the sun had properly peaked, Calemir stood tall at her door, ready to journey to Uruloki. Good thing she was too. Nara hadn’t slept well, she had barely gotten a wink of sleep after the queen came to visit her. When she had separated from the prince and gone into her room, she only sat for half an hour before the queen knocked at her door. The queen had stepped in, her beauty glorious under the moonlight which spilled into the room. Cordially, Val had asked her how she found everything and if she needed any help she was free to call one of the servants. However, it was the queen’s whispered warning tone to not hurt his son that stuck in her head even when the queen threw in softly that she prepared gifts for her. Nara mulled over how a person like her could hurt him? She was human, and he was…impenetrable. And she had no intentions of doing so unless he does something which would provoke her to do it.

  Also, it was one thing to sleep in a strange place in the afternoon and another thing to sleep at night. Nighttime is always the best time to eliminate your foe, something she was familiar with intimately. Letting her guard down would be insane and stupid. Restless, Nara had called a maid in the middle of the night and requested if she could get trousers for riding. She wanted to be prepared for the long trip to Uruloki. When the servant hurried out with her orders, she had slept with one eye open until she came back with the clothes.

  “Ready?” the prince asked her, posing at her door.

  “I am” Nara replied. Calemir spun and began to march, expecting her to follow. His long legs ate up the distance of the hallways quickly. The air of urgency surrounded him. Nara regarded the determination set on his face. She kept up his pace easily. The butt of her dagger dug on the side of her waist, giving her a sense of security and comfort. It was her only weapon, and she concealed beneath the long tunic she was wearing.

  Leena and Finn and two other elves Nara didn’t know waited for them as they emerged from the palace. There was also a carriage, and a saddled horse with no rider with a trunk was fastened on the roof of the carriage. Calemir came to a halt near the horse.

  “Your riding in the carriage,” Calemir said as he mounted the beast. She wasn’t sure if she was irritated that he ordered her or irked at herself for complying to his word when she hoped in. Nara huddled in the corner of the carriage, the hood she had on protecting her from the chilly morning breeze. Nara listened to the elves talk for a minute as she stared at the sleeping city still shrouded in darkness. Her body jerked with the sudden lurch of the carriage. She adjusted herself on the seat as their party started another journey.

  ***

  They have ridden for three nights, tearing the land without slowing pace. Calemir wanted to make it to Uruloki as soon as possible, shortening a six-day journey to a four day one. Stopping here in the middle of the road was stealing their time. But l
ooking at the rest, he decided to give them a little time to stretch their limbs and get rid some of the tiredness in their bones. He stared up north where the sun shined and basked in its warmth. One more night and he’d home. He breathed in the natural air, he could almost smell the faint smokiness of the town. His heart did a little thrill, a tingle of excitement pumping in small pints in his veins.

  “I want to ride a horse,” a familiar voice said behind him. Cocking his head, Calemir glanced at the human as she strolled toward him. The long grass swayed with a breeze around her knees.

  “Pardon?”, Calemir replied.

  “I want to ride a horse,” Nara repeated.

  “The carriage was readied for you to ride it.” Calemir said, folding his hands across his chest.

  “I know, but I’m tired sitting in the carriage.”

  Great. A whiny human. His jaw twitched. “There’s no horse for you to ride,” Calemir said.

  “That’s why I suggest we switch places” Nara stated. She was bored, tired of traveling in the closed walls of the carriage for three long days. The only time she stepped out was when she had to relief herself and then she was back inside. She ate and slept in that damn walking box! It made her start to feel restless, like a caged animal.

  Calemir looked at the gold gilded carriage then back at her. “No.”

  “I want to ride a horse, we could give each other turns?” Nara insisted, ignoring his refusal.

  “That is your means of transport and not mine.” He replied, starting to get pissed at her stubbornness.

  “Please” She insisted, feeling frustrated.

  Calemir’s hands dropped, no longer looking relaxed. “You should’ve said before we started the journey and a horse could have been given to you.”

  A vein on her temple jumped. The other three elves who were engrossed with their own things paused their businesses and looked at them. Tension nestled in the air. Nara swallowed and gathered her thoughts. See from their eyes. A voice from the back of her head reminded her. “I…I don’t want to appear ungrateful. The carriage is comfortable, it has provided me enough rest, but I wish to ride” she tried to explain. “I can’t ride another day inside that thing, or I’m going’ to turn mad.”