Helva gave me a crooked smile, relieved and delighted. She hugged me, carefully, so as not to crush the creases of her klút. “You’re the best, Jenna. I don’t know what we’ll do when you’re gone. I shall weep every day.”
It hit my ears so much as if I’d already died that I had to take a moment to catch my breath again. Fortunately my mother’s training took over, and I fixed a smile of welcome on my face, turning to greet Princessa Adaladja.
~ 8 ~
She wore a gown easily as gorgeous as the night before—and in much the same style—though less jewel-strewn. Curtseying deeply, she gave me a warm smile as I gave her my hands to help her rise.
“Your Imperial Highness—you look equally stunning ‘at home,’ if not more so.” She plucked at her own gown. “I was in a dither deciding what one wears to luncheon in the seraglio at the Imperial Palace. I expect I’ve overdone it, just as Freddy predicted.”
“Nonsense,” I assured her. “It is you and my sister, Her Imperial Highness Princess Helva, who put us to shame.”
Inga picked up the thread easily. “Yes, I’m afraid Jenna and I are still recovering from all the wonders we witnessed last night. You clearly possess far more resilience. We didn’t formally meet last night, but I am Inga.”
“And you may call me Jenna,” I added. “When we are ‘at home,’ as you say, in the seraglio, we rarely use titles with each other.”
“Then you must call me Ada,” she agreed. “The other is such a mouthful. I curse my mother for it daily.”
“I wasn’t allowed to go, or I would have made sure to meet you,” Helva burst out. “You’re so lovely. How do you make your skirts stand out like that? Are you naked beneath or does it go all the way through—and if you’re naked, don’t you get cold drafts?”
Ada regarded Helva in frank astonishment. Inga clapped a hand over her own mouth, as if that would somehow mute Helva. And I burst into laughter. I couldn’t help it—and it felt so much better than the dread that had been throttling me.
Fortunately Ada joined in, smiling easily and seeming not at all offended. Though that could have been excellent manners on her part.
“Thus the reason our little sister isn’t allowed to go to balls yet,” I commented drily, though I couldn’t help thinking the evening could only have been improved by Helva’s unstudied enthusiasm and curiosity.
“Since we are all women here,” Ada replied, lifting the hem of her skirt, showing us the layers of ruffled material beneath—complete with boning to give it structure. “And, no, I’m not naked beneath that.” She lifted the boning on one side to reveal a sort of feminine trousers such as the little boys wore. “However—and I hope you don’t find this impertinent, Your Imperial Highness—but most ladies of my station would be most taken aback to be asked about their nakedness in any context. For future reference.”
“Ohh,” Helva breathed, blushing deeply. “I offer my apologies.”
“None needed,” Ada replied. “I have a sister your age who is also curious as a cat. And your gown and hair are so lovely, Your Imperial Highness. I love how your hair looks like a crown.”
“And I love the things on your feet. So pretty! What do you call them?”
Ada paused a moment, puzzled. “My slippers?”
“Slippers,” Helva repeated, rapt. “Nobody here has those.”
Ada looked to me in question. “I know the women of the empire traditionally go barefoot, but you don’t have shoes of any sort?”
I shook my head, disguising that I’d been studying the slippers in equal fascination. “How could we wear our foot jewelry then? Besides, Robsyn is part of the Dasnarian Empire.”
“Oh, of course we are. And utterly loyal to His Imperial Majesty. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”
“We’d never think it,” Inga put in gently, though not entirely honestly, to my mind. Not that I’d question Ada’s loyalty for making such a remark, but my mother certainly would.
“Thank you, though I apologize, regardless, for my thoughtless words. I meant that Robsyn retains many of our long-held customs and does not share everything with parts of the empire closer to Jofarstyrr. Provincial of us, I’m sure. We only wish we had foot jewelry such as yours.”
“You may have some of mine,” Helva offered. “I’ll show you how to wear it.” She pointed her pretty foot, draped in gold chains studded with more topazes.
“You are more than generous, Your Imperial Highness.” Ada curtseyed to emphasize her appreciation.
“Why isn’t she calling me by my name?” Helva asked me out of the corner of her mouth. Not at all discreetly, though Ada pretended not to hear.
“Because you didn’t give her express permission,” I murmured back.
“Oh! Please call me Helva. And I’m naked under my klút. That’s all we have. Because, you know, a klút is really all you need.”
Inga closed her eyes briefly and how Ada kept a straight face, I had no idea. But she nodded in interest. “Is it all one piece of material then?”
“Yes, I can unwind it and show—”
“Perhaps not before lunch,” I suggested quickly.
“Or not at all,” Inga agreed. “As we don’t offer to undress for our guests. I’m thinking Jilliya is remiss in your lessons, sister of mine.”
“Well, my mother tries,” Helva confided to Ada as we sat, “but she’s tired a lot. And she says my mouth is wider than the big lagoon and my thoughts pour straight out without pausing for inspection.”
“I used to have the very same problem,” Ada told her. “Discretion comes with maturity, I believe.”
“Oh, do you think so? That would be lovely.”
We sat and the servants brought us lunch in successive courses. Ada praised each with such perfect courtesy that I wished I could prod Helva to pay attention and learn from her. I could only hope she’d absorb some of it.
“The seraglio is extraordinarily beautiful—more so than I imagined. I’m only sorry that I had such a brief glimpse as I was escorted in. While this salon is lovely, it’s a pity we can’t see out. Is it possible to have a tour after?” Ada inquired.
“If you like, I’d be pleased to oblige,” I replied before Helva could. “And if you’d like to be able to see, that’s easily accomplished.” I signaled to a girl, who then scurried off. Shortly she and several others unhooked the curtains, opening the salon on three sides.
“Oh how wonderful!” Ada exclaimed. “But rather less private.”
I started to raise a brow, but felt too much like my mother, ready to lay down the law of the seraglio. Fortunately Inga and Helva laughed, merrily enough not to be insulting.
“There is no privacy in the seraglio,” Inga explained with a gentle smile.
But Ada didn’t return it. She looked…intensely disturbed. “None? Never?”
“Assume everything you say will be overheard and you’ll be fine,” I assured her. “Just as at any public event.”
“But when do you… Never mind,” she corrected herself, resuming a happy mien, though this one deliberately applied, rather than genuine, I believed. Ada wasn’t that different from us, in that I couldn’t discern her façade from sincerity. All women everywhere no doubt learn those skills early. With the dramatic exception of Helva, but she would learn, too. Hopefully not via a fatal mistake.
Either way, I would not be there to witness it or help her pick up the pieces. Odd how life works—the same time the day before, I’d been bursting with the excitement to leave this place forever and harbored no such dark thoughts. It spoke to the shallowness of my nature, I supposed, that only when I dreaded what lay before me did I spare a thought for those I’d leave behind.
And it all made me feel morose, where I’d invited Ada to entertain us and take my mind off my misery.
So I focused on the princessa, absorbing her stories of Robsyn and
their foreign ways. Helva asked nine questions for every one of mine or Inga’s, which Ada bore genially, graciously answering every one. Had I not glimpsed the moment she donned her mask of discretion, I’d have thought she spoke with artless frankness, rather that the carefully crafted replies that omitted what must be details she considered too dangerous to be bandied about.
Still, when we’d finished, Ada turned to me. “Jenna, might I impose upon you for that promised tour? I’ll let our other charming companions return to their days which they so graciously interrupted for me.”
“But we don’t have anything else to—” Helva began before Inga shushed her.
“A delight to meet you, Princessa.” Inga inclined her head, pulling Helva to her feet. “We shall leave you to it. Enjoy your tour.”
“Shall I apologize for young Helva again?” I asked with a wince, once they’d gone.
Ada laughed, rising and brushing out her skirts. I had no idea how she sat in such things without bending the insides all out of shape. “She is charming. As are you all, though you and Inga seem to have been considerably more schooled in … word choice, shall we say.”
“Ah. I take your meaning. Helva’s mother, Jilliya, is also His Imperial Highness Prince Hestar’s mother. As heir, he’s received much of her focus. And Jilliya is often indisposed. Saira, Inga’s mother, will hopefully take Helva under her wing. Let us start here, at the big lagoon. As you can see, the bit bordering our dining salon is a small pool off the main one. As this is the biggest and deepest, it’s popular with most everyone.”
We followed the walkway to the noisier section of the lagoon, where children, nurses, and rekjabrel played games. Older ladies looked on, including Old Mara, ensconced on her favorite settee, pot of tea beside her.
“Do all the women of the Imperial Palace live in here?” Ada asked, bright eyes taking in the scene.
“They all are welcome to. Some have apartments in the between spaces, such as where you are quartered. But those are primarily concubines, some highly ranked rekjabrel, and female guards for them. Some are servants who must live with or close to those ladies, in order to be constantly available.”
“I have two who live in my suite, it seems. I wondered about that, if they live there all the time.”
She looked so troubled that I put a hand on her arm. “It’s an honor for them—and intended as one for you—for them to be with you at all times. They would not live there by themselves when there is not a guest. We are not so cruel as to isolate any woman like that, especially outside the security of the seraglio. Not unless she was being disciplined, in which case she wouldn’t be assigned to serve such an august personage, such as yourself.”
Ada slid me a sideways glance. “May I ask you a personal question?”
“Of course,” I replied, keeping my pace serene, ignoring the instinctive flinch. If I didn’t care to reply honestly, I’d simply lie.
“Are you happy here—living in the seraglio?”
“Very happy, yes.” An easy reply.
“Would you say the same if we could not be overheard?”
She’d chosen her opportunity wisely, the noise of a group of children splashing likely to cover our words. Still, I gave her a pleasant smile. “My words are the same in all places, regardless of who might listen.”
Ada nodded, the unhappy turn to her mouth showing she didn’t believe me. “I have a confession to make,” she began.
“At this end of the big lagoon,” I said as a group of scantily clad rekjabrel passed us on the way to swim, “are the apartments of Her Imperial Highness Jilliya and her retinue. She is second wife, mother to Helva and His Imperial Highness Prince Hestar.” Once the group passed, I added under my breath. “Confessions are valuable currency here. Be wary of how you spend yours.”
Ada took a breath. “I’d hoped to speak with you more privately. Is there truly nowhere?”
“No, I can’t show you Her Imperial Highness’s apartments as she’s not well and mustn’t be disturbed, but would you care to see mine? They are all much the same.”
“I would love that!” Ada enthused, perhaps more loudly than she needed to, but the line worked. I guided her around the wide end of the big lagoon, along the path through the flowering shrubs. “How is it that these can grow indoors?” Ada trailed her hand over the lush blossom. “All of these plants should need sunlight.”
I gestured to the lights above. “These give us all the light and warmth they require.”
She tipped her head back to study them, a line of thought between her brows. “But false light—candles or torches—isn’t the same as the sun. I can’t grow a plant indoors only by lantern or torchlight.”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “They simply do.”
“Does anyone come in to maintain, or replace them?”
I shook my head. “Servant girls who live here have the responsibility of trimming the plants, removing dead leaves and such, but they grow and flower on their own.”
“There’s a legend,” Ada mused, “that the original core of the Imperial Palace was built by a sorcerer king, long ago. Perhaps he created the enchantment that enabled this place to exist—and to stay so warm, even at the bottom of a frozen lake.”
“Frozen lake?” I echoed. “This is the little lagoon, which only Inga, Helva, and I use. It’s our private place.”
“Charming, too. So lovely and peaceful, away from the bustle. I can see why you enjoy it.” Learning, Ada waiting for the servant girls to finish their obeisances and move on, arms laden with soiled linens. “Yes, the Imperial Palace sits in the middle of a lake fed by snowmelt in summer and frozen the rest of the year. The seraglio rests at the bottom of the palace, so beyond these walls is very cold water. Didn’t you know?”
I hadn’t. And, very likely, wasn’t supposed to. Though surely my mother knew. And Saira and Jilliya, along with others who came from elsewhere, so it couldn’t be that much of a secret. Still, I stored it away for possible future use. “Why worry about what lies outside our walls?” I asked with a smile. “Inside we are safe, warm, and fed. That’s what’s important.”
She didn’t reply immediately. When she spoke next, it was to exclaim over the painting on the wall beyond the little lagoon. “Why, it’s brilliantly executed! May I?” When I nodded, she stepped closer and ran her fingers over the sunlit sea in the painting. Then she stepped back again, surveying from a greater distance. “Even knowing it’s only a painting, my eye still sees it as a view out a window of a tropical sea going to the horizon. Amazing.”
“See why we don’t concern ourselves with what’s beyond the wall? This water is much more pleasant.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it firmly. “Certainly much more beautiful,” she finally agreed.
“My apartments are up these stairs.” I waved my hand for her to accompany me. “Over there are those of my mother, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Hulda. She is at court today, entertaining all of our guests. I hope your kind visit to us isn’t taking you away from what I’m sure must be far more interesting activities.”
“Far from it,” Ada replied. “I am fortunate to gain this insight into the magic and beauty of the imperial seraglio—surely a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“Do you have a seraglio of such grandeur in Robsyn?” I inquired, feeling I should ask. Also I needed to prolong polite conversation long enough to send away Kaia and any servants who might be lingering.
“Oh, good Sól, no—we don’t have one at all,” Ada said in a rush, color high on her cheeks.
“Where do you live?” I asked, feeling as curious as Helva might ever be.
“Live? Well, Freddy and I share a set of rooms within the palace.”
“How…” Odd. Invasive. Vulnerable. “Interesting,” I finally supplied.
“Being in rooms by myself here is most strange,” Ada said, as if ag
reeing. “I miss my husband, sleeping in my bed alone.”
“Your servant girls would sleep with you if asked.”
She made a wry moue. “They offered, but it’s not the same as sleeping with your husband. I apologize—I’m realizing that you wouldn’t know, of course.”
No. And knowing what I did of Rodolf, I’d never be so foolish as to sleep in his presence. I’d wait for the security of the seraglio for that.
“Kaia!” I called, waking my nurse from her doze by the small fire in my sitting area. She jolted awake, her pained fingers clutching the throw she’d covered herself with. “I have a craving for svassnuht,” I told her. “Would you make some for me? No one makes it like you do.”
Kaia blinked muzzily. She’d been up as late as I, waiting for my return, then rose much earlier to attend to her usual duties. “Of course, Princess.” She rose stiffly and shuffled out.
One by one, I summoned my other servants, sending them on various errands. When the last had cleared out, I turned to Ada. “In here is my bathing chamber.” I dropped my voice. “We have a few moments before any return. What did you wish to tell me?”
Ada seemed somewhat astonished, gazing about. I hadn’t asked her to sit, as I did not want any of the servants to suspect we’d have any sort of cozy conversation in their absence. Easy enough to sneak back to eavesdrop in that case. I led her to my bathing rooms, showing her the mother-of-pearl inlaid tub that had been a gift for my ninth birthday.
“Do the very walls have ears?” Ada asked softly.
“Yes, servants access our rooms from corridors and stairways at the back of the apartments,” I replied, waving a hand at the carved lattice that made up the far wall. “That way they can come and go without disturbing us, but also be prepared to serve our least desire.”
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