Khursid dropped quickly to one knee with his arm crossed over his chest and his head lowered. He excused in a stiff tone, “I never meant to insinuate Your Highness would lie, but I am sworn to protect you from everyone, including yourself.”
She wanted to throw something at him. Instead, Adrienne turned to Hani and asked, “Are there any other small vases around? It seems I’m going to be venting a lot in the days to come.”
Hani’s worried features smoothed into a wide smile. “Of course, Highness. I will fetch others. If need be, I will have the pottery smith make vases of varying sizes and shapes specifically for you to vent with.” She hurried past Khursid, who stayed kneeling. She didn’t look to or wait for Mushira to give her approval of this errand before she ran to complete it.
Adrienne turned to Mushira. “Since both Nimat and Hani have run off, does that mean I have to wait, or are you going to trust I know how to bathe myself?”
Mushira gestured to the bathroom. “It is this way, Highness.” Her gaze went back to Khursid. “Highness, what of Khursid?”
Adrienne ignored Mushira’s question and looked at Qamar instead. The woman stiffened to nervous attention. She asked, “Are you coming or not? You can’t stop me from slitting my wrists from across the room.”
Qamar took a hesitant step forward and then looked at Khursid. He had not moved. Her gaze returned to Adrienne. “Does Your Highness wish my presence during your bath?”
No!
Adrienne wanted to scream it for them all to hear. She wanted to be alone. Everything had happened so fast and she was lost in a sea of information and unfamiliarity. She needed quiet and solitude to process it all.
She looked at Khursid, then Qamar. It wasn’t to be. Finally she shrugged and said, “If I’m going to be protected by you, both of you, I have to get used to you following me around no matter where I go. Now’s as good a time as any.”
Adrienne wanted to cry as the words left her mouth. They were in direct contradiction of what she really wanted. Malik forced this all on her. That she had no choice frightened her.
Nimat and Malik entered the room then. He assessed the situation and found himself trying hard not to laugh. Nimat curtsied as Malik passed her.
Malik had been in a funk from the moment he left Adrienne until Nimat came to the throne room and delivered her message. He hadn’t meant to upset Adrienne as much as he had. He knew his news would do nothing but irritate her. Who wouldn’t be angry to find they were taken from their world and thrust into another?
He’d returned with Nimat with all haste because he expected to see Adrienne in tears. Tears he had seen the beginnings of before he quit her room. Instead, Malik found she had cowed one of his strongest warriors.
When he was sure his voice wouldn’t betray his humor at this turn of events, Malik said, “Nimat informs me you do not wish to join me for dinner tonight, my lady.”
Adrienne didn’t answer him. She didn’t look at him, either. Looking at Malik only reinforced all the inevitabilities of the last hour. It took all her willpower not to dissolve to the floor in a puddle of tears.
She looked at the door to the bathroom—her goal. She walked away from Malik’s question, ignoring it and him. Mushira, Nimat and Qamar followed her. Qamar entered the bathroom last. She gave Khursid a worried look, then closed the door.
Adrienne didn’t relax until she heard the telltale click of the door latch. A sigh slipped from her lips and she sank onto the bench nearest her. She let her head fall into her hands in hopes that it would stop the flow of her tears. They seeped through her fingers anyway. She didn’t want to cry in front of a room full of strangers, but this was as private as she would get, and she had reached the end of her emotional endurance.
Malik looked from the closed bathroom door to Khursid. His smile of amusement turned sad. He looked once more at the bathroom door. His future queen was in pain—emotional pain. Time was the only cure—and possibly his absence.
To that end, Malik would leave Adrienne in the care of her maids. Before he took his leave of Adrienne’s rooms, one small matter needed attending to first.
“Rise, Khursid.”
The man straightened to his full height. He stared at the wall in front of him in a state of attention.
“Be at ease, I will not punish you.”
Many warriors carried the scars of Malik’s displeasure. People denied the aid of a healing mage became scarred. Those who tried to hide their mistakes only to have Malik find out later were counted among that number.
“But Majesty, you do not know what I have done,” Khursid insisted.
Malik waved that away. “It does not matter. She is upset and rightfully so. The fault is not yours but mine. If it were something truly grievous, Mushira would have voiced the complaint where Adrienne had not.”
He patted the man’s shoulder and felt him stiffen in reaction. Malik did not take offense. He knew he was a hard taskmaster, but his warriors were stronger for it. “Return to your post and I shall return to mine. It seems the palace will have to wait to meet my intended queen.”
Malik returned to his throne room and the people he had left awaiting his judgments.
Chapter Five
“You had better have good news,” said the woman from the shadowed recesses of her study.
The cloaked man bowed to the floating orb that held the image of the shadowed woman. He spoke in a hushed voice so he would not be overheard. “I am afraid not, Excellency. Malik has found his bride. That meddlesome Travers broke my spell of interference. I underestimated his power level. I will not make the same mistake again.”
The woman in the orb slammed her hand on the desk in front of her. Blue sparks flew out from the impact point and fell harmlessly in a shower around her. She leaned forward, though her face remained shrouded in darkness. Her voice was rough and angered. “You assured me the interference spell would keep Malik from finding his bride. That was the only way to assure Kakra’s ability to claim Ulan. You assured me the interference spell couldn’t be easily detected or broken. The fact that you cannot handle a simple royal chancellor makes me wonder if I chose the wrong man for this job.”
The man scrambled to make the situation better. He would have rather gone into hiding than report badly on himself, but he knew his other news would cheer his mistress. “I have other news, Excellency.”
“Speak!”
The man flinched. The woman’s voice carried in the small space and he remained silent, tempting the anger of his mistress, to ensure none had heard her angered command. He heard nothing and assumed his conversation remained private. “The girl is from the Earth dimension, Excellency,” he said.
Though he couldn’t see her face, he knew the woman smiled. A smile he hoped to never see in connection with himself.
“Are you positive of this?” she asked in quiet wonder.
The man sagged in relief and nodded. “I would stake my life on it. Malik retrieved her himself.”
A brief silence followed this statement. Laughter flowed out of the orb, quiet at first and then gradually louder. “Excellent! Bring her to me. I don’t care how or who you kill to do it. I want her alive and unharmed and delivered to me immediately,” she commanded.
The man bowed to the orb. “As soon as Malik drops his guard, the girl is as good as mine, Excellency. She will be yours moments after that.”
“She had better be. Another failure means your death,” she promised him. “See to it I am not kept waiting long.”
The orb blanked before he could answer that proclamation. The man replaced the orb in his robes and hurried away from his quiet spot to plan.
If he had known Malik’s bride-to-be would be from the Earth dimension, he wouldn’t have cast the interference spell. His mistress could have had her prize years ago. Hopefully her patience would last until he could find the opportunity to carry out her order. As much as he feared his mistress’s wrath, he didn’t want to face down Malik.
Such
a confrontation might be inevitable. He’d heard that Malik’s intended didn’t have magicks. That would make her the first Ulanian queen to be unequal to her husband in power. It would also make Malik overly protective of her.
But, Malik had to sleep sometime. And guards weren’t infallible, as Malik’s parents learned. The man’s chance would come and then he would happily deliver Ulan’s future queen to her doom.
Chapter Six
The outlook didn’t get much better for Adrienne the next morning. She lay on her gigantic bed against her soft, fluffy pillows and stared at the ceiling…sky…whatever…and couldn’t think of a single reason to get out of bed.
After a good long cry in the bathroom, she decided to face facts. She was on a parallel Earth, magic brought her there, and she had to get married in a week. It made more sense for her to try to learn something about Bron rather than pout the days away—even if pouting seemed like a better idea.
It made her angry to think she had wasted her entire childhood studying and learning and preparing to be a useful part of society. A society she wasn’t part of anymore. She had an answer for the age-old question of when algebra and world literature and numerous other subjects would be used in the real world—never.
She had to toss everything aside and learn all new facts. One fun fact was Hollace’s refusal to use magic, which meant he wouldn’t try to kill her that way. He, like every king of Kakra before him, hated magic. Hollace ruled over a nation of soldiers and preferred the simplicity of a sword or other edged weapons.
Qamar had imparted that bit of knowledge as a way to soothe Adrienne’s nerves. It hadn’t worked. Who cared how Hollace—or whoever—did it? The wanting-to-kill-her part had her upset.
“Do you plan to sleep this day away as well, Highness?” asked Mushira.
Adrienne let her head fall to the side. She watched Mushira come into her room—without her permission—and proceed to open all the curtains. The transparent ceiling already let in the morning sunshine, which made opening the curtains pointless. There was no difference, which meant Adrienne would seem petty if she told Mushira to close them. She kept her mouth shut and went back to staring at the sky-ceiling.
“Good morning, Highness,” greeted Hani brightly.
“What’s so good about it?” Adrienne muttered.
Mushira faced Adrienne with a stern look on her face. “I know last night was trying, but that is no reason to be morose today. The ordeal has passed and the shield around your bed will ensure it won’t happen again.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Adrienne in a snide voice. “The next time I have a nightmare about being raped, I’ll scream a little softer so I don’t wake you up.”
“I didn’t. I only meant…” She trailed off with a look of fear.
“Mushira didn’t mean to belittle your experience, Highness,” Hani excused. “She only wants you to be in better spirits.”
“Yes,” Mushira agreed quickly. “My tone was lecturing and I didn’t mean it to be. I’m sorry.”
Great, now Adrienne felt guilty. She’d awakened her entire entourage in the middle of the night with her screaming, then a few hours later, repaid their concern with anger. It wasn’t their fault her mind decided to replay the events of her attack in full, vivid detail along with alternate endings and deleted scenes.
“Your ordeal wouldn’t have happened at all if I’d had the presence of mind to stay at your side once the sun went down,” Mushira continued. “I am not normally this forgetful, Highness, but your sudden appearance has me a bit out of sorts.”
“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t know,” Adrienne dismissed.
“I should have predicted it. Ulan is a land of errant magicks. They are attracted to people of strong emotions and great potential.”
“Potential for what?”
“To control them.”
“I don’t know any magic. And why do you keep referring to magic like it’s a living thing?”
Hani answered, “Magicks are a living entity, Highness. The people of Bron are not born with powers and abilities. If they have the aptitude, they learn to gather the magicks within themselves and shape them to their needs. The more magicks a person harnesses, the more powerful they are. Some—like you, Highness, and King Malik—don’t need to gather magicks; they simply seek you out.”
“Are you telling me this magicks thing caused my nightmare?” Adrienne asked in surprise.
Mushira nodded. “The magicks must have felt your distress and worked to amplify it.”
“I get it. I brought this on myself by being depressed.”
“I didn’t mean to imply—”
“No, no, Mushira. It’s okay. I can admit when I’m wrong,” Adrienne soothed. She didn’t want the woman going into another fit of apologies. Mushira always sounded frightened, like she expected Adrienne to hit her.
A knock at the door caught everyone’s attention. Mushira looked to Adrienne. Hani stepped forward with a robe held out in front of her. Adrienne crawled to the edge of the bed and got to her feet. She tied the front of her robe securely before she signaled Mushira to answer the door. Despite the non-sheer nightgown Mushira had produced after her bath yesterday, Adrienne still wanted to be in a robe.
All her preparation and nervousness were for naught. The knock had come from Khursid. Unlike the ladies, he couldn’t simply enter Adrienne’s room. He had to make sure Adrienne was decent first.
“Good morning, Highness,” he greeted.
“Where’s Qamar?” she asked without returning his greeting. She hadn’t known them very long, but she didn’t like the implications of seeing one and not the other.
“She was called before King Malik, Highness.”
“He didn’t want to see you too?”
“No, Highness.”
“Do you know why he called her?”
“No, Highness. Sorry.”
Adrienne shrugged.
Another knock. Khursid waited for Adrienne’s nod before he opened it. Nimat entered, carrying a tray of food. A man, carrying another food tray, followed her. The man was willowy like Hani but shorter than Adrienne.
The stern look in the man’s violet eyes reminded Adrienne of her tenth grade English teacher when he caught someone using “ain’t”. The look didn’t end with his eyes. From his close-cropped white hair to his stiff spine, his whole manner was of stern disapproval. The man couldn’t be angry at Adrienne, he didn’t even know her.
He and Nimat immediately carried the food trays to the table.
Once she settled her tray on the table, Nimat greeted, “Good morning, Highness.”
Adrienne settled on a half-hearted wave.
Nimat gestured to the man with her. “This is Saj, Highness. He is King Malik’s lord’s valet.”
Saj bowed low to Adrienne.
“Lord’s valet?” Adrienne asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mushira supplied, “The male version of a lady’s maid, Highness.”
“Oh.” If Adrienne had stopped to think about it before she opened her mouth, the meaning of the phrase would have been obvious. It only made sense. What didn’t make sense was…
“What is he doing here?”
Malik entered the room without knocking. Qamar followed in his wake. She bowed to Adrienne, then took up her position next to Khursid.
Malik answered, “He is here to serve me as I eat breakfast with my intended queen. I assumed she would not be up to eating breakfast before the court.” He nodded to everyone in the room as they bowed or curtsied to him. “I trust the morning finds you well, my lady?” he asked with a smile. He signaled Qamar and Khursid out of the room. They closed the door after themselves.
Adrienne wanted to tell him she’d had a crappy night thanks to her magically amplified nightmare, but she decided against it. According to Mushira, Malik should already know about her nightmare since he was summoned when no one could wake her. He hadn’t shown. That alone proved Malik didn’t really care about her happiness
or anything else.
She settled on saying, “As well as can be expected, I guess.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Saj in a voice that didn’t sound sorry at all. “Your breakfast is ready.”
Malik went to the table and sat. Adrienne stayed put. She was hungry and the food smelled wonderful, but she refused to sit across from Malik again.
“I don’t want you here,” she said quietly.
Mushira dropped the serving fork in her hand. Her eyes went wide and she stared at Malik. Nimat edged back to hide behind Saj, whose gaze was on Hani. She had placed herself sideways between the royal couple.
Malik only smiled at Adrienne’s declaration. “I appreciate and understand your anger at me, my lady. However, avoiding me will not alleviate these emotions. Also, you will not be able to acquaint yourself with me if I am not in your presence.”
“Why now? I have seven days. Why can’t you bother me later and leave me alone now?”
“Ten,” corrected Malik. He took a sip of his coffee.
“Ten what?”
“The weeks on Bron are ten days long, not seven, my lady.”
“Even more reason to leave me alone today,” Adrienne insisted. She wanted to kick herself when she heard the whimpering quality of her voice. Pouting like a child wouldn’t win her this argument. Malik had proven immune to her upsets.
He nodded at her words. “You are right, of course, my lady. I find I cannot leave you, though.”
“It’s easy. Get up and leave. The door’s right there. Don’t let it hit you on the ass on your way out.” She pointed at the door in question but Malik didn’t move. He continued to smile at her and eat his breakfast. His amusement at her frustration made her angry.
“I have allowed you ten days, my lady. You can allow me to spend that time in your presence. It is only fair.”
“What about your kingdom? Don’t you have to do something as the king?” she asked in a last ditch effort to get him to leave.
“I do. As much as I would enjoy your presence at my side as I attend matters of court and kingdom, I know you will refuse. As well you should. You are new to Bron and I wish to keep the knowledge of your origins secret from the world. It is best to wait until you are comfortable in your knowledge of Bron and Ulan before I present you to the court,” he said. “I had not planned to spend all day with you, my lady. Only a few hours. Surely such a small amount of time can be tolerated?”
Adrienne Page 5
