Chapter 8 Chapter 6

“Impossible was thought, till impossible was not. My, my, what a deary knot!”

Marina

When the coach was pulled to a stop in front of the two heavy doors that were usually left ajar during the Flame Request hours. I inhaled sharply and tried to brace myself for the new life I had demanded.

The door next to my side of the carriage was opened and I noticed it was the guard who had sat opposite me during the ride. I had no idea when he had gotten off. He extended a hand for me which I thankfully took because I did not trust myself to make unstaggering steps right now.

As my feet came into contact with the green and ash terracotta flooring, I took a slow glance around and heard the hoofs of the horses that led our carriage hit the floor towards another direction. 

Unlike some certain individuals who had privileges of visiting the castle, such as the Townsend men and women or the commoners who worked with and for the castle in various ways, I had only been in this palace once. Which was the day I made my request.

Today was the second.

I felt a hand on my lower back nudging me forward. Realizing I was delaying, I began walking while using a separate store of energy to regulate my breathing. My pulse thundered so loudly in my ears that I assumed I was a shock away from popping a blood vessel.

Instead of ascending the first flight of stairs that would lead me to the entrance of the request room where I had first met the king, I was steered to the left and walked down a hallway I hadn’t seen the last time. Probably because I was too focused on following the crowd to avoid getting lost.

One of the guards stepped ahead of me to lead the way while the other walked behind. I think to prevent me from running away.

Right now, that was part of my plans.

The further we walked, we came across a number of portraits lining the walls to my left and right and had it not been for the image of the late King Flutheria that hung among them, I wouldn’t have guessed they were the rulers of old of Aspena.

The first guard came to a halt in front of a door that bore all the insignias of the Townsend.

In case I had failed to mention it before, the Townsend were the country’s wealthiest and most powerful men and women. They controlled Aspena like one controlled chess pieces to a game.

We have ten Townsend families represented by ten symbols.

The ace, the diamond, the three leaf clover, fleur de lis, double keys, wreath, hecate’s wheel, daisy, the shield and helmet. 

Each had a unique meaning and function. All of which I would have learned if I had gone ahead with my education plans.

The door was opened and I was ushered in. The only thing in the room was a long twelve seater table, flower vases with different breeds of roses lined the walls of the huge hall and large picture frames of each of the Townsend symbols hung in pairs of five across the walls.

Internally, I wondered how much canvas had been used to make those paintings because they were sure to be my entire body length.

A man sat at the head of the table. His face buried in a book and glasses sat on the brim of his nose.

When we walked in, he lifted his eyes from whatever it was he had been reading and regarded us for a second before setting his eyes on me.

“Ah, I see she didn’t change her mind” he says and shuts the book close before standing to his feet.

I suddenly recognized him as the man who stood beside the king on that night. The kings High Adviser. The person who would have bluntly denied my request had the king not still been a fraction of a bit present.

A strange tension welled up in my belly that resembled embarrassment and a lining away from shyness.

“See her to her chambers. I’ll get the documents” he said as he approached me but did not get close enough before the guards led the way out of the room.

“Inform Hilra of her arrival also” the man, whom I remembered was called Anthonier by the king, added.

There was a brief nod from the guard in front of me and a turn towards the right of the long passageway that was illuminated by the latest flickering lights. An aroma of freshly baked bread and buns wafted through the air and danced all the way to my nostrils.

It had been so long since I had had a taste of a loaf of bread, or even more so a bun. They had all become part of a luxury we could no longer afford.

That would be a past experience soon. But the grumble of my stomach was loud enough to draw the attention of the guards who did not hesitate to give me a quick glance over before resuming their quest to get me to my chambers.

I had gotten just very little to eat last night and it’s not like we had anything to swallow down this morning before I submitted myself to the men at my doorstep.

Hopefully, food is part of the things I would be privileged enough to get today.

We ascended a flight of stairs to the left and walked two doors down a hallway that had extremely large windows which gave a perfect view of the palace garden court. Their scents climbed up the walls and had a slight dizzying effect like when you get attacked by the strong whiff of lavender doused in alcohol for weeks.

“This is your room, Hilra would be with you in a moment” the door was opened ajar for me and I took a glimpse into the deep blue shaded room. The size of the bed almost had my mouth touching the floor. 

Even when we led a comfortable life at home, I had never seen such a mattress that size and the duvet that was spread across it looked thrice the size of the mat my father, sister and I shared back at home.

There was a dresser, a roof to floor length mirror, two doors at different ends of the room, a-

“You may go in” the guard who had walked behind me finally said something, interrupting my thoughts of admiration. 

“Thank you” I came to a halt in my steps and looked back to them. “Would it be wrong if I learnt your names?” It was only courtesy to know the names of the people who brought me to where I’d be calling a home for the meantime.

“Some other time” the first guard replied to me in a tone that did not come off as defensive or offended and I decided to let it go. He pushed the door open a bit wider and I took it as my cue to finally go in. 

And I did this time.

The door was shut behind me, leaving me alone with the large room.

I’m sure it’s not as huge as the rooms the royals use but it was definitely everything luxurious that I had ever dreamed of having in these past years.

There were actually three doors within the room. I hadn’t seen one from where I had been standing earlier.

One led to an empty mini closet filled with shelves, the other to the bathroom that was the size of our alleged parlor space at home and contained a mosaic bathtub, toilet, marbled sink, a little shelf by the side of the sink and a small stool.

The last led to a balcony that overlooked the stables. I saw the carriage that brought me in parked at a corner and some men had begun washing down on its tyres while the horses ate hay not too far.

I stared at the scene for a little longer before returning to the bedroom. 

The duvet was softer than it looked when I brushed it with the tips of my fingers. Slowly, I sat on the edge and took a deep breath that fell out with a sigh.

Now, the reality of today’s situation dawned on me and it was almost unbelievable. 

I had really left my family to become a consort to the king because we needed the help. Deep down, a shallow thought about how bad this could go started to creep in. 

The king could decide to just use me and not grant me anything I wanted. He was not King Flutheria, he was King Xanthanius. The one who suddenly woke up from the dead after five hundred years and killed his own father, then rid his administration.

There were whispers of how ridiculously ruthless he had always been and how that stood to affect our country like the rising rate of poverty we were experiencing today.

Tracing back his words at the Flame Request Cycle Meeting. Those were words his father would have never said or better yet, would have never said in public. The Royalty were always triple conscious of the things they let slip from their lips and he just openly declared that I would play bed piece if that was the role I sought. 

I’m surprised the town papers had yet to publish such vulgar expressions and it most likely had to do with the punishment they’d receive if they did.

A wave of sadness flushed through me and I saw myself blinking back tears that threatened to slip. I couldn’t afford to fail and return as a nobody. 

Our lives would be far worse and my chances of ever finding a partner that might be willing to take me as a bride and assist my family would be diminished.

That of Lanthernia would be diminished too.

Father would become a laughing stock.

No one would patronize my home services anymore.

Our lives would drop beneath the scale of survival.

I cannot afford to fail.

Right now, I focused on steadying my breathing that was about to turn frantic and count to ten to calm my heart rate.

One…

Two…

Three…

Four…

Five…

It was not working. If anything, the numbers were making me run out of breath. This was definitely not the time to panic.

“Marina, it would be okay. All you have left are your positive thoughts and you would not let that slip away” I blinked away my tear stung eyes as my whisper slightly echoed in the filled yet empty room and that was when I realized I had not carried my bag with me from the carriage.

Immediately, I sprung to my feet to think of my next course of action and how to retrieve my sparse belongings when a knock came from the door.