Masquerading

19. As the Story Goes

AFTER riding for two days straight, not stopping for rest or meals, he was happy to stop Tygo at the steps of the Faladrin Palace. His young cousin of sixteen years, Avan—the real Prince of Faladrin—vaulted down the stairs to greet him. He stared in awe at Leyva, having never seen a lady-knight before, and then turned pale on catching sight of the Lady Freesia, still wearing her coral coloured wig. Instantly he turned from doting cousin to tiny ruler and began ordering the assembled staff to prepare for the visiting royalty.

Exhausted, Kyden fell into his bed, demanding the attendants leave. He let his thoughts drift to Leyva, and her choice to ride with him and not Killi. It meant something didn't it? They hadn't spoken on the journey, but her arms tightly holding him instead of the pommel of the saddle gave him hope. As did the smile she'd given him as the maids had taken her away from him to the room they prepared for her. He tried not to think of her soaking in the bath they'd drawn her as he fell asleep.

He didn't see her again until well into the next evening, Avan and the maids informing him that she'd slept the whole time, even through her wounds being seen to.

Kyden shifted, feeling uncomfortable without his armour. He was dressed in the traditional way, as his cousin was, in thin but full linen pants tucked into his tall leather boots, and only a wide gold collar covering the top half of his chest. His uncle, the King spoke to him, Killi and Tavis, but he could focus only on the doors that he knew Princess Leyva would soon come through.

"Princess Leyva Saren Katis of Aradanas, and Lady Freesia Erena of Leressea."

His breath caught in his throat as she entered. She moved slowly and somewhat awkwardly under the long white skirt that was so fitting it restricted her steps. She wore no cincher, which must have been grossly uncomfortable for her, but the sheer pleated blue fabric draped around her, and the gold winged collar that reached her breastbone covered anything she might have wanted unseen. He hadn't thought seeing her dressed in his colours in the style of his land would set his insides on fire, but it did.

She watched him as she crossed the hall, her face flushed as her eyes travelled over his torso, and he could not help but return the passion-heavy gaze.

"Ah, Princess Leyva. It is lovely to meet you, though such circumstances taint your arrival." His uncle greeted her. "Please sit, we have much to discuss."

Bowing her head to the King, she took the seat offered to her. Kyden had a feeling neither of them would learn very much. He'd have to ask that the palace seamstress make her something less beguiling to wear.

"In my father's father's time the kingdom of Nagora was glorious. Rich and plentiful with resources, it did not rely on trade as some of us did. But, the King was ailing and his daughter was set to rule. There was unrest within the kingdom; others sought to claim the crown, and discredited the young Princess, calling her unworthy and unfit to rule.

"As the story goes, she begged Mother Feyrie to help her prevail over the minds of her subjects, and it was granted. Magic is unpredictable, as we're all told; the more she used it, the more possessed by the magic she became. Consumed by cravings to overtake people's minds and wills, she lost hold of the last bit of humanity in her. A monster they called her, an entity of the darkest corrupt magic, and she razed Nagora to the ground. But that wasn't enough and it set its sights on the other kingdoms."

They knew everything the King was saying, of course, and listened with the same bored recollection most childhood tales warranted. Next, the peoples of the lands trapped the Nagori, freeing everyone for it's tyranny. But the King continued the story differently, and Kyden looked away from Leyva and sat up straighter. Something about it had sparked a memory of his own father's version of the history.

"Feeling guilty for her mistake, Great Mother Feyrie, charmed the Jewel of Nagora. Once red as fresh blood, it turned a blinding white and was said to be able to capture and seal the entity's essence within. But, the Nagori was cunning and sealed Nagora so anyone holding the Jewel could not enter.

"Without being able to defeat the Nagori, all the lands and creatures banded to find a way to fetter it to the remnants of Nagora's destroyed palace. It was meant to stay trapped, and starved of minds to feed it, within the dead castle forever."

"The Jewel of Nagora." Kyden muttered and they all looked to him. "How does it work?"

"My boy, if I knew that, we would be telling a different story, now wouldn't we? The Jewel was lost over the ages and you will need to find it before worrying about how it works. I believe the last it was heard of—"

"I know where it is." Kyden stood abruptly. "We will leave in two days time. The Ladies will need travel clothes."

Kyden tried not to be obvious about looking over Leyva as she and Lady Freesia entered the stables in the new outfits the palace seamstress had been told to make. She wore her armour over a loose fitting shirt like his, that was belted close to her body with a wide leather false cincher that mimicked the one she surely wore under the shirt. Her long full skirts, boasted deep slits up the sides and as she walked, he could see she wore pants under.

"I trust you will find it less distracting." The King slapped Kyden's shoulder as he caught him watching.

Coughing as he nodded, Kyden gestured Lady Freesia to a horse Tavis held and handed Leyva Tygo's reins. She took his hand as she took them from him, squeezing it gently and raising an eyebrow at him; she'd heard the King's words.

Her hair, twisted around a circlet was so much brighter against the deep green hues of her dress, and he smiled as he leaned into her. "You distract me no matter what you look like, Lei." Looping his arm around her, he lifted her onto Tygo and patted him.

"Faladri!" He called the attention of the small squadron of soldiers after getting on his own horse. "Ride through Themi to Aradanas. You must stop Kind Dara and his allies from riding into Loricus. Tell them the Princess is safe and resting in Faladrin."

The men bowed and kicked their mounts into a gallop in the direction opposite to the one Kyden commanded his own horse. Shouts and well wishes followed both parties as they departed—"Feyrie be with you!"