Light from the Shadow

Chapter 7

Guests started to fill the Grand Hall as evening approached. Footmen were seen running from one table to the other, attending all the important guests while royal musicians continued replaying the same boring melodies in the past 2 hours.

Ayna sighed, watching everything from the upper floor. Her eyes scanned through the guests below. Some chatting, some admiring the silverware, some just looked plain bored. Hmm...

"Are you looking for someone, Your Highness?" Aria's question made her jump.

"A...Aria??" Ayna almost lost her balance.

Aria giggled. "Are you nervous, Your Highness?"

Ayna shook her head and turned her gaze back to the crowd. "There are a lot of new faces. I don't think I've seen them before. There look. Who is that?" She pointed to an officer in military uniform. Ayna was certain the man was not affiliated to Remblan's soldier or knight.

Aria giggled again. "You have good eyes, Your Highness. One of the guards told me that he is a prince from Solbaru. Dashing, isn't he?"

"Sol...baru? You mean that new empire in the east?" Ayna's eyes were still on the man in uniform.

Aria was relief to know that the princess at least knew some history. She nodded. "The one and only Solbaru Empire."

Ayna knitted her brows. She did not know her father would invite someone from the east, much less a Solbaru.

Located in the far east of the continent, Solbaru was a fairly young empire. The current emperor, Tana Tehra, rose to power after he ordered the massacre of all family members from the previous reigning family, the Imperial House of Mehari, in a coup d'état 15 years ago. Emperor Tana was a celebrated war hero who helped uniting major clans and countries when he led the military of the now fallen Mehari Empire before taking his new position. After his coronation as the new emperor, he hunted and burned down everything that were associated with Mehari and founded Solbaru Empire. In the span of 15 years, more countries had pledged to serve the empire ruled under the former general of Mehari, making it more influential and powerful than ever before.

"Princess, you are here!"

Ayna saw her childhood friend came from the other side of the corridor. "Jyaga?"

"It's almost time. I'll escort you to the hall." Jyaga was now standing beside her.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ayna asked.

The knight smiled widely. "Right. Here you go. Happy birthday, Princess." He took out a small gift box and shoved it to her.

Ayna quickly opened the gift and found a beautiful silk ribbon inside. She hugged her dearest friend. "Thank you, Jyaga!! I love this!!" The knight hugged her back after making sure no one was watching.

"May I, Your Highness?" Aria took the blue silk ribbon from Ayna and wrapped it around the end of her braid swiftly. The princess then made a turn to let Jyaga see it and he clapped happily for her.

Ayna walked into the hall with the King as the announcement of their arrival was made. The crowd cheered and congratulated the young royal. Ayna waved to the honored guests and thanked them with her standard royal smile. After her grandiose entrance and thank you speech, she took the seat beside her father and watched the banquet went on silently.

This is boring...

"Ayna." Her father called. She turned to face him.

"There is someone I'd like to introduce to you." He gave a hand signal to his attendant. The attendant nodded and went away, knowing what he was supposed to do.

"Who?" Ayna asked. The King smiled. "He is here."

The princess followed her father's gaze and there, she saw a young man walking past everyone, straight to where they were seating. The man in uniform.

"The Solbaru prince..." Ayna muttered.

Her father was surprised. "You know about him?"

Ayna shook her head. "I just heard... about him."

Kuan was now standing in front of them. He bowed before them and introduced himself. "Kuan Tehra of Solbaru. Thank you for your invitation. As a representative from our empire, I have brought a gift as a memento for our first meeting, Your Highness. I hope you will accept it." He produced a small golden box from his hand and presented it to Ayna. Their eyes met and the prince blushed. Ayna glanced at her father, asking for approval. After the Kind nodded, she accepted the gift and thanked the Solbaru noble.

"This is our second meeting, Prince Kuan." The King said.

Kuan's body turned stiff. He smiled nervously. "It is an honor to be remembered by you, Your Majesty."

"The second prince of Solbaru is famous for his swordsmanship and also a very capable scholar, I heard." The King chuckled.

Kuan lowered his head. "You think too highly of me, Your Majesty."

The music in the background changed into a slower tempo tune. Finally..., Ayna thought. She was actually sick of the repeating anthem.

The prince braved himself and extended his left hand to the woman in front of him. "May I have this dance, Your Highness?" The princess, who was used to the custom, accepted his hand with a smile. Kuan escorted Ayna to the dance floor, making every pair of eyes in the hall turned.

Isn't that the prince of Solbaru?

What is he doing here in Remblan?

Is the east trying to make us one of theirs too?

I know... after all, his father did that to the Mehari...

Kuan could hear the murmurs around him but he chose to ignore them. He was used to doing so. His eyes were focused on the girl in front of him.

"Can you stop staring at me like that? You are making me uncomfortable, Your Highness." Ayna finally said it.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Kuan felt awkward. He could not stop looking at her. It was just as the rumor had it. Remblan's princess' beauty was unrivalled. The silver lock inherited from the King, the big deep blue eyes from her Remblan's blood. And the soft white skin... The prince shook off his inappropriate thoughts. He apologized again.

They continued to dance until Ayna spotted a figure talking to her father. His back was facing her but she could rightly guess whom that annoying-looking back belonged to. She could see the man nodded his head a few times. A moment later, the same man took a glass of wine from a server and leaned his back against the wall in one corner of the hall. He sipped his drink once and looked up. Their eyes met. Ayna quickly looked away. She did not want to see the librarian... or more like, she was not ready to meet him. She lowered her eyes to the floor, trying to focus her mind on the dancing steps. But she could feel it... a pair of eyes were watching her... intensely... Ayna wanted to escape.