A Royal Ruse

Chapter 6

A Faraway Kingdom

"Your Highness, wake up."

Jax gave the snoring princess a shove. He probably considered it to be gentle enough but it caused the princess to lurch awake with a shriek and a thrash.

"We've arrived."

She was still cobwebbed in sleep when their carriage pulled to an abrupt stop and Jax yanked her out into the dew-dampened blur of the early morning. Zita tried to get a feel for her surroundings but her captor/rescuer had already tugged her hood over her head with a heavy hand.

"Keep your head down and stay close."

Their trip had been long and tiresome, to say the least. With some coaxing, Jax had managed to talk the sulking princess back into the cart. True to his word, they made a pit-stop after they had successfully crossed the border into Luiga. They ate and transferred out of their horse-drawn cart into a sleeker and roomier carriage. They were joined by an austere footman who acted equally as cagey as Jax did when asked about his employer. Zita spent the majority of the trip sharing the coach with Jax. They spent a good part of their journey sleeping. The other part was spent butting heads.

The princess was anxious about her current situation and her travel companion had made no effort to soothe her nerves. He was committed to his cryptic replies concerning their whereabouts and ultimate destination. This aggravated Zita and pushed her to become quarrelsome.

But now, under the faint promise of a sunrise, their days-long trip had finally reached its conclusion and the princess was happy to acquiesce to her travel companion's wishes. He grabbed her hand and dragged her alongside him. She couldn't see or feel anything besides the fine mist in the air and the pillowy green grass mushrooming up beneath her bare feet. 

Not before long, her surroundings changed to something more sterile. Her feet were introduced to slabs of smooth marble ; painfully white and polished to perfection. She almost felt guilty for sullying such a pristine floor with her grimy bare feet. She hadn't washed for the two days they spent on the road. Her skin was itchy with dirt.

A horrible sense of dread wafted over the Zita as Jax slipped into a dark and windy hallway. She grew cold at the familiarity of their actions, but they weren't maneuvering in the shadows for long. Jax stopped for a brief moment, letting out a grunt as he pushed a door open and Zita stumbled onto a plushly carpeted floor.

"You can remove your hood now"

"Finally," the princess rolled her eyes. Zita had quickly become exasperated by her companion's cloak-and-dagger approach to everything. He said it was for her safety but she was convinced he simply harbored a penchant for melodrama.

Zita gasped as she lifted her head. She had somehow been transported into the most magnificent room. It was draped in golden luxury and the delicate glow of the morning sun. Zita couldn't pick which aspect of its beauty to hone in on. Her eyes flitted from the floral mosaics spanning across the walls to the crystal vases spilling over with fresh primrose and gardenia to the celestial mural painted on the ceiling. The whole room sang with splendor.

"Wait here," Jax harshly interrupted her quiet appreciation of her surroundings. He slinked back into the dark hallway, without making a sound.

Zita shifted uneasily towards one of the abundantly pillowed couches scattered elegantly next to a long, and elaborately wound, wrought iron table. She allowed it to swallow her as she sat. A slew of new questions joined the never-ending parade of uncertainties honking loudly in Zita's mind. Zita began biting her hangnails off absentmindedly— a sure sign her nerves were rattled. She had begun tasting blood when the big brass doors opposite to her flung open.