The arching pillars of Elbar's Palace's dining room had, true to its Izurian legacy, been constructed of red brick. Overhead hung a single multi-layered chandelier.
These were about the only features that Urdin had decided not to alter when he'd come to take possession of the palace. For the rest, he had almost-completely refurbished it: stone floors gave way to tiled ones of blue and black, further strewn with leaf-green carpets in the middle; the walls, then stark bare, were now decorated with drapes of green-and-white--the Amirate's colors. The long rectangular oaken table, as before, was situated in the middle of the room.
During meals, up to ten servants would stand lined up on either side of this table, ready to be summoned for whatever orders the diners might wish to convey. Presently, however, only a pair of them stood watch on either side of the chair that Queen Vestra Darys--the Amir's first consort, renowned, with good reason, as the 'Lioness of Elbar'--was occupying with a somber expression.
Gracefully slim, with waist-length jet-black hair that her daughter Leia took after; and serene hazel eyes that exuded calmness or firmness as the mood would take her, this queen was quite the presence in her own right on and off her lord husband's court.
Moreover, her slightly-darker skin tone (often coupled with a white dress at court, to--as the Amir had once put it--'bring out the beauty within') would from time to time serve to assist her in blending in whenever she decided to indulge in one of her keenest pastimes: gardening. Her own backyard garden spoke volumes for such talents.
This, then, was the same figure looking up and positively beaming as she saw her kids trooping in. She rose to greet them, met them halfway with extended arms and cupped their faces as she planted quick, affectionate kisses on their foreheads one after the other.
"My cubs," she mused. "About time. 'Twas really starting to get lonely here, just second-guessing what tonight's menu should be."
Mu grinned at his lady mother's subterfuge. "I guess that means we came in at exactly the right time, then."
The queen laughed, gracefully keeping her mouth covered with one hand. "My, my, Mustafa; taking after my directness, I see. Take your seats, will you?" The conversation did not resume until after the kids obliged. "So?"
"What do you mean, 'so'?" Rashid took up. "You were the one about to bring Big Sis Lei up on her weaving mentorship; she said as much."
"About that," the queen said. "No definite names yet, though there are chances said mentor will be coming from across the strait. A native of my girlhood homeland, perhaps?"
Leia whistled. "You reach out so far."
"And why not? Learning is one of the core pillars of our faith; distance matters not."
"That wouldn't come cheap," Mu argued.
"Three households of every four on this bountiful peninsula answers to your father by Allah's grace, Mustafa, and you're really gonna banter about another mentor's payroll? For the best, one pays."
The Lion Prince dropped the matter. "I likewise have a proposition."
"Make it."
He leant back in his seat. "Azalea's offering to take me to Vareena and Zahra's burial sites, and there pray for their souls. Will you allow it, Mom?"
Vestra did not respond immediately. "When precisely did this happen?"
"Today, sometime after the daily training. Ras was there too."
YOU ARE READING
Internal: Viperpath (volume 1)
Historical FictionAlmost two decades have passed since the establishment of the Amirate centred on Elbar. By now it has reached its near-highest extent, and things would probably have remained tranquil... were it not for that nocturnal attempt against the Amir's two...
