A Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 25

"Daughter, please do take Jasmine to her rooms. Kyoshi should be here in a few minutes, but I suppose I'll have her meet Jasmine another time." He sighs as if disappointed in my reaction.

How did he expect me to react? Should I have run to him with a smile on my face? Unexpected rage courses through my body, firing me up. My body feels like it's burning.

I take a deep breath, using the lessons Bash taught me. Control. I can't lose control.

I walk with Yuri now, not as excited to see her. I half expected her to take me straight to the dungeons in the basement of the palace, but to my surprise, she takes me up a large set of stairs that leaves my mouth hanging open in wonder.

This palace is truly a wonder; it's no surprise I'd heard praises of it's beauty all the way in Telmor.

I'm taken to a room on the second floor. When the door creaks when the princess opens it, it's clear that this room hasn't been used in a while.

Inside, I find a room bigger than any I've stayed in before. The bed alone is larger than the cabin I'd stayed in with Miles on the cruise. A pang hits my chest suddenly at the thought of him.

All his lies keep me from feeling hurt. If he'd truly cared about me, he wouldn't have lied. Since he was taking me to Avenlea, I would've found out eventually anyway.

If I let his betrayals sink in, I won't be able to go on; I won't be able to get out of here. I brush them off as if they are nothing and take in the room around me in more detail.

It has a very obvious theme; gold and white. Thankfully, they are my favorite colors. The bed is wide enough to fit at least three people, and the carpet beneath my feet is soft and lush.

My eyes narrow on the wall opposite the bed. There are two doors that presumably lead to a bathroom and a closet, but there's also some writing on the wall. I walk closer to inspect it.

Crouching down, I read the words that are written in Avenlean.

I can't help it; my heart belongs to him.

I shouldn't leave my girls.

He's a monster.

One day, I'll escape.

I hate him.

I don't realise I read the words out loud until I hear Yuri's voice. "You can read Avenlean?" Her surprise is clear in her voice, but it's not greater than mine.

Yuri knows of Avenlea.

I'd nearly forgotten she was in the room with me. She is as silent as a wraith, which is a great skill for a general of her ranking to have, I suppose.

I don't answer her question, not wanting to reveal anything to her. I've learned that my trust compass doesn't quite point in the right direction.

I touch the writings gently, trying to identify what it was written in. When it smudges easily under my thumb, I immediately recognise the material as chalk.

Some of the other words are smeared, so I couldn't read them. Clearly, whoever wrote these had a strong hatred for someone.

I stand up and slightly sway on my feet. I haven't eaten since my last meal with Miles. As if on cue, my stomach growls loudly for Yuri to hear. She chuckles. "Get changed. Dinner will be served soon."

She leaves quickly after that, leaving me confused about what I will change into. My bag is back at the inn with Miles. The loss of my painting nearly makes me topple over.

Before I can run after Yuri to ask her what I was to do, two women walk into the room.

They both look fairly young, perhaps even younger than I am. They bow low in my direction. "Hello, my lady. We are to prepare you for dinner."

"What are your names?" I might as well make some friends around here. Did they know that the emperor is my father? Why would they bow otherwise?

They look surprised at my question, like they hadn't been expecting it. How did people treat the staff here?

"Alisa" The shorter of the two says.

"Jude." The other says.

They look so much like each other; they must be siblings, if not twins. They share the same black hair and eyes; I doubt I would've been able to tell them apart without their height difference.

They motion for me to enter through the door on the left. My assumption earlier was correct; it is a bathroom.

The tub looks like it was made for a midnight soak. I must take full advantage of that later tonight. I start undressing, not caring that the two women followed me into the bathroom; I'd long lost any sense of modesty.

They help me take my braid out of my hair gently. It's very apparent that I haven't brushed through it for two days.

Alisa starts washing my hair as soon as I enter the bathtub, and Jude picks up my clothes and leaves the room.

She comes back a few minutes later empty handed and at my questioning gaze, she speaks. "I took the clothes to the laundry room, my lady."

That makes sense. I let myself get lost in the calming sensation of Alisa's magical hands in my hair. When she's done with my hair, I grab the new bar of soap from the edge of the tub.

It smells of jasmine, and I'm struck by the thought that this room has been waiting for me for a while. It can't be a coincidence, can it?

I wash my body slowly, savoring the feeling of cleanliness that I've missed these last two days.

As soon as I'm out of the bathtub, Jude hands me a towel to dry myself off. I appreciate how they leave me to do certain things myself; it makes me feel less incompetent.

I walk to the closet, which is through the other door, while I dry off.

"Holy shit."