The Duchess' Daughter

Episode 11: Another Rider

The sky was absolutely plain; neither sunshine nor rain hinted at its coming. And the beach—the beautiful beach—mirrored the sky, except that it wasn't motionless. Waves welcomed Lady Lara's eyes as she stepped off the carriage. She crossed her arms as she felt the cool breeze. The gentle wind kept the trees swaying to Lady Lara's pleasure. The whole scene was a foreign sensation for her.

"Every time I'm preparing for a huge . . ." Lady Lara turned her head to see the empress purse her lips. ". . . decision, dito ako pumaparati."

The carriage moved away from them, entering the place where healthy bamboos stood tall.

Lara couldn't help but blink a few times, trying to focus her attention on the empress and not on the sea in front of them.

"I'd rather be tired physically than, you know, exhaust myself on everything at once. And so I have to divide my time and insert leisure. This is what keeps me going." The empress beamed, and it was contagious because Lara did the same.

"Grace under pressure. That's the first advice I'm giving you, darling." Lady Lara nodded. "Should I bet you don't know how to ride a horse?"

The young lady's face transitioned to a nervous expression. The empress saw it and smiled. "Equestrian is actually a requisite to nobility." She took Lady Lara's arm and started walking away from the beach. "But I'm already aware of how Duchess Ri raised you, so I didn't have to question that when she first filled up the form for the competition. Masasabi mong, naging madaya ako, because she was the closest to my heart among all the parents who also entered their daughters' names. But then I didn't want to concentrate lenses on just the surface. And so I accepted your form, your profile, without further analysis.

"And then there was Rohan, who, in his birthday ball happening the night after the filling up of forms, publicly made me swear to grant one thing he wishes as a gift. He wanted to choose for himself his own bride. Such a clever boy. He knew I'd look so petty if I objected to that in front of the crowd." The empress chuckled.

"And so as a considerate, supportive mother," the empress seemed to mock herself with the tone she was having "I decided to cancel the competition. Many were disappointed, of course. Some were saying if to have the liberty to choose was His Highness's wish, then he could've just been a judge for the competition. Like it's a pageant? I'm not for that, dear." The empress heartily laughed. "I knew what Rohan meant. What I just did not expect was when he . . . chose you."

Lady Lara looked down, and Empress Celesta saw through that. "My, my. Look, dear. What I meant was it's a wonderful coincidence. Duchess Ri was close to me, and suddenly Rohan set his eyes on her daughter."

Lara stared into the empress' sincere eyes and eventually smiled. But as they continued to walk, something bothered her. Her father's voice echoed in the hall of her mind.

"I do not intend to offend you, Your Highness, but I heard you're still finishing your leadership course. And Her Majesty herself is still young; His Majesty is alive. I don't see a need for a new mating to happen for the Empire to have its new monarch."

Lady Lara hadn't finished wondering how old the empress was when she saw where they were headed. Not so deep into the bamboos, Empress Celesta's chaperone is opening the door of a long but short building made of timber. Lady Lara's boots matched the color of its surface walls, chestnut.

Seconds had passed, and she found herself standing at the entrance of a stable. Her vision reached the edge of the lined-up stalls-rooms looking like spaces inside the gates. In the middle of each group of bars, the heads gracefully turned to look at her as if they were rehearsed to do so.

She was taken aback. Napaatras siya nang kaunti ngunit agad ring napabalik sa posisyon nang marinig ang halikhik ni Empress Celesta.

"Binabati ka nila," tukoy nito sa nakakulong na mga kabayong patuloy pa rin ang pagsilip sa kanila. "Come inside." The empress advanced her steps and stopped in the middle of the stone floor.