Glass Dominion

Chapter Eighteen

Time had a strange way of passing in the palace. Days were overlapping and meshing together, and I knew it only seemed that way because I was kept indoors.
A girl like myself needed the forest surrounding me, the warm sun caressing my skin. However, I could understand why they wouldn't let me outside. I would have never come back.
I wondered what my friends were doing at that time in the day, I caught a glimpse of the time on the clock on the wall. Niko would have been in school.
Vanya could've been doing several things, but she was most likely eating herself an afternoon snack or looking for natural species of mushrooms.
Just knowing the type of person Nolan was, he was undoubtedly checking on the horses for me, knowing I'd be worried to death about them. Or he may have been helping in the gardens or training with the huntsmen, who mainly only got together to have fun, not train.
I felt terrible after everything that happened between Nolan and me. I wished that we'd been given the chance to talk it out and to have let him know that I was sorry. But after that night, I hadn't seen him since. I knew that he'd been avoiding me, and if that was what he needed then I respected that.
I sat in the lunch lounge of the palace. The warriors that filled the room enjoyed their meal together, laughing and bantering like school boys and girls.
The lunch lounge was a vast and spacious room where everyone had space to eat peacefully. The back wall was lined with tables full of every type of fruit and vegetable, including their own kind of dips. There were all sorts of sandwiches cut into little squares, cheese, and crackers with whatever kind of protein you preferred. There were croissants as well, hard-boiled eggs, and many more types of food I didn't recognize.
Everyone came through, fixed their plate, and then spread out across the light and airy room dressed with natural sunlight. There were chaise lounges, chairs of every kind, 2-4 person tables, and floor pillows were placed throughout the room.
Since I'd started the basics of training, there wasn't anyone I'd met who was particularly friendly. I wasn't all that friendly either. The shrewdness and abstinence centered on my face informed everyone that I was not happy to be there, and I wasn't about to mask it for their sake.
I'd had one-sided conversations with a few warriors who'd dared approach me in the first couple of days of my being there. They were very intrusive and asked too many questions I had little care for answering. After that, it seemed word had spread about me, which was good because I wanted about as much to do with them as they did with me.
I'd gotten myself a plate, not having much of an appetite. I grabbed a couple of strawberries and a croissant, with a small glass of what I hoped was juice.
The room around me was lively and filled with low conversation, none I could make out from my seat by the fireplace. All of the warriors wore those leather armor suits I'd only used to spot in Novoitzhev. I still wore my old clothes, too adamant to wear what I was supposed to as someone who'd been recruited. The thought of it still left a bitter taste on my tongue.
Most of the warriors were lost in conversation, then there were some stuck to the sidelines reading a book. Some were doing some kind of work for the classes you could take if you wanted to specialize in a certain role in the army.
A group of warriors laughed a little too loudly, and that was when I decided to go search for the library a young warrior with many questions for me had earlier informed me was open to all.
I threw away my food and put the dish in the designated tub. And I wasn't sure how many sets of eyes watched me as I existed long before lunch was meant to be over.
The corridors in the palace were dark, scarcely lit by candlelight, and they stretched so long I didn't know how they'd found a rug for their length.
The ceiling was so tall, and the walls were stretched with dark wallpaper and paintings of old men, beautiful women, and crowded rooms. Was that truly all people thought to paint and hang on their walls? Surely there were more interesting things.
There was a very strong smell of the old mahogany that the walls and floors were made of as if they'd just been freshly stained. It could have given me a headache.
I trailed aimlessly, taking left turns sometimes, other times taking a right. I passed a couple of places at times, feeling like I'd already been by them before. The palace was like a maze, and I felt as though I was wandering around looking for something that I wasn't going to find.
"Excuse me." I stopped to ask a maid, who thankfully wasn't the same one I'd spoken with before. "Could you tell me where the library is?"
"Second story, two rights from the stairs," she answered me.
"What floor are we on now?" I asked, reminding myself that there were multiple
"Fourth."
"Thank you."
I was on my way, but then I remembered I didn't know where the stairs were either, so I bothered the maid again.
She glanced at me, now starting to feel annoyed. "Down this corridor, a left, then a right."
"Thank you," I said again, then headed on my way.
I didn't know why I was so acutely unaware of the multiple stories in the fortress. After all, it was an extremely tall palace, shadowing all of Novoitzhev, it certainly had many stories. Most of the stories were probably vacant, and I couldn't help but think of all those years Bertram and I spent homeless—and meanwhile, all of this existed.
When I descended the stairs that coiled like a snake into the abyss above me, I wouldn't have been able to tell it apart from the fourth if I hadn't knowingly stepped onto another floor.
I had a hard time remembering what the maid had told me. I had to think back intensely and replay our conversation in my mind before I remembered that it was two right turns from the stairs.
I walked the long carpet in my same worn-out boots and worn-out clothes that I wore just out of spite. After my second right turn, I was looking for anything that looked like it could be a door to the library. But when I reached it, I learned it would have been very hard to miss.
Two giant doors were propped open, revealing a balcony. Once I stepped upon it and looked over the edge, there was a large and incredibly lengthy room, lit by sunlight. The western and eastern walls were completely covered in hundreds of books, maybe even thousands. To my left and right, stairs cascaded down to the main level, so I followed them.
I felt overwhelmed, I didn't even know where to start. I mingled around, admiring the architecture before even thinking about looking at all the books.
The floors creaked under my feet, even more so than the ones in the corridors. The smell of paper that'd either been touched by many hands or touched by none lingered in the air so prominently.
Of all the novelty playing out in my life, my mind had a way of trailing back to the day I first arrived. I hadn't seen him since then, and I wasn't quite sure why. He was most likely busy tending to his responsibilities, after all, he was head commander.
A calloused male, bones crafted purely out of bravery. I wondered if it was all for show, or if he was truly as weakened as he seemed by my simple gaze. Surely no one actually felt that way. Yet, the yearning I felt from him was so unyielding, so strong. I had to remind myself constantly that I hated him with every fiber of my being because I did, I truly did.
While studying the endless rows of books, overwhelmed by knowing I'd never get to glance over them all, my attention was pulled astray. The sound of heels began to echo throughout the room, and I quickly turned to see who was approaching from the stairs.
The heels were taller than anything I'd tolerate wearing, studded in rhinestones and jewels. They were almost covered by a long stretching, somewhat casual silk dress colored an off-white. She had the most angelic-like posture in how she carried herself, with skin of Kainsk alabaster and lips colored cherry red. Her hair was long and blonde, and silk gloves lined her arms to match her dress. Lastly, something that certainly wasn't easily missed, she had two certain assets about her that any girl would envy.
"Hi," she hummed, sounding sweet and innocent, reminding me that looks can be very deceiving.
"Hi..." I responded, keeping my attention on her as she mingled about the library.
"It's a beautiful place, isn't it?" She spoke very meekly in between her echoing steps.
"Very," I agreed.
"My husband had the room designed just for me," the girl began to explain. "It was designed to be a safe haven for the scholars, the poets, and the literate souls of his palace."
As beautiful as that sounded, I couldn't escape the shock that so heavily fell upon me.
"You're the empress?" I gasped, though I didn't mean for it to sound like that.
She shot me a playful glare, "Don't sound so surprised."
"I'm sorry. I've just only ever heard about you. I've never seen you before now."
I was shocked by her youth and her beauty. But I didn't know why I had expected any differently, sounded just like the emperor at almost fifty years of age to marry a young girl not much older than myself.
"It's okay," she said sincerely. "Most people haven't, outside of the palace." The empress made her way down the row of books on the eastern wall. "I am kept like a little secret."
"And that does not bother you?" I asked, knowing good and well that it would greatly bother me.
"I am nothing but a poor girl from Uhkaava, any chance at a greater life, no matter the consequence, is worth it to me," she explained.
"So that's why you married the emperor," I gathered, then immediately hated myself for saying it. The filter I had I hardly used, but I thought it could have somewhat taken effect in the presence of the empress of Glass Dominion. Yet, here we were.
She looked back at me, gaping at my audacity. "Never. I love Belvedere greatly."
As she stared at me intensely, I began to feel nervous. She could very well have me executed for saying such a thing. But slowly her heart-shaped lips gave way to a smile, and her emerald green eyes gave me a wink.
"Of course," I laughed, catching on quickly. I had a feeling that she and I would get along perfectly.
"You're Amelie, right?" She made her way around to the western wall now.
"How'd you know?"
"All palace members answer to the higher-ups, which is essentially Belvedere and I," she explained. "And let's just say we've heard a great deal about you."
"From the commander?" I presumed though I knew the answer to that. I just wondered exactly what it was that they'd heard from him about me.
"It's all the palace and Novoitzhev have been able to gossip about. No one's been able to understand why the ruthless man's made such an exception for the village girl. Though we have our speculations," she smiled. "But if anyone here disheartens or turns their noses up in avoidance, just know it's because they are all greatly envious."
I sniffed. "That must be why no one's bothered to be nothing short of hostile."
"Certainly must be," she laughed along with me, smiling sweetly all the while. "My words hardly mean anything, but I trust you'll be careful of him. Of Quinn."
"Sure," I responded, paying little attention to her words. I then realized it was my turn to continue the conversation. "Oh, and your name is? I mean, unless you just go by empress or something,"
"Oh, absolutely," she laughed sarcastically, then brushed it off. "It's Genevieve."
"That's such a beautiful name. Everything about you is so refined, I'd never know you were from Uhkaava."
Genevieve sighed, "It's all a part of the act."
"At least you know now that it's a believable one." I then realized my leg was beginning to hurt from standing in the same position, so I decided to prop myself against one of the tables that occupied the center of the room.
"Your act, though," Genevieve finished scanning over the books and approached me, "is not winning an award any time soon."
I couldn't help but laugh. "That is exactly the point."
"Oh." She smiled at the ground. "I don't blame you in the least bit."
"Why is that?"
She waited a moment to speak, to gather her thoughts. "I used to be just like you. But in a man's world, you learn quickly to keep your head down and agree politely." She looked back at me before continuing, "After all, what is an empress without an emperor?"
"More powerful," I stated, letting a smirk fill my impassive expression.
Genevieve smiled, not knowing if she should be second-guessing herself right now. "I like you," she added, "a lot."
I smiled as well, "You're not too bad yourself."
"Have you had lunch yet?" she asked. I shook my head in answer. "Follow me." She began to walk off.
I followed her to the staircase, quickly realizing that I was going to have lunch with the empress of Glass Dominion. Was this a dream or a nightmare? None of it actually felt real, like it was my own life.
We went back to the corridor of the second floor. I tried to follow alongside Genevieve, but she walked too fast, so ultimately, I ended up behind her.
Genevieve glanced back at me and sympathetically slowed her pace. "The Chef makes the most delicious charcuterie boards. We'll go to my parlor room, enjoy our meal, soak up the sun from the conjoining patio, and drink a glass of something because it's never too early for that."
"That sounds amazing," I managed from a complete loss of words. I was in shock, not only because that sounded amazing but also because it left me with a bitter knot in my stomach. This posh and lavish lifestyle was being lived while there was so much suffering and so much poverty in the cities and villages of Glass Dominion and the world.
Genevieve and I reached the coiling staircase, and as we started to descend, I was nearly blinded by the natural sunlight that seemed to reflect off of everything.
I quickly learned that the first floor was the one that held the most significance, that held the royal family. I almost immediately felt condemned to be standing on such momentous ground.
The room was decorated faultlessly, with white crown-molded ceilings, every five feet, it held another dangling bronze chandelier. Most of everything else was made of marble, causing Genevieve's heels to echo off the floor, bounce off the walls, and back again. Everything was laced or lined with gold. Real or not, it shimmered nonetheless.
The wall to my left was lined with nothing but windowed doors, allowing the sunlight to radiate through the corridor from the courtyard.
Genevieve marched along as ever like she knew the halls like the back of her hand. On our way, she stopped by a couple of maids and whispered to them before they quickly set off to follow her instructions. I followed along, amazed by the wonders my eyes beheld around every corner until finally, we reached her parlor room.
Again, I was taken aback by the sunlight, the floor was lined with rugs all of extravagant patterns, and the walls were colored gold. The curtains were bronze, and the furthest wall held French doors, allowing the room to flow outdoors into a small patio courtyard.
The room was furnished with a chaise lounge, a sofa, and a couple of chairs with side tables. By the French doors was a cute little table made perfectly for two people such as ourselves.
When I finished admiring everything, I took my seat, and Genevieve took hers. Not but two seconds later, the maid came rushing in with two glasses and a bottle of champagne, followed by another that carried a giant and colorful varietal charcuterie board.
"Thank you," Genevieve thanked the maids.
"Thank you," I said distractedly; I nearly had to keep myself from gawking at the food before me. One of the maids had left, the other opened the champagne and poured us a glass before scurrying out as well.
"I'm in awe," I told Genevieve as if she couldn't so obviously tell by the expression my face held.
"Go ahead," she urged me to start wherever I'd like, so I followed her lead and grabbed a couple of grapes.
The charcuterie board consisted of grapes, apple slices, pineapple slices, and every type of berry from huckleberries to strawberries. Every type of tree nut as well. There were more types of cheese than I could count, from Swiss to parmigiana, pule to brie. Crackers and dips of every kind, dried and regular meats, mainly prosciutto, genoa salami with a little bit of chorizo. And to top it off, amid everything else was a variety of olives.
I was overwhelmed to say the least, stuffing anything in my mouth that could fit, unable to decide what to go to next, then washed it down with the champagne, that tasted delicious might I add.
"I bet," said Genevieve between mouthfuls, "you are going to fall in love with the palace lifestyle."
I smiled at the ground, but I didn't answer. I think now, that was what I was most afraid of.