Falling Shadows (The Ellocea chronicles) [#Wattys2016]

Four

He woke up with a start realising that today was his last day before he was officially a man. Five days of fittings, safety meetings and general hubbub of party planning had passed in a flurry. Each one bringing him closer and closer to the end, he would no longer be a child. He was excited about the opportunities he would face as an adult, the freedom he would have but also overwhelmingly apprehensive about the whole new world he was about to enter.

Tomorrow he would ride through the Valley on his great grey stallion Baraz, with the white and gold carriage of his parents following behind him. The Vallele tradition is that the Kahn and the Queen are to be in a covered carriage so that they don't draw the attention away from the one being presented; the Prince. Even though he'd want nothing more than the attention to be drawn away from him. He'd managed to persuade his father, after a very long argument, to let Stod ride along side him. His father was concerned that Stod would ruin the aesthetics of the procession as next to all the prized stallions he would look like a dirty farm pony. The fact that Stod was rather temperamental and rarely let anyone that wasn't Zahni or his squire close to him, didn't help Zahni's case as he was trying to convince his father. But Zahni had been adamant; they shared a bond like no other he had ever experienced and Zahni needed him by his side on one of the most important days of his life. With the thought of him being there Zahni was beginning to feel at ease with the prospect of the celebrations and was even starting to feel the slightest bit excited for the procession.

It was nearly sundown and his back was aching from the endless hours he'd spent standing 'tall and proud' as Haruki, the Kahn's own seamster, had been saying on repeat all day long. His seamster was on an important journey apparently, some family business that needed attending to in the mountains; Zahni selfishly wished he hadn't left just so he wouldn't have had to have been exposed to the overly zealous, enthusiastic man that was Haruki.

 He wore the strangest clothes Zahni had ever seen, a sheer opalescent tunic was draped across his broad tanned shoulders, only serving to cover one half of his slinky, tanned torso. The fabric seemed to move even when he wasn't, making his form look as if it were constantly shimmering like a mirage on a hot summers day. His long, silky dark hair had been braided with thousands of rich orange beads, so when he vigorously shook his head, as he often did, his face seemed as if it were alight with a viscous flame. The sight of him did little to ease the pain that had formed in the back of Zahni's head. Just as Zahni's thoughts would begin to drift onto various topics like how one became the Kahn's seamster, Haruki would lift one of his hands in the blink of an eye and swat him under the chin to make him lift his head. 

He was beginning to lose patience and was itching to leave the magnificent fitting room which was now making him feel positively claustrophobic, when Haruki suddenly bounced up to his full height and exclaimed that he was finished. 'At last' Zahni thought and then stopped as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror; 'Woah.' He saw Haruki's eyes glisten with pride in the corner of his vision at the exclamation and he realised that he had spoken aloud.

"Your father said to pull out all the stops, so I did," He said as he inspected his hands, trying not to show his pride. He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone that made Zahni laugh in agreement. The mahogany door opened with a light creak and the queen stepped through with her ladies following shortly after, like a huddle of ducklings following their mother.

"Wow Haruki, you've really outdone yourself," she exclaimed as she looked her handsome son up and down in his new ceremonial clothes, "I'll have to employ your talents for my gown for the evening dance tomorrow."

"Thank you, your majesty," he replied as he took his leave, beaming so widely it looked painful.

"Now, Kalizahni, we'll have to up the guards to keep the women off you in this, you look so handsome, just like your father was!" His mother laughed, her face lighting up with a mischievous happiness brought on at his expense. "Oh and before I forget, your father asked for you in the throne room."

"Of course, I'll change and be right there,"

"He has some exciting news to tell you!" She swanned out of the room practically singing her last words. A slight feeling of unease hit him as his mothers words sank in.