Araman

~ 8 ~

   Raliena was tense the next morning. She wanted to escape for a moment and unwind before the day brought more troubles for her.

She quickly got dressed into ordinary working clothes and decided to head to her usual hiding spot in the woods outside the castle.

It was early but there were still servants up and busy. Raliena avoided the corridor with the royal guests and used a passageway round the back of the rooms. Unfortunately, this way risked bumping into Dergen, whose private rooms were on the same floor. Luckily his bedchambers were in a different part of the castle and he was rarely seen up early.

Raliena had never known why an advisor needed more than one room, but she decided she did not want to know what Dergen got up to in his spare time. It was known that his personal servant, Welver, resided in one of the rooms and informed Dergen if anyone came near them.

Raliena scuttled between two walls and reached the little wooden door at the right side of the castle set in the outer wall, originally used as an easy escape route into the forest surrounding the castle. Now it was worn and splintering.

Swiftly squeezing through the door and closing it behind her, the Araman breathed in the smell of freedom on the morning air.

The ground was layered with frost, the shallow ditch that ran across the outside wall was still muddy.

Not wanting to soil her shoes, Raliena retrieved the rope she had hung on a tree and swung across the watery pit. Once on the other side, she hooked the rope around another nearby branch and started briskly walking towards the tree she always sat on when her fate as Araman weighed too much on her small shoulders.

The tree had always been the perfect height for her; with secure foot holds and enough top branches to conceal her even in the bare winter as it was now.

Raliena hurried as she felt dawn approaching and didn't want to miss the sunrise. It was the most peaceful and sacred moment she had to herself, when no thought ran through her mind. No worries, no emotions but joy and awe when she could see nothing from that viewpoint but the unending sky above. It was her haven and safe place, away from everything, especially Dergen. If he ever knew about it, she would never be free of the dread that he could find her anywhere in the castle.

Dergen's response to Raliena of late had changed ever so subtly, he was usually unsettling in how he watched her and he spoke to her in a manner that was bordering on inappropriate, but never quite crossing the forbidden threshold. Yet since Raliena had returned from Attashar, something in his eyes made her feel like he saw her as a possession, like he had a need to have her in his grasp that even the King could not prevent him from claiming.

The tree was in a direct line from the wooden door with only a few trees to avoid, she could see the tips of it coming into view and once more she relaxed, pushing such sinister thoughts from her already brimming emotions.

Raliena jumped, stunned for a moment when she saw that a figure stood facing her tree. She slipped quietly back behind a trunk and held her beating heart steady, wishing she had brought her sword with her, or at least her dagger.

Slowly, and trying not to step on anything that might cause the figure to turn, she crept to the next tree to get a better view. Using the large trunk as cover, she peered through the low, bare branches to see who the intruder was.

A muscular, broad shouldered man stood with his back to where Raliena was hiding. Despite not seeing his face she recognised the arrogant way he stood, even alone, and his short, dark hair swept weightlessly about his head.

It was General Kassen.

He wore a white shirt hanging out of his black trousers, tucked into heavy leather boots. He stood with his shoulders slouched forwards, head to the sky and his legs slightly apart, with a long line of liquid flowing down the tree between them.