The Nechi's Wife

✣ chapter six ✣

The morning sun crashed against my curtains, shooting thin rays of light across my room as my ladies-in-waiting prepared me for the day. "Your hair is...quite interesting," Blanyr said as she observed my appearance in the mirror of my vanity.

From my seated position below her, I smiled. "How so?"

"It's quite...short."

I noted the length of Blanyr's hair, chestnut curls that cropped at her shoulders. "In Mereti, short hair is in style."

She glanced at Ailis who was rummaging through my wardrobe beside us. "In Arania, it's the opposite."

Following much deliberation, Blanyr decided to brush my hair since she was only experienced in dealing with the tresses of Nechi women and wasn't sure what else she could do with mine.

After Ailis outfitted me in a silky, azure gown that gripped my waist in a way I was still becoming accustomed to, I made my way to the Banquet Hall to see King Renyld.

He had requested my presence through a page and I was incredibly anxious. This meeting was most likely related to my outburst at dinner. Or perhaps my tardiness. Either way, it was something negative regarding my presence last night.

In the Banquet Hall, I spotted King Renyld, discussing with a decorator who nodded and shook his head vigorously at the King's every word. Soon, a banquet was going to be held in this ballroom and from what I'd gathered from Blanyr and Ailis, it was no typical gathering. High-profile members of society would be in attendance, including venerated priests, well-respected knights, and wealthy nobility.

"Must we always use red?" King Renyld complained. "It becomes tiresome."

The decorator, who was showing him various pieces of colored cloth shook his head. "Of course not, Your Majesty. I'll alert the interior designer."

I approached as the stressed worked dashed away. "King Renyld? You paged me?"

"Yes, yes," He called, motioning me closer with an outstretched hand. "Good morning, Ayan."

"Good...good...morning," I stuttered, my nerves making themselves apparent.

"No need to fret," He chuckled, his deep laugh reminding me of Prince Flynd's. They both crinkled their eyes closed when something amused them. "You're not in trouble."

"Oh, alright." I said, though my fingers still shook with uneasiness.

"I would like to begin by saying that your outburst at dinner was very entertaining! Sir Declan needed a good scare."

I blinked. While I'd been expecting this topic to eventually filter into the conversation, I had not expected King Renyld to perceive it in such a mirthful light. "I scared him?"

"Indeed! Did you not see his darting eyes? The way he looked at his fellow noblemen for support?"

I tried to picture Sir Declan's terrified expression, but only my public humiliation came to mind. "I didn't notice, no."

"Anyway," King Renyld continued. "Such outbursts cannot happen again. I hope you'll better regulate yourself in the future."

"Oh?"

"I know that in Mereti, women are allowed to speak freely at the dinner table," He acknowledged. "But in Arania, etiquette is different. And it would serve you well to assimilate more since the marriage is already under great contention."

"What do you mean?" I inquired. Since I'd arrived in this country, the palace had a done a good job of cocooning me from the outside world. I largely remained unaware of anything outside my relational sphere, though it wasn't exactly a shock that people despised the marriage of a Meretian woman to a Nechi man.