Wild Tide [Soo-ho]

chapter 4

Lana woke up with a start, not quite remembering where she was at first. Loire's soft snoring reminded her that she was in a palace in Silla, and that she had a relatively lazy day ahead of her.

Last night, during supper, her father had explained the true reason for which the Queen Dowager had called them from across the seas. Her only son and the heir to the throne was hiding among the Hwarang, and she was distrustful of the council and even other Hwarangs themselves. King Llyr and his people were simply to serve as a deterrent and, if it came to that, protection for the future king. As an unbiased party they had no ulterior motives and no claim to the throne, and as such were more reliable than the Queen's own subjects.

Lana stretched like a cat, enjoying the warmth of the sun that filtered in through the shutters. Due to the nature of her role here, there was nothing in particular that she actually had to do that morning. The afternoon, as the King had mentioned yesterday, would be taken up by a tour of the Hwarang House. She was looking forward to that the most, since she was eager to see Soo-ho again. She had hoped he would be assigned to her for longer than a day, but it seemed that was not to be.

Deciding to leave Loire to her rest, Lana got up quickly and walked into the adjacent bath house. A wooden tub was sunk into the ground, and next to it stood a basin with a tap and running water. It appeared that the Sillans had tweaked or even reinevnted the old Roman idea of aqueducts and used something similar to transport water into their capital city, supplying everything from public bath houses to fountains and private households. Whilst Lana did not have that luxury at sea, she was pleased that she wasn't going to be forced to draw her own water.

Cleaned up, she returned to the bedroom and began to dig through her coffer that had been delivered last night. It contained all clothes and accessories that she could ever need, along with footwear and toiletries. She quickly picked out a deep blue tunic, paired it with some leather leggings and strapped on the belt with her daggers. Whilst yesterday she had appeared in a long gown to impress her hosts, today she favoured comfort. With her copper hair braided and out of the way, she stepped out of the quarters and into the corridor. It was still very early, she noted, earlier than she had thought. With no handmaid in sight and no Soo-ho to guide her, she began her search for the kitchens.

The palace design was bright and spacious, which contrasted heavily with the intimidating fortresses of the west that Lana was used to. The architecture fascinated her with its slated, concave roofs on every building and the abundance of red and gold everywhere she looked. The palace seemed elegant and dignified, but still commanded respect and showed great wealth.

Lana wandered around aimlessly, quickly getting lost in the myriad of hallways and corridors. Everything appeared similar, and she couldn't be sure whether she was just wandering around in circles, so she paused by a shutter to open it and peer outside. The air was cool, but with the sun already out it didn't bother her. The wind rustled the single tree that grew in the courtyard, scattering white flowers everywhere. A pond sat nestled underneath the tree's shade, with several fish that Lana surprisingly did not recognise. It was a very tranquil and pleasant sight.

Turning around, Lana was faced with an open door she hadn't spotted before. Curiosity got the best of her and she stuck her head in to look inside, wondering if it was just more living quarters. Fortunately, that appeared to not be the case, and even more fortunately Lana spied Caspian and Calder sitting at a table and discussing some kind of parchment that lay in front of them. She walked over and sat on one of the two available cushions, burrowing herself into its comfort.

"What brings you here, sister? Couldn't live without us?" Lana rolled her eyes at Calder's good-natured teasing.

"Food, actually," she admitted with a small laugh, "but it appears I lost my way." Calder pulled a doughy bun out of his satchel with a smile.