Displaced

Chapter 42

Soft, warm light filtering through her eyelids melded with the musical chirping of birds off in the distance to pull Gabriela Carreno back into wakefulness. She let out a relaxed, sleepy hum. She felt better than she'd felt in as long as she could remember. A pleasant scent wafted into her nostrils. Some sort of flower. Lavender? No, it wasn't that. Where was the smell coming from? She shifted her head. Why did her pillow feel weird?

Memories came flooding back and Gabriela's eyes shot open. Pushing herself up in a panic, she turned back to find Chitra sitting on the bed beside her, a quiet smile on her immaculate face.

"Good morning, Champion," the woman said.

"W-what are you doing here?" Gabriela stuttered.

"You fell asleep on my lap and I didn't want to wake you."

"You stayed there all night?" asked a mortified Gabriela. "Did you even sleep?"

Chitra giggled. "Please do not worry. I had plenty of time to rest given how long you slumbered. It is already past midday. You must have been very tired."

Gabriela hung her head, embarrassed, as she recalled the events of the previous night. "Why... are you being so nice to me?" she asked timidly.

Chitra's head tilted to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I'm not used to people being..." she stammered, her gaze still pointed towards her own lap where her hands clutched her pants in anxiety, "like... what you did... ummm... especially pretty people because I'm not pretty... and you... I mean... you're... you're so beautiful and-"

"I am incredibly beautiful," Chitra agreed, nodding matter-of-factly. "That's to be expected."

The rest of the Gabriela's bumbling explanation died in her throat and she just stared at the other woman. Chitra brought up her hand up to cover her mouth as if she'd just committed a terrible faux pas. "Oh, of course. How rude of me to forget your circumstances."

The woman stood up beside the bed in a single smooth motion. There was a grace to every one of Chitra's movements, as if she breathed elegance. "Let us start with the basics. My name is Chitra Batranala. I am a Batranala, one of thirty in the palace. Only the most beautiful women in the Empire are selected to be Batranala. So it would follow that I must also be beautiful, or I would not be here at all."

"So being a 'Batranala' is your job? Do people here take their last name based on their job?"

"Not normally, no. We are a special case. The name 'Batranala' literally means 'claimed by Batra', which is the Emperor's lineage. When you are chosen to become a Batranala and serve the Emperor, your surname is replaced with 'Batranala' as a way of telling others that you are now no longer eligible for marriage or courtship."

"So you're a bunch of... umm... trophy wives?"

"Trophy wives? I'm not familiar with the term."

"Beautiful women that men of power marry to show off as status symbols."

"I see! What an interesting phrase. I like it," Chitra said with a laugh. She shook her head. "But no, we are not married to His Highness. In fact, Empress Nesta, during her reign seven centuries prior, created the tradition that the ruler of the Empire is forbidden to even covet us." She giggled. "I suspect it was to protect us from jealous Imperial spouses. I dare say it may be the only thing protecting us from Empress Shanti's ire today."

"Then what do you do all day?"

"Oh, a Batranala has many responsibilities. We are in charge of most of the day-to-day operation of the palace, entertain guests when the Emperor is occupied, and many other important tasks. It takes years of training to be a Batranala."