Anti Heiress

Chapter 14

My legs are sore as I ascend the stairs. In this heat, my legs cramp much tighter while riding. At least Yasmin kept me until early evening to indulge her fantasies about becoming a noblewoman, as it was a bit cooler outside when I finally left. 

I have try to push Yasmin and her vanity out of my mind so that I can focus my attention on Malissa when I see her. I've been worried about her all day. The castle is quiet, and neither she nore Talise are downstairs, meaning they're probably both in their rooms. Hopefully, Malissa is resting. I try to ascend the stairs as quietly as possible, in case she's asleep. I'm assuming Talise went upstairs before it got dark, as she didn't manage to light any of the lamps, or a single sconce leading upstairs. 

The moment I try to walk past, Talise's bedroom door opens. Candlelight spills from the room, finally illuminating the dark hallway. "Aros," she grins. "How was it?"

"It was fine. I was going to check-"

"Come, I must show you something," Talise grabs my arm and pulls me into her bedroom. I'm not in the mood for any of her games or advances. All I can think about right now is Malissa, I haven't seen her all day. Talise reaches behind me to push her door shut. That can't be good.

"I'm quite tired," I say. "It was a rather long ride-"

"Look at what my father sent me." Talise scurries across her bedroom to pick up a small stack of thick cards from her desk. They sit next to an open book with detailed drawings of plants, and blocks and blocks of tiny text. "Do you recognize these?" She asks, approaching me with a small set of paintings. I take the first one from her. It's a small study of the flowers in one of the royal gardens. The bright, jewel-like colors make me ache terribly for the palace, though I know from seeing Yasmin's today there's no way the gardens are still that beautiful.

"These are mine," I say, looking up at Talise in awe. "I couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen when I-"

"This one's my favorite." Talise holds a small portrait out to me. It nearly makes me cry. I stare at the portrait of Arman. I remember clearly the day that I painted it. He'd had the rare free time and decided to humor me and allow me to attempt his portrait. I couldn't quite get his mustache right. But his nose and eyes are exactly as I remember, and they remind me a lot of Talise's- inquisitive, yet soft and passionate.

"Your father always supported my work," I inform her. "I couldn't thank him enough."

Talise takes the painting back and examines it. The wistfulness in her eyes rivals mine. "As he should. The gods have blessed you, Aros. Is his hair really so gray?"

I nod. I hand the other paintings back to her. She deserves to keep the portrait of Arman. But I wish I could. "Running a kingdom is stressful," I remind her. I wonder what Talise has told Arman about me. I wonder if she told him how she feels for me. I hope he doesn't think I'm lying to her only to get close to her. Maybe he wouldn't, since I could tell him so many things but for some reason couldn't bring myself to tell him how I loved Malissa.

Talise looks up as if she remembers something. She bites her lip, and opens her mouth a couple times as if she can't decide what to say. "You and Malissa were supposed to teach me more. I mean, not just dances-"

"Well, she's ill," I remind Talise. My tone is harsher than I mean.

"I'm aware. But when she's better, I mean. And even then, I doubt she'll even want to help me." Talise shakes her head. "I can't be princess- or queen to a kingdom I know nothing about."

I blow air out of my nostrils. "You wouldn't be the first. But perhaps, that's something we should come back to after Malissa is better?"

Talise's eyebrows knit. "It's surely nothing. She overworks herself."