Burning Wildfires (Abandoned)

~3~

While Dorian went back to sleep, Aelin did not heed her own advice, and instead, began to plan.  She needed to start working on rebuilding Terrasen, what little she could do from being under close supervision at the glass castle. She had absolutely no doubt that Dorian would help her and Nehemia would too (she would not deny that a thrill went through her when she realized that the Eyllwe princess would be alive). Under the glowing night sky, she began to plan. 

~

Trumpeters signaled their arrival as they passed through the looming alabaster walls of Rifthold. Crimson flags depicting gold wyverns flapped in the wind above the capital city, the cobblestone streets were cleared of traffic, and Aelin, unchained, dressed, painted, and seated in front of Chaol, almost smiled as the odor of the city met her nose, an odor which was much better than the smell of the battlefield and Endovier. She didn't know why she hated the city smell so much before, as there were worse scents.  

Beneath the smell of spices and horses lay a foundation of filth, blood, and spoiled milk. The air held a hint of the salty waters of the Avery—different from the salt of Endovier. This brought with it warships from every ocean in Erilea, merchant vessels crammed with goods and slaves, and fishing boats with half-rotted, scale-covered flesh that people somehow managed to eat.

 From bearded peddlers to servant girls carrying armfuls of hatboxes, everyone paused as the flag-bearers trotted proudly ahead, and Dorian Havilliard waved. They followed the Crown Prince, who, like Chaol, was swathed in a red cape, and to her eyes only, he seemed slightly offset by all the flirting and winking. On his chest, there was a brooch fashioned after the royal seal, pinned over his left breast. The prince wore a golden crown upon his neat hair, and she had to concede that he looked rather regal, although a tiara would suit him better, she jokingly mused, letting out a yelp as her arm stung, scowling when she heard a small protest from Dorian, as he muttered that a crown suited him just fine. She frowned at Chaol, who she was sure pinched her, who looked stoically ahead. 

Young women flocked to them, waving. Dorian winked and grinned, awkwardly though. Aelin couldn't help but notice the sharp stares from the same women when they beheld her in the prince's retinue. She knew how she appeared, seated atop a horse like some prize lady being brought to the castle, when she was anything but. 

So the Terrasen queen only smiled at them, tossed her hair, and batted her eyelashes at the prince's back. Her arm stung. Again. "What?" she hissed at the Captain of the Guard as he pinched her. "You look ridiculous," he said through his teeth, smiling at the crowd.  She mirrored his expression. "They're ridiculous."

"Be quiet and act normally." His breath was hot on her neck. "This is normal acting, for a supposed court lady, if that is what I am posed as at the moment. So excuse me Captain, for acting like what I am supposed to.", she snapped back, still smiling. Her cheek muscles hurt. The Captain seemed stunned for a minute, before snapping back to the front. Aelin smirked and continued waving ridiculously. 

They entered the shopping district, where the crowd swelled between the trees lining the broad avenues of white stone. The glass storefronts were nearly invisible beyond the crowd, but a ravenous sort of hunger arose in the starving girl as they passed shop after shop. Each window displayed dresses and tunics, which stood proudly behind lines of sparkling jewelry and broad-rimmed hats clumped together like bouquets of flowers. 

Above it all, the glass castle loomed, so high she had to tilt her head back to see the uppermost towers. She remembered the slaves at the ships and forced herself to look away, refusing to look at the staggering slaves and the whips that sliced through the air, wanting nothing more than to run down and free all of them like she did with the Pirate Lord.  She could see the prince glancing towards the ships though, in guilt. She sighed, her mind blaming Dorian's father, even though he was possessed by a Valg King. 

Sooner than she remembered, the iron and glass gate of the castle appeared, latticework doors opened, and a dozen guards flanked the cobblestone path that led through the archway. Spears erect, they held rectangular shields, and their eyes were dark beneath bronze helmets.

 Each wore a red cape. Their armor, while tarnished, was well crafted from copper and leather. Beyond the archway sloped a road, lined with trees of gold and silver. Glass lampposts sprouted up between the hedges bordering the path. The sounds of the city vanished as they passed under another arch, this one made of sparkling glass, and then the castle rose before them. Chaol sighed as he dismounted in the open courtyard. Hands pulled Aelin from the saddle and set her on wobbly legs. Glass gleamed everywhere, and a hand clamped on her shoulder. Stableboys quietly and quickly led her horse away.

Chaol pulled her to his side, keeping a firm grip on her cloak as the Crown Prince approached. "Six hundred rooms, military and servant's quarters, three gardens, a game park, and stables on either side," said Dorian, staring at his home in bafflement. "Who could ever need so much space?"

 She managed a weak smile, staring at the previously shattered castle and thought it looked better broken. "I don't know how you can sleep at night with only a wall of glass keeping you from death." She glanced up, but quickly lowered her focus to the ground. She wasn't afraid of heights, far from it, but the thought of being so high up with nothing but glass to protect her made her stomach clench. She was thankful that the prince had given her a room in the stone part. 

"Then you're like me." Dorian chuckled, eyes looking a little lost. "Thank the gods I gave you rooms in the stone castle. I'd hate for you to be uncomfortable." Chaol looked between them in confusion and little anger, noting their comfortable aura around each other.

She decided the best course of action was to scowl at the prince, saying, "I would have survived I am sure." while cocking her head towards the Captain's direction, and the prince understood, smile falling from his face, seemingly at her scowl. Chaol lost his confused look and regained his usual scowl, while dragging the blonde a little bit rougher for her tour. Dorian called after her, "Welcome to my home, Celaena Sardothien."

Her adopted name gave Aelin a bit of confidence, as she grinned and slipped back into the persona of Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan's Assassin and Arobynn Hamel's protégé.