"Thank you for taking care of everything Azell.” Caramyn offered a slight bow of her head. “When you have the chance, could you please bring back my breeches?"
"Yes, once they are cleaned. For now, I'll probably only be able to acquire more dresses, but I’ll try to dig up some pants in your size, too. Try to keep them in one piece.” She paused, glancing at the traces of crumbs left on Caramyn’s tray. “Now that you’ve finished breakfast, let's get you into the bath. I'll work on finding you something to wear."
Caramyn had to fight back a smile at the thought of another hot bath. She had no intention of objecting to that. Moments later, the tub was ready, with hot steam swirling above the water like a welcoming mist. As Caramyn stood to undress, Azell let out a gasp. "Your shoulder!"
Caramyn had nearly forgotten about the gashes in her skin from the beast attack. The blood was dried and caked over themnow, but the wound obviously fresh, and had caught Azell's attention.
"It's nothing. Just an accident from breaking the window," Caramyn uttered.
Azell stared hard at the cuts on her arm, walking even closer. As if she suddenly saw something horrific, her eyes widened, and she quickly averted her gaze. Keeping her head low, she simply walked out of the room, locking the door behind her.
As strange as it was, she returned shortly as if it had never happened, with a pile of clean blankets and a few dresses draped across her arms.
"I'll leave these here for you." She nodded at Caramyn with a smile and retreated again.
Nocthar flew into the room once she was gone and pecked the crumbs from her breakfast as Caramyn sank down into the warm tub. This time, she made sure not to fall asleep, as she didn't want to wake up to any more surprise visitors.
Once she finished, she selected a deep teal dress to wear. She admired the delicate beadwork along the bodice, and the color reminded her of the great waters on the horizon beyond the cliffs. The fitted sleeves were long enough to cover her marking, but an extra layer of fabric cascaded from her elbows, making her feel playful. She'd never felt something so soft and lovely against her skin.
It was quite a boring day otherwise. She looked out the window, longing to be outside. Unlike the stormy skies that had overtaken the night, the day was bright and cheery, but she could only enjoy it from her view from the tower. She was glad she had broken the window, for now she could at least feel the autumn breeze. If she had been in the Shadow Woods, she would have used a day like today for waxing her bowstring or digging up roots for her remedies, and if she had time, she might have read one of her books beneath a tree…a book describing whatshe could not see beyond the forest. But here she was, behind new walls, looking out at world beyond her reach once more.
As she daydreamed out the window, trying to make out shapes in the clouds, there was a knock at her door. It was much firmer than Azell's gentle taps.
"Don't worry, I'm clothed this time!" She called, presuming it to be Asterious. In some peculiar part of her, she wanted it to be him. She was so bored that it would have relieved her to engage in some banter with him.
But instead, a vaguely familiar face appeared in the doorway. It was Tyrios, if she remembered correctly.
"Lady Caramyn." He cleared his throat, seeming a tad bit uncomfortable to be in her presence. "The prince has asked that you join him for dinner tonight."
Caramyn raised an eyebrow. She had not at all expected that. "Well, perhaps he should invite me himself instead of sending his men like servants to do it."
Tyrios wore an expression of bewilderment. He scratched his ear and looked around. "I'm sorry, Caramyn. He had every intention to do it himself…but he had something urgent come up." A long pause drew out the seconds in which Caramyn refused to answer. "So shall I tell him you will be ready at six?"
"No!" Caramyn scoffed. "Tell him I won’t be joining him for dinner or anything else for that matter, unless he can make his own appearance here to ask me himself." She turned away. "You may leave now."
Without another word, Tyrios was gone. It was less than an hour later that there was no knock at the door, but rather an aggressive turn of the key in the door's lock. Caramyn thought to reach for the bone dagger she kept hidden, this time in the bodice of her dress, just in case. It was her instinct to always have a weapon prepared, no matter the circumstance. She stoodfacing the door as it swung open and her eyes locked with those of Prince Asterious'.
18
Be My Guest
Asterious
The prince stood in the doorway, drilling his gaze into Caramyn’s, wondering why she looked ready to pounce on him—and almost wishing she would. He'd planned to ask her to dinner himself. He wanted to check on her far earlier right after the guard's strange report this morning, and he was heading straight for her room when Terrin came rushing in to tell him about some equally disturbing occurrences outside the stables, involving the return of a vile monster he thought he'd taken care of.
“Tyrios tells me you’ve declined my request for dinner.” He cocked his head to the side, his eyes still locked with hers. “How rude of you.”
She stood firm, unmoving. “Hardly ruder than kidnapping.” Her fierce pose was quite the contrast against the delicate blue dress she wore. “And I only declined because you sent your men to do your dirty work, as I’m clearly starting to learn is a pattern with you.”
Asterious bit his tongue to keep himself from responding too hastily. Her words stung, but he knew how things must look to her—the way he kept his distance, and the way she had seen his men put themselves in harm's way for him. But he couldn’t expect her to understand. At least not yet.
“I’ll ignore that remark.” He chose his words carefully. “I’m trying to be welcoming. I want you to feel as though you are my guest, not a prisoner.”
“Guest?” Caramyn tossed her hair over her shoulder with a fake laugh. “I must’ve missed the invite because from where I’m standing, I don’t recall choosing to come here.”
Asterious moved toward her, just one step. To his surprise, Caramyn mirrored his movement and approached with a step, too. Now, they stood inches apart, so close that he picked up her scent of lavender and saffron.
“It seems there are a lot of things you can’t seem to recall.” He breathed with a low grumble. “Listen, join me for dinner tonight, and I’ll let you ask me anything.” He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. She flinched but didn't pull away. When he stepped back at her silence, her silent gaze flicked back and forth across his face.
