ten
Carnaxa
Servants have been in and out of my room since I stumbled my way back through the halls. It took a while to find my room without an escort. Well,ShacheAtaiun followed me, but he wasn’t any help. Instead, he stood behind me and snickered as I tried to remember how I found myself in the throne room. I assume he went back to King Atlas’ side when I arrived back at the door to where I now callhome.
“Can you please requestBêlitSiphonie come to my room? I would like my cousin with me before the ... theNle Shom.” I stumble over the words while still learning how to say them.
Kyaw, she said her name was, shakes her head as she finishes taming my hair. “It’s not tradition.”
“My cousin is not permitted? She is family.” I look around, realizing for the first time I must have brought at least some of my handmaidens, although I do not see anyone wearing Antalis’ sigil. They are all from Shaston. Shackles on their ankles and dresses swallowing up their thin bodies. “Where are my own women or even my members of theShayithat came with me from Antalis?”
Why would anyone care about what happens to you?
Kyaw’s hand shakes as she removes it from my hair and looks down at me. “I’m not sure where your women are. King Atlas did not permitBêlitSiphonie to prepare you since it is tradition for those of Shaston to help theSoti.”
Anger begins to boil inside of me. “King Atlas cares who helps prepare a bride for their own marriage ceremony? Has Shaston hosted manyNle Shomwith foreign royalty?” As far as I know, Shaston has not wed outside of its own kingdom since the beginning, as explained in our history books.
“It’s best to just ... learn to do what he wants. It’s easier for everyone if you do.” She shuts her mouth as she disappears to somewhere else in my room. I sit and twist my fingers in front of me. Tonight, I’ll lose my maidenhood to a man I hardly know. A man who more than likely cares for my title more than he does forme. I do not think my father would have sent me here if he feared for my safety without someone to protect me.
I think of the guard — the Ambassador — Thylas. Perhaps that is his job — to help protect Antalis’ intentions and my own — considering he seems to be the one in charge here, at least as Siphonie explained the new dynamic. Women do not hold the same power as men in Shaston, and so it had to be a man. But why him?Yes, why him?It could have been Rhenor. Someone other than just a soldier in theShayi, or was he a part of theKe Neye, our royal guard? It doesn’t matter, what’s done is done.
A soft knock comes from the door that leads to Ereon’s room. A woman who appears to be in terrible condition — bruises across her skin and one eye full of blood — peeks her head in. Her hair is the color of rich turned soil, and her hazel eyes find mine. She smiles at me before walking in and shutting the door behind her.
“The Prince’sorurcan’t be here.” A servant, whom I don’t know the name of, says as she walks up to the woman from the doorway. “Or are you the King’s now?”
“Be quiet, Simla ...” The dark haired woman straightens her spine, coming to stand within a few inches of the other woman. The rest of the women stop moving about the room to watch what is about to happen, myself included.
“We all know where you were when the Prince left. Don’t pretend to be better than us, Anara.”
Anara opens her mouth to speak. She takes one hand and pops a knuckle with her finger while taking a breath. Raising a fist she extends a finger in the air and smiles.
“That’s enough.” Kyaw’s soft voice creates a hush over the room. “Let us remember we are here to get Princess Carnaxa ready forNle Shom. Remember your place, Simla. Anara, what can we do for you? The King did not give you permission to be here.”
Anara lowers her hand to her side and steps around the one who called her “orur.” She walks up to Kyaw and smiles before grabbing her into a hug. Kyaw’s flaxen hair is tied low against her neck. I watch as Anara reaches up behind her neck, next to the hairline, and touches their foreheads together before taking a step back.
“Please, Kyaw. Let me stay. She’ll need someone to explain ... to help.”
Kyaw sucks on her bottom lip before glancing at me and nods. She lowers her voice to a volume I can just vaguely hear what she is saying, “You can stay untilShacheAtaiun or someone else comes knocking on her door. Do her make up. The King commanded us not to speak to her … but she’s curious.”
“She’s not from Shaston, just like we weren’t. She doesn’t know what theNle Shomis,” Anara whispers back to her. She moves Kyaw to the opposite side of the room to provide them some semblance of privacy so they won’t be overheard.
I gaze forward, hoping my attentive stance goes unnoticed. They are discussing the upcoming ceremony, and my role in it, in the middle of my room. I look at the mirror and have to appreciate the work that Kyaw did to my hair. The cerulean strands fall in loose waves around my face. I like this softer look. It’s the first time I’ve looked at myself since I awoke. My once rounded cheeks appear slimmer. My mother’s eyes stare back at me — as bright a blue asthe ocean that surrounds my home. No, Antalis isn’t my home anymore. Shaston is.
Anara is suddenly before me. She bends to recline on her knees and smiles up at me, resting her hand on mine, stopping my fidgeting fingers in my lap. “I’m happy to meet you. I’m Anara.”
“I’m Princess Carnaxa, but I guess you know that already.” I shrug my shoulders before a small laugh comes from her.
“It’s hard not to know who you are right now. I’m sorry you had to come here.”
“Why?” I take my hand from hers; it sweats beneath her warm touch.
“Because … no woman wants to be in Shaston,” she says.
Because you are weak.
“I’ll do what I need to. I am eager to rule at Prince Ereon’s side.”
Anara leans back on her heels and looks down at the floor. “She called you the Prince’sorur? I don’t recall what that means? Are you Prince Ereon’s sister?” The words sound naïve coming from me, and I hate it. I notice her bruises and swollen eye and want to ask what happened, but I don’t. No one is asking, so I won’t either.
