Heavenly Bodies

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

She was deposited, in silence, in front of an ornate door by Leonardo, who nodded at Merissa and left.

Merissa looked furtively at Elara, then away, before removing a key from the pocket of her gauzy, pink skirt and twisting it in the lock. As the door opened, the sight that greeted Elara was so enticing it irked her. She tried to master the awe on her face as she walked inside. Her rooms in Asteria had been grand, but she had never dreamed that such a place as these rooms existed. Two marble pillars flanked a huge four-poster bed and large doors, which stood ajar, allowing a warm breeze to waft gently from a balcony. As she trailed closer, wondering just how high the jump from the balcony would be, she saw it was spacious, enough for a divan, with an assortment of throws and cushions scattered around it, with ornate oil lamps floating by some magick through the air. She could see matching balconies and rooms across the way, a neatly manicured lawn between her side and the opposite. A fountain trickled in the centre.

She walked back inside and craned her neck up to inspect the ceiling, noticing the same frescoes that decorated the other rooms that she had seen earlier. Hues of blush, peach and yellow blended together. At home, the fashion and decorations were mostly tinted blues, lavender and black in honour of their twilit sky. She rubbed her eyes irritably at the Light, beaming through the room. It was really going to take some getting used to this glare.

Merissa wrung her hands in between fussing with the pillows and curtains of the bed, and Elara crossed her arms, staring at the woman until she finished her activity and turned to her slowly.

‘I-I’ve tried to make your stay here in Sol as comfortable as possible,’ she said, eyes averted, her voice barely a whisper.

The anger and indignation that had filled Elara deflated, and she relaxed her shoulders, trying to soften her face.

It wasn’t this woman’s fault that Elara had been dragged into her enemy’s lair, then basically forced to aid their cause. And she certainly didn’t want the poor woman to be scared of her.

‘I appreciate it,’ she said softly.

Merissa’s hands stopped fidgeting quite so much. ‘I—’ She started again. ‘His Majesty has requested my skills to help disguise you while you’re amongst our court.’ She walked through to an adjoining chamber, which only served to grudgingly impress Elara more.

Sunken into the floor at the centre of the chamber was a bath the size of a small pool, full of crystal-clear water and soapy bubbles. Painted tiles lined it and were warm to the touch. The room smelled of jasmine oil, a smell that caused a sharp pang of longing in her. It reminded her too much of the night-jasmine trees that had grown outside her window, soothing her when she could not sleep with the fear of the nightmares she might fall into.

‘And what skills would those be?’ Elara asked, blinking away the memories.

Merissa’s lip quirked slightly. ‘You’ll see. For now, let’s get you clean.’

Elara was suddenly aware once more of the state of her dress, the sweat that had dried sticky on her skin.

Merissa began to undo the laces of Elara’s undergown, not that Elara minded. She’d grown up dressing and undressing in front of handmaids. When the torn and dusty white undergown slithered to the floor, Merissa picked it up gingerly.

‘Would you like this cleaned, Your Highness?’

‘Elara will do,’ she replied. ‘And no, I don’t want to keep that thing.’ It still bore the memories of the day that had changed her life irrevocably.

‘Thank the Stars. I’ll burn it then,’ Merissa muttered.

When Elara turned, the maid looked mortified that she’d uttered the words aloud. ‘I-I’m sorry, I—’

‘Incineration sounds fine.’ Elara’s lips twitched as she undid the thigh sheath that held her dagger, and Merissa smiled shyly back.

She placed it carefully by the water’s edge before gingerly stepping into the bath. Deliciously cool water lapped at her, a balm to her heated skin.

Merissa reached for the holster and knife. Elara stopped her. ‘I’d rather it remained close,’ she said.

Merissa gave a nod, and a reassuring smile. ‘Of course. A wise choice.’

It was a damned shame. If she had been in any other circumstances, perhaps she could have become friends with this woman.

She pushed the thought aside as Merissa crouched down next to the bath. ‘Soaps are laid here for you, Your Highness.’

‘Elara,’ she corrected again.

Merissa’s cheeks grew pink, and Elara tried to force another somewhat friendly smile as she turned her back to reach for the soaps.

‘That’s beautiful,’ she heard Merissa breathe behind her.

Elara turned, craning her neck to look at Merissa, and realized what the woman had to be looking at. An elegant rendering of a dragun was tattooed down her spine, snaking down in black, its scales and wings laced with shards of silver.

‘Ah, my dragun. The sigil of our family,’ she replied.

Merissa nodded. ‘I know the tales.’

Elara turned her attention back to the soap. ‘My best friend has one of a nightwolf.’ It wasn’t the sigil of Sofia’s house, but Elara had always been told that she herself had a dragun spirit and Sofia had wanted a tattoo to match her own spirit—ferocious, protective and loyal.

‘Nightwolves. The ending of “The Nightwolf and the Silver” always made me cry as a child,’ Merissa replied. ‘I hated the Nightwolf.’

Elara paused her washing, frowning. ‘The Nightwolf was the hero of the story. He was slain by the maiden.’

‘Yes,’ Merissa said slowly. ‘But he was slain because he had befriended the Lightmaiden, then betrayed her with his bite. She was left no choice. And she died too, with his venom in her veins.’

Elara put down her sponge. ‘Then you and I know very different tales.’

Merissa shrugged, blushing again. ‘Perhaps I spoke out of turn.’

Elara resumed her scrubbing. ‘No. It sounds just like Helios to vilify the Dark and glorify the murderer who was stupid enough to try and tame a wild beast.’

Merissa said nothing more, nodding meekly as she tidied around the bathroom.

An ache had settled deep in Elara’s stomach the moment she had brought up Sofia.

‘I’ll let you relax,’ Merissa said. ‘Call if you need me, I’ll be in the bedroom.’

‘Thank you,’ Elara replied, her mind elsewhere. As soon as the door closed, she submerged herself under the water, allowing it to fill her ears, to wash over her thoughts. Being near water normally calmed her but try as she might, she couldn’t erase the unwanted and terrible thoughts beginning to creep in. The ones that asked what had happened to Sofia, to the rest of her court—to the kingdom she so loved, even if she’d only ever seen it mostly through the panes of window glass.

A buzzing started in her ears, her hands beginning to tingle as familiar panic gripped her. She tried to breathe and choked in a mouthful of cool water.

She came up spluttering and coughing, her sopping hair blinding her.

‘Elara? Is everything all right?’ she heard Merissa call.

‘Fine,’ Elara got out.

She gripped the warm tiles of the pool’s lip, trying to ground herself as her thrumming heart slowed.

‘You will not survive a night here if you allow your emotions to drown you like this,’ she hissed to herself. She brought to mind her box—the one that Sofia had taught her years ago to create. It was obsidian black, its glossy surface reflecting Elara’s haunted face. There was so much already sealed within there, but as she opened it, she didn’t look at a single memory or emotion. Instead she imagined each feeling and image, all her panic and pain, being laid into the black box. Then she resolutely locked it, and shoved it down within her.

When she walked back into the bedroom, wrapped in a fluffy towel, the water on her skin already drying in the heat, Merissa was stood by a dressing table, an enormous oval mirror in the centre of it.

Elara took the hint, and sat gingerly on the stool.

‘The king stressed to me that you had to blend into the kingdom as much as possible,’ Merissa said, as she set about combing Elara’s hair. ‘To those who have already seen you before, my magick won’t work. But to most of the kingdom, who have never set eyes on the Queen of Asteria—’

Elara jerked, facing Merissa. ‘What did you just call me?’

‘The—the Queen,’ she stammered back.

Elara swallowed. ‘Thank you.’

She turned around, Merissa resuming her brushing. ‘To most of the kingdom, the magick will hold. They will see a Helion citizen, if you are ever glimpsed around the palace.’

A rosy glow stretched from her fingertips, heating Elara’s scalp. The blue tint of midnight hair, so long it skimmed her hips, warmed as rich golden hues began to streak through it. She looked in shock to Merissa.

‘You’re a glamourer?’

Merissa nodded, and Elara looked at her features once more.

‘You’re not from Helios.’

She shook her head. ‘I’m Aphrodean.’

It set Elara more at ease, as the glamourer continued to cast the rose-coloured charm over Elara’s features. In the mirror, her eyes deepened to a dark brown, her skin began to glow a little in the way all Helions—the worshippers of the Light—did. There was a brilliance about her, that hadn’t been there before. She looked almost unrecognizable.

‘This is what others will see,’ Merissa said. ‘But this—’ She clicked her fingers, and the mirror rippled, to reveal Elara exactly as she had been—her silver eyes shining back at her, hair blue-black, skin dulling a little in pallor. ‘This is what you and I, and those who have already seen you, will see.’

Elara nodded, grateful that at least she recognized her own reflection.

Merissa gave an encouraging smile, before walking towards a large wardrobe. Sheer garments were pulled out and held in front of Elara. ‘You’ll be wearing Helion attire, of course.’

Elara’s eyes widened. In Asteria, with its chilled climate, the fashion had always been somewhat modest, with little skin exposed, if ever. Yet here, due to the Light’s bounty, the clothes were barely more than a suggestion. Merissa had selected a loose silk skirt that pooled to the ground, and Elara’s eyes bulged as Merissa brought a top into view. Off the shoulders, the blouse bunched, with short cuffs to leave her arms bare. The blouse was white to match the skirt, embroidered with small gold flowers all over it. But what alarmed Elara as Merissa forced it over her was its length. It was cropped, leaving her midriff exposed.

‘This is barely going to cover my breasts,’ she said in horror.

Elara could have sworn the corners of Merissa’s lips lifted. ‘Isn’t that the whole point? Helions believe that their Star Leyon created the Light, in part, to display the beauty of his kingdom proudly.’

‘Skies,’ Elara muttered, taking the clothes from Merissa. ‘I’ll dress myself,’ she added hurriedly.

Merissa ushered Elara behind a screen, waiting as Elara attempted to wrangle the flimsy cloth over her chest in a way that wouldn’t show her nipples.

‘Clothes here are designed for comfort as well as style,’ Merissa called over. ‘We don’t restrict ourselves, and you’ll find corsets are only used for formal occasions—balls and such. You’ll get used to it before you know it.’

Elara dressed hurriedly, making her way out from behind the screen.

Merissa raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re going to blend in perfectly.’

‘Wonderful,’ Elara said flatly.

‘I just have a few finishing touches.’ Merissa twined some small white starflowers through Elara’s hair. The fragrance of them calmed Elara as she breathed it in deeply. ‘There. Now you’re ready for a royal dinner.’

Elara turned to herself in the full-length wardrobe mirror and stilled. The outfit, although still too revealing for Elara’s liking, fit her like a second skin. The silk seemed to drip off her frame. Then she took in her face in the reflection, and felt a twinge of sadness. Merissa had made her up beautifully, but no makeup or glamouring could hide the haunted look that Elara saw in her own silver eyes.

Merissa clicked her fingers, and her reflection evaporated, replaced with the dark-eyed, golden-lit Elara once more.

She tugged a strand of silky hair through her fingers and forced a smile.

‘Thank you, Merissa. I appreciate the kindness you’ve shown me today.’

She meant it. In this place, she would grasp on to any kindness that she could.

Merissa’s eyes filled with warmth, and she gave a little curtsy. ‘It’s best I escort you to dinner now.’ She squinted at an ornate clock mounted on the bedroom wall. ‘It will be served soon, and it will be a good test for my glamouring. Especially as you meet the court.’

Elara looked once more to the room—her new prison—then begrudgingly followed the glamourer out of the room to where the hungry predators waited.