Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALINA
Aweek had gone by since I stopped taking the medicine.
I did not know what I was hoping for when I stopped it, but what I discovered was absolutely astonishing.
I could already feel the difference from the strange affects that my body had gone through.
The medication actually made me lethargic, confused, and nauseous.
After a few days, my appetite came back, I no longer got sick after every meal, and my mental focus improved.
But it took a lot of effort to keep acting like I was still sick and frail in front of my maid.
I started looking at Sally differently, but I could not let it show.
Why would they try to poison me?
I still could not remember much of my past, but I was hopeful that I would get more clarity as time went by.
“You have such beautiful hair, milady.”
Sally was braiding my locks and pinning flowers atop of my head. I glanced at my reflection and averted my eyes. I looked sickly and tired. I did not like my reflection and would do anything just to be left alone in my room, reading the book that Kent gave me.
I had not seen my guard for the past couple of days, and it made me uneasy. Somehow, knowing there was someone who knew what I was going through made me feel like I was not alone in this world.
I knew better than to ask Sally his whereabouts, but I just could not hold my curiosity back any longer.
“Sally, have you seen Mr. Kent lately?”
“Mr. Kent?” Sally took a long pause before replying.
“Is he alright?”
“Yes, I believe so. He’s going through some training.”
“Is that so?”
“Why are you asking, milady?”
“I was just curious.”
“You know that you should concentrate on finding your future husband.”
I had so many responses ready, but I forced myself to take a deep breath and looked back in the mirror.
“Who am I meeting today?” I sighed.
“Lord Dayton, milady.”
“The one with two wives?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“He’s a good candidate. He would probably be too busy with his current household to be too tiresome,” Sally said.
I did not trust myself to respond.
When the last spray was attached to my hair, Sally ushered me to put on an elaborately decorated dress, in a deep shade of blue silk, with long sleeves and a modest cut in the front.
“Milady should stay away from anything with red pigment in it.”
“Why?”
“Because of your hair, milady.” Sally straightened the folds of my skirt.
I bit my lip, red was the color of my beast. The scales of my dragon were copper-red and I knew that as well as I knew my own name.
While I followed Sally through the room, I meditated about the fact that I knew so little about who I was.
I had no idea how I got to live in the palace or where my family was.
Every time I tried to remember anything about my childhood or my parents, an empty void stared back at me from the other end.
There had to be something I could do to regain those memories. If only I could ask someone I could trust. I glanced at Sally and immediately banished the thought. She was feeding me poison. She knew what she was giving me, I was sure of it.
When Sally opened the entrance door, the first person I saw was Kent. I had not expected to see him today, and my treacherous heart skipped a beat. My steps faltered and I paused in the doorway.
“Already back on duty?” Sally looked at him with a teasing smile.
Kent nodded, but looked straight at me.
“Milady,” he said in a low voice.
His voice was so soft, so intimate. My cheeks burned and I looked down.
“Mr. Kent,” I mumbled.
I hated myself for reacting that way. It was so humiliating that I could not control my body and appear cold and indifferent as I should have done.
At last, when I commanded myself enough to look at him, I watched as his eyes roamed over my face, my hair, before stopping on my bare shoulders.
“Alina, my dear child,” a familiar voice came from the end of the corridor.
Kent stepped aside and Sally bowed her head.
I had seen Lady Corliss many times before, but never had I truly been able to observe her like I did today.
She was a petite woman with an indistinct face, her age impossible to determine.
Her dress was in a pleasant shade of grey and did not look too formal or too revealing.
Everything about her was in half measures.
I have never seen her too animated about anything.
The tone of her voice, as well as the expression on her face, were average, undefined, and well guarded. I did not trust her.
“Lady Corliss.” I lowered my gaze, as my shoulder muscles tightened.
I had to keep playing the part of a person who was still unwell, with barely the energy to get out of bed, and behave as if every interaction with the outside world was too painful to bear.
She looked me over, and appeared satisfied. Probably because in her mind, I was still under the influence of whitebane, yet more presentable.
“My dear, you look so lovely.” She reached out and patted my hand. “That will be all, Sally.” she commanded, releasing my maid.
She was still holding my hand as we slowly moved through the hall.
“Lord Adger is one of the most powerful people in the capital. Securing one of his sons should be your priority. I am aware that Dayton has some family already formed, but, consider this, my dear; he would settle you immediately into his house, and send his wives and children away, if he could gain your affection. I know this because I happened to talk to him earlier. Although he is much older than his brother, what is more important, my dear, is we already know his seed can produce.”
I raised my eyes to her, not fully believing my ears.
“There are also others, but they are simply not on the same level.”
Lady Corliss looked straight ahead waiting for Kent to open one of the double doors for us to enter. When he stepped in front of us, I noticed a flush of pink on his cheeks, his jaw was clenched, and his lips pressed tight.
I swallowed and looked down.
Why would he be angry? He was not the one who was paraded in front of an already married man and forced to accept his advances. He was not locked in a room and forced to take poison. He was not the one who could not remember anything beyond his name or the color of his dragon.
Black . . . Black . . . His dragon is black.
I halted and raised my eyes to my guard. I knew who he was beneath the mask. I could close my eyes and picture the glorious shape of his beast, his inky scales, and the beautiful, dark umber of his eyes.
“Try to do your best to secure this union. I know you can do it, my precious child.” Corliss leaned in and placed an unwelcome kiss to my cheek.
The wet smudge on my skin made me want to wipe it off, but I stayed still.
“When all this is over, our Queen Mother will transfer her throne to you. Just think about all the great things you can do as the future queen.” She smiled, but her eyes remained unchanged, cold and calculating.
“Mr. Kent, would you mind escorting Lady Alina to the gardens?”
Without waiting for his response, she moved ahead through the gallery.
Kent moved closer and offered me his hand. I accepted it, without saying anything to him or even looking his way.
“Those vultures only think about themselves,” Kent muttered.
“Excuse me?”
“They are using you to gain more power.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“And who do you think I should pick?”
Kent’s eyes flickered with something dangerous, his brow furrowing slightly as he stared at me.
“Why are you wearing a blue uniform?” I asked, instead of waiting for an answer I really did not want to hear.
“What?”
“I thought the uniforms should always match the color of the dragon.” I stopped, studying his face.
His eyes burned into mine, and for a moment, I wondered if I had said something that meant more to him than I could fathom.
“Yes.”
“But your dragon is black isn’t it?”
In an atmosphere full of deceptions and lies, it felt good to speak the truth without any fear, without holding back. It seemed that doing so released, at least partially, some of the tension I was feeling deep in my chest.
Kent looked like he wanted to say something, but we were by the entrance to the gardens.
The outlines of the tables and two chairs placed closely together made me want to turn around and run back the way I came.
Lord Dayton was standing with his back toward us.
Everything about the set up reminded me of a well-crafted scene from a book.
I glanced at Lady Corliss who stood by the serving table with her hands clasped in front of her, watching me and Kent approach the tables.
Up close, Lord Dayton was even less appealing.
He was a well-built man of average height, his hair combed carefully to conceal his receding hairline.
His eyes shifted from one object to another while he spoke, and he avoided all topics that could bring up his family life.
Only banal pleasantries and flattery flew from his tongue.
I lowered my gaze, and picked up a flower from the vase on the table. I idly played with the delicate petals of a white rose as he spoke of the future and the great prospects for all of Talman if we were to unite. It was a little unsettling. He was talking as if the decision had already been made.
“Just imagine; there are so many things we could do to help the good people of Talman,”
he said.
My mind traveled to somewhere where the sun could never reach the land, with endless dry fields and abandoned cities swarmed by herds of crawlers that stretched as far as the eye could see.
How did I know that? Have I ever been outside the city limits? Outside of the palace?
I inhaled, and without realizing it, my eyes moved to Kent. Today, more than any other day, it felt as if I were standing before a closed door, knowing that behind it were the answers to everything. If I concentrated hard enough, I could almost reach out and place my hand on the handle.
Was there something that I needed to remember? Was it good or bad? And what role does my new guard play in all of it?
“Do you know what I mean?” The words of Lord Dayton broke the spell I was under, and I nodded, not knowing what I was agreeing to.
“Our union could bring years of prosperity to the entire region and ensure that all clans would live in peace. That is the role of a queen, is it not? To stand above all dragon clans?
For reasons unknown to me, I nodded again.
“It’s settled then. I will announce that we came to an agreement.”
“Wait! What?” I peered back at him.
“You agreed to accept my hand.”
“No. I did not.”
“Yes . . .Yes, you did.”
“Lord Dayton, you misunderstood me. I simply agreed to think about your generous proposal.”
With those words, I stood up.
Lady Corliss immediately approached me and, giving Lord Dayton a pleasant smile, pulled me aside.
"What do you think you are doing?" She hissed in my ear.
"Lord Dayton is the best possible candidate.
His family holds nearly as much influence as the queen herself.
You may not know your own interests, but think about the interests of all the people in Talman.
Do you want another war between clans to destroy our civilization for good? "
"Of course not, I —"
“Then do what is expected of you. Fulfill your role as the bearer of the sacred blood, take this man as your husband, and produce an heir. That is all that is expected of you. Do your part and live your life freely with anyone you want.”
With that final remark, she glanced at Kent, then turned on her heels and joined Lord Dayton. I stood for a moment, unsure of what to do, before slowly making my way toward the palace entrance.
Kent was beside me the whole time, but we did not exchange a single word until we reached my room.
“May I ask you a question?” I said at last.
Kent paused by the doorway, his shoulders tense.
“Sure.”
“What would you do if you were in my position?”
“Careful, milady. I may say something that can not be unsaid.”
“Even so. I want to hear it.”
“No.”
“No?”
He sighed and slightly shook his head.
“I would never accept a man who would be willing to abandon his own family in order to start a new one,” he said and his voice sounded hard.
“What about all the responsibilities of being an heiress?”
“You are a person . . . not a vessel to bear children.”
I turned away, gripping the door handle.
Suddenly, a hand landed on the door beside my head, trapping me between the wooden panel and the strong chest of the male behind me. His face lowered to my ear. The skin on my jawline and neck tingled from the whisper of hot breath, the coils of my hair swayed gently.
“You deserve so much more than that, Alina.”
Kent’s voice was so tender and warm, intimate.
I was paralyzed, frozen in every sense of the word, unable to breathe, unable to think.
My cheeks glowed with the hottest fire while he just stood at my back, without moving, without trying to touch me.
It was torture, unbearably sweet, sensual, and forbidden.
Slowly, as if trying not to startle me, his hand moved from the door to the handle and he placed his hand on top of mine.
I closed my eyes, almost shocked by the sensation of his skin against mine.
He turned the handle and the door swung open in front of me.
I stepped over the threshold more confused than ever before.