4. Laude
Chapter 4
Laude
Nighttime arrived all too soon.
The next day, Jaime kept his promise to take me to Himzo after his proposal, which was one of the reasons I trusted him more than anyone else in all the world, except for maybe Beatriz.
“Are you ready?” Jaime held my hand with a grip that promised not to let go on my first trip through a portal.
We stood in the middle of Prince Cosme’s sitting room, in front of what appeared to be rippling air. Through that air, lamplight reflected off the golden curtains and polished walls that had obviously been cleaned not too long ago in whatever room lay beyond. Cosme stood off to the side chatting with Minerva, the portal maker. His tan skin appeared darker than yesterday, and strands of black hair fell into his sparkling brown eyes.
Minerva’s dark eyes glistened with admiration for Prince Cosme. Her long ringlets drizzled over her shoulders, daring onlookers not to be jealous. I fluffed my frizzy mop of rebellious hair. My instincts heightened when she giggled at something the prince said. Cosme wasn’t generally a funny person, so this reaction couldn’t have been from a hilarious joke.
Jaime stepped forward, taking me with him, though I wasn’t done staring questioningly at Cosme and Minerva.
I jerked my hand back. “What should I expect?” I glared at Cosme, distracted by his chuckle.
Cosme’s betrothed slept only a floor below us, dreaming about her wedding date. Granted, I didn’t know her, so I couldn’t be sure about her dreams. But either way, here he was murmuring sweet nothings into Minerva’s ear.
Jaime cut in front of me with his teaching expression in place: a wide-eyed, calm face, with one eyebrow cocked a fraction higher than the other. “You’ll feel a breeze as you step closer to the portal. When you walk through, pressure will push against your body and then yank you forward. Make sure to keep walking so you don’t stumble.”
Cosme clapped Jaime’s shoulder. “We’ll keep the portal open until you two return.”
“Minerva’s not coming with us?” Jaime asked.
“No.” Cosme glanced at Minerva. “We have some business to attend to, but feel free to come and go as you please. The other Dotados will guard the passage if we aren’t here.”
Suspicion mounted in my head like overflowing laundry in the wash basin. Cosme had private business with the flirting senorita here? My tail feathers. Just because Minerva could make portals didn’t mean they should be alone gallivanting across the Agata territories like newlyweds on a honeymoon.
Jaime led me into the rippling corner of the room. “I’d like to introduce you to the kingdom of Himzo.”
My teeth bit down on my bottom lip, rubbing against dry skin as we stepped closer to the portal. A water taste-test was the first trial Himzo would need to pass. Then, I had a parchment in my sleeve pocket with all the things I required of Jaime’s homeland before I’d say yes to moving.
Air whipped my frizz back, and a force pressed against my skin like Jaime had said. My insides quivered worse than they did when I’d climbed tall waterfalls or when I’d hidden during the attack on the Giddelian palace. Back then I’d had the luxury of being caught up in the moment. A force yanked me forward, white light flashed all around, and I continued to move my legs. My boot stomped on something hard. Light dimmed. A small room with stone walls and a plush carpet welcomed me to Himzo.
“Laude!” A deep voice boomed.
I rubbed my dry eyes and searched what appeared to be a living area of sorts. Stone, furs, and not-so-comfy chairs filled the space. On the walls, oil paintings of old men and rigid ladies stared with vacant expressions at all who entered their domain. Where had the voice come from?
Jaime looked up and waved at two men leaning against the balustrade on the floor above. The bald man with a hefty midsection nudged a skinny fellow beside him. Gonzalo and Blas.
Blas elbowed Gonzalo’s gut. “Laude! We heard you were coming for the festivities.”
“Festivities?” My arms flung wide and smacked Jaime’s nose. “Ai-yi-yi, I’m sorry, I just got so excited.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jaime pinched the bridge of his nose and grunted. “The fellows wanted you to see how Himzos celebrate.”
Footsteps stomped down the stairs somewhere up ahead. Gonzalo and Blas appeared around a wall in fine doublets like I’d seen at court many times over. When we’d first met, they wore simple tunics and trousers like merchants. I’d even thought I fancied Gonzalo for a bit, especially since he could prepare a meal better than Cook in Giddel’s palace.
“Senorita.” Blas reached to kiss my hand.
“Good to see you too.” I yanked my hand back before his lips touched my knuckles and offered a pressed lip smile, but Blas’s thin features dropped into a frown.
“She’s still upset at me. After all this time, she can’t let it go.” Blas directed his blue-green eyes at Jaime.
It wasn’t that I hated Blas. I just didn’t like the way he tended to use insults to make a joke or how he shared senseless comments that hurt other people’s feelings. Like the time he’d said all Giddelian ladies were silly. I couldn’t believe he had the audacity to try to excuse himself for any wrongdoing.
Jaime kept his focus on me, and his mouth twitched up at the corners. “I have a surprise for you.”
I bounced on my toes. “Where are we going? What are we celebrating?”
Mischief danced on his forehead. He walked me around his friends, through the richly furnished home, and out double doors.
Two guards in black stood like statues on each side of us which set off wiggle worms in my stomach, but Jaime didn’t flinch.
Outside, cobblestone roads flowed like a river between stone buildings adorned with torches, reflecting the artistically chiseled homes. Ladies in fine gowns paraded along the street’s sidewalks, and horse drawn carriages rumbled down the road. Nighttime was never so bustling in Giddel.
Leaning toward Jaime, I asked, “Whose house is this?”
Jaime smiled. “This is Milo’s estate, and we’re going to the Day of the Senorita.”
Gonzalo and Blas stepped around us, arguing like old women over juicy gossip.
“No, he didn’t.” Gonzalo shook his head.
“Yes, he did,” Blas shouted louder. “You were there.”
Gonzalo called over his shoulder, “What are you standing around for?”
Jaime tucked a stray hair behind my ear, brushing his thumb on my skin. His eyes drank me in, earnest for an answer. “In Himzo, big weddings take place over a week-long celebration. The first night is the Day of the Senorita.”
My heart thudded. Were we to marry so soon? King Ezer just gave his blessing, and I thought we’d have more time. Would Himzos have a big festival for Jaime and me? My tongue managed to lift itself up so I could speak. “I’ve hardly seen the inside of Milo’s house. How am I to come to a proper conclusion? And that reminds me.” I touched my elbow, crinkling the parchment in the sleeve. “Can I get a drink of water?”
The water had a salty flavor and an oddly thick, though not unpleasant, texture. Though it wasn’t my usual cup, I liked it, which flared my insides into a coiled spring ready to explode. It had passed the first test, but I had many more to come before agreeing to move to Himzo.
“Now, can we go to the festivities?” Jaime leaned over the kitchen counter in Milo’s house.
I sat on a stool, sipping from an ornate glass in a kitchen meant for a squad of cooks and sous chefs. Yet, no one stirred within the four stone walls. “I’m nervous.”
“Oh, Laude.” Jaime leaned closer. “We can go home early if you’d like. I thought you might enjoy seeing Milo’s wedding.”
“Wait!” I hopped off the stool. “This isn’t for us?”
He smashed his lips together, poorly restraining a chuckle. “Did you think I’d plan our wedding without you?”
A blush crept up my neck faster than I could think. “Ai-yi-yi. I guess a whole city wouldn’t have a festival for us.”
“Milo is kind of marrying the Himzo princess.” A playful smirk crept up his cheeks.
“That’s a relief.” I swiped my forehead, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. But then I fell back onto the stool. “Wait, can we get Princess Beatriz? She can’t miss such an important event, especially since she and Zichri are so set on marrying.”
Jaime shook his head. “Her coming might risk them being kept apart even longer. Remember King Ezer’s proclamation?”
“Yes, but it seems so unfair. And how am I ever going to face Beatriz after spending time with everyone when she should be here too? Please?” I pressed my palms together as if praying.
“There would be consequences.” His words rattled my crumb of hope.
Then, I jumped off the stool and thanked the Ancient One that I was a nobody for the first time ever. Don’t get me wrong. I still would have done anything to be someone’s child or sister or to have a permanent role in life. But I took solace in being able to attend a friend’s wedding with no political implications attached.
And cielos , was it a fun time! At the main plaza, the Himzo palace hovered on a peak above a large, rectangular space full of ladies and gentlemen wearing their finest attire in bright shades, as if attempting to copy tropical birds. Lamps had been lit in every window, and strips of white curtains hung like clouds from buildings and pillars.
We squeezed between groups of people who were chatting in tight knit circles and enjoying empanadas and figs. I held fast to Jaime’s shoulder, scared we’d be separated by the throng. Milo and Zichri seemed to be playing a game of hide and seek. The groom would show up beside Prince Zichri on the platform and then chat with guards at the palace entrance. I turned around again and caught them mingling in the crowd. All over the place.
Enthusiasm vibrated through the air like a palpable force. Now, my only concern while zigzagging through the plaza was my bladder knocking for relief. I shouldn’t have had several glasses of water before leaving Milo’s estate. Making it to the front, Jaime searched the platform ahead and the palace entrance behind the podium.
In front of the palace, musicians played the Viola de Gamba with shawms, flutes, a harp, trumpets, and tambourine girls. A trumpet blasted a staccato melody, and ladies hooted through the crowd, drawing me into the merriment. Dresses swayed as the ladies lined up in rings that grew smaller as they reached the center of the square, forming something that must have looked like a target from a bird’s view.
Jaime leaned close to my ear. “They’re doing the jarabe Himzo to kick off the festivities. At the end, each woman chooses a suitor for the next movement.”
The tambourines clapped and jangled, the trumpets roared, and a melody swam through the plaza. Ladies twirled and stepped. They shifted their hips side to side with their hands held elegantly to the sky. Many of the damsels smiled toward the crowd. One girl, with slick black hair and the beauty of a mermaid, winked in Jaime’s direction. I grabbed tighter to his arm, but she blew him a kiss anyway.
Jaime laughed and pressed his lips to my forehead. “The next hundred dances are yours.”
“And what about the hundred after that?”
“Those are also yours.” His deep voice smoothed over my annoyance at his laughter about the mermaid girl.
“Good. I might need that many dances to learn your steps.” I crossed my legs, feeling the urge to relieve myself even more. “So, the water is going straight through me. Do we have to go all the way back to Milo’s?”
“No, there’s a palace entrance not too far off.” Jaime led the way across the bustling street and weaved around the crowd.
We reached the palace gate where lines of guards stood, outfitted in black garb with golden sigils the shape of a mountain-lined horizon.
Blas hopped into view, smacking a stony-faced guard on the back. “Come on, good compadre. You know you aren’t going to keep Prince Zichri’s entourage out of the palace.”
Gonzalo’s face appeared above Blas’s, as if to suggest he were the muscle behind Blas’s words.
Stony face opened a door in the gate entrance without so much as a crack in his expression, as if this were the most dreadful of tasks. Jaime smiled at me, as he gestured for me to enter.
“You know we can’t let you do all the tramping around the palace.” Blas clicked his tongue with a grin that said he was coming along no matter what.
Gonzalo lumbered behind us in silence and scanned the premise with a focus beyond the casual glance. His hands remained at the hilt of his sword.
Jaime leaned closer. “It’s best if they join us. We’re not sure how safe the palace is these days. Prince Zichri resides elsewhere and visits sparingly.”
Those words brought little comfort, but if I didn’t make it to a privy chamber or a chamber pot, I might make a mess of myself on the street.
Jaime had failed to explain that reaching the first floor of the palace required a trek halfway up the mountain. My toes pinched from the long walk, and my thighs begged for a break. By the time we fled into the dim servants’ door, Jaime said, “The privy chamber is the last door to the left. Watch your step in the dim light. They must have turned out most of the sconces for the night.”
“I’m a living torch. I think I can handle it.”
“But giftings won’t work until most of the relics are gone.” Jaime tapped on my index finger.
Raising my finger with the pale, swirling lines that marked my gift, I let the energy surge from my palm to the fingertip. The lines illuminated in golden orange, like my skin was made of bronze. As the power reached the tip, the glow flickered a weak flame that barely extended past the end of my fingernail.
“What in all Agata? Why don’t powers work here? Never mind. I can handle the dark. And it looks like there’s one sconce lit at the end.” My feet sped down the hall, driven by a growing need.
“We’ll wait on the balcony.” He gestured to the opposite end of the long passage.
Thank the Ancient One for a clean facility. This must be a special quarter for servants, but with the festivities, no one remained on the floor. I exited the chamber to the dim passageway and let the familiar tingle of power spark on my fingertip with the tiniest flame alight. So strange.
Jaime’s tiny silhouette waited for me at the opposite end of the passage, dimly lit by a spill of torchlight from a stairwell in between. I dragged my fingers along the stone wall as I hurried back to my love, when voices drifted down the stairwell. I dimmed my flame and tiptoed up a small flight of stairs.
“You know where it is, don’t you?” A male voice hissed.
Something slammed against the wall above and whispers sounded. I couldn’t make out the words, but the voice sounded female.
“Either way,” the man continued, “you are taking me to Pedroz. If you disappear again, your lady might have an unfortunate accident.”
“No, I’ll take you.” The woman’s diminutive voice sounded familiar to me.
My boot hit the top step where the flooring changed from rough-cut stone to slick marble. I peeked my head around the corner to find Cosme’s Minerva pinned against a wall by a young man with intense dark eyes and slicked-back hair. He reminded me of Prince Zichri, but where Prince Zichri had kindness in the soft edges of his square jaw, this fellow had sharp lines. The man turned his head, and I retreated behind the wall.
Had he seen me? My heart pounded. I held my breath, hoping he couldn’t hear me. Long seconds passed in silence. Footfalls echoed through the passageway in my direction, and I escaped, running on my toes. I made it down the steps.
The silhouette of a man appeared above. Dim light illuminated his masculine form but hid his front in shadow.
“Come back,” he growled.
I sprinted down the long hall. He must have thought me a fool. Stomping trailed behind me, and I ran faster. The balcony was a stone’s throw away. Jaime’s, Gonzalo’s, and Blas’s backs faced me as they looked out over the balustrade at the city below. Jaime threw back his head in laughter, caught up in his conversation.
“Jaime!” I lifted my dress, trying to get my legs to fly me to him. How far was my pursuer? I looked over my shoulder.
The man stretched his hand toward me and grazed my arm.
I screeched.
Jaime spun around. “Laude?”
The man behind me stopped and ducked in a shadow. I sprinted until I was in Jaime’s arms.
“What’s wrong?” Jaime raised his voice to combat the music from the celebration below the palace. His thumb gently lifted my chin to meet his gaze.
“There was a man.” I rocked up to my toes to speak into his ear. “Minerva’s here. I’m not sure we can trust her. There’s some fellow talking about Pedroz. Something is wrong. Very wrong.”
Jaime whistled to Gonzalo and Blas and cocked his head toward the doorway.
The ring of swords being unsheathed filled my ears. Gonzalo and Blas entered the dark passageway, ready for a fight.
Jaime nodded. “Did you recognize the man?”
“No, but he looked a lot like Prince Zichri.”
Jaime’s jaw clenched. “Did he see you?”
“He chased me.” I pointed into the inky darkness. “He was right there.”
Gonzalo and Blas took off running into the passage.
“Let’s walk back to Milo’s.”
Shaking, I bobbed my head. “I think I need my own sword.”
“That you do.” Jaime lifted his pant leg and lowered his boot to unbuckle a sheath with a worn leather dagger hilt sticking out the top. He placed the soft leather into my palms. “We’ll teach you how to use it.”