Chapter 8 #2
My head tipped back to meet his gaze, and I fought the urge to take a step back. His voice lowered.
“I thought maybe you would enjoy separate beds and bathing chambers after such a distressing ordeal. You would both have attendants to help you bathe and change, tending to whatever you need. You’re safe here. No harm will come to either of you. I swear it. Take the room next door for yourself.”
I wanted to believe him. I normally wouldn’t feel safe in a situation like this, seraph or human realm alike, but the trepidation that told me to refuse him was muted.
It was a safety net, a wall I had built high to protect us.
But right now, the wall began to crumble, cracking and fragmenting the more he reassured me.
Maybe the exhaustion overtaking me disrupted my ability to keep my guard cemented in place.
“Come on, Mom! This place is huge!” Cora shouted from deep inside the rooms.
“I will leave this up to Cora. For her comfort,” I said to Gabriel. Something crossed Gabriel’s expression that I couldn’t read.
“Cora?” I leaned my head into the door. “I have been offered rooms right next door. Are you alright with that, or do you wish to stay together?”
Cora was framed in a room off to the side. She quickly paused her bouncing on the large four-post bed with fluffy pillows and silk sheets. “I want you with me. Please.” Her timid voice was barely above a whisper.
“Absolutely, sweet girl. Be there in a moment,” I called back to her. The bouncing behind the ajar door started again.
“I’ll send the chamber attendant to this room. Should you need anything, please let them know,” Gabriel said matter-of-factly. “I will collect you for breakfast in the morning.”
Before I could reply, he turned on his heels and strode down the long hallway without another word or a spare look.
The muscles of his broad shoulders moved under the strain of his tunic, and the silver daggers glinted in the dim light.
The swing of his demeanor when I turned down his offer of having my own room was puzzling.
Maybe he was as tired as me and was ready to get to his rooms for the evening.
I needed to keep reminding myself to strategically keep my noble mask at the ready, my eyes open, and my guard up… no matter how tired I was.
As Gabriel turned a corner into a hallway, disappearing from view, I slipped into the bedroom.
The size of the rooms was bigger than our entire home above Greta’s apothecary.
A deep walnut-colored chest sat at the foot of the bed, and a matching wardrobe boasted ornate designs of ivy and leaves.
The sitting room hosted two plush velvet sofas in hunter green in front of a lovely marble fireplace.
The same flecks of gold swirled through it like the floors of the foyer.
In an attached bathing chamber, a golden clawfoot tub lined with bottles of expensive, fragrant soaps and oils sat beckoning me to it, my body aware of the grime and stickiness from sweat.
A gorgeous full-length mirror sat in the corner, catching my haggard reflection.
Dark under-eye circles, knotted hair, dirt smudges, and torn clothes stared back at me.
A picture of how my day had gone. My appearance was in opposition to the extravagant rooms we were placed in.
I returned to the main chamber with Cora, curiously opening drawers in the wardrobe and rummaging through the trunk. “Find anything interesting?” I asked as I leaned against the doorframe.
She looked at me and crinkled her nose. “Some robes, undergarments, and stockings. Nothing fun.”
Knocking interrupted our search, and a woman appeared in the sliver of the doorway before we could even respond to let her in.
Long, dark curls cascaded over her shoulders, and her deep brown eyes looked us up and down, roving over our disheveled state.
“My apologies, my ladies. I was told to bring you some food and help you get ready for bed. I’m Anya, one of the ladies-in-waiting of the queen.
She directed me to tend to you during your stay. ”
“Oh, I would not expect one of the queen’s ladies to wait on us. That is generous.” I bowed my head, my past training kicking in. Normally, nobility in a queen’s service did not attend to anyone other than the Queen. Either she was being punished, or the Queen was indeed generous.
Anya wordlessly opened the door more to reveal a cart with trays of food and drink, wheeling it in and stationing it in the sitting area.
She kept her expression blank, but curiosity sparked behind her eyes like she was trying to glean information about us.
I didn’t know what she had been told, but I didn’t feel safe to openly tell people who and what we were. Not yet.
Anya’s demeanor stayed passive. “I would be happy to draw you a bath and help look after your hair, my ladies. I have brought you both nightclothes. The commander and the queen hope they are suitable and to your liking.”
I gave her a genuine smile. “Please, call me Rory, and this is Cora. No need for formalities.”
She nodded solemnly. “As you wish. You may call me Anya.”
In Edenalee, the aristocracy was full of self-serving phony relationships, and they would turn on each other in an instant if they felt it would let them climb the social ladder. I would have to be cautious getting to know Anya while also positioning myself in her good graces.