3. Sage
Sage
The carriage tilted as we moved over a large rock.
“Ugh,” Paige huffed, straightening out her dress. “Doesn’t he know how to drive?”
“He can’t control the rocks on the road,” I said, my eyes never leaving the window.
Most of Peradona was the same. Outside of the city it was mostly flat, with fields of all different crops and plants.
There was the occasional forest, like we were traveling through now.
They were dense, with large canopies of green keeping the sun away and small critters you could see scurrying by if you were paying attention.
We’d passed a family of faun earlier, grazing on the forest floor.
“He should watch where he’s going at least.”
I rolled my eyes but I was sure she wasn’t paying attention, and if she was, she would never say anything.
“Do you think Octavio is just as hot as everyone says he is?” she asked, continuing the mindless conversation.
“Maybe,” I conceded. All of these men were attractive in their own way. Their money and status gave them the ability to keep themselves healthy and they stayed very clean.
“I’m sure he is. I’ve heard such wonderful things. Apparently, he used to be a real stick in the mud, but in the last few years he’s really become quite the partier.” Watching her get heart eyes over someone she’d never met wasn’t unusual behavior for her, but I still found it strange.
For me, physical attraction could come early, but nothing about the emotional connection was fast. And I’d never met anyone interested in staying around long enough to want to experience it.
We were almost there. The smell of the ocean made me nauseous. We were probably still too far away for me to actually smell it, but my mind just knew.
Though I had to admit Stonevale was very beautiful.
It had similar architecture to Yresa, as most cities did, but they used brighter colors, with lots of blues and tans.
The buildings were all pressed together against the sand colored cobblestone street, which was more common for port towns.
People were out and about, going about their normal business for a weekday.
The gates to Octavio’s manor were large and cast iron.
There were magestone lanterns on either side, but it wasn’t quite late enough for them to be lit.
They opened to a full lawn of perfectly cropped grass lined with bushes blooming with boranis flowers, a purple flower with eight very round petals and a distinct golden center that bees flocked to during the season.
The cobblestone was smoother here, granting an almost perfect carriage ride I was sure Paige appreciated.
We pulled around the large fountain to the front doors depicting a mermaid pouring water from a jug in the center.
The large double wooden doors flew open and staff began coming down to receive us, along with I was assuming the home owners.
Though there was no way they greeted every guest. As a princess, we always received the royal treatment.
No one wanted to be in my bad graces. A blessing and a curse.
I rubbed the blue gem nestled at my chest, letting it comfort me. The blasted thing used to be a symbol of what happened, but after a while, it started to feel a bit comforting, which I couldn’t deny was nice.
“Lord and Lady Kalfin,” someone announced as the two older people came walking down the steps.
The lady wore a light blue gown and kept her darker, gray-streaked hair back in a tight bun, that looked like it partially was smoothing out her wrinkles.
The lord had his hair neatly trimmed close to his head, and large wrinkles at the edge of his mouth.
It was hard to tell if it was from smiling or frowning with how neutral his expression was.
“Princess Sage,” the lady said, bowing as they approached. “It’s an honor to have you in our home.”
I plastered on my princess smile, the one all Yuleans had been trained with over years of these things. “The pleasure is all mine. I thank you for the invitation.”
“Our son is very eager to meet you,” the lord continued. “He sent yours out personally.”
Great. “Well I’m excited to make his acquaintance.”
Lady Kalfin smiled wide at that mention. “Wonderful. Well, why don’t we get you settled in. Would you both like tea?”
“Actually, I—”
“We would love some,” Paige butted in, giving me a wide eye glance. “Paige Bovard,” she introduced herself, bowing. “I’m very close friends with the princess.”
I bit down on the inside of my cheek, already raw from having to put up with all of this today. The couple glanced back and forth between the two of us.
“Actually, I would love some,” I continued, choosing the path of least resistance. What I wanted to do was get led to our rooms, worm myself under the blanket, and pretend I wasn’t here until the ball, but it seemed like that wouldn’t be happening.
We were led through the large manor. It was outdated—or traditional, as they would probably describe it—but there was silver filigree everywhere, with different shades of blue wallpaper and plenty of paintings I was sure were passed down generation to generation.
It wasn’t long before we arrived in a smaller dining area I was sure was reserved for teas and things like that. The table was already set, waiting for someone to show up. I guess that made me feel a bit better about saying yes.
My chair was pulled out by a maid and my cup flipped. I thanked her as I sat, joined by Paige on my other side.
“Well, please enjoy,” the Lady said. “We need to finish up the last minute preparations.”
“Thank you,” I said. Perfect. Now I could drink a single cup and make my disappearance.
I cared little about Paige’s desires.
They took their leave, and from the opposite door people with trays began to pour out.
A few filled with pots of tea, while others had towers of sandwiches, cakes, and other patisseries.
This was way too much for just the two of us.
But Paige looked ecstatic. I wasn’t surprised though, she loved this kind of treatment.
I was fairly sure this was the only reason she kept me around, but it didn’t matter to me either way, I learned a long time ago.
“Thank you,” I said, as everything was placed around the table.
Once it was set up and our tea was served, they all took their leave.
“That’s not very becoming,” Paige said as they filtered out, reaching for a sandwich.
“What isn’t?” I asked, going for the cake instead.
“Speaking to others’ help all the time.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “We’re always told to just… pretend they aren’t there. I know we received the same training. And you do set the example.”
I stalled with my fork halfway to my mouth. “Well, I like to acknowledge people’s existence, no matter their standing.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” a deeper voice from behind us said.
We both turned to see the man of the hour, Octavio Kalfin.
I hadn’t seen him much, mostly paintings, but he looked very much the same.
His hair was blonde and kept short, sort of like his dad’s, but a bit more current in style.
His nose was… ruggedly large He wore a more casual tunic with trousers that were almost sinfully tight.
He looked more like a vigilante than a lord’s son, but did any of us really always look the part?
One thing that did, and couldn’t be missed, were the rings he wore on every finger save for his thumbs. A red gem sat in the middle of them, glinting in the light. It was an almost garish look, but he pulled them off nicely.
Paige was on her feet quickly. I could almost see the hearts bouncing from her eyes in a very exaggerated way.
“Lord Octavio.” Paige bowed. “It’s a pleasure.” She looked back at me, as if she was confused why I wasn’t standing, but I remained sipping my tea. “I was just talking of a terrible piece of advice we received as children. Right Sage?”
“Sure,” I said, continuing on my cake. I was not letting this delectable slice of chocolate goodness wait for whatever was happening behind me.
“Well, I’m glad we all agree then.” There was a pause.
“Would you like to join us?” Paige asked. “We have plenty.”
Another pause. “I have a few minutes, if the lady doesn’t mind.”
Was he talking about me? I sighed. I had expected some of this. Since Sorcha was out of the running and Sybil’s marriage would always be seen as a bid to unite nations, I was the only one left, so every lord and lady threw themselves at me.
It was truly tiring, if I was honest, especially when I wasn’t in the mood.
“She doesn’t mind,” Paige spoke for me.
When I turned, her arm was wrapped around his, leading him towards the table. “Right?”
I nodded. “There’s plenty.”
She moved her stuff so he could sit between us and sidled right up next to him. Better for me. I hoped they’d fall in love and have lots of annoying children with bad opinions.
“I hope your travels were good,” he said.
I watched a staff member move forward, probably to pour him tea, but his hand went up to pause them, grabbing the teapot to serve himself instead.
“Very pleasant,” I said.
“The ocean views were magnificent,” Paige continued. “I can’t believe you get to see it all the time.”
It had been what I was actively avoiding, but that was due to my own issues, I was sure it was lovely to most people. My hand drifted to my necklace on instinct.
“Yes, it’s not as exciting when you see it every day, but it is very nice.”
“Maybe you could take us on a tour of the beach before we leave.”
My entire body tensed. While no one knew the whole story, no one who wasn’t there, Paige knew how I felt about the ocean.
“That would be nice. There are quite pretty places on the boardwalk.”
“We’d love to, maybe tomorrow morning?” Paige suggested.
“Can’t,” I said, my voice clipped.
Her gaze shot to mine, venom in it, but I didn’t care. “Nonsense. After breakfast would be great.”
I could feel the knot in my chest tighten.
“I’m sure we can find time,” he said. “I have a pretty clear schedule.”
“That’s great, some of us are busy.”
His brows raised.
“Sage!” Paige snapped. “Sorry, she’s just… a bit tired from travel. This is a great opportunity we wouldn’t want to turn down.”
She did everything she could to hide the rage in her voice, but the fury still peeked through.
He looked at me. “Well, in truth I am plenty busy, but I thought making time for pretty women in the morning couldn’t hurt. Especially with the early morning sun on the break of the water. Nothing quite like it.”
My mind rushed with the sound of waves. I tried to push the uncomfortability down, but there was no use.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t shirk your responsibilities.” I pushed my chair out and stood. “If you’ll excuse me.”
I began to walk away, but thought better of it. I turned and grabbed one of the delectable looking cookies from the table and then stomped off. I could hear Paige behind me trying to make excuses, but I had no interest in them.
I wouldn’t be going to the damn beach.