Chapter 8
Eliane
It is all about strength, personality, and powers.
Next to the path Da and I walk on are growing all sorts of plants and flowers.
The enormous royal garden is well maintained by the dozen gardeners working in it.
A boy a bit younger than me sweeps pink prunus flowers out of the way as we follow the path.
I give him a thankful nod and as I do, he makes a bow.
I furrow my brows. Why does he bow for me?
I lean down, asking him something I wanted to ask since the day I saw the garden.
I kneel down, wrapping my hands around the little boy’s ears, asking him something in a whisper.
“Are you allowed to pick some flowers for me? I want to give them to my father.”
Da shakes his head, but I see him fighting a smile. I cover the boy with my body, so Da can’t see what I am doing.
The boy looks around nervously, but picks up a rose from the side, handing it to me.
I look into his soft blue eyes.
“Thank you,” I whisper, taking the rose carefully from his little hands. He blushes before turning around, giving me no further attention. My eyes track him, and I feel guilt growing on me.
Poor boy.
I turn around, plastering a smile on my face. It is forced at first, but as I hand Da the rose, I can’t help but smile from ear to ear. He blushes like the little boy.
I put on a funny accent, handing him the rose.
“There you go, Da, a rose from the royal garden,” I chuckle, making a bow as I hand it over.
He pulls me into a hug before taking the rose from me and slipping it into his jacket pocket, a proud smile on his face. I return his smile as he takes my hand and leads me forward.
We climb the stairs towards the guard standing next to the door.
“Name?” the guard growls.
I look around me and spin a circle as I scan the garden astonished. Da shoves his shoulder into mine and I shriek in reflex.
“Eliane Lux Angevine,” I stutter, before turning around to explore the rest of the view. “Oh and Fintan,” I continue, lifting my chin proudly in the air. His eyes widen as I talk to him.
“Yes.” He nods, crossing my name on the clipboard he is holding. His eyes are still widened as he shakes his head softly, exhaling loudly. His right hand points towards a woman, a servant I think.
“Over there is your servant waiting for you. She will take care of you for the next few days. She will help you with your outfit choices and will introduce you to the rules of the palace. If you have any questions, she is your point of contact.”
The fact that they don’t call each other by their names gives me goosebumps. I fold my arms together as I ask him her name, my voice full of irritation.
“And what may her name be?”
Da gives me a soft elbow in my core, giving me a stern look. His eyes are narrowed and he shakes his head softly in a warning.
I don’t care.
“I don’t know.” The guard standing in front of me shrugs. “If you want to know you should ask her.”
Gosh, even the other workers of the king don’t know the names of the ones standing below them. I nod as a thank you before I amble towards the woman, followed by Da.
“Hi, I’m Eliane. What is your name?” I ask her politely, offering her my hand to shake. She looks at it, her mouth dropping open a bit, her eyes widening.
“I, uhh—” she stutters, still looking at my hand. She shifts her shoulder back and shakes her head before she answers. Her lips stop shaking. “Hi m’a—Eliane, I mean. My name is Annie, thank you for asking.” She makes a gentle bow before meeting my gaze.
“The pleasure is all mine, Annie. Thanks for showing me around here and helping me,” I reply, looking her in her eyes.
The girl named Annie doesn’t look like she is older than me.
Her brown hair is put up in a tight bun which makes her blue eyes pop out.
Her white, porcelain skin gleams in the sun.
She takes my hand, already looking at me more comfortably.
“This way, Eliane, I will show you your room and then we must get you ready.” She smiles, dragging me inside of the palace.
I look over my shoulder. Da gives me a nod, smiling softly.
I can feel my energy shift. I thought this was going to suck, but Annie seems nice, so I am going to make the best of it.
My face turns into a smile. I turn away from Da and follow the girl who is holding my hand tightly.
My boots tap against the marble floor of what they call a side building of the palace. My house could fit inside at least five times, probably more. The walls are painted in soft pastel and cream tones and doors line every hallway.
“Eheum.” Annie coughs. It is only now that I notice she let go of my hand and is standing with her arms folded in front of me.
“I will take you to your room. You can acclimatize for an hour. Go for a walk, eat something, train if you want to.” I open my mouth to ask if we have other opportunities to train, but she stops me.
“Don’t worry, there will be other opportunities to train too. You are expected outside in the chapel in the garden in an hour.”
I take a shaky breath.
This is it. It is finally going to start.
“Thank you, Annie. Is it clever to unpack? Or do we have to leave soon?” I reply. She is already walking towards the door.
“Yes, you can unpack if you want, not sure if it is handy, though.” She opens a door for me.
“This is your building for this week.” I feel my eyes widen, but shake it off fast. How does she mean building?
Will I be staying in another room? Why is everything so big and vague anyway?
Annie chuckles like she can read my thoughts and understand them.
Or maybe I am just not that good at holding a steel face.
“You will get used to it. If there is anything I can do for you, I am in the kitchen of this building.” She is already walking away before everything sinks in. Still kind of in shock, I answer.
“What do I have to wear?” I yelp after her, more like a panicked call for help than a question. She turns around smirking a bit.
“Anything you’re comfortable in, something that defines you and looks pretty!” She says it as if it is going to be easy. I laugh to myself.
I like this girl.
“I bet we’re going to be the best of friends, Annie,” I yell again. She smiles at me, her sparkling eyes towards the floor, hands folded in front of her stomach, turns around and walks away.
My backpack plops down on the bed. This room is great.
It is even a bit bigger than my room at home.
I miss my books and plants, though. It is wide, light colored and has a lot of windows.
In the middle is a two-person bed standing.
And I have my own bathroom. I don’t think I am going to unpack. I want to see more of the palace first.
In the hallway are many other doors. A girl with blonde hair walks past me. Gwen, her name is I think.
“Hi!” I wave to her. All I get back is a grin and furrowed brows.
Well fine, not everyone has learned how to be nice it seems. Even though staying here for a week is also the same kind of capture I deal with at home, it feels different.
Making friends is one of the things I always wanted.
A sappy romance, a first kiss. I just don’t think this girl wants to be my friend.
Goosebumps appear on my arms. This is the first time having the chance to make friends.
And even though I am locked away in the side building, just like I am at home, this is different.
I know when I am going to be out of here.
A step closer to my goal like Da used to say.
My freedom is so close I can almost taste it.
I really want to see the different villages, taste the different cultures.
Make friends. Maybe even write a book. After I have enough things to write about.
Just fill my days with more things than reading, hiking, and training.
It is not as if I don’t like those things, because I truly do, but it is the fact that I wasn’t allowed to do normal things. It is what was driving me insane.
I just want to live a normal life.
Maybe my vision of the world is romanticized because of all the books I read.
I just want to experience it. Visit the biggest libraries on the continent.
Figure out why books attract me. Why they give me answers.
I just want to be free. I just don’t want to be locked away any longer.
I wouldn’t have mind dying a bit ago. Because I was scared of everything that was about to happen to me.
Because if I died, that way I would be free.
I just didn’t want to hurt Da that way.
I still don’t want to.
And even though I am not afraid of dying if it means freedom, I think I would like living better.
My feet drag me in the kitchen. A delicious smell fills my nose. “Mmm.”
Someone in the corner laughs. I turn my head. In the corner of the kitchen is an eating or better said sitting area. There is a velvet couch and a big table with chairs. I catch a small tanned-skinned girl sitting on the dark blue velvet couch laughing at me.
“What? Can’t I enjoy this amazing smell?” I smile slanting. The girl crosses my memories. What was her name again? Kelsey? Clara? I don’t know anymore.
“Yes, you can.” She chuckles. “It is amazing. You should try this focaccia with cheese and greens.” I walk over to her. Her green eyes sparkle and her curly long brown hair brushes over her elegant white top. I raise my hand to her.
“Hi, I am Eliane,” I announce to her. She takes my hand.
“I know.” She winks at me. “Kailey.” I sit next to her and take the bread, the focaccia I assume, out of the breadbasket, and take a bite. “You are right, this is amazing.” I sigh, not quite licking my lips. She laughs at me, continuing to eat her bread peacefully.
I have now clue about what to wear.