Threads of Emerald

Threads of Treachery: Chapter 9

The midnight velvet of the carriage was plush and soft against my skin as I awoke. The driver said we'd be in the capital by the evening. I twisted to look out of the small window to my left, barren lands nor green landscapes didn't hurtle past. We'd stopped.

I unclasped my cloak and let it pool around my hips as I unlocked the carriage door and stepped out to greet the evening. The dimming sun was my only indication of the time, the sky was a beautiful symphony of shades of pastel, blues and pinks, purples and yellows, greens and oranges as they mixed to create the most stunning portrait in the sky. I inhaled a lungful of the crisp night air, the cool breeze gently blowing through my hair and caressing my skin.

We'd stopped before a huge, glass bridge that was suspending over the teeming body of water that crashed and thudded and hurtled against the rising, white-stoned wall that concealed what was over the magnificent bridge.

The driver had stopped to speak to a man who lazily stood against one of the sides of the bridge. The man must have been around six foot, but seemed so much smaller with the backdrop of the bridge, which rose into the fluffy white clouds above.

The bridge was certainly a statement of the wealth of the Kingdom. The sun cast a strange hue over the bridge, making it look like a giant jewel that was nestled comfortably into the landscape, but it still looked harsh and unforgiving in comparison to the natural landscape of home.

The man caught my eye and began walking towards me, the driver in tow behind him. I couldn't deny that the man was handsome, light brown hair with flecks of blonde complemented his chocolate-coloured eyes. He must have only been a few years older than I was, with muscled shoulders and a broad frame complimented by the cutting, sky-blue uniform he wore. Another guard, I thought as he stopped a foot away from me. A small part of me wished I wasn't wearing these rags. But I was glad that he could see what exactly the Kingdom he served did.

"Gods, you look awful", his brazenness always knocked me off my feet as I schooled my features into neutrality with a hint of boredom. I needed to know who and why this man was.

"A month of mining for copper and hammering iron with minimal food and sleep will do that to you", I made a point of sounding pissed off as I stared at the young gentleman. His features were softer than Rupert's, but that didn't make him any less handsome, he looked charming. His eyes were a deep shade of brown as he surveyed the cut across my cheek and fixed his gaze on the purpling bruises across my neck.

"Sorry, I ... I didn't know what to say", a nervous smile played on his lips as I stared at him, arms crossed and my lip set in a thin line. I stood still, but everything in me wanted to look up to the sky and let that soothing breeze breathe across my face, down my neck, through my hair. The vanilla taste of nervousness crossed my tongue as I watched the gentleman fumble for what to say, watching as he smoothed invisible creases from his torso and flatten fly-away pieces of his hair that weren't there.

I don't know what effect I'd had on him. It certainly wasn't the way I looked. The beauty I had faded as soon as winter arrived, draining my alluring and sparkling features into dull and lifeless markers of the hardships that had almost pulled me under.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you. The Queen wishes for me to extend her apologies again. I'm Theodore Vos, a member of the household guard. I will be escorting you to her private residence, the Palace of Diamonds", he blushed slightly as he recited the speech he had clearly been trying to remember before.

"Thank you, Theodore", I lifted my head slightly, angling my head so the sunlight made my eyes sparkle as I took the hand he offered and stepped in the carriage again.

The driver clambered on to the top of the carriage and began the ascent over the bridge. I didn't want to talk anymore. I was too tired. So I ignored Theodore's eyes that roved over my scars and haggard body and looked out of the small window of the carriage as we crossed over the glass bridge.