I wove my way through the corridors, most of them were light and airy, with minimal decorations and various servants dotted throughout. I didn't know where the kitchens were or were I was expected to dine. My feet hurt slightly in the slippers, squashing my toes slightly. I was about to ask someone when voices floated from one of the rooms ahead. I edged closer to the wall, so I could peer into the room before I went striding in. I glimpsed Theodore sat at the table, a handsome grin spread across his face as he eyed me awkwardly standing in the doorway. He looked slightly surprised at the new clothes and clean body, his eyes straying slightly to the bruises on my neck and cut across my cheek, as I walked into the room.
He wasn't alone. There were three men and two women, all dressed in light, leather armour with an array of weapons strapped to various body parts. I spied a sword strapped to Theodore's back, a plain sword in comparison to the one's I'd seen on the guards posted outside of my room this morning. Consciously I assessed the other weapons on those who sat at the table. It wasn't as if they needed the weapons, they likely all had magic in their vines if they held such high ranks in the Kingdom. I was that mouse again, walking into a room full of deadly cats honed into deadly weapons by their training and the mystical blood swirling through their bodies.
Giving a slight smile, I slid into the seat next to Theodore. A plate and cutlery appeared in front of me. So, this was a magical Palace then, that really helped with my plans to escape. Breathing a too-heavy sigh, I leant over and took a piece of toast, lathering butter and jam on it in heaps. Ignoring the wary eyes and tangy taste of fear coating my tongue, I turned to Theodore.
"Do you know anything about who I am to have afternoon tea with? I've been invited to it and I don't know a single detail", I took a rather aggressive bite of the toast and kept my eyes on Theodore as his cheeks blushed slightly and the room fell silent.
"Apologies, I'm Seraphina Tellar, I don't really know why I'm here. I was imprisoned in Cupraem for a month, not fun, let me tell you that", I plastered a look of nonchalance across my face as I took another bite into the toast. There was a few murmurs and exchanged glances across the table as Theodore cleared his throat.
"I'm not sure who you're dining with", he seemed irritated for some reason, buttering his own piece of toast with so much aggression his butter knife cut through the bread. Why was he pissed off, I wondered, as I glanced around the table. No one made eye contact as I surveyed the room. The two females were twins, with alabaster skin, deep-crimson hair that made my eyes fill a little and onyx eyes that looked like pools of night, who sat directly across from Theodore and I. There were two men who had messy, brown curls, one with silvery-blue eyes, like I'd imagine the surface of the Lunar Lake to look when the full moon shone, and one with hazel-brown eyes, who were seated at opposite heads of the table. The final man sat on my right and he was older than all of those in the room, the grey strands of hair glowing under the impressive chandelier that hung over the table, his face wrinkled slightly over his forehead.
Shovelling more food onto my plate, I could feel the rage permeating through the pores of Theodore's skin as he reached to grab a pot of tea. I recognised the light grinding of his teeth, the slight shake of his hands as tea spilled over the side of his cup and pooled on the saucer, the way his lips were set into a thin line as if to stop him snarling. I recognised it because that's how I was for the first few days I was in Cupraem, what had gotten me beaten up by the Commander, why I still felt the pain radiate through my cheekbones as I was held in place while his fist connected with my cheek. I saw Theodore looking at my hands as they too shook slightly at the memory, before I quickly swiped them from the table and folded them delicately in my lap.
"How ...", the older man next to me hesitated slightly, "How did you end up there?". The silence hung uncomfortably in the air like the mist that swirled off the small lake near Bluebell Cottage in the winter months.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Threads of Emerald
काल्पनिकSeraphina Tellar was guaranteed a quiet existence in the Emerald Kingdom. She would live with her mother and father in Bluebell Cottage. She would marry Rupert, a rich, local boy. She would die a simple death. But, when her father is killed for tre...
