Black Blood

-B2- Chapter 22

As soon as the maids walk into the square with breakfast, their eyes are not on me for a moment. This is my chance to lean towards Elijah and ask her questions.

'What comes next?' I ask the lady in a whisper. She immediately looks my way and smiles. The first maids each set a plate in front of them.

'The herbal ceremony for the gods, preparing for the wedding ceremony, wedding ceremony, dinner, evening feast and moon ceremony,' she rattles on in succession. I thought I would have the afternoon to myself, be pulled into a dress and be married. Nothing could be further from the truth, the elves love their ceremonies. I nod and decide not to ask further. The moon ceremony, what would that entail? Do they mean the wedding night or before? My hands start to sweat as I look at the sign in front of me. In front of me is a plate with a green soup-like liquid on it. Floating in the liquid are white bits that look like cheese. As soon as all the plates are on the table, people look my way again.

'Let it taste good,' is all I can think of. Laughter echoes across the tables before the ladies start the special breakfast. I feel the disapproving looks of the other women burning into my side. With slight reluctance, I grab the spoon from the table and take a bite. Green and herbs, those are the only flavours I taste. Something resembling spinach and coriander dominates the cold soup. My first thought about the white bits turns out to be true, it is cheese. With difficulty, I eat the substance away, not listening to the conversations around me. My head is spinning overtime trying to make sense of the situation I have found myself in.

As soon as all the plates are empty, the maids remove them and replace them with a new meal, for everyone but me. My plate remains empty while the others start eating. I look at Elijah questioningly as her omelette is steaming in front of her.

'The bride is supposed to eat only one liquid meal before the herbal ceremony to preserve her purity.' Purity I haven't had for a long time, an empty stomach now I do. Sighing, I take a sip from my glass of water, poured earlier by a maid.

'Where are the men?' I then ask, trying to fill in the puzzle pieces in my head. Elia just puts a bite of the omelette in her mouth and raises her hand smiling.

'The men have their own rituals and only come to the wedding ceremony,' the lady to my left replies. The friendly smile on her pink lips is slightly reassuring. I nod gratefully.

The rest of the meals literally pass me by. Even a bite of the spinach quiche is beyond me. I do my best to follow the conversations around me, but my head keeps wandering. Everything is a question mark, really everything. I should have prepared better for this. My only knowledge is my plan for the night, Walmoet's death. Sometimes I seem to forget that plan for a moment before reality slaps me in the face again. The dagger is still in the room, I didn't have time to take it with me in the rush. I had hoped to pick it up later or take it over from Novak, but both options are becoming increasingly impossible.

'Bless the meal,' Elia whisper snaps me out of my thoughts. I look around the table and see, for the third time, everyone with an empty plate. I hadn't realised it had become quiet around me.

'Bless breakfast,' I say then. With those words, Elia stands up and looks at me expectantly. That's my cue to get up from the chair and walk after her. Where we are walking to is unclear to me at first. Together with Elijah, I walk ahead while some ladies walk behind us in a procession. The village is empty except for a few guards. The stone paths take us to the edge of the village, into the forest. The birds have awakened from their slumber and are singing along the trees. We follow the path and walk into the forest until we bump into a huge tree. The tree must be hundreds of years old given its height and thickness, the top is not visible. In front of the tree is a familiar face, Alisha. The blonde lady stands in front of the tree in a white dress decorated with green embroidery. On the ground are several bowls with coloured mixtures in them and a white cushion.