A Kingdom of Tales (Kingdom of Avenlea #1)

Chapter 37

After lunch, the tailor comes to my room with the dress. Alisa helps me dress; Jude is nowhere to be found.

She braids my hair in an Eddesian style, and this time I don't argue. The country is starting to grow on me anyway.

Two guards escort me to the ballroom. Yuri and Kyoshi are nowhere in sight; they must've beat me to the ballroom.

At first glance, the ballroom looks like every other room in this massive castle; in fact, it awfully resembles the throne room. It has walls lined with gold and a throne at the head of the room. The only difference is that it has a massive floor that looks different from the rest of the room's floor. The floor looks smooth, made for dancing, so one would be able to glide on it.

There are already around a hundred people here, and I spot Yuri clad in a military uniform speaking to General Darrow. Every so often, his eyes fall to the stars on her shoulder, and his gaze hardens. I was right; he is jealous of her rank and probably thinks she doesn't deserve it. I smirk when my mind runs to him, challenging her. I have enough bruises on my back to tell the tale of how strong of a fighter she is. She'll wipe the floor with his smug face if he ever dares challenge her.

Sitting on the throne, the emperor appears to be in a military uniform of his own. Instead of small stars on his shoulder, though, he has one big star. My gaze narrows on a figure on the floor next to the emperor's feet, and when I realise who it is, my eyes widen.

Miles.

He's in different clothes than the ones I saw him in earlier. He's wearing a navy blue tunic that matches my dress and black breeches. He's on his knees. His hands are handcuffed, and his eyes don't spark in recognition the way they usually do when he sees me.

The emperor is making an example of him. That much is obvious.

Before I could consider the consequences of the emperor having the Prince of Avenlea on his knees like this, I heard the emperor calling out, making everyone in the room stop conversing to hear what he had to say.

"Princess Jasmine. Thank you for joining us tonight. Remember that surprise I told you about?" I can't tell if he's being sarcastic. All eyes in the room fall on me. My jaw clenches, the only sign of the anger inside me that I'm willing to show. "We found this boy lurking in the gardens, looking for you. I thought to give him to you as a gift as a sign of Edessa's hospitality. Let it be known that Edessa treats its guests with respect."

My body feels hot, like I'm overheating, and it has nothing to do with the murmurs I hear around me.

I fall into a low curtsy, as Cerise taught me. "Thank you, your majesty, but I do not know this boy."

I don't let my eyes fall on Miles because I know what I will see in them, hurt and betrayal. Instead, I keep my face void of any emotion as I speak. My tongue feels heavy with the words I left unspoken.

"Very well, princess. Then you won't mind if I keep him for myself. It's not everyday that we find a boy this young in our gardens. He must be a spy."

"As you wish, your majesty." I drawl my words out, like I don't care what happens to Miles. The emperor nods in satisfaction and talks to a man standing by his side in a hushed whisper.

Yuri's plan be damned. I'm getting Miles out tonight, and when we're safe on a damn raft for a boat, for all I care, I'll get on my knees and beg his forgiveness.

I walk to a corner of the room, unwilling to socialise with the people in this room who consider me the entertainment of the night. That's when I hear the doors open.

"Princess Amelia, daughter of King Salar, heir of the Kingdom of Telmor." The announcer says. I almost don't look until I realise this is the 'Telmor Brat' I heard the emperor mention. My eyes widen in recognition when they fall on the princess.

Marilla.

She scans the room with a cunning look in her eyes that I've never seen from her before until she sees me.

Her face breaks into a grin as she walks to me, ignoring the emperor completely. People fall into bows and curtsies as she walks past them.

"Jasmine. I missed you." She says as soon as she reaches me. She pulls me into a quick hug.

I don't hug her back; I'm still shocked. I shouldn't have been, though; she's always had that extravagant look in her eyes. I should've noticed how a regular person travelling from Telmor to Edessa would not own nearly as many dresses as she did on the cruise.

I pride myself on being observant, and yet I hadn't noticed what was right in front of me.

Tonight, though, she has a different look about her. Her hair shines under the light, her dark skin looks brighter, and her clothes look impeccable.

"You're the Telmor Brat?" My voice sounds choked.

"Is that what they're calling me now?" She chuckles. "I can't believe they caught you. I managed to delay Sage as much as I could."

I'm still surprised that I don't process her words. "Sage? Marilla I really don't care about Sage right now." I shake my head.

She laughs loudly. I can still feel people's eyes on us, so I motion for her to acknowledge the emperor before he kills us both.

"Yes. Right." She turns to the emperor. "Thank you for being so kind as to host this party in my name, your majesty." She speaks loudly for the whole room to hear and falls into a deep curtsy that puts Kyoshi's to shame. That's when she notices Miles on the floor next to the emperor.

I watch as her eyes widen in disbelief, and she turns back to look at me. "Is that James?"

"Miles. I'll tell you about it later." I whisper. "I'm planning on getting us out of here tonight. Will you help me?"